Chapter 165: The Village of the Eternal World—Stories and Mysteries!

"Are you okay?"

Rengoku Fujuro helped up the woman who had fallen to the ground and had been taken hostage.

The woman's face was pale. She was still in shock as she watched the evil ghost turn to ashes. She stood up with the help of the hand in front of her and said reluctantly, "It's... It's okay."

After making her stand still, Purgatory lowered his eyes and said, "Miss, can I ask you something?"

The woman came to her senses and nodded quickly: "Of course! Please go ahead, sir!"

Gojuro expressed his doubts: "Why do people in this village choose to cultivate the fields at night?"

“This…” The woman was stunned for a moment: “Farming at night has always been a tradition in our village!”

"Tradition?" Gojuro asked, "When did this tradition come from? Who created this tradition? Why does this tradition exist?"

The woman was confused by the question. She hesitated for a while, and could only smile and shake her head: "Sir, I really don't know. This village has been like this for a long time. I am used to it and have never investigated it deeply."

Gojuro frowned, but he could tell the woman wasn't lying, so he nodded: "Sorry for the trouble! It's not safe outside, you should go home quickly."

After watching the woman leave, he turned around and returned the same way without stopping.

The location where the corpses were located has caused a commotion - some villagers did not witness the evil ghost, so they bravely screamed and watched, attracting more and more people to gather there.

Furious Shoulang had no choice but to loudly urge them to go back, but due to the herd mentality, no one listened.

With a sigh of relief, he strode forward, ready to use some unconventional means - after all, he still had to explore the village at night and had no time to waste on maintaining order.

However, just as Anjuro was about to reach out and grab someone's collar, an unintentional glance in his eyes made him suddenly stunned!
In the distant sky, a milky white light was slowly rising. In the mixture of black and white, a golden sphere suddenly jumped out from behind the mountains, reflecting into the pupils like a flame.

——It’s actually daybreak!!
[But...how could this happen?!]

Rengoku Gojuro's eyes widened.

He entered the village around midnight, and it took him less than ten minutes from the time he discovered the evil ghost to the time he dealt with him! How could the day break so quickly? !
[Is the speed of time different in different spaces? ]

Gojuro thought calmly.

[No! I clearly saw the projections of the villagers in the real world, and their movements of pounding the ground did not speed up.]

【……what on earth is it?!】

"Hey! Is that Mr. Purgatory? Have you finished your business?"

A voice behind him called back the seriously distracted Shoulang. He turned around and greeted calmly, "Doctor Su Bei."

——They told each other their names when they were chatting yesterday.

The child, still wearing the yellow jacket, raised the corner of his mouth and smiled: "Where is your wife? I have already thought of a treatment plan for her."

“…I’m so sorry.”

Rengoku Fujuro paused for a moment and politely declined: "Because there are so many trivial matters at home, we still need another day to deal with them...so the treatment can only be postponed to tomorrow."

"Is that so?" The doctor scratched his head. "It's not a problem for me. But your wife's health is really worrying. We can't delay any longer!"

"...I know!" Gojuro clenched his fists slightly in his sleeves.

One more day of investigation! Even if he still finds nothing, he will send his wife for treatment even if it means taking some risks!

Say goodbye to the doctor.

Gojuro started wandering around the village.

Although this place is small, it has everything you need. Shops and vendors can be found everywhere, and everything from food, clothing, housing and transportation is covered.

The air was filled with the smell of food, and the smell of fireworks penetrated into his nostrils, constantly arousing his appetite. But he felt his empty stomach and did not move.

There are too many strange things about this village, and he doesn't want to eat anything in it! Although it may be an overreaction, this caution is indispensable to survive until now!

Through the increasingly lively hawking sounds, Rengoku Fujuro suddenly saw a man in a gray cloth shirt squatting on the corner of the street.

The other person's profile looked very familiar - it was the one who opened the door and led him into the doctor's house yesterday!

"What are you doing here?" Gojuro leaned over and asked.

The man was startled by the voice! He turned his head and took a special look at Rengoku Fujuro's sword before saying, "I'm trying to see if anyone here is breaking the law."

"Breach of the law?"

"It's the law of the village." The man shrugged. "In our village, there is a set of rules that have been passed down from ancient times to the present day, and everyone abides by them. If anyone violates them, law enforcement officers like me will arrest them."

Law enforcement officers?

This word combined with the village made Gojuro feel strange: "What about yesterday at the doctor's house?"

"Oh, I was trying to educate the doctor about the law. He was always seeing patients, so I haven't finished introducing him to the law in more than 20 days."

"What are the contents of the village rules?"

"A lot." The man was tired of squatting, so he stood up and stretched his legs: "No stealing, no harm without reason, no killing without reason, no absence from farming at night... These are all old stuff."

"Wait!" Fushoulang stretched out his hand to stop him: "Why is it forbidden to farm at night?"

“I don’t know.” The man spread his hands. “Anyway, that’s what the village rules say.”

Fen Shoulang asked again: "When did the custom of farming at night begin?"

The man was stunned for a moment, then suddenly realized: "Yes, sir, this is your first time here, so it's normal that you don't know."

He scratched his head and said, "This story begins a long, long time ago... well, about a few hundred years ago."

The man went to a roadside stall and bought two pies. He ate one himself and gave the other to Gojuro, but Rengoku politely declined.

He didn't mind, so he stuffed the remaining bag into his arms and explained.

"It is said that a few hundred years ago, Changshi Village was just a small village with a total population of no more than 100 people. And one day, a huge carriage full of gold, silver and treasures suddenly appeared outside the village."

"Its owner is a man with half of his face burned. He claims to have left the village decades ago to do business. Now that he has made enough money, he wants to live back in the village."

"Because he knows a lot about the village, and he also built a road out of the village generously, so naturally everyone would not be disappointed and all agreed to let him move in."

The man took a bite of the pie.

"That man was really rich. Not only did he build himself a magnificent house, he also hired villagers to work for him at a price several times higher than that of a commercial building."

“That’s why everyone is very happy.”

"But the good times didn't last long. After living there for a while, the rich man suddenly got angry and said bluntly that the village was too mediocre and had no highlights, and was not worthy of his wealthy status at all!"

"In order to be different, he called on everyone to change the time of farming to night time."

"Although this request is unreasonable, the villagers still rely on him for their livelihood. In addition, the rich man promised to give subsidies to the villagers who farm at night, so some people agreed with a pinch of their noses."

"When the rich businessman died more than a decade later, his son had the same idea. So, everyone persisted in doing so from generation to generation, and it gradually became a habit." "And."

"Perhaps due to long-term adaptation, the villagers' eyes have become able to see clearly in the dark, which also makes farming much more convenient."

The man stuffed the last bite of pie into his mouth and mumbled the whole story.

And Rengoku Shouro could only remain silent.

He tried his best to hold back the twitching corners of his mouth and swallow back the complaints that were rising to his throat.

He found it ridiculous!
This statement sounded like it came from the hand of a third-rate writer. It was full of forced and far-fetched ideas, but looking at the man's expression, she believed it without a doubt.

Rubbing his temple with a headache, Gojuro asked, "What's the rich man's name?"

"Dican Lane."

"...Dican? The former owner of the doctor's house?"

"Yes, but the current house was built later. The original one was much more magnificent, but it burned down decades ago."

Rengoku Fujuro stroked his chin... Perhaps he should have held back a little yesterday. But the old man was already dead, so it was no use thinking about it.

At this moment, the man suddenly shouted: "Stop! What are you doing?!"

His expression instantly became extremely excited. He took a big step forward, twisted the arm of a bald man, and pressed him to the ground.

"You just stole something, didn't you?! Don't try to make excuses! I saw it clearly with my own eyes!"

The bald man turned pale instantly, and he trembled with his face against the ground, "No... No! I just saw this lady's basket fall! I just wanted to help him pick it up! I didn't steal anything! You believe me, you believe me!!"

"Really?!" the man said in a low voice, making the bald man's bones creak. "Then do you dare to swear to God?!"

The bald man's lips moved, and after a moment he broke down and cried, "Please let me go! Sir! Please let me go! I just accidentally forgot the village rules... I... I really didn't mean it!"

"No! Village rules are supreme!" The man knocked the bald man unconscious with a knife and carried him horizontally on his shoulder: "Go to jail and repent, bastard!"

Rengoku Fujuro watched this scene without saying anything. He had no right to interfere in other people's village affairs.

But in his heart, he became more suspicious! Although he used the wide-open [Breath of Fire], his mind was as delicate as few others. Therefore, he could always detect those subtle unnatural things in the village——

If, as the man said, the village rules have been passed down from ancient times to the present day, then as a member of the village, would Baldy really forget them by accident?
and also……

"What is a god?"

"Oh, don't worry about it, sir."

The man waved his hand and said, "This is the belief of all people in our Changshi Village. It is also a custom passed down from ancient times. According to legend, the gods are omnipotent and can save people from suffering. As long as you believe in them, you can avoid all disasters and be happy forever."

Gojuro frowned, "But I didn't see the shrine."

“No need.” The man said with a pious expression: “God, just keep it in your heart and respect it.”

"What about the Torii gate at the entrance?"

"Oh, this is built for the doctor." The man explained: "After all, he is really amazing! Just like the god in the legend."

Instead of building a shrine for the gods, they built a torii for a doctor who had just arrived?
Rengoku Fujuro couldn't understand!
Seeing the man carrying the bald head and about to leave, Fen Shoulang did not say goodbye to him and prepared to go to the prison together to take a look.

The man stopped almost to the other end of the village, bent down and pulled up the wooden board on the ground.

It turned out to be a dungeon!
Gojuro looked around and found that this was a converted abandoned basement. Although it was a prison cell, it only contained many large iron cages stacked side by side.

The man opened an iron cage and stuffed the bald man in. Suddenly, a long, metallic collision sound rang out in the empty underground.

"How long will he stay here?"

As he locked the door, the man replied, "That depends on when he wakes up... But sir, don't worry! Someone will come to deliver food and water every day, so he will be fine."

Fen Shoulang asked again: "Is he the only one here?"

"Yes. Didn't I say that? This is a village rule that has been passed down from generation to generation. Very few people violate it! It was rare that we caught one today."

The man twirled the keys on his fingers, looking very pleased: "Okay, sir, let's go out."

Returning to the street corner, the man squatted down again. Rengoku Fujuro chatted with him for a few words, and after learning that his name was Koike Teppei, he said goodbye and left.

Later that day, apart from seeing a few law enforcement team members who were waiting in other places like that man, Gojuro didn't make any other discoveries.

The moonlight rises.

Purgatory looked up at the sky and silently stopped the timer. He had been estimating the time since the beginning of the day, so he was very sure that this day was of normal length!
He took out the dry food and water he had brought with him from his sleeves, filled his empty stomach a little, and then began to search the village again.

Even though someone died yesterday, many villagers still carried hoes and pushed open their doors. But this time, Gojuro could hear their low voices talking.

But that’s all!

The night was peaceful tonight. It seemed that after getting rid of the evil spirits of yesterday, the village had lost all its hidden dangers.

Rengoku Fujuro went to the doctor's house for several careful examinations but could not find any problems. Even if he timed it again, it only confirmed that the length tonight was also normal.

At this point, he could only regard the brief darkness last night as an effect of [Blood Vampire Magic] that he did not understand.

After a fruitless night, Rengoku Fujuro looked at the rising sun and turned to walk out of the village.

——We can’t delay any longer!
Although there are still many doubts, since they cannot be found out in a short period of time, he can't waste his wife's precious time any longer!
After returning to the carriage, Gojuro exchanged a few words with the members of the Inbu who were waiting there, and then asked them to carry the stretcher and accompany him to find a doctor.

knock knock!

He knocked on the wooden door.

"Mr. Purgatory, you are finally done."

Su Beixun opened the door and smiled gently: "Please come in."

Gojuro followed behind him, habitually looking at the scenery in the courtyard, and suddenly asked: "I heard that you don't charge money for treating patients, but require patients to work for you for a month?"

"Ah? Is that what people say outside?"

The doctor was surprised, shook his head and laughed: "You misunderstood. It's not that I don't want money, but I have two payment methods."

"When I am short of money, I will collect money myself. When I am short of people, I will ask patients to work for me."

"Like now, I have just arrived in this village and I urgently need labor to handle chores for me, so I made this request."

Is that so?
Rengoku Fujuro kept the information in mind.

The doctor led him into the hall and pointed at the food on the table: "I'm having breakfast, why don't you join me, Mr. Purgatory?"

"No thanks." Rengoku Fujuro waved his hand and declined: "I've already eaten."

Su Beixun narrowed his eyes and chuckled, "Forget it then."

(End of this chapter)