Chapter 66: The Sixty-Sixth Day of Slacking Off
Wen Ying could only leave the room of Lin Ruge’s parents under the intensely grateful gazes of the family of three, feeling completely speechless.
However, as she stepped out, she suddenly felt an unusual aura.
It was very similar to the one she had sensed in the Shen residence the day Ah Niu and Ah Bao had abducted her.
Could it be that the person had followed her here?
Wen Ying’s gaze turned cold as she scanned in the direction of the aura, but it vanished in the next instant.
That day at the Shen residence, when this person had made a move, Wen Ying initially thought he was one of Sheng Qing’s men, trying to stop her. But after she made a small move of her own, the person had given up, which made her suspicious.
Could it be that he was just trying to… save her? And when he saw her actions, he realized she was there willingly and thus backed off?
Regardless, his level of cultivation was far beyond what someone like Lu Xiaojie could achieve. The fact that he could make a move at all meant that he, too, was unaffected by the strange phenomena of Peace Town. But why did he hide it, blending in with the crowd just like her?
And now, why was he here in this stronghold?
Could it be…
Was he, like her, searching for the truth behind Peace Town?
Before, Wen Ying had never touched upon the truth of Peace Town, so naturally, she had never encountered this person.
Looking at it now, her choice to slack off on her mission was indeed the right one.
Wen Ying’s eyes shifted slightly as she pretended to walk forward.
Sure enough, the next moment, she saw a fleeting black-robed figure at the spot where the aura had disappeared.
Wen Ying teleported in front of the person, completely blocking his path.
When she looked up, she was truly surprised to see a familiar face.
The familiar black hood obscured his face, and he wore the same familiar black clothes…
“What are you doing here?” Wen Ying asked.
It was Da Hei.
After their last encounter over pickled vegetables, Wen Ying had waited in the dining hall several times but had never seen him again. She never thought they would meet again here in Peace Town.
Da Hei remained silent, just as he always had.
“The person who tried to stop me at the Shen residence that day, that was you, wasn’t it?” Wen Ying was familiar enough with his disposition. Since he wouldn’t talk, she would ask.
“…Mm,” Da Hei finally responded with a low grunt after a long pause.
“You were trying to save me?” Wen Ying continued. “But you stopped when you saw I was there on purpose?”
“…Mm,” Da Hei grunted again.
“Then why are you in this mountain stronghold now?” Wen Ying’s gaze grew heavy. “Did you follow me here?”
After a moment of silence, Da Hei shook his head.
So that wasn’t it.
“Then are you investigating the source of the strange phenomena in Peace Town?” Wen Ying asked again.
Da Hei continued to shake his head.
Neither of those… It couldn’t be that he came up the mountain to become a bandit, could it?
Judging by his strange attire, that didn’t seem likely.
Just as Wen Ying was wondering what to ask next, Da Hei spoke up on his own.
“Are you… Are you going to marry Lin Ruge?” Da Hei’s voice was the same as ever, a slightly boyish tone kept very low.
“Huh?” Wen Ying was at a loss for words.
She never would have imagined that Da Hei would suddenly say something like that.
So… Da Hei came up the mountain just to see if she was marrying Lin Ruge?
That… that couldn’t be that ridiculous, could it…
“Are you going to marry him?” Da Hei pressed, a rare occurrence. His tone was a little more urgent than usual.
“I really have no intention of doing so…” Wen Ying answered truthfully.
Under the black hood, Wen Ying could vaguely sense that Da Hei seemed to let out a sigh of relief.
“Then you’re here to… investigate the strange phenomena in Peace Town?” Da Hei took the initiative to ask.
“More or less,” Wen Ying nodded.
That was her original intention, but the “Long Live the Single Life” plan had gotten in the middle. Although that plan was about to get her officially accepted as a daughter-in-law by Lin Ruge’s parents… it had also helped her discover many of the stronghold’s abnormalities, which were deeply connected to Peace Town.
Da Hei thought for a moment, then pulled a short flute from his sleeve. “If you need my help, you can play this flute.”
This flute was a nice little thing.
With this, it would be much more convenient to find him later.
Da Hei’s strange behavior and his mysterious appearance in Peace Town were definitely not simple.
Without a second thought, Wen Ying took the flute from his hand and gave him a grateful smile. “Alright, then I’d be rude to refuse.”
Da Hei said no more and, in a flash, disappeared into the vast night.
He had already answered many of her questions and even given her a flute. Wen Ying didn’t try to stop him from leaving.
Besides, Da Hei’s demonic cultivation was impressive. Even if she tried to stop him, it wouldn’t be an easy task.
You never know which will come first: the plan or the accident.
Or perhaps, it’s because of an accident that a plan is finally realized.
Just as Wen Ying was hesitating between coming up with a fourth “Long Live the Single Life” plan or giving up on helping Lin Ruge and focusing on investigating the stronghold’s abnormalities before returning to Peace Town, a major incident occurred within the stronghold.
In recent days, a large number of people in the stronghold had developed symptoms like sore throats, coughing, and hoarseness. Sometimes, strange, ghostly wails could be heard in the middle of the night, which was quite unsettling.
At first, people naturally connected it to the previously mentioned evil spirits, causing panic to spread. Then, someone claimed it was a plague that might be contagious, and for a time, everyone was on edge, with neighbors nearly turning against each other.
Fortunately, in the end, thanks to Lin Ruge’s efforts, the cause of all these symptoms was finally found—
It was because of his rendition of Love You Till I Die.
Someone in the stronghold had discovered that the song was an excellent way to vent. In daily life, it was inevitable to feel frustrated by trivial family matters, and at such times, belting out this song was a great outlet.
However, the people of the stronghold didn’t know that high notes required a special vocal technique to be sung properly. When they couldn’t hit the high notes, they would start screaming, and the more they failed, the more they wanted to succeed.
The result… was naturally sore throats, coughing, and hoarseness.
And because the residents called the failed singing attempts “ghostly wails,” the singers were too embarrassed to admit that the unpleasant sounds were coming from them. This led to baseless speculation and created the chaotic situation from before.
Rumors are often easy to start but extremely difficult to stop.
Although Lin Ruge quickly uncovered the truth, despite his and his parents’ efforts, they were never able to completely quell the rumors.
At the same time, something even more chaotic happened.
With talk of evil spirits and plagues, the residents were already in a state of panic. It was at this time that they began to envy the life down the mountain.
Originally, the people of the stronghold knew nothing about life in the town below and naturally felt that their life on the mountain was perfectly content. But from the newspapers Wen Ying had provided, they saw too much of the wonderful life in town.
Aunt Wu on the east side of town had a cat that gave birth to eight kittens—in the town below, you could actually keep cats at home!
Uncle Li on the west side of town blew up his pot while making fried sweet dumplings—in the town below, you could actually cook in your own home and make whatever you wanted to eat!
Besides that, people in town could buy whatever they wanted without having to apply to the procurement officer. They could farm, raise chickens, and even listen to storytellers!
The mountain was so dangerous, and the world below was so wonderful…
It started with one person declaring they wanted to go down the mountain, then it grew to many people entertaining the thought, and finally, it turned into people actually planning to sneak away.
A country has its laws, a family has its rules, and the stronghold, naturally, couldn’t just let all its residents run off.
Helpless, Lin Ruge could only stand guard at the mountain gate all day, catching the residents one by one and bringing them back.
It was truly a case of “success is due to Xiao He, and failure is due to Xiao He.” Just a few days ago, Lin Ruge’s parents were overjoyed and grateful to have such a good daughter-in-law, and now, because of this same good daughter-in-law, the stronghold was in a complete mess.
Although it was an unintentional success, the current situation was far worse than Wen Ying had anticipated.
The backwardness of these mountain bandits was something she had truly not expected.
What she had expected even less was the management style of this stronghold. While the place looked nice, its management was no different from the dormitory she had lived in during university.
It was fine for a short-term stay for studies, but to have one’s entire family life confined to a single dormitory room… Wen Ying truly couldn’t imagine it.
It was less like a stronghold and more like a giant cage.
It seemed Wen Ying wouldn’t need any more plans.
The drawbacks of being in a relationship were now being displayed in multiples before Lin Ruge’s parents.
But the real reason they sought her out again was not because of any of this.
It happened one early morning, following a piercing scream from Lin Ruge’s mother, Hua Pi.
That afternoon, Lin Ruge’s father sent someone to summon Wen Ying, saying he had something to discuss.
The moment Wen Ying stepped into the room, she knew something was wrong.
Usually, Lin Ruge’s parents were inseparable. Even when they wanted to chat with her or Lin Ruge, they would sit side by side on the main seats.
But today, Hua Pi was absent.
Thinking back to that scream…
Wen Ying released her true qi to investigate and found Hua Pi on the bed in the inner chamber.
Hua Pi was hiding her entire body under the covers, especially her head, which was curled tightly against her chest.
The scene was somewhat similar to when Rong Hua’s beauty-enhancing effects had worn off…
Could it be that Hua Pi had also been disfigured?
“Wen Ying, take your sweet pickled garlic and leave our stronghold.” Lin Ruge’s father’s expression was terrible, his voice colder and harder than ever before. “I know Ruge is fond of you, and you have indeed helped my wife and this stronghold a great deal. But this current situation… I don’t know if it’s a coincidence or intentional. In any case, I will consider your merits and demerits to have canceled each other out and will not pursue the matter further. But our stronghold can no longer accommodate you!”
The fact that he didn’t fly into a rage on the spot was already out of consideration for their past relationship.
He was unwilling to think the worst of this girl whom he had once been so pleased with as a potential daughter-in-law.
Sweet pickled garlic…?
From what he was saying, Hua Pi’s current state was because of her garlic?
Wen Ying had heard of seafood allergies and hair loss from eating too many pickles, but sweet pickled garlic… she had never heard of it having any side effects.
Wen Ying remained outwardly calm and agreed, but she had already made up her mind. She had to investigate thoroughly and find out what exactly was wrong with Hua Pi.
Author’s Note:
About this “slacking off” trope, since I personally like it a lot, I’ve started a new book with a similar trope in my column called The Control Group of the Immortal Sect Just Wants to Slack Off. The setting is different, the protagonist’s goals are different, and their actions will be different, but it’s all a comedy. Little angels who are interested are welcome to add it to your collection~~
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