They seized the opportunity to sneak out, helping Masaki Taro escape.
Then, they returned to the village chief’s house to wait for the right moment.
Nakano Asaka volunteered, saying he could hear sounds from far away and could remotely monitor the village chief’s movements.
As they had expected, in the evening, the village chief arranged for the ritual to take place.
“They’re in a hurry, as if something has happened,” Nakano Asaka reported after eavesdropping. “It was too quiet to hear clearly, but they’re moving the ritual to the seaside tonight. Should we act?”
Gu Zhan and Miyamoto Satoshi exchanged a glance and said in unison, “Let’s move.”
The plan was simple: they just needed to wait for the village chief to be alone and then use the star disk watch to take him out forcefully.
By the time the others in the village realized what was happening, they would have found a safe place to hide.
They split up; Nakano Asaka and Miyamoto Satoshi would go outside to assist, while Gu Zhan stayed at the village chief's house to wait for him to be alone.
Gu Zhan didn’t wait; he directly went to find the village chief.
The village chief was busy preparing for the ritual. When he heard that Gu Zhan had arrived, he had no choice but to attend to him.
As a result, Gu Zhan said he had important matters to discuss and needed to dismiss everyone else.
The village chief was perplexed. A group of outsiders who were to be used as offerings—what could they possibly have that was so important?
Could it be that they discovered the village’s ritual traditions?
Or was it possible that they were sent by outsiders to investigate from the very beginning?
Thinking this, the village chief felt a bit uneasy, but ultimately agreed to meet Gu Zhan.
However, he could never have imagined that waiting for him was not some “important matter,” but rather Gu Zhan’s sudden blow to his head.
The village chief didn’t even have time to cry out in shock before everything went dark, and he fainted.
Ten minutes later, Gu Zhan met up with Miyamoto Satoshi and Nakano Asaka outside the village chief’s house.
Seeing him bring out the unconscious village chief, Miyamoto Satoshi worriedly asked, “Is he alright?”
For some reason, he felt an inexplicable worry, fearing that Gu Zhan had been too rough and had seriously harmed the village chief.
Gu Zhan shook his head. “Let’s talk somewhere else.”
After thinking for a moment, Miyamoto Satoshi suggested, “Let’s go to the place where Masaki Taro and the others were hiding before.”
That location was a bit far from the village, abandoned for a long time, and the villagers rarely went there.
It would probably take some time to reach that place.
“Let’s go.” They dragged the village chief to the abandoned cabin.
As the village chief gradually regained consciousness, he saw the three of them and panicked, shouting, “Who? Who hit me... What do you want?!”
Nakano Asaka raised his fist and said with a smile, “If you don’t want us to knock you out again, just shut up and behave.”
“……” The village chief calmed down slightly. He finally recognized the three people in front of him and showed a terrified expression. “It’s you! Why are you...”
Could they really have been sent by outsiders?
However, these people didn’t ask him any questions and didn’t even speak to him.
The one who threatened to knock him out had gone outside, seemingly to keep watch, while the other two sat in silence in the room.
After observing for a while, the village chief felt that these two didn’t seem to intend to kill him.
Seeing them remain motionless for a long time, he tentatively asked, “Why did you bring me here? What do you want? I can satisfy you! Just let me go…”
The ritual was about to begin, and he was visibly anxious.
Listening to him, Gu Zhan suddenly had an idea.
He weighed his words and said, “Really? I can have anything I want?”
Seeing him waver, the village chief nodded repeatedly. “Yes, yes! You can have anything! Wealth, status, longevity! Anything!”
Gu Zhan raised an eyebrow. “What’s the price? People say there’s no such thing as a free lunch in this world. For all these good things, what do I have to pay?”
“Price…” The village chief’s gaze flickered. After a moment, he whispered, “What price? There’s no price…”
It seemed he thought of something, and a glimmer passed through his eyes. “You just need to offer a bit of blood.”
“Blood?” Miyamoto Satoshi leaned in closer when he heard that word.
The village chief appeared even more uneasy but still insisted, “Yes... When making a wish to the gods, you always need to offer a little tribute, but just a little, it won’t burden your body at all. Would you like to try?”
“Where?” Gu Zhan extended his hand and asked, “Can we do it here?”
The village chief was startled and quickly waved his hands. “No, no, no, we can’t do it here! The gods will get angry. We need to change locations…”
Miyamoto Satoshi laughed. “You just want to trick us into changing places, right? Do you think we’ll believe in any gods? Where in this world are there gods? You’re just trying to deceive us.”
“How could I? I wouldn’t dare lie about something like this.”
Miyamoto Satoshi didn’t reply but glanced back at Gu Zhan—they both realized that the village chief clearly feared the gods, yet he proactively offered to fulfill their wishes. They had no idea what he was up to.
Gu Zhan said, “If you say that, we can’t believe you. How about this: you perform a ceremony to summon the gods right here. As long as you can call upon a deity, we’ll believe you without you having to fulfill any wishes. Just show us a little sign from the gods, and we’ll trust you.”
“Uh…” The village chief looked hesitant.
But perhaps because the ritual was imminent, he really didn’t have time to keep stalling.
Finally, he gritted his teeth and agreed, “But I need you to provide me with some items.”
The village chief listed the necessary items, all common ritual offerings like incense burners and joss paper.
Gu Zhan and Miyamoto Satoshi left the village chief and discussed who would go to get these items. They exchanged glances, both feeling uneasy, and finally said in unison, “Let Nakano go.”
Outside, Nakano Asaka sneezed.
Gu Zhan called him in, and upon hearing he needed to help, Nakano Asaka immediately agreed.
The village chief said, “I have a full set of ritual items at home. If we go back…”
“Don’t even think about it.” Nakano Asaka interrupted him, “Just tell me the location, and I’ll go get them.”
The village chief had no choice but to tell him the location.
Nakano Asaka turned and left.
Gu Zhan wasn’t worried; Nakano Asaka had passed through so many dungeons and had his own skills.
He and Miyamoto Satoshi stood with their arms crossed at the door of the room.
As time passed, the village chief grew increasingly anxious.
Miyamoto Satoshi said, "He doesn’t seem anxious about the wishes; it’s more like he’s been forced into the ritual by the gods."
Gu Zhan replied, "That’s normal. Not everyone has the courage to kill without a second thought. Even if he makes wishes, he’s just a village chief… A normal person’s wishes should have ended the moment he learned that the ritual could result in death."
"You’re right." After a moment of silence, Miyamoto Satoshi agreed with Gu Zhan’s assessment.
Nakano Asuka seemed to have run into some trouble, as he had been gone for quite a while without returning.
The sky outside gradually darkened.
The village chief appeared even more restless. He paced around the room, repeatedly attempting to break through the guards of Gu Zhan and Miyamoto Satoshi to escape.
After being stopped several times, he finally couldn’t hold back and said, "The ritual is about to start. Can you let me go back first…?"
Gu Zhan replied, "What’s wrong? Isn’t your god a benevolent one that fulfills wishes? Why are you worried about angering the deity?"
"This…" The village chief was at a loss for words, unable to refute Gu Zhan’s challenge. Yet, he was still anxious. Ultimately, he gritted his teeth and said, "But the time for the ritual has already been set. If I'm late, the gods will be angry!"
"Oh?" Gu Zhan raised an eyebrow. "What will happen if they get angry?"
Perhaps Gu Zhan’s nonchalant attitude enraged the village chief. He suddenly snapped and shouted at Gu Zhan, "I don’t know what you want! Let me go now! If you don’t, you won’t be able to bear the consequences!"
"Let me out! What do you really want? Are you outsiders sent here to investigate Haizhu Village?!"
"I’ll tell you, you won’t find anything! Not only will you not find anything, but you also won’t be able to leave this place!"
Gu Zhan replied calmly, "Why do you say that? Do you often select sacrifices from outsiders?"
"Anything that’s offered up for free is a good deal…" The village chief, caught up in his emotions, said too much and immediately realized he had let something slip.
Gu Zhan and the others had no idea about the sacrifices!
He quickly shut his mouth, and no matter what Gu Zhan said afterward, he refused to speak again.
After a while, Nakano Asuka finally returned.
He brought some information: "The villagers are searching for the village chief everywhere. They seem to be hesitating about whether to proceed with the ritual or wait for him to return."
"The ritual was originally scheduled for three days later, so it’s normal for them to hesitate and consider postponing it," Gu Zhan said as he tossed the items for the ritual in front of the village chief. "You promised us a divination ceremony; let’s get started."
The village chief stared intently at Gu Zhan. "How do you know the ritual was originally scheduled for three days later? Who are you?"
Gu Zhan said, "You don’t have the position to ask us that right now."
The village chief replied, "Since you know about the ritual, why do you still want me to perform a divination ceremony…?"
Gu Zhan insisted, "You must do it."
Miyamoto Satoshi, unsure of Gu Zhan’s reasoning for wanting the village chief to perform the divination ceremony, watched as Gu Zhan pulled out a smartphone from his pocket.
Miyamoto Satoshi exclaimed in surprise, "You want to…"
Gu Zhan nodded.
He wanted the village chief to perform the divination and then record a video to send to their client.
Although they couldn’t leave Haizhu Village, the client was crucial. Why did the client want them to come to Haizhu Village? Why were they so adamant about having them perform the divination ceremony? Which deity were they trying to summon?
These questions remained unanswered.
But for now, it seemed that conducting the divination ceremony came with risks.
With each additional ritual performed, the danger would only increase.
The client clearly had no intention of giving up, and for the sake of their own safety, they had to find a solution.
Having the village chief host the ceremony was the most suitable option.
Miyamoto Satoshi hadn’t considered that there was such an avenue available.
His teammate was definitely more resourceful than he was.
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