This grouping is actually not difficult.
Judging from the skills displayed on the surface, Lu Ning's role as a doctor is obviously a support role, Zhu You's role is in combat, and Qiu Yiyun is more inclined to investigate. The three of them quickly chose the group they wanted to join and make up for some of their shortcomings. Qiu Yiyun was handed over to four people named Qu Siyuan, whose protective ability was obviously the strongest. Zhu You supplemented Shen Lishu's team, which was obviously lacking in combat effectiveness. In the end, Lu Ning was still paired with Carl and Robert.
Neither five-man team was short of men, so there was no dispute.
"This is a good start." Carl said.
Then, the parts that everyone needed to investigate were quickly confirmed.
When Shen Lishu came to Baihu Town, he had formal contact with the mayor. He will definitely visit the mayor today and inquire about the specific situation in the town.
Seitaro Asayama and his party have an old relationship with a retired forest ranger here. This time they were entrusted to come here, and they also needed to hear the specific entrustment from the other party.
The backgrounds of the other three groups were that they discovered this town accidentally and had no specific contact with the people in the town. So after some discussion, Carl and others were responsible for investigating the farm area in the south of the town, Yu Guiting and others were responsible for visiting the shops in the town, while Qu Siyuan and others would leave the town from the east side to investigate the surrounding conditions. Explore.
After the agreement was reached, everyone began to act separately.
Karl led the way, followed closely by Lu Ning and Robert. The three of them moved the fastest and soon set foot on the somewhat muddy path to the south.
In fact, it didn’t take long before the houses started to become sparse. The population of Baihu Town is not particularly large, but the area is very large. The result of the vast land and sparse population is that there is often only one home several hundred meters away in the farm area. It is so empty that one suspects that one will suffer from autism if they live there for a long time. .
However, Carl was content in this environment.
"I have imagined since I was a child that when I retire one day, I will find a place like this to spend my old age." Carl leaned on a fence post and raised his hand to point to the farmland in the distance that showed a golden color in the sun, " Robert, come and take a look, this looks exactly like my hometown."
"I've never really seen what your hometown looks like." Robert also walked over, "But if it's really the same as this, that's really good."
"Lu Ning, how about you come over and take a look?" Karl greeted with a smile.
"very nice."
"Not good at criticizing? It doesn't matter, as long as you can feel it." Karl didn't care and continued walking along the path, "So what kind of monsters are hidden under such peace and tranquility? Demon Man , witch, magic? Hahaha, I hope that after everything is over, the beauty here will not be damaged."
As they continued to move forward, a slightly older wooden house appeared in the sight of the three of them. An elderly woman is sitting in the house. Judging from the open door, she is spinning wool, and what she is doing now is just soaking in water.
There are many agricultural and sideline products displayed in this house. It is obviously a self-operated store, selling some items to passers-by to earn some extra income.
"Hey, good morning, mother-in-law." Karl stepped in directly.
"Good morning, young man."
Karl, who looked to be over thirty years old, touched his chin and grinned: "Young man? I haven't heard anyone call me that for a long time."
"Hehehe, the old man is used to it... Are you travelers? It's good to see some fresh faces." The old man stopped what he was doing and waved his hand, "Are you here to visit, or are you here? What are you going to take back?"
"I have seen the wine vat you have here. I can smell the aroma of wine even from such a distance."
The old woman stood up while laughing, and Karl quickly went up to help her up.
"You're a smooth-tongued young man. If you can really smell it, I'll have to check if the jar is broken. Okay, let's go there."
Lu Ning walked to some piles of dried plants aside and looked through them slowly. Robert was interested in the dried pulp and meat, and seemed to want to prepare some food reserves.
Karl quickly came back with two bottles of wine, looking simply satisfied. He also held a small bottle in his hand, which was filled with golden wine.
"It seems that I have found my heart." Robert whispered to Lu Ning and smiled.
"Hey, hey, hey, I heard it." Carl pushed the bottle in his hand to Lu Ning, "For me, the only things in this world that I can't live up to are beauty and wine. Do you think there's anything wrong with it?"
"I have a problem." Lu Ning looked at the bottle in his hand and said doubtfully, "This is..."
"Mead, this kind of thing is rare." Karl grinned, "The alcohol is not high, and it is as sweet as a dream. I think you need this."
"I--"
"Shhh... good girl, your frown betrays your heart. You are not happy. This is not good. Even in a place like this, we should still maintain a good mood to face everything, relax a little, and So that we won’t have to worry about your mental condition in the future.”
Karl raised his finger and shook it near his mouth, then glanced at Robert.
"I don't have that problem," Robert said immediately.
"Of course, you just keep a polite face every day, I understand." Karl shook out a paper bag and placed it in front of the dried meat and preserved fruits that Robert had subconsciously arranged, "If you don't make preparations, you I’m afraid I can’t think of anything else, so please go ahead.”
"Huh..." Robert nodded with satisfaction and began to neatly put the things in the paper bag.
Lu Ning silently pulled out the cork of the mead bottle.
This bottle is not much, about 200 ml. She originally hated the smell of alcohol, but this time she felt a little relieved that she didn't smell any alcohol when she pulled out the cork.
The old woman had returned to her original position and continued the work at hand. She said with a smile: "That's just slightly fermented wine. Even children can drink a lot. But it is said that drinking a glass at night can really make you have a golden dream." It's like the color of wine."
Lu Ning tasted the taste for a while. There was still some irritation and bitterness on her tongue, but she was instantly absorbed by the richer sweet aroma.
"Not bad right?"
Karl picked up a plant stem and held it in his mouth. It probably wasn't some kind of medicine, so Lu Ning didn't recognize it. Hearing his question, Lu Ning nodded slowly.
"That's good. Mother-in-law, how big is this farm area?"
"Forty or fifty households." The old woman slowly washed the magazines off the wool.
"With so few people around, aren't you worried about something? Especially for someone like you who opens a shop."
"They are all worthless. Who cares about the things that everyone has? No one will care if you pass by the orchard and pick a few fruits to eat. I have lived here all my life and I have never heard of a farm being robbed several times. It's a matter of fact." The old woman replied.
"But I heard something happened in the town before."
"What are you talking about? Nothing has happened here on the farm. Several cats and dogs died. It must be that some wild beasts passed by nearby, but the people in the town panicked and said that it was a witch who was causing trouble. It was still too much. You’re young.”
"Is there still a saying that witches are causing trouble in this town?" Karl was genuinely surprised.
"They are all stories passed down by the old people. Some people say that the lake in the east of the town has a witch sealed there. I remember that my grandma loved telling me stories about witches when I was a child."
"Do you mind telling us about it? To be honest, I like to hear all kinds of new and interesting legends during my travels."
The old woman thought for a moment and then started telling the story.
"I don't know how long ago, the lake in Baihu Town was just an ordinary small puddle. A witch came to the town, but people didn't know she was a witch.
The witch fell in love with the beautiful scenery here and planned to stay here. At first, everything was normal, until one day, residents discovered that she had made a decoction from plants to revive a dying puppy. People were frightened and strangled her to death by weaving a hemp rope from the plants she collected. Got her.
Not long after, a woman with the same appearance as the witch came to the town again and also stayed. When the residents discovered that she had made gold from the stones she picked up from the wasteland and made them into toys for the children in the town, the people became frightened and smashed her to death with the stones she collected.
However, not long after, a third woman came to the town. Her appearance never changed, and she still chose to stay. During a grand festival celebration, the woman dyed the sky with fire in colorful colors. The residents thought it was the power of doomsday, and burned the woman and her workshop to ashes in fear.
Finally, a fourth woman came to town. Shortly after her stay, she headed to the small puddle on the east side of town, which had turned into a lake after an earthquake night that had woken the entire population. The residents finally understood that the witch could not be killed, so they used a coffin to sink her alive to the bottom of the lake.
After that, sure enough, the witch never came back. "
After the old woman finished telling her story, the room fell into silence.
"This is not a bedside story suitable for telling children." Carl spat out the plant in his mouth and shrugged slightly uncomfortably, "I have to say... you ruined my mood today."
"Young man, this is what you want to hear. Besides, who knows whether this story is true or false?" The old woman shook her head, "How many people now listen to this as an ordinary, maybe a horror story, but there are also many Few people still believe that the witch will return sooner or later. When she decides to make this town pay for what she has done before, the whole town will become a living sacrifice for her resurrection."
"But the witch in the story clearly sounds like a nice person." Lu Ning said.
"No matter how kind a person is, if his good intentions are met with cruel treatment, he cannot be without resentment in his heart. Although I don't believe in the return of the witch, but if such a thing really happened back then, those residents would undoubtedly be guilty. It's serious." The old woman picked up the wooden tub in which the wool was soaked. "However, this has nothing to do with you travelers. It's just a fuss made by the people in the town. Now that you're here, take a good look at the surrounding scenery, and then continue your journey. That’s fine.”
"Let me help you." Karl stepped forward to help the old woman lift the wooden basin, and the two of them walked out of the house.
Lu Ning and Robert looked at each other in the room.
"What do you think?" Lu Ning asked.
"I would rather believe it..." Robert folded the paper bag carefully and opened his mouth. "If there are no flaws in the story she told, and that woman does exist, there is a problem."
"Technological leap." Lu Ning nodded, "Ordinary boiling herbal medicine is not a particularly difficult technology, but smelting gold and making handicrafts can be upgraded to a higher level. The subsequent fireworks production is not difficult at first, but if you want to To make the sky colorful, you must add elements that change the color of the flames, and the fireworks that can rise into the sky are also very labor-intensive work. As for the earthquake that turned the puddle into a lake at the end, it was at least the level of using explosives. "
"So this can't be a short jump. Either word of mouth shortens the time for each woman to come to the town, or..."
"The witch is real." Lu Ning said the possibility that no one liked.
"If once is the premise, then there are two situations that need to be faced. Is the witch a 'human' that can be fought against, or a 'ghost' that is invincible."
The main target of the scene this time is the devil. The entire mission did not mention a word about the witch. If the mission did not say "The Return of the Witch", no one would probably pay attention to the issue of the witch. However, once he started investigating, Lu Ning discovered that there were many legends about witches, but there were no clues about the demons.
Karl took the two of them to eat and drink around the farm area. It was almost noon and he realized that he was not hungry at all. He listened to a lot of people who didn't know whether it was clues or stories. There were only a few people who didn't believe it like the old lady. , even if most people don’t believe it, they will still show a sense of awe.
After coming out of the last farmer's house, Karl took out the wine bottle, unscrewed the lid, took a sip, and asked his two teammates: "Do you feel weird?"
"certainly……"
"We have already found it strange." Robert looked at Karl with some dissatisfaction, "I thought you were only focused on eating and drinking."
"My brain needs to be replenished with energy at all times, friend." Karl smiled nonchalantly, "Then why do you think a legend, even without any supporting evidence, can be circulated in the town for so long? It still has widespread influence even today? "
"The most likely explanation is that this incident has actually been confirmed." Lu Ning said, "And at least some of the people who experienced it are still alive and have important positions in the town. The real targets we need to find are those witches Witnesses of the return.”
"That's right. However, there are more than a thousand people in this town, and those who have witnessed it may even live in seclusion. This may test our ability to inquire..." Karl said approvingly, "The investigation here is temporarily suspended. That’s it for now, let’s go back to the hotel and see if others find anything special.”
