"In short, you masters must help our village! I'll pay any amount!" Village Chief Zhu pleaded earnestly. "The sooner it's resolved, the better. Ideally within three days."
Three days?
A time-limited instance with a clear deadline?
The Suited Man nodded with a smile. "Rest assured, Village Chief Zhu, we are professionals. I just wanted to ask, is there any particular reason for the three-day timeframe? After all, we haven't actually encountered Ah Wang's mother yet, so we don't know the exact difficulty level. What if..."
"...Ah, there's no special reason. It's just that our village really doesn't have many people left. Most of the young folks have gone out to work, leaving only the elderly and children in the village. We can't afford to keep losing people like this."
Everyone could tell that this Village Chief Zhu was definitely hiding some information.
But if he wasn't willing to say, they couldn't exactly force him.
By now, the village's outline had appeared before their eyes, growing clearer as they approached.
"We're almost at the village entrance." Village Chief Zhu suddenly stopped and turned to the six people behind him, making a serious request. "When we arrive, I'll have to trouble you masters to pretend to be relatives from my wife's side. If any villagers ask, just say you're here to visit for a few days."
Hearing this request, the players were all completely baffled.
They were supposed to exorcise the evil within three days, and now they also had to hide their identities?
What, were the villagers not welcoming of their exorcism efforts?
Seeing the obvious confusion on the exorcists' faces, Village Chief Zhu cleared his throat, carefully choosing his words to explain. "The villagers have suffered under Ah Wang's mother's torment for too long. They can't handle any more disturbances. It's better to wait until you masters succeed in the exorcism. Then I'll announce the good news to the villagers, and the village will definitely hold a banquet to reward you masters."
Everyone understood.
Didn't that just mean he was afraid they would fail and get the villagers' hopes up for nothing?
Although it sounded reasonable, Xu Xi always felt the village chief was also hiding something on this matter.
"Since Village Chief Zhu has said so, of course we agree." The Suited Man accepted this explanation with a smile.
The others, including Xu Xi, remained silent.
A moment later, the seven of them arrived at the village entrance.
A group of aunties sitting in the shade under a tree nearby, chatting while doing handicrafts, looked up and saw them, immediately starting to whisper among themselves.
Soon, someone called out loudly, "Chief, why are so many people following you?"
Village Chief Zhu chuckled in reply. "They're all relatives from my wife's side. A bunch of youngsters, here to play for a few days."
"Who would've thought Cuifen had such a handsome bunch of relatives. Why didn't you invite them earlier... ahem, invite them over sooner? Come to Auntie's place another day, Auntie will kill a chicken for you." The auntie seemed to realize she had said something wrong and corrected herself just in time.
Village Chief Zhu acted as if he hadn't noticed, chatted briefly for a few more sentences, then continued leading the players forward.
The six people following showed nothing unusual on their faces, but in reality, they were all secretly pondering.
Xu Xi observed those chattering aunties from the corner of his eye and couldn't help but mutter to himself. This didn't look like people who had suffered terribly under supernatural beings at all.
The village was quite peaceful, with houses neatly arranged. Almost every household had a courtyard where chickens, ducks, and other poultry were raised. Villagers gathered in twos and threes, seemingly chatting about daily life.
Village Chief Zhu introduced the six people behind him to villagers along the way.
"It's getting late. Why don't you masters come to my place for dinner first? My wife should have the meal ready by now. Her cooking is quite good."
"After dinner, I'll arrange accommodations for you masters."
Village Chief Zhu deliberately lowered his voice.
The Suited Man cooperated by also lowering his voice. "No problem. We'll follow your arrangements, Village Chief Zhu."
Among the six players, it could be said the Suited Man shouldered the burden of social interaction.
Xu Xi felt he didn't need to say anything about himself; when there were many people, he really didn't know what to say.
The young man wearing a baseball cap, the girl in the long skirt, and the woman with curly hair had at least said a word or two earlier.
That gloomy-looking, tall and thin man was just like him, not having spoken a single word.
"We're here. This is my house. If you masters have any questions later, you can come find me here. Even if I'm not in, my grandson will go call me."
Village Chief Zhu's house looked no different from the other villagers' houses. Its only advantage was being very close to the village entrance, just a ten-minute walk away.
A lively, sturdy little boy peeked his head out from behind the courtyard gate from time to time. When he saw Village Chief Zhu, his eyes instantly lit up. He immediately ran over and grabbed the village chief's sleeve.
"Grandpa, where did you go? Why did you take so long? Grandma said we have to wait for you to come back before we can eat. I'm starving."
Village Chief Zhu put on a stern face. "Before I left, I saw your grandma secretly slip you two sweet potatoes. We have guests today. Go pour some water for our guests."
The little boy looked up at the six strangers behind him and obediently replied, "Okay."
Then he turned and ran toward the house.
"Grandma! We have guests!"
Village Chief Zhu looked helplessly at the running boy, then turned back apologetically. "Sorry about that. My useless son and his wife went out to work, so the child stays in the village. He's always been mischievous. If he offends you masters in any way, please go easy on him when you hit him, considering he's still young."
"Kids being lively is a good thing. We... huh?" The Suited Man was about to say they wouldn't mind, but when he heard the last part, he was suddenly stunned.
Village Chief Zhu didn't notice his frozen expression, turning his head to shout toward the house. "Wife! Hurry up and set the table! The guests are here!"
"Coming, coming! What's the rush? It's not like you're the one cooking." A neatly dressed auntie walked out carrying dishes. When she saw the six young people behind her husband, her face immediately broke into a smile.
"Ah, the food is all ready. Masters, please take a seat!"
The seamless switch in expression amazed Xu Xi.
The six were warmly invited to the table by the village chief couple, while the little boy poured each of them a glass of water.
The food on the table was plentiful, clearly prepared with great effort.
"Village Chief Zhu, you haven't eaten yet, right? How can we have the nerve to eat before you? Besides, we can't let the child go hungry. Come here, little friend, eat with uncle." The Suited Man beckoned to the little boy.
Village Chief Zhu glared sternly at his eager grandson, then shook his head. "We'll eat in the kitchen later. The first meal should properly welcome you masters."
The Suited Man was just worried the food might be problematic, hence his attempt to have the village chief's family eat together.
The village chief didn't agree, so none of the players dared to pick up their chopsticks.
Yet, just as both sides were at a stalemate, the young man wearing the black hooded sweatshirt suddenly reached out with his chopsticks.