Penglai Immortal Village: Ghost King's Art (3)

Inside the room, Shen Yu had finished tidying his belongings. He estimated about ten minutes had passed when suddenly two bell chimes rang out from afar, seemingly echoing from a distant place, carrying a melodious yet ancient feeling.

Shen Yu slightly opened a crack in the window, and the cold wind, along with white snow, furiously swept in, lifting his sideburns. He wanted to hear the sound source clearly, but it felt as if the chimes echoed from all directions.

It was unclear what these two chimes signified, and more importantly, did this village truly have a deity?

If not, then were the villagers perhaps deceived? In that case, did this instance merely require finding the person behind the charade?

Such a thought was not wrong, so the first thing they needed to confirm was whether there truly was a deity in Penglai Immortal Village.

Shen Yu closed the window, isolating the wind and snow outside, drew the curtains, and returned to bed, changed clothes, and lay down to sleep.

Perhaps because he had stood in the cold wind last night, Shen Yu always felt the howling wind and snow in his ears while sleeping, making it impossible for him to rest peacefully. His feet were also a bit cold, so Shen Yu curled up into a tiny ball, buried under the covers, making it difficult to even detect his faint breathing.

He slept with his brows tightly furrowed.

He didn't know how much time had passed when Shen Yu was suddenly awakened again by the distant bell chimes. Listening closely, this time the chimes rang three times.

One more chime than last time. Shen Yu reached out and rubbed his temples. It seemed these chimes could be used to indicate time.

Before sleeping, Shen Yu had deliberately observed this room. He didn't see any electronic devices or clocks. He had originally wanted to check the time but gave up.

Moreover, Secretary Cao Wei Sheng had instructed them to listen for the time, perhaps wanting them to rely on the chimes to distinguish time. Thinking this way, it made sense.

Shen Yu was so tired that his eyelids felt heavy; he closed his eyes and turned over.

He felt a bit annoyed.

It was cold.

——

Shen Yu didn't sleep deeply; each time the bell chimed, he woke up once, until the bell chimed seven times. Shen Yu poked his head out from under the covers; although through the fabric curtain, it was already dawn outside. The melodious chimes echoed for a long time before fading.

Then, the cries of street vendors echoed from outside.

"My homegrown white cabbage, exchanging for rice, exchanging for rice today!"

"Tobacco for wooden basins, handmade basins here!"

………

It was indeed bartering. Shen Yu leaned against the window, his eyes downcast. The street outside the earthen building was quite lively, and the heavy snow from last night had almost completely melted in just one morning.

Only a thin layer of snow remained on the squat rooftops.

Shen Yu looked at their attire, mostly cotton-padded cloth jackets from the 70s and 80s. Although it was close to modern times, the styles were clearly still quite outdated.

This village truly felt isolated from the outside world.

Money didn't circulate; to get anything, one could only exchange material goods or labor. Shen Yu pulled the curtains, put on his down jacket, and took his toiletries out the door.

A few members of their group had also woken up. On the way to the restroom, Shen Yu also encountered some others.

It was dark last night, so they didn't have much energy to assess others. Now, seeing Shen Yu, they couldn't help but observe him for a long time. A frail person like him was also a player.

Everyone couldn't help but be a little curious about him.

"Big Brother Shen, how did you sleep last night?"

While brushing his teeth, Wang Jia Xin's voice suddenly came from behind. Shen Yu lifted his eyelids and looked at the approaching person through the mirror. Wang Jia Xin seemed to have slept quite well; she looked quite refreshed.

The restrooms here were separated by gender, but the washbasins were shared. Moreover, there were no lights inside, so they could only rely on the faint light from the window. Fortunately, it was daytime now, so it wasn't so dark inside that they couldn't see clearly.

Shen Yu spat out the toothpaste foam and replied neither heavily nor lightly, "Alright."

His words said so, but his pale eyes betrayed the truth.

Wang Jia Xin didn't press further but asked about something else: "This morning, I think I heard bell chimes, like they came from very far away."

Shen Yu rinsed his mouth clean before saying, "I heard them too, a total of seven times."

"Do seven times have any meaning?" Wang Jia Xin's appearance was quite distinctive; her long curly hair fell over her shoulders, and her eyes were gentle. Although she seemed troubled, it only evoked a desire to protect her.

But in front of Shen Yu, she smiled very sincerely, looking much livelier. There was an emotion hidden in the depths of her eyes, not love, but an inexplicable pity and reverence.

The water from the tap was icy cold, making Shen Yu's teeth ache. He pursed his lips, "Last night before I slept, I also heard two bell chimes. I think this is a kind of signal, a time signal."

At this, Wang Jia Xin suddenly remembered: "It seems that's right. I didn't see anything to tell time in my room."

Shen Yu splashed cold water on his face, making himself look a little more awake. In the bright mirror, Shen Yu's nose was slightly red from the cold, and streaks of water ran down, wetting the sideburns near his temples, his eyebrows and eyelashes dotted with water droplets, looking truly beautiful.

"Today, we can also ask if their rooms have clocks," Shen Yu suggested.

"Yes, I'll go ask." Wang Jia Xin waited for Shen Yu to finish washing his face before going to the washbasin next to him.

Shen Yu wrung out the wet towel, then took his toiletries and left.

Wang Jia Xin looked at Shen Yu's retreating figure in the mirror, her gaze unconsciously softening a lot.

——

Shen Yu came out of the restroom and bumped into Lu Cheng. Lu Cheng also didn't seem to have slept well; his eye bags were even more severe than Shen Yu's, and he looked listless and sluggish.

"Didn't sleep well last night?" Shen Yu smiled faintly, revealing his even white teeth, then asked.

Lu Cheng didn't deny it: "Last night, I don't know where the bell chimes came from, ringing several times almost every hour, annoyingly loud."

Having known him for so long, this was the first time Shen Yu had seen him show such an annoyed expression.

"I heard them too. It must mean something. You hurry and wash up, then go outside and listen to what they're saying." Shen Yu spread his hands, indicating his helplessness.

Lu Cheng nodded and moved past him into the restroom.

Shen Yu also walked towards Yu Cheng Yi's room.

Yu Cheng Yi was still unconscious, but his arm was no longer as hot. Shen Yu tried calling him twice but he still didn't wake up. Shen Yu then used a wrung-out cold towel to wipe his arm and face.

Then he slightly opened the window for him before leaving the room.

In any case, today they had to invite a doctor to see Yu Cheng Yi. He didn't know what they would need to exchange to invite a doctor here. Shen Yu unconsciously frowned.

Stepping out, he approached the railing again, looking down at the first floor from above. The first floor was empty, with nothing arranged. From this position, he couldn't see the caretaker's spot, but he could clearly see the well from last night.

The well was circular, and its opening had no pulley or bucket. It seemed they didn't use this well water. So what was the point of repairing this well?

It was probably around 7:30 now; Shen Yu had no concept of time, he could only estimate, since the eighth bell chime hadn't rung yet.

Shen Yu and Wang Jia Xin went down to the first floor. By this time, two other teams had also arrived. They also hadn't brought their injured teammates down. Seeing Shen Yu and his group, they enthusiastically greeted them.

Shen Yu recognized this team; the girl among them seemed to be named Li Yao, and the tall man beside her stepped forward to interact with Shen Yu and his group.

"Didn't get a good look last night, turns out there's such a beauty here." The man complimented Shen Yu.

Shen Yu didn't like such words, but out of politeness, he still replied with a rather stiff smile: "Just so-so."

"My name is Wang Xiao Long, this is Li Yao, and the man with the crew cut is a retired soldier, a sniper, his name is Wu Bin. We also have a female teammate who is slightly injured and resting upstairs." Wang Xiao Long generously introduced his team members to Shen Yu and his group.

He had good intentions, wanting to start networking; they would have to help each other here, so Shen Yu naturally couldn't refuse his kindness. Just as he was about to speak, Wang Jia Xin quickly spoke first.

"Hello, Big Brother Wang, his name is Shen Yu, he's very capable. My name is Wang Jia Xin, and that is Lu Cheng. We also have an injured friend upstairs." Wang Jia Xin quickly and clearly introduced each of their identities.

Wang Xiao Long pointed at Wu Bin and Li Yao, saying, "These two are also very capable; they led us through the previous instance."

"So that's how it is. Sister Li, Big Brother Wu, hello to you both." Wang Jia Xin handled herself very skillfully, and her voice was gentle; such an address unconsciously brought the two teams a little closer.

Several people greeted each other, smiling and nodding in salutation.

On the other side were a man and a woman, the team that arrived earlier with Li Yao and her group yesterday. They stood nearby, watching for a long time. After the teams had introduced themselves, the man among them stepped forward and spoke: "We saw you talking just now, so we came to join in. My name is Zhao Yun Lou, this is Jiang Qin. We also have a teammate resting."

Just like that, their three teams began to get acquainted.

The two teams who arrived later also introduced themselves one after another. What was noteworthy was that in the four-person team that arrived later, besides the injured man, there were two other men and one woman. One of the two men had a particularly fierce appearance. Coincidentally, he was also from a military background.

But on his right cheekbone, there was a very large scar with stitch marks, making him look extremely ferocious. Moreover, his expression was always grim, and his temper was terrible.

The girl in his team introduced him as Qu Xie; when introducing him, she didn't even dare to look at his face.

Thus, everyone had gotten to know each other. They were all quite curious about each other. But what was more noteworthy was that in Shen Yu's team, the beautiful man who coughed so hard he almost fainted last night seemed to have the most say.

"I'd like to ask, how long have you and your teammates known each other?" Lu Cheng, who hadn't spoken for a while, suddenly asked them. Shen Yu recalled that Lu Cheng had asked him this yesterday as well.

It seemed this matter was very important to him.

Wang Xiao Long shook his head: "No, how could we be so lucky to always be together? The four of us got to know each other in the previous instance, and only the four of us survived. I didn't expect the four of us to still be together this time."

Zhao Yun Lou also said the same, stating that they hadn't known each other before, it was just that only three of them survived the previous instance.

After the two spoke, the other two teams also offered similar excuses.

"Aren't you the same?" Wang Xiao Long asked Shen Yu and his group in return.

Wang Jia Xin explained: "Only the three of us know each other; Big Brother Lu didn't know us originally."

"Oh, Lu Cheng, how many people escaped from your instance?" Zhao Yun Lou couldn't help but ask.

Lu Cheng honestly replied: "Just me."