A young man—Hao Shijun—let out a small sigh of relief when he saw that the suited manhadn't done anything to Wan Qian. He gathered his composure and quietly called out for Xie Jia and Wang Hui to follow.
The stylish lady also fell in behind. As she passed by Wan Qian, she paused. Snuffing out the cigarette in her hand, she reached out to Wan Qian with a very friendly and warm gesture.
"Hi, I'm Fang Minglan. May we get acquainted?"
At the sound of her voice, Wan Qian found it oddly familiar. Glancing down at the rabbit in her hand, she immediately recalled, "Oh, it's you!"
Wan Qian looked Fang Minglan up and down, especially at her legs, which showed no signs of injury. "Your leg is fine? I heard you calling for help in the woods earlier."
Fang Minglan was momentarily stunned. "Is that so?"
Wan Qian nodded firmly and continued, "You moved rather quickly. By the time I got there, you were already gone. But I'm glad you're okay. In fact, it was while searching for you that I found this fat rabbit."
Fang Minglan managed a slight smile, though it appeared somewhat strained. She retracted the hand meant for a handshake with Wan Qian and brushed back her loose bangs.
"Well, thank you for your concern." She hesitated before continuing, "Speaking of which, my boyfriend is still in the forest. I don't think he was able to get out… Have you seen him?"
Wan Qian shook her head honestly, "With that thick fog, I couldn't see a soul. I only heard your voice, and by the time I got there, you were already gone."
Fang Minglan gently hooked her arm around Wan Qian's and smiled. "Well, I suppose that means we're fated to meet. Let's go together."
The group followed the suited man into the village. As they walked along a dirt path through the village, they noticed that the courtyard gates of the houses on both sides were wide open.
Normally, one would expect that the villagers kept a dog tied up by the door to watch over the house. However, although there was indeed an iron chain intended for a dog at the door, one end of the chain was empty—there was no dog attached.
Not only was there no dog in sight, but no dog barks could be heard either. No—in fact, aside from the sound of their footsteps on the road, there was not a single sound coming from the village. It was as if the entire village were dead.
This realization sent a chill down Hao Shijun's spine, as he was particularly observant.
But before he could say, Wan Qian, who was walking with Fang Minglan's arm linked with hers, spoke up nervously, "Where are the villagers? We've been walking for so long and haven't seen anyone."
Wan Qian had come here specifically to recruit people for work on the farm. Not seeing anyone made her anxious. Could it be that all the adults had left the village for jobs elsewhere? If that were the case, then her trip here would have been in vain.
The suited man shot Wan Qian a glance but said nothing. Hao Shijun got the feeling that he didn't want to engage with Wan Qian at all.
Not hearing an answer, Wan Qian became even more anxious. "There's really no one here? Have all the adults left for work? Where did they go? Is the pay good?"
Listening to Wan Qian's barrage of questions, the suited man took a deep breath, closed his eyes briefly, and then slowly exhaled.
"No. The village is preparing for the upcoming God Worship Festival; everyone's busy getting ready, so you don't see them around. They'll all be back by nightfall."
Hearing this, Wan Qian nodded thoughtfully. The suited man led the group further on.
After taking a few steps, Wan Qian suddenly remembered something and spoke up again, "Oh, right! Are there a lot of young people in your village? Do you have more young people or more elderly?"
The suited man: "…"
He inhaled deeply. Nearly grinding his teeth, he squeezed out a response., "You'll learn about that when the villagers return this evening, dear guest."
Finally, Wan Qian stopped asking questions and quietly followed along.
The suited man eventually brought them to a row of old brick houses and stopped. Though the houses looked aged, a few of them had clearly been repaired recently, making them still habitable.
With a smile, the suited man pointed to a "Village Rules" notice pasted on the wall.
"Dear guests, with the God Worship Festival fast approaching, the villagers are busy with preparations and might not be able to attend to you. Please bear with us. During your stay, we ask that you follow our local customs and abide by the village rules. If any of you accidentally break the village rules, I'll be in a difficult position too."
Fang Minglan stepped forward, glanced at the notice, and immediately noticed that the latter half had been torn off—the paper's bottom edge was ragged.
"It seems the 'Village Rules' aren't complete," she remarked.
The suited man shrugged, "That might be the work of some mischievous village kids," showing no intention of repairing the missing section.
Fang Minglan frowned but said nothing further.
Once he finished his instructions, the suited man prepared to leave. Wan Qian looked at the rabbit in her hand, wanted to say a few more words to him. "Wait—"
Before she could finish her sentence, the suited man suddenly quickened his pace. In what seemed like a flash, he disappeared into a crooked alleyway.
Regretfully, Wan Qian withdrew her hand, thinking to herself that the villagers here must be in remarkably good shape—just look at how fast he ran! If they ended up working on the farm, their efficiency would surely be impressive.
Meanwhile, Hao Shijun and the others had already begun reading the "Village Rules":
[1. Villagers should get along harmoniously and minimize conflicts. If you see villagers arguing, please try to persuade them until they reconcile.
2. Respect for the elderly and care for the young is a cherished virtue. If you encounter an elderly person on the road, proactively greet them. If you see a child, you should do your best to fulfill their requests.
3. When villagers invite you to visit, please do not decline—they simply adore your company. However, do mind the etiquette: when visiting someone, bring a gift.
4. If you see a swallow's nest on a beam, please do not destroy it. If you see a damaged swallow's nest on a beam, quickly leave that room (this rule was crossed out and then an addendum was added) indicating that the room is safe.
5. Each room is only allowed to accommodate an odd number of guests overnight; having an even number of guests in a room overnight is strictly prohibited.
6. The village keeps dogs. Dogs are safe. However, please make sure that what you see is truly a dog. A dog is a smooth-skinned, sparsely-haired, tailless, bipedal creature that walks upright.
7. Do not feed mushrooms to dogs; they don't like them.]