Capítulo 653: Chapter 328: Two Days, the Ritual (Part 2)
“In recent days, it is… it is the critical period for our Fog Lamp Village’s sacrificial ritual. The ritual itself requires absolute silence and ‘purity,’ free from any external interference.”
“Otherwise, if the ritual is disrupted, the whole village will fall into disaster!”
“Sacrificial ritual?” Xia Nan raised an eyebrow.
Living in a fantastical world with Divine beings, he naturally understood the implications of this term.
“Yes! It’s the traditional blessing ritual handed down through generations in our village,” Aspen added, though his eyes flickered, avoiding Xia Nan’s gaze. “Every year at this ti, we offer… sacrifices to pray for peace and harvest in the coming year.”
Upon hearing this, Xia Nan said nothing, just calmly pondering.
But perhaps his inherently cold deanor and attire exerted too much pressure on others.
Only a few seconds of silence felt like a countdown before a bomb to the two sitting across the table.
The suffocating pressure made it hard to breathe.
“Two days!” The heightened pitch broke the dead silence in the air, and the village chief’s forehead was covered with sweat as he almost shouted.
“The sacrificial ritual is in two days, Mr. Xia Nan, would it be possible for you…”
“Please rest in the village for two days. Once the ritual concludes, we will imdiately arrange a team to escort you to the gorge to pick the herbs you need.”
“Let Aspen arrange accommodations for you; we’ll provide the best food and lodging.”
“Yes, Mr. Xia Nan, just two days is all we ask,” Aspen pleaded sincerely and earnestly, “Please understand our predicant, as this concerns the survival of our village and the land we grew up on.”
Xia Nan still said nothing, contemplating.
From a practical standpoint, though the village’s atmosphere was sowhat peculiar, both the villagers along the way and the two in charge in front of him emitted ordinary levels of presence under his perception.
Not particularly strong.
According to so adventurers’ thods in this world, not causing havoc in the village was already considered good; why wait two days?
Perhaps the mont the words “two days” were uttered, a blade would have been placed at the person’s throat.
But Xia Nan was different.
Coming from a modern society in a previous life, having received a complete education and possessing sound principles, even with far beyond normal strength, he still viewed ordinary civilians of this world as “people.”
He would never breach his moral boundaries, allowing himself to fall into the Abyss.
Therefore, at this mont, faced with their earnest pleas, he was genuinely considering the feasibility of their proposal.
Ms. Edwina’s Collection task deadline was fifteen days, with the round trip taking approximately ten days. Hmm… based on my travel speed, it might be shortened a bit.
After all, while en route, he took ti to clear two goblin nests, and he still reached the planned destination ahead of schedule. The slight delay of two days in the village still falls within the planned ti fra.
Moreover, there remains a considerable margin for the return trip, about six or seven days, which is more than sufficient.
So… maybe it would work?
A few seconds of silence felt like an eternity to the village chief and Aspen, their expressions visibly tense and anxious.
When Xia Nan made his decision and slowly opened his mouth, the middle-aged Hunter’s facial muscles even twitched slightly.
“Alright.”
Xia Nan nodded slightly.
“I’ll stay in the village for a few days; once your ritual concludes, I’ll trouble you to escort to the edge of the gorge.”
Upon hearing this, Aspen and the village chief almost simultaneously breathed a sigh of relief, their taut bodies instantly relaxing.
“Great! Thank you for your understanding, Mr. Xia Nan!” The village chief smiled genuinely, wiping the sweat from his face, “You are truly considerate!”
“I’ll imdiately arrange the best room in the village for you; please hold on for a mont.”
“Also, once again, thank you for helping Aspen and Dong Shu; we will surely…”
What followed was naturally a round of pleasantries.
Respectfully escorting Xia Nan out of the room, they called for villagers to lead him to the vacant house.
Until the figure carrying Dual Swords disappeared behind the tightly closed wooden door, the two inside the house finally completely relaxed.
“Chief, are you really letting that adventurer enter the Forbidden Land?”
Taking a deep breath, Aspen sat back on the wooden chair, leaning on the backrest.
At so point, his back was already soaked with sweat.
The pressure felt in those few minutes was even greater than facing that bear cave alone in the wild.
“What choice do we have?”
The village chief’s expression changed from respectful and cautious to a sullen deanor as he responded:
“You wouldn’t really think that just because I refuse, he’d willingly leave and stop targeting those Fog Lamp Grass, would you?”
Few outsiders pass through Fog Lamp Village, which is true, but as the village chief, he possesses the richest experience in reading people.
Having dealt with many adventurers, and even having battled in River Valley Town during his youth.
Thus, he could clearly judge that the seemingly young black-haired man sitting across the table was definitely not the type to casually buy a couple of rudintary Equipnt and label himself as an “adventurer.”
Chain Armor, Leg Armor, and even those two Longswords behind him, were likely enough to buy this entire house if casually taken out.
While the quality of Equipnt was one factor.
The other factor was that, as described by Aspen, the opponent’s effortless defeat of over twenty goblins single-handedly indicated an impressive record, coupled with the formidable aura experienced during their face-to-face encounter.
There’s a strong possibility the opponent was already a Senior Adventurer with a Professional Level!
Regarding the request proposed by the opponent…
Even if it couldn’t be agreed upon, it must be agreed upon!
Otherwise, if the opponent were angered, Fog Lamp Village might beco history.
Reaching that point, the village’s existence would render the success or failure of the ritual aningless.
Luckily, being willing to sit in the room and engage in calm negotiation had already demonstrated this person’s attitude and actions.
He was absolutely not the extremist type.
“Two days’ ti, just enough for the ritual to end.”
As he spoke, the village chief appeared hesitant,
“At that ti, I’ll personally escort him… and keep a close watch, trying not to let him go too deeply, lest it disturbs the presence inside.”
“Make sure to entertain him well these two days, and inform the village folks, ensuring that no one unwittingly angers him.”
“Understood!” Aspen nodded firmly.
…
Led by villagers, walking along the path to the vacant house.
Xia Nan’s expression remained calm.
Mud, fungus, and crooked little wooden houses…
Still as desolate and shabby as before.
But perhaps seeing him co out of the village chief’s house, the original wary and scrutinizing eyes from the surrounding villagers had sowhat eased their vigilance.
No one dared to approach for chitchat, but the hostility in their eyes had notably diminished.
Enjoying the peace, Xia Nan casually observed the surroundings.
Suddenly his eyes paused.
Ahead, further beyond the village chief’s residence was an inconspicuous little house.
It appeared to be well-kept, with the structure and the surrounding ground much cleaner than other places in the village.
In front of the house stood two n who seed to be chatting, though they looked more like guards.
Feeling intrigued, Xia Nan asked the villager leading the way:
“That wooden house there seems sowhat special; is it also inhabited by your villagers?”
The villager had his back to Xia Nan, so he couldn’t see his facial expression.
But what he noticed was the abrupt halt in the guide’s steps and the sudden stiffness of his body upon realizing the implications of Xia Nan’s words.
“No, I don’t know, Mr. Xia Nan.”
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