A group of young n and won were noncommittal, or perhaps it could be said they were sowhat absent-minded.
Their expressions varied, and it was unclear what they were thinking about, but in any case, they certainly weren’t listening to the old village chief’s words.
Penglai...
For them, this na was naturally a familiar term, but not as a real place na; in the current situation, this term clearly refers to the mythical overseas Immortal Mountain, a concept recorded in "The Classic of Mountains and Seas - The Classic of Regions Beyond the Seas" and "Records of the Grand Historian - The Annals of Emperor Qin Shi Huang."
They weren’t learned enough to imdiately recall the corresponding classics, but the thoughts and ideas that erged in their minds all clearly pointed towards the sa concept.
And it was precisely because of this that they all had strange expressions on their faces.
"Penglai Island, so does that an Emperor Qin Shi Huang sent Xu Fu here to seek immortality?" A girl laughed dryly, saying this quietly.
"There was such a thing in the past... that’s the origin of most people in our village," the old village chief replied slowly, saying that Emperor Qin Shi Huang once sent Xu Fu along with three thousand boys and girls to seek Penglai for a way to achieve immortality. This was indeed a historical event, and the real Penglai Island was indeed part of this piece of history.
Hearing this, the group opposite the elder didn’t know what to say.
They didn’t believe it, which is why they used a mocking tone to express their skepticism. However, the old man admitted it seriously, even stating that it wasn’t just Penglai, but that many in the village were descendants of that ancient fleet...
The old man’s skin was truly thick, and his acting was genuinely good...
They subconsciously thought this, only able to use such thoughts to try and explain.
Although this island was indeed serene and secluded, otherworldly and beautiful beyond the likeness of the Human World, along the way, they also saw landscapes revealing the wonders of creation, majestic and towering mountains, rising gorges steaming with mists, truly magnificent and wondrous, like an Illusion Realm, stunning and breathtaking.
Many tis, they felt themselves almost suffocating from the beauty, and many tis sincerely marveled that this was indeed an Immortal Realm, but their marvel remained just that. When soone earnestly told them that this was indeed the legendary overseas Immortal Mountain...
——Hahahahahaha, how could that possibly be?
——No normal person would possibly believe that!
Their past worldview and reason instinctively told them not to believe such claims, even making so of them examine their surroundings more skeptically, looking for hidden caras or concealed crew mbers, trying to use their logic to disentangle the current situation.
It was quite eerie, quite absurd, but compared to what seed absolutely impossible, they still subconsciously wanted to find explanations that were closer to reality...
Although, in truth, the latter didn’t hold much ground either; there were still many suspicious points upon closer inspection, but at least it made them feel more at ease psychologically.
"Make your decision quickly, outsiders. If you want to stay, you don’t need to do anything special; just stay in the village. But if you want to leave, you’ll need to find an Immortal..." the old village chief repeatedly reminded them before they walked away.
However, the group of college students responded with mixed feelings, then ntioned their intention to tour the village.
This was, of course, no problem, and the old village chief let them look around freely, without seriously explaining any precautions, nor ntioning restricted areas, making it seem that outsiders could roam freely in the village... This sowhat eased their minds, at least avoiding the classic developnts of horror suspense plots.
The children continued to run off noisily, and the old village chief, with his hands behind his back, walked towards a house not far away, raising his head to speak to a man on the roof who was doing repairs, the Sun making him sweat all over, while the latter wiped his forehead and responded loudly.
The college students withdrew their gaze from behind and proceeded along the spacious road ford by the rows of houses on both sides, silently scrutinizing this peculiar village.
"Sothing feels not quite right..."
" too, it seems like we’re missing sothing..."
"The old man’s words just now, I always felt sothing odd about them..."
As they walked, they whispered to each other, exchanging their feelings and views about the conversation with the old village chief, and their respective impressions were largely the sa, just that sothing felt off, the whole conversation seed filled with a sense of peculiarities, yet upon earnest reflection, nothing seed evidently wrong.
In this kind of discussion, they also deepened their understanding and observation of this inexplicable, strange village—
Accompanied by clucking sounds, a few old hens were clucking in a pen beside a house.
On the flat dirt road ahead, the group of children was running and chasing each other, followed by several dogs barking, kicking up a thin layer of dust.
A few adults narrowly avoided being hit, sternly scolded the children, yet the latter weren’t scared, turned around, and ran off in a flash, completely disregarding the adults’ words.
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