Chapter 864: Lodging

“What place is that?” Bai Li Pang Pang squinted from a distance. “Is it a village?”

“It’s a fishing village.” Cao Yuan glanced at the map, his brow slightly furrowed. “The map doesn’t indicate there’s a fishing village here… Is it too small to be marked?”

“This location is too remote; there’s not even a decent road. To get to the city from here, it would take at least five hours on foot. Plus, this fishing village isn’t very large, so it’s not surprising it’s not recorded on the map.” An Qing Yu paused and added softly, “Of course, there could be some other reasons…”

Bai Li Pang Pang shivered. “Now that you mention it, I feel this fishing village is even creepier… Should we go in?”

“Of course we should. The past and future of this fishing village are shrouded in mystery, which indicates something. The disappearance of the [Mask] team is closely related to this place,” Lin Qi Ye said firmly. “But before that, we should send a message to headquarters, just in case.”

Lin Qi Ye took out his phone and contacted Zuo Qing, describing their location and situation before hanging up.

“Let’s go in and see what makes this fishing village special…”

After Lin Qi Ye and the others packed their gear, they stepped toward the distant fishing village. The tides crashed against the shore in the darkness, and the flickering lights in the night drew closer, emanating an eerie aura.

Soon, they reached the edge of the fishing village.

“Any discoveries?” An Qing Yu asked in a low voice.

“None. From the current situation, this is just an ordinary fishing village.” Lin Qi Ye had already scanned the village with his mental power. “There are probably twenty to thirty households, most of whom are already resting. I haven’t found anything unusual.”

“No abnormalities…” An Qing Yu frowned slightly. “How should we investigate?”

“The quickest way is, of course, to ask the villagers directly.” Lin Qi Ye pointed to a few houses that still had lights on. “Those families are still awake; we might as well give it a try.”

“At this late hour, a few outsiders suddenly barging into the village asking questions might scare them,” Bai Li Pang Pang scratched his head.

“Leave it to me.” Jia Lan patted his chest. “I’ll pretend to be lost and ask to stay with one of the families, then find an opportunity to ask the villagers if they’ve seen the [Mask] team, and gather some information about this village.”

Lin Qi Ye pondered for a moment and nodded. “This method is feasible, but we haven’t figured out the details of this village yet. It’s too dangerous for you to go alone…”

He turned to An Qing Yu and Jiang Er. “Qing Yu, Jiang Er, you two should go with Jia Lan.”

An Qing Yu raised an eyebrow, a subtle expression appearing on her face. “Why aren’t you going with Jia Lan?”

“I need to use the [Eye of Secrets] to search the area around the village to see if I can find anything else.” Lin Qi Ye shrugged.

“Alright.”

“Then I’ll go with Old Cao and Zhuang Ge to another house to ask for lodging.” Bai Li Pang Pang volunteered.

“That’s fine, but remember not to let Cao Yuan knock on the door. He doesn’t look like a good person and might scare the villagers.”

Cao Yuan: …

“Then let’s split up tonight to gather clues and regroup here in the morning. If anything unexpected happens during that time, don’t worry too much; just make a commotion, the louder the better, and the others will come right away.” Lin Qi Ye said seriously to everyone.

“Understood!”

…

Late at night.

Knock, knock, knock—!

“Who is it?” A voice came from inside the old house.

The door opened, revealing a fisherman in his forties, standing at the entrance with a wary expression. He paused slightly upon seeing a man and a woman before him.

Both were unfamiliar faces; the woman wore a deep blue Han robe, her long black hair tied with a red ribbon hanging down to her waist, her eyes sparkling like stars. The man appeared refined, wearing black-framed glasses, with a shy and friendly smile.

Seeing these two harmless-looking faces, the fisherman’s wariness eased a bit.

“Who are you? Where did you come from?”

“Sorry to disturb you.” An Qing Yu slightly bowed, apologetically speaking. “We’re tourists in the area and accidentally got separated from our tour group, then lost our way, and ended up in this village…

It’s already late, and we don’t know the way, so we were hoping to find a place to stay. Would that be alright?”

The fisherman scrutinized them suspiciously, then glanced at Jia Lan beside her.

“Uncle, it’s really dark and cold outside. Could you lend us a vacant room to sleep in? If not, we can sleep on the ground…” Jia Lan said pitifully.

Hearing this, the fisherman’s wariness dissipated a bit more. He carefully examined the two young people, and they didn’t seem like bad people. After hesitating for a moment, he nodded.

“Alright, we have an empty room. You can stay for one night, but you must leave by morning, understood?”

“Thank you.”

“Thank you, Uncle.”

The fisherman stepped back into the house, and An Qing Yu and Jia Lan exchanged glances, both smiling as they stepped inside.

The fisherman’s home was very simple; the living room had only a square table and a few benches, with fishing tools densely hanging on the walls. As soon as they entered, a faint smell of the sea wafted over.

The fisherman pointed to an empty room and said, “That’s it. It used to be my son’s room, but no one has lived there for a long time. You’ll have to make do.”

Jia Lan nodded and stepped into the room.

An Qing Yu turned back, smiling as she continued to chat with the fisherman:

“May I ask your surname?”

“My surname is Chen, and my name is Chen Gou. The villagers call me Old Gou.” The fisherman casually moved a stool to sit down and gestured for An Qing Yu to take a seat.

He reached into his pocket and pulled out a box of cigarettes, taking one out and offering it to An Qing Yu.

An Qing Yu’s mouth twitched slightly; she intended to refuse but hesitated and accepted it.

“Uncle Chen.” An Qing Yu pretended to hold the cigarette casually and asked, “Do you usually live alone?”

“Yes…” Chen Gou picked up a box of matches from the table, struck one lightly, and the faint spark ignited, lighting the cigarette in his and An Qing Yu’s hands. “My wife passed away several years ago, and my son left this fishing village a few years ago to seek his fortune elsewhere.”

An Qing Yu glanced back at the long-uninhabited room. “He hasn’t returned in many years?”

“Yes.” Chen Gou’s gaze lingered on that room, and he smiled slightly. “But this kid was the first to leave our village, so he brought me some pride.”