"Are you afraid?"
"It's always good to be cautious."
"Hmph... I understand."
Apostle Number 01 turned and left, tossing several masks on the ground before departing.
"Truly doesn't know how to respect elders..." the shadowy figure grumbled with a cold laugh, and the masks instantly flew before him.
The order was 3564.
"Right, that guy, Number 02, should be showing up soon..."
The shadowy figure chuckled and applied force to the four masks.
...
After leaving the kindergarten, Duan Chen arrived at the second address, the one where Qu Yan had mailed the photo back after completing the commission.
Ping Han Ridge.
"Captain, are you sure this is the address?"
"What's wrong?"
Jun Ci displayed the map software on his screen, looking puzzled. "There's no such ridge here."
"What about nearby?"
"There's a Ping Han Village nearby, but definitely no Ping Han Ridge."
"Then let's check out Ping Han Village first."
"Okay."
Ping Han Village was on the outskirts of the neighboring city, not too far from the northern district of Su City. It took the group a whole day to find the village on the map.
"This is too remote!"
Ping Han Village was surrounded by desolate wilderness, with no other villages nearby. It stood there in isolation. There was only one narrow road leading to the county town, too narrow for ordinary sedans. Reluctantly, they had to park their car and proceed on foot.
Halfway there, they encountered a young man riding a bicycle.
"Buddy, is this Ping Han Village up ahead?"
Duan Chen asked Sheng Chen, who was closer in age to the boy, to inquire.
The young man was covered in pockmarks, his clothes were dusty, his complexion sallow, and he was thin, looking somewhat malnourished. He took the bread Sheng Chen offered, nodded, and pointed them in a direction.
"There, that way. What are you guys doing going to a place like that, where birds don't even shit?"
"We have some business."
Sheng Chen chuckled and took out a few more candies from his pocket, giving them to the boy.
The young man was clearly pleased and smiled. "Alright, if you're going, you're going. If you don't mind waiting here for a bit, I'll bring you there myself after I finish delivering milk."
"That's fine too." Duan Chen's eyes lit up; he was just worried about not having a guide.
He glanced at the basket behind the boy's bicycle, filled with milk bottles.
"Okay, wait for me! Remember my bike, there aren't many in our village."
He chuckled and rode off quickly on his bicycle.
It wasn't until eight o'clock in the evening that the boy returned on his bicycle, having delivered all the milk bottles.
"Let's go."
The boy got off his bicycle, and they chatted as they walked.
"You guys are from the city, right? What are you doing here?"
"We're looking for a place called Ping Han Ridge. Do you know it?"
Hearing the name of the place, the boy's expression changed, and he repeatedly waved his hands. "I know it, but I warn you, don't mention this place to the village chief. That place is probably even removed from the map."
"Why can't we mention it?"
Jun Ci asked curiously.
"Why else? It's cursed! There are monsters there, and the village chief's family was eaten by monsters!"
"You can only say this to me. If you dare mention Ping Han Ridge to the village chief, no matter who you are, you'll be kicked out!"
The boy casually plucked a foxtail grass from the roadside and put it in his mouth.
"My name is Duan Chen, what's yours?"
"Me? My name is Hong Yu. My dad gave me this name hoping I'd be prosperous and suffer less in the future."
"You should be of school age now. It's so tough, and you're doing this work so late at night?"
Qi Qing and Sheng Chen clearly had more to talk about, and it was evident that Hong Yu liked them more than the others.
"Yeah, what's the big deal? Our village isn't rich, and our family is struggling. We have no choice but to do this. It's not hard work, just delivering milk. Worst case, I'll just get home late."
Hong Yu was happy to do this small job.
"How many schools are there in your village?"
"Only one. After graduation, you take exams for the county town, then for big cities. But honestly, over the years, I haven't seen any children go to big cities."
"Where do your teachers come from then?"
Hong Yu thought for a moment and replied, "One is like you, from the city. He just came to the village a few months ago. The other older teachers are from the generation of grandparents. They're educated, so they just teach as best they can."
Hearing his description, everyone couldn't help but laugh.
"Is there only one volunteer teacher from the city here?" Qin Nanyuan asked, quite surprised. She had been on missions in rural areas and villages before, and each village had at least two or three. Why would Ping Han Village only have one?
"It's too remote. There used to be quite a few, but they couldn't stand the life and left. This one, I think he's doing alright, he's been in the village the longest."
As they chatted, they arrived at the entrance of Ping Han Village.
The village entrance was simple, with no decorations. There was only a sign hanging on a tree ahead, with three crooked characters written on it.
Ping Han Village.
"We're here. It's past nine now, too late. The village chief is probably asleep. Why don't you stay at my place tonight? I'll warn you though, we only have the storage room left."
"Okay, no requirements. As long as there's a place to stay." Duan Chen grinned.
"You guys... are indeed a bit different."
Hong Yu smiled and led them home.
His house was built of bricks and stones, looking quite old. There were two such houses, and next to them was a pigsty with a few pigs inside, staring at Duan Chen and his group.
"Mom, I'm back."
"Mom's not home. She and Dad went out on business... Who are these people?"
A woman sat inside the house. She looked to be in her twenties, with long hair slicked to her scalp, greasy and shining. Her hands were rough and calloused from years of work, and her eyes kept darting between Duan Chen and Jun Ci.
"We're looking for the village chief. They're from the city, sis. Can you let them stay in our storage room tonight?"
"I have no objection. Ask Mom and Dad."
Hong Yu turned around and introduced, "This is my sister, Hong Xiu."
"Hello."
Duan Chen extended his hand.
Hong Xiu, who had been eating sunflower seeds, spat out the shells when he extended his hand. She wiped her rough hands on her clothes and shook Duan Chen's hand.
It was rough, indeed from years of work.
"Hello, hello, I'm Hong Xiu, Hong Yu's sister."
*Buzz!*
A sudden resistance erupted from Duan Chen's hand, pushing Hong Xiu's hand away.
"Oh..."
Hong Xiu didn't notice anything amiss and got up to tidy the table.
"Wait a moment, I'll call my dad and mom to ask about this."
She dialed a number, and after getting their permission, she temporarily settled Duan Chen and the others in the adjacent storage room.