Chapter 173: [Transplantation] Snatch It for Me
Old Qin had finally settled down.
He solemnly explained the village’s sun god worship festival to them.
The entity they revered was a sun deity.
Of course, precisely which sun deity it was remained hard to say, but it was a sun god regardless.
There was no concrete divine statue either, only a single totem symbol.
Hence, in their eyes, females represented a dark, yin force and were forbidden from appearing during sacred rituals.
The choice to hold the worship ritual at night was because the sun had already set; yet, still hoping for its divine protection, they conducted such ceremonies and lit rows of lanterns to pray that the sun would shine upon Xiaoguang Village forever.
At the same time, villagers could pray to the sun god during this period, asking for the boys in their households to grow up healthy and strong, while also hoping that yang energy would enter their homes to help them conceive more male children.
During this special period, women were forbidden from stepping outside—unless they were pregnant, in which case they were allowed to join the men on the night of the event to participate in the prayers.
And their prayers were likewise focused on ensuring they would give birth to a boy.
Under normal circumstances, these pregnant women would receive a medicine bestowed by the sun god the following day, which guaranteed the birth of a male child upon consumption.
Once Old Qin finished speaking, An Xiang stole a glance at Bai Cha.
She had actually hit the nail right on the head. What “medicine bestowed by the sun god”? Wasn’t that just a gender-swapping potion?
Regarding the symbolism of the event itself, the issue wasn’t entirely severe—it really was just a matter of varying regional customs.
Having finished his explanation, Old Qin refused to stay a moment longer no matter what.
However, Wen Xing threatened him into agreeing to deliver another six portions of food before finally letting him leave.
Bai Cha leaned in close to Wen Xing’s ear, looking thoughtful.
“Sister, is it convenient to tell me what your skill is?”
As she suddenly leaned in, Wen Xing was caught completely off guard, catching a faint, delicate scent from her. She couldn’t tell what fragrance it was—perhaps some kind of shampoo with a subtle, refreshing scent.
Wen Xing instinctively stepped back to put some distance between them, her expression somewhat fierce.
“Stay away from me!”
Bai Cha looked at her with aggrieved eyes, leaning in even closer instead.
Wen Xing: “!”
Closing her eyes, she gritted out, “Steel Bones and Iron Ribs.”
Bai Cha froze briefly before realizing she was referring to her skill.
She immediately gave her a thumbs-up.
“Sister is super awesome!”
Wen Xing: “…………”
Wen Xing said helplessly, “I beg you, don’t use cute baby talk!”
Bai Cha looked at her with a beaming smile, though she was making silent evaluations in her mind.
Judging by the situation, Wen Xing likely followed a path akin to brute-forcing instances. She possessed high physical combat capabilities her own, and her skill directly enhanced her physical body.
And the effect was undeniably practical. For an NPC like Old Qin earlier, NPCs inside a game wouldn’t think to call the police anyway, so…
Wen Xing was a good person at heart, too; she would likely hit it off quite well with Xu Shengsheng. It seemed worth building a solid connection during this instance and adding her as a friend afterward.
In some ways, she and Xiao Xiao were quite alike.
Old Qin returned shortly after with a fresh delivery of food.
Having finished their meal, the crowd dispersed to attend to their own affairs.
Bai Cha went back to rest.
There were no more clues to be found during the day anyway. Rather than pacing around in anxious anticipation, it was better to recharge her energy for the night ahead.
After a brief thought, Wen Xing returned to the courtyard as well.
The moment Bai Cha went to sleep, the bullet chat naturally began discussing the matter all over again.
[About how the streamer I follow earnestly goes to sleep in every single horror instance]
[She’s so real, I’m crying]
[Sleeping Beauty streamer and her unfortunate viewers]
Meanwhile, Bai Cha hadn’t turned on the bullet chat at all.
She hadn’t been sleeping well lately to begin with, and with her illness on top of it, she quickly fell into a deep slumber despite the hard wooden bedboards.
In her dream, she stood amidst total darkness.
Up ahead sat a tiny lantern.
Or perhaps because it was quite far away, it appeared small, swaying up and down as if someone were carrying it over.
The red glow served as the sole splash of color in the dark.
Bai Cha could barely force her eyelids open.
It was as though, even within the dreamscape, she remained in a state of severe drowsiness, desperately wanting to sleep.
This feeling was somewhat similar to the dreams she had prior to entering an instance every time.
Holding this thought, Bai Cha’s mind drifted freely in this state.
So the dreams before ordinary instances are actually a form of sleep paralysis too?
Just as this thought surfaced, a face abruptly materialized right before her eyes.
It was a child’s face—livid, pale, and ash-gray. The red glow cast from below threw the small facial features into dark shadows.
Hollow, vacant eyes stared directly at Bai Cha.
“Sister, you’re sleeping on top of me.”
Bai Cha remained in that drowsy state, unable to open her eyes. The sudden approach startled her for a brief second, though the reaction was miniscule—purely the result of being easily spooked when one’s mental state was overly relaxed during sleep.
Her eyes opened and closed heavily; she desperately wanted to drift off to sleep.
The scene before her blurred.
Bai Cha’s final glimpse lingered upon the small red lantern clutched in the child’s tiny hand.
It was an exquisitely crafted palace lantern.
Bai Cha finally sank into a deep slumber.
Before she had slept for very long, someone woke her up.
It was Wen Xing.
“Get up, they’ve started hanging the lanterns outside.”
Bai Cha sat up, letting out a yawn, her eyes bleary with sleep—tears even welling at the corners from the yawn.
“Sister, I’m so sleepy…” She opened her arms and hugged Wen Xing directly.
Wen Xing: “…”
Fuck, she genuinely despised delicate, soft, and fragile girls like this!
“Get up!”
Bai Cha let out another yawn, stepping off the bed to put on her shoes.
She trailed behind Wen Xing out of the courtyard.
Dusk was settling over the village; night was falling fast, leaving only a final streak of red across the sky.
The village had indeed grown lively. The locals were hanging decorative lanterns beneath the eaves of their homes.
Most of these lanterns took the form of palace lanterns, leaning toward ornate and elaborate designs.
Each household’s design shared a similar structure, yet no two were entirely identical.
Furthermore, once hung beneath the roofs, these decorative lanterns rotated gently in place.
Some bore beautiful patterns painted on their surfaces, casting swirling shadows against the walls as they spun.
Since twilight hadn’t fully yielded to darkness, the projections weren’t entirely clear yet.
One could tell, however, that once night fell completely, the decorative lanterns alone would make for quite a lovely sight.
As Bai Cha admired the view, it suddenly struck her that she actually owned a lantern herself.
It belonged to that child—the child she had tricked twice over.
Bai Cha mulled it over for a moment, her eyes scanning her surroundings until she spotted a young boy holding a piece of candy in his hand.
Talk about a coincidence: the lollipop in his hand had just been unwrapped, before he even had the chance to take a bite.
Bai Cha’s eyes lit up.
“Hey, little brother! Come over here!” She called out to the young boy.
The boy froze, halting his motion to eat the candy as he walked over hesitantly.
“Sister, snatch his candy for me!” Bai Cha turned her gaze toward Wen Xing.
Wen Xing: “?”
How old are you to still be eating candy?! And snatching it from a child, no less!
Holding this thought, she had already marched up to the child, rudely snatching the candy right out of his hand.
The young boy: “???”
The young boy was ready to burst into tears on the spot.
Wen Xing then picked up a brick from the ground, shattering it with a sharp, forceful crunch.
The young boy promptly shut his mouth, glaring at them with a look of pure grievance and fury.
“Here!” Wen Xing shoved the candy into Bai Cha’s hands with a look of distaste.
She then watched as Bai Cha pulled out a red lantern.
A remarkably beautiful red lantern.
Its design was simple, featuring a red “Double Happiness” character pasted onto its surface.
Yet judging by the material alone, it gave off a distinctly extraordinary vibe.
Exuding a heavy, sinister air.
