Chapter 30 Wandering the Ancient Town - A Quiet Town

"Aren't you going upstairs?"

Bai Xiao turned around at the sound of the voice. It was her new roommate, Huang Xinxin, who was standing at the foot of the stairs, about to follow the others up. She had looked back only to find that Bai Xiao wasn't coming.

Bai Xiao pointed outside. "I plan to go out for a stroll."

After saying that, she looked at her new roommate's innocent face and couldn't help but warn her, "I suggest you go out for a walk as soon as possible and find the Offerings early, otherwise..."

She left the rest unsaid. Before Huang Xinxin could respond, she turned and walked out the door.

...

Although called a town, it was actually more like an ethnic minority village.

The gateway at the town's entrance was simple yet imposing. Beyond it lay a large open space. To the right was a Guesthouse, and to the left was a small shack no bigger than an Earth God Temple. Bai Xiao went over to take a look; the altar inside was empty.

It seemed this might be the temporary residence for the statue after the Lord Mountain God was invited back, as mentioned by the Guide, Manager Zhang.

Only one road led into the town, paved entirely with bluestone. The stones were joined one after another, varying in size and uneven in height. Some areas had been worn smooth; one could easily slip or trip if not careful.

Although the road was difficult to traverse, the surface was exceptionally clean and tidy, without a speck of dust. The entire street shimmered under the sunlight.

The bluestone road was about three meters wide, flanked by small buildings similar to the Guesthouse. These weren't modern concrete and brick houses but wooden structures with distinct ethnic characteristics. They appeared to be quite old, with many wooden pillars cracked and the copper bells hanging under the eaves faded and weathered.

Even so, the old houses along the street remained clean, free of both dust and cobwebs.

Bai Xiao stood at the head of the street. She had originally followed a sound here, but now it had vanished. The entire town suddenly became unnervingly quiet, as if no human voice had ever existed there.

"Hehe, so delicious." A crisp child's voice drifted in again with the morning breeze.

Bai Xiao cursed under her breath. Between gods and children, could this be a supernatural horror game?

But having heard the sound, she couldn't just ignore it. Bai Xiao held her breath and carefully crept forward along the side of the road.

Although there was only one main street leading into the town, as she walked further, Bai Xiao discovered small alleys on both sides at regular intervals. Each alley contained only three to five single-story houses, ending in a wall sealed with bluestone.

The sound came from the alley closest to the entrance. Bai Xiao peeked around the corner; a little girl was crouching on the ground, seemingly eating a pastry.

There was a shadow on the ground, so it wasn't a ghost. Bai Xiao felt slightly relieved and slowly walked inside.

The little girl had twin ponytails, and crumbs from the pastry were scattered across her face like a little calico cat. Seeing a stranger suddenly enter, she was startled, and her pastry fell onto her skirt with a soft thud.

Seeing this, Bai Xiao said softly, "Little one, don't be afraid. I'm not a bad person. I'm lost and wanted to ask you for directions, is that okay?"

"Okay," the little girl replied in a soft voice.

Seeing how cute she was, Bai Xiao smiled gently and crouched down to meet her gaze. "Little one, do you know about the Mountain God?"

"I do. Mama says Lord Mountain God is our guardian deity who grants us health and food."

"Then do you know what Lord Mountain God likes?"

"Lord Mountain God likes children who stay clean," the little girl answered innocently.

Hearing this, Bai Xiao was stunned. Did the Offerings have to be children? What kind of evil mountain god was this?!

"You child, how did you get yourself so dirty? What did Mama tell you? You're not allowed to go out whenever you want."

With a creak, the wooden door behind the child was pulled open. A middle-aged woman wearing a navy blue gown and a blue headscarf stepped out.

Seeing pastry crumbs all over the girl's face and skirt, she became very angry. She grabbed the girl's wrist and led her toward the house. "Hurry back with Mama to wash up. We people of Qingshi Town value cleanliness above all else. If others see you this dirty, they'll laugh themselves to death."

"Ma'am, please wait a moment." Bai Xiao had finally encountered an adult; she couldn't let her leave so easily.

The middle-aged woman turned at the sound but said nothing, only eyeing her up and down. Bai Xiao couldn't help but look down to see if she had any dirt on herself as well.

After a long while, the woman finally spoke, "You outsider, what do you want to ask?"

Bai Xiao thought for a moment and asked, "I'm with the Parade God Team from the provincial capital. We were invited to participate in the Procession Assembly in three days."

Before she could finish, the woman suddenly grew angry, her tone becoming increasingly impatient.

"Parade God Team? I really don't understand what the clan elder were thinking. Of all the excuses, they had to invite a bunch of outsiders to join the parade. How could you outsiders possibly do it right!"

"Ma'am, please don't be angry. We are professionals. Look, we haven't even put down our bags since arriving; we came straight out to visit the Townsfolk." Seeing the woman's anger, Bai Xiao quickly pointed to her bag to show how much she valued the task.

After hearing this, the woman's expression softened slightly. "That's more like it. Speak, what is it you want to know?"

"I heard there's an Offering Ceremony tonight. The Guesthouse manager told us to come out and purchase Offerings. I wanted to ask you what kind of Offerings the esteemed Lord Mountain God prefers."

Perhaps Bai Xiao's solemn manner pleased the woman. The dissatisfaction on her face gradually faded, replaced by a look of devout reverence. She pressed her palms together and bowed three times toward the distance before finally answering, "Lord Mountain God is noble and sacred. Naturally, the very best should be offered to His Eminence."

Having said that, the woman ignored Bai Xiao and hurried home with the little girl.

Bang—

The door slammed shut in her face. The gust of wind from the closing door ruffled the hair on Bai Xiao's forehead, along with her speechless exasperation.

What kind of answer was that? What counts as the best? It was as if she hadn't said anything at all.

Bai Xiao gave up on knocking to ask more and returned to the main street.

Strangely enough, the street that had been deserted just moments ago now saw the small buildings on both sides opening their doors one after another.

The people of the town seemed to appear out of nowhere, each opening their doors to move and arrange goods in a flurry of activity.

The way these people dressed seemed like something from another world. The men wore coarse cloth short tunics and trousers, with sweat towels draped over their heads and boots made of some unknown animal hide on their feet.

The women wore long gowns that looked like skirts over more form-fitting trousers, and their animal-hide boots were more elaborately decorated.

In short, it was not modern attire. Bai Xiao stood at the entrance of the alley, watching the crowd come and go, feeling that her own outfit was completely out of place, making her look like an outsider.

Her presence instantly attracted the gaze of everyone passing by. They all looked her over. While their eyes weren't necessarily malicious, Bai Xiao felt an indescribable sense of strangeness.

She felt like an antique in a museum; the way these people looked at her held a strange, intense fervor.