Chapter 258: A Temple on the Mountain
Watching the Old Farmer leave as if he were fleeing a plague god, Happy looked at his phone screen. Sparse bullet comments still drifted across, but Happy's attention wasn't on them; his gaze was fixed on the rising viewer count in his livestream.
Before, there had only been a handful of people in his livestream, but now it had grown from a few to dozens. This filled him with excitement, dissipating much of the fear in his heart.
"It seems choosing this path was the right decision. For a poor kid like me, the only way to boost my popularity is to walk this road. Although the process is agonizing, the rewards will surely be astonishing!"
His ghost-hunting expedition had only just begun today, yet his popularity had already increased tenfold in such a short time. This couldn't help but fill him with hope; the fear in his heart dwindled, while his drive surged!
"Folks! Did you see that? That Old Farmer just now seems to know something! I'm going to chase after him and ask about it! Maybe we'll actually gain something today!"
After saying this to the screen, Happy sprinted after the retreating Old Farmer!
Outside the mud hut, the Madwoman stood motionless by the doorway. She watched Happy's retreating figure, still cackling foolishly, muttering incessantly: "Heh heh. . . noodles. . . noodles. . . delicious. . . so smooth. . ."
Happy seemed to sense the Madwoman's gaze, turning his head to glance at her. He couldn't help but shiver involuntarily, then quickly averted his eyes and quickened his pace, chasing after the Old Farmer.
"Old man! Wait for me! Wait for me!"
Since he was out acting as a ghost-hunting streamer, the time naturally had to be set at night. Happy had left in the afternoon, and by the time he arrived here, it was already late. Now, with the sun setting, it wouldn't be long until darkness fell.
Under the setting sun, their figures stretched long. One walked briskly ahead as if evading disaster, while the other frantically pursued his dreams from behind.
Happy's physique wasn't particularly strong, but compared to the Old Farmer, he was naturally in a different league. So, without much effort, Happy caught up to the Old Farmer, who had left first.
"Old man, why did you leave without saying a word?"
The Old Farmer didn't answer. Instead, he maintained a stern expression, adjusting the basket on his back as he walked.
In Happy's opinion, if the Old Farmer stubbornly refused to speak, then it would be difficult for him to get any useful information from him, and the first day of his ghost-hunting expedition would end in failure.
If his first attempt wasn't successful, it would certainly have a negative impact on his popularity.
His popularity was already pitifully low. Now that it had finally taken a turn for the better, if it were to plummet back to rock bottom, that was a result Happy wouldn't even wish to see in death.
Therefore, no matter what, today's livestream had to have a successful conclusion. To achieve this, he first had to find a way to make the Old Farmer speak. If he truly couldn't, then he would just have to look for other villagers.
Although this village was sparsely populated with only a few households, Happy believed there must be more than just the Old Farmer and the Madwoman. If he really couldn't get the Old Farmer to talk, he'd have to switch targets.
Happy babbled on at the Old Farmer the entire way, but the Old Farmer made no response whatsoever, not even sparing Happy a glance.
"Old man, let me carry that for you. It looks like you're having a tough time carrying it."
At his words, the Old Farmer paused, turning his gaze to Happy.
The sudden stop caught Happy off guard; he nearly bumped into the Old Farmer. But he dared not voice a single complaint, only chuckled awkwardly as he looked at the Old Farmer.
"Are you really willing to carry it for me? " the Old Farmer asked.
"Yes! I'd be glad to!"
Happy's heart swelled with delight. He quickly stretched out both hands, grasping the basket, intent on taking it from the Old Farmer's back.
The Old Farmer didn't refuse, instead complying with Happy's intention and removing the basket.
"Whoa! That's heavy!"
Happy slung the basket onto his back, chuckling as he remarked.
"My house is just ahead. Come with me,"
With that, the Old Farmer led the way, with Happy following closely behind.
After about ten minutes, the two arrived in front of a house.
This house, like the one they'd seen at the Madwoman's place, was a mud hut. However, the Old Farmer's house was much better in comparison, at least free of as many cracks.
At the Old Farmer's gesture, Happy set down the basket, then took the small wooden stool the Old Farmer offered, and, huffing and puffing, plopped down onto it.
By now, the sky had gradually darkened. There were no dog barks, no human voices in the village; it was eerily quiet.
In this environment, Happy felt a bit uneasy, but when he looked at his phone screen, he found that his livestream's popularity had increased again, growing from dozens to over a hundred viewers.
Another few dozen viewers in just over ten minutes made him very happy.
Forget big streamers; even for those with a little popularity, a hundred-plus viewers were nothing, mere scraps. But for Happy, over a hundred viewers was no small number.
Happy felt as if success was waving to him from afar. The desire in his heart, the allure of money, filled him with considerable courage.
Gasping for breath, Happy felt a strange sensation in his heart. His family was poor, so he had done a fair bit of farm work. While his body wasn't particularly strong, carrying some pig feed wouldn't normally exhaust him this much.
The Old Farmer's basket of pig feed was much heavier than he had imagined, tiring him out considerably.
Although he felt a little strange, he didn't dwell on it. The sky was already darkening, and he had more important things to do. If he didn't handle them well, today's livestream would be ruined, so he had no time to ponder the issue.
"Old man, here, have a cigarette."
Seeing the Old Farmer take a small wooden stool and sit in front of him, Happy quickly pulled out cigarettes from his pocket, offered another to the Old Farmer, and enthusiastically lit it for him.
"I say, young man, of all the shows you could make, why choose a paranormal one? Aren't you afraid of really provoking something unclean? " the Old Farmer asked, taking a drag from his cigarette.
Happy felt helpless. To ask if he was afraid? Of course he was. But to achieve his goal, he had to go through with it, even if he was scared.
"Old man, I have my reasons. Please, be kind and tell me what you know, alright? " Happy pleaded with the Old Farmer.
"Sigh, I really don't know what you young people are thinking. I can tell you what I know, but some things you should just know and not try to confirm out of curiosity or any other motive. Otherwise, if you provoke something you shouldn't, you'll regret it too late."
Happy didn't take the Old Farmer's warning to heart, but he still nodded profusely, going along with the Old Farmer's words.
"I know, I know, I understand. Don't worry, old man. " Happy assured him emphatically.
The Old Farmer nodded, took a drag from his cigarette, and continued: "Speaking of strange occurrences, we do have them in our village. Do you still remember that Madwoman from before?"
At the mention of the Madwoman, a look of lingering fear appeared on Happy's face, and he gave a wry smile. "How could I forget? She startled me earlier; I have a very deep impression of her."
"She wasn't a Madwoman originally, but ever since she went up the mountain once, she's been like this. Everyone in our village says she provoked something unclean on the mountain."
At this point, the Old Farmer pointed to a mountain ahead and said, "Do you see that mountain? There's a Broken Temple on its peak. I hear that Broken Temple is very sinister. The Madwoman went to that Broken Temple, and she's been insane ever since."
Happy followed the direction of the Old Farmer's finger. Because the sky was growing darker, he couldn't make out any temple on the mountaintop, only the vague silhouette of the large mountain.
"Ever since the Madwoman's incident, people in our village rarely go up that mountain anymore, and certainly never to that Broken Temple."
At this, the Old Farmer's expression grew much more serious. He paused, then continued to speak to Happy: "Although I've already warned you, I still need to warn you again now: it's best not to provoke things you shouldn't. Otherwise, by then, it will be too late for you to regret it."
The Old Farmer stood up and added, "It's about to be completely dark. I suppose you haven't eaten yet, have you? I'll make you some noodles to fill your stomach."
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