Chapter 698 The faith of the whole town!
As the old man looked at Yang Haoran, Yang Haoran also looked back at him.
In the old man's turbid eyes, Yang Haoran perceived vigilance rather than hostility. Furthermore, judging by how others treated this old man, he likely held a certain status in the town. Thus, Yang Haoran decided to make this old man his breakthrough point.
"Heh heh, venerable elder, I am indeed from the Administrative Courtyard; there's no faking that. Otherwise, why would I have come all this way? " Yang Haoran responded with a smile.
"What evidence do you have to prove your identity? " the old man asked.
Hearing the old man's words, Yang Haoran's face couldn't help but show a troubled expression.
"Heh heh, venerable elder, if you're looking for evidence, I genuinely don't have any," Yang Haoran said with a helpless smile.
"Without proof, who knows who you truly are? What if you’re a demon in disguise? " a villager retorted sharply.
"Heh heh, if I truly were a demon, or harbored any ill intent, wouldn’t I just act directly? Why would I waste time speaking with all of you here? " Yang Haoran said with a smile.
"All of you, put your guns down. Today is a joyous occasion. Let’s not let minor misunderstandings spoil the mood," the old man said to the other villagers after a moment's thought.
As soon as the old man spoke, a villager immediately voiced his reluctance.
"Old town head, this. . ."
Before the man could finish, the old man interrupted him, then lowered his voice and spoke into his ear.
"Commoners don’t contend with officials. Since he’s from the Administrative Courtyard, even if we dislike it, we shouldn’t offend him. If we truly cause trouble with him, who do you think will ultimately suffer the loss? Do you want to drag our entire town down with us?"
The man frowned deeply, his face still showing clear unwillingness.
"Do you truly believe he’s here to help us? " the man asked in a low voice.
"I'll find a way to figure out his purpose in coming here later. For now, just put away your guns and refrain from saying anything too inflammatory."
The villager said no more, putting away his shotgun as the old man instructed. Seeing this, the other villagers also put away their guns and machetes.
"Everyone, eat and drink as you wish. As for this official gentleman, I, this old man, shall host him," the old man said again to the villagers present.
The villagers returned to their seats, while the old man once more turned his gaze to Yang Haoran.
"If this official gentleman doesn’t mind, perhaps you’d care to join us? " The old man smiled, extending an invitation to Yang Haoran.
"Then I shall humbly accept. I've traveled such a long distance, and I am indeed a bit hungry."
Yang Haoran said with a smile, then walked towards the old man. This time, no villagers blocked his way.
At the old man's invitation, Yang Haoran sat at a table with him. However, their table wasn't just occupied by the two of them; there were other villagers as well.
Yet, these villagers showed no warmth whatsoever towards Yang Haoran's arrival; instead, their faces were filled with reluctance. They simply didn't voice their displeasure, choosing instead to bury their heads and eat voraciously. Before Yang Haoran had even picked up his chopsticks, the dishes on the table were nearly gone.
From their reaction, it was clear they didn't want to share this table of dishes with Yang Haoran, which was why they wolfed down the food, leaving almost nothing on the table, lest Yang Haoran, an outsider, get a bargain.
Afterward, they drank and chatted among themselves, slowly picking at the meager leftovers on the table with their chopsticks, treating them as accompaniments for their drinks. As for Yang Haoran, he was completely ignored.
Yang Haoran smiled helplessly, then put down his chopsticks, not bothering to pick at the tiny bit of food remaining on the plate. It didn't really matter whether he ate or not; his claim of being starving was merely for the benefit of the old man and the other villagers, as he needed to maintain the facade of an ordinary person.
"Heh heh, official gentleman, please don't be angry. In these times, food is scarce, and they were simply too hungry, so. . ."
The old man chuckled and explained, and though he left the rest unsaid, Yang Haoran understood his meaning.
"You're too kind, venerable elder. I'm well aware of the state of the world nowadays, so of course, I wouldn't take it to heart. My purpose in coming here was simply to see how you all are doing. Seeing you all well-fed, well-hydrated, and in high spirits makes me very happy, and the Administrative Chief will surely be pleased as well."
Yang Haoran spoke with a broad smile, uttering these words without a blush on his face or a single skip of his heart, utterly shameless, speaking as if it were the absolute truth.
"The Administrative Chief is thoughtful. To tell the truth, I suppose I'm also a member of the organization, as I was once the town head of this town, serving the Administrative Chief. However, I've been retired for many years. I thought I could enjoy a peaceful old age, but then the world turned upside down," the old man said, shaking his head with a sigh.
"Indeed, this world changed so suddenly; no one could have foreseen it," Yang Haoran also sighed with emotion.
"Actually, our little town isn't as safe as it might seem to an official gentleman. A few days ago, a major incident occurred here. An evil spirit, appearing from who knows where, threw our little town into utter chaos, and several people lost their lives, including our town head. He was just a young lad, hoping to achieve great things, but he was tragically killed by that evil spirit before he even left this small place. It truly fills one with immense regret. After his death, I, as the old town head, had no choice but to step forward and handle many matters."
Yang Haoran hadn't even asked, yet the old town head proactively brought up the matter, which suited his intentions perfectly. So, he went with the flow, following the old town head’s topic, and began to inquire.
"I never used to believe in the existence of evil spirits in this world, but now I have no choice but to. However, such spectral beings are not easy to deal with. You’re holding a grand banquet now; does that mean you’ve eliminated this evil spirit and are celebrating? " Yang Haoran asked, a puzzled expression on his face.
"You're not wrong about one thing, official gentleman: this spectral being was indeed dealt with. However, you've misunderstood something else. We're holding this grand banquet today not to celebrate the elimination of the spectral being, but for a temple fair held after the successful construction of this temple," the old town head said with a smile.
The confusion on Yang Haoran's face didn't vanish after the old town head's words; instead, it deepened.
The old town head saw Yang Haoran's reaction and continued to speak with a smile.
"The deity enshrined in our temple is the Spirit God. Although we didn't know much about the Spirit God before, and no one worshipped this deity, now the Spirit God is the faith of all our town's people, and our only faith."
After hearing the old town head's words, Yang Haoran's heart remained calm and unperturbed, but to gather more information from the old town head, he feigned a look of surprise, as if he had suddenly understood something.
"Was the elimination of the spectral being in your town related to the Spirit God?"
The old town head smiled and nodded, giving Yang Haoran an affirmative answer.
"That's right, the elimination of the spectral being in our town was indeed related to our God. It is precisely because of this that our villagers voluntarily donated funds and materials to build this Spirit God Temple. Although the temple is small, it represents the sincere wishes of all our town's people. Today's temple fair, too, features food voluntarily contributed by everyone in town. In the eyes of an official gentleman, these might not be considered much, but to us, these foods are more valuable than gold and silver. If not for the deep gratitude in our hearts towards our God, and our desire to make this temple fair truly grand, how would we dare to eat and drink so lavishly?"
The old town head spoke with a smile, and it wasn't hard to discern from his tone that he was now filled with profound devotion towards this so-called Spirit God.
Yang Haoran already had some guesses, but he continued to question the old town head.
"I've never heard of a Spirit God before. Does a Spirit God truly exist in this world? How did it eliminate the evil spirit from your town? " Yang Haoran asked.
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