Novels online

Chapter 702: You're a Truly Strange Person!

No one stopped the old town head. On the surface, it seemed these villagers dared not defy his wishes, but a closer look would reveal it wasn't like that at all. These villagers weren't afraid to defy the old town head's wishes; they simply couldn't be bothered. Their invitations for him to sit and drink were mostly just polite formalities. In truth, they wished he wouldn't drink, so they could have a few more sips themselves.

As for whether the old town head understood this, only he knew best. Yang Haoran, at least, saw right through it. However, Yang Haoran didn't point it out. He was here today to follow the clues, not to uphold justice for anyone. Besides, the old town head seemed to quite enjoy his current identity and status. If that was the case, why should he expose it?

The old town head left as soon as he said he would, without any hesitation. Yang Haoran stayed close by his side.

Led by the old town head, the two quickly moved away from the temple. Although the large and small tables set outside the temple were no longer visible, the villagers' laughter and dice-throwing chants could still be heard clearly.

"Sir, where's your Spirit Medium statue?"

The old town head saw Yang Haoran's empty hands, and immediately remembered the Spirit Medium statue. He asked as he shuffled along with an elderly gait.

Yang Haoran slapped his forehead, as if he had only just remembered the Spirit Medium statue at that very moment.

"I was in too much of a hurry when I left the temple just now, so I forgot it inside. I'll just have to go back to the temple later," Yang Haoran said.

The old town head wasn't worried. After all, a statue of a god was unlike other things. Who would bother to run to the temple to steal a statue of a god? Besides, everyone was a believer in the Spirit Medium god, and every household had a Spirit Medium statue. Even if they wanted to display an extra one at home, they could simply go to the temple and invite another one; there was absolutely no need to steal. ?

As for Yang Haoran, he hadn't taken the statue, not because he genuinely forgot, but because he never intended to take it in the first place. After all, the Spirit Medium statue was merely a stepping stone for him to achieve his goal. Now that his objective was accomplished, what was the point of carrying the Spirit Medium statue? Was he really going to take it back, perform elaborate kowtows, and worship it? He had no interest in doing such a foolish thing.

"Old town head, where does this Spirit Medium live? Is it outside the town?"

Yang Haoran followed beside the old town head, unable to resist asking.

"He does indeed live outside the town. He was originally invited to today's temple fair, but unfortunately, he wasn't willing to attend, because he's not very fond of lively occasions," the old town head replied.

"Old town head, it seems you're quite familiar with him. I suppose I've found the right person this time," Yang Haoran said with a smile.

"Well, I wouldn't say 'very' familiar, just generally so. But you weren't wrong about that last part; you truly came to the right person by finding me. Everyone in the entire town, apart from me, has little acquaintance with the Spirit Medium. Others who go to him won't be acknowledged; they don't even know where he lives."

At this point, the old town head pulled out the pack of cigarettes Yang Haoran had given him from his pocket, took one out, lit it for himself, and continued to walk and talk.

"You, my boy, have come at just the right time this trip. When I went to invite the Spirit Medium to the temple fair this morning, I heard him say that he's leaving our town tomorrow to spread the great spirit of our god in other townships. If you had come tomorrow, even I wouldn't have been able to help you, because the Spirit Medium would have already left by then."

The old town head took a puff from his cigarette, then spoke to Yang Haoran. However, his way of addressing Yang Haoran had changed, from "Sir" to "you, my boy," quite a significant shift.

Yang Haoran didn't mind this. Not only did he not mind, he even flattered the old town head with a few words, smiling as he did so. This made the old town head burst into laughter, his mood exceptionally good.

Led by the old town head, Yang Haoran left the small town, and then headed towards the large mountain north of the town. According to the old town head, the Spirit Medium was temporarily secluded halfway up this mountain.

As the old town head was advanced in age, his legs and feet were not very nimble. His walking speed was slow, and his physical body was aging, so his stamina couldn't keep up either. Thus, it wasn't until evening that the two successfully reached their destination.

Although it was only evening and the sky hadn't completely darkened, due to the lush vegetation in the mountains, sunlight struggled to penetrate. As a result, it looked not much different from night, and visibility was somewhat affected.

Without activating his Ghost Eye, Yang Haoran's physical eyes couldn't see in the dark. However, compared to ordinary people, his natural night vision was a bit better. More often than not, he relied on his keen senses during the night.

As his gaze fell upon it, a building vaguely appeared in a mountain hollow ahead. Due to the dim light, it wasn't particularly clear to see, but he could roughly make out that it was a two-story building.

"Do you see the building up ahead? That used to be where the forest ranger lived. The Administrative Courtyard paid to build it. Though not large, it's a two-story building, quite eye-catching. At the time, many people in our town were incredibly envious, because many of us had never lived in such a nice house."

The old town head pointed at the small building in the mountain hollow ahead, and explained to Yang Haoran, with a hint of envy in his tone.

He took a noisy puff from his cigarette, and the old town head sighed, continuing to speak.

"It's a pity. The world fell into chaos, and the forest rangers vanished without a trace long ago. No one wants to do such work anymore, to avoid losing their lives. After all, deep in the mountains and old forests is where monsters love to dwell. Furthermore, now that the Administrative Courtyard can't even manage its own people properly, how could it be in the mood to care about deep mountains and old forests? So, this place became vacant. When the Spirit Medium came to our town and wanted a quiet place, this was the first place I thought of."

Yang Haoran had no interest in the history of this small building. However, the old town head was in the mood to talk. He didn't care whether Yang Haoran wanted to listen or not, he just smoked and talked to himself.

"Heh heh, if it weren't for the danger of living deep in the mountains and old forests, I'd have wanted my whole family to move in here. After all, it's truly a shame for such a good house to be empty. Only an expert like the Spirit Medium would dare to live here, completely unafraid for his own safety."

The old town head continued to talk as they walked, and the two got closer and closer to the old building. Yang Haoran could now see the state of the old building more clearly.

This old building clearly showed its age at a glance. Not only was it dilapidated, but its walls were also covered with plenty of green moss and vines. If you wanted to film a ghost movie, you wouldn't even need to set up; you could just grab your gear, find some people, and go in to shoot. Yang Haoran really couldn't see anything high-class or beautiful about such a rundown old building.

However, the old town head's high praise for this old building was entirely because he used the houses in their small town as a reference. Compared to the small tiled houses or even earthen houses in their town, this two-story concrete building was indeed a high-class commodity. Even though it was now quite dilapidated, in his eyes, it was still a rare and good house.

Yang Haoran had also come from poverty, so he understood the old town head's thoughts. However, what he cared about right now was not this matter.

"Old town head, you can just drop me off here. I'll handle the rest myself."

Yang Haoran withdrew his gaze from the old building, then said with a smile to the old town head.

When the old town head heard Yang Haoran's words, he paused his steps, and looked at Yang Haoran with a puzzled expression.

"Hey! You're a truly strange person. Didn't you ask me to put in a good word for you with the Spirit Medium earlier? Now you want to handle things yourself? Can you really manage it?"

Yang Haoran gave a wry smile. He had come here to find the Spirit Medium for a fight. The reason he had said those things to the old town head earlier was that his true intention wasn't in those words. His main purpose was simply to have the old town head lead him to his target. Now that his objective was achieved, if he brought the old town head along and a fight broke out, the old town head might not make it back alive. Although the old town head now believed in the Spirit Medium god and was effectively on the opposing side, he was still just an ordinary old man, and Yang Haoran had no grievance with him. He truly didn't want to harm him.