Chapter 164: A Bad Excuse
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
“Uhm, excuse me, we understand that there hasn’t been any newborn baby girl in Yanyi Village for over ten years. We’re here to investigate into…”
“Are people gossiping again? This is a private matter of our village. Whether we are having baby girls or baby boys, I’m sure it has nothing to do with outsiders like yourself,” the middle-aged man retorted.
“Haha. Of course, it doesn’t. We mean no harm. It’s just that we’ve been researching this other area. They’re the complete opposite and only have baby boys in the village! This is why we’re here.”
Bai Wu was young and frank. Xu Lan smiled and gestured for Bai Wu to make s.p.a.ce. With his left hand on his waist, he took a cigarette from Zhang Fei with his right.
“Ha! There’s such place? Where is it? I thought this is only happening to our village. Since all of you are here for research purposes, hmm… Let’s head back and meet the village head. We’ll see what he says!” The middle-aged man led them to the village head’s home eagerly after hearing Xu Lan’s explanation.
“Why did he accept your explanation without suspicion after being so hostile to the elder?” The businessman pinched his nose bridge and asked confusedly. His question was on everyone’s mind as the same thing happened at Darkwater Town. It was unbelievable how people always bought his bad excuses.
“Uhh, I’m quite surprised myself. You can call it a policeman’s instinct. Oh, I don’t think I’ve mentioned but I used to be a policeman,” Xu Lan shrugged and said helplessly.
They should be in a system, one which allowed them to gain experience points and gold coins upon completion of the mission; failing which, they would die. This time around, it would be an actual death, one which they would not be resurrected from. Since this was their main mission, any character who was not a player would be an NPC. With the correct selection, the NPC would acknowledge the player’s existence.
“Haha, I didn’t think that a policeman would play video games. This is kind of different from the image of a policeman I have in mind…” Fang Lingzi c.o.c.ked her head and smiled at Xu Lan cheekily.
“Little girl, policemen are humans too. Please don’t judge us against G.o.d’s standard,” Xu Lan raised his brows and said bemusingly. The scar on the corner of his brows curled as he spoke.
Fang Lingzi chuckled and hid behind Sheng Ya while making funny faces at Xu Lan.
“Papa, the village head is here,” Bai Wu whispered guiltily.
Xu Lan smiled with his teeth and pushed Bai Wu toward the village head. Bai Wu took a few steps backward and looked at Xu Lan in shock.
“You’re a grown up now and it’s time for you to be independent,” Xu Lan patted Bai Wu’s shoulder and smiled in a friendly manner.
The village was surrounded by mountains and could be found amidst the secluded forests. The chirping of the birds and the insects made everyone thought that they were in a paradise. Bai Wu took a deep breath and returned Xu Lan’s determined gaze. He was calming down.
“I heard you all came here for scientific research?” Judging from his rolled-up pants leg, the village head seemed to be working in the rice fields earlier. There were mud stains on his legs. He walked forward as he dried his wet hands on his s.h.i.+rt.
“Yes, nice to meet you, village head. We found out by chance that Yanyi Village hasn’t had any newborn baby girls for many years. We came to visit as we’ve previously encountered a village where only baby boys were born,” Bai Wu was nervous after hearing Xu Lan’s affirmation, he replied the village head in a s.h.i.+vering voice.
“Uh, that’s right. It’s been fifteen years since we last had any newborn baby girls in the village. May I know what exactly is the research about?” the village head asked with a frown as he pondered on the possibility of marriage arrangements with the other village.
“This is a long story, is there a place for us to speak at length? We’re here to investigate the cause of this phenomenon,” Bai Wu smiled as he elaborated, his bright smile unarmed everyone.
“Ah! Silly me, why hasn’t it occurred to me to invite you specialists in! Come on over, let’s have a talk in my house,” the village head patted his head and invited everyone in.
Yanyi Village was surrounded by mountains and scenic views. It was an otherworldly, secluded paradise. The main economic activity was farming. Due to its remote location, the village was peaceful. The villagers lived an honest and harmonious life.
Everything changed after the birth of a baby girl on Chinese New Year’s Eve fifteen years ago.
It happened on a snowy twelfth lunar month where the village was painted white. As Yanyi Village was situated amidst the mountains, it experienced a lower than average temperature. The snow piled up so high that it was hard for the villagers to push open their doors. Strangely, the acc.u.mulated snow melted on Chinese New Year’s Eve. The leaves sprouted earlier than usual. By noon, flowers bloomed everywhere and the trees sheltered the village once again. Colorful clouds acc.u.mulated in the sky, illuminating the entire village.
On that day, a baby was born at Wu Ling’s home. It was a difficult childbirth and the baby was only born at sunset. The village was attacked by a heavy snowstorm on the next day and it snowed for an entire month.
“Heck, that’s so strange? Is she a G.o.ddess from heaven or reincarnation of Buddha?”
The crew-cut man shouted in an exaggerated manner to express his disbelief. After noticing Bai Wu’s angry glare, he retreated immediately and stood next to Zhang Fei. He was confident that he would win an argument with Zhang Fei; little did he know that Zhang Fei, a well-educated intellectual was too proud to engage in pointless arguments with him!
“Ever since then, the newborn babies in Yanyi Village are all females?”
Used to dealing with these sort of questions, the village head nodded dispa.s.sionately. Bai Wu found it amazing too. Even though the crew-cut man spoke crudely, he made a good point — the girl must have come from heaven!
“Is the child still at Yanyi Village?” Bai Wu asked.
“She… She’s not,” the village head paused before saying with a heavy heart.
“Then…” Bai Wu was trying to probe further. He kept his mouth shut after being elbowed by Xu Lan.
“Is there a place in the village where we can stay? There’s twenty-eight of us. Do you think you can help us sort out our accommodation?” Bai Wu changed the topic.
“Ah, no worries. If you don’t mind, all of you can stay with us. We can accommodate everyone if we break the group into smaller groups!” The village head did not seem as troubled anymore. He began to search for a place to stay on behalf of the group.
“Papa, why did you stop me from asking?” Bai Wu followed behind Xu Lan and asked in confusion. This was the first time Xu Lan treated him like an adult. Bai Wu was worried that he disappointed Xu Lan in someway.
“Patience. Even if the village head was being honest, the arrival of the G.o.ddess is something worth celebrating. How would this lead to Yanyi Village not having any newborn baby boys over the past fifteen years?” Xu Lan put his hands into his pockets. He spoke as he observed the scenic view of the mountains.
“Papa, are you suggesting that the village head hasn’t been completely honest with us?” Bai Wu nodded his head and asked.
“… Haha, it’s not just the village head. Are we staying at the same place tonight? I’ve something to tell you.” Xu Lan patted Bai Wu on his shoulder and chuckled, his deep voice echoed throughout the endless mountain ranges.