Chapter 52: Rainstorm Wild Temple 14 Part 1
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Even after they had squeezed into the old woman’s dilapidated house, the production crew members were still trembling with fear, their bodies shaking.
Clearly, being chased by that creature just moments ago, and almost having their car doors scratched open as it tried to get in, had left them deeply traumatized, and they were still struggling to regain their composure.
“Was that thing outside a rat?” one of the crew members asked in a quivering voice. When they got out of the car, their legs gave way, and they stumbled into the small house, collapsing onto the rough floor.
“How could there be such a large rat? It… it’s a monster! Yes, it’s a monster! A flesh-eating monster!”
Another crew member, who was utterly terrified, screamed hysterically, his veins bulging on his neck.
Meanwhile, the more timid crew member had already burst into tears and was huddled in a corner, wiping their eyes repeatedly.
The rest of the crew members were in no better condition. They all had highly strung nerves and wore dazed expressions after the fright, and they hadn’t yet shaken off the sense of danger.
“We’re saved, we’re still alive.”
“Ugh, I thought I was going to die. It was so terrifying. What kind of place is this? How can there be such huge and vicious rats?”
“Thank you, Grandma. Thank you, Grandma.”
……
The old woman, draped in a faded and worn shawl, stood hunched over on the side, watching the group of people crowding into her small house, their chattering voices breaking the previous silence of the countryside.
Her aged and deeply wrinkled face revealed undisguised disgust.
However, when she heard the crew member who appeared to be on the verge of a mental breakdown shout “monster,” the tightly furrowed wrinkles on the old woman’s forehead softened for a moment. A look of affection and compassion, uncharacteristic of her age and personality, briefly appeared on her elderly face.
It was like a mother’s heartache when seeing her child in pain and suffering, wanting to reach out and soothe their wounds, to bear their pain on their behalf.
But that expression was quickly replaced by the fierce look on the old woman’s face.
She let out a deep grunt, it was unclear whether it was directed at the staff or some other presence, her brows furrowing and her face taking on a terrifying anger. “They don’t know how to respect the gods! Nothing worthy of divine protection! A bunch of ungrateful ingrates, they should all be eaten! Hmph.”
Because of the sudden harsh scolding from the old woman, the people inside the cabin, who had been screaming in fear and seeking comfort from each other, suddenly fell silent and turned to look at the old woman in astonishment.
Outside the small house, the torrential rain continued to pour, violently beating against the windows, and the glass made sounds as if it might shatter under the deluge at any moment.
However, the dim kerosene lamp hanging inside the cabin, though faint, stubbornly persisted despite the cold wind and raindrops that seeped in, as if it might go out at any moment in the next second. It persistently illuminated the small space.
Weak but unwaveringly battling against the encroaching darkness, giving those inside the small house a sense of solace.
The slightly older assistant director was quicker to react than the others, and he walked over somewhat embarrassedly. “Ma’am, do you have any deity or belief here? I heard you mentioning a god earlier. Thank you for helping us get rid of the rats and taking us in. Can we offer incense to the deity as a token of gratitude?”
“Incense?” The old woman let out a mocking laugh. “Long gone. Where are the gods? Where are the offerings? Hah.”
Although the old woman spoke this way, perhaps because the assistant director was sincere and his words had struck a chord with her, her actions showed some improvement.
She turned around and walked into the house with her hands behind her back.
“Since you want to go to Wild Wolf Peak, you’ll have to wait until the rain stops. When the rain stops, you can leave.”
Clearly, when he had mentioned the Wild Wolf Peak earlier, the old woman had been furious and had scared him so much that he knelt down. However, she was now willing to let them take shelter temporarily in the cabin. What’s more, she had voluntarily brought up the matter of the Wild Wolf Peak again.
The old woman’s ever-changing reactions left the assistant director utterly baffled, but he quickly expressed his gratitude and instructed the other crew members to check for injuries.
Once safety was confirmed, the relieved crew members all let out a collective sigh of relief and slumped down, exhausted.
Cold, fear, hunger, clothes clinging to their bodies from being soaked…
Everyone was shivering with pale faces.
To everyone’s surprise, the old woman, who had initially gone into the back room with her hands behind her back, emerged carrying a dustpan filled with something and casually tossed it near the crew members sitting on the ground, making a loud “thud!”
The old woman’s expression remained terrifying, and she impatiently said, “These are some old clothes, wear the one that fits. Don’t freeze to death in front of the god and dirty their altar.”
The assistant director, who had been about to express his gratitude, suddenly emitted an untimely “growl” from his stomach. After not eating anything for several hours and experiencing shock and fleeing, his hungry stomach started to protest.
This sound seemed like a switch, and the cabin was soon filled with one “growl” after another, each one louder than the last.
It was unclear if it was the assistant director or the other crew members, but they all blushed and clutched their stomachs, feeling somewhat embarrassed.
“Cough, thank you, Grandma. We can change out of our wet clothes now,” a young crew member with a flushed face picked up the dustpan and even bowed to the old woman.
The old woman’s expression softened slightly, and she pointed to another corner of the cabin, saying, “There’s a stove and firewood there, as well as potatoes and flour. Whether you want to eat or not, don’t expect an old woman like me to cater to you at my age.”
The crew, who had initially thought that finding a place to take shelter from the rain and rest away from the giant rat was already great, were pleasantly surprised to discover clothing and food as well. They promptly expressed their gratitude.
“Thank you, Grandma, but we can manage on our own. Just having something to eat is already much appreciated.”
Since they were part of the logistics team for the travel variety show, many of the staff members had wilderness survival experience or were used to hard work. They quickly and efficiently changed out of their wet clothes, lit the stove, and began figuring out how to prepare a meal with the available ingredients.
After the recent fear had subsided, the group started joking and making light of the situation, finding humor in adversity. Laughter filled the small house, creating a warm atmosphere under the dim yellowish light.
The old woman, who had spoken earlier, took a seat in a corner of the room. Beyond the reach of the kerosene lamp’s light, she quietly observed the people.
Lamp light, laughter, food fragrance….all of these memories already felt so distant.
Since over a decade ago, since the nightmare of destruction began, the sounds of joy and laughter from the villagers, the scenes of children playing and chasing under the sacred tree, all of that had disappeared.
Thinking back now, those scenes had become surprisingly blurry. What remained in her memory were only the detestable faces, the waving banknotes in their hands. The arrogant bosses in ill-fitting suits standing behind them.
The deafening roar of machinery replaced the cicadas’ chirping and the laughter of children. Trees fell one by one, yet the villagers cheered and rejoiced, completely forgetting the lively times during the Mountain God’s festival and the peaceful life of abundant harvests under the Mountain God’s protection…..
The old woman slowly released the tight furrow in her brow. On her face, marked by wrinkles, a bewildered and dazed expression emerged, as if she had been engulfed in the past.
Because the car was parked outside, and most of the emergency supplies and food for the show were in there, after mustering their courage and overcoming their fear, the staff rushed to the car and grabbed a considerable amount of food and containers. They quickly returned and prepared a decent and abundant meal.
“Grandma, have you had dinner? We’ve prepared a meal for you. Would you like to taste our cooking?”
A staff member suddenly approached the old woman with a container filled with food, a relaxed smile on their face. They placed the still-steaming food on a low table next to her, behaving naturally as if they were dealing with their own family elders.
With an untroubled smile, the staff member, seemingly having completely shaken off the fear from earlier, said to the old woman, “Don’t be fooled by my appearance. When I was struggling, I used to work as a chef at a small street-side eatery. My cooking skills are passable.”
As she gazed at the young person’s smile, the old woman, who had initially intended to scold, suddenly paused. After a moment, she let out a cold snort, “It’s so late, who eats at this hour? You youngsters don’t take care of yourselves.”
However, she hesitated for a moment but didn’t push the food away from her.
As the people began to eat the warm potato meal, they felt their empty stomachs filling up, and the frantic hearts that had been on edge began to calm down.
They couldn’t help but relax and sigh with relief, and they had extra energy to pay attention to other matters.
“Grandma, when we arrived, we clearly saw fields on both sides. Why is there no one in the village? Are you the only one living here?” someone curiously asked.
Immediately, someone chimed in, “Yeah, we were so scared earlier that we didn’t look carefully. Now that I think about it, there really wasn’t anyone around on our way here. None of the houses in the village had their lights on either, and we didn’t hear any dogs barking.”
“Thinking about it now, it is quite strange. When the car got stuck in the mud earlier, I distinctly saw that the field ridges seemed to be tended and there were crops growing. Why would there be no one in the village?”
“The village dogs and geese should have been alert. I’m from a village myself, and whenever there was any commotion in the village, the dogs would start barking.”
“It does seem like that…”
……
As the group ate and chatted, they discussed with curiosity and inquisitive eyes turned towards the old woman.
The old woman, who hadn’t been scrutinized by so many living people for a long time: “…..”
She straightened her hunched, frail body under the tattered shawl as if she wanted to regain some of her former dignity.
“No one has lived in the village for a long time. I’ve been the only one here for over a decade.”
The old woman said mockingly, “But, there are plenty of things here that are not human. The fields you saw, they are the ones tending to them.”
“Seeking more food and money? Wanting to sleep soundly with all the wealth?” The old woman’s tone was indifferent. “The benevolent god who abides by the rules of the world does not grant such wishes. There are other ‘gods’ who make promises. But everything has its consequences. Those who take must return tenfold, a hundredfold. It depends on whether they have the fate to repay.”
The staff members who were curious just moments ago had assumed that the young people in the village had all gone to work elsewhere. They hadn’t expected the old woman to provide them with such an answer. An inexplicable chill rose from their feet, spreading throughout their bodies. Even their stomachs, which had just consumed hot food, felt heavy as if they were filled with stones.
One of them cleared his throat and asked, “What if they can’t repay?”
The old woman cast a sideways glance at him and said indifferently, “Don’t worry, you won’t be in that position. You have the strength and willingness to work. The money you have is what you’ve earned. Even if the benevolent god was here, they would only see that you’ve followed the rules, and you wouldn’t owe the heavens or the earth anything.”
“But not everyone is the same.” The old woman sneered and looked disdainful. “Some people claim ownership of forests and lands that were never theirs, relying on the compassion and charity of the benevolent god to avoid retribution. They commit great sins and accumulate debts higher than their souls. Even in death, they must continue to repay those debts, the benevolent god can’t save them.”
“They have begged the ‘god’ for so much, and they must repay it all. The more generous and benevolent the ‘god’ appears, the more sinister its intentions. If you can’t see the rules of the trade clearly, you can only sell your soul to the ‘god’ and become its manipulated slave.”
The old woman’s words left the onlookers dumbfounded.
They had originally been curious about the village’s situation and wanted to see if they would encounter any dangers when they set out after the rain stopped the next morning. They also wanted to engage in some casual conversation to bridge the gap between them and the old woman.
However, they hadn’t expected the old woman to speak so far beyond their understanding.
Several of the staff members who had experienced the Gui Mountain Villa suddenly realized something, and their eyes widened, feeling a chill run down their spines.
They exchanged glances with each other, both seeing the fear in each other’s eyes.
The village was empty, and some people, even after death, had to continue repaying their debts. The fields were filled with crops…
According to the old woman’s words… Where had all the villagers gone? What were they really growing in the fields? What were those giant rats chasing them all the way, and why was the old woman so accustomed to them, even capable of driving them away?
The more they thought about it, the colder they felt, as if they had glimpsed into a forbidden realm of gods and demons, where any intruders would be torn apart and devoured by those entities…
……
Originally, the viewers who had been waiting in front of the main live screen returned to Yan Shixun’s split screen once they knew it had been opened.
However, as soon as they entered the split screen and their eyes met the image, many of them felt their scalps tingle.
——The split-screen view was unexpectedly focused on the full-wall mural in the main hall of the Mountain God Temple.
Hundreds of pairs of eyes gazed silently at the camera from top to bottom.
The eyes painted on the mural were different from normal human eyes. Whether it was due to the laziness of the craftsmen or a local tradition, every pair of eyes had no white parts. Instead, intense black filled the entire eye socket, staring blankly without any reflection, giving them an eerie appearance.
Many viewers who had been watching from the beginning immediately recalled the GIFs someone had captured from the split-screen broadcast several hours earlier when Yan Shixun had first entered the main hall.
Those eyes moved, the figures on the mural moved, and some even made mischievous faces or shifted from their original positions. This made those who were watching this image feel a deep sense of unease.
And at this moment, under the overwhelming silent gaze of countless eyes, many people felt like they were experiencing hallucinations. It was as if those black eyes without whites were staring at them, and even the figures in the painting were approaching them, whispering in hushed tones and blowing chilly breath on their necks, causing their hairs to stand on end.
They seemed to be saying—
‘Speak out your desires, express your wishes, pray to the god, kneel before them, become their most faithful followers.’
As long as you believe in the god, the god will grant you everything you desire.’
‘You will have endless wealth, luxury cars, vast lands.’
‘You will remain forever young, never aging.’
‘Your loved ones will return to you, completely devoted to you.’
‘You will pass exams, get into your desired schools and jobs, make your parents proud, and outshine your classmates.’
‘You will gain fame, status, power… All those who once looked down on you will be beneath your feet, looking up to your greatness.’
‘Come, have faith in your god, speak out your desires, and kneel here. Then, you will have everything you wish for…’
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