Bearing the blue sky

For the people of Yunnan, the Mushroom Festival is a grand celebration.

It was late spring, and after a thunderstorm, the mountains and fields were covered with mushrooms.

When meat is scarce and grains are not yet ripe, mushrooms are the best food.

Thus, the Mushroom Festival, a local festival, came into being.

On this day in previous years, everyone in Jianshan Village would gather on the central road of the village, where tables and chairs would be set up.

Afterwards, each household served up plates of the mushrooms they had prepared to showcase their culinary skills.

Paired with cured meat and homemade wine, and cooked with slaughtered chickens and pigs, it forms a long street banquet.

Everyone was at the table, drinking and chatting, taking turns to sample the local delicacies and enjoying the bounty of nature.

But that was all in the past.

Today, Jianshan Village is completely silent.

Although there were sounds of cooking coming from every household, there was no laughter or cheerful conversation, only mechanical and low-pitched instinctive exchanges.

Zhu Ge walked along the road, silently appreciating the everyday life and warmth that should exist around her.

The result was that you could only smell the aroma of cooking, but there was no sense of human connection whatsoever.

It was noon, yet it felt chilly.

"Ah, this world..."

Zhu Ge couldn't help but shake his head and sigh.

Just then, a shout came from behind, trying hard to hide it yet wanting to shout it out: "Zhu Ge! Zhu Ge!"

Zhu Ge turned around and saw Ma Laizi, who looked like a bear, crouching by a house wall, calling out to him nervously.

Zhu Ge raised an eyebrow, then quickly walked over.

Ma Laizi's eyes were bloodshot and he had dark circles under his eyes, so he probably didn't sleep last night.

"I checked! The black powder wasn't even wet!" Ma Laizi said nervously, "Are you sure this black powder can kill the God of Death?"

"Yes!" Zhu Ge nodded slightly, then thought for a moment and added:

"Tonight is absolutely crucial. If we win, we'll survive and regain our spirit. If we lose..."

Zhu Ge didn't say it, but Ma Laizi understood.

Ma Laizi's face turned pale, and his lips trembled slightly: "I hope, I hope I can survive."

Zhu Ge nodded and patted him on the shoulder:

"You must follow my instructions when the time comes. The master has not returned for several days, and I suspect he is in grave danger. Scholar Yu has also fallen into a trap. Fortunately, we still have each other."

"Although I broke free early, you won't be late either. If we work together, it would be best if we could survive. If not, we will die without regrets after we have done our best."

That's the truth.

Although Zhu Ge had a certain degree of confidence, in the end, he could only do his best and leave the rest to fate.

Do your best, and whether you succeed or not is up to fate.

"Yes, yes, no regrets, that's good." Ma Laizi's expression changed, but in the end he sighed:

"I have a son in a nearby city. If I die, I would be grateful if you could take care of him."

Ma Laizi raised his head and looked sincerely at Zhu Ge: "I don't know if my memory is wrong, but I know you are no longer the Zhu Ge I knew..."

Zhu Ge opened her mouth to speak upon hearing this, but was interrupted by Ma Laizi waving his hand:

"No need to say anything else, regardless of whether you are or not, I will do my best to help you. I have a feeling that you will definitely be able to escape, but if I can't get out, I would appreciate your help."

Zhu Ge thought for a moment, but instead of denying whether she was the Zhu Ge that Ma Laizi knew, she nodded slightly.

Seeing this, Ma Laizi relaxed a little and sighed:

"My husband once said that the money I earn by sacrificing my reputation and the kindness of my fellow villagers will not improve my son's future life; on the contrary, it may make him feel inferior."

"Now that I am about to die, I realize that you were right, sir. We humans must stand firmly on the earth and hold the sky in our hearts to live a truly fulfilling life."

Perhaps it is because people are about to die that their hearts are kind.

Ma Laizi is now quite different from the Ma Laizi that Zhu Ge obtained from the original owner's memories.

The fear of death is human nature.

But when people know they will die, their fundamental moral character will be revealed.

Ma Laizi is a local bully who preys on men and women and refuses to pay back debts.

In retrospect, it may not be that he was inherently bad, but rather that he was accumulating wealth for his son.

Of course, one cannot fake doing evil in ordinary times.

However, with the teacher constantly giving earnest advice to everyone in Jianshan Village, Ma Laizi appeared somewhat open-minded, courageous, and responsible before his death.

"Okay." Zhu Ge looked up at the sky to confirm the approximate time.

"Today's long street banquet is the most crucial. Stay by my side, do as I instruct, and make sure you remain clear-headed and don't let yourself be controlled!"

"Furthermore, I have some other plans, listen carefully..."

"Okay!" Ma Laizi nodded vigorously, then followed Zhu Ge and listened to Zhu Ge's arrangements.

The blessing song travels around the village.

Along the way, he saw his own setup and confirmed that at least Ma Laizi hadn't destroyed the traps he left behind.

At the same time, while talking to Ma Laizi, he was also paying attention to the situation of each household.

Every household was mechanically preparing mushrooms for dinner, but Zhu Ge could tell from the smell that none of these mushrooms would taste good.

It's either undercooked or has a burnt smell.

That's normal; it would be strange if mushrooms made in a mechanical, instinctive way didn't taste good.

It's such a shame that such good ingredients have been wasted!

"The taste of Boletus luridus..." Zhu Ge couldn't help but drool just thinking about the taste of this dish.

If he survives, he'll have a big meal and then sleep for a few days.

Anyway, the villagers have picked a lot of mushrooms, so they definitely won't be able to finish them all at this mushroom festival.

Now, the focus is on the shrine of Hua Liusha's physical body.

He went to each and every household, and finally found that no one was homeless.

This convinced him that Hua Liusha was indeed not hiding in the village, but outside of it.

That makes sense.

Aside from the first time I saw Hua Liusha in the terraced fields, I never saw her during the day.

It is estimated that although that god used Hua Liusha as his shrine, he was also naturally afraid of the sun.

Zhu Ge also often pondered what the true form of that god was.

Just as Yu Xiucai said, why can Hua Liusha's body be used as a shrine?

"As Scholar Yu said, this deity might be a vengeful spirit of the Tiger God, stealing the souls of all the villagers and bringing them before the Tiger God to be devoured?"

Zhu Ge had learned from Mr. Insect that there was indeed a tiger god next to the village, known as the Mountain Lord.

However, the Tiger God only has cougars under his command. Ghosts cannot affect the soul of living beings; they can only affect the spirit.

Therefore, this possibility is extremely small.

Ultimately, the most likely possibility is a fleeting presence that appears only briefly on the west side of the village.

Yu Xiucai estimated that the aura was also from some kind of being that had become a god.

If it's easy to evade the investigation of the gentleman and the big cricket, it won't be difficult to evade the investigation of the scholar Yu and the happy ghost.

"Perhaps the real thing is that thing..."

"And there's Ma Laizi..."

Zhu Ge was filled with countless thoughts.

He walked and thought, determined to do his best.

Ma Laizi, standing next to him, also looked puzzled, clearly deep in thought.

Until Yu Xiucai, with a blank expression, quickly came to them.

"Zhuge, Ma Laizi, come with me."