Tan Wenbin ran out of the house and said, "Eat this, eat this, there’s cured meat hanging in the house, I brought some here."
Xue Liangliang: "There’s still this stuff inside?"
"Everything else is moldy, including the dishes on the table, but the cured meat should be fine. I just took a bite; it’s a bit oily, but it’s all for replenishing energy, so I don’t mind.
Here you go, Run Sheng."
Run Sheng took it, biting off a large chunk, then his chewing slowed down considerably. He didn’t spit it out, but instead chewed and then swallowed it down.
Tan Wenbin asked, "How’s the taste, is it okay, Run Sheng?"
Run Sheng: "This is dirty meat."
Li Zhiyuan and Xue Liangliang were immediately shocked.
Tan Wenbin: "Of course, it’s dirty; everything in there is covered in dust, but I’ve dusted off the surface."
Li Zhiyuan reminded him, "Brother Binbin, the ’dirty meat’ Run Sheng is talking about could mean it’s not from livestock."
"If it’s not from livestock, what kind of meat is it? Could it be... ugh, ugh!"
Run Sheng patted Tan Wenbin’s back, comforting him, "Stop throwing up; it’s all energy."
Li Zhiyuan said calmly, "Let’s go to the ancestral hall."
The four of them headed to the largest building in the house, adorned with two stone lions by the entrance and an old plaque hanging above. Only the writing on the plaque was not clear.
It wasn’t due to weathering, but rather because as they approached, they suddenly noticed a great deal of water dripping from the eaves of the ancestral hall, like a small waterfall, obscuring the plaque.
"What kind of decor is this?" Xue Liangliang asked Li Zhiyuan, "Or is what we’re seeing something invisible in reality?"
"Um, water without a source, and the ground cannot hold it; it’s invisible in reality."
Tan Wenbin exclaimed excitedly, "The exit must be here!"
Since this building was so distinctive and could present a "phenomenon" different from that in reality, it was very likely the exit was here.
Xue Liangliang asked, "Xiao Yuan, how does Feng Shui explain this phenomenon?"
"In ancient times, emperors were most averse to water leakage when constructing their mausoleums, considering it a bad omen. Any occurrence , and both the craftsmen and officials in charge would be charged with serious crimes.
The ancestral hall represents a village, a family surname, a clan, and the omen of their fortunes. For it to leak water like a waterfall could only mean:
[Debts of sin like water, a grave loss of virtue, no words visible on the plaque, the ancestors are too ashamed to face.]
Brother Runsheng, smash the door of the ancestral hall."
Run Sheng stepped forward and started to smash the door. Clearly, the doors of the ancestral hall were more robust than those of a residence, but Run Sheng was still Run Sheng. After several forceful kicks, the doors were finally kicked down.
The four of them entered and just off the stairs, they were collectively taken aback.
The exterior of the ancestral hall already revealed a waterfall, so naturally, inside was also filled with a great amount of water, each drop representing a debt of sin.
However, it wasn’t merely the water inside the ancestral hall that shocked everyone.
The reason was that inside the pond, there were densely packed people standing.
This was the first time since entering the village that the four of them had seen "people" and so many at that.
Everyone had their eyes closed, their faces pale as paper, gently swaying in the water with the current—all dead.
And the one standing at the very front, seemingly the most recently added, and also the closest to the group of four, was the truck driver Zhu Yang.
Tan Wenbin said in disbelief, "Zhu Yang, he’s dead? He didn’t enter this space layer with us, he should still be in reality."
Li Zhiyuan: "That’s why he’s dead."
Tan Wenbin swallowed, "Why... why?"
Li Zhiyuan pointed at the ground and then outside the ancestral hall, saying,
"Because this... is Road Bully Village!"