Card Room

Chapter 111 - Liuxi Village 17

As soon as a baby was born, there would be some conditioned reflexes such as the grasping reflex and the pupillary light reflex. If the palm of the baby’s hand was touched, the child would instinctively grasp it. If light was shone on the pupils, the child’s pupils would immediately shrink.

This was an instinctive response of human brain development. In the hospital, doctors could use this method to check the nerve development of newborns. The pupillary reflex existed, indicating the development of the optic nerve and oculomotor nerve was normal.

Grandma Sun deliberately brought a candle when she handed the child to Lin Er. She obviously wanted to check the child’s eyesight.

Medicine for pregnant women that led to fetal vision malformation was Grandma Sun’s usual method, but every pregnant woman’s physique was different. Some people weren’t sensitive to certain medicine and teratogenesis wasn’t 100% reliable. Obviously, Liu Hui belonged to the type that wasn’t sensitive to medicine. The medicine given by Grandma Sun didn’t affect her baby.

Grandma Sun’s expression was somewhat complicated when she found the baby’s vision was normal. She took the child from Lin Er’s hands and asked, “Do you want me to name the child?”

Lin Er scratched his head and smiled. “Grandma, please help us.”

Grandma Sun looked at the baby girl in her arms. The little girl had stopped crying and was extraordinarily well-behaved. She stretched out two white arms everywhere, mouth babbling. After a long time, Grandma Sun whispered, “Call her Lin Yue. Yue means joy. With this daughter, you and Hui Hui should be very happy.

Lin Er nodded excitedly. “A good name! Thank you Grandma! I’ll go and see Hui Hui.”

He picked up his daughter and ran to the delivery room to see his wife. It took Hui Hui four hours to deliver her baby and she was already exhausted. LIn Er went to her and grabbed her hand tightly. “Hui Hui, it was hard on you.”

Liu Hui looked shy as she shook her head. “It isn’t hard... where’s the baby.”

He gently put their daughter in Liu Hui’s arms. “It is a girl.”

Liu Hui held her daughter and fingers carefully touched the child’s face, he smooth skin feeling soft. Liu Hui couldn’t help smiling. She gently grasped her daughter’s hand and spoke softly, “I don’t know what our daughter looks like.”

Liu Hui laughed. “Our daughter must be very cute!”

Little Qing stood beside him and watched this warm scene with a blank expression.

Grandma Qin got up and said, “I’ll go back first. The two of you should rest early.”

Liu Hui nodded, “Okay, thank you, Aunt Qin.”

Grandma Qin turned around on her cane and went to the door. She found Litle Qing standing still and whispered, “Little Qing, you still haven’t gone?”

Liu Qing made a sound and followed.

Outside the door, Grandma Sun spoke lightly. “Everyone, go back. Hui Hui is tired and let the two of them rest.”

The neighbours soon dispersed and Liu Qing returned home.

Only Grandma Sun and Grandma Qin were left outside the house.

The two old ladies looked at each other before walking side by side. They stopped at a fork in the road and Grandma Qin said, “This child can see?”

Grandma Sun replied, “I checked her pupils and they responded.”

Grandma Qin spoke coldly, “What are you going to do with her?”

Grandma Sun smiled. “Use the old rules. Once she is older, give her medicine and she will be blind after taking it for a period of time.

Grandma Qin turned to her. “I remember Liu Si was the same. His eyes could see when he was born and you also gave him medicine. Why is he not blind in the end?”

Grandma Sun frowned unhappily. “The village chief is a special case. He was so good at pretending that he deceived even me.”

Grandma Qin stared into her eyes. “It isn’t because Liu Si was too good as a child and followed you every day that you couldn’t bear to blind him?”

Grandma Sun’s expression sank. “How is that possible? His grandfather and several uncles were all involved in the matter of that year. I won’t let go of the Liu family!”

The village was so quiet in the middle of the night that her voice echoed in the empty streets. A gust of wind blew through the hair of the two old ladies as a strange ferocity appeared on their faces.

Grandma Sun said, “Go back and sleep. Tomorrow is the Autumn Harvest and everything will be over.”

The two people parted at the fork in the road and went home to rest. The challengers hiding in the surrounding area quickly appeared. Led by Yu Hanjiang, they quickly left the village and came to the trees near the farmland.

Yu Hanjiang whispered, “Old Qi, what is the situation on your side?”

Old Qi replied, “It is smooth. We stole all of the medicine from Grandma Sun.”

Yu Hanjiang said, “Old Qin’s rice wine was swapped out by us. If they really want to poison the villagers tomorrow, it will fail. However, just in case, someone will watch Grandma Sun and Grandma Qin tomorrow, so that they don’t restore the medicine before the festival.”

Liu Qiao raised her hand. “I’ll try to keep an eye on Grandma Qin.”

The chameleon man also raised his hand. “I can help stare at Grandma Sun. I can stick to the outside of her house and she can’t see me.”

Yu Hanjiang nodded. “The two of you will continue to investigate. Let’s first rest until dawn. We will soon know what the two old ladies are going to do.”

It was already 4:30 in the morning and the group sat under the trees for a while. It was soon dawn and the village gradually became lively because today was the Autumn Harvest Festival.

Yu Hanjiang called the village chief and asked, “Village Chief Liu, what is the procedure for your Autumn Harvest Festival in previous years?”

The village chief spoke seriously, “In the morning, we first gather together to collect crops and the mature wheat are tied up in the farmland. In the evening, every household will bring out a dish and put it on a table in the farmland. Grandma Sun will recite some words we don’t understand and we will kowtow in the direction of the west mountain to pray for good weather next year...”

The west mountain was the head of the human-shaped gem array as well as where the ancestors of Liuxi Village were buried. It wasn’t so much to worship their ancestors as it was to kneel down to the two innocent girls who died tragically in the village.

***

Today’s weather was very good. Yu Hanjiang let people hide behind trees so they weren’t found by the villagers.

Liu Qiao and the chameleon stayed in the village to investigate the villagers’ movements.

At around 9 o’clock in the morning, a large number of villagers came to the village and held a sickle to harvest wheat. They might be blind but after so many years of exercise, their actions weren’t clumsy. On the contrary, they gathered wheat with agile hands and feet.

In the farmland outside the village, the golden wheat fluttering in the air was gradually cut off. Throughout the day, the villagers cut the wheat, tied them up in a bundle, moved to the farmland and forced a large circle.

It wasn’t until dark that the Autumn Harvest Festival officially started.

Grandma Sun and Grandma Qin came to the scene. The females brought out home-cooked dishes and several young men brought over several jars of rice wine. Grandma Win held a torch in one hand and the Tibetan mastiff in the other hand. She stood at the front and clearly had prestige.

The two people in charge of the investigation came back. Liu Qiao flew to the tree and seriously reported to Yu Hanjiang. “Grandma Qin didn’t use the rice wine with human bones. Instead, she asked the villagers to find normal jars of rice wine.”

Xiao Lou was slightly stunned. “Where is her jar of human rice wine?”

Liu Qiao replied, “It is still in her kitchen and she didn’t move it.”

The chameleon man rose from the ground like a ball of mud. “Grandma Sun also didn’t bring any medicine. She just came here after changing her clothes. We stole her medicine last night and she didn’t seem to have discovered it. She didn’t go into the kitchen all day. By the way, Grandma Sun went to see Hui Hui and her newborn baby before leaving. She asked Hui Hui’s husband and her apprentice Little Qing to take care of the mother and daughter.”

Yu Hanjiang and Xiao Lou looked at each other and Xiao Lou frowned. “Were we mistaken? Are they not intending to use poison or perhaps they never thought about killing the villagers to be buried with their daughters?”

The group looked at each other.

Last night, the group of people were excited as they stole the medicine and switched out the rice wine... as a result, Grandma Qin and Grandma Sun didn’t use the medicine and rice wine today.

Yu Hanjiang raised his hand. “Everyone hide and wait to see any changes.”

The trees were nearly a kilometer away from the farmland and 99% of the villagers were blind. They hid behind the trees and didn’t attract any attention.

Grandma Sun walked to the middle of the farmland and spoke in a loud voice’ On this day of harvest we should thank our ancestors for finding such a beautiful land for us. The Autumn Harvest Festival has officially begun. Everyone, kneel!”

Grandma Sun gave the order and the entire Liuxi Village fell to the ground to kneel to the west.

This scene of worship was very grand and solemn. The villagers knelt in a neat manner and Xiao Lou’s heart upset.

They had no idea what they were kneeling for. They simply thought it was paying respects to their ancestors...

Hiding behind the tree, the village chief clenched his fists and his lips trembled. “Since I can remember, we have always bowed in the direction of the west mountain every year on this day. No one doubted that there was anything wrong with this ceremony.”

Xiao Lou sighed and held the village chief’s shoulder. “Don’t worry, Grandma Sun and Grandma Qin will soon reveal their faces.”

After the kowtow ceremony, Aunt Qin smiled. “According to the rules, everyone will eat a full meal and drink a bowl of win. The coming year will definitely be a big harvest! Lin Wu, Sun Xiaoliu, send the wind and everyone, enjoy!”

The crowd cheered and consciously gathered around. They picked up a bowl and started to eat from the table.

The two young men took the initiative to distribute the wine and food to the villagers. The wine jars weren’t the ones in Grandma Qin’s kitchen. They were bulky and there wasn’t the ‘rice wine’ sign on them.

Yu Hanjiang looked back at Liu Qiao. “Liu Qiao, are you sure these wine jars were moved from the villagers’ homes?”

Liu Qiao nodded. “Okay, I have been staring from the trees near Grandma Qin’s home. In the afternoon, a few villagers listened to Grandma Qin’s instructions and moved these wine jars to her home. They have never left my sight.”

Xiao Lou always felt uneasy. “Perhaps the jars aren’t poisoned?”

Just then, Grandma Qin suddenly smiled. “Before drinking, first listen to me tell a story.”

The villagers sitting in the wheat fields pricked up their ears curiously and listened to her tell the story.

Grandma Qin spoke faintly. “35 years ago, there was a rich lady who came to this village with an investigation group. Since the village has precise jade resources, she negotiated with the village chief of that time, i.e. Liu Si’s grandfather, over the price. She wanted to mine the jade on the west mountain, processing into very beautiful jewellery.

“There was a girl in the village who was blind from childhood and bullied by her peers. She was introverted but very smart. One day, she went out to pick vegetables and met the rich lady. The two girls quickly became friends.

“One night...” Grandma Qin suddenly stopped, her vicious eyes sweeping over the crowd. “The blind girl went to the west mountain to find her good friend. As a result, they were killed by several young people. They were first raped and then killed! The village chief and villagers all knew the medicines but they covered it up...”

“The blind girl was my daughter. The rich girl was Grandma Sun’s daughter!”

The villagers didn’t feel right when they heard this.

Grandma Qin suddenly kicked a few wine jars over, throwing them over the distant wheat, her voice as cold as ice. “During the Autumn Harvest Festival, you were actually bowing down to our daughters’ grave in the west mountain, not your ancestors! Today is my daughter’s death day. Us old women can’t live for long so let’s go down and be with them!”

Hearing the last sentence, the villagers’ faces changed. Some of them were alert and ready to run. Some asked blankly, “What is Aunt Qin talking about?” “Is Aunt Qin crazy?”

Grandma Qin suddenly threw the torch in her hand.

The fields were full of today’s newly collected wheat and the bundles were piled up in one place.

Grandma Qin set this fire and it spread rapidly due to the wine and wind. The raging fire soon surrounded all the villagers. The blind people couldn’t see and ran in a panic, stepping on each other. Some people had their clothes burned and cried out with pain.

The originally happy Autumn Harvest Festival had turned into the scene of a fire.

Xiao Lou’s expression changed. “Not good!”

They had found Grandma Qin’s human bones wine and Grandma Sun’s human bones medicine. They subconsciously thought that the two old ladies would poison the villagers using the wine or medicine.

They didn’t expect Grandma Qin’s method to be simpler. She directly set a fire to burn the farmland and burn the villagers!

Grandma Sun drove out the village chief in advance and didn’t let Little Qing participate. She also didn’t let Hui Hui, who just gave birth, to come. Perhaps she wasn’t aiming at these people and wanted to save their lives. Since the village chief, Little Qing and Hui Hui’s newborn daughter could see, not killing them was Grandma Sun’s last conscience.

For the others living in darkness, it was better to go to a darker place and accompany her daughter.

Grandma Sun’s ‘rest’ was actually setting a fire on the day of the Autumn Harvest Festival to kill the blind villagers!

Seeing that the fire was becoming fiercer, Yu Hanjiang’s expression sank. “Quickly save people!”

However, the moment he finished speaking, Xiao Lou suddenly opened his mouth. “Wait, I can’t see.”

Shao Qingge muttered, “I can’t see either...”

Next was Liu Qiao’s voice. “Me too.”

Yu Hanjiang’s eyes quickly swept over the group. Seven out of the twelve challengers were blind. It was one in each team while Liu Qiao was blind and the masked man could see. The fighting force was reduced by two-thirds in an instant.

There were only five people whose eyes were fine.

The five people faced each other and Old Qi looked sullen. “There are hundreds of villagers and only five of us can see. How can we save them?”

There was a blindness effect in each secret room. Everyone would be blind for three hours a day. In the previous days, most of the blind people would take a nap when not doing anything important. For example, if they became blind at noon, they would simply take a nap. In the early morning, blind people didn’t need to take part in the action. The best was to be blind at night when they could sleep unaware.

They didn’t expect that at this critical moment, more than half the challengers would suddenly become blind.

Everyone was a bit panicked. They couldn’t see but they could feel the burning fire and the temperature of the surrounding air rising. It was almost impossible to breathe in the hot air and smoke.

At this point, a prompt appeared on everyone’s floating boxes.

[Save the villagers 0/110]

The always calm Old Qi couldn’t help cursing. “Fuck! Are we immortals? How can five people save more than 100?”

If they ignored the villagers and turned to escape, they could clear the instance in an ordinary manner?

Or should they risk everything and rush into the fire to save people?

Looking at the panicked villagers in the fire and listening to the children’s cries in their ears, Yu Hanjiang couldn’t ignore it.

They were living beings and people who hadn’t participated in the incident of that year. They had been living in a world of darkness since birth, struggling to live. Today, they finally knew the meaning of their own lives. They finally knew today that the meaning of their lives was to be buried with Grandma Qin and Sun’s two daughters!

How innocent were they?

Yu Hanjiang shouted, “Don’t retreat! You can’t see then just don’t move. What are you afraid of? Did you draw so many cards for nothing?!”

The panicked challenger team suddenly calmed down. They couldn’t see but hadn’t these villagers been blind for more than 30 years? If they flinched back because they couldn’t see, wouldn’t it be more difficult in future secret rooms? If they met danger and retreated until they couldn’t retreat anymore, wouldn’t they just be eliminated?

Yu Hanjiang woke up the dreamers with his words and realized how foolish it was to think about escaping.

Seeing that everyone had calmed down, Yu Hanjiang continued, “Since we are cooperating, I hope for us to unite and don’t flinch back at the last moment! It isn’t just for the villagers but also for yourself. Don’t forget that perfectly clearing the instance can drew a card and there will be more rewards.”

Xiao Lou took the lead in coming out. He was blind but he still accurately captured the breathing and location of Yu Hanjiang. He stood by Yu Hanjiang and smiled. “Don’t be afraid, there are no dangerous buildings there. There aren’t any beams or anything that will fall and hurt us. The burning objects are only the crops in the farmland. We just need to make sure of the position of the ring of fire and open the gap to save people.”

Yu Hanjiang looked appreciatively at Xiao Lou. “Yes.

His eyes swept over the crowd and he spoke calmly. “Now, the blind people should give the useful cards to the five people who can see. If you don’t feel reassured then give it to your teammate or directly to me!”

Yu Hanjiang’s low and calm voice was the best weapon to stabilize their hearts.

The people immediately followed his command and handed over their useful cards.