This Damned Thirst for Survival
chapter-42

Wen Renlian smiled gently, but the smile looked a little unkind in Jiang Luo’s eyes, “No need to wear women’s clothes, I see that the village girls are only dressed in robes, there is not much difference between men’s and women’s clothing.”

Jiang Luo was adamant: “No way.”

Wen Renlian said pitifully, “But I’m going alone, there’s not enough people.”

Jiang Luo raised his hand and pointed to Zhuo Zhongqiu who was backing up with him, ” Zhuo Zhongqiu can’t?”

Zhuo Zhongqiu’s expression twisted for a moment, ” Jiang Luo , it’s not necessary.”

Wen Renlian whispered softly, “Zhong Qiu is also allowed, but they only choose girls to enter the shrine, I am afraid Zhong Qiu will be in danger, it is safer for the boys.”

Jiang Luo : “……”

Whenever I get upset, I have to bring up Chi You and scold it.

Fuckin’ Chi You.

……

The others were herded out the door.

The dead ghost stood next to Lu Youyi with his knife in his hand, staring into the room, expressionless and curious: “What are they doing?”

“They’re doing something very painful,” Lu Youyi , “mainly Jiang Luo will be very painful.”

Lu Youyi pulled him back just in time, “Hey, hey, hey, what are you doing?”

“I have to protect my friends,” the dead ghost looked back at him, “and you don’t want to leave me? It’s okay, you can come in with me to save people and I’ll protect you.”

Lu Youyi : “…… I really can’t see that you are this kind of character.”

“What kind of personality? Chatty or very righteous?” The dead ghost tried to laugh, but his face was paralyzed but his lips only twitched stiffly, he frowned strangely and forced a twisted smile, “I’m also very smiley.”

Liao Si, eavesdropping from the sidelines : “……”

This was definitely not the Teng Bi he knew.

Lu Youyi shuddered, “Stop laughing, I beg you! They’re doing their job, you can’t go in there and disturb them!”

“What’s the right thing to do?” The dead man said, “I can’t stand by and watch my friend suffer like this.”

Lu Youyi’s expression was odd: “You want to take Jiang Luo’s pain for him?”

It seems to be holding in a laugh.

The dead ghost nodded and rightfully said, “We’re all his friends, and if we’re friends, we have to be friends in trouble.”

Zhuo Zhongqiu and Ge Zhu, who were standing nearby, immediately applauded, “Good!”

As they pushed the dead ghost and Lu Youyi into the room, Ge Zhu exclaimed, “You’re good friends, so I’ll leave the four of you to explore the shrine and leave the rest to us, we’ll wait outside to meet you.”

Lu Youyi doubts life: “No, no, I didn’t say that, I didn’t mean that!”

They were wheeled straight into the house.

Wen Renlian, who was fixing Jiang Luo’s face, looked up at the sound of his voice and gave a pleased smile, “Welcome to this operation.”

He shook his hand and the loose powder streaked through the air as Wen Renlian looked at Lu Youyi and the dead ghosts, one taller and fitter than the other, and said sincerely, “I will try my best to make you into a beautiful girl.”

Jiang Luo opened one eye to look at them and snorted with joy, “Good enough buddy.”

It was a time-consuming task to apply make-up to all three men to the extent that they could pass for real. Jiang Luo was the only one who did it quickly and well, with his strikingly good looks and declining features, and once he had concealed the increasing strength of his brow, he was able to achieve the goal of being unmistakably male and female.

Ge Zhu and Zhuo Zhongqiu gave them four sets of local clothes to borrow, but luckily the clothes were, as Wen Renlian said, unisex, with tops and robes, and the difference between male and female clothing was not too great.

It was five o’clock in the afternoon when it was all over. By the time Jiang Luo and his group emerged from the house, Ge Zhu and his group were already bored with waiting.

After seeing the effect on Jiang Luo, they had a refreshing sense of amazement, ” Jiang Luo, you really are amazing.”

The dark-haired youth’s hair is loosely braided and rests casually on his left shoulder. The corners of his crimson lips are slightly teased, and his buxom, smoldering features are looking up.

Enough to make others subconsciously ignore his deliberately concealed gender identity.

The garment fits surprisingly well, with a gentle tuck at the waist and blush-inducing curves.

Jiang Luo curled his lips into a smile, in a good mood, revealing Lu Youyi and the dead ghost behind him.

Everyone else: “…… pfft.”

Lu Youyi, who was very relaxed in his women’s clothes, wondered, “What are you all looking at, don’t we look good?”

Ge Zhu endured a smile until his face cramped up, “It looks good, very good.”

Lu Youyi’s looks are already on the handsome side, and his figure is tall. But compared to the living dead next to him, he is now a sight to behold.

The features of a living dead man are fierce and cold. He is dressed in women’s clothing and wears heavy make-up, so his features are not softened much, but rather look funny, making people laugh.

Wen Renlian said helplessly, amidst laughter, “I tried my best.”

It was almost time, so they stowed some of their defensive tools on their bodies and quietly made their way out the door.

The doors of every house are closed and only young girls are walking through the village. Each soft, beautiful face has a shy, timid smile on it, excitement in their eyes and peachy cheeks and almond faces.

The four Jiang Luo’s blended in without attracting much attention. The girls were too busy to pay attention to the others, their breath caught in their throat, nervousness and anticipation taking over their minds.

At 6pm, the doors of the shrine were already full of young girls.

There were many young girls, but only a few dozen in total. In order not to be noticed, Jiang Luo stood in an isolated corner.

The village chief hurriedly arrived and stood at the front together waiting for the shrine to open.

He looked more nervous than the girls, walking back and forth, sweat pouring out of his head and being roughly wiped away.

The sky was suddenly covered with a thick, dark cloud.

The door of the ancestral hall slowly opened and the god-god, dressed in black, came out of it. The village headman hurriedly greeted him and invited the God-Gong to sit down on the seat in front of him.

The Godfather’s black hood covered his face, and his voice was low, his voice as dry and hoarse as if it had been destroyed, “Tell them to come one by one and report their birthdays.”

The village headman nodded and went to the group of girls and said, “One by one, go to the gods and report your birth date and answer whatever the gods ask.

One by one, the girls standing in the front row stepped forward and passed in front of the Divine Principle.

The Godfather kept his head down, making one wonder if he was looking at the girls or not. After occasionally opening his mouth and leaving a few girls standing to his left, he did not say anything else.

The girls in front of him soon went through the process, and Jiang Luo noticed that the girls left on the left side of the gods were all overjoyed, while those not left by the exit were already shaking with tears in their eyes.

The girls who were left behind were, without exception, given a birth date that was extremely yin.

Surely something is odd.

Jiang Luo’s mind was clear, and when he came forward, he lowered his head to avoid the village chief’s eyes and lowered his voice to give an extremely sinister date of birth.

By common sense, he would have been left behind as well. But the divine Duke did not follow common sense and asked in a raspy voice, “What is your name?”

Jiang Luo paused and chose a common name in the village, “Cuihua.”

Kamiji: “There’s already a girl called Tricia just now.”

The village chief looked at Jiang Luo twice in confusion; these girls who had promised themselves to the gods did not go out much during the week and did not have much contact with other men. He really didn’t remember many girls called Cuihua in the village, but the village chief didn’t doubt it and explained for Jiang Luo, “Lord God, you know the girls in our village, there are a few with that name every year.”

Divine Principle: “Is that so?”

He stood up on his crutches and walked slowly over to Jiang Luo.

Jiang Luo A pair of feet appear in front of his bowed head.

With his black shoes and black robe, Jiang Luo is wrapped up in a tight wrap. Jiang Luo is already about 1.8 metres tall, but he is even half a head taller than him with his walking stick.

The Godfather reached out a hand wrapped in black cloth from within his black robe and lifted Jiang Luo’s chin, seemingly examining it, “But why do I think this man looks a bit familiar?”

Jiang Luo’s heart leapt and his eyes lifted to see a bit of pale jaw peeking out from beneath the hood of the Godfather’s black robe.

The lower jaw looks even more lifelessly bleak against the black cap, sharply and perfectly curved.

There is a vague sense of familiarity with Jiang Luo.

The Godfather’s hand went down and pinched Jiang Luo’s cheeks from bottom to top, and his voice was unpleasantly hoarse as he said, “Are you really Shen Tucun’s man?”

Jiang Luo revealed a harmless smile, “Godfather, of course I am a Shen Tucun.”

“And what will you do,” the god-duke’s hand moved to Jiang Luo’s shoulder and pressed down hard, “will you do the things that serve the gods?”

Jiang Luo’s shoulder ached, as if his bones were being crushed. Cold sweat broke out on the tip of his nose and he calmly said, “I will.”

The village chief panicked, “Don’t worry, Godfather, all the girls in our village have learned how to serve the gods, they all know how, there isn’t a single one who doesn’t, and one does it better than the other.”

“I’m still confident that the village chief will do his job,” the Godfather said slowly, “after all, he’s never made a mistake in previous years.”

A sudden fierce joy burst out of the village headman’s face, as if he had been given a new lease of life, and his face was full of spring, “Nothing will definitely go wrong this year either.”

The Godfather nodded, looked at Jiang Luo again, and after a moment’s reflection, said, “That’s him, everyone else should go back.”

At these words, the girls who had not been chosen looked desperate, and most of them even fell to the ground with their eyes white and helpless.

Jiang Luo glanced back at his companion, Wen Renlian, who made a silent gesture with him: at ease.

He nodded calmly and followed the God-god and the village chief into the middle of the shrine.

He was not so much scared as he was curious as to what secrets were hidden within this village’s ancestral hall.

The door to the shrine opened a crack and was dark inside. After Jiang Luo and the three of them walked in in turn, the heavy slamming of the door sounded and the last glimmer of light was blocked out.

The Godfather led the way, Jiang Luo in the middle and the village chief at the back. After stepping into the darkness, Jiang Luo’s eyes adjusted for a while and he was able to see the shrine clearly in the darkness.

The ancestral hall is divided into two parts, inside and outside, the exterior of which is empty, with nothing but an offering table. Strangely enough, there are only incense burners and joss sticks on the offering table, and not a single sculpture of a deity or a painted paper of a deity.

They walked from the exterior to the interior, which held several dull candles. The God-Duke picked up one of the candlesticks and pulled up a secret door in the floor, turning his head sideways and saying quietly, “Follow me.”

The candlelight cast bright shadows on his face, the room was eerie, and the village headman’s voice trembled as he replied, “Good.”

The secret passage is a long, stone staircase that continues downwards.

Jiang Luo did not know how long he had been walking down the path, only that the candle in the Godfather’s hand was already a third of the way down. The sound of footsteps echoed in the empty, secret passage, clearly the footsteps of three people, but sounding as noisy as a dozen others.

Finally, they set foot on level ground.

After stepping onto the level ground, there was finally light on either side of the wall. The Godfather blew out the candle flame in his hand and set it aside, and continued on his way without hurry, supporting his walking stick.

Jiang Luo’s suspicious eyes were placed on him.

The black robe hides the appearance of the Divine Lord. If the Divine Lord has always been dressed like this, does that mean that no one in Shen Tucun has ever seen the Divine Lord in his true form?

Is it possible to impersonate a divine duke simply by donning such a black robe?

As they pondered, Jiang Luo heard the faint sound of water flowing underneath the river. As they went deeper and deeper, the river revealed itself.

The dim light illuminates the two-metre wide underground river channel. The current in the river was fast and furious, with some of the tumbling water dampening the muddy sink of the banks on either side into a wet, swampy texture.

The river was not known to be deep, and there was no bridge here. The god-duke walking ahead suddenly side-stepped out of the way and whispered, “God’s bride, please go first.”

Jiang Luo’s eyes jumped at this address, and he ignored the small, unpleasant detail and asked, “How do I get there?”

But it was as if he had said something silly, causing the god-god to burst out laughing, a dry and deceptive laugh that was eerily grim, “Walk on your feet, of course.”

Jiang Luo’s teeth itched.

There was only one person in the whole fucking world who was so shady and could stir up all his anger with just a laugh.

— Chi You.

This is the first time Jiang Luo has met Chi You since she last went inexplicably crazy in a hotel.

He had not yet finished his revenge from last time.

Jiang Luo gave a short, cold laugh, “You are a divine male, that is, a servant of God’s side, right?”

The village chief was shocked, “Cuihua, how can you say that!”

“Don’t you?” Jiang Luo raised his eyes to Chi You, spiteful malice pouring out as he said faintly, “Are you going to deny that you are a servant of God?”

The Godfather twirled his cane and said slowly, “I am.”

“If that’s the case, you’re still telling me to go straight down to the water?” Jiang Luo frowned, nonchalantly, “Is that what you’re supposed to do as a servant?”

More importantly, Jiang Luo found many ghostly figures in this river.

One after another, the ghosts were swept away by the current, and a new batch washed in. Under the blackness of the river, these ghosts, of all shapes and sizes, struggled to reach out and try to climb upwards, but were trapped by the river and could only fall back down into the water in despair.

These are drowned ghosts, also called water spirits.

Drowned and hanged ghosts cannot be reincarnated and must pull people in as scapegoats to free themselves. If Jiang Luo were to put one foot in the water, he would be pulled in by the hundreds of water spirits and become their double.

The Godfather faced him, his face hidden by a black cap as if he could see Jiang Luo through his robe, “What do you want?”

“You jump,” Jiang Luo said, raising his chin slightly, his face cold and stern, “to be my stepping stone across the river.”

The mayor drew a cold breath, forgetting everything he had said, and looked at Jiang Luo in near horror.

The divine Duke slowly gripped the sceptre and gently released it again. The slender sceptre became a plaything in his hands, and although his hands were wrapped in black cloth, his movements were so careless that one could not take one’s eyes off them.

“You are right,” Ryoga said, as the gods shared the honorific, and he seemed to smile a little, “you really shouldn’t be in the water yourself in your position.”

With these words, the God-god stamped into the river as the village chief looked on in disbelief.

Jiang Luo could see clearly that the moment the Goddess stepped into the water, the water spirits rushed towards him as if they were beasts that had been hungry for years and had finally smelled flesh. But the moment several pairs of ghostly hands touched the deity, they suddenly retreated like a tidal wave. They looked as if they had seen something extremely terrifying, and the nearest water spirits even went crazy and dived backwards.

In an instant, the water around the god-god became clean.

The Divine Lord straightened his arm and thrust his walking stick into the earth on the other side as he said humbly, “Please.”

Jiang Luo gave him a long, meaningful look and took a big step away, placing a foot on top of the god-god’s shoulder.

The god stood straight and did not sway a bit, a much more stable “bridge” than some suspension bridges.

Jiang Luo was about to continue to step on him, but several pairs of ghastly white ghostly hands suddenly came up on his ankles.

The water spirits that had been so fearful just then surprisingly gathered around again, ignoring the god-god at Jiang Luo’s feet and greedily and eagerly trying to drag him into the water.

Jiang Luo was dragged so far that he could not move a single step.

He glanced at the eye gong, snorted, pulled his leg stiffly out of the many ghostly claws and leapt across the river in one step.

Shen Gong and the village chief came ashore one after another, and Jiang Luo found that the water spirits did not bother to move the village chief when he went into the water. But not because they were afraid of the God-gong in general, they did not react, as if the village chief had …… been a dead man.

The three of them walked a little further and reached the middle of a shrine.

The underground shrine is two or three times larger than the above-ground one.

Inside the shrine, candlelight flickers, drawing shadows of varying lengths across the floor and illuminating some of the murals on the walls. But what attracts more attention than the murals is a statue of a god sitting cross-legged inside the shrine.

No, it is more like a statue of an evil god than an idol.

The idol is carved in stone, and his rough face bears the same stereotypical smile as on the muzzle. He holds a lotus flower in his left hand in front of him, and his eyes are closed and curved as if he were smiling. His features look benevolent at first glance, but there is always a sense of eeriness that follows him, and his lips are drawn downwards like they contain blood, with several traces of dried blood.

The colours on the body of the idol are also bizarre, as the whole seems to be a painted idol, but the feet are in a black and white shade. Where the colour meets the black and white, there is also a bloodstain.

But the village headman looked at the idol as if he did not feel the strangeness, and with his eyes aflame, he instantly knelt down and bowed three times, muttering continuously on his lips.

“God. ……”

Ignoring his gesture, the god-god went straight up and put three incense sticks on the idol, the smoke rising indistinctly as he said indifferently, “Tie him up.”

Put who?

Jiang Luo raised an eyebrow and looked sideways with a sense of purpose. The village chief had already pulled a loop of twine from his pocket and was walking towards him with a sinister look in his eyes.