My Healing Games

Chapter 703 The Ceremony Participated by Han Fei

"Are these all the survivors in the resort?"

Han Fei frowned as he looked at the nine elderly people gathered at the entrance of the hot spring inn. He had originally wanted to rely on the help of the young people in the village, but now it seemed that he could not count on them.

By touching the bodies of those elderly people with his palms, Han Fei used the secret of touching the depths of their souls to peer into their hearts.

All the surviving elderly people in the village are plagued by nightmares, their souls filled with regret, worry, and fear of the curse.

“They shouldn’t be lying.” By touching the secrets deep within their souls, Han Fei saw the old people’s true thoughts. They were not with the dream, but just a group of pitiful victims.

If the dream is preparing to use the lives and years of countless people to refine a potion, then these elderly people who are already halfway to their coffins are the dregs of the potion, and they are not within the dream's scope of consideration.

"Are you really willing to risk your life to help us?" Guan Miao was the oldest in the village, and he knew all too well how terrifying what was hidden in the lake was; going to the island now would almost certainly mean certain death.

“This city has changed. After the sun sets, it may never rise again. From now on, we will face long nights, and the monsters in the lake will become even more terrifying in the darkness.” Han Fei returned the old man’s headscarf: “I know you are also victims, so I hope you can join me in completing the ritual again to save the other people in the village. Among them should be your family and friends.”

“But completing the ceremony requires a statue of a deity and orphans who grew up eating food from many families, and there are many other things to prepare.” The old lady from the fish restaurant was also present. She was not a bad person, but her mental state was not quite right now. If she continued to be tormented by nightmares, she might choose to jump into the lake to reunite with her children.

"There's a statue under the boat captain's bed. I grew up in an orphanage. We've already met all the conditions you mentioned." Han Fei said calmly. He had made up his mind to go to the island tonight.

The elderly men looked at each other. They were the oldest people in the village, had participated in many ceremonies, and knew a lot about these things.

“Alright, since you’re willing to help us, we’ll do our best to keep you safe.” Guan Miao chatted with the old lady at the fish restaurant for a while, then waved to Han Fei: “Come with me.”

They crossed the hot spring hotel and arrived at a place behind it that was not open to tourists, where a very old-fashioned ancestral hall had been built.

"I'll help you invite the Lake God." Guan Miao, whose face was ugly and ferocious, could no longer be considered human in appearance, but the blood passed down from his ancestors still flowed in his soul: "Light incense! Bring out the three sacrificial animals!"

After removing their headscarves, Guan Miao and several elders knelt and worshipped their ancestors in the ancestral hall, then poured the ashes from the incense burner into the strange lake god statue.

The village was on the verge of extinction, but Guan Miao and his group were barely able to save themselves and had no power to change the situation. Han Fei's appearance gave them a glimmer of hope, so after a brief discussion, they decided to do everything they could to help Han Fei.

Keeping everything simple, after paying respects to their ancestors, several elders worked together to bring out the lake god statue. They carried various sacrificial items in their hands and sang strange short songs.

The elderly people moved the statue from the ancestral hall to the boat rental center closest to the lake and placed it on a special wooden boat.

The front of the ship was carved into a fish head, the rear into a fish tail, and the hull was covered with auspicious inscriptions.

"Shall we use this ship?"

"Wait a minute, we still have something to give you." Guan Miao returned to the inn and took down the lantern hanging above the door: "If you can't move forward no matter how you row, then hang the lantern up. The water ghosts at the bottom of the lake will see this lantern passed down from generation to generation and should make way for you."

Besides the lanterns, the other elderly people also went home and brought back some old items, including copper coins, children's toys, and hand-mended clothes. The old lady from the fish restaurant gave Han Fei a photo album containing photos of tourists with the big fish, as well as photos of herself with her children when she was young.

“I have many children, but they all ended up in the lake, either because of greed or because they were trying to save someone. If you meet them, show them the photos, and maybe they will remember me.”

With everything prepared, Han Fei, Guan Miao, and the lifeguard player boarded the boat.

“The small boat can seat four people. If there are empty seats, it’s easy for water ghosts to target us.” Guan Miao wanted Li Guo’er to get on the boat, but Han Fei pulled Yan Le over instead.

"She's still a child, this is too dangerous."

"It's alright." Han Fei wasn't entirely at ease with Yan Le's mother. He still didn't know what her abilities were, and he was worried about leaving her on the shore.

The four of them boarded the wooden boat, rowed, and sailed along the artificial waterway outside the rental center toward the lake.

"Wasn't this a bit too reckless?" The lifeguard hadn't expected things to develop this way. Just over an hour ago, he was still in the residential area, and now he was about to face the water ghosts and possible water monsters: "We can run anywhere on the shore, but if we encounter danger in the lake, we'll have nowhere to escape!"

"What's the point of saying all this now?" Han Fei sat at the bow of the boat, calmly looking at the dark lake water.

When Huang Ying brought down the skill books from the shallow world, Han Fei learned a lot of random abilities, such as lock picking, suturing wounds, rock climbing, diving, and demolition. As his memories returned, those abilities were slowly regained.

The resort lights gradually dimmed, and Han Fei could only hear the sound of flowing water.

Wooden boats paddled out of the resort's waterway, leading to a vast lake stretching out before them.

Sitting at the bow of the boat, Han Fei took a deep breath. He was a fairly good swimmer, but when he was actually facing the dark lake, all sorts of negative emotions arose in his heart.

The night and the lake merged together, and the surroundings were completely shrouded in darkness, creating an extremely oppressive atmosphere.

The small boat swayed with the current, its body seemingly sinking, as if it might plunge into the deep water at any moment.

Darkness, deep sea, claustrophobia, despair, sinking, suffocation...

Not only Han Fei, but the lifeguard player was also struggling. He kept his head down, not daring to look into the distance. When he was really scared, he would glance at Han Fei's back.

On the lone boat, Han Fei gave people a very reliable feeling; he seemed to be everyone's direction.

The wooden paddles splashed water, the resort behind us receded into the distance, but the island in the middle of the lake still hadn't come into view.

They rowed for a good ten minutes, until the resort lights went out completely, and all that was left was endless darkness except for the sound of water.

"Village Chief Guan, how much longer until we get there?" The lifeguard's hands, gripping the wooden paddle, were already soaked with sweat.

"It should be soon," Guan Miao said uncertainly. "Normally, it should take about half an hour to get there."

"Half an hour?" The lifeguard continued paddling hard, but Han Fei in front stopped, and the cat in his backpack started meowing.

"Did you see something?" Yan Le's mother was also a little uneasy. At this moment, Yan Le's face had turned completely white. She was covering the wound on her stomach, and cold sweat was sliding down her forehead.

"Let's light some lanterns. We've been lingering here for a while. There seems to be something under this boat." Han Fei's voice wasn't loud, but his words made the other three a little scared.

"Okay." Guan Miao lit the lantern, leaned out, and hung it on the bow of the boat.

The faint flame flickered precariously, as if it could go out at any moment.

"It's definitely not as strenuous to paddle anymore." The lifeguard was quite surprised. He glanced at the water illuminated by the lanterns and saw several shadows spreading outwards from the murky surface of the lake, which seemed to be several large fish.

"Don't look around." Yan Le's mother manipulated Yan Le's body, forcing him to lower his head: "This lake is called the sea of ​​the mind. If you look at it too much, you might get trapped in it."

"Understood, understood." Just as the lifeguard was about to look away, the wooden paddle in his hand suddenly hit something hard.

At first he thought he had hit a reef, but upon closer inspection, he realized that there could not possibly be a rock on the surface of the water in the middle of the lake.
Instinctively looking in that direction, the lifeguard saw a clump of black seaweed, dense and swaying with the waves.

"The seaweed shouldn't be so stiff!" With the oar suspended in mid-air, the lifeguard saw the seaweed drifting towards him at a very fast speed, reaching the side of the boat in the blink of an eye.

He tried to use the wooden paddle to push aside the water plants, but when the paddle lifted the water plants, he saw a pair of swollen eyes under the black water plants.

"Heads!"

The sudden fright nearly caused the lifeguard to hit Yan Le, and the wooden boat also rocked violently.

"Don't panic!" Han Fei pressed down on the Rebirth Blade with one hand, trying to maintain the balance of the small boat.

"In the water! That head is standing upright in the water! That's not a corpse!" The lifeguard knew very well that dead bodies float on the surface of the water and could not stand upright in the water.

Pulling the red rope, Han Fei, after his palms were covered in curses, reached out and tried to grab the thing to take a look.

"Don't touch the water, or they'll drag you in!" Guan Miao was terrified by Han Fei's actions. He quickly stopped him, then pulled a copper coin from his pocket, muttering some dialect that no one could understand, and threw the coin where the heads appeared: "Let's get rid of this trouble and leave quickly."

"A kind person is bullied, and a good horse is ridden. We can't just give in to them all the time." Han Fei looked at the fading curse on his hand: "Make an example of them. If all else fails, take this lantern down and replace it with a cursed water ghost."

“We are worshipping the lake god, and the key to worship is sincerity. You should note that we are asking the lake god for blessings and relief from our misfortunes, not threatening him.” Guan Miao did not expect Han Fei to think this way; this young man had a great misunderstanding of the ritual of worshipping the lake god.

"Did the lake god hear your sincere prayers?" Han Fei glanced at the fish-scale patterns on Guan Miao's neck. "We can respect him, but he can't refuse a toast only to be forced to drink a forfeit."

(End of this chapter)