See the Law of Deception

Chapter 21 Out of Control (2)

When they saw the old man suddenly come in and start criticizing them, everyone was stunned for a moment, but they quickly came to their senses.

The train must have granted them legitimate status to enter the village, which is why the old man said that.

The others had similar experiences and immediately realized what was going on, while Lu Jinzhao was half-guessing and half-thinking that it was probably like that.

"It seems that as the train's class increases, the difficulty of the platforms varies, and passengers will also acquire different identities in the platform tasks?"

She listened silently to the conversations between the other people and the old man, confirming her suspicions.

They were classmates of a young man in the village. Hearing that the village held a grand sacrificial ceremony every year, they came to Qu Township with their classmate to see it for themselves.

After listening, Lu Jinzhao couldn't help but think to himself that the opening was too classic, so classic that he could easily imagine several possible story developments.

But would the train mission be so simple as to let them know what's going to happen next?

Lu Jinzhao thought it wouldn't happen.

Therefore, when the others finished talking with the old man and were about to leave the ancestral hall, Lu Jinzhao, being cautious, did not leave immediately but asked, "It seems that no one has cleaned this place for a long time. Does no one usually come to burn incense?"

The old man's face darkened upon hearing her question, and he replied in a meddlesome tone, "Our village custom is that, except for the day of the sacrificial ceremony, no one is allowed to enter or leave the ancestral hall at other times!"

Strange rules
In Lu Jinzhao's memory, the place where she lived when she was a child was also a small village. But the more such a place was, the more "rules" it had to follow. She had to worship her ancestors during festivals and the offerings on the altar had to be continuous. She had never seen the rule of letting the ancestral hall collect dust.

Could it be because of ghosts?

Because the ancestral hall is haunted, people are not allowed to enter or leave normally.

Not impossible.

"Alright! Hurry up and get out!" The old man impatiently shooed everyone away. Lu Jinzhao took one last look before stepping over the threshold and leaving.

"Your rooms will be arranged over there. Aro will be waiting for you there. You will be participating in the ritual tonight, so make sure you know all the rules and taboos. Don't blame us if you break any taboos."

The old man's face was grim, his gaze both cloudy and sharp as he looked at the crowd: "Sacrifices are a serious matter, not some child's play in the city. What if something goes wrong?"

He didn't finish his sentence; he simply glanced around at everyone and then turned and left.

"This old man is quite arrogant."

Seeing the old man walk away, Wang Siyuan couldn't help but mutter a few words of complaint.

"Even if we are outsiders, this is no reason to treat us like this."

"Perhaps it's because we broke a taboo first?" Xu Ruolin thought for a moment and replied.

Her words caused everyone's expressions to change.

Indeed, according to the old man, it is usually taboo in the village not to enter the ancestral hall. They entered the ancestral hall before the sacrificial ceremony, and I wonder if it will cause any consequences.

"But we got off the bus right inside the ancestral hall, so what can we do?"

"The train is unlikely to give easy tasks. This time, it only said to survive in the village for 24 hours. If we just stay put and don't break any rules, wouldn't the task become very simple?"

Some speculated, "Could it be that the train will simply place us in the ancestral hall, making us break taboos right from the start to increase the difficulty?"

"It's not impossible." "Moreover, the sacrifice hasn't started yet. Entering the ancestral hall is taboo, but it's not that serious. In other words, it's not a certain death sentence. At most, you'll be remembered by the ghosts."

After some analysis, some people think that this is indeed the case, while others think that this is just one possibility.

Lu Jinzhao listened to their analysis and confirmed that this group of people were indeed more qualified to be passengers than [Summoning Ghosts]'s teammates.

Even though they might fall into a trap at the start, no one panicked; instead, they were able to rationally analyze all the possibilities.

But this also means that this platform will be several times more difficult than [summoning ghosts].

"Let's go, let's go see that guy named A Luo first and find out what the taboos are here."

Following behind the crowd, Lu Jinzhao carefully observed the village.

Judging from the terrain, this should be a village in the southwest, surrounded by mountains, which is relatively isolated. The climate is somewhat humid, and there are probably quite a few mosquitoes.

The village is small, probably only a few dozen households. Many of the buildings are earthen buildings, and Lu Jinzhao could still smell the burning firewood in the air. From the outside, it seems to be just an ordinary mountain village.

The place the old man had mentioned was soon reached.

Since most of the young people in the village had gone out to work, there were quite a few empty houses. At this moment, a young man named Aro was standing outside the door waiting for them.

Perhaps due to the season, the mountain village is always shrouded in a thin mist in the morning. Standing at a distance, Aro's expression is obscured by the white mist and cannot be clearly seen. Only his figure standing in the mist can be seen, motionless, like a shadow that may disappear at any moment.

It wasn't until she got closer that Lu Jinzhao saw the anxious look on A Luo's face.

"What happened to you? How did you all disappear in the blink of an eye!"

He hurriedly stepped forward: "Didn't I tell you not to wander around once you're in the village? There are a lot of taboos in the village these days!"

We've never heard you say that before.

"Well, thankfully the ceremony hasn't started yet. Come in with me, and let me explain the taboos to you first."

Even though no one responded, the young man named Aro continued to ramble on and on.

The group followed him into the prepared courtyard, which consisted of two single-story houses, a two-story earthen building, a main hall, a kitchen, and a woodshed. The courtyard was large enough for ten people to live in, but they had to be divided into groups of two or three to share a room.

After quickly assigning the rooms, A Luo led everyone to the main room to light incense, and then told them about the village's "taboos".

“The elderly people in the village become irritable around this time of year, so you must be careful not to break any taboos.”

"First of all, you must not kill any living beings. I have told you about the rituals in our village. They are to suppress some evil spirits. Today is when it is most active. Killing and drawing blood may attract it."

The scent of incense and candles wafted over along with Aro's words.

"Secondly, during the sacrificial ceremony, no matter what happens, you must ensure that the ceremony continues, no matter what! Remember, if it fails..."

Aro's expression turned grim, and his tone became exceptionally grave: "People will die!"

If this were a horror movie, some might argue that it's feudal superstition, but here on the platform, everyone knows that what Aro said is true.

"It's fine during the day, but once night falls, try not to speak loudly, turn on the lights, or go outside. Tonight will be its most active time, so don't get caught!"

(End of this chapter)