Chapter 92: Deadly Travel Group (17)
What seemed like a joyful and bountiful autumn was, in reality, the waning end of the Growth Deity—Poye's power. To prolong Poye's strength, the Yao tribe organized the Harvest Festival, which was open to outsiders.
The couple's travel group deal was a scam from the very beginning. Thirteen couples were lured here. Not only would they fail to receive Poye's blessing, but they would become offerings to feed and increase Poye's power.
Guma Lazi, who existed in mutual generation and restraint with Poye, had killed two couples in succession to stop her rival from growing stronger, taking their lives and preventing them from providing love energy to Poye.
This was the speculation Sheng Churan explained to Ji Ning.
It was an interlocking chain of logic from start to finish, hard to disbelieve.
"So, tonight's ritual... that's the moment of our final choice?" Ji Ning murmured.
Sheng Churan gripped Ji Ning's hand tightly and answered her seriously, "Yes. We will definitely clear this instance."
Knowing what they were about to face, Ji Ning and Sheng Churan were extra cautious. During the feast, they washed their own chopsticks and bowls with hot water, only picked from dishes the villagers had already eaten, served their own rice, and didn't touch the alcohol or other drinks, maintaining a high state of alertness.
Because if the food or drinks were spiked with some kind of drug, they might not even be able to run if something happened at night.
Events proved Ji Ning and Sheng Churan wise. Aside from the other three real player couples who were also careful, the remaining one player couple and seven NPC couples, including the extra one, all showed varying degrees of weakness and lethargy two hours after lunch.
They had originally thought the "evening ritual" would wait until nightfall, at least seven o'clock. Unexpectedly, at the same time the fog had risen the day before, just past four in the afternoon, the Ai Mountain region slowly darkened.
The villagers lit torches one after another for illumination, and the ritual bonfire's flames soared high.
A procession, singing an incomprehensible and slightly eerie ritual song, carried a cast-silver statue the size of an ordinary flowerpot out from the depths of the village and placed it onto the empty sacrificial altar.
Afterward, they knelt before the silver statue, making the same prayer gesture the female tour guide had used on the bus.
Ji Ning looked at the silver statue, which should be Poye itself, and her eyes slowly widened.
She saw that the statue's front was indeed the face and figure of a woman. However, connected to her back... was a man.
Poye was not a single entity at all, but two people!
Ji Ning immediately scanned the tourists with alarm, only to discover that, at some unknown point, the two extra people had vanished again...
She had carefully memorized everyone's faces after noticing the extra people, but now, no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't remember who was missing.
Ji Ning looked towards Sheng Churan and saw the same astonishment on his face. It seemed both of them had noticed.
So, when the bus had broken down, the two extra people on board were Poye in disguise.
Something was burning in the central bonfire, sending thick white smoke billowing straight up and dispersing in all directions.
"Don't breathe it in!" Sheng Churan held his breath and covered Ji Ning's nose and mouth, quickly retreating.
But it was already too late. Ji Ning felt her entire body go limp and hot. Her cheeks burned, and a trail of slick moisture involuntarily seeped from her lower body.
She felt as if her body and consciousness were no longer her own, her mind overflowing with lewd desires she couldn't shake. She stuck out her tongue and licked Sheng Churan's palm where it covered her mouth.
In the distance, couples who had drunk the drugged beverages and inhaled the white smoke were already entangled together on the spot.
Seeing that Sheng Churan's group was still clear-headed, the villagers immediately surrounded them with murderous intent.
Fortunately, Sheng Churan had subconsciously held his breath and hadn't inhaled much of the white smoke. He felt slightly weak in the legs now, but his mind was still very clear.
He made a prompt decision, bent down to scoop Ji Ning up horizontally, turned, and ran towards an unguarded gap—the mountain side.
The people chasing them were still some distance behind. Sheng Churan summoned the lean, powerful muscles he'd honed sweating buckets in the gym, broke into a desperate, life-or-death sprint. Even while carrying Ji Ning, he seemed to be gradually widening the gap.
After running up the mountain for about ten minutes, Sheng Churan felt he could use the thick fog and darkness as cover to find a place to hide for a while.
Ji Ning had probably inhaled right when the white smoke reached them, taking it deep into her lungs. Now, drugged senseless like a kitten in heat, she was restless even while being jostled in his arms, rubbing her head against his chest.
He needed to tend to her first.
Sheng Churan found a shallow hollow behind a tree root, surrounded by bushes, and carried Ji Ning inside, gently laying her down on a pile of leaves.
"How are you feeling?" he asked quietly. He touched Ji Ning's forehead; she was still a bit feverish.
Ji Ning panted and struggled, but her body refused to listen, as if drunk. She could only squeeze the words out intermittently: "Do... do you trust me?"
Sheng Churan cupped her face to cool her down, pressed his forehead against hers, and said gently, "I trust you. Whatever you say, I believe."
"We... go... to Cat... drink..."
"Cat's Eye Spring?" Sheng Churan guessed.
Ji Ning nodded. She didn't know what potent drug the villagers had burned, but she had begun to shiver uncontrollably, shaking as if she'd fallen into an ice pit, yet her body was burning hot.
"Okay." Sheng Churan did not hesitate for a moment. "But I need to try and relieve you first. You seem to be getting worse."
As he said this, he bent down, covered Ji Ning's lips with his own in a kiss, while his hands quickly unfastened his pants and removed hers. Without any lustful intent, yet fully willing with his whole heart, he cupped her bottom and thrust inside her.
His cock was scorching hot like iron, but once it pierced into her steamy, dripping wet hole, it miraculously brought her a trace of coolness, easing the itch and the fever that was nearly burning her mind into confusion.
Sheng Churan thrust back and forth several times. The sticky, copious liquid made a squelching sound that was quite noticeable in the darkness of the night.
He felt Ji Ning's body stop shivering and finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Ji Ning also realized she was indeed much better. Yet, even though she wanted to continue, she pushed against Sheng Churan's chest: "Okay... okay, let's go quickly..."
As long as she was alright, they couldn't afford to delay even a second. The Yao tribespeople were still searching the mountains for them. If they were caught and failed to clear the instance, both would die.
Sheng Churan tactfully pulled out, helped them both put their pants back on, and was just bending down to pick her up when he heard Ji Ning weakly say, "Carry me on your back... it's tiring to carry me..."
Carrying someone up the mountain was indeed inconvenient. Sheng Churan didn't try to be a hero and turned around, lifting Ji Ning onto his back.
But just a few steps out, a loud shout came from behind.
"They're over here!"
Getting caught would be disastrous. Sheng Churan quickened his pace immediately, running from memory towards Cat's Eye Spring.
Luckily, the full moon was large and round. By its light, Sheng Churan ran for an unknown amount of time until he finally found the high slope they'd visited that morning.
The Yao tribespeople behind them were in relentless pursuit, their chaotic and dense footsteps clear, signaling they were about to catch up.
Ji Ning lay on Sheng Churan's back, looking at the strange Cat's Eye Spring. Under the moonlight, the circular water surface shimmered with patches of white light, looking even more like a pair of bright, piercing cat eyes than it had during the day.
"Look," she said, smiling. "I remembered correctly. Cat's Eye Spring reflects nothing."
Sheng Churan followed her gaze downwards. The water reflected the moon, reflected the trees, but there were no figures of them.
Ji Ning murmured, "The most dangerous place is the safest... The dual-god symbiotic Cat's Eye Spring is the exit of this foggy, eerie land..."
"Stop!"
The Yao tribespeople were just a few meters away. There was no more time for hesitation.
Sheng Churan took a deep breath and said, "I believe your judgment is right. I'll jump down with you."
"Jump, Heartthrob." Ji Ning lay on Sheng Churan's shoulder, her burning cheek pressed against his neck. She was not afraid at all, confident in her own reasoning.
"Splash—"
【Congratulations, Player No. 6, Ji Ning. Choice is correct. You have received 300 mission points.】
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