Chapter 391: Chapter 358: A Price Must Be Paid (Part 2)
A faint, meaningful smile played on his lips.
Then, he strode over to the group of strong young men.
As everyone watched, he unhesitatingly pulled out a thick wad of red banknotes.
He shoved it all into one of the men’s hands in a single, fluid motion.
To him, the money was an insignificant sum.
Combined with the smaller amounts contributed by the other young people,
the total came to at least ten thousand yuan—more than enough to buy all the food the villagers had brought.
The strong young man took the money and nodded in satisfaction.
He then gave a look to the villagers behind him and nodded.
The moment the villagers saw this signal,
their faces lit up with joy, like children who had just found a treasure.
They immediately placed all the bags of food and water they were carrying on the ground,
their eyes twinkling with excitement.
For the residents of Xia Shui Village,
this was a truly unexpected windfall.
This sum of money could probably solve many of their daily struggles.
"What food and water did each household bring? It’s all been registered, right?"
As the strong young man spoke, he exuded an unquestionable authority.
He seemed to hold a significant position in the village, and the other villagers appeared to hold him in high regard.
"It’s registered," a villager hastily replied, his tone laced with a hint of sycophancy.
"Alright, we’ll calculate everything later and then distribute the money. You can all go back for now."
The strong young man waved his hand, his tone full of the confidence of someone in complete control.
The villagers listened without the slightest doubt, turning and leaving one after another.
Their steps were light, and they chatted in low voices as they walked, the topic of conversation naturally revolving around their unexpected fortune.
The young people eagerly opened the bags.
Inside was a wide variety of food: snacks of all flavors,
nicely packaged bread,
as well as instant noodles, sausage, steamed buns, stuffed buns, dumplings, milk, purified water, and other common staples.
Although some of the dumplings and stuffed buns had grown cold and hard from sitting out,
the starving young people couldn’t be bothered with such details.
Without any hesitation, they picked up the food and began stuffing it into their mouths.
The danger hadn’t passed yet.
They had all received a proper education in school,
so they naturally understood what the textbooks said about facing a crisis:
if you’re trapped in a difficult situation for an extended period,
you must conserve your stamina and maintain your physical condition.
And right now, eating and drinking
was how they were restoring themselves for whatever might happen next. It was a basic survival instinct.
After a bout of ravenous eating, the bags of food were picked clean, as if they contained the most delicious delicacies in the world.
The half-hour mealtime passed quickly.
A healthy, rosy color began to return to each of the young people’s faces.
It was the energy from the food, making them look less exhausted and terrified than before.
"You will all continue to wait here. When evening comes, we’ll take you to the sacrificial ceremony."
The strong young man introduced himself, "My name is Chang Zimo. Chang Bailin is my father."
After this brief introduction, Chang Zimo arranged for a new shift of strong young men to take over guard duty.
The group from the previous night, looking greatly relieved, headed home to rest.
They dragged their weary bodies and slowly walked back toward the village,
their retreating figures radiating a sense of post-ordeal relief.
Next, the young people broke into a heated discussion, everyone talking at once.
However, the young people weren’t fools. As they discussed,
their eyes would frequently dart toward the guards sent by Xia Shui Village.
A trace of vigilance was in their gazes.
Everyone wracked their brains, trying to figure out how to escape their current predicament, which was shrouded by the Evil Spirit.
All sorts of ideas emerged,
but after a long time of back-and-forth chatter,
nothing truly useful came of it.
Meanwhile, Chu He, Sun Canxing, and Lai Yu Yao seemed to have a tacit understanding.
They all remained silent, not revealing the information they had discovered the previous night.
They sat quietly to the side, their gazes profound, as if contemplating more important matters.
Their mysterious demeanor only made those around them more curious.
Nearby, Yu Yingjie was as anxious as an ant on a hot pan, feeling utterly helpless.
He approached Lai Yu Yao several times,
desperately trying to get some information from her about their reconnaissance mission into Xia Shui Village the night before.
But for some reason, Lai Yu Yao’s gaze was always evasive.
Like a frightened fawn, no matter how much Yu Yingjie asked,
she wouldn’t say a single word, which drove him mad with anxiety.
Yu Yingjie gritted his teeth and finally made up his mind.
He took a deep breath, as if to summon his courage,
and walked over to Chu He.
Standing before Chu He, he asked nervously, "Can I talk to you over there for a moment?"
"Okay."
Chu He replied succinctly.
The moment the words left his mouth, Yu Yingjie’s vision blurred.
It was as if a bolt of lightning had flashed before his eyes, and everything around him became indistinct.
When his vision cleared again,
he was horrified to find that he was suddenly several dozen meters away from the crowd.
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