Newbie Guardians

Chapter 30 Hidden Story

The four returned to Daohua Village and found it eerily quiet; not a soul was to be seen, and a sense of foreboding crept into their hearts. Upon reaching the village chief's house, they were all shocked to find him hanged from the roof beam, with an overturned chair on the floor—it appeared to be suicide. He was perfectly fine yesterday, and now he's dead?

Jin Jun shouted:

"Preserve the scene. Go out and find someone to ask what exactly happened last night."

The four split up and ran quickly outside.

Teacher Liu stayed at the scene and continued to carefully examine the furnishings in the room, trying to find any clues without disturbing the scene as much as possible.

Ten minutes later, the four met at the village chief's door, and Teacher Liu also came out.

"Teacher Liu, there's no one left in the village. It looks like they moved away overnight!"

"They've all moved? So hastily! There must be something going on! I have to go back again. While it's daytime, you guys search the area again to see if there are any clues. Don't split up, safety first. Don't act rashly if anything seems unusual. You must wait for me to come back."

Jin Jun nodded and said:

"Okay, Ms. Liu, we will be careful."

After Teacher Liu left, the four of them wandered around the village for a long time but found no useful clues.

Jin Jun suggested visiting the Liu family's ancestral graves, and everyone else agreed.

In the conference room of the Folklore Institute, Zhuge Ming slowly said:

"After the Liu family ancestral graves were dug up and the villagers discovered the bodies were missing, they all moved away overnight, leaving only the village chief hanged in his own hall. There are too many illogical points. First, none of the twenty-one households in Daohua Village have the surname Liu, so theoretically they have no direct connection to the Liu family ancestral graves. Second, if the Liu family ancestral graves were robbed, why did the entire village move away overnight? What were they afraid of? Third, why didn't the village chief move away with them, but instead chose to commit suicide? What caused him to be so desperate?"

Vice Principal Yao Qi analyzed:

"Is it possible that the village was cursed, and the village chief, knowing that escape was futile, chose to commit suicide? Did the other villagers flee out of wishful thinking?"

She paused, noticing everyone was looking at her, and continued:

"If the deduction is correct, then those who escaped will also die, and die a terrible death. Therefore, the village chief must know the inside story to be so desperate."

Lu Qinghai raised the following question:

"So, the curse was triggered by the Liu family's ancestral graves being dug up?"

Yao Qi continued her analysis:

"The more likely reason is that the body was missing. Therefore, when they heard that the Liu family ancestral graves had been dug up, the whole village was extremely anxious. Only after they saw the body disappear did they become desperate."

Everyone agreed that it made sense, but no one responded.

Zhuge Ming raised another question:

"So, what was the motive for stealing the corpse or remains? What secrets does the Liu family ancestral tomb hold?"

Yao Qi replied:

"Upon investigation, the Liu family ancestral graves are over a century old. Therefore, it can be reasonably inferred that the coffin contains skeletal remains, though the possibility of it being a zombie cannot be ruled out. Regardless of the cause, it is highly likely to be related to the Gu sect."

Liu Chuanqi exclaimed:

"The Gu Sect! That wicked sect that committed countless evil deeds? Wasn't it wiped out ten years ago?"

"Yes! So, if it really is the Gu Sect, it's very likely that they are remnants."

Lu Qinghai was clearly unfamiliar with the Gu Sect and asked:

"What do the Gu sects need corpses for? Isn't raising Gu just raising poisonous insects? Are they using corpses as fertilizer?"

"Using corpses as fertilizer is their usual trick. However, as I just mentioned, the Liu family's ancestral graves are a hundred years old. If they become zombies, they will be hundred-year-old zombies with extremely terrifying power. They must be plotting a big conspiracy by stealing the zombies."

Liu Chuanqi added:

"If it's the Gu Sect, then the entire Daohua Village being cursed makes sense. Now we need to see where the other villagers escaped to, whether they will die, and how they will die. With this information, it will be easier to deduce whether it's the Gu Sect."

In the Yunbin tribe, Hanna'er, holding Huang Xin's hand, ran to a large tent.

"This is the high priest's tent. Let's go inside and let her check if we've been poisoned by Gu."

"Gu poison? Does that woman know Gu magic?"

"Yes, she's a black sorcerer from the Black Wind Tribe. She practices all sorts of bizarre and vicious methods. Witchcraft and Gu magic are their tribe's two trump cards, and usually every black sorcerer practices both. Let's go, let the high priest give us a physical exam."

After the two entered the tent, Huang Xin found it filled with various constellation totems. In the center was a large futon, where a beautiful woman with long, flowing hair sat cross-legged! Huang Xin was greatly shocked. She had never expected that this high priestess would be so young. She looked like a young woman in her early twenties, with fair skin, a voluptuous figure, and an elegant and noble temperament. She was breathtakingly beautiful.

The high priest slowly opened her eyes and immediately noticed Huang Xin's confusion. She gently brushed her hair back, revealing long, pointed ears.

"I am an elf. Generally speaking, elves have long lifespans, most of them living to be over a thousand years old. I have lived for over three hundred years, which is equivalent to a human in their early twenties."

Oh, I see. No wonder it's so beautiful.

"High Priest, we would like to ask you to examine your body to see if you have been poisoned by any kind of Gu poison."

"There's no Gu poison, but little girl, you've been infected with a tracking Gu. Sit down! I'll help you purify it!"

Hannah bowed respectfully, knelt obediently on the futon in front of the elf, placed her hands on her knees, closed her eyes, and slowly lowered her head.

The elf raised her staff and chanted a spell. Pale golden light surged from the staff toward Hanna'er, who was enveloped in golden light as if protected by divine light. The girl's unique and graceful figure was faintly visible in the golden light. Huang Xin once again exclaimed from the bottom of his heart, "How beautiful!"

A dozen seconds later, a strand of black hair appeared on Hannah's head and was completely dissolved by the golden light.

The high priest slowly withdrew his staff.

"Purification complete, all hidden injuries healed, you can get up now!"

"Thank you, High Priest!"

Hannah stood up and bowed respectfully again.

"Brother Huang Xin, why don't you let the High Priest check it too!"

Huang Xin stared at Hanna'er's increasingly beautiful face after the treatment, remaining silent for a long while. It wasn't until Hanna'er took his hand and repeated herself that he finally reacted.

"Okay! Thank you!"

Huang Xin followed Hanna'er's example, kneeling on the prayer mat, placing her hands on her knees, closing her eyes, and bowing her head. She felt that this posture was a bit awkward, but she couldn't care less about that now.

The high priest raised his staff again, chanted incantations, and golden light surged toward Huang Xin.

Looking at Huang Xin enveloped in golden light, Hanna'er smiled sweetly. The next second, noticing the High Priest's brow furrow slightly, Hanna'er's heart skipped a beat, a surge of inexplicable worry and anxiety welling up within her. She prayed repeatedly:

"May the Fairy Goddess protect us! Brother Huang Xin, please be safe!"