They Are Very Hospitable (6)
Crack…
It was the sound of stepping on a dry twig on the road.
The footsteps came from not far away, and eventually stopped right in front of the slaughterhouse.
The slaughterhouse was small, anyone outside could easily look in and see everything.
There was no time to think deeply. Chen Li’s first instinct was to hide!
He had just been threatened by the group of villagers, and now he didn’t want to see anyone from the village again.
Under the chopping block, there was just enough space for two people. Chen Li quickly grabbed Fu Moyang and crouched down.
It was a purely instinctive reaction in the face of danger.
However, Fu Moyang was oddly pleased by this action. He relaxed and followed, shrinking into the small space.
He had never been in a situation like this before, where he had to hide.
But Chen Li clearly underestimated the man’s size. With his visible muscles, the space that had fit two people perfectly now became uncomfortably cramped when Fu Moyang’s long arms and legs filled it.
The friction of clothes and their hands tangled together brought Chen Li completely into Fu Moyang’s embrace.
Chen Li froze, not understanding why they had ended up in such an awkwardly close position.
A smile laced Fu Moyang’s voice from above: “Special circumstances.”
His tone was carefree, making it clear he was intentionally being mischievous.
He held the little lamb in his arms, tightly entangling him, their heartbeats now blending into one.
In the haze, their heartbeats gradually synchronized, indistinguishable from one another.
Soon, Chen Li stopped wondering about the intimacy of the situation because the people outside had stood at the door for a while, confirming there was no danger before stepping inside.
The footsteps paused in front of the table, and they were hidden just below the space behind it.
Chen Li held his breath.
Who would come to a slaughterhouse?
A butcher.
From the sound of the footsteps, it seemed there was more than one person.
Fu Moyang narrowed his eyes, thoroughly enjoying holding the trembling little lamb who was clearly afraid.
He gently extended his other hand, softly caressing the exposed back of the boy’s neck, silently reassuring him.
Don’t be afraid, don’t be afraid.
The lamb, hidden in the embrace of the evil ghost, naively thought that the danger was outside, unaware of the terrifying presence surrounding him.
Finally, the people spoke. It was a familiar voice.
Baldy: “This is the village’s slaughterhouse.”
Sister Huang: “From the signs of use, it doesn’t look like a village that hasn’t had meat for years.”
Yiyi, speaking innocently: “But didn’t they say they eat meat at the monthly celebration? So these traces must have been left during that time.”
She curiously glanced at the cold, menacing iron hook.
The hem of her pink skirt had gotten dirty after a whole day of running around, and her overly long nails were becoming an inconvenience.
Even now, the girl hadn’t fully immersed herself in the role.
Especially after waking up from a night’s sleep, she had become more at ease with the village that seemed harmless.
Sister Huang, though helpless, couldn’t bear to watch her like this and warned her: “What do you think they’ll serve at the celebration?”
In a world like this, innocence was the most dangerous thing.
Yiyi thought for a moment: “Lamb? I remember from a book I read that people offer lamb to the mountain gods, and this village is surrounded by mountains. Even if it’s a celebration, it should still be related to the mountains.”
Sister Huang: “But we’ve walked around this whole village today, did you notice any signs of livestock?”
Yiyi froze.
Not only did she not see any cows, sheep, or chickens, but she didn’t even see a dog or a cat.
These villagers farmed, but didn’t raise any animals.
Was it because they were poor? But why would a poor village insist on holding a celebration every month?
Baldy wasn’t as kind as Sister Huang. To him, just getting this clueless girl to follow along was already an act of mercy. As for whether she could avoid death, that was up to her luck.
Baldy: “Let’s go. It’s getting dark, we need to head back.”
The footsteps gradually faded.
Chen Li let out a sigh of relief: “So they’re not butchers…”
He tried to move out from under the table. After all, staying in this position for too long, the heat from their bodies was seeping through their clothes.
For someone like him, who didn’t enjoy physical intimacy, this feeling was quite unfamiliar.
But as he made a slight movement, Fu Moyang’s serious voice rang out: “Don’t move!”
“Wh-what happened?” Chen Li was startled and instinctively followed his gaze upward.
What met his eyes was the black underside of the table, but whether it was splashed or soaked through, there were bloodstains there too. Over time, they had dried up, spreading in concentric circles, with outlines still visible — a mouth, nose, eyes…
The bloodstains strangely resembled faces crammed together!
They had just been hiding under here, watched by these “faces”!!
Chen Li let out a small scream, shrinking back in panic.
Fu Moyang finally had his wish fulfilled, wrapping his arms around the little lamb. He placed his hand close to the boy’s slender waist, tightening his grip. “It’s fine. Look closely, it’s just ordinary bloodstains.”
Chen Li dared not open his eyes, burying his face in his chest like a little ostrich, muffled sobs escaping. “I won’t look…”
Fu Moyang’s voice was soothing, like a beast licking its prey, coaxing him to open his eyes and see that there was no danger outside.
All danger had been blocked by him.
Chen Li lifted his head, eyes still a little damp, and gathered the courage to look again at the bizarre faces gathered under the table. It was still the same bloodstains, but the “faces” were gone.
He felt a little embarrassed, thinking he had overreacted.
Lost in a slight sense of self-blame, he didn’t notice his shirt hem had lifted, and the man’s broad palm was gently rubbing his delicate waist, leaving a red mark.
He was marked by the man, yet remained unaware.
After leaving the slaughterhouse, Fu Moyang finally loosened his tight grip on his wrist, walking ahead and leaving his back to him.
This attitude definitely made Chen Li feel more at ease.
He was quite tired today, having wandered through the village for a long time, then being chased by the villagers. His body, which had been cooped up indoors for so long, wasn’t used to this kind of intense exercise.
[Ding dong.]
Chen Li froze: [System?]
[It’s me.] System 001’s tone was surprisingly less arrogant. [Sorry about the duck leg rice at noon…]
Chen Li shivered: [Please don’t mention those two words.]
Just thinking about the duck leg rice made him remember the villagers’ terrifying eyes, their desire for meat almost pathological.
Can people really become like that if they go too long without meat?
[When I was knocked over by Sana, did you go for maintenance again?]
System 001: […Yeah.]
Chen Li, though easily deceived, wasn’t stupid. This time, he chose not to trust the system.
There was a sudden silence between the person and the system.
Though the system seemed to be on his side, it was also the one that had bound him to this world.
Maybe from the very beginning, he shouldn’t have considered the system a companion.
Thinking this, he couldn’t help but feel a little dejected.
In such an unfamiliar environment, if even the system couldn’t be trusted, who else could he believe in?
System 001 detected the host’s sinking mood and couldn’t help but feel anxious: [I really didn’t mean to. How about this: tonight, I’ll use my own private points to treat you to some dessert, okay?]
The childlike voice carried a trace of guilt.
Dessert?
Chen Li didn’t expect to have dessert in a place like this, and his mood lifted considerably.
System 001 sighed in relief. It truly hadn’t known that eating meat would cause such a strong reaction from the villagers.
Luckily, his host was easy to appease and, as the data showed, had a bit of a sweet tooth.
The information is really detailed. I didn’t expect the automatically collected data to cover so many things.
As expected of the lord, this system.
System 001 couldn’t help but put its hands on its hips and laugh wildly, even though it didn’t have hips.
. . . . .
When they arrived at the courtyard, Sana happened to be bringing the dinner over in a basket. She smiled and greeted them when she saw them, as if nothing unpleasant had happened that afternoon.
Chen Li was startled and quickly hid behind Fu Moyang.
He didn’t even realize it himself, but somehow, he had developed an unexpected sense of dependence on this dangerous man.
Sana didn’t seem to react: “You should go eat, it’ll taste bad if it gets cold.”
After saying that, she walked off with the basket, continuing on her way.
The other players had already started eating. They gathered around a small table in the courtyard, each holding a bowl of rice, with only a pot of boiled cabbage in water in the middle.
This time, there were no pickled vegetables.
The red-haired guy was furious: “This morning it was plain porridge, at noon it was just some sweet potato porridge, and now it’s this simple meal again. What kind of hospitality is this?! Is this what you call a Hospitable Village? What do you think we are?”
That said, he still tightly hugged his bowl and shoveled rice into his mouth.
If he didn’t eat, he would be hungry.
There hadn’t been any fat or oil all day, and they didn’t get much to eat yesterday either. Everyone’s faces looked a little grim, and the red-haired guy’s constant complaints only made them more annoyed.
Chen Li didn’t want to attract any negative attention, so he went to his room to drink the milk tea and eat the cake the system had prepared for him. The sweet taste melting on his tongue made his eyes squint in happiness.
Fu Moyang watched him eat thoughtfully.
So, he likes desserts?
This hobby seemed rather childish, but somehow, it seemed fitting for him.
Fu Moyang proudly justified his double standards.
After the meal, the group of players exchanged clues. There was some suspicion between them. In order to quickly obtain life-saving information, they were all testing each other.
You say a little, I say a little.
Baldy shared that he had found the slaughterhouse, and the calm newcomer Cheng Jun also shared some clues. The other veteran players disclosed some vague information they had heard from the villagers. Only the red-haired guy casually said he hadn’t found anything, and his newbie companion Jiao Ye stayed silent.
Every game has people trying to fish in troubled waters.
The players had already gotten used to it.
The soundproofing here was poor, and Chen Li accidentally overheard some clues. He couldn’t help but glance at the man in the bed next to him, and then his gaze was caught.
Fu Moyang didn’t let him off the hook. With a smirk, he asked, “Peeking at me?”
Chen Li shook his head, being completely honest. “Aren’t you going to discuss it with them?”
“No need,” Fu Moyang sneered.
He appeared overly arrogant, yet no one would doubt that he had the rebellious strength to back it up.
His silver-gray eyes lingered on Chen Li, inch by inch, like a wolf patrolling its territory.
Chen Li pursed his lips. “I… I’m going to wash up.”
He still wasn’t used to the man’s gaze, which carried such strong aggression. He quickly stood up and fled.
There was only one place in the courtyard where you could bathe. Although it was small and lacked lighting, Chen Li liked to stay clean, so he didn’t mind the trouble of wetting a towel to carefully wipe his body.
System 001: [Shh, someone’s coming!]
It was sometimes quite reliable.
Chen Li stopped what he was doing, not daring to breathe.
The voice of Jiao Ye came through. “Do you think this might be a bit… wrong?”
The red-haired guy responded in frustration, lowering his voice. “Idiot! Don’t you want to eat meat?”
His mouth was practically dry.
“Of course.” Jiao Ye swallowed.
He was someone who couldn’t live without meat, and being here had made it unbearable.
“Then do as I say.”
“Okay… fine.”
After they finished talking, they returned to their room, likely worried the poor soundproofing would let their conversation be overheard.
But they never expected an NPC to come out and take a bath at that very moment, overhearing their entire conversation.
It’s been a while since I’ve met an ML this sneaky, FMY’s left me speechless