Chapter 139: The Small Village Within the Illusion

The man let out a stern reprimand. I shook my head and explained, "I am genuinely here traveling. Here is my ID card, take a look if you don't believe me."

I pulled out my ID card. The man took it and muttered softly, "Lin Xuan, from Chongqing..."

I smiled slightly. The man flipped the ID over to glance at the back before handing it back to me, asking, "You really are here for tourism?"

I nodded and said yes. The man then looked down at my right arm and said, "It's the first time we've seen an outsider come here, and with such a large tattoo on your arm, it's hard not to be suspicious. Alright, come on in. You look pretty tired, come in, have a sip of water, and rest for a bit."

Hearing the man's words, I was momentarily stunned. I cast a brief glance at my right arm, nodded, and followed the man to a residential house in the middle of the village. This house was no different from any other rural home. The surrounding villagers also shook their heads and went back to their respective chores. I followed the man inside, and after I sat down, he poured me a cup of water. I said thank you, took a sip, and the man continued, "Which tour group are you with? How did you manage to get lost?"

I paused for a second and brushed it off with a vague excuse, "Oh, I'm on a self-guided tour. I saw the scenery here was quite nice and wanted to take a few photos as a keepsake, but then I ended up getting separated from my friends."

The man smiled and said, "The scenery here is indeed lovely, but you young people are always so reckless, wandering around without telling anyone beforehand. Well... have lunch here with us. It's almost twelve o'clock anyway. After eating, I'll lead you out. Once you're outside, you'll know the way, right?"

I nodded and said, "I do. Thank you so much. What should I call you?"

"My surname is Pan, I'm the village chief here," Village Chief Pan said.

I nodded and thanked him again. Village Chief Pan waved his hand politely and said, "Since you're not a bad person, there's no need to be so formal. I help out where I can."

I said okay. Village Chief Pan also took a sip of water. After a moment, I saw a young woman walking out carrying dishes of food. As soon as she saw me, she looked at Village Chief Pan with a puzzled expression.

Village Chief Pan looked at me and said, "This young brother is here traveling and got lost, so I brought him back. Shuangzi, set out another pair of chopsticks and a bowl."

The woman called Shuangzi nodded, fetched an extra set of tableware from the kitchen, and handed it to me with a smile. I muttered a word of thanks. Then, Village Chief Pan pointed at the dishes on the table and said, "Eat, don't stand on ceremony, just treat this like your own home. Rest for a bit after eating; the day is still early, there's no rush."

I nodded, uttered an affirmative sound, and picked up my chopsticks. The moment I put a piece of what looked like a delicious dish into my mouth, my expression suddenly changed after chewing a couple of times. Village Chief Pan noticed the change in my expression and asked with a puzzled look, "What's wrong? Is it not to your taste?"

I was startled, smiled awkwardly, shook my head, swallowed, and said, "No, not at all, it's quite good. Home-cooked country food really is wonderful; it has that taste of home."

Though I said this on the outside, on the inside I was suffering terribly. The food looked extremely appetizing and smelled flavorful, but the moment it hit my tongue, I felt like it had absolutely no taste at all, as if no salt had been added whatsoever. It was truly agonizing for me.

Village Chief Pan smiled and said, "Little brother, you haven't been home in a long time, have you?"

I nodded and shoveled a mouthful of rice that at least tasted somewhat sweet. Village Chief Pan smiled again and asked, "Why don't you go back and visit?"

I shook my head and replied, "Work is just too intense. Even when I want to go back, I can't find the time."

Village Chief Pan nodded understandingly and said, "My son is about your age, studying far away. He also only comes home after a long time. Alas."

I was slightly taken aback and looked at Village Chief Pan. He smiled again, steering the conversation elsewhere. "Let's eat, let's eat. Shuangzi, the food today is really well made, the flavor is just right—neither too salty nor too bland. Look at this young brother, he's eating and getting homesick."

Shuangzi smiled without saying anything, and I gave a bitter internal smile, thinking to oneself: *Neither salty nor bland? This has literally zero flavor at all!*

I quickly finished a bowl of rice, though I barely touched the dishes. Seeing my bowl was empty, Shuangzi offered to help me ladle another serving, but I waved my hand to refuse, saying, "Auntie, please don't bother, I'm full. My stomach is small and can't hold much, hehe."

After finishing with an awkward chuckle, Village Chief Pan looked at me and said, "You young people are still growing, you need to eat more."

"I really can't eat anymore, Chief. Thank you for your hospitality."

Village Chief Pan waved his hand and said, "Ah, why are you being so polite?"

I smiled, acknowledged him, and took my bowl and chopsticks into the kitchen, saying, "Village Chief Pan, can I wander around the village a bit? Just finished eating, need to walk it off."

Village Chief Pan picked up a piece of meat with his chopsticks and replied, "Sure, no problem."

I nodded and stepped outside. Just as I descended the stairs, I saw a dark-skinned man running over in a breathless rush, shouting at the top of his lungs, "Village Chief! Village Chief! My family's cow has mysteriously died again! Please come take a look, this is already the third one!"

I stopped in my tracks and looked back. Village Chief Pan was also startled; he put down his chopsticks and said, "Dead again? Wasn't it doing fine just a few days ago?"

"I don't know! When I went to feed it just now, it was already lying on the ground without any breath. And there's an indescribable odor in the cattle pen, not the smell of rotting flesh."

After the man finished speaking, Village Chief Pan sighed and immediately followed him out. Passing by me, he said, "Little brother, I'm going to go check it out. You just stroll around the village, I'll be back shortly."

After Village Chief Pan spoke, the dark-skinned man also glanced at me without saying anything. I replied with an affirmation, and the two of them hurried away. I continued walking forward, but before I had gone very far, I saw a woman rushing desperately toward Village Chief Pan, crying out anxiously, "Village Chief! My Dongzi is acting up again! This time it's even worse than before, his whole body won't stop twitching. Please come help take a look!"

Hearing this, I stopped in my tracks once more and looked back. Village Chief Pan furrowed his brows and asked, "Dongzi is acting up again? Wasn't he cured last time? How did it flare up again?"

"I don't know! Dongzi just got back from the fields and said he didn't feel well. He went to sleep without eating dinner. I just went to call him, and I saw Dongzi twitching uncontrollably. Pinching his philtrum didn't do anything either. Village Chief, please come help me, I'm going out of my mind with worry!"

The woman pleaded further. Village Chief Pan glanced at the man beside him and said, "Huazi, handle things on your end first, I'm going to go check on Dongzi's condition."

The man nodded and said, "Alright, go check on Brother Dong first. He's more important than the cow."

Village Chief Pan let out an affirmative grunt and anxiously followed the woman. Walking with brisk steps, he asked, "What is Dongzi's condition like right now?"

The woman shook her head and replied, "Bao'er is watching him, I ran straight out to find you."

Village Chief Pan nodded. Standing off to the side and having heard the whole exchange, I furrowed my brows slightly. Since I had nothing better to do, I followed Village Chief Pan to the woman's house as well.

Noticing I was tagging along, Village Chief Pan didn't object, and the woman shot me a glance. At this moment, her mind was in total panic and turmoil; she had no capacity to care about such details. We arrived at the woman's home. As soon as we stepped through the door, I saw a child standing by the bed, crying and screaming incessantly while calling out "Dad, Dad."

The woman hurried over, scooped the child into her arms, and stared at the man lying on the bed, comforting him, "Bao'er, don't be scared, Mommy is here."

Bao'er continued to cry and sob, wiping away his tears. From the moment I crossed the threshold, I felt an aura of death emanating outward. I turned my head slightly to look at Dongzi lying on the bed. Village Chief Pan also strode over quickly and skillfully took Dongzi's pulse. The moment he checked the pulse, I saw Village Chief Pan freeze completely on the spot, then reach out in sheer disbelief to check Dongzi's breathing. After a few seconds, Village Chief Pan abruptly pulled his hand back, staring at Dongzi in absolute shock.

The woman had been standing right beside them. Seeing Village Chief Pan's reaction, her heart skipped a beat, her eyes instantly reddened, and she set Bao'er down, rushing forward to demand, "Village Chief, what's wrong with Dongzi?!"

Village Chief Pan remained silent, his brow tightly furrowed. The woman grew even more frantic, grabbing Village Chief Pan's arm and shaking it repeatedly as she cried out in desperation...