Shen Qi remained silent.
This was the first time he had evaded Lu Zhi’s question.
Lu Zhi’s heart skipped a beat. Meeting Shen Qi’s gaze, an image flashed through his mind, gone as quickly as it appeared.
Before he could grasp it, the sealed memory orb flickered, and a sharp pain caused Lu Zhi to instinctively clutch his head, his face paling.
“Don’t try to recall,” Shen Qi’s gaze darkened. A red light from his fingertips transformed into wisps of cotton and seeped into Lu Zhi’s forehead, mitigating the backlash from the forcibly accessed sealed memory orb.
Lu Zhi took a deep breath, forcing himself to relax his thoughts and avoid recalling. As the stinging gradually subsided, he gave a self-deprecating laugh, “Sigh, what was I thinking before? Was I masochistic?”
Shen Qi’s eyelids lifted slightly, “Perhaps.”
Lu Zhi choked, “Hey, hey, hey, that’s not a very boyfriend-like answer, you know? What do you mean ‘perhaps’? Can’t you offer some comfort?”
Shen Qi’s silver-grey eyes stared intently at Lu Zhi’s smiling face. He suddenly reached out and pinched his cheek, “Do you still want to hear the story?”
Lu Zhi pouted. That was such a poor attempt at changing the subject, and he even took the opportunity to take advantage of him.
“No need, exploring it myself would be more interesting.” Lu Zhi tossed aside the chicken bone and looked up at the head of the statue, which was completely covered by a red cloth. Even through the cloth, he could feel that chilling gaze.
Shen Qi had said the statue couldn’t see, only perceive the territory being invaded and descend with a suppressive warning. The ritual to invoke the deity hadn't been completed, so the deity couldn't act through the statue.
Lu Zhi stood up and walked around the statue. Its exterior appeared to be carved from ordinary stone. He tapped it, and Lu Zhi exclaimed in surprise, “It’s hollow?”
Because the outer material looked like stone, he had subconsciously assumed the statue was solid.
“It’s not stone?” Lu Zhi stroked his chin, his dark eyes suddenly lighting up with a thoughtful expression like a miniature Sherlock Holmes, “I know! They’re cutting corners!”
Shen Qi: …
Shen Qi’s expression was unreadable, “You’re right.” But his eyes clearly conveyed, ‘Please continue your performance.’
Lu Zhi chuckled, dropping the playful act. He temporarily ignored the stone statue and walked towards the place where the villagers prostrated themselves, which was the altar directly beneath the statue. On it sat a common incense burner, with five incense sticks inserted within.
In the library of the Academy of Supernatural Management, he had read numerous documents, including those detailing the customs of some isolated and backward rural areas. Among them was a saying, ‘Three incense sticks to revere gods, five incense sticks to respect ghosts.’
For rural folk, incense burners held significant meaning. Even now, many families still passed down the custom of worshipping deities.
When offering incense, the most taboo actions were ‘missing one stick or adding two,’ and there were also sayings like ‘two long, one short, misfortune befalls the door.’
Looking at the five incense sticks in the burner, Lu Zhi frowned, “Do these people not know, or do they understand perfectly?”
Do they know that what they are worshipping is not a true deity, but a pseudo-god born from the condensation of desire and possessing consciousness?
Lu Zhi noticed an elder kneeling in front, holding a piece of white paper. This was likely the village chief. The white paper was folded in his hand, in a posture of offering a memorial.
Lu Zhi thought for a moment, then leaned closer and picked up the white paper to read it.
The red characters exuded a腥味, and it was certain that it wasn't red ink, but blood. He couldn’t tell if it was animal blood or human blood.
With this thought, Lu Zhi pursed his lips and quickly scanned the content.
He didn't notice that as he picked up the white paper, the eyeballs beneath the eyelids of the kneeling village chief suddenly moved.