"What are you doing?" Fortunately, the ground was made of mud, so it didn't make a sound to alert Liu Cuiping. Lu Zhi quickly peeked outside and picked up the broken bowl and small dish that hadn't been smashed on the ground.
The thin porridge and wild vegetables inside had spilled all over the floor. Lu Zhi looked around, then ran to a corner and scooped up a handful of dirt to cover it up.
"Is there something wrong with the food?" Lu Zhi placed the bowl back on the table and asked Shen Qi, puzzled.
"It's disgusting," Shen Qi returned to his small cat-like boy form as he landed, his disdain evident.
Lu Zhi was speechless.
"Later, I'll take you to find something good to eat." Shen Qi's fluffy black ears twitched, and in the next second, he transformed back into a black cat and burrowed into Lu Zhi's arms.
Liu Cuiping appeared at the doorway. Seeing that Lu Zhi had finished the thin porridge and vegetables, she showed a satisfied expression. "It's getting late. From now on, you'll be staying in this room."
Liu Cuiping pointed in the direction of the small room Lu Zhi had intended to enter. Upon opening it, he saw only a bed made of a simple wooden board, with a tattered quilt on it.
However, what made Lu Zhi most wary was that directly opposite the bed was an altar, inside which was placed a statue of a deity.
The room was small, cramped, narrow, and dim.
Liu Cuiping entered the room, lit the deity lamp on the altar, burned five sticks of incense, bowed piously three times, and then inserted the incense into the censer.
"Go in." Seeing Lu Zhi hesitate, Liu Cuiping impatiently reached out to pull him inside.
The black cat let out a cry, its voice sharp and chilling, startling Liu Cuiping into retracting her hand.
As Lu Zhi stepped into the room, he immediately felt an uncomfortable sensation of being watched and probed.
Liu Cuiping withdrew from the room and immediately closed the door. Lu Zhi even heard the sound of it being locked.
After Liu Cuiping's footsteps receded, Lu Zhi still felt as if a pair of eyes were coldly staring at him, the gaze originating from the statue.
When Lu Zhi feigned curiosity and looked at the statue, the feeling of being watched vanished in an instant.
The dim light of the deity lamp illuminated the statue. Lu Zhi stepped closer to examine it.
He discovered that this statue was very similar to the one in the Wang Jiu temple in Qing Shen Village, but this one was made of wood.
The Mother and Child deity.
The benevolent mother god embraced her beloved son in her arms, her gaze filled with affection as she looked at the child.
However, the child in her arms did not embrace his mother back. Instead, his hands were making a pushing-away gesture.
Although the carving was made of wood, it was lifelike. The child's expression, a mix of joy and fear, was quite profound.
Shen Qi suddenly leaped onto the bed, his long black tail swaying leisurely.
Lu Zhi sat on the bed, reaching out to touch the bumblebee that had been quietly perched on his shoulder. He injected his spiritual energy, attempting to contact others and inquire if they had found any other clues.
But after injecting his spiritual energy, nothing happened.
A look of worry flashed across Lu Zhi's eyes, "Did something happen?"
"The space here isolates contact with the outside world," Shen Qi's long black tail, which had somehow wound itself around Lu Zhi's wrist, said. "It's a minor trick of the Ghost God. You can contact them once you leave here."
Lu Zhi then felt relieved, "Since this is where the Ghost God imprisons people, won't we be discovered if we leave?"
Shen Qi let out a snort, "Hmm? Are you doubting my abilities?"
Lu Zhi quickly shook his head, "How could I? In my heart, you are an invincible existence!"
Shen Qi stared at him intently, and then his tail brushed across Lu Zhi's cheek, "Flattery doesn't suit you."
Lu Zhi blinked innocently, "I'm just stating the truth."
Shen Qi suddenly said, "It's dark."
Lu Zhi instinctively looked out the crack in the door. The house was pitch black, and he couldn't see his hand in front of his face.
A blood-red moon had somehow risen high into the night sky.
Shen Qi flicked his tail towards the door lock. The lock clicked open silently.
Shen Qi said, "I'll take you to find something good to eat."
Lu Zhi looked at the red-tinged night mist outside, illuminated by the blood moon, and sighed, "This late-night snack is a bit eerie."
Shen Qi: ...