402: Chapter 402: Bonfire Party 402: Chapter 402: Bonfire Party Hidden within a small thicket, Zhao Yaya tucked herself away so completely that unless someone ventured inside, they would absolutely fail to find her.
“It’s a lie, it must be a lie, I don’t believe it’s really that magical, let’s see if you can find me.” Zhao Yaya muttered under her breath, skeptical about the Mind Stone, unable to believe such magical things really existed, just like something out of a fantasy novel.
What era were they living in to still have such mystical happenings?
Zhao Yaya, being young, had received a thoroughly modern education and was a staunch believer in science.
“Come out, Yaya, stop hiding.” Just then, a voice reached from outside—none other than Tangyu’s.
Zhao Yaya blinked in surprise, her round eyes spinning, “How could it be, how did you find me so quickly?
Is it really that magical?”
“Hurry up and come out.
There are a lot of bugs inside.
Be careful of getting bitten by bugs,” Tangyu’s voice rang out again.
On hearing about the bugs, Zhao Yaya could no longer stay put and immediately walked out, with Tangyu and five others standing there waiting for her.
Seeing Zhao Yaya emerge, Guo Momo and the others looked at Tangyu with a somewhat strange expression.
Tangyu had earlier conducted an experiment with everyone to demonstrate the magical effects of the Mind Stone by having Zhao Yaya hold a Mind Stone and hide, and after ten minutes, Tangyu set off to find her.
Tangyu actually waited fifteen minutes before starting the search, and went straight to this spot, as if she had known all along where Zhao Yaya was hiding.
This fully proved Tangyu’s claim—the Mind Stone indeed had such miraculous effects.
Moreover, Zhao Yaya’s hiding spot was relatively far and well-concealed, so when they arrived, Guo Momo and the others didn’t think Zhao Yaya would be hiding there.
“Impossible, good brother, how could you have found me so quickly?
You must have tracked me, right?” Zhao Yaya was still somewhat incredulous.
“Ask them,” Tangyu said.
Guo Momo said, “Yaya, Tangyu didn’t track you.
She waited fifteen minutes after you hid before she set off to find you, and she found you straight away without looking anywhere else.”
“Ah, so it means the Mind Stone really is that magical, it’s incredibly unbelievable, right?” Zhao Yaya’s eyes widened in astonishment.
It felt like someone telling you that ghosts really did exist in this world.
“Yes, it’s unbelievable, I wouldn’t have believed it either if I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes.
To think that there are such magical things in this world,” Guo Momo nodded and commented.
Lin Feifei said, “Perhaps, this is just one of nature’s marvels.
Some things really can’t be explained by common sense or science.
Otherwise, why would there be so many mysteries in the world?”
Deng Li grinned, scratching his head, “I used to hear a lot of ghost stories and bizarre tales from my grandfather when I was a kid.
That said, does it mean that this world might indeed have ghosts?”
Tangyu could only shake her head, “Whether there are ghosts in this world, I really don’t know.
It’s possible they exist, and it’s also possible they don’t.
Nothing is absolute, and we cannot generalize everything definitively.
The world is always full of mysteries.”
“Hehe, Brother Yu, listening to you, I feel like I’ve learned a lot,” Deng Li laughed and said.
Zhao Yaya walked over to Tangyu, extending her hand, “No way, no way, the Mind Stone’s magical powers can only be sensed by you, we can’t feel it.
You alone can’t decide that.
So, give me the Mind Stone, and then let me feel whether it has such magical powers or not.”
“You won’t be able to feel it either,” Tangyu shook her head and said.
“Tsk, I don’t believe that,” Zhao Yaya retorted.
Tangyu was serious, “I mean it, sensing the Mind Stone requires a very sensitive psychic response, which you haven’t been trained in and will find it difficult to achieve.
Since that sensation is elusive, you wouldn’t capture it anyway.
Thus, you wouldn’t know what a Mind Stone’s psychic response feels like, unless it’s extremely intense.
Otherwise, it would be impossible for you to feel.”
“The more you speak, the more mystical it sounds,” Zhao Yaya shook her head, “Forget it, I’ll take this Mind Stone then.
Hehe, if I’m ever in danger, good brother, you can rush to save me right away.”
“Sure, take it, I was planning to give it to you anyway,” Tangyu nodded, taking out a few other sub-stones and distributed them among Guo Momo and the other four, leaving only one sub-stone quickly.
Deng Li looked somewhat enviously at the last Mind Stone in Tangyu’s hand, naturally also desiring such a magical item but was too embarrassed to ask outright.
Tangyu easily noticed Deng Li’s desire, “This won’t be of much use to you, I need to keep this last one for myself.”
“Hehe, I was just looking, didn’t really want it,” Deng Li retracted his gaze, chuckling embarrassingly.
Happy moments always seem to pass so quickly.
They hadn’t even completed a single circuit around the Wan Mountain Reservoir before it was already dusk.
The sun had already set behind the mountains.
Of course, this was mainly because Wan Mountain Village was surrounded by mountains, so dusk in Wan Mountain Village came somewhat earlier than outside.
The sunset painted the sky in a blaze of red clouds, continuously splendid and eye-catching.
The twilight in the mountains truly captured a certain artistic conception, something incomparable to the city.
Standing by Wan Mountain Reservoir, it truly felt like a scene where ‘the setting sun and a lonely wild duck fly together, and autumn water merges with the sky’—a beautiful sight of this world.”
The continuous mountains, too, were bathed in the afterglow, as if sprinkled with a mist of Immortal Qi from the heavens.
“Wow, look over there, it’s a rainbow, so beautiful, it really is a rainbow, it’s my first time seeing a rainbow,” Zhao Yaya suddenly screamed, and everyone else also looked in the direction of her voice, only to see a rainbow hanging clearly and beautifully at the southwest corner of the sky.
Guo Momo and Lin Feifei were also staring at the rainbow with faces full of astonishment, somewhat enchanted by its beauty.
Zhao Yaya kept snapping pictures with her DSLR, capturing this beautiful moment.
Sadly, beautiful things are always fleeting; the rainbow was like a blink of an eye, disappearing completely after just two or three minutes.
“Oh, it’s gone, what a pity, I hadn’t seen enough yet,” Zhao Yaya said with a face full of regret, then turned to Deng Li and asked, “Strange, how can there be a rainbow when it’s so sunny?”
“Hehe, it’s sunny here, but that doesn’t mean it’s sunny everywhere.
The rainbow might look close, but it’s actually far away; it must be raining over there.
Hehe, in our village, we often see rainbows.
Especially after it rains, you can almost always see a rainbow,” Deng Li explained.
“Oh, I see.
Oh, too bad it’s not raining now; otherwise, we could’ve seen another rainbow,” Zhao Yaya said.
Tangyu looked at the sky and said, “It’s getting late now, we should head back.”
“Yes, the people who were fishing have left; we should go back too,” Guo Momo nodded.
Their first day of play, overall, was very fulfilling and fun, offering a unique experience.
When Tangyu and his friends returned to the village, it was almost completely dark.
Lights were lit in every household, and even the streetlights were on, brightening the paths.
The village at night was definitely the liveliest time.
“Look, the Immortal Sister and her friends are back, let’s go notify the village chief quickly.”
Tangyu realized they seemed more popular than before on their return.
The people they encountered on their way all smiled warmly and were very polite, almost to a respectful extent.
Especially the children, who immediately rushed joyfully towards the village chief’s house, apparently as instructed.
Before Tangyu and his group could even reach their house, Village Chief Deng Xianfeng came over with a big smile, walking briskly: “Young Master Tang, you’re back.
Tonight, I’ve prepared a bonfire party to welcome you to our village.
Please honor us with your presence; this is the heartfelt intention of our entire village.”
Naturally disinclined but feeling hard-pressed to refuse due to Deng Xianfeng’s repeated displays of goodwill and warmth, Tangyu felt somewhat embarrassed.
He looked at Guo Momo and the others with a querying glance to gauge their feelings.
Guo Momo frowned slightly, as if considering.
Just then, Aunt Deng and Uncle Deng came up and said, “Young Tang, you’re back.
Today, I didn’t prepare dinner for you all.
The village chief was too enthusiastic, insisting he’d take care of dinner, and he even called us over, so we had to let him prepare it.
Unexpectedly, he has organized a bonfire party for you, which represents the highest form of welcome in our village.
All of us in the village will be attending.”
“Oh, I see,” Tangyu finally understood, and nodded, “Well then, we appreciate the village chief’s generous hospitality.”
Zhao Yaya blinked and said, “The whole village eating together?
Is it going to be a communal meal?”
“Hehe, you could say that.
It’s not the entire village, though; basically, one member from each household comes.
Our village has nearly a hundred families, so it is about a hundred people, in total.
But after dinner, there will be a bonfire party that everyone in the village will attend.
We’ve also prepared some programs, all traditional customs of our village, hoping to entertain you tonight,” Deng Xianfeng explained.
“Ah, a bonfire party like this sounds quite fun; I love lively events,” Zhao Yaya said excitedly.
Bonfire parties in the city are also common but have lost their original essence, not quite the true bonfire party.
This authentic experience promised by the village was still something worth looking forward to.
“Hehe, it should be quite interesting,” Deng Xianfeng said with a smile.
The group followed Deng Xianfeng to the village hall.
By then, the hall was filled with tables, all occupied by representatives of the families, bustling with activity.
“Hehe, in the past, we only held a bonfire party once a year during the New Year.
I remember when I was young, the annual bonfire party was what I looked forward to the most.
Of course, the grand village-wide bonfire party only happened during the New Year.
But we would still often have smaller bonfire gatherings, which, looking back now, were quite fun,” Deng Li said.
Tangyu smiled, realizing the village chief had gone to great lengths to please them this evening.
“Wow, your lives back then were so rich, I’m so envious,” Zhao Yaya said.
Deng Li smiled and said, “I envy you city folks, too.”