Quick Transmigration: Underdog Turns out to be Untouchable-Chapter 1023 - 934: Queen of Terror 30

"Even if we know they worship the mermaid as the Sea God, I can’t figure out what this has to do with our mission. Could it be that they have a habit of using living humans as sacrifices to the Sea God?" Li Liguo rubbed his chin and said.

"Probably not. I’ve inquired around the village these days. The villagers say that since ancient times, they have never used living humans as sacrifices. They even say that the Sea God is compassionate and would never demand something as cruel as taking a life."

The one who spoke was Zhong Junyu. Although he looked cold, his appearance was appealing, making it easy to gather information, especially when asking women.

"Yesterday, I heard the village chief’s wife mention that she was going to pray to the God with some of the village elders. I’m planning to tag along and see if I can find any clues." Lan Shuangshuang glanced at everyone and said.

"Sister Shuangshuang, let me go with you." As soon as Lan Shuangshuang finished speaking, Li Meng immediately chimed in. Lan Shuangshuang nodded indifferently, agreeing to Li Meng’s suggestion.

Early the next day, Lan Shuangshuang and Li Meng set off with the village chief’s wife, who had prepared various incense sticks, paper money, and gold ingots for the deity, as well as an array of fruits and pastries for offerings.

Lan Shuangshuang observed with a cold eye and noticed that the items prepared by the village chief’s wife seemed a bit excessive. While it’s not unusual for people to burn a lot of offerings, this fishing village is not wealthy, and these offerings seemed a bit extravagant for these households.

Strangely, the usually frugal village chief showed no dissatisfaction and even added a large salted fish as an offering.

There were a few other women outside also going to pray, each carrying offerings. Similar to those of the village chief’s wife, theirs were also particularly lavish. However, these women wore clothes that were somewhat worn and patched, clearly not from wealthy families, and these offerings must be a burden to them. 𝐟𝕣𝕖𝐞𝐰𝕖𝚋𝐧𝗼𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝗰𝐨𝐦

Li Meng looked at these women with large and small bags and whispered to Lan Shuangshuang, "The people here are quite devout in their worship. Usually, wives are stingy even about a bite of meat, but they’re generous when it comes to offerings to this illusory deity."

Lan Shuangshuang glanced at the women worshiping the God. Sometimes, the poorer you are, the more you like to worship deities, because when life is hard, people place their hopes on the deities, seeking redemption. Thus, throughout history, religion has thrived in turbulent times because when faced with hardships, people prefer to see intangible deities as their saviors.

In this era, though it’s undeniable that some remote areas are struggling, this small fishing village, although isolated, is not that far-flung. The villagers live a life that is not affluent but sufficient for food and clothing. In such circumstances, their strong faith in deities is either a tradition or something fishy.

If it’s tradition, then there’s nothing more to say about it. But if there’s something fishy, then that’s even better, as we were worried the village was too quiet and couldn’t find any clues.

To the surprise of Lan Shuangshuang and Li Meng, the place of worship was rather desolate. They had assumed the temple, for which the women of the entire village were willing to spend lavishly, would be bustling. However, in reality, there was not a single person worshiping there, only people from the fishing village where Lan Shuangshuang and the others resided came to worship.

The temple was located behind a grove of coconut trees by the seaside, very hidden. The temple was not large, and rather than a temple, it resembled a classical courtyard.

The center of the temple had a large hall for worship, flanked by two rows of side rooms for living quarters. Hanging clothes in shades of gray and white were drying under the corridors, in a style unlike Taoist or monk robes.

The temple housed a dozen men, with long hair tied into buns and wearing long robes with symmetrical Eight Trigrams embroidered on the front and back, their feet in cloud-patterned cloth shoes, dressed in a peculiar fashion.

Moreover, Lan Shuangshuang could feel it; these men’s eyes discreetly scanned her and Li Meng several times, carrying an indescribable, lewd intent that made Lan Shuangshuang and Li Meng uncomfortable.

The village chief’s wife failed to perceive the lewdness in these men’s eyes, instead, she greeted them with respect. The men behaved courteously and warmly, concealing any previous inappropriate glances.

After exchanging greetings, everyone went their separate ways. Once the men left, the village chief’s wife told Lan Shuangshuang and Li Meng that these men living here are God’s Servants. For the village’s benefit, they remain unmarried to serve the deity for life, and are considered great men, so the villagers all hold them in high regard.

Since the God’s Servants devote themselves to the deity and can’t work to earn money, their food, clothing, and daily needs are provided by the villagers. However, it’s apparent that the God’s Servants live well, each tall and robust, unlike the frail and small villagers.

Lan Shuangshuang and Li Meng followed the village chief’s wife into the only deity worshipping hall of this modest temple, where they were greeted by a statue of a mermaid, with a human body and fish tail, but it was a male mermaid, unlike the typical female mermaid statues.

The village chief’s wife skillfully laid out the offerings on the altar table in front of the mermaid statue, then kneeled in devotion, muttering, "Oh Sea God, it’s soon time to fish the seas again, we ask you to bless us with abundance."

After worshiping, the village chief’s wife began burning paper money and gold ingots. Inside the hall was a burning basin specifically for such items, and once lit, it smoked intensely; Lan Shuangshuang and Li Meng, feeling choked by the smoke, walked out.

Earlier, Lan Shuangshuang had already sensed that there was nothing strange about the mermaid statue. There was no spirit attached or any Evil God vibe; it was just an ordinary stone sculpture.

Lan Shuangshuang and Li Meng moved around the temple slightly; it was quite ordinary. If it weren’t for the central hall dedicated to the Mermaid Sea God, it would be just a regular home.

The only unusual aspect might be that the temple’s floor was laid with natural bluestone, which wasn’t cheap and was a little extravagant compared to the temple’s simplicity.

After the worship concluded and they headed back, Lan Shuangshuang and Li Meng hadn’t found anything conspicuous. Li Meng felt a bit disappointed, having thought the temple might hold some clues, perhaps hiding an Evil Ghost or Evil God.

Yet, upon reentering the fishing village, Lan Shuangshuang continually glanced thoughtfully at the surroundings, making Li Meng curious. After separating from the village chief’s wife, Li Meng asked Lan Shuangshuang, "Shuangshuang, what are you thinking? Have you found any clues?"

Lan Shuangshuang shook her head, "I’m not sure if it counts as a clue. It’s just I find it odd. We’ve been in the fishing village for so long and haven’t seen any men going out to fish. Isn’t that strange?"