Xie Fan's eyes widened. The instant a mouth appeared on the puppet, something exploded violently inside his mind, as though he were being subjected to some horrifying mutation too terrible to look at directly. The words reaching his ears seemed to dissolve into a vague buzzing hum.
Outside the window, rain poured down in torrents, faintly illuminating the familiar threshing ground. Xie Fan could only see “features” gradually appearing on A-Qi's face, just like before.
Eyes, mouth, nose...
His vision blurred.
He could tell that A-Qi was speaking, but he couldn't hear clearly, couldn't understand what the person across from him was saying at all.
What was it...?
What was he saying?
His vision spun. Just as Xie Fan was about to sink into bewilderment, a hand suddenly covered his eyes gently, plunging his vision into darkness in an instant.
Curly long hair softly wrapped around his neck, carrying that familiar honey-sweet fragrance.
Xie Fan seemed to smell the sweet scent of the candle again. His knitted brows gradually relaxed, even though his muscles continued trembling from pure bodily instinct.
He had no idea how much time passed before he finally heard a voice.
“Sleep.”
“If you're tired, close your eyes.”
That's right. Close his eyes.
Everything would be fine once he closed his eyes.
Xie Fan slowly shut his eyes and felt himself lose consciousness again, just like every other time...
...
Xie Fan abruptly sat up on the bamboo bed and opened his eyes.
“Just now... Just now?”
Hadn't he been at the village chief's house?
Looking at the familiar furnishings around him, Xie Fan was somewhat bewildered.
“What's wrong?”
“Did you have a nightmare?”
Cold fingers pressed against his forehead, and only then did Xie Fan notice that “Sun Zhou,” who had originally been sitting beside the table reading, had walked over.
“System?”
“Mm.”
“The rain was too heavy tonight. When I woke up, I found that you'd already fallen asleep.” The system opposite him withdrew its hand and frowned slightly.
“You really do seem to have a bit of a cold.”
Really?
Why couldn't he feel it himself?
Xie Fan instinctively raised a hand and touched his forehead, but couldn't tell anything at all. Coming back to his senses, he looked at Sun Zhou.
“Was I dreaming just now?”
“Mm. What's wrong?”
Gentle eyes studied him inquisitively.
Xie Fan shook his head. “Nothing.”
He had dreamed that he'd picked up a painting, then suddenly run off to the village chief's house, as though he were trying to investigate something...?
There was a faint stabbing pain in his head, yet no matter what he did, he couldn't remember. Xie Fan raised a hand and rubbed his temple, then felt a warm cloth being placed over his head.
“We can only try this for now and see whether it makes you feel a little better.”
Xie Fan tugged at the corner of his mouth. He really wanted to say that he didn't have a fever at all, so there was absolutely no need for this. But the system simply watched him quietly, and Xie Fan swallowed the words on the tip of his tongue.
Besides... the warm sensation against his head actually did feel pretty comfortable.
With the warm compress resting on his head, Xie Fan leaned back against the bed.
“Has the rain outside still not stopped?”
The ceaseless patter of rain filled his ears, leaving him somewhat dazed and unable, for a moment, to distinguish reality from his dream.
“Sun Zhou” glanced outside. “Mm. It started around noon and hasn't stopped since.”
“The roads outside are already flooded.”
Even the roads were flooded?
Then it really had been a dream. He hadn't gone to the village chief's house.
No matter how reckless he was, Xie Fan didn't think he could have crossed through that much rain to get there. And besides... the shoes on the floor were clean.
There was only a little dust from the dirt road on their soles, without a trace of mud or rainwater.
He relaxed slightly. When a gust of wind blew in through the window, he coughed once, and the system immediately walked over and closed it.
“There.”
The “system” was pretty considerate, wasn't it?
When the thought popped into his head, Xie Fan almost laughed. For some inexplicable reason, he felt that his system was surprisingly human. It wasn't anything like the mechanical systems he'd read about in books before transmigrating.
The warm wooden house was sealed tightly against the elements, allowing him to slowly relax. Xie Fan yawned, finding it strange that he'd only just woken up and was already sleepy again.
Maybe the nightmare had ruined the quality of his sleep.
He frowned, instinctively unwilling to fall asleep again, even though it was now completely dark outside and looked like the middle of the night.
“Want some noodles?”
The system opposite him suddenly asked.
“Huh?” Xie Fan froze.
“Sun Zhou” slowly curved his lips into a smile. “Didn't I see that you humans like eating late-night snacks when you can't sleep?”
There were no late-night snack stalls in Xican Village, but cooking a bowl of noodles was still possible.
Xie Fan blinked and watched the system turn around and head downstairs. Some time later, it returned from the kitchen below carrying a steaming bowl of noodle soup.
“But didn't we not have anything like this at home?”
He remembered there only being things like potatoes in the kitchen, not any of this. After all, the original body's owner didn't seem to work the fields either.
Xie Fan was somewhat puzzled.
“Sun Zhou” remained perfectly composed. “Is that so?”
“I found a bag. Someone next door probably gave it to you.”
Xiao Yao...
Xie Fan realized what he meant.
Speaking of which, even the apricot jam had been entirely made by the “system.” Xie Fan felt slightly embarrassed when he remembered that.
“Thanks.”
“Mm.”
Eating while leaning against the bed always made him feel strangely insecure, so he climbed out and slowly sat down at the table.
There weren't many ingredients in the freshly cooked noodle soup, only some leafy greens and an egg, yet it smelled exceptionally delicious. Before he'd even tasted it, Xie Fan caught the savory aroma and impatiently picked up a mouthful with his chopsticks and put it into his mouth.
“It's so good!”
His eyes lit up, and he immediately swept his hair behind him.
“Sun Zhou” smiled. “Really? It's my first time making it. I only followed a tutorial.”
The deity quietly watched Xie Fan. Seeing that he could no longer remember anything that had happened before he woke from his dream, it raised an eyebrow slightly.
Xie Fan finished the noodles in just a few bites, then happily drank the entire large bowl of broth. A bowl of noodles with greens and egg on a rainy day was simply too delicious. His entire body had warmed up.
The “system” glanced outside.
“The rain will probably continue for another whole day.”
“You might have to stay home all day tomorrow too.”
What? It was going to rain for that long?
Xie Fan raised his head, about to ask how the system knew that, but then remembered that the system wasn't an ordinary human being. Maybe it had some kind of high-tech weather forecasting software?
Suppressing his doubts, Xie Fan nodded.
“Sounds like it.”
“Anyway, there's nothing to do in the village.”
A vague thought flickered through his mind. Xie Fan had the peculiar feeling that he'd forgotten something, but the sensation quickly disappeared.
The night grew deeper and deeper.
By the next morning, the crowing of roosters could clearly be heard, yet when the door was opened, it was still dark outside.
“I'll never complain about how annoying the rainy days these past few days were again. Today is even more ridiculous.”
It was already ten in the morning, yet it was as dark as midnight.
He Cheng's mouth twitched as he stared at the accumulated water on the ground. He abandoned the idea of going to the villagers' homes up ahead to get something to eat. The water looked like it was already knee-deep.
Besides, the village roads had never been paved and were nothing but dirt, making them completely impassable. Fortunately, their guesthouse had been built on higher ground, or it would have flooded too.
“Do you still have any supplies in your bag?” He looked at Shen Xun.
Shen Xun nodded. “I saved some before.”
They had deliberately kept a batch of supplies in reserve in case of an emergency. Since they'd been eating the village's food these past few days, they hadn't touched any of it.
However, the journey into the mountains hadn't been easy, so there really wasn't much. It would probably only be enough to feed one adult for two meals.
“Forget it. Let's just eat what we have for now.” He Cheng turned around and went to boil some water.
Since they were trapped in the guesthouse, they'd have to boil their own hot water today too.
Tan Qingxian took out the supplies and divided them up. At that moment, he instinctively glanced next door.
That wooden house belonging to the village chief... was still locked even now. More importantly, water had already begun seeping inside.
The neighboring house wasn't situated as well as the guesthouse. Looking at it from a distance, more than half of the first floor had already been submerged. If someone was inside...
He frowned slightly.
“If there's someone in there, something will happen if they don't come out soon.”
Pei Jing followed his gaze and reached the same conclusion. Such an enclosed space had already taken in so much rainwater.
“Forget it. That's the village's own business.”
“Besides, that village chief should come back, right?” Tan Qingxian smiled faintly and withdrew his gaze.
Yet even by afternoon, no one had appeared in front of the house across from them.
And... the rain was only getting heavier.
Previously, the village's torrential rains had lasted only a few hours, or at most one night before stopping. But this rain had already continued for an entire day and night, perhaps even longer.
Their watches were broken, making it impossible to determine the exact time. Pei Jing's expression darkened.
He Cheng was also staring uneasily at the neighboring house, growing vaguely irritated.
“Why don't we go take a look? Tch, it's still a human life, after all.”
Although he didn't like this village, he didn't want to watch someone inexplicably suffocate to death inside their own house either.
Several of them had instinctively been paying attention to the village chief's house. Only Shen Xun, who normally had the best temperament of them all, remained completely indifferent.
He Cheng withdrew his gaze and vaguely felt that something was strange.
The Shen Xun he knew wasn't this coldhearted, was he?
“What's wrong? Why are you looking at me like that?” Shen Xun seemed puzzled.
“Nothing.”
He Cheng shook his head. After hesitating for a long while, he ultimately frowned and stood up.
“I'll come too.” Pei Jing was also planning to go take a look.
Tan Qingxian and Shen Xun, who hadn't originally intended to go, saw that two members of the group were preparing to leave and followed them as well.
The group crossed through the pools of water. When they reached the entrance of the village chief's house, rain was still pouring from the sky, and there wasn't a single person anywhere around them.
He Cheng glanced at the door that had been nailed shut and silently cursed the hassle. Just as he was about to try using a tool on it, his movements suddenly paused.
Through the door, he abruptly heard a “thud.”
The sound of something striking against something else rang out without warning, and it was actually somewhat similar to the sound he'd heard in his dream last night?
The inexplicable thought flashed through his mind and vanished. Before He Cheng could think any further, he saw the wooden door in front of him being pried from the inside.
It actually opened directly.
A-Qi pushed open the door and stepped out first.
If Xie Fan had been there, he would have immediately realized something: the A-Qi standing before them looked exactly the same as usual. There wasn't the slightest trace of the puppet-like stiffness Xie Fan had seen in his “dream.”
It was as though his “illness” had been cured.
...
News that A-Qi had recovered quickly spread throughout the entire village.
Xie Fan had only just woken up that morning when Xiao Yao came running over, chattering excitedly.
“Brother A-Xie, guess who I just saw?”
“Brother A-Qi!”
“It's amazing! He's all better!”