At the moment when Shao Mingyuan voiced his agreement, the peculiar quietness of the town was shattered. The young people spoke up one after another: "Yeah, that tourist named Tang Ning was indeed right." "Zhang Yun, this kid, actually saved someone without making a fuss. If this were outside, you might have earned a bravery award!" "Dad, why did you grab the mayor's collar just now? How did we manage to pay the tuition this year? Wasn't it the mayor who said he would develop tourism in our town so we could go to school outside?"
They persuaded their elders one by one. The more stubborn elderly didn't speak, but they also didn't clamor for the ceremony to be restored. Often, some people only had a little negative emotion, but when they were surrounded by negativity, that bit of malice would be infinitely magnified. Emotions are contagious, especially the contagiousness of negative emotions is particularly strong.
Most people had now snapped out of their frenzy, except for Aunt Zhang, who had just awakened. She woke up in pain, looked at Zhang Shunping with a mournful gaze, and said, "Shunping, what happened to him?!"
Zhang Shunping, tied up like a hog, looked in the direction where Tang Ning was. Only, Shao Mingyuan stood in front of Tang Ning. Zhang Shunping locked eyes with Shao Mingyuan, then immediately lowered his head, prostrating on the ground, letting out a whimper.
The mayor walked up to Zhang Shunping, the livor mortis still visible on his body. A person who should have died had reappeared in a bizarre way in the world.
"Shunping, do you remember who it is?" the mayor asked in a low voice.
Zhang Shunping rolled his eyes and raised his swollen, bluish face. "Uncle Zhong."
Even the experienced mayor couldn't help but feel his scalp tingling at this moment. He didn't communicate further with Zhang Shunping, instead, he turned to the others and said, "You guys keep an eye on him, don't let him 'act up' again. You, go help Aunt Zhang to Uncle Er's place to treat her wounds."
Tang Ning stood beside Shao Mingyuan, cautiously peering out. He glanced around at the people, giving an extra look to those who met his gaze, but once done, everyone went their separate ways.
Unlike Zhang Yun, the young man didn't avoid eye contact with him, as if he had a lot to say.
Just as Tang Ning wanted to smile at Zhang Yun, Shao Mingyuan happened to turn around. He lowered his head, and that striking profile stunned Tang Ning. Shao Mingyuan's features, from his forehead to his nasal bridge, were well-defined. The gold-rimmed glasses perched on his high bridge of the nose slid slightly down, with half of his eyes concealed by the lenses, while the other half revealed a deep, somewhat oppressive gaze. "When you spoke just now, it was as if you were glowing."
The slightly cheesy line coming from Shao Mingyuan's mouth, coupled with his focused gaze, suddenly seemed particularly sincere.
Tang Ning felt a bit embarrassed and pursed his lips, giving a shy smile. He thought it must be the blessing of the mermaid princess card. If he spoke like that in reality, surely not as many people would be willing to listen to him.
But Shao Mingyuan was an NPC, and the effect of this card was not convenient to explain. Tang Ning could only smile sheepishly, thinking that if it weren't for Shao Mingyuan's encouragement earlier, he might have lost the courage to continue speaking after just getting started. So, Tang Ning whispered, "Thank you for holding my hand just now."
Because he had spoken a lot before, Shao Mingyuan behaved quite normally this time, so Tang Ning didn't specifically type on his phone but directly expressed his gratitude to Shao Mingyuan in a soft voice.
Completely soft, like a little cat gently rubbing against someone with its head, lying obediently on its side, revealing its snowy white belly.
Shao Mingyuan's pupils contracted, and his slender, powerful hand instinctively grasped Tang Ning's hand. The grip wasn't too strong, but it wasn't weak either. Tang Ning subconsciously pulled his hand back, but didn't break free.
He lifted his eyes to look at Shao Mingyan, whose expression appeared calm, while his other hand "fumbled" in his pocket for something. Quickly, he pulled out a piece of "milk" candy and placed it in Tang Ning's hand. "Have something sweet next time you're nervous," he said gentlemanly, releasing his hand as if the previous gesture was just about giving Tang Ning the candy.
However, standing beside them, Lin Yun saw through everything. Alongside the old "lecher," he clearly saw Shao Mingyan retracting his hand, his fingertips reluctantly rubbing together, as if savoring something.
Tang Ning looked foolishly happy, accepting Shao Mingyan's candy and thanking him sweetly.
Though the thank you wasn't directed at Lin Yun, his ears tingled nonetheless, especially facing Shao Mingyan who, adjusting his glasses with his middle finger, naturally covered the lower half of his smiling face. Yet from Lin Yun's angle, he could clearly see the exaggerated grin on Shao Mingyan's lips.
Damn.
That NPC is seriously enjoying himself, isn't he?
The black pupils behind the lenses glanced slightly in Lin Yun's direction, momentarily causing his mind to go blank with silent cursing. It felt as if a terrifying presence was staring back at him, similar to when Tang Ning encountered the shadow of the ghost school in the real world. That thing stared coldly at him from where Tang Ning couldn't see, like a snake lurking in the shadows, ready to strike and ensnare his treasures.
Unlike a snake, however, Shao Mingyan's shadow was adept at disguise. Lin Yun had previously couldn't help but call Tang Ning to warn him to be careful of that shadow, even if the current rules favored Tang Ning. But who could guarantee that the shadow wouldn't suddenly turn against him one day?
In Lin Yun's eyes, Tang Ning's behavior was more terrifying than raising little demons, yet Tang Ning himself was very good at pretending, except for occasionally scaring him, he wouldn't harm him.
Just like at this moment, Tang Ning's gaze towards Shao Mingyuan was much warmer, even though not long ago he had been somewhat distant, as if wary of strangers.
Lin Yun felt a pang of sourness in his heart.
"Is there anyone willing to go to the river and see what's happening on the other side of the iron pillar?" the mayor called for volunteers.
Just now, a young man came running amidst the chaos, saying there was trouble on the other side of the river. Some townsfolk went over, but so far, no one had returned to report the situation.
Several townspeople volunteered, gathering together to whisper: "Just heard from Iron Pillar that his second uncle and third uncle said his elder brother drowned? Remember, they're all skilled swimmers since childhood, how could this suddenly happen?" "Strange, how could all three of them lose their footing at the same time?" "Could it be something dirty in the river?"
"Enough! Let's discuss it over there!" the mayor interrupted them, and Tang Ning looked at Lin Yun, silently asking if he wanted to go along. Lin Yun's mood was somewhat complicated as he said, "Let's go and take a look too."
It took ten minutes to walk from the mayor's house to the riverbank, but they quickly arrived by running. Tang Ning and his group were all running, and in no time, they reached the riverbank. The river surface shimmered, with every wave seeming to reflect the glint of pearls beneath.
There were materials for bridge repair by the riverbank, but none of the workers were in sight, except for one—the young man who had come running to report the situation. He was standing with his back to the crowd, his shoulders shaking, emitting a mournful wail. He was soaked from head to toe, dripping water from his hair to the hem of his clothes, as if he had just been in the water himself.
"Tie Zhu! What happened?!" the mayor asked anxiously. "Where did the others go?!"
Tie Zhu continued to cry, squatting by the riverbank, too grief-stricken to heed the mayor's words.
The mayor, in a hurry, strode over to Tie Zhu and reached out to pat his shoulder, "You, kid, crying won't solve anything—"
His hand was firmly grabbed by Tie Zhu, whose wet hand felt like an iron clamp suddenly restraining the mayor's hand. Without any warning, Tie Zhu turned around and pounced on the mayor like a wild beast, mouth wide open, unhesitatingly biting towards the mayor's neck!
"Watch out!" A agile man kicked Tie Zhu away. Despite being just a young lad, Tie Zhu couldn't match the strength of a fully grown opponent.
The man helped the mayor, but before catching their breath, suddenly heard their companions gasping for air. They saw pairs of eyes emerging from the shimmering river surface!
The faint light reflected an eerie glow in the eyes of the people!
Faces soaked in water surfaced, shedding swollen skin. Through the recognition of their facial features, they were unmistakably the other three townsfolk who went to help before drowning!
They were all strong men, their stiffened arms slowly paddling towards the shore. Their eyes stared fixedly at the living on the shore, mouths gaping like hungry fish, seemingly full of desire for the living!
"Run!!!" The mayor shouted at the stunned townsfolk. Including Tie Zhu, a total of seven people underwent a strange transformation! Although there were seven people including tourists here, the tourists didn't need to help them, and those outsiders were probably not a match for these things with their delicate skin and tender flesh!
There was no need for the mayor to shout. The people present were already fleeing in the direction they came from.
Tang Ning turned around in panic, but before he could run far, Shao Mingyuan suddenly scooped him up and effortlessly overtook the fleeing townsfolk, racing to the front.
Tang Ning raised his head in confusion, listening to Shao Mingyuan's soft voice: "Help me hold my glasses."
The poor glasses kept bouncing on the high bridge of his nose and were about to fall off, but at the last moment, they were caught by a soft, fair hand.
Tang Ning carefully took away Shao Mingyuan's glasses, but in the process, his wrist accidentally brushed against Shao Mingyuan's lips. It tickled Tang Ning's hand, causing him to almost drop the glasses.
Tang Ning was startled, quickly gripping the glasses frame tightly. If Shao Mingyuan had entrusted him with this small task and he hadn't done it well, he would have felt utterly embarrassed, especially considering how important glasses are for people with nearsightedness, right?
Tang Ning paused, realizing that what he saw through the lenses was no different from what he saw with the naked eye. Was this just decorative glasses?
Initially, judging by how Shao Mingyuan even wore glasses with a bathrobe, he must be nearsighted.
But upon closer inspection, even though Shao Mingyuan was currently focused on the road and not making eye contact with him, the unobscured eyes still emitted a sharp and somewhat intimidating gaze.
It felt like the sensation he experienced when Gong Xun's eyes turned red.
Tang Ning's heart suddenly trembled.