Chapter 31: Corn

Liang Dan had initially assumed that, given the vast size of the field, the three of them would not be able to finish harvesting even if they worked until they left the mission instance. She had planned to salvage as much corn as possible within the limited time.

However, she had underestimated Yang Liuqing, whose speed was astonishing. At first, Yang simply followed behind them, chopping down cornstalks, but soon finding their pace too slow, she began snapping off ears of corn and chopping stalks simultaneously.

The once deep, expansive field was cleared in just a few hours, leaving only the few furrows at the very edge.

As Liang Dan sat down, her bottom barely touching the warm soil before Shen Si let out a cry of "Ouch!"

"What’s wrong?"

"Sister Liang, look! The corn over here is gone!"

Liang Dan stood up to look. Sure enough, there wasn't a single ear of corn left in the furthest furrows.

Yang Liuqing straightened her back. "The really tall corn up there is still intact."

Shen Si jumped up. "You’re right. It seems those children have been relying on this corn to survive for a long time."

Yang Liuqing chopped the last of the corn, and Liang Dan and Shen Si crouched down to gather it. Once they had finished, they carried a large armful of corn back to the road.

"Oh, my!"

Shen Si suddenly shrieked, and the corn in her arms spilled and rolled away.

Yang Liuqing asked testily, "If the NPCs don't kill us, you’re going to scare us to death. What is it now?"

Shen Si pointed at the pile of corn. "The corn we just picked is disappearing!"

Liang Dan and Yang Liuqing squinted at the pile, but after a long while, they couldn't tell what was missing.

Anxious, Shen Si circled the pile. "I put an underdeveloped ear of corn right here, and there were several that rolled down over there. There was a small row of five right here. In short, it’s missing from several places."

Yang Liuqing replied, "Let it be. We still have plenty left."

Liang Dan nodded. "True, a little less doesn't matter."

Shen Si was shocked. "No... is this really just about a little bit of corn?"

Liang Dan asked, "Are you referring to theft? After all, this corn isn't ours, so someone else taking it shouldn't count as theft."

Yang Liuqing added, "Still, since we were the ones who picked it, they really should have asked us first. It is a bit impolite."

Shen Si muttered to herself, "This instance is truly terrifying; it has worn you two down like this in just three and a half days!"

Liang Dan smiled and winked at Shen Si. "Our work is done. Let’s go to the river and wash our hands."

"Okay, okay."

***

The three skipped and hopped toward the river outside the village.

As soon as they finished washing their hands, Liang Dan hurried back, with Yang Liuqing and Shen Si following closely behind. They sped back to the middle of the road.

The road was deserted. The two small piles they had stacked were still there, looking peaceful and undisturbed.

The three exchanged glances. Liang Dan could see it in Shen Si’s eyes: there was even less corn than before.

Yang Liuqing scoffed, "They have quite good counter-surveillance skills."

Shen Si asked, "What should we do? Should we find a way to catch them?"

Liang Dan said, "They aren't thieves, so why would we catch them?"

"Then what do we do?"

Liang Dan replied, "Since someone is already doing this work, let's do something else, like excavating the ruins."

The three donned their gloves and turned toward the residential area, where ruins were neatly lined up one after another.

In front of the ruins, they searched intensely for the truth of the village, their hands trembling from the effort. Behind the ruins, there were faint, rustling footsteps—sometimes present, sometimes gone—accompanied by the occasional sound of something being dropped and immediately snatched up.

At first, Shen Si’s attention was constantly drawn to the sounds behind them, but as she dug, she became increasingly excited, seemingly falling in love with this treasure hunt.

"An iron pot!"

"An iron basin!"

"A locked wooden box!"

Yang Liuqing and Liang Dan were instantly drawn to the box in Shen Si’s hands. It was about twenty to thirty centimeters long, exquisitely crafted, and still exuded the raw, natural scent of wood.

Liang Dan murmured, "This location is the home of that middle-aged woman."

Yang Liuqing said, "This might be an important item. It might explain why those offerings were placed in her home."

Shen Si picked up a hammer she had just unearthed and smashed it against the iron lock. The lock clicked open.

A few small clay animal sculptures lay quietly inside the box. Beside them were several scattered, colorful pens.

Shen Si carefully picked up a clay tiger and examined it closely.

The yellow clay tiger was no larger than a palm, but every detail was exquisite, especially its eyes, which looked lifelike and carried a strange, melancholic air. The only flaw was a tiny crack in its body, revealing the pale clay beneath.

***

Shen Si sighed, "So this woman was a fan of clay sculpting, and she was quite skilled at it."

Liang Dan suddenly began running toward the edge of the village, and Yang Liuqing and Shen Si hurried to follow.

The three stopped outside the temple. Liang Dan stood on the right, next to an undamaged sculpture, and observed it carefully. She picked up the clay tiger and held it close to the large sculpture for comparison.

The three of them ran back and forth inside and outside the temple, comparing the small clay animals to the larger sculptures one by one.

Yang Liuqing said, "Judging by the style, it seems to be the same artist. But those pens of hers shouldn't be enough to color such large statues."

Shen Si said, "There might be other pens in her house that we didn't dig up."

Liang Dan leaned her nose close to the sculpture and took a deep breath.

Shen Si followed suit. "What do you smell?"

Liang Dan said, "The smell of grass. These four little girl sculptures must have been colored using natural flowers and plants."

Shen Si nodded, deeply in agreement.

She looked at the clay tiger and asked, "This tiger is so small, yet it’s already dried to the point of cracking. Why are these sculptures so large yet still so complete?"

Yang Liuqing pressed her fingertip firmly against the red lips of a sculpture, leaving a faint red smudge. "It’s time. These sculptures can’t be more than a few months old."

Shen Si rushed into the temple and asked, "The red on these sculptures isn't just one shade; some are light, some are dark. What kind of plant could produce this effect?"

"Safflower," Liang Dan said.

Shen Si replied, "There are no flowers in this village—not a single one."

Yang Liuqing’s eyes lit up. "Could that scene we haven't found yet be a forest? And have those children been hiding in that forest all this time?"

Liang Dan said, "If there really is a forest outside, the dye might have come from other plants."

"Why?"

"Safflowers love sunlight and generally don't grow in places like forests."

"Then what if," Yang Liuqing suggested, "the villagers here cut down many trees to build the bridge?"