Realm of the Night God

Chapter 698: The Faith of the Entire Town!

The old man looked at Yang Haoran, and Yang Haoran also looked back at him.

In the old man's turbid eyes, Yang Haoran saw caution, but not hostility. Moreover, from the attitudes of the other villagers towards the old man, it seemed that he had a certain status in the town, so Yang Haoran prepared to use him as a breakthrough point.

"Heh heh, old sir, I'm indeed from the Administrative Bureau, and that's not something I can fake. Otherwise, why would I come all the way here?" Yang Haoran responded with a smile.

"What evidence do you have to prove your identity?" the old man asked.

Upon hearing the old man's words, Yang Haoran's face involuntarily revealed a look of difficulty.

"Heh heh, old sir, I'm afraid I don't have any evidence," Yang Haoran said with a helpless smile.

"No evidence? How do we know you're not a demon in disguise?" a villager exclaimed.

"Heh heh, if I were really a demon or had any ill intentions, I would have taken action directly. Why would I waste time chatting with you all?" Yang Haoran said with a smile.

Yang Haoran's words effectively shut down the villager's argument, because it made sense. If he were really a demon, why would he waste time talking to them? Wouldn't it be more convenient to just attack them directly?

"Put down your guns, everyone. Today is a day worth celebrating. Let's not spoil the mood with some minor misunderstandings," the old man said after some thought, addressing the other villagers.As soon as the old man spoke, some villagers showed their reluctance.

"Old Town Chief, this..."

The person's words were cut off by the old man, who then whispered in their ear.

"Don't fight with the authorities. Since he's from the Administrative Bureau, we can't afford to offend him, even if we don't like it. If we really get into a conflict, do you think we'll come out on top? Do you want to sacrifice our entire town?"

The person's eyebrows were tightly furrowed, and their face still showed reluctance.

"Do you really believe he's here to help us?" they asked in a low voice.

"I'll figure out his true intentions later. For now, just put away your guns and don't say anything too provocative."

The villager didn't say anything more and put away their rifle, and the other villagers followed suit.

"Everyone, eat and drink as you please. As for this official, let Old Man me take care of him," the old man said to the villagers again.

The villagers returned to their seats, and the old man looked at Yang Haoran again.

"Official, if you're not too proud, please come and sit with us."

"I'll be honored to accept your invitation. I've traveled a long way and am quite hungry," Yang Haoran said with a smile.

Under the old man's invitation, Yang Haoran sat down with the old man, but they were not the only two at the table. There were other villagers as well.

However, these villagers showed no enthusiasm towards Yang Haoran's arrival, and instead looked reluctant. They didn't express their dissatisfaction openly, but instead focused on eating quickly, finishing most of the dishes on the table before Yang Haoran even had a chance to pick up his chopsticks.

From their reactions, it seemed that they didn't want to share the food with Yang Haoran, so they wolfed down the dishes quickly to avoid letting the outsider take advantage of them.

Afterwards, they chatted and drank wine, slowly using their chopsticks to pick up the remaining dishes on the table, treating the small amount of leftover food as an appetizer. As for Yang Haoran, he was completely ignored by them.

Yang Haoran smiled helplessly, then put down his chopsticks, not bothering to pick up the little bit of food left on his plate. He didn't care whether he ate or not, and his earlier claim of being hungry was just a show for the elderly man and the other villagers, as he wanted to pretend to be an ordinary person.

"Hehe, don't be angry, sir. In today's world, it's not easy to get a meal, and they're also starving, so..."

The elderly man explained with a smile, although he didn't finish his sentence, but Yang Haoran understood his meaning.

"You're too kind, sir. I'm also aware of the current situation. I won't take it to heart. I came here to see how you're all doing, to see that you have food and drink, and that your spirits are high. I'm very happy, and the Director of Administration will also be relieved."

Yang Haoran's face was full of smiles as he spoke, without a hint of embarrassment, as if he was telling the truth.

"The Director of Administration is concerned, and I'm also part of the organization. I used to be the town mayor, and I also worked for the Director of Administration. However, I've been retired for many years, and I thought I could enjoy my later years in peace, but the world has changed."

The elderly man shook his head in sigh.

"Yes, the world can change in an instant, and no one expected it." Yang Haoran also sighed.

"Actually, our small town isn't as safe as you think, sir. A few days ago, a big incident happened here. An evil ghost from who-knows-where caused chaos in our town, and several people died, including our town mayor, who was just a young man. He wanted to make a name for himself, but he didn't expect to be killed by the evil ghost before he could even leave our small town. It's really regrettable. After he died, I, as the Old Town Chief, had to take care of many things."

Yang Haoran hadn't even asked a question, but the Old Town Chief had already started talking about this incident, which was exactly what Yang Haoran wanted to hear. So, he followed the Old Town Chief's topic and asked questions.

"I didn't believe in the existence of evil ghosts before, but now I have to. However, this kind of ghost is hard to deal with. Are you having a big feast today because you've gotten rid of the evil ghost, and you're celebrating?"

Yang Haoran's face showed doubt as he asked.

"You're not entirely wrong, sir. The ghost was indeed taken care of. However, you misunderstood. We're not celebrating the ghost being eliminated, but rather, we're holding a temple fair to celebrate the completion of our Spirit God Temple."

Yang Haoran's doubt didn't disappear after hearing the Old Town Chief's explanation, but instead, it grew even stronger.

The Old Town Chief saw Yang Haoran's reaction and continued to smile.

"We worship the Spirit God in our temple. Although we didn't understand or believe in the Spirit God before, now the Spirit God is the faith of our entire town, and it's our only faith."

After hearing the Old Town Chief's words, Yang Haoran's heart remained calm, but he pretended to be shocked, as if he had suddenly realized something.

"Was the elimination of the ghost in your town related to the Spirit God?"

The Old Town Chief nodded in confirmation.

"That's correct. The elimination of the ghost in our town was indeed related to our Spirit God. It's because of this that our townspeople voluntarily donated money and materials to build this Spirit God Temple, although it's small. Today, we're holding this temple fair, and all the food is voluntarily contributed by our townspeople. In your eyes, these may not be valuable things, but to us, they're more precious than gold and silver. If it weren't for our gratitude towards the Spirit God, we wouldn't dare to hold such a grand feast."

The Old Town Chief smiled as he spoke, and it was clear from his tone that he was deeply devout towards the Spirit God.

Yang Haoran had already made some guesses, but he continued to ask questions.

"I've never heard of the Spirit God before. Could it be that there really is a Spirit God in this world? How did he eliminate the evil ghost in your town?"

Yang Haoran asked, his face full of curiosity.