Returning from the abyss

Chapter 248 Illusions
After the boy was rescued, Lu Ning told his parents about the things that must be paid attention to in changing the dressing and recuperating, and then sent the thankful couple away.

In this way, a little time was wasted, and Sugiyama Riso volunteered to stop people from disturbing the operation near the RV, so Karl and others did not call her when they went out in the afternoon.

"I'm very sorry." Li Chuanliang solemnly bowed to Lu Ning full of apology.

"It doesn't matter, I also got some useful information. If you insist on this idea, you might as well investigate in this direction. Anyway, the general direction is still in a vague state."

"If it is useful to me, please be sure to tell me. Then, please let me take my leave first."

After Li Chuanliang left, Lu Ning stood by the car, and didn't want to pick up the interrupted reading, so she decided to go around the town by herself.

Baihu Town, which maintains its handicraft industry and agricultural production, does not even have a few cars. The roads have been repaired a little bit, and horse-drawn carts and ox carts are still the mainstream means of transportation in the town. Children can be seen playing and driving on the streets at any time. In fact, the shop with the door does not mean to sell anything in particular, it is just a place for everyone to chat.

Lu Ning approached a shop selling dried herbal medicines, only to find that the herbal medicines here were all common varieties, and the medicines she brought could be replaced by better quality ones.

On the contrary, the dry pulp of the autumn fruits was refreshing and sweet, so she bought two paper bags on a whim.

Wandering around, she heard a crisp knocking sound. It was a blacksmith in the town. Of course, no weapons were made here. They were all agricultural tools such as sickles and hoes. As far as Lu Ning saw, In fact, most of the time it is tinkering.

A young apprentice squatted aside and pulled the bellows vigorously. When he saw Lu Ning coming in, he hurriedly wiped off his sweat with a towel wrapped around his shoulders, showing a silly smile.

"Yo, it's a foreigner."

Undoubtedly, the blacksmith was a very strong man. He was wearing a single jacket that was similar to a vest, and his dark skin was covered with sweat. When he saw the guests coming in, he immediately greeted the guests, but the knocking in his hands didn't stop.

"Yes, can I visit here?" Lu Ning asked.

"Please feel free, if you want to buy something, just bring it here." The blacksmith stroked the hammer and continued to beat.

Lu Ning walked to the less hot side, and began to look at the finished products on the wall and on the table.

Nails, kitchen knives, scissors, locks... In short, the iron products commonly used at home are here, and the varieties are also very diverse.As Lu Ning was walking, she found some larger products behind a curtain, so she walked in.

Here are boxes, ledges, iron pans and other relatively large things piled up, said to be piled up, and placed in a very regular way, without giving people a sense of clutter.

But the most striking thing is the iron cabinet in the corner, which is about the height of a person. Like the wardrobe, there are a few slits on the top, which is very reminiscent of the school lockers seen in school dramas.

Lu Ning stretched out her hand and pulled the handle, but found it difficult to open, frowning and glanced inside from the slit, she was stunned.

She seemed to see countless sharp iron thorns, and the tips of those thorns were even dark red, not sure if it was rust or something else.

"Oh, have you taken a fancy to this cabinet? It's been a long time, and I finally got it to work properly."

The blacksmith suddenly opened the door curtain and walked in, still smiling honestly, but when he walked in, he blocked the only way out.

"This is... what?" Lu Ning pointed to the cabinet and put one hand behind her back.

"Wardrobe, but it's more bulky than wooden ones. Many people don't like it. Hey, wooden things will be eaten by moths sooner or later. This thing can be preserved for a long time."

The blacksmith stretched out his hand, passed in front of Lu Ning, and opened the cabinet door!
With a slight rusty smell, there is an iron pipe and an iron plate at the bottom of the cabinet, and nothing else.

Lu Ning backed away a little, and the blacksmith introduced it with a smile: "Look, this board can still be assembled. This board can be stuck at about knee height, and the inside can be divided into upper and lower layers. Catch the groove of this pipe, it is convenient to use the hanger to hang the clothes, if you want a bigger place, you can just remove it, isn’t it good?”

"It looks like it can even hide a person." Lu Ning said along the way.

"Hahaha! That brat in my family really hid in it! Don't tell me, I can go in with this size!"

As the blacksmith said, he actually walked into the cabinet and closed the door.

The atmosphere became quiet for a moment, and Lu Ning stood where he was, staring at the state of the cabinet.

"It's boring enough."

The door was opened again soon, and the blacksmith came out a little embarrassed, and said, "It smells of sweat inside, I'm sorry, how about I wash it for you..."

"No, uncle, you also know that I'm a tourist, and I can't take such a big thing with me." Lu Ning shook her head, "But I need a camping dagger, I wonder if you can help me get one out?"

"I don't know what's special about camping daggers. Ordinary daggers are fine. You can pick them up at this time tomorrow afternoon."

"It sounds like you really don't have any business."

"Hahaha, it's all tinkering, what else can happen in this town?"

================
When Lu Ning returned to the hotel, he happened to meet Qu Siyuan and his group who were returning. The black and short Zhong Feiying was wet all over, and was teased endlessly by his brothers. Lu Ning casually asked what was going on. .

"Hahaha, this kid said he saw someone in the woods, but after chasing him, he stepped on the air and fell into the ditch." Qu Siyuan laughed loudly, "Who is there? We acted together, and there were no ghosts." When he saw one, he chased after it regardless.”

"Probably... I saw the shadow of the branches, hehe." Zhong Feiying laughed at himself, "The forest here is not very well lit in the afternoon."

"I don't think that's the case." Yu Guiting walked out of the hotel, heard the words of several people, and said immediately.

"how?"

"Xiao Peng from our team was taking a nap before. When he woke up, he suddenly yelled and burst into flames, and rushed out of the room. He didn't realize that nothing happened until he ran downstairs."

"Isn't that the same as dreaming about soaking in a hot spring? Maybe it was a dream because the sun was too warm." Pan Haishu said jokingly.

"The curtains are drawn, and Xiao Peng's bed will not be exposed to the sun at all. Taking a step back, he didn't even cover him with a quilt. He just took a rest when he was tired, and even the fire started after he woke up and opened his eyes. Shout out, Feng Hui can testify to this point, they live in the same room." Yu Guiting obviously expected such a reaction, and immediately refuted with reason.

"It's not accidental." Lu Ning nodded in agreement.

"You guys better be alert. I think the attack has already started. I heard that Dr. Lu Ning treated a boy whose body was smashed by stones before? Although the news may be a bit exaggerated, it is true. It is definitely not a dream. .”

The four men looked at Lu Ning again, and their expressions became serious after being confirmed by her.

"What kind of attack is this?" Xue Fengchun frowned, "It didn't cause any real harm to us, but revealed its own existence?"

"I think this is just the beginning. If this happens more and more frequently, our spirit alone won't be able to sustain it." Lu Ning said, "Maybe the devil or witch can't use very strong power now, and can only generate Hallucinations, but over time..."

"I think so too." Yu Guiting nodded, "Trouble started on the first day. I think we should start to expose the true face of the devil as soon as possible. There is no shortage of hunting scenes that procrastinate and turn the enemy into a serious disaster."

"That's what it means... our brothers don't have any clues." Qu Siyuan spread his hands, "We can only wander around to try our luck, and the villagers all give similar answers. What do you want us to do? Why don't you go and ask that Miss Detective to tell her the clues?"

"Although we are rough people, we won't be that rude." Pan Haishu said quickly.

This is indeed what tourists need urgently, a key to open the situation.

"Then you guys might as well think about countermeasures. I still have some things to do. It's a personal secret. Don't ask too much." Lu Ning directly declared that this was her secret, and then returned to the RV.

She was still a little puzzled.

"why me?"

After the car door was closed, there was only the sunset light coming in through the car window. Lu Ning sat on the bed, carefully recalling everyone's words and deeds today, not wanting to miss any details.

Xia Xinhe, Carl, Fujii Xueyin, Shen Lishu, these people have all made some obvious exemplary actions, and of course she is among them, but she still needs some evidence to prove that her grouping is correct.

"Everyone has secrets, and the secrets in this scene... are obviously not like the ones encountered before."

Before that, most of the secrets in the secret scenes she encountered were mission prompts and some information that might cause danger, but the secrets in this scene were included in the scene tasks and became a part of the entire plot structure .Lu Ning judges others by herself, and can almost think that no one's secret in this scene is that kind of harmless information reminder.

In this scene, her priority is not to investigate the witch, but to guess what everyone's secret is, otherwise, in the next action, someone will definitely cause trouble.

"Leaving aside those who have a clear purpose, so far, there are still some people who have not taken any effective actions. Maybe we should contact them..."

She sorted out the next thoughts in her mind, and suddenly felt empty in her stomach, so she got out of the car and walked into the hotel.

On the stove in the kitchen inside the restaurant, a whole pig that was grilled with oil and fragrance was already set up.When Lu Ning walked in, most of the tourists, including the unwelcome Xia Xinhe and his wife, found a seat in the corner and sat down.Everyone was still talking, especially when the boss entertained everyone so warmly. Carl even played a strangely shaped piano and hummed western-style country songs to add to the fun.

Lu Ning counted the people carefully, and only four of the 24 tourists did not attend.Fujii Xueyin, Qiu Yiyun, Luo Nan, Yu Guiting.

She found a vacant seat and sat down. On the table in front of her were plates, condiments, knives and forks. It was still a pick-and-go buffet dinner, but it was much richer than breakfast.Next to the seat Lu Ning chose was an old-fashioned armchair, and sitting there was Zhu You.

Although her personality has undergone many disguises, making it almost impossible to see the flaws, Lu Ning still found that one of Zhu You's habits has not changed: the shotgun is always by her hand, and it remains ready to fire at any time.

"Good evening." Lu Ning greeted Zhu You in a calm and slightly alienated manner according to the character's personality.

"Doctor? I heard that you saved a child today. Now everyone is lucky to have someone like you with us. If I am injured, please heal me!"

It's strange to hear these words come out of Zhu You's mouth.Lu Ning just nodded slightly: "I will try my best."

"doctor……"

"Just call me by my first name. It's strange to always call me a doctor." Lu Ning interrupted her, "I remember that you acted with Professor Shen and the others. Is that really all they inquired about?"

Zhu You smiled at her: "Actually, there are still some details, such as where the cats and dogs were killed, and the time and other issues. The mayor said it, but I didn't remember it."

Lu Ning glanced at her sideways, meaning that you, a sniper who can count the number of enemies with a glance at the scope, can't even remember this?

Zhu You blinked at her. It could only be said to be a deliberately funny expression to match her current personality, but considering her original personality...

"Since you are a traveler, you should have experienced many things, right? Did you find anything new when you were free and moving this afternoon?"

"There's no ammunition supply in this town. I can only buy things like slings. But it's quite a physical effort to find things in that shop that sells leather ropes."

Lu Ning nodded, picked up a seasoning bottle and unscrewed it to look at the seasoning inside: "What kind of physical activity could it be? Sweating profusely?"

"I really broke out in a sweat."

"That's rare to hear. I went to the blacksmith shop today to make a dagger for the next journey, and I was sweating because of the heat there. I think this is normal."

"I heard you say you were sweating? It looks like you have traveled a lot today." A voice suddenly joined the conversation between the two, and Lu Ning turned her head to take a look. It was Sally, with a bright smile on her face, There was a little salad on the dinner plate in his hand.

"Good evening, Sally, why didn't I see your brother?" Lu Ning greeted.

"That kid has a bit of heat stroke and is resting upstairs. I asked Mr. Yu to watch him. Just in time, I have a suggestion..."

"please say."

"I've seen the bathing place in this hotel. It's just a small, narrow bathroom with the same kind of wooden barrel. So I propose... how about we go to the lakeside hut to take a bath tomorrow?"

"That's a place where the mission requires you to stay for one night. It must be extremely risky. I don't dare to go there lightly." Zhu You smiled and shook his head and refused.

"Don't rush to refuse, you may not know what a lake house is." Sally smiled mysteriously.

(End of this chapter)