togophonebook Chapter 403 This forest of prayer flags... is deliberately playing tricks on us.
Chapter 403 This forest of prayer flags... is deliberately playing tricks on us.
Xia Ning took the lead, her plain white robe fluttering slightly in the morning breeze, her steps unhurried.
The group quickly followed, gathering in twos and threes to discuss the upcoming cleaning tasks in hushed tones.
The two black-clad stewards vanished silently from the spot in a flash.
Lin Feng saw this and raised an eyebrow slightly—wouldn't he have gone to set up a small table again and prepare to drink tea?
........................
Upon arriving at the entrance to the prayer flag forest, the scene before him confirmed Lin Feng's guess.
Two black-clad stewards stood quietly to the side, a small pearwood wooden table was set up steadily, a purple clay Xishi teapot steaming on the table, and three purple clay teacups on either side.
Good guy.
Lin Feng silently sighed in his heart—you guys really know how to enjoy life!
Xia Ning pointed to a low wooden house next to her, her voice cold:
"The cleaning tools are all in that small hut; please take them as you see fit."
"Once the mission begins, you must not disturb us for any reason."
Everyone looked in the direction she was pointing, nodded, and walked towards the hut.
Lin Feng did not move immediately.
His eyes flickered slightly—this was a chance to win someone's favor, and it would be a shame to miss it.
He quietly took out an exquisite food box from his spatial storage, walked quickly to the wooden table, bowed slightly, and spoke in a humble and polite tone:
"My Lord, the supervisory task must be a bit tedious. Here are some snacks for you. They are just a small token of my appreciation."
After saying that, he gently opened the food box.
The contents inside made the two deacons' eyes light up instantly—
The translucent, gold-leaf-wrapped candied grapes from the Western Regions gleam with an alluring amber luster.
Snow ginseng cake, produced in extremely cold regions, is cut into small squares, with alternating pink and white colors;
There was also a beautifully packaged jar of Osmanthus Dew Pastry; you could almost smell its sweet aroma through the jar.
But the most eye-catching item was a plate of almond cream, its surface gleaming faintly in a white porcelain dish—
That was Xia Ning's favorite snack in private, and it wasn't easy to buy even in the Anning quadrant.
"Wow!" The left steward exclaimed, his eyes wide, as he leaned closer. "These snacks are something else!"
She reached out to grab the plate of almond milk.
"Snap!"
Xia Ning slapped her hand away: "Don't you understand that you're beholden to someone who gives you a gift?"
The left deacon withdrew his hand, swallowed hard, and muttered pitifully, "My arms are naturally short..."
The right deacon immediately chimed in, lightly touching his lips with his fingertip and saying with a smile, "My lips are soft too, look—so soft."
Xia Ning looked at the two lively characters and sighed helplessly, but there was no real annoyance in her tone:
"I really can't do anything with you guys."
She reached for the plate of almond cream, moved it in front of her, and announced casually:
"This is mine, you can eat whatever you want from the rest."
The two deacons immediately became unhappy, wrinkling their noses and pouting, their faces full of resentment.
"That's unreasonable! It was clearly meant to be shared!"
"That's too much! We want some too!"
Xia Ning slightly raised her eyelids and glanced over.
The two immediately shut up, withdrew their hands, lowered their heads, and obediently admitted defeat.
Xia Ning then looked up at Lin Feng, a slight smile curving her lips:
"That's thoughtful of you. Go get to work."
Lin Feng nodded and turned to walk towards the hut.
Behind them, the two deacons had already grabbed some snacks and started eating. They ate with great relish, their eyes narrowing into crescent moons.
The left steward mumbled, "This Lin Feng seems like a pretty good guy. If they fail their mission later, let's not choose him for the sacrificial banner."
The right deacon nodded repeatedly, unable to speak as his mouth was stuffed with ginseng cake.
Upon hearing this, Xia Ning's lips curved into an almost imperceptible smile, and she said calmly, "You still say you're indebted to those who take bribes?"
The left deacon stiffened his neck with a righteous indignation:
"No, it's random. He was just lucky and wasn't randomly selected!"
Xia Ning glanced at him indifferently: "You certainly know how to make excuses."
After saying that, she picked up a small spoon, scooped up a mouthful of almond cream, and put it in her mouth.
The smooth and creamy texture melts slowly on the tongue, sweet but not cloying, with a refreshing aftertaste—exactly the flavor she had been longing for.
[Ding, Xia Ning's favorability towards the host has increased by 5]
Current favorability rating: 69/100
The system notification sounded quietly in Lin Feng's ears. A smile flashed across his eyes as he picked up a broom and joined Vassim and Evelyn.
The prayer flag forest was now a scene of utter devastation.
The ground was covered with a thick layer of dead leaves, which rustled underfoot.
The prayer flags, which should have been brightly colored in white, red, and yellow, were completely covered in a thick layer of grime.
The skulls scattered in various places were covered with stains, and some were even covered with sticky, dark brown mucus.
The runes on the stone pillars were dull and lifeless.
The chosen ones each had their own tasks: some bent down to sweep away the fallen leaves and debris on the ground, while others tiptoed to carefully brush away the grime from the prayer flags.
Some people suppressed their fear and gently wiped the stains off the skull with a soft cloth, not daring to slack off in the slightest.
Time passed quietly, and the purity bar at the entrance slowly rose.
30%, 50%, 80%...
About half an hour later, as the last piece of skull was wiped clean, the grime on the last prayer flag was completely removed.
The purity bar suspended at the entrance of the prayer flag forest suddenly jumped and stabilized at 100%.
"The purity bar is full! We did it!" Someone couldn't contain their excitement and cheered.
However, as soon as he finished speaking, the ground suddenly trembled slightly, and countless tiny dust particles surged out of the soil, spreading out like a thick fog and instantly covering the clean ground.
Immediately afterwards, a sudden gust of cold wind swept by, swirling up a sky full of withered leaves.
The prayer flags, which had been wiped clean, quickly developed a layer of grime on their surface.
Even more bizarrely, from the empty eye sockets of those skulls that had just been wiped clean, dark brown sludge slowly oozed out, splashing onto the ground and stone pillars, leaving behind filthy marks.
In just a few seconds, the progress bar plummeted from 100% to 0%.
The joy on everyone's faces froze instantly, replaced by unbelievable despair and anger.
"How could this happen?!"
"We've already swept it clean!"
Everyone instinctively looked at Lin Feng and asked urgently, "Boss, what do we do now?"
Lin Feng immediately initiated the infinite deduction.
The results showed that even after cleaning again, it would get dirty again in a short time.
Undeterred, he repeated the cleanup process in his deductions, but the result was still exactly the same.
Lin Feng narrowed his eyes slightly: "It feels like... this prayer flag forest is deliberately playing tricks on us."
Park Ji-won's face turned pale: "Then what do we do? Are we just supposed to wait to be punished?"
Lin Feng said in a deep voice, "Alright, everyone, clean up again."
"This time, Wasim, Evelyn, and I will be in charge of observing and seeing if we can find any clues."