"Well… um, Village Chief, what do you mean by that?" Qian Cangyi tried his best to make his movements look flustered.
"I'm getting old. It's time to start thinking about choosing a successor," Shi Wenwei answered him directly.
"I see… but hasn't the successor already been decided?" Qian Cangyi said with a bitter smile.
"Yes, it was decided before," Shi Wenwei replied. "But your return this time, Haimin, has given me a different idea. Hongye is too honest. If you weren't here, choosing him as village chief wouldn't be a bad option, but he's destined to be unable to further develop Yuxi Village. Xingyun is clever, but his intentions aren't upright—if he became village chief, I fear the village wouldn't improve, but instead decline. As for Xuezhen, there's no need to mention him. I've considered the other villagers as well, but each has one flaw or another. Only you are different, Haimin. I hope you seriously consider what I'm saying."
Shi Wenwei's speech made Qian Cangyi wary. From the moment he entered the village yesterday until now, less than a full day had passed, yet Shi Haimin was already on the verge of becoming the village chief's heir.
"Also, Haimin, you seem quite close to Mr. Zhang?" Shi Wenwei continued. "You've been outside and seen the world—your perspective is much broader than ours. I've heard the outside world has changed a lot. You must have your own ideas about how the village should develop." After saying this, Shi Wenwei smiled at Shi Haimin.
The smile on his face looked kindly and benevolent—but in Qian Cangyi's eyes, it felt strangely eerie.
"So that last point is the most important one," Qian Cangyi analyzed silently. "Those earlier 'flaws' could just as easily be applied to Shi Haimin—it's simply a matter of perspective. In that case… I might as well placate him for now."
"Village Chief, actually, I'm not that close with Mr. Zhang," Qian Cangyi said, looking troubled, his tone somewhat reluctant. "It's probably just because I've spent time outside the village as well, so the two of us find it easier to chat. Our relationship really isn't as good as you imagine."
"Mm. I understand," Shi Wenwei replied.
To Qian Cangyi's surprise, Shi Wenwei didn't continue persuading him.
"You should go back now," Shi Wenwei said. "Oh, and don't tell your mother about what happened here. I'm afraid she'll worry. Once the investigation is clear, I'll explain it to her myself. Understood?" This time, Shi Wenwei's expression was stern, his tone heavy—very different from usual.
After what had happened the previous night, how could Qian Cangyi not understand Shi Wenwei's thinking? He didn't expose it and simply agreed.
Once outside, Qian Cangyi ran into Hawkeye, and the two began exchanging their views.
"You noticed it too, didn't you?" Hawkeye got straight to the point. "The bodies were tampered with." Since he hadn't seen the initial crime scene and couldn't conduct an examination, he had chosen to have the village chief call the police.
"Yes, I had that suspicion, but I'm not entirely sure," Qian Cangyi nodded. "By the way, Shi Wenwei just said he wants me to be the village chief. He gave a lot of reasons, but the most critical one is probably that I've seen the world outside the village—and that I seem close to you." As he said this, Qian Cangyi couldn't help but laugh.
"There's nothing funny about that," Hawkeye said seriously. "This may not even be our world. Nothing that happens here is strange."
"No, it's what he said afterward," Qian Cangyi replied, suppressing his laughter, though the smile in his eyes wouldn't fade. "He told me not to tell Shi Xi about this, and said he'd explain it to her himself once the investigation is clear. How could I not laugh at that?"
Under Hawkeye's silent gaze, Qian Cangyi's expression quickly darkened. He waved his hand. "Forget it. Let's not talk about that."
"I've found out when the Death Rite will be held," Hawkeye said. "Including today, there are four days left. It'll take place at the altar halfway up the mountain behind the village. The villagers have already started preparing. What puzzles me is that they show neither enthusiasm nor solemnity toward the Death Rite. Instead, I saw fear in their eyes. If they didn't want to hold it, they could simply choose not to—unless they must hold it, or something very bad will happen."
Qian Cangyi listened, but inwardly felt dissatisfied with his own performance.
"With my abilities, I should've learned about this earlier. On the first day, I could blame unfamiliarity with the environment. But on the second day, I should've at least asked Shi Xi. I was still affected by what happened last night. Although I'm playing Shi Haimin, and it makes sense for my view of the village chief and Shi Xi to change, Shi Haimin's reason for returning to the village was still the Death Rite. Moreover, if his leaving the village was related to what happened last night, then information about the Death Rite should be even more important to him."
Thinking of this, Qian Cangyi sighed. He adjusted his mindset slightly and asked, "So what do we do next?"
"This afternoon, we'll go take a look at the ritual site," Hawkeye said. "We might gain something unexpected. After that, we'll gather more information about the Death Rite. After all, the name of this film is Death Rite. If it had nothing to do with it—or only a very weak connection—it wouldn't be called that." Hawkeye revealed another insight related to surviving the film.
"Got it," Qian Cangyi said, suddenly thinking of someone—Shi Jingfu, whom he had seen when he first entered the village.
After returning home, Qian Cangyi used an excuse involving the village chief to brush off Shi Xi, in accordance with their agreement. Hearing that it was arranged by the village chief, Shi Xi didn't ask further questions and continued with her work.
Watching Shi Xi working attentively, Qian Cangyi rubbed his chin. After hesitating for a moment, he still decided to ask about the Death Rite.
At his question, Shi Xi froze briefly, then continued working, answering absentmindedly, "The Death Rite is just a ritual to honor the dead. What's so strange about that? Every village has one."
Because of his earlier conversation with Hawkeye, Qian Cangyi paid special attention to Shi Xi's eyes—but she was keeping her head lowered, and he couldn't see her gaze.
"But it seems like everyone isn't very concerned about it," Qian Cangyi said, choosing a more tactful wording. "Almost like… they're just going through the motions."
"A Death Rite that happens once every twenty years—how could people not care?" Shi Xi replied lightly. "It was all prepared long before you came back. By the day before the rite, everything will be ready. We villagers just need to attend. There's nothing to worry about." After saying that, she seemed to think of something else and added, "You've just come back—why are you so concerned about this? Shouldn't you be chatting more with your friends?"
"I was just about to go find Jingfu," Qian Cangyi said. Seeing that he couldn't get anything more out of Shi Xi, he didn't push further.
"Then hurry and go," Shi Xi said, lifting her head.
In that instant, Qian Cangyi saw fear in Shi Xi's eyes.