The town mayor nodded after hearing his words,
"Indeed, this place is remote and transportation is inconvenient. It's hard for people to travel far. So, the monkeys from Penglai Immortal Island visit one island after another, noting down whatever anyone needs and bringing it with them the next time they come. These monkeys are all warm-hearted and don't ask for money. They just love hearing 'thank you,' which can make them happy for half a day."
"The monkeys here are truly wonderful, worthy of being Great Sage Equal to Heaven's kin," Wan Lei nodded.
"Indeed. The people here all believe in the Great Sage Equal to Heaven and know that faith can bring them good fortune. Of course, whether they believe in the Great Sage Equal to Heaven or not, the monkeys are willing to help others. However, the things the monkeys bring are not too much, just some items that cannot be bought here, so as to prevent these people from developing bad habits of getting something for nothing."
"That's indeed the principle," Wan Lei nodded sincerely.
The monkey with six ears left a whetstone for the fish stall, dropped two bags of flour at the steamed bun stall, left a can of milk powder for the young nursing mother, gave the young couple a pair of gold earrings, and tossed a keyboard to Xiao Wan, the best-selling author.
Soon, more than half of the items on the monkey's cart were gone, and it reached the crossroads, seeing Wan Lei and the town mayor. After scanning Wan Lei up and down, it asked, "What do you need?"
Wan Lei was stunned and shook his head, indicating he didn't need anything. The monkey, not wanting to miss the opportunity to collect protection fees, took a closer look at Wan Lei, then took out a bottle of elixirs and handed it to him, "I see you're injured, and not lightly. Take this bottle of elixirs to help you heal."
Wan Lei dazedly took the elixirs, feeling a bit surprised. He was indeed injured, from when Xi Sha unleashed her pressure yesterday, which sent him flying. Injuries caused by the pressure of a sage were not easy to recover from. Wan Lei had only recovered more than half of his injuries, with some lingering internal ones needing slow recuperation.
Seeing Wan Lei remain silent, the six-eared monkey became furious, "What are you standing there for? Pay the protection fee, or return the elixirs!"
"Ah? Ah! Thank you." Wan Lei immediately paid the protection fee.
"Good, that's more like it," the monkey nodded, then suddenly jumped to the side of the Great Sage Equal to Heaven statue, picked up a sacrificial fruit, and began to gnaw on it, while continuing to pull the cart forward.
This scene made Wan Lei chuckle. He looked at the bottle of elixirs in his hand, not daring to consume it directly, but instead putting it into his embrace. After chatting with the town mayor for a while longer, Wan Lei politely declined the latter's request to stay and help guard the town, and headed straight for the other end of the street.
From the northern end of the town to the southernmost end, Wan Lei personally witnessed the happiness and well-being of everyone, and his mood was also very good. It was only after leaving the town that Wan Lei sat down on a rock in the forest. He didn't have any awareness of environmental protection or forest fire prevention rules, and unconsciously lit a cigarette. While smoking, Wan Lei pondered what was peculiar about this town.
Everything here seemed perfectly normal, with no anomalies. If anything was unusual, it was that the people here were too happy, not seeming like a real world. Everyone has emotions, desires, greed, and jealousy. Even neighbors who have known each other for decades sometimes argue, and couples with deep affection can have terrible fights. But here, there was none of that, only happiness and fulfillment.
If this place were fake, an illusion that could affect people's minds, then why wasn't he affected? Granted, he had once considered coming here to live in seclusion, but it was just an idea. It was a momentary feeling, and he certainly wouldn't actually come here to seclude himself. He still had to cultivate, fight, and had his own goals to strive for. He remembered all of it clearly.
In fact, he hadn't forgotten his purpose for coming here, which was to investigate the anomalies. This indicated that he had not been influenced by this small town. If someone were manipulating things behind the scenes, he would not have been able to walk out of the town alive. What could be the problem?
He had smelled a very faint, peculiar scent in the town. The scent was not pleasant, rather uncomfortable, but it was very faint, almost negligible. Wan Lei sat on the rock, staring intently at the town, but still couldn't find anything unusual. Perhaps something else would happen here at night.
Wan Lei sat there until the sun set, until the sky was full of stars, and the townspeople had all gone to bed with their lights out, yet he still found nothing unusual. So, he returned to the northern end of the town and observed from a different angle, but there was still no anomaly.
He stayed up all night, until the sun rose, and the townspeople woke up, starting a new, energetic day. After finishing a cigarette, Wan Lei stubbed out the butt and stood up, retracing his steps from yesterday towards the small town. He decided to observe the town more closely.
At the same time, at the same location, he encountered the same people. "Outsider?" A woodcutter looked at Wan Lei, sizing him up. His eyes held only curiosity, not hostility or vigilance. Wan Lei froze on the spot. This scene, this situation, he saw the same woodcutter he had met yesterday, and the woodcutter said the same words as yesterday.
"Old man... don't you remember me?" Wan Lei asked tentatively.
"Hey, what are you talking about? I can call half the people in this town by name, and I know everyone else by sight. Don't I know if I've seen you?" The woodcutter laughed heartily.
Wan Lei's expression suddenly darkened. Could it be that the people here only had a day's memory? With this question in mind, Wan Lei walked back into the town.
"Hey, the clothes you're wearing look quite clean, but why are you acting like an idiot?" The woodcutter behind him shook his head and continued into the forest with his companions.
Entering the town, the old woman selling firewood by the roadside was still smiling, waiting for customers. The fish stall owner was still pacing around, urging his workers to work faster. Moving forward, he saw the young mother holding her child and nursing. The woman blushed as she met Wan Lei's gaze, hugging her child tighter, covering a large expanse of white. At the steamed bun stall ahead, a customer was buying buns. The young woman cheerfully took the copper coins and handed over the buns. When she turned back to get the soup bowl, her husband touched her hand. The same reproachful glance and blushing cheeks.
Wan Lei paused for a moment in front of the steamed bun stall, a terrifying guess forming in his mind. Could it be... that it wasn't that the people here only had a day's memory, but that the people here were repeating the same day's life every day? With this question, Wan Lei hurried into the town.