You said you would make games by yourself, but how did you become the richest man by doing nothing?

#535 - No one can break the rules of the mountain.

Tong Xiaoliang tilted his head, blinked his big eyes, and suddenly said, "Uncle Tang?"

His clear voice sounded particularly loud in the silent night. Before Tang Yin could respond, Grandpa Wolf, who was beside him, chimed in with a hoarse voice, "Uncle Yin?"

Tang Yin immediately felt a sense of powerlessness. He supported his forehead and said helplessly, "I'm not an uncle!"

In the moonlight, Tang Yin's expression was complex, his brow slightly furrowed. He thought to himself: Is this to prevent him from confusing the way he addresses me with Xiao Mei… But why is he so insistent on calling me uncle?

After a brief inner struggle, Tang Yin finally gave up resisting. He sighed and said softly, "…Forget it, whatever."

Hearing this, Tong Xiaoliang's eyes lit up, and he jumped up excitedly, "The Poop Man finally has a name, Uncle Tang!"

Tang Yin was amused by Tong Xiaoliang's reaction, but then he thought of something, turned to look at Grandpa Wolf, and asked, "…Are you and Grandpa Wolf very familiar?"

Tong Xiaoliang gave a bright smile and proudly announced, "We're the 'Brains-Are-Broken' duo!"

Grandpa Wolf grinned, revealing a few yellow teeth, and let out a strange laugh: "Ehehehehehehe!" The old man seemed very happy, his eyes narrowed into slits.

Seeing this, Tong Xiaoliang's eyes flashed with cunning, and he turned to Tang Yin and said, "Uncle Tang, why don't you join us? When the fog clears, we'll go to Baifeng Village to steal chickens together."

Tang Yin was taken aback by this sudden invitation and blurted out, "Are you guys kappa?"

After speaking, Tang Yin fell into thought again: Come to think of it, why does he like me so much.

After some thought, Tang Yin felt that this wasn't a bad thing. Among the three students he knew, this child was the most special. Thinking of this, Tang Yin suddenly thought of something and asked, "By the way, weren't you with the other high school students today?"

Hearing this question, Tong Xiaoliang's expression became a little complicated. He looked up at the moon and replied softly, "Hmm~? Because Xiao Mei is throwing a tantrum. If I stay by her side now, I'll definitely be unlucky."

Tang Yin was a little surprised and asked, "What's she angry about?"

Tong Xiaoliang lowered his head and gently kicked the small stones on the ground with his toes. He hesitated for a moment before saying, "Um… Actually, Xiao Mei likes Qin Ming. Sister Lina is back, and Qin Ming is very happy, so Xiao Mei is jealous…"

Hearing this, Tang Yin was even more confused: "…In that case, why is she angry at me?"

Tong Xiaoliang looked up, his eyes showing a hint of helplessness: "Because Xiao Mei wants Qin Ming and Sister Lina to be together…"

After hearing this, Tang Yin couldn't help but sigh: What a delicate relationship. He tentatively asked, "So, she wants to help the person she secretly loves?"

Tong Xiaoliang nodded, his voice carrying a hint of emotion: "Yeah, yeah, you and Sister Lina are always together, so she's inexplicably angry."

Only then did Tang Yin realize that he had been dragged into their love triangle. In the moonlight, his expression became complicated, both helpless and amused.

Tang Yin frowned slightly and suddenly thought of something, asking, "By the way, does Lina know about this?"

Tong Xiaoliang tilted his head, his eyes flashing with cunning, and replied softly, "She probably knows? But Qin Ming isn't Sister Lina's type, so there's no hope~"

Hearing this blunt remark, Tang Yin couldn't help but sigh inwardly: This child is very straightforward.

Before Tang Yin could respond, Tong Xiaoliang said excitedly again, "Isn't this great! Sister Lina is Uncle Tang's woman!"

Tang Yin was shocked by Tong Xiaoliang's words and didn't know how to respond for a moment. He took a deep breath and carefully chose his words: "Well, how should I put it, let's just say, do you really not mind?"

Hearing this, Tong Xiaoliang's expression suddenly became confused, and he blinked his big eyes: "…Why are you asking that?"

Tang Yin observed Tong Xiaoliang's expression and slowly explained, "From my observation, although your personality is very unrestrained, you are very cautious every time you talk to Xiao Mei."

After hearing this, Tong Xiaoliang lowered his head and was silent for a while, then raised his head, his eyes showing a hint of complexity: "Um, ah, well, it shouldn't be that kind of feeling, we're childhood sweethearts, so it's normal to worry about her, right?"

Tang Yin looked at Tong Xiaoliang, a hint of surprise flashing in his eyes: "Unexpected, Xiao Liang, she's so simple, I thought you would like to tease her."

Hearing this, Tong Xiaoliang's lips curled up slightly, revealing a cunning smile: "It's more fun to tease you, tease you to death."

Changing the subject, Tong Xiaoliang's expression became serious again: "In any case, I owe Qin Ming a lot, and Xiao Mei is also pitiful~"

Feeling that the atmosphere was a bit heavy, Tang Yin decided to change the topic: "Let's get back to the main topic, we seem to have been talking about personal matters all along."

Hearing this, Tong Xiaoliang's eyes flashed with panic, and he said a little embarrassedly, "Ah, I accidentally said everything, are you a magician, Uncle Tang?"

Tang Yin smiled inwardly: You're the one who was chattering on and on.

Suddenly, Tang Yin thought of something important and asked seriously, "By the way, you just said 'died,' did someone die, besides the reporter?"

Tong Xiaoliang's expression instantly became mysterious, and he said in a low voice, "Although they're still alive, the people of Wuyin Village are almost like dead people, right?"

Tang Yin's curiosity was piqued by this sentence: "Hmm, why?"

Tong Xiaoliang shook his head, his eyes showing a hint of confusion: "Hmm, I don't know, but that's just the feeling I get."

He paused and continued, "I had this feeling when Gang-ge said he was [Snake]."

Tong Xiaoliang's voice became lower and lower, as if he was talking to himself: "Hmm, the Wolf God smiled—that kind of feeling."

Hearing this, Tang Yin suddenly became alert: "Wait, what did you just say?"

Tong Xiaoliang repeated in confusion: "The Wolf God smiled."

Tang Yin shook his head and asked, "The sentence before that."

Tong Xiaoliang frowned, trying hard to recall: "Hmm… Gang-ge said he was a snake?"

A gleam flashed in Tang Yin's eyes, as if he had grasped an important clue: "I see, I'll take my leave first. Goodbye, Xiao Liang, Grandpa."

Tong Xiaoliang frowned, feeling a hint of strangeness: "Huh?"

Grandpa Wolf's cloudy but deep eyes narrowed slightly, and his hoarse voice was particularly clear in the night: "The wolf is coming."

Not far away, Tang Yin's footsteps suddenly sounded. He hurried back, his face showing a hint of anxiety and doubt: "You already knew?"

Hearing this, Grandpa Wolf raised his eyebrows slightly, a hint of confusion flashing in his eyes: "?"

Seeing this, Tang Yin cursed inwardly and frowned tightly. He realized that he didn't have enough connections or time, and the situation was more complicated than he had imagined.

Without lingering, Tang Yin turned and left, quickly walking towards the depths of the village. In the moonlight, his figure looked particularly lonely and determined.

After passing through several winding paths, Tang Yin finally found Zhao Gang working in a vegetable garden. In the moonlight, Zhao Gang's figure looked particularly burly, and he was focused on tending to the vegetables in the field.

Tang Yin quickly approached and shouted urgently, "Zhao Gang!"

Zhao Gang was startled by this sudden call, straightened his back, and turned to look at Tang Yin: "…Ah? What's wrong?"

Looking at Zhao Gang's confused expression, Tang Yin felt a little helpless: "That's my line, why are you still in the mood to farm now?"

Tang Yin took a deep breath, his tone carrying a hint of gratitude: "About the key, thank you very much."

Hearing this, a complex look flashed in Zhao Gang's eyes, and he replied in a low voice: "Hmm… It's nothing, don't run around, everyone is very nervous right now."

Tang Yin didn't back down because of Zhao Gang's warning, but instead said more firmly: "I came to you for this matter, Zhao Gang, do you know how many people the [Wolf] can kill in one night?"

Hearing this sentence, Zhao Gang's body stiffened obviously, and a hint of surprise flashed in his eyes: "…Wang Lina even told you that?"

Tang Yin looked directly into Zhao Gang's eyes, his tone firm: "I forced her to tell me. And you already guessed this outcome when you handed me over to her, right?"

He paused, his tone slightly softened: "It's just that the information I have is very fragmented, and I have some unease. Sorry, can you tell me everything?"

After listening, Zhao Gang sighed deeply, a hint of helplessness and annoyance flashing in his eyes: "…Ah, to be honest, this matter is too stupid, how can I let this kind of thing hinder me from farming!"

His tone carried a hint of mockery: "I thought Wang Lina and you would never believe this kind of thing, but I didn't expect you to believe it?"

Zhao Gang's tone didn't waver in the slightest, but Tang Yin keenly noticed something. He said in a deep voice, "Two people have already died."

Hearing this, Zhao Gang's face didn't show any shock, but instead carried a hint of indifference: "What's so strange about that."

Tang Yin was shocked by this answer: "Huh?"

Zhao Gang's eyes became deep and complex: "What's so strange about dead people? Isn't it just cleaning up corpses?"

Hearing this sentence, Tang Yin's heart shook. Wait, what does this sentence mean?

Zhao Gang seemed to notice Tang Yin's confusion and continued, "Have you seen the landslide construction site above? Eight years ago, when Qian Jin's family was building, something happened there."

His voice became low: "They felt it was terrible, and they didn't even clean it up. In the end, I dug out the workers' bodies and buried them."

Hearing this, Tang Yin's heart was shocked. He didn't expect that the accident was so serious.

Zhao Gang's eyes became even deeper, as if he was recalling the past: "Some stupid city people come to the mountains to hang themselves, or get eaten by wild animals. Every time, I and Old Gao cleaned up the bodies."

His tone carried a hint of helplessness and anger: "It's not surprising that corpses are washed into the Shenge River. I don't know if they're people who came to fish, but in short, the upper reaches are very dangerous!"

Zhao Gang's voice suddenly rose: "No one will care about us! We can only clean up those corpses ourselves!"

His eyes flashed with complex emotions: "Whether it's wild animals or corpses, they're not new things in the mountains, young man."

Tang Yin took a deep breath, his tone carrying a hint of hesitation: "…But this time, it's in the village…"

Hearing this, Zhao Gang's eyes flashed with impatience, and he casually waved his rough hand, as if driving away an annoying fly: "So what, bears don't eat people, it should be wolves."

Tang Yin keenly caught the implication in Zhao Gang's words and asked, "Are you saying it was a wild animal attack?"

Zhao Gang's eyes suddenly became sharp, staring directly at Tang Yin: "Even if it's man-made, so what? Just keep watch at night! Is it necessary to kill each other?"

Tang Yin was choked by Zhao Gang's question and was speechless for a moment. He lowered his head and fell into thought.

The night deepened, and the surrounding scenery seemed to be shrouded in a hazy veil. Tang Yin's gaze fell on Zhao Gang's calloused hands, and he thought to himself: Zhao Gang is a difficult person to evaluate…

His thinking is very clear, his way of thinking is also reasonable, and he maintains a skeptical attitude towards the unknown. This rationality is particularly valuable in the current situation.

However, Tang Yin keenly noticed that Zhao Gang seemed to have a principle that was more important than rationality. His brow furrowed slightly, and his thoughts drifted away: How should I put it… the rules of Wuyin Village?

No, it's more like a sense of camaraderie.

Protecting Wuyin Village, that's his principle.

Tang Yin's gaze refocused on Zhao Gang's weathered face. Although he was trying his best, he was unwilling to admit the possibility that there were enemies among the villagers.

For him, the current situation is just the discovery of a foreigner's corpse—

—or rather, he's convincing himself of that.

The night wind blew again, bringing a rustling sound of leaves. Tang Yin realized that the situation was dangerous, but as a foreigner, he had no position to express his opinion.

After weighing the pros and cons, Tang Yin decided to temporarily comply with Zhao Gang's thoughts: "That… you're right, we shouldn't believe in this kind of superstition."

Hearing this, Zhao Gang's face didn't show the expected approval, but instead frowned: "…"

He seems very dissatisfied, Tang Yin's heart tightened, what's going on?

In order to break the awkward atmosphere, Tang Yin decided to continue to ask: "However, I'm still a little concerned, if the legend is that there's no limit to the number of people killed, then the mindset will be very different."

Zhao Gang's expression softened a little, and he shook his head: "…Ah, there's no such thing, the wolf can only kill one person in one night."

A hint of surprise flashed in Tang Yin's eyes: "Really? Why limit the number of people killed?"

Zhao Gang's gaze became deep, as if he was recalling something: "Granny Rong said so."

His voice was low and firm: "No one can violate the rules of the mountain, not even the [Yellow Spring Wolf]."

Hearing this, Tang Yin's heart shook. Granny Rong? The rules of the mountain? These words echoed in his mind, as if opening a door to an unknown world.

The night grew deeper, and the howl of an unknown animal came from afar, making people feel goosebumps. Tang Yin and Zhao Gang stood in the moonlight, one a puzzled outsider, the other a local guarding the secrets of the village. Between them, there seemed to be an invisible barrier, a complex network woven from tradition, belief, and secrets.