HEIFEIGU -Chapter 55

When Longshan sold the talisman to Xie Jixing, a small cloth strip was tied to it.

It carried a familiar scent.

Unfolding the strip, this time there was no abstract riddle—but the operation was even more abstract.

An arrow was drawn, pointing to the talisman, with three big characters: “It’s this one.”

The problem: Who is “it”?

Because Brother Longshan was still waiting to take everyone around the village, they didn’t spend much time studying the strange talisman. Only Luo Feiang stayed behind, fiddling with it.

At this moment, aside from Duan Yanming—who had gone to rest because the pain was unbearable—everyone else was gathered in Longshan’s small courtyard, waiting for dinner.

Only then did their attention return to the talisman.

It was roughly the length of an adult woman’s palm, about two to three fingers wide.

At the top were two green leaves shaped like radish sprouts, along with several small red fruits.

These two parts were not connected to the main body. They had been woven with string and manually inserted.

The lower portion looked like a wrinkled, long-bearded old man. On closer inspection, his expression seemed like he was either cursing or screaming.

Xie Jixing pinched it with his fingernail. From the texture, it seemed to be some kind of weathered plant root.

“Green leaves on top, a few little red beans, and underneath it looks like a screaming doll… The more I look at it, the more familiar it feels,” Luo Feiang said mysteriously. “Don’t you guys recognize what this is?”

Xuan Caiyan curled her lips. “Isn’t it just ginseng? Why are you making it sound so mysterious?”

“No!” Luo Feiang shook his head. “If it were ginseng, why would the production team call it ‘The Angry Little Man’? The keywords don’t match. It should be called ‘Chubby White Baby’ instead.”

“Have you ever been to Universal Studios? In the Harry Potter area, there’s a Mandrake-pulling game. Have you tried it?”

Fei Zhehan had taken his kids there and had spent thousands inside. He immediately recalled the painful memory. “Yeah, there is one. You have to pay to experience it.”

“Doesn’t this look like a mini version of a mandrake?”

Wasn’t that a huge leap between Eastern and Western cultures?

Suspiciously, Xuan Caiyan took the talisman from Luo Feiang and examined it.

She used to be a big Harry Potter fan and clearly remembered the scene where everyone transplanted mandrakes.

“It really does look like it. And in the movie, when you pull it out of the soil, it lets out an angry scream. Anyone who hears it faints or even dies. That matches the task name ‘Angry Little Man.’”

“So…” Meng Zezhou flipped it over a few times. “Does this thing really exist in real life? That’s impossible, right?”

Everyone turned to look at Xie Jixing.

Xie Jixing: Why are you looking at me? There’s no Harry Potter in this parallel world! I’ve never seen it! How would I know what a mandrake is?!

Still, he did recognize the main body of the talisman.

“Isn’t this just dried Yabulu? It’s a medicinal plant. Highly poisonous.”

As soon as he said “highly poisonous,” Meng Zezhou immediately threw it onto the table.

“Ah! Then how can they make something toxic into a talisman?!”

Xie Jixing looked at him like he was an idiot. “Are you going to eat it?”

“Of course not! Who would eat that?!” Meng Zezhou shuddered at the thought.

“Then what’s the problem? Fresh Yabulu is poisonous throughout the whole plant and can be absorbed through the skin, but the toxins only volatilize after the skin is broken. As for the dried ones, as long as you don’t ingest it, you won’t be poisoned.”

Xie Jixing picked it up and examined it carefully.

“The root system of Yabulu is much larger than this. They probably dug up mature roots, carved them into human shapes, buried them back in the soil to keep growing, then dug them up again and processed them into this weathered form.”

“Look,” he said, pointing at the face. “Even after regrowing, you can still see carving marks.”

As he spoke, Longshan walked in carrying two local dishes—stir-fried bamboo worms and deep-fried bamboo worms.

“Teacher Xie is right. That’s exactly how Mamianseng is made.”

“The one you’re holding was made by my grandma.”

The ethnic group on the island was called the Xia-Nü Tribe. Most members lived scattered across the island. According to tradition, when distinguished guests arrived, the first meal had to be a grand reception.

Longshan had changed into traditional clothing, much more delicate than what the production crew’s rugged staff wore.

On dark blue tie-dyed fabric were finely embroidered patterns, with silver ornaments and tassels as decorations. The outfit revealed a lot of skin, showing his tanned upper body and giving him a primitive, wild vitality.

【Wow wow wow, I’m drooling. Before changing clothes: rustic boy. After changing: my husband!】

【This Longshan guy looks really capable.】

【Teacher, you’d better mean capable… at work.】

【Hehe (blushing bean-face)】

【First fell for teachers at school, then instructors in boot camp, then doctors, and now I’m falling for an NPC on a variety show?!】

Longshan’s grandmother also changed into traditional attire, with flowers pinned in her silver hair, giving her a unique charm.

The Xia-Nü dialect sounded melodious. As she talked about tribal and island stories, it felt like she was singing mountain songs.

Longshan translated for everyone sentence by sentence.

The Xia-Nü people of Nanxia Bay Island still maintained a matriarchal society. Longshan grew up with his mother, uncle, and grandmother.

They had believed in shamans since ancient times. The great shaman held the highest status. Mamianshen—the “mandrake” Luo Feiang mentioned—was an important medicinal herb, so locals deliberately cultivated it.

In the past, hunters would feed it to fierce beasts to paralyze them and escape. Later, people turned it into talismans and gave it a punny name: Mamianseng.

As the sun slowly set, a brazier was lit in the courtyard. Everyone sat around it, eating, listening to stories from the old and the young. The atmosphere was warm and cozy.

The audience learned a lot as well.

【I really long for an island like this. Mysterious and heartwarming.】

【If insects are cooked like this, maybe I can accept them.】

【Their ethnic clothes are so pretty. They’d look amazing in beach photos.】

【LMAO, Chinese women whose life goal is “to get good photos.”】

【Guys, bold idea: if Longshan carries me while taking photos, it’ll be even better, hehe (blush)】

【In your dreams, carrying you, o-O】

【Didn’t they say the island will be developed? Hurry up! I’m ready to travel!】

“So, hic,” Luo Feiang burped. “Our task is to dig up mandrakes, right?”

Fei Zhehan: “Probably. Is this thing really that scary?”

Xuan Caiyan immediately started acting dramatically. “What if we don’t have earmuffs? Will we pass out if we hear it scream?”

Meng Zezhou: “By the way, what medicine is mandrake used for?”

“I know this!” Xuan Caiyan raised her hand. “A founding-generation HP fan can answer this. It’s used to make Petrification Cure.”

“Petrificus Totalus!” She pointed chopsticks at Meng Zezhou like a wand.

He picked up chopsticks too. “Avada Heartbreak!”

Xie Jixing, sitting beside him, quickly dodged to avoid flying food and rolled his eyes.

Both the courtyard and the livestream chat burst into laughter. The atmosphere was unusually relaxed and harmonious.

Sister Yue floated down from a tree holding her paper phone.

“Harry Potter sounds really good. Have you watched it?”

Xie Jixing shook his head.

Yue Qinyao showed him the video site’s login page.

“Perfect. I’ve got nothing to read lately. Buy a membership and let’s watch together.”

Xie Jixing’s wallet lost a year’s subscription.

Because the group insisted on paying, villagers with spare rooms cleaned them thoroughly—even polishing the headboards.

They also aired new quilts in the afternoon sun.

Though poor, the place was clean. Even without modern facilities, it was comfortable.

Much better than the beach huts, not to mention the tent they had slept in.

After nightfall, the village was quiet. No insects, no wild beasts. Wrapped in sun-dried quilts, everyone quickly fell asleep—except Xie Jixing.

Maybe Sister Yue’s Harry Potter was too loud. Maybe he missed his fluffy blanket.

He turned over and decided to ask the production team for a link after filming. Not being able to rub his chin on something fluffy really caused insomnia.

The mountains slept, but the city’s online nightlife had just begun.

Qi Zhen thought today’s livestream went well. It was cheerful and harmonious. Online feedback should be good.

He opened an entertainment forum—and was stunned.

【Discussion: Is it legal for a survival show to openly promote dangerous substances?】

【I watched today’s livestream. This super-popular survival show has gotten more and more ridiculous.

Someone once mixed seawater into saline on the show and got away with it because of CP fans.

Now the task is to dig up poison?!

I checked this so-called mandrake. It really exists in real life, and there are many cases of death from accidental ingestion.

Its roots contain multiple alkaloids, and atropine can even be extracted from them. It’s extremely dangerous.

So, I just don’t get it—shouldn’t GJ have completely destroyed and eliminated this dangerous substance?

And making a talisman out of poison is just too creepy. What kind of superstitious practice is this, and why does it still exist today? Shouldn’t it be reformed? Why does the show still promote it?

There are even a large number of viewers in the comments who don’t understand the situation and are talking about going to travel there. When you actually go, you might not even know how you die—be more careful!

Personally, I have already reported this to the relevant authorities. I hope the production team can make timely corrections. If they continue to promote this kind of feudal superstitious culture, I hope everyone can join me in reporting it and demand that the show be taken down.

At the same time, the celebrities involved in promoting it should also face appropriate punishment.

We need more scientific and positive programs, not this kind of garbage show made just for gimmicks and attention, without regard for anything else!

I hope everyone takes this seriously and joins me in boycotting it.】