“Dad! Why did you let them in?” That man who splashed water from upstairs came down and asked angrily.

“They said that they’re here to sketch or something,” the mayor sat in the hall and said with dignity.

“How can you believe them! These sons of bit*hes have motives of…”

“Hey brother, we’re really here to sketch. We even brought all of our tools. It was my fault that we didn’t inform you in advance. The thing is, we made the decision to come here abruptly, and there was no contact information online,” Xu Lan explained apologetically.

“Sir, look at this, does it look alike?”

“Yes! I can’t believe that someone would paint a portrait of me while I’m still alive,” the mayor smiled ear to ear when he saw the drawing board that Sheng Ya passed over.

The mayor’s son wanted to say something but he bit his tongue and walked towards the mayor and stood beside him. He had not seen the mayor in such a good mood since forever. He looked at the drawing board in his hands.

“Hey, not bad. I didn’t know that you’re an art student?” Xu Lan raised the corner of his mouth and said softly to Sheng Ya while he elbowed her.

The townspeople were hesitant about the newcomers. They shut their doors and windows tightly, those who were curious tried to peep but shied away when they were discovered by Xu Lan. This was the exact reason why he stopped Bai Wu from telling them their real intentions.

“Pfft, do you think I’m like you? Just churn out lies when you don’t even know a thing?” Sheng Ya shrugged off Xu Lan’s approach and replied sarcastically.

“Hey, how can a young lady like you be so hot-tempered? Be careful, later Bai Wu doesn’t like you.”

Bai Wu turned around to glance and him and lowered his head immediately and rubbed his thumb. The corner of Xu Lan’s mouth tensed instantly. He wanted to give himself two tough slaps due to this slip of the tongue.

However, Sheng Ya heard it and secretly gave Bai Wu a glance with a blushed face before lowering her head.

“Since you guys are here to sketch, I have nothing to say. There’s too many of you. you ‘ll have to stay at the guesthouse in town. However, you guys are not allowed to go to the town’s well and the north temple!” The mayor said in doubt.

“This is not a problem. There’s so many of us, it would be rude to stay at your house, mayor. However, you’ll have to clarify to the others that we’re here to sketch, or else I’m afraid that we won’t even get to eat. Also, I would be grateful if you can let someone introduce Darkwater Town to us. We will be able to depict the charm of Darkwater Town only if we truly understand it’s culture.”

Xu Lan started to blabber with a serious tone. He could convey facts and reasonings in such a manner that you would not be able to differentiate whether they were truth or lies. According to Xu Lan’s words, they were half truths and half lies. If you believe in them, they would be truths; if not, they would be lies.

“… Okay. I’ll tell them about it. I’ll find two men to show you guys around the town,” the mayor’s son said after giving a thought. It was obvious that he believed Xu Lan’s words.

After having a simple lunch, a guy named Niu Si brought them to the guesthouse. It looked like those motels from the 80s. There were more than ten metal bunk beds in a room less than forty square meters. The room was filled with the smell of stinking feet, body odor and sweat all mixed together, floating in the air.

Sheng Ya choked the instant she stepped foot into the room and rushed out, where she leaned on the railings and puked non-stop.

The far right of that story was the shower room and toilets. They had to walk twenty to thirty meters and inside was so foul-smelling that no one could stand it.

“Sh*t, is this place for humans?” The crew-cut guy yelled.

“Let’s just stay here first and think of something else later on,” Bai Wu said and stopped everyone from complaining.