The Moonset Village… Moonset Village!
Shen Lin suddenly thought of something, opened a drawer, and took out Kane’s diary.
In the diary, the corner mentioned a word. When Shen Lin first saw it, he found it to be a meaningless word, like a fabricated Chinese character composed of various radicals and components.
Just as he reexamined the meaning of this word, the voice of KP sounded in his ears: ‘Pass an inspiration check.’
Shen Lin threw the dice and, unsurprisingly, succeeded.
Bai’er praised sincerely, “Too steady.”
KP: “Before, when you performed in the French opera ‘Faust,’ you came into contact with these words. You remembered it; it’s French. However, it’s a jumbled arrangement of French letters. You found a clue to its order, combined it, and its pronunciation is—”
“Moonset Village,” Shen Lin pronounced the name.
Shen Lin closed the diary, sighed deeply, “I know the cause of Kane’s death. He had sworn to the ‘deity’ served by the Haino family, pledging eternal loyalty, never to betray, and never to reveal the secrets of the Haino family.”
“So… he treated you as Dorena, revealed the secrets of the Haino family, and suffered the backlash of the oath… and died?” Freud asked incredulously.
Shen Lin didn’t want to believe it either, but the truth forced him to nod, “His death is the same as the commitment he made during the oath. There’s no other explanation for his mysterious death.”
Bai’er looked at the red and white items scattered on the ground and said with lingering fear, “It seems that you can’t casually swear in this world. It’s too terrifying.”
“What is this Moonset Village, exactly?” Nana hugged herself, trembling with fear.
“I don’t know,” Shen Lin said, “According to his description, Moonset Village only appears at night. The materials for the ceremony are prepared there, maybe it’s a cave, maybe a low valley, or even a small piece of rock revealed when the tide recedes.”
The hearts of the few people were heavy. Humans always have a fear of the unknown and potentially dangerous things.
Shen Lin looked around and said to the others, “The good news is that we can now consider this place a temporary camp. Judging from Kane’s reaction, Dorena hasn’t met him for some unknown reason since coming to this small island. If Dorena wants to contact Kane, he will definitely come here.”
“Well…” Bai’er stared with innocent eyes, raising his hand, “The meat in the pot has been stewing for so long; it should be fine, right? To show basic respect for meat, shouldn’t we politely open the lid and see if the water has dried up?”
Nana, pale-faced, said, “What if it’s not the stewed meat we understand, but something else, and looking at it causes us to lose sanity?”
“KP is our friend; he wouldn’t do that,” Shen Lin said, “Release a pot of fragrant and sanity-losing meat… our conscientious Mr. KP would never insult food in this way.”
“Right! No one could do such a thing!” Bai’er quickly added.
“But I’m not a person,” KP said mysteriously.
Shen Lin couldn’t explain what image KP had in the eyes of others. During this interaction, Shen Lin had been observing KP’s words and actions. He was too human, with conventional human movements, psychological activities, and various emotions.
But he said he wasn’t human… Shen Lin’s eyebrows furrowed; he couldn’t explain what KP really was.
“However,” just as Shen Lin was pondering, the gentlemanly KP took off his hat, placed it on his chest, and bowed to Shen Lin, “You’re right. I shouldn’t add any psychological burden to you. After all, this is a new game. So, please enjoy the feast, everyone.”
Upon hearing this, everyone rushed to the kitchen to devour the meat. Shen Lin smiled and turned to look at Yan Xiu, who was silently cleaning up the mosaic on the ground.
Facing the indescribable, the man remained calm and composed. Shen Lin recalled that he had never seen him in a panic. He had sharp insight and extraordinary eyesight, silently taking care of details that others hadn’t noticed. Moreover, he was brave, seemingly unafraid of anything, a silent and cool man with no other shortcomings except for a bit of bad luck.
“He is very sharp,” KP chatted with Shen Lin, his voice full of laughter, “If he hadn’t covered your eyes just now, facing the scene of death, you would definitely have lost sanity, and you might have fallen into a brief madness.”
Shen Lin glanced at Yan Xiu, a lingering warmth still on his face from where Yan Xiu had touched his palm.
Before the meal, they thoroughly cleaned the room with brooms and mops, arranging everything that could be sat on around a small table that measured only half a meter on each side. Fluffy heads gathered in a circle.
Nana brought a clay pot from the kitchen where meat had been stewing. After a biological examination by Freud, it turned out to be venison, and not just any venison but that of a fawn, very tender and delicious.
Everyone enjoyed their meal heartily, and all the fatigue from earlier vanished. Some even took a short nap.
After rejuvenating, they gathered around the square table again to discuss their plans.
Bai’er pounded the table, cursing, “Damn it, where did Dorena go?”
Freud asked, “Could he have gone directly to the sacrificial altar? A big family like his should have such a place, right?”
“It’s possible,” Shen Lin took out a folded parchment from his pocket and said, “I feel that this scroll is the key to unraveling the sacrificial ritual, but there’s a risk in reading it… a considerable one.”
Should they try to decipher it?
Shen Lin’s fingers rhythmically tapped the back of the parchment, his gaze scanning the complex characters. KP’s reminder echoed in his mind: “You are disturbed by mysterious forces and cannot focus on reading these words.”
Unable to read?
Shen Lin looked up and asked, “Can any of you read it?”
They leaned in, saying one after another, “Disturbed by mysterious forces, unable to read.”
“Same here.”
“That’s right.”
“Then let’s forget it for now,” Shen Lin put away the parchment and tucked it into his backpack, telling the others, “During the day, we’ll continue exploring this place, and at night, we’ll prepare to go to the Moonset Village that Kane mentioned. I believe most of the clues come from there.”
In the afternoon, they split into teams to explore in various directions within the dense forest. When they returned before dusk, they all brought back the same report.
The dense forest was deserted, showing no signs of human habitation. Even the creatures were scarce. When they attempted to venture further, they mysteriously entered a foggy area. No matter how detailed their markings were, they ended up back at the starting point, as if encountering a ghostly barrier.
That thick fog blocked all their paths.
“It’s hard to imagine how Kane survived in this environment.”
“There must be secrets we don’t know.” Shen Lin’s gaze swept over the ink on the table. Judging by the frequency and content of Kane’s diary entries, the ink would be consumed quickly. The ink bottle on the table was new, emitting a strong ink fragrance. The packaging was from an unfamiliar brand, with a production date two years ago and no manufacturer’s address, only “Old Pete’s Black Ink.”
As the sky darkened, the group divided Kane’s clothing among themselves to make a small resting area. The bed was not large, given to the only lady among them, who was relatively weak. The other men had to make do.
Shen Lin looked at the cramped space with a complex expression. Suddenly, he felt that Hu Wen, who stubbornly refused to speak to them and chose to sleep in the dirty kitchen, had made a wise choice.
Compromising, he squatted down to tidy up the “mattress and blanket” he got. Kane’s clothing in the cupboard was extremely musty, emitting an unmistakable moldy smell.
Yan Xiu came over to help Shen Lin pick up the cotton jacket about to be laid on the ground and said, “Let me heat it up for you to get rid of the musty smell.”
“No need,” Shen Lin took the thick cotton jacket back, “There’s no time for this. We’ll be going to the Moonset Village later.”
“Can you sleep? Do you mind these dirty clothes?” Yan Xiu asked.
“I mind,” Shen Lin held his breath and said solemnly, “I mind a lot. But now is not the time to mind. There are more important things to do.”
“You look like a rich young master, but you seem to endure hardships quite well,” Freud said, wiping the thin mist on his glasses with his shirt, squinting at Shen Lin with a playful look, “If not for you, we might have died on the beach, keeping company with those white bones in this damn game.”
“KP is listening,” Bai’er reminded, “Be careful; he might trip you up.”
“I have to clear my name,” KP’s voice rang out, “In this mysterious journey, I am your guide and companion, not an enemy. I will adhere to the rules of the game one hundred percent. Otherwise, like you, if I violate the rules, I will be punished.”
“What punishment? Whose punishment?” Shen Lin asked.
“Secrets,” KP said, “This is not an area you can touch right now. Rest well, conserve your energy; the night will arrive soon.”
The croak of crows outside the window reached them, and the group woke up from their half-asleep state.
After refreshing themselves, they each armed themselves and headed towards the depths of the forest in the night.
The thick fog that pervaded during the day became thin. After about half an hour of walking, they saw faint lights not far away.
In the thin mist, a few lanterns flickered, revealing an indescribable strangeness among the trees.
