After questioning for quite a while, You Yi still refused to speak, leaving Xin Meng somewhat disheartened. Through their time together, he had come to understand a bit of You Yi’s character. Although You Yi had obediently followed Xin Meng around, he was actually a person with strong opinions. If it was something he didn’t want to talk about, no one could make him open up, not even Xin Meng.
Xin Meng had done quite well, trailing behind him like a little tail, persistently pestering him for half the day. You Yi, at most, remained silent but did not get angry. If it had been someone else, You Yi would have likely turned and walked away or even kicked them aside.
It seemed he could only rely on himself.
Indeed, ever since meeting You Yi, perhaps due to the latter’s extraordinary combat skills or his remarkable composure and calmness, Xin Meng had gradually developed a sense of dependency on him. Although it wasn’t very obvious yet, it was still not a good thing. In this deadly game, to survive, one must rely on oneself. If he were to depend on others for everything… Xiong Jiabao would serve as a cautionary tale.
While the two were secretly digging up someone else’s grave on the mountain, on the other side, Dong Xiu and Li Yougen were searching the entire village for them, but naturally, they found nothing.
“Where on earth have these two gone!” Li Yougen spat on the ground, puzzled, and his words were far from virtuous. “Could they have already been taken by the water ghost to be a substitute?”
Dong Xiu, however, thought of it differently. He believed that Xin Meng and You Yi had grasped some clues to pass the level but were deliberately withholding information from them to seize the initiative and gain some advantage.
“Let’s go, keep looking!” Dong Xiu’s glasses glinted with a sharp light as he coldly smiled to himself. He thought of himself as a person of great stature, known as the undefeated general at the negotiation table in City X. All sorts of cunning individuals had failed to gain the upper hand in front of him. How could a mere kid like Xin Meng, no matter how impressive You Yi was, pose a threat? He was just trying to extract information, not to fight Xin Meng. Dong Xiu was confident that with his skills in extracting information, even if Xin Meng fell for it, he wouldn’t notice.
Moreover, if they went to find them now, they might just catch them in the act of plotting something. At the very least, they could see what they were up to and make a judgment.
Xiuse Village was indeed not large. After searching for a while, the two had walked through the entire village and finally arrived at the village chief’s house. Xiong Jiabao was currently in the small storage room where Xin Meng had once stayed. Upon seeing Dong Xiu and Li Yougen, he felt annoyed and, seeing them come in to look for someone, he couldn’t be bothered to speak. He simply turned over and continued sleeping.
“We’ve searched everywhere, and there’s no one,” Li Yougen said. “Could something really have happened?”
Dong Xiu’s gaze passed through the window to the outside, where the mountains and forests seemed to lie like a sprawling green beast, peacefully asleep. “No, they must have gone up the mountain.”
“Should we still go look for them?” Li Yougen also leaned against the window to take a look outside, feeling somewhat reluctant to go.
“Of course we must!” Dong Xiu shot him a cold glare. “Do you want to die without knowing why, like last time?”
Li Yougen grumbled reluctantly, “This mountain is so big, how are we supposed to find them?”
“Split up to search,” Dong Xiu glanced outside again. “I’ll go to the south side of the mountain, you go to the north side. Remember not to shout on the way; be careful not to alert them.”
“Fine.” Li Yougen agreed begrudgingly, but he was not very happy, harboring dissatisfaction towards Dong Xiu and resentment towards the two.
Xiong Jiabao on the bed was breathing steadily, already fast asleep.
The two parted ways at the village chief’s door, one heading south and the other north. Neither of them noticed that at another window, the village chief was holding a cigarette, taking puffs while closely watching their retreating figures.
As Li Yougen climbed the mountain from the north side, he muttered curses under his breath, “That Dong Xiu, really thinks of himself as a leader. What right does he have to give orders! I’m still a party member, you know? That’s the true leader of the country, and should be protected wherever they are! Yet he makes me do this and that!”
The more he spoke, the angrier he became. Whenever he kicked a small stone by his feet, he sent it flying forward with force. He continued to curse, not paying attention to where he was going, just following the path made by others, keeping his head down, unaware that the surroundings were growing darker.
“And that Xin Meng, that flirt!” Li Yougen switched targets for his curses, picking up a dry branch he found and swinging it at the leaves of nearby trees, making a rustling sound that masked the sudden silence around him. “All he knows is how to chase after men! What’s this about looking for clues? Who knows, they might be out there having a wild time! If I catch them later, I’ll take a picture and post it online! Shameless scum! Disgusting homosexual!”
The more he cursed, the more fervent he became, spewing out every foul word he could think of. Everyone in the team, except for himself, was subjected to his tirade, with only You Yi, perhaps due to previous shadows, cursing quietly, lowering his voice for fear of being overheard by that man with abnormal hearing, even glancing around nervously.
However, this glance revealed something was off.
Had it gotten dark?
When they had come out, it was only around three or four in the afternoon, and there were still more than two hours until sunset. How could it be… so dark now?
Li Yougen stretched out his hand and realized it was indeed getting darker. He could still see the back of his hand before, but now he could only make out its outline. He quickly stopped, afraid to move forward, his legs starting to tremble.
“W-what’s going on?”
Li Yougen looked around in panic. The trees, which had all looked the same to him, began to morph into various twisted shadows in the darkness, their colors resembling the gloom of an abyss. Even in the night, they were clearly visible, like a group of clawing monsters, ready to pounce on him!
“Ah!” Li Yougen screamed in fright, unwilling to move forward any longer. He turned and ran back, but the surroundings had inexplicably fallen into an eerie silence. His feet crunched on the fallen leaves, making a distinct rustling sound, but he didn’t hear it. All he could hear was his own heavy breathing and the pounding of his heart, a strange feeling as if something was covering his ears…
Li Yougen accidentally tilted his head slightly, and the sight before him made his heart stop!
There were indeed two pale, bony hands tightly covering his ears!
And the owner of those hands, a ghostly woman with a face as white as paper, was pressed against his cheek. When she saw him looking over, she revealed a smile, but there wasn’t a single tooth in her mouth, only a bloody gum line. As she grinned, a slimy, bloody tongue fell out, and her black eyes, devoid of whites, stared straight at him, letting out a sharp, eerie laugh!
“Ghost!” Li Yougen screamed in horror, frantically running forward, trying to escape the ghostly woman! “Help!”
However, the ghost did not immediately chase after him. As Li Yougen ran, the ghost stood still, watching him with her pitch-black eyes slightly bent down, revealing a strange smile.
Li Yougen desperately charged forward. After shaking off the ghost, his ears returned to normal, allowing him to hear the sounds around him. He couldn’t help but glance back, but there was nothing behind him. The ghost had vanished, yet he didn’t dare to stop. He wanted to rush down the mountain in one breath, back to the village, back to where there were people, and then he would be safe!
But after panting and running for over ten minutes, he still found himself surrounded by darkness. He inadvertently turned his head and saw the branch he had broken the leaves off of lying not far from him!
The wall of ghosts!
Li Yougen was terrified! He could no longer heed Dong Xiu’s words and began to shout, hoping someone would hear him and come to save him!
“Help! Help! Someone come save me—”
No one responded. Li Yougen was trapped in darkness, surrounded by the bizarre shadows of branches. He looked up, and the sky was also dark, without a hint of light. The shadows of the trees swayed with the wind, looming over him. Besides the sound of his shoes scraping against the leaves, there was no other sound, as if the whole world had been reduced to just him.
“Help…” Li Yougen’s cries for help abruptly stopped. He saw, from behind those dark, thin, twisted trees, a vague shadow suddenly appear, then another, then three, then four…
Countless figures abruptly emerged beside the trees. They wore tattered clothes, their faces as white as paper, with dark patches filling their eye sockets, all staring intently at Li Yougen. He felt as if his throat was being squeezed, unable to make a sound, his face turning red.
Run! Run fast! Hurry up and run!
Li Yougen’s heart screamed in panic, but his feet wouldn’t move, as if he had lost connection with his body. He stood there, watching those shadows slowly drift towards him. He shook his head frantically, tears and snot streaming down his face, and warm liquid flowed down his trembling thighs.
Those ghostly figures had human forms. There were men and women, old and young, all showing Li Yougen eerie smiles, floating towards him without touching the ground. When they got close, blood began to ooze from their bodies, their once intact skin cracking and peeling off like flaking wall paint, falling piece by piece. Li Yougen’s eyes widened, bloodshot and helplessly rolling around, but he couldn’t even move a finger, let alone step back!
No… no…
Suddenly, those ghostly figures paused, then lunged at Li Yougen!
“Ah ah ah—” His piercing screams echoed through the mountains, but at the foot of the mountain, not a single sound could be heard.
The ghostly figures huddled together, writhing and pressing against each other, and from within came a chilling sound of chewing. The stench of blood was so overwhelming that he couldn’t open his eyes. Li Yougen became a bloodied figure, howling in agony as his flesh was bitten off piece by piece, devoured by the ghosts!
The horrific torment lasted a full hour. Li Yougen’s vision was filled with red, and the pain in his body had become numb. He shakily raised his hand, trembling as he reached out towards a certain direction.
“Q… qi…”
The ghosts were still feasting on his body, one bite severing his throat, blood splattering everywhere. Li Yougen’s hand fell weakly, completely losing consciousness.
