Translator: Yuzu
“Fuck, haven’t we already been down this road before!” Ma Hang was a little anxious. His fingers couldn’t help but clutch at the corners of his coat, and his eyes were constantly scanning the surroundings.
Similarly, as when they came here, a thin layer of fog surrounded this mountain road’s perimeter. There were only sparse dead trees in this deserted countryside and nothing else. Even the sky was dusky, revealing a spooky atmosphere.
Ma Chenggong tried to conceal his panic and anxiety and forcefully pretended to be calm.
A light breeze blew through, bringing a hair-raising chill to the air.
“I, we’re going to be stuck here!” Jin Hong was the only girl among the five. She was a little stiff and cowered behind the crowd, her legs even more so because of her nervousness.
Ma Chenggong sweated and swallowed anxiously, his two hands clenched into fists.
“Do you have anything on you that we can use to make a mark, so we can definitely get out?” Ma Chenggong smiled forcefully, and it wasn’t clear if these words were meant to convince others or himself.
Jin Hong’s chest rose and fell a little from sobbing. She pulled out the lipstick she had with her from the bag and said, “I, I have lipstick.”
Ma Chenggong took the lipstick, drew a big symbol on a nearby tree, and turned back with a dry smile, “Let’s go and try again.”
Everyone didn’t argue, and it had become clear to them that this seemingly peaceful town was bizarre in every way.
There was only a bunch of old people here! There was also the old village chief, who had died in front of them for no reason, and whose body had even inexplicably disappeared! There was something unspoken and frightening about the village, and they knew full well that if they didn’t do anything, they might be in danger.
Silence.
There was silence once again.
An exhausted group of people walked in circles over and over. No one was in the mood to talk, and only the sound of feet on the ground can be heard.
“For the fourth time!” Hu Bing, who had been silent for a long time, opened his mouth.
This was a boy who seemed to be in his early twenties but had an exceptional temperament. He looked very mature, and his back was straight, with a sense of maturity that didn’t belong to this age.
Ma Chenggong’s expression somewhat cracked. He had already tried his best to hide his anxiety. Still, He ended up looking a bit fierce as his face was completely exposed to everyone.
“Maybe we should go back first.” Hu Bing looked at the sky, scanned the crowd who had long been exhausted from walking, and proposed his idea.
“No!” Ma Chenggong retorted, his eyes widened, and the sound he made was as sharp and piercing.
Even Ma Hang was shocked by his expression and voice and couldn’t help but pull his brother’s arm, “Brother.”
Ma Chenggong was instantly knocked awake by Ma Hang’s voice, his face as ugly as death. He barely managed to regain his appearance, opened his mouth, and said, “In that case, let’s go back first. We’ll discuss everything later!”
How could they understand his inner anxiety! Turning back is death! Who could know the pain of that approaching death better than him?
But he can’t talk!
Ma Chenggong pursed his lips and took a deep breath.
This was his burden.
He knows who is cursing this village!
Xiao Chen opened his eyes in a daze, and his body was a little sore.
“You’re finally awake! Why did you faint in the doorway!” As soon as Xiao Chen opened his eyes, he saw Jin Hong with a happy face chattering non-stop. Many people were sitting around the entire room, each of them brushing past the moment Xiao Chen opened his eyes.
When Ma Chenggong saw Xiao Chen wake up, his body scuffled, and he sat up directly from the chair. His mouth opened, he rubbed his hands and stomped his feet, as if he had something urgent to say to Xiao Chen.
Xiao Chen glanced at everyone with indifferent eyes as if he had fallen into some kind of memory and lowered his gaze, “I don’t know.”
Ma Chenggong was in disbelief and walked to the bed, asking hurriedly, “Then how did you faint? What about Zhang Xiaoxian?”
Xiao Chen scowled and looked serious, “Not sure.”
Ma Chenggong seemed to be a little frantic, and when he heard Xiao Chen’s reply, he looked as if he was planning to ask something.
But before he could say anything, there was a sudden knock at the front door.
Ma Chenggong was at a loss of what to do as he took a look at the door.
Everyone looked at each other as if they were deciding who would open the door.
Was it Zhang Xiaoxian?
Hu Bing didn’t have those twists and turns in Ma Chenggong’s heart, and when he saw that everyone was reluctant to open the door, he stood up straight away, intending to open the door.
When Hu Bing opened the door, he was stunned and stood still. The people who followed behind him were also a bit confused.
It was an old man.
The old man held a huge pot in his hand. He was smiling as he walked right in, put the pot on the table in the hall, and said, “Children, you must be hungry since you haven’t had hot food for so long, come and have a bite of unenviable sheep.”
Others might not understand, but Ma Chenggong had lived in this village for sixteen years before he left, so of course, he knew what the old man meant!
Ma Chenggong was shaking, and his legs began to tremble as images instantly popped up in his head. His body held onto the wall next to him, retching, but only managed to puke out acid.
Xiao Chen didn’t come out and didn’t know about the scene outside. If he was there, he could also understand the meaning of the unenviable sheep in seconds. It was even possible that his reaction would be more intense than Ma Chenggong’s.
The crowd looked at Ma Chenggong with confused faces, not knowing why he was reacting so strongly.
Ma Hang felt a bit gluttonous when he saw that it was meat. After all, he had been here for a few days, and all he had eaten was dry food that he had brought over. Not to mention meat, there wasn’t even any rice.
Ma Hang swallowed, a little embarrassed.
As if the old man had read his mind, he narrowed his eyes and beckoned, “Son, come and eat.”
Ma Hang pursed his lips.
This meat looked fat and lean, with a reddish color and a rich aroma floating out.
It smelled so good.
Ma Hang’s expression was a bit obsessed, and he actually planned to walk over, but Ma Chenggong crouched on the ground and pulled him back, shouting hurriedly, “Don’t go!”
Ma Hang was shocked and immediately stopped. He did not know what was going on. He was just like a compelled person, and the only thing in his eyes was the pot of meat. He was completely hooked up to the food in his heart.
Ma Hang was a little afraid, fearfully took a step back, and whispered, “Brother.”
Jin Hong was also a little hungry. She was already tired and hadn’t eaten anything for half a day. Now, she was visually stimulated by the meat, and her taste buds were becoming more spiteful from the aroma. However, she still had a few moments of sanity left and didn’t act rashly.
When Hu Bing saw this display, he silently retreated to the side, intentionally moving away from this old man.
Hu Bing looked again at Ma Chenggong’s reaction, and something flashed in his head. Then, his eyes stared intently at the meat placed on the table. Recalling what he had seen and heard in the village in the past few days, a ridiculous idea popped into his head. Slowing down, he looked at the old man in horror and opened his mouth to say, “This meat…”
Ma Chenggong picked up his words, “This is human meat!”
What?
Everyone’s heads exploded, and their eyes stared blankly at Ma Chenggong.
Ma Chenggong trembled and stood up, his eyes staring at the old man, questioning, “There is no livestock in the village at all! Where the hell did you get that pot of meat from? What did you do to Zhang Xiaoxian?”
The crowd woke up from their dreamlike state.
Ma Hang’s eyes widened. Then, his expression at the meat instantly became disgusted, simply finding it hard to accept that he had been piqued by human flesh.
Jin Hong shrieked and hid behind the crowd.
The old man’s friendly face was torn, both eyes wide, and he grinned as if annoyed by what Ma Chenggong had said, his chest puffing out slightly as he took a deep breath.
“You guys aren’t even eating such delicious food!” The old man looked incredulous.
“Hmph!” The old man snorted and glared coldly at Ma Chenggong. Then, he walked in the direction of the door without turning back, not answering Ma Chenggong’s question from beginning to end. It really looked as if the old man was as annoyed to see the young man waste food.
Jin Hong had never seen such a scene before and nearly fell to her knees as her legs weakened. But she was held back by Hu Bing, who was standing beside her.
Xiao Chen came out of the room and only saw the back of the old man leaving. Almost immediately, he spotted the cooked meat on the table. As he stared at it, his heart rate started to accelerate, his legs went weak, and he fell to his knees directly on the floor. Both of his hands held onto the wall, and images popped straight into his head.
“Just this kid! No father, no mother! No one will care if we eat him!”
Xiao Chen had a ringing in his ears, and the voice that haunted him in his dreams for half his life appeared in his head again.
“What are you running for! Damn it! How dare you kick me! I’ll break this kid’s legs! I’m going to skin him alive!”
No! No! No!!!
Xiao Chen’s breathing quickened, and his eyes began to turn red.
“No!” Xiao Chen suddenly screamed and let out a cry. He was curled up in the corner and held his head.
The crowd was startled by Xiao Chen’s shout and turned back to look at him.
“Don’t go! Tan Jun!” Like a madman, Xiao Chen covered his head, his eyes wild and dispirited.
The next second he covered his nose and mouth again, shrinking himself in a strange posture, as if afraid of making any sound as if he was scared of being heard by others.
Ma Chenggong was completely shaken in place, his hands shaking a bit when he heard the word ‘Tan Jun’.
His Adam’s apple moved, and his eyes returned to Xiao Chen’s face. He stared at his features and covered his mouth and nose on the verge of almost screaming out.
It’s him!
It was him!
Tan Jun was a little distressed as he hugged Xiao Chen in his arms, even though he knew that Xiao Chen couldn’t see him at all.
‘Don’t be afraid.’
Xiao Chen grasped the pendant and fiercely raised his head towards the source of the voice.
But this time, what he saw was no longer just a patch of air but a half-real image. This image even had three-dimensional features, a deep nose, thin and faint lips that were exposed, but the body parts were still illusory.
Xiao Chen’s eyes didn’t even blink, and his eyelashes trembled slightly.
“Tan Jun.” I can see you!
Sorry!
If it weren’t for me, you wouldn’t be dead!
—
You don’t know that I’m the only one with a grudge in this town.
Not because of how deep my grievances run, but because I have voluntarily taken on the grievances of others to hold on to this place.
The only thing I ever wished for was to be able to wait until you came back.
But now, my desire is to keep you by my side.
–
The author has something to say: Remember this man called Hu Bing! (He has the IQ of a horror movie hero) hahaha, he’s smart, and you can guess his occupation when the time comes.
There’s another key character in the next chapter, and that one’s important too. All in all, it’s another big game of chess! (Hilarious laugh.)
The truth about Tan Jun’s death can actually be guessed slowly.
You guys will definitely not lose anything if you see the rest of it. Hahaha.