Translator: Yuzu
Ma Chenggong’s pupils shrank sharply, and his two hands clenched into fists.
Hu Bing’s brain was surprisingly clear as he continued, “Combining yesterday’s accident, I have a bold idea.”
Jin Hong and the others held their breath and stared at him with undivided attention.
“Cannibalism. There are many records of it in history, even dating back to ancient times. No matter what dynasty it is, once there’s a famine, it’s easy for people to eat each other, and the phenomenon of human cannibalism will be endless!” He paused, “I am certain that sixteen years ago, during the famine, there was cannibalism in this village.”
The crowd sucked in a breath of cold air and kept quiet.
Even Ma Hang couldn’t help but cover his mouth and nose, turning back with a horrified look on his face, and couldn’t help but look at his brother.
Ma Chenggong looked ashen and pondered for two seconds, quirking his lips in mockery, “Yes, your guesses are all right!”
Xiao Chen didn’t make a sound as if he was an outsider and looked at Ma Chenggong with cold eyes.
As though Hu Bing had suddenly thought of something, he scowled slightly, “You, all of you, only came back after receiving the letter, right?”
The people looked at each other and nodded their heads.
Hu Bing pulled out the letter from his pocket, “That’s strange, how did they know where we live!”
Ma Chenggong was in a state of shock when he heard that.
Yes.
It was too strange!
He simply didn’t believe that an ordinary village chief in such a remote village could find out where so many people lived.
Ma Chenggong exhaled, his hands trembled a bit.
There was even a clipped picture of him eating someone years ago! He simply couldn’t refuse! He had to come back!
The moment he was reborn, he realized that it was all just a trap by Tan Jun!
Ma Chenggong wanted to tell the truth, but the words were stuck in his throat, like phlegm. He tried to cough it out but couldn’t, he opened his mouth and closed it again.
What can he say?
Tell them that they’re facing a death sentence, that this village is cursed, that ghosts are coming to claim their lives? Tell them he was born again? That’s how you know the truth?
He couldn’t speak, nor could he say it.
Ma Chenggong glanced at Xiao Chen, and his heart trembled a bit.
He wasn’t sure if Xiao Chen knew the truth about what he had done to him back then.
If he knew, he would never let himself go!
As for Zhang Xiaoxian…
Ma Chenggong clenched his teeth.
It wasn’t a wrongful death either.
Ma Chenggong crossed his arms and clasped his fingers together. His elbows rested on the dining table, and his forehead leaned on his hands as if he was meditating. It was only when one looked closely could they see that his fingers were shaking.
“Boy Ma, thanks to you. This is a reward for you!” The man pulled out a piece of meat from the pot. Without taking a plate, the man just cut it off with a knife and handed it to the boy.
The boy’s hands were shaking, his two eyes were like a blind person’s, he couldn’t blink, and his body was frozen in place.
He was dumbfounded as he grasped the raw meat handed to him by the man with both hands.
This meat was fresh, and there was still blood on the meat. When the boy held it in his hands, the blood ran straight down his wrist and even dripped onto his shoes.
When the man saw him like this, he wasn’t dissatisfied and said, “Take this piece of meat and eat it with your brother, haven’t you two been hungry for a long time?”
The boy seemed to suddenly realize something. A shudder ran through his body, and his eyes were a little strained. Then, he looked left and right twice. His hands were like holding some kind of treasure, and he was holding it tightly in his arms for fear of being taken away.
He quickly walked in the direction of the door. With a “puffing” sound, he directly collided with the person in front of him, but he managed to hold the meat tightly and did not let it fly out.
Ma Chenggong raised his head and looked.
It was a girl.
This girl looked to be about sixteen or seventeen years old but was wearing clothes that were not suitable for her. It showed off her thighs and waist. She even wore heavy makeup, but he had to admit, she did look beautiful.
The girl stood up from the floor and looked at Ma Chenggong coldly. She tossed her hair and twisted her waist in a flirtatious manner to continue walking inside, not caring at all about Ma Chenggong’s strange eyes.
Ma Chenggong stood up, turned back, and looked behind the door. He could hear the sound of the girl kissing the man after she entered the door.
Ma Chenggong knew the girl, who was known as a socialite in this town. As long as there was food, he could sleep with her for the night.
In times like these, he was not ashamed of such tactics.
Don’t people live just so they can have a meal?
Oh yes, he remembered, this girl was called Zhang Xiaoxian.
Hu Bing’s probing gaze landed on Xiao Chen’s body, sweeping his eyes up and down his body, sizing him up, “You’re anorexic, right?”
Xiao Chen’s face cracked slightly, and he raised his head to meet Hu Bing’s eyes.
Hu Bing didn’t flinch but instead met his eyes seriously. “I’ve observed that you’ve barely eaten anything in the past two days. I even saw you hyperventilating early this morning.”
“It’s because of the aftermath of living in this village, isn’t it?” Hu Bing hit the nail on the head and stared at Xiao Chen with a burning gaze.
Xiao Chen’s fingers squeezed the pendant he wore around his neck. When he heard the word ‘aftermath’, his fingers tightened, and his face was suddenly incomparably pale.
Hu Bing narrowed his eyes and moved his eyes back from Xiao Chen, “This village reveals a strong sense of strangeness! Haven’t you noticed? Although the old people here are no different from ordinary old people, their hands and feet are surprisingly agile. The village chief we met on our first day here, as well as that old man yesterday, their ability to walk and even their strength, are not inferior to those in their prime.”
Jin Hong nodded, blinked, and clutched her sleeve nervously. As though she had thought of something, she pursed her lips and anxiously said, “Do you think that these old people have eaten all the young people in the village? That’s why we didn’t see any young people from the moment we entered the village?”
The words awakened the people in the room.
Ma Hang sucked in a breath of cold air, and Huang Ke’s face directly lost its color in fright.
Ma Chenggong’s expression didn’t change much, and his two hands clenched tightly.
Hu Bing nodded, “I think so.” He pondered for a while and said, “All in all, we must not sit idly by. We must find the secrets of this village!”
Xiao Chen covered his mouth and nose with the collar of his turtleneck sweater.
The laws of nature, karma, are like the shadows, and it’s not pleasant at all.
Who is to blame? These old people?
They’re the ones who got themselves into this!
—
“Where did this come from?” Xiao Chen was a little surprised and pointed to the sweets that had been hidden in his suitcase.
Tan Jun blinked and put his hands on his chin, sitting down on the chair, and foolishly said, “You eat it, didn’t you like sweet treats the most when you were little?”
Xiao Chen was lost for words, and his nose was a little sour. He silently moved a chair from the side to sit beside him, examining his face carefully.
It was like a dream.
He had never thought he would see Tan Jun again.
This feeling was so subtle that it made him feel that it was unreal. Even when he went to sleep and woke up these past few days, he would wonder if Tan Jun’s appearance was a beautiful dream of his or if he had some kind of imaginary illness.
Xiao Chen was fascinated, his eyes were deep and devoted, and they were shining like there were stars in them.
Tan Jun’s face was burning. He wouldn’t have felt this way, but when Xiao Chen’s eyes fell on him, he felt like he was drugged, and his brain was in an indescribable state of pleasure.
He gently rested his head on Xiao Chen’s lap, looking very obedient, like a puppy waiting for his master’s touch.
Xiao Chen was stunned.
This was the most common position they had used when they were kids.
Xiao Chen’s eyes ached, and he let out a breath. His hand gently stroked Tan Jun’s hair like he was coaxing a child. It was a strange feeling, Tan Jun’s condensed entity that only he could see and touch; Xiao Chen sounded a little choked up, “Why are you still the same as when you were a child?”
Tan Jun lifted his eyes to lock gazes with Xiao Chen, who had his head bowed, and softly said, “In front of you, I will never change.”
The same goes for everything I’ve said.