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墨書 Inktalez
"You've been in the yard all this time, but your backpack just disappeared?" Yuan Jun, hands on hips, questioned after hearing Qiuju Niu's explanation. "How can anyone believe that? Did the backpack grow wings and fly away?"
In response to Yuan Jun's accusation, Qiuju Niu didn't directly refute it but muttered, "This village is so strange; anything could happen. Do you know what knocked on the door last night? Now your backpack is missing, and so is mine. Why should this be my problem?"
Old Shao knew that such arguments were futile and stepped in to stop the two.
Jiang He spoke up, "I don't know if you've noticed the shoes the villagers are wearing. All of them wear old-fashioned cloth shoes. These shoes are breathable and durable, lasting a long time. The footprints they leave are different from our hiking boots; theirs are marked by horizontal lines. I've seen these footprints in both houses."
Jiang He pointed to a footprint at the door. "This means someone came in while we were at the graveyard and took our backpacks. And that person who took our backpacks is a villager."
"So," Jiang He pointed at Qiuju Niu, "the one who took our backpacks isn't some ghost; it's a person. But if you were inside the house, I don't think you would let a villager take our backpacks. You're lying. During the time we were gone, you definitely weren't here! Where did you go?"
From analyzing the footprints in the house, Jiang He concluded that Qiuju Niu must have left the yard at some point. At that moment, Qiuju Niu's face turned pale. Under Yuan Jun's pressing questions, she finally revealed where she had been.
Earlier that morning, everyone had heard the High Taoist ringing his bell and rushed outside. After waiting for an hour inside the house, Qiuju Niu could no longer sit still. She stepped out into the yard and wandered along the village road. The entire village was deserted; realizing this was a perfect opportunity, she began searching for her grandson, Zhang Wenhua.
"Did you find him?" Wang Chao asked Qiuju Niu.
Qiuju Niu's expression suddenly darkened. She looked around for a while before saying, "No, I searched through the village and found every door locked. I knew all the men had gone out with you, so I pried open a few doors to look inside but found nothing."
Old Shao observed Qiuju Niu closely; she didn't seem to be lying. However, her earlier glances suggested to Old Shao that Qiuju Niu was hiding something else from everyone.
"What else is there?" Old Shao gently prodded.
Qiuju Niu's expression shifted oddly as she grasped Xu Yiman's hand tightly. Jiang He noticed how hard Qiuju Niu was gripping Xu Yiman's hand, even turning it red.
"I heard someone singing in the village," Qiuju Niu said, looking at Old Shao before adding, "A woman was singing."
Since the project team arrived in this village, they had not seen any women except for the wife of Li Sanhan and the head of that woman.
"Was the singer Li Sanhan's wife?" Old Shao asked.
Qiuju Niu shook her head, still holding Xu Yiman's hand, and said mysteriously, "No, it wasn't her. I would know if it were her with that coarse voice. It was someone else. The voice was very sharp and thin, almost like a mosquito buzzing, intermittent. I couldn't hear it clearly, but it echoed over and over."
"Where did the sound come from?" Old Shao seemed particularly concerned about this question.
"That's the strange part," Qiuju Niu leaned against Xu Yiman. "I don't know where the sound came from. It felt ethereal, as if it was coming from someone else's yard or perhaps from the nearby mountains. I'm not sure. But that's not important; what's important is the content."
"The content?" Everyone perked up their ears.
Qiuju Niu swallowed hard and took a deep breath before continuing, "That song was sung many times. At first, I couldn't make out the words, but after listening a few times, I finally understood the lyrics of the song. The song..."
Just as Qiuju Niu was about to continue, they heard that familiar bell ringing—the very bell held by the High Taoist. Everyone turned to the entrance to see the High Taoist rushing in with a bell in his right hand and a Bagua Plate in his left, followed closely by a group of villagers.
Each villager wore a solemn and mysterious expression.
Old Shao knew that among these villagers was the person who had taken everyone's bags. His current concern was whether the thief had stolen the bags for their money or to sever the project team's connection with the outside world; if it were the latter, things could get serious.
"This is it!" The High Taoist put away the Bagua Plate into his slung Bag of Eight Trigrams and pointed at the project team members. "Your village has been isolated from outsiders for generations, so your village's energy has become unique. The arrival of these outsiders has altered that energy. If they do not leave, even more bizarre and terrifying things may happen."
From their first meeting with the project team, the High Taoist had spoken to them with disdainful tones, and now he was directly urging them to leave. The members of the project team were unaware of his true intentions.
Except for Jiang He, the other members understood that the High Taoist considered them bad luck—harbingers of misfortune.
Yuan Jun snorted coldly and said, "Playing tricks."
The voice was not loud, but it was enough for High Taoist to hear. Upon hearing Yuan Jun's words, High Taoist's face turned a mix of green and purple. His expression changed as he turned sharply to Li Sanhan and said, "I've already figured out the source. It's best to get rid of them now; of course, the decision is still in your hands."
High Taoist intended to use the village chief's authority to drive these people away. After all, he was not a villager and could not directly expel the members of the project team.
Li Sanhan glanced at High Taoist and then turned to Old Shao, preparing to speak.
However, Old Shao interjected before Li Sanhan could say anything: "First of all, it's unfortunate that such things have happened in the village. We are not murderers; it’s only natural for us to leave. But when we returned, we found that none of our backpacks were there. Without those items, we cannot leave."
Jiang He deduced that the villagers must have taken the backpacks, which meant they would have seen what was inside. Rather than letting others speak for him, Old Shao decided to explain: "The backpacks contained our change of clothes, money, and a satellite phone. Without the phone, we cannot contact the outside world, and since it belongs to the state, we would be held responsible for losing it."
"In other words," Old Shao looked at High Taoist and raised his voice, "if we cannot find our backpacks, we cannot leave."
Old Shao had found an excellent excuse for the project team to stay.
But upon hearing Old Shao's words, Li Sanhan shouted, "What about Er Dan? Could it be that Er Dan took your things? Wait for me to find Er Dan; if he did take them, I won't let him off easily. What exactly is a satellite phone? Is it soft or hard?"
"What's all this shouting about?" came a rough female voice—it was Li Sanhan's wife.
Seeing the members of the project team, Li Sanhan's wife spoke up: "This is ridiculous! They've never been out before and don’t even know what a satellite phone is. My father took me to big cities a few times when he was village chief; don’t argue with these country bumpkins. After you leave today, I’ll ask Er Dan what happened. I chatted with him for a while and saw that he was starving, so I gave him some noodles to eat."
"By the way, I'm Wang Daifeng," she said as she pulled Er Dan over by the arm.
Er Dan let out a loud burp and then grinned foolishly at everyone.
"If it's not Er Dan, then it must be someone else," Li Sanhan said. "Aren't we all together?"
At this point, a villager muttered suddenly: "Last night when they went to sleep, something felt off; there was something unclean. High Taoist said they disrupted our village's feng shui."
Wang Daifeng turned around and glared, saying, "Stop talking nonsense. Have you found Wang Mazi yet?"
Li Sanhan shook his head and replied, "There are still about ten men searching outside. I sent someone to notify the hunters; they know this mountain better than we do. If they can't find him, then with such a vast area, we might not be able to locate him at all."
As soon as Li Sanhan finished speaking, a voice called out from a distance, "Village Chief! Village Chief! We found Wang Mazi! We found Wang Mazi!"
The voice ran into the courtyard, and the villagers automatically made way for the person, allowing him to reach Li Sanhan's side.
The man was drenched in sweat, his tank top soaked through. He spoke between heavy breaths, "Village Chief, we found Wang Mazi."
Li Sanhan said angrily, "If you found Wang Mazi, then bring him back! By the way, where are the others? Why did you come back alone?"
The villager shook his head and gasped for breath before managing to say a complete sentence: "Wang Mazi can't be brought back because... because Wang Mazi is already dead."
"Dead!" Li Sanhan exclaimed in shock. "How did he die?"
"I don't know! You all should come and see for yourselves!"
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