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Although it was unclear why Jiang He was suddenly so agitated, Xu Yiman and Yuan Jun had already started to run. They turned and dashed to the side, while Jiang He swung the machete in his hand, aiming directly at Luo Yu, who was standing nearby.
The machete struck towards Luo Yu's arm, causing him to instinctively retreat. Despite Luo Yu's quick reaction, he was caught off guard, and Jiang He's blade still made contact with his arm. However, since Jiang He used his injured arm, the force was not strong; even with such a sharp machete, it only managed to cut a small gash.
Not inflicting serious harm on Luo Yu with that strike, Jiang He turned and continued running.
Behind him, Luo Yu moved his arm and realized the wound wasn't deep. He quickly drew his own machete from his waist and chased after Jiang He.
"Jiang He?" Luo Yu's voice carried a hint of confusion. "Are you possessed or something? Why did you suddenly attack me? You two should be more careful; Jiang He seems a bit off."
This statement was clearly directed at Xu Yiman and Yuan Jun.
At the moment when they started running, which coincided with Jiang He's attack on Luo Yu, they couldn't help but feel that there was indeed something wrong with Jiang He. For a moment, both of them were at a loss about what to do—was it Luo Yu who had issues, or was Jiang He truly possessed?
"Keep running."
They recognized Jiang He's voice.
Jiang He gasped as he spoke, "Run! Luo Yu has been lying all along. When we saw Zhang Meng's body earlier, Luo Yu had already guessed it was a dog attack, yet he never mentioned anything about dogs to us. I could understand if he wanted to keep the village's secrets hidden."
"Jiang He, I just confessed everything to you!" Luo Yu insisted as he pursued them closely.
Jiang He continued running while responding, "No, you didn’t confess anything. You and Li Sanhan clearly know the secrets of the village and are aware that there are dogs in the pit. Therefore, you can't possibly not know where that pit is located. If you know its exact location but still want to chase that ghost, then there’s only one explanation."
In the dark environment, they struggled to see their footing and stumbled occasionally; if they didn’t exert themselves to maintain balance, they would have fallen long ago.
"The explanation is that you want us three dead!" Jiang He shouted. "I am ninety percent sure that you would jump directly from the edge of the pit and leap over it. The pit is only three or four meters wide; with that kind of speed and a running start, jumping over it would be easy."
"But," Jiang He shifted his tone, "if I hadn’t noticed the varying reflections of moonlight on the ground while observing the female ghost and deduced that there was a pit nearby, we three would have fallen directly into it without knowing and been impaled by those wooden spikes."
Luo Yu's tone was filled with helplessness as he explained, "Jiang He, don’t you know what kind of person I am? If I wanted to kill you all, I had plenty of opportunities before; wouldn’t that be true?"
"No!" Jiang He said. "We have always acted together. You don't have the confidence to kill all of us. We are very cautious; we won't move unless we have eaten the food and drunk the water you haven't touched. As long as one person escapes, the secrets of your village will be exposed!"
"You don't often see tourists as wealthy as us, especially after you've stolen our backpacks. You've probably been debating whether to take action against us! But now that we know the secrets of your village, you will definitely not let us go."
As Jiang He ran in the opposite direction of Xu Yiman and Yuan Jun, he continued to speak loudly.
Hearing Jiang He's words, Luo Yu finally tore off his disguise. "Jiang He, you are indeed very clever, clever enough not to seem like an archaeological team. We haven't seen the professional equipment in your backpacks, but Li Sanhan recognizes the satellite phone. If we kill you, it might bring unnecessary trouble, so it's better to just steal your money."
Jiang He could hear the sound of Luo Yu's machete cutting through obstacles behind him. Compared to Jiang He, Luo Yu was more familiar with this place, and Jiang He could feel Luo Yu getting closer. Looking into the distance, he realized that he could no longer see Yuan Jun and Xu Yiman in the darkness.
In fact, Jiang He could have quietly escaped; in such a dark environment, he would likely shake off Luo Yu in no time. However, he chose not to do so. His loud words were meant to draw Luo Yu's attention so that Xu Yiman and Yuan Jun could escape.
It wasn't that Jiang He had a spirit of self-sacrifice; he knew this was the best choice. Only he had seen through Luo Yu's true nature, and only he could attract Luo Yu's attention. The more members of the project team that survived, the more truth could be sent out. Jiang He deduced that Xu Yiman and Yuan Jun would definitely return to High Taoist's cabin to report what had happened, which was exactly what he needed.
Now, Jiang He had to find a way to escape.
Luo Yu continued shouting, "But if you don't meddle in everything, then nothing will happen to you, and you can leave safely. However, since you insist on interfering with village matters, Li Sanhan and I have already agreed that all of you must die—everyone must die!"
Jiang He replied, "So your main purpose for coming up the mountain isn't to hunt wolves. In such a vast forest, wolves don't need to come down for food at all. Your main goal is to find tourists on the mountain, invite them to your village, and then cruelly kill them!"
"Exactly!" Luo Yu shouted frantically. "In this remote mountain area, do you think farming can provide a prosperous life? That's pure nonsense. There’s nothing here; nothing is produced here—only people! And people are the most useless product in this world. These villagers spend their lives trying to pass on their lineage; they want to buy women and save up just enough money for one woman. Damn it! I refuse to live like that!"
Since the mask had been torn off, there were no more taboos. Jiang He asked again, "Every household has a cellar where you keep the women you've bought, right?"
"That's right!" Luo Yu replied. "Those women are all disgusting; these people treat them like treasures, chaining them with iron chains in the cellar for fear they might escape or be taken away by others!"
"Besides women, do you also buy children?" Jiang He asked.
"Children?" Luo Yu responded. "You'd better ask the village chief about that; of course, perhaps you'll never get that chance again."
It seemed that Luo Yu was unaware of Zhang Wenhua's situation, so Jiang He did not press further.
Both of them were acutely aware that in such a pitch-black environment, they could only rely on sound to determine their positions. Jiang He used this to voice his doubts, and in order to keep up with Jiang He, Luo Yu had no choice but to guide him with the truth, encouraging him to ask more questions.
The more questions Jiang He asked, the closer Luo Yu got to him. Jiang He understood this; now, he had no more questions to pose.
Even if he could escape now, without any provisions, it would be nearly impossible to leave this village, which was the most troublesome issue.
“Jiang He, you are indeed clever, but what good is being clever?” Luo Yu said. “In the end, you’re still going to die.”
Jiang He remained silent; perhaps if he kept quiet and ran away, he might evade Luo Yu's pursuit. Facing Luo Yu, Jiang He knew he had no chance at all. If caught by Luo Yu, his fate would be sealed.
“Jiang He?” Luo Yu kept calling out. “Why have you stopped talking? Do you think you can escape by staying silent? Don’t dream! The first one to die will be you, followed by the others. As for that woman! Ha! She's more enticing than any other woman in this village, making everyone restless!”
Luo Yu cursed and continued, “No, I've changed my mind. I want to catch you and then have my way with her right in front of you. Ha ha! Just imagine how delightful that would be!”
Luo Yu aimed to provoke Jiang He into speaking so he could pinpoint his location. However, what surprised him was that Jiang He remained completely silent. Jiang He didn’t care about these taunts; he never wasted energy thinking about unlikely scenarios.
Hearing Luo Yu's voice grow fainter, Jiang He slowed his pace. The night provided him with ample cover; what he needed to do now was make as little noise as possible and quietly leave this place to reunite with the other members of the project team.
Jiang He carefully observed his surroundings and realized that running in the dark had caused him to lose his sense of direction.
There are no two identical trees in the world; there will never be two trees that are completely different.
Jiang He was lost.
He moved forward cautiously, trying to discern the direction. After a moment of thought, Jiang He concluded that the most dangerous places are often the safest ones. So he began retracing his steps; this way he could return along the same path. It was a risky idea, but getting lost in the woods was no different from facing death.
He wondered if Xu Yiman and Yuan Jun could notify Old Shao and whether he could reunite with the project team.
The creaking sound came from beneath Jiang He's feet. Despite his heightened awareness, the faint noise was unavoidable.
At that moment, Jiang He suddenly heard a familiar voice behind him.
"I've been waiting for you."
It was Luo Yu. Jiang He turned his head and saw Luo Yu standing behind him, holding a machete.
"Why aren't you running away?" Luo Yu glanced at Jiang He and then pointed to his own wound. "This injury was left by you, and I should return the favor."
With that, Luo Yu took a step closer to Jiang He.
Jiang He stood frozen in place, realizing that the probability of dying whether he ran or stayed was the same.
He quickly thought about how to escape.
A distant voice echoed:
"I've been waiting for you for a long time."
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