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墨書 Inktalez
"Go ahead," Yuan Jun said, glancing back at the seven or eight villagers behind him as he spoke to Xu Yiman.
"What about you?" Xu Yiman asked.
Yuan Jun smiled. "The space was too cramped earlier, but in an open area like this, they are no match for me."
"What about your injuries?" Xu Yiman pressed.
Yuan Jun moved his body a bit. "It's nothing, just some superficial wounds. Hurry up and go, or I'll have to take care of you too."
Despite being covered in blood and having multiple cuts all over his body, Yuan Jun appeared to be in relatively good condition. His resilience seemed quite strong. Xu Yiman understood that she would be of no help here; if Yuan Jun was fine, that was good, but if he were seriously injured, she would only be a burden.
"Take care," Xu Yiman said.
"I know. I'll come find you," Yuan Jun nodded.
With that, Yuan Jun stood firm. "You all had your fun earlier; now it's my turn."
In truth, with enough space, these villagers were indeed no match for Yuan Jun. They hadn’t expected him to stand still, and for a moment, none dared to make the first move. It wasn’t until Yuan Jun charged at them that they finally reacted. He dashed into the midst of the seven villagers like a bullet, surrounding them completely.
While Yuan Jun was engaged in a fierce battle with the villagers, Xu Yiman had already escaped into the forest. It would be quite difficult for the villagers to pursue her now.
Xu Yiman looked back; she was far from the village now and felt a surge of anxiety. She had lost contact with everyone—Yuan Jun was dealing with the villagers who had chased them out, Wang Chao's fate was unknown, and Old Shao and Jiang He were nowhere to be seen.
Walking alone in the forest, Xu Yiman truly didn’t know what to do. With her abilities alone, she would never find her way down the mountain. However, Old Shao had been through here before; as long as they didn’t contact Guan Deng, Guan Deng would come with the police to search for them. Today happened to be the third day.
Xu Yiman wondered when Guan Deng would bring the police because this village was not easy to locate. The name "Desolate Village" was merely what the villagers called their home; it wasn’t registered under that name with the police department. If they arrived too late, would they get lost in the jungle or be captured by the villagers?
Just as Xu Yiman felt hopeless, a hand suddenly grabbed her...
When He Caiqie's blade came down, Jiang He never expected to survive. But when he opened his eyes, he found He Caiqie lying on the ground instead. There was another person in the room—Song Xiangmei.
Song Xiangmei held a stone in her hand, fresh blood staining its surface. Looking at He Caiqie on the ground with a gash on his head and unconsciousness setting in surprised Jiang He; however, recalling Song Xiangmei's earlier words made everything clear.
"Did you know he was going to attack me?" Jiang He asked.
The stone in Song Xiangmei's hand fell to the ground as she stared blankly at He Caiqie lying there. After a moment, she burst into tears. Her sobs were heavy, as if the emotions had been suppressed within her for a long time. Jiang He couldn't discern the feelings behind Song Xiangmei's tears, but he understood why she was acting this way.
"You didn't really leave, did you?" Jiang He glanced at He Caiqie's wound, noting that it hadn't damaged any bones; it wasn't serious and posed no danger of death.
Song Xiangmei wiped her tears and leaned against the bed. "No, I didn't leave. I’ve been hiding by the door listening ever since you all came in."
"You knew He Caiqie wanted to kill me?" Jiang He asked.
Song Xiangmei nodded, glancing at He Caiqie on the ground. With a complex expression, she said, "Yes, I knew he wanted to kill you, and I also knew he wouldn’t let anyone who knows his secret leave this village. Until his revenge plan is completed, no one can escape."
"You’re both using each other," Jiang He stated bluntly. "He wants to use you to impersonate a ghost, while you want to use him to get out of the village."
Song Xiangmei shook her head but then nodded. "If you want to see it that way, then fine. At first, I saw him as an older brother, and he saw me as a younger sister. But in reality, he only loves his biological sister. For her revenge, he can wait for years or even decades. But I can't wait; I don't want to spend my whole life in this village. I thought I had escaped from a hellish place, only to fall into another trap."
These women must have been blindfolded when they were trafficked; wanting to escape without anyone to guide them is incredibly difficult. Song Xiangmei stayed close to He Caiqie simply hoping he would take her out. But now, another opportunity had presented itself.
This was also why Song Xiangmei had asked Jiang He those questions earlier; she firmly believed these people would help her escape.
Seeing that Jiang He had no response, Song Xiangmei continued, "I don’t want to stay in this village for even a moment longer."
Jiang He reassured her, "Don't worry; we will get you out of here along with the other abducted women. The evidence is already conclusive; the villagers cannot escape their guilt. The police are on their way here. It won’t be long before we leave."
Upon hearing Jiang He's words, Song Xiangmei cried again. She had suppressed her emotions for too long; ten years had transformed her from a naive girl into a mother of several children, adding many lines of hardship to her face. She had thought she would spend her entire life here and never imagined that after ten years, she would still have a chance to return to her former life.
"I actually know who you are," Song Xiangmei said to Jiang He.
"You know what we do?" Jiang He countered.
Song Xiangmei nodded. "Yesterday, I met that woman from your team—Qiuju Niu. We talked in the cave, and I told her everything—the truth—and asked her to remind you all about High Taoist, which refers to He Caiqie. But it seems she hasn’t told you about this."
"Qiuju Niu has been missing for a night; she hasn’t had the chance to share what you told her with us," Jiang He replied.
"Fortunately, I was cautious," Song Xiangmei said. "Otherwise, I would have been stuck here for another decade."
Jiang He cleared his throat and said, "I understand all these issues, but there's still one question: Did you kill those villagers?"
Song Xiangmei shook her head. "No, I only helped He Caiqie with the tricks to create the curse. I don't know if He Caiqie has killed anyone, but I certainly didn't kill those villagers. As a woman, I couldn't have done it."
This left Jiang He feeling conflicted. He understood that neither He Caiqie nor Song Xiangmei had killed anyone, yet the villagers couldn't have died for no reason. Who was responsible for their deaths? Was it possible that the more curses there were, the more real they became? Were those people killed by the curse?
Death followed a certain order; almost all the deceased were neighbors. Suddenly, Jiang He realized something. Although he had no evidence at the moment, he was already sixty percent sure.
Curses could indeed kill, but not by directly taking a life.
The truth was becoming clearer.
"Jiang He!"
A voice broke the conversation between Jiang He and Song Xiangmei. It was an elderly voice, one he recognized.
"Old Shao," Jiang He replied.
Old Shao nodded and said, "I have bad news. Three hours ago, we encountered Qiuju Niu. Qiuju Niu stumbled upon Village Chief Li Sanhan's secret and impulsively ran back to the village. Now three hours have passed, and there's been no word from Qiuju Niu or Wang Chao, who followed him back. I suspect our identities have been exposed, and Qiuju Niu and Wang Chao have been captured."
"You didn't run into Xu Yiman and Yuan Jun?" Jiang He asked. "Luo Yu is not a good person; we've already been exposed."
Old Shao shook his head. "I came out to find you to deliver this news but couldn't locate you. When I returned here, I found both of you. It seems this young lady is Song Xiangmei, the one known for her tricks?"
Song Xiangmei nodded.
Old Shao continued, "I haven't been in contact with Guan Deng for three hours now. We usually check in at three in the morning, and it's already nine o'clock. The police should be near the village by now; I believe they will arrive shortly."
"Let's go back to the village," Jiang He said.
"Huh?" Old Shao frowned.
Jiang He explained, "The truth is about to come out; I just need to take another look at the deceased's home."
Old Shao fell silent for a moment and said, "First, tie him up with rope. Song Xiangmei, keep an eye on him."
Song Xiangmei replied, "Those villagers won't let you leave."
Shao the Elder responded, "Then we must pray that Guan Deng arrives before those villagers decide to slaughter us."
After hearing Jiang He's account, Xu Yiman felt even more confused. At that moment, she had no idea whom to trust or whom not to trust. It seemed that there wasn't a single good person in this village; everyone who had lived here for too long appeared to have been assimilated, corrupted by evil.
It turned out that the ones who had just grabbed Xu Yiman's arm were none other than Jiang He and Old Shao, who had rushed down from the mountain.
Xu Yiman recounted what had just happened to Jiang He and Old Shao.
Shao the Elder asked, "Are you saying that Wang Chao is now in serious danger?"
"Yes," Xu Yiman said, lowering her head, clearly feeling guilty.
"Then we must enter the village even more urgently," Shao the Elder declared.
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