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墨書 Inktalez
I got out of bed, thinking that my parents must have returned. I instinctively called out, but there was no response. I opened the door, and a cold breeze rushed in, revealing an empty outside with no one around.
I stepped outside for a moment and still saw no one. Suddenly, I heard laughter and turned my head to look.
I discovered it was Little Year hiding by the wall. At that time, it was just past one in the early morning. I glanced at Little Year in surprise and couldn't help but think of Soybean.
A chill ran down my spine, but Little Year didn’t seem like a ghost; besides, he could appear during the day too.
I asked Little Year why he had come to find me.
In an instant, Little Year’s expression changed. He said, “Saning Brother, everyone from the Theater Troupe is dead…”
I replied, “Little Year, stop joking with your brother and go back to sleep.”
Little Year insisted, “Saning Brother, I’m not lying. My parents and I just came back because everyone from the Theater Troupe is dead.” I noticed something was off about Little Year’s demeanor.
I confirmed with him again. Little Year affirmed it was true.
I told him to go back first, but he stood still. I suddenly asked, “Little Year, why did you come to tell me this?”
However, deep down, I suspected that Little Year must be looking for money from me.
To my surprise, Little Year said, “Someone asked me to tell you.”
I asked who it was, but that little rascal ran away. Was he collecting money from both sides? Something felt wrong in my gut. Just then, I noticed scattered lights filling the fields. Luminous Eyes had uploaded the Infatuation Chapter.
When the villagers returned, I overheard them discussing how everyone from the Theater Troupe had suddenly died; someone had already called the police.
The police didn’t arrive until the next day. After they took away the bodies, there was no further news.
During the day, gossip spread throughout the village about how eerie this situation was! It was strange that all those who were happily performing had inexplicably died.
I wondered if this had something to do with the old man.
But then I recalled what Little Year had told me. He said the old man was connected to the Theater Troupe, yet the old man denied it right in front of me.
I couldn't tell whose words were more credible. The little brat might say anything to swindle money, while the old man had his dark secrets.
During the day, my parents still hadn’t shown up, and I couldn’t reach them.
Ke'er couldn’t appear during the day, so she was absent.
Wang Wei and Jianjian had also gotten up early.
I couldn’t help but ask Jianjian if she really didn’t notice anything strange about the Theater Troupe last night.
Jianjian replied that she hadn’t; it was just that the villagers seemed a bit off, but nothing else stood out.
The entire Theater Troupe consisted of over a dozen people, and we still didn’t know their background. Little Year said they were related to the old man, but it all felt shrouded in mystery.
A bizarre death?
Suddenly, I recalled the message Evil Being had sent me: The Third Funeral has begun...
At that moment, Zhang Fatty asked Jianjian to come find me, which made me connect this situation with Evil Being. Moreover, Jianjian came over at that time because Zhang Fatty had warned her to be cautious.
Could it be that this Theater Troupe was brought here by Evil Being? The thought sent a chill down my spine.
Last time during the Second Funeral, Evil Being didn’t succeed, but damn it, he still managed to take my eyes. Was this really starting again? His schemes were too elaborate!
There was already chaos here, and now this bastard was stirring things up even more.
The Third Funeral—what a nightmare! I cursed that bastard in my mind dozens of times; this time, I was determined not to let him succeed.
I suddenly recalled what Jianjian had said about the villagers having white spots on them, which were characteristics of ghosts, something that should belong to souls. The fact that living people exhibited these traits sent a chill down my spine. Could it be that those villagers were already in a "Soul Detached" state?
When the time came, would these beings simply strip the villagers of their souls?
The thought made me gasp involuntarily. I hurriedly asked Jianjian if the villagers were in a Soul Detached state. Jianjian looked at me in surprise and replied, "No."
"Saning Brother, did you discover something?"
My breathing grew heavy; I feared that my guess might be correct. I wanted to find the Temple Guardian to confirm this—he surely knew something.
If my suspicions were right, then everyone in the village could be in grave danger, and it would be because of me.
This thought unsettled me. Upon arriving at the temple, I knocked on the old man's door. This time, he responded immediately, saying, "Come in!"
It was around ten in the morning when Wang Wei and I entered the Temple Guardian's home.
His space was cramped, but thankfully sunlight streamed through the window, adding a touch of warmth to the room.
The Temple Guardian seemed to have anticipated my visit; there was no hint of surprise on his face when he saw me.
Earlier, Little Year had claimed that the old man was not human. I dismissed it as nonsense because it was daytime and there was sunlight—ghosts couldn't appear in such conditions.
I said, "Old man, do you know that the members of the Theater Troupe died last night?"
Although my mother warned me that he wasn't a good person, he hadn't done anything harmful to me.
After I spoke, the old man glanced at me.
Even though it was daytime, I couldn't help but shiver slightly.
The old man stared at me for a few seconds before saying, "This is a Ritual Burial." His voice was low yet exceptionally hoarse, giving it an eerie quality that sent chills down my spine.
After the words of the Temple Guardian, we were momentarily puzzled by what he meant.
This theater troupe was too strange, and that Little Year was a bit odd as well. Although I could be sure that Little Year was not a ghost, there was definitely something abnormal about him.
I felt an inexplicable sense of tension.
The appearance of this theater troupe was too sudden; even my mother said she didn't know where the Theater Troupe came from. How could this little brat know?
Moreover, the Theater Troupe itself seemed somewhat unusual. When they performed, their feet seemed to hover above the ground. Wang Wei even mentioned that he almost fell under their spell.
Yet, strangely, neither Jianjian nor I noticed anything out of the ordinary.
Even Ke'er was unaware.
Wang Wei asked the Temple Guardian, "What is Ritual Burial?"
The Temple Guardian fell silent and did not respond to Wang Wei's question. At that moment, I voiced my own confusion and asked the Temple Guardian, "Are the people in the Theater Troupe alive or dead?"
Due to my eyesight issues, I couldn't see clearly.
The Temple Guardian looked at me with a puzzled expression and said, "Saning, don't you know yourself?"
I shook my head and didn't ask the Temple Guardian why he would ask such a thing. I also wasn't sure how this Theater Troupe related to the old man.
However, I could only act out of desperation now. I feared that this might be a Third Funeral organized by an Evil Being. If that were true, then everyone in the village could perish because of me.
This was the last scenario I wanted to see. If it came to that, I would rather give up my eyes and soul.
I took a deep breath.
The Temple Guardian did not answer my question but instead replied to Wang Wei, saying, "Ritual Burial is similar to burial with living sacrifices; it involves living people willingly accompanying the dead."
When I was in school, I learned about history and knew what burial meant. But even if the Theater Troupe is meant to accompany someone in death, who are they accompanying?
Is it for me? My complexion turned a bit unnatural.
Moreover, burial signifies that the living accompany the dead, which indirectly answered a question for me: the Theater Troupe consists of living people.
Then, the living accompanying the dead through burial feels somewhat like the Evil Being's method, as this fellow excels at extracting the Souls of the living.
But what I didn't expect was for the old man to suddenly say that there is a person buried underground.
I felt a chill run down my spine.
“There is a person buried underground,” I repeated.
Finally, I couldn't help but ask, “Who is buried there?”
Since I was wearing sunglasses that covered half of my face, they couldn't see my expression clearly at that moment.
A person buried underground... Is it the coffin I saw last night, or is it Third Uncle's coffin buried here, and the Theater Troupe was invited by Third Uncle?
Thinking about it left me shocked, but then a statement from the Temple Guardian instantly chilled my heart.
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