The next day, when Xie Fan woke up and saw that he was back inside the wooden house again, he wasn't surprised in the slightest. Because he knew this wasn't the first time it had happened.
The last time, after checking the main room, he had passed out as well, and when he woke up, it had been the same. He had clearly lost consciousness outside the door of the main room, yet when he came to, he had been lying on the bamboo bed.
The cold touch of the bamboo against his back made Xie Fan suck in a sharp breath. Even though he was already fully awake, a chill still ran through him.
——While he had been completely unaware, something had gone wrong with his memory for a long stretch of time, yet he hadn't noticed a thing and had simply gone on living as usual.
Xie Fan had originally thought that after realizing "Sun Zhou" didn't exist, he had returned to normal.
But that wasn't true at all!
Turning his head to look at the locust tree outside the window, Xie Fan waited until the sun had been up for quite a while before finally daring to get up and walk over to the drawer. With trembling hands, he took out the diary he had only just written yesterday and tore off the line that said "everything is normal."
Everything is normal, my ass!
Clearly, nothing was normal at all!
Staring at the words "transmigration" on the scrap of paper, Xie Fan felt as though he must have been possessed when he wrote them in his diary. He had been so cautious even when pretending to be the original owner of this body, yet at the time, he hadn't sensed that anything was wrong at all.
Was he just terrified no one would expose him?
Fortunately, no one had seen it yet.
Xie Fan clenched the crumpled scrap of paper tightly in his hand. Just thinking about everything that had happened over the past two days left him shaken. He even had the feeling that perhaps the fact that he hadn't died last night wasn't because he had been lucky, but because... that unseen existence hadn't finished playing with him yet?
His forehead throbbed faintly. Xie Fan abruptly came back to his senses and saw Xiao Yao next door, skipping along as she came over like usual.
"Huh, Brother A-Xie, why do you look so awful?"
"Did you not sleep well last night?"
Xie Fan: ...
"I had a little insomnia last night."
He'd practically been scared to death last night. How could he possibly have slept well?
Xiao Yao nodded. "Oh, I know, Brother A-Xie. Did you hear about what happened to the village chief too?"
The village chief... what happened?
Xie Fan froze for a moment. Then he saw Xiao Yao glance left and right, and only after confirming that no one was nearby did she whisper:
"The village chief got burned by the fire during the welcoming ceremony last night."
"So strange. That's never happened before."
Although their village had never had outsiders visit before and this was also the first time they had held a welcoming ceremony, it wasn't the first time they had lit a fire.
Yet last night was the only time anything had gone wrong.
"Do you think there's something wrong with those outsiders?"
Xiao Yao pursed her lips, then seemed to realize that asking such a question might sound like she was questioning the deity, and immediately covered her mouth.
"No, no."
"But something definitely wasn't right last night."
"It'll be terrible if the deity gets angry. No, I have to go check the five sacrificial animals."
As she spoke, Xiao Yao seemed to suddenly remember something and hurriedly ran downstairs.
Xie Fan frowned. His thoughts were still stuck on what she had just said about the village chief being burned, and he couldn't help feeling stunned.
Was there a scene like this in the original novel?
The welcoming ceremony in the book seemed to have gone smoothly. How could something have happened?
Could it be because of him?
Last night, he had gone up the mountain and discovered that there was something wrong with the insects...
The memories from just before he passed out surfaced in his mind once again.
Xie Fan took a deep breath, his head aching slightly. He could clearly recognize that there was something wrong with the insects, but the fatal problem was that no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't remember the events connected to them.
It was almost as though, inexplicably... something was deliberately making him overlook them?
The more thoroughly he forgot something, the more it proved that the matter was important.
Xie Fan shook his head. Just as another sharp pain stabbed through his temple, a thought suddenly occurred to him: Wait, when he went up the mountain last night, he didn't seem to have covered up his footprints?
He had left in such a hurry last night that Xie Fan hadn't thought that far ahead at all. Only now did he realize:
It hadn't rained today. Would the footprints he left on the mountain be discovered?
...
The footprints that had suddenly appeared on the mountain really had been discovered.
As part of his daily routine, A-Qi patrolled the area around the mountain behind the village before sunrise. As a result, right in front of the woods, he discovered a trail of——fresh footprints.
The disorderly footprints were stamped haphazardly across the weeds, leading all the way up the slope.
A-Qi frowned. His first thought was that the outsiders had still refused to give up last night and had gone back up the mountain after the welcoming ceremony ended. After all, who from their village would be suicidal enough to come here in the middle of the night?
The weeds had blurred the tread patterns, making it impossible to identify the shoes more precisely.
A-Qi's expression darkened. He followed the footprints up the mountain, and only when he discovered that the person had stopped on the hillside did his expression ease slightly.
But if those people had come this far last night, why had they stopped here?
This location wasn't even as far as the barricade he had set up.
A-Qi felt somewhat puzzled. He couldn't shake the feeling that those people weren't the sort to suddenly realize the error of their ways halfway there and turn back. After pausing for a moment, he gave the footprints a long, deep look, suppressed his doubts, and returned down the mountain.
At the village chief's house:
The village chief was burning incense with his eyes closed. His left hand had been burned by the fire yesterday, so he could only hold the incense in his right hand as he knelt respectfully on the floor. Only when he heard approaching footsteps did he open his eyes.
Seeing A-Qi return with an ugly expression, the village chief wheeled himself out.
"What's wrong?"
"Why are you so angry first thing in the morning?"
A-Qi cast a discreet glance toward the main room. "Those outsiders seem to have gone up the mountain last night."
Up the mountain?
The village chief frowned. "Are you sure?"
During the welcoming ceremony last night, that Shen Xun had already been so sick. And he still went up the mountain?
A-Qi shook his head and said in a deep voice, "I don't know, but I saw footprints on the mountain."
The village chief remained silent for a while before saying:
"Keep a closer eye on those people today."
"See if anything seems wrong."
A-Qi nodded and agreed. Even if the village chief hadn't told him, he would have paid closer attention to those outsiders today anyway.
But contrary to A-Qi's expectations, the outsiders didn't leave the inn all day.
On the second floor of the inn:
He Cheng opened the window and glanced outside, his expression strange. "Tsk. I don't know if it's just my imagination, but I keep feeling like that guy called A-Qi has been watching us all day."
"When I opened the window earlier, I saw him standing outside the village chief's house. How is he actually still there?"
Tan Qingxian walked over and stood at an angle beside the window, looking outside.
"It's not your imagination. He is watching us."
And the guy was staring directly at them without even trying to hide it.
Their gazes met, and A-Qi stared back without any change in expression.
Tan Qingxian frowned. "We haven't even left the inn today. Something isn't right."
That lame man's expression clearly showed that he was guarding against something, but after attending the so-called "welcoming ceremony" last night, they hadn't stepped outside the inn at all.
He Cheng's expression darkened. "Is there something wrong with his head? We've behaved ourselves pretty well these past two days, haven't we?"
Tan Qingxian shook his head without answering. Pei Jing, however, observed for a while before speaking.
"Maybe something happened outside."
A-Qi's behavior really was strange.
"This village has problems everywhere you look."
He Cheng sneered thoughtfully.
Shen Xun wasn't exactly frail, yet even an ordinary cold had dragged on and off for two days since coming here. If it continued much longer, they might genuinely have to try whatever folk remedy the village chief had mentioned.
He Cheng was still thinking about it when he saw Pei Jing turn toward Shen Xun, who had just walked out of his room.
"Did you dream again last night?"
"No."
Shen Xun, who had felt unwell after waking and had no choice but to rest for a while, reacted after a moment.
"I only had that one dream. What about you?"
Pei Jing shook his head. "I didn't dream anything either."
"So it was just a coincidence?" He Cheng came back to his senses.
"Not dreaming about it is a good thing anyway. Looks like whatever the village chief did last night to ward off evil and dispel the miasma actually worked a little."
Shen Xun's expression became slightly strange.
"Forget it. Let's not talk about that."
"Where are we going this afternoon?" He looked at Tan Qingxian.
Tan Qingxian glanced outside. "Originally, I was planning to get hold of one of those candles, but A-Qi keeps watching us. Looks like it'll be a little difficult."
Because Shen Xun had dreamed about a white candle, Tan Qingxian had remained curious about those candles. And after seeing several villagers holding them in the rain yesterday, he had become even more interested.
He Cheng was speechless for a moment. "You're only interested in this superstitious stuff."
He didn't believe in any of it himself, but Tan Qingxian's idea of stirring things up still managed to pique his interest. After two days in this village, he was almost bored enough to start growing mold.
"That guy can't watch all of us at once."
"Shen Xun and Pei Jing can draw his attention outside, while you and I go look for a candle. Every household seems to have them, so they can't exactly be some kind of treasure."
Tan Qingxian looked at Pei Jing.
Pei Jing remained expressionless, but after hearing He Cheng's casual suggestion, he suddenly spoke.
"I'll go with you."
He Cheng: ...
What, was he afraid He Cheng would cause trouble?
He had just frowned when Shen Xun smiled and pulled him back.
"All right. Come walk around the village with me and see if there are any places suitable for sketching."
"Once my cold is better tomorrow, I should start drawing."
He Cheng had absolutely no interest in sketching. He didn't have an artistic bone in his body. But since Shen Xun was the one speaking, he swallowed the words on the tip of his tongue.
"Fine."
"We'll let you know if anything happens."
Shen Xun nodded and took He Cheng out first.
The moment the two stepped outside, they noticed that strange feeling. A-Qi raised his head and looked over again.
He Cheng: ...
The corner of his mouth twitched. His already sharp brows and eyes lowered, making him look as though he were about to pick a fight. Only when he remembered that they were supposed to be drawing the man's attention did he barely restrain himself.
After giving A-Qi a frowning glance, he turned and headed toward the center of the village.
A-Qi hadn't expected that after staying inside the inn all day, these outsiders would suddenly come out again when it was almost dark.
Couldn't these guys just stay put for once?
His expression darkened. Seeing that the two had already reached the intersection, he still had no choice but to follow them.
Upstairs:
As soon as Shen Xun and He Cheng left, Tan Qingxian glanced out the window.
"Let's go."
A-Qi had left too, which made it the perfect opportunity for them to look for a candle.
But contrary to their expectations——the candles weren't easy to find. The villagers seemed extremely wary of anything involving them.
"Looks like we'll have to use another method." Tan Qingxian looked thoughtful as he turned toward Pei Jing. Seeing that the other man didn't object either, he relaxed.
Evening:
When Shen Xun and He Cheng returned from wandering around, they saw a white candle sitting on the table and couldn't help looking surprised.
"You really managed to trade for one?"
He had thought it would be difficult to trade for something like this. After all, the villagers didn't exactly look easy to negotiate with.
Tan Qingxian came out after washing up. "We didn't trade for it."
"Then you stole it?"
Shen Xun's expression became strange. He looked as though he wanted to say something but stopped himself, and even He Cheng instinctively raised his head.
Tan Qingxian shrugged. "There happened to be one in an empty house."
"No one's there right now. We'll take a look at it first, and I'll put it back afterward."
...
Xie Fan had waited anxiously for several hours that afternoon, still unable to determine whether the footprints he had left behind had been discovered. He ran a hand through his hair in frustration.
His smooth, long black hair slipped between his fingers. Xie Fan hesitated for a moment, wondering whether he should go outside and ask around.
Of course, he couldn't ask directly. He would just listen and see whether anyone in the village was discussing it.
With that thought in mind, he stood up and walked to the top of the stairs. But just as he was about to descend, he suddenly remembered something, turned around, and casually picked up the white candle.
Its smooth, gentle texture seemed to soothe some of his anxiety and tension.
When Xie Fan reached the locust tree, he saw from a distance that someone was returning from the fields with a hoe over his shoulder.
Several men parted ways at the fork in the road, and one of them headed west toward him. Before Xie Fan's expression could relax, however, he noticed that the approaching man seemed to be searching for something, turning his head every so often to look around.
Even after reaching the locust tree, he was still turning his head.
Xie Fan recognized the young man in front of him as Zhang Hai, who lived in front of his house and had been among the villagers who went searching for the tour group in the rain before.
His skin was slightly darker than that of the other villagers.
After confirming those identifying features, Xie Fan relaxed slightly.
"Brother Hai, what are you looking for?"
The original owner had only recently turned twenty, and most people in the village were older than him, so addressing them as "Brother" out of habit was perfectly normal.
After Xie Fan asked, he waited for a while, but Zhang Hai didn't respond. He simply kept turning his head to look behind him.
"Brother Hai?"
Xie Fan found it a little strange.
The dark-faced man in the coarse short shirt raised his head. Only after a long while did he seem to come back to his senses.
"I lost my candle."
Lost his candle?
Xie Fan didn't quite understand. "Could you have left it at home and forgotten to bring it?"
Beneath the locust tree, everything was silent.
The dark-faced man who had just turned his head was still holding the same posture, but he didn't say anything else.
Xie Fan stared blankly for a moment, unable to understand why the man had suddenly stopped talking again. Everyone said his own character was supposed to be gloomy, but why did this guy seem even more taciturn than him?
He frowned.
The man opposite him still didn't move.
Under the cover of night, the angle at which the man had turned his head somehow looked unnaturally stiff.
Xie Fan instinctively raised the candle and shone its light toward him.
The next second, his eyes suddenly widened——
Without any warning, beneath the rough, closely cropped hair, he saw a wooden face with no features at all!