The old man looked up at us, grinned, and then continued to work.
His movements were skillful and fast, and the little girl looked at us curiously while helping.
"Come in, I'll prepare dinner for you." The old lady invited us warmly.
Yuan Ling and I looked at each other and felt an inexplicable strangeness.
The family's enthusiasm seemed a bit exaggerated and unnatural.
We were accommodated in two modest but clean rooms.
After putting down my luggage, I decided to go for a walk and get to know the village.
Walking on the small road in the village, I found that the residents in the village showed great curiosity and enthusiasm towards outsiders like us.
Although their smiles were friendly, there was a hint of strangeness in their eyes.
As night fell, the old lady prepared a sumptuous dinner and invited us to the dining table.
The food on the table looked tempting, but my instinct told me that there might be some unknown secret behind it all.
"This is a dish unique to our village. Try it." The old lady said with a smile and recommended several dishes that looked very special.
Yuan Ling and I exchanged glances, and we could see vigilance in each other's eyes.
In a place like this, nothing can be taken lightly.
After dinner, Yuan Ling and I went separate ways, intending to explore the secrets of this village.
The village was extremely quiet at night, with only the occasional barking of dogs breaking the silence.
I walked quietly through the alleys of the village, trying to avoid the dim street lights so as not to attract the attention of the villagers.
My heartbeat quickened with my pace, and every bark made me look back nervously.
Yuan Ling chose another path, and her figure quickly disappeared in the night.
I know that with her ability, it should be easy to explore such a small village.
Suddenly, I heard a low chanting sound coming from the front, accompanied by a weird rhythm.
I approached quietly, hid behind a wall, and watched through the cracks.
In a dim courtyard, several villagers formed a circle with a small fire pit in the middle.
They each held strange objects in their hands, as if they were performing some kind of ritual.
My heart tightened. This was no ordinary gathering. It looked like some ancient witchcraft ritual.
I tried to identify the objects in their hands, but in the dim light I could only make out vague outlines.
Just as I was about to get closer, a hand suddenly rested on my shoulder.
I turned around suddenly and saw Yuan Ling's calm face.
"Keep your voice down, it's not safe here." She whispered, her eyes flashing with caution.
We retreated to a safe spot and exchanged observations in hushed tones.
Yuan Ling also noticed something unusual in the village. She said that on the other side of the village, she found some strange symbols and footprints, which seemed to be left by some unknown creature.
"This village... seems to be hiding some ulterior secrets." Yuan Ling analyzed calmly.
I nodded in agreement, “We need more information before we can make a judgment.
But for now, the best thing to do is to stay vigilant and not act rashly. "
We decided to go back to our rooms, but I didn't sleep deeply the entire night.
The moonlight outside the window filtered in through the thin curtains, adding a strange atmosphere to the room.
In the early hours of the morning, I suddenly heard a rapid knock on the door outside.
I stood up quickly and opened the door, only to see the little girl with a ponytail standing outside the door, her face pale and her eyes full of fear.
"Come and help my grandpa!" Her voice trembled and she looked very scared.
I immediately ran after her, Yuan Ling also walked out of her room, and we followed the little girl to the courtyard where the ceremony was taking place.
I saw the old man lying on the ground, his body twitching continuously, and the surrounding villagers gathered around him, with a look of horror on their faces.
Yuan Ling quickly stepped forward to check on the old man, while I watched the surroundings vigilantly.
I noticed that the flames in the fire pit became very strange, jumping from time to time, as if affected by some invisible force.
Yuan Ling and I quickly came to the old man's side. The old man's eyes were closed tightly, his face showed a twisted expression of pain, and his body kept twitching.
I took out a yellow talisman paper from my pocket and prepared to ward off evil spirits.
"What kind of evil has he possessed?" I asked Yuan Ling in a low voice, while I kept preparing magic weapons and talismans in my hands.
Yuan Ling stared at the old man with a serious expression.
"It's hard to say. This kind of situation is rare. It's like being possessed by a powerful evil spirit."
I nodded, secretly alert.
The anomalies in this village are becoming more and more obvious, but the most important thing at this time is to save the old man first.
I began to recite the spell to ward off evil spirits and put the talisman on the old man's forehead.
The talisman burned immediately after touching the old man's skin, but strangely, there was no feeling of heat.
The old man's body suddenly shook violently, as if he was fighting against some force.
The surrounding villagers looked on with strange expressions, without any trace of panic. Instead, they seemed to be watching a drama.
"They...how could they do this?" I was shocked and felt something was wrong.
Yuan Ling also had a solemn expression on her face. She began to assist me in exorcising evil spirits, and the magic weapon in her hand gave off a faint light.
However, no matter how hard we tried, the old man's condition didn't seem to get better, but instead got worse.
His body began to twist, his facial expression became more painful, and a low and terrifying moan came from his mouth.
"This... this is impossible!" The shock in my heart became more and more intense, and I felt a force interfering with our spells.
At this time, I noticed the little girl with a ponytail standing in the crowd. Her eyes were not like those of a child, but full of depth and weirdness.
The corners of her mouth turned up in an unusual smile that sent shivers down my spine.
Seeing the little girl's strange smile, I felt a chill in my heart.
However, I knew I couldn't show any signs of panic at this moment and had to stay calm.
I turned to Yuan Ling and whispered: "Let's continue, but be careful. The situation here is more complicated than we thought."
Yuan Ling nodded, her eyes flashing solemnly, obviously aware of the seriousness of the situation.
I focused on the old man again, and the magic weapon in my hand lit up.
I chanted more powerful exorcism spells in an attempt to break the unknown force that was disturbing us.
I felt the energy in the air around me begin to fluctuate, as if an invisible force was resisting our spell.
"This village...is anything but simple." I thought to myself.
