They arrived at the Dead Village at noon on the fourth day.
Although it was summer, it was still very cold at night. Aluan was already weak, and he might have caught the wind and cold and was sniffing a little.
They rode into the village. Indeed, there was no one there, and even the vegetation was withered. The birds refused to call here even a few times - rather, I never even saw the shadow of a bird.
Although there is no shade, it is cool and refreshing here. Occasionally, the wind passes through the boxes or houses, making a strange, whistling sound. The doors and windows lacked maintenance and were eaten away by termites. They were riddled with holes and looked scary.
The village was not big. They walked around in a circle and roughly counted twenty or thirty households. They built a small temple near the water and enshrined something unknown. It's just that the water level in the river is pitifully low, and the river channel seems very deep. It feels like this thin line will dry up at any time.
During the inspection, Shanhai held the compass as usual and found nothing wrong.
An hour later, they found a fairly spacious courtyard and tied up their horses. Because there is always wind, there is no dust in the house and it is very clean.
"There's not enough food. Tomorrow I'll go to the town to the east and bring some back, and ask about what's going on here. What's it called... Xuan, Xuan..."
"Xuanzhen Town" Mu Wan answered, "I don't expect you to find out anything. This time is different from the past. No one was injured. It's business to leave as soon as possible."
"Yes, Xuancheng Town. I know, I don't plan to stay for a long time, just stay for two days to see. Don't worry, I come and go quickly. I used to live in the mountains, and I still have some confidence in Qinggong."
Mu Wan thought to himself that taking Dai Luan with him would be a problem for him. But if they just travel around the world, it doesn't matter.
Speaking of which, Dai Luan is always noisy, but now he doesn't talk much. Maybe he caught a cold and looked sick.
"I want to drink water," she said.
Mu Wan and her went to the backyard to take a look and found a well. The sun shines slantly on the well wall, making it impossible to see the bottom. As soon as I put my head over, I felt a chill on my face. Dai Luan picked up a stone and threw it in. After a long time, there was a sound, but there was no sound of water.
It's a dry well.
"I'll go to the river to get some water."
Shanhai said, took the kettle, jumped up to the roof, and left quickly. That skill was indeed good, and Mu Wan was sure that he was not lying. She and Dai Luan looked around in the backyard again. The barn was also empty, with no animal remains. In addition, no valuable things were seen in every household, so she judged that people should have moved away from here one after another.
They searched every corner and pulled down whatever grass they could find to feed the horses. After finishing their work, they spread a cloth in the backyard to bask in the sun. The two girls started chatting again.
"You should also advise your master to stop doing such nonsense. I don't think Mr. Jiyue is a serious person."
"That's how they are. I can't control them. Besides, I think it's pretty good. It's so interesting..."
"What's so good? Sooner or later, I'll get myself involved."
"If he doesn't care, that's not him."
At first glance, this statement seemed quite bluffing, and Mu Wan didn't know how to refute it.
"Aren't you afraid?"
"The sky is falling and the sky is falling."
Your master isn't that tall either? She wanted to say it but held it back.
Because she saw the mountains and seas coming back from afar.
Tips for traveling in the world: When you start talking bad about someone, he or she will show up.
"Drink less. It's not good to drink too much water in a place like this. Just quench your thirst, don't treat it like food... Are you listening?"
Tons tons tons tons tons tons tons.
There is always a place for fish in the ears and belly, he thought, and it would be better not to be in the brain.
Shan Hai suddenly felt that his body bones were relaxed even after going back and forth for two miles. For a moment, he felt very tired. Looking at Mu Wan again, he was still talking from a distance, but he became quiet when he came back. It felt like he was being said bad things for a second.
Tip 2 for traveling in the world: When you temporarily leave the team, you will become a topic.
Until evening, there were no strange phenomena in the village. After traveling for several days, they were very tired, so they went back to the house early to rest. Before going to bed, Shanhai used the bald judge's pen to determine Liangyue-kun's position as usual, and there was no big deviation.
The village gets colder at night. Dai Luan wraps up her clothes tightly, but she still feels the cold seeping into her bones. By the time the other two's breathing became even and steady, she was still asleep. The surroundings were eerily quiet. In the past, there were always insects chirping on summer nights, but now there was not even the sound of leaves rubbing against each other, which made her feel empty.
Shanhai always said that she had a big heart, and she felt it.
Although that doesn't seem to be what it means.
She didn't know how long it took, but she finally felt her upper and lower eyelids starting to fight, and she reluctantly fell asleep. But after a while, her stomach, which had not eaten much to begin with, couldn't hold back the water. The heavy drinking during the day made her feel uncomfortable now.
Fortunately, she opened her eyes first before having the nightmare of finding the toilet.
Need to pee.
She's not afraid of the dark, but it feels like a standard feature of a ghost story for a person to solve internal problems alone in such an atmosphere.
Dai Luan gritted her teeth, carefully put on her shoes, and ran to the small hut in the backyard. She ran fast and had a clear goal, but she wasn't particularly scared. After solving the problem, I felt relaxed and my pace slowed down a bit.
There was a rattling sound in the air, like wood or something else being rubbed.
She wasn't very scared. Shan Hai once said that it was normal for some strange noises in the courtyard to occur due to factors such as temperature or wind. But it was too quiet at night, so the sound seemed a bit loud, so she quickened her pace.
She heard the sound of water again.
It wasn't very far from the river, but the current would never reach her ears. There is still a dry well behind you, so this is...
"Drink some water."
There was a faint female voice that I had never heard before.
"Alas--"
A Luan let out a small scream.
She turned around tremblingly and saw a shadow beside the well.
Ten thousand slang words rushed through my heart.
Her eyes adjusted to the darkness, and she could vaguely see a white figure beside the well...no, in the center of the well under the faint moonlight. To be precise, it was a skeleton covered in white cloth. It just hung there on the edge of the well, without feet.
It held a bowl in its hand and stared at her with empty eyes.
"Drink water," it said again.
After seeing it clearly, Dai Luan was not so panicked. If you can see clearly, you can tell what kind of monster it is; if you know what kind of monster it is, you can know how to solve the problem.
This thing is called Kuang Gu, and it is a monster that lives in the ancient well. In the dead of night, when everyone is quiet, he will ask passers-by if they want a drink of water. If you listen to it and drink the water, nothing will happen; but if you don't, it will start twisting and dancing, making those who see it go crazy, and even throw themselves into the well and die.
Since she didn't want to watch the dance, she decided to drink water. Anyway, my stomach is empty.
Today, either I, Dai Xiaoluan, is living in the hut, or I am drinking the well dry.
With this awareness, she took the bowl without any worries. But she didn't have the courage to drink it all in one gulp. She took a few tentative sips and found it a bit salty and slightly bitter, so she didn't really want to drink it.
I don’t know what material this bowl is made of, but it’s definitely not porcelain, it’s too rough. When she leaned over the bowl, not much water reached her mouth. From the sound, a lot of it spilled on the ground.
Did it leak?
She lifted the bowl and looked at it in the dim light.
The edge of the bowl is not neat and has some scratches. There are some small holes on the side where the hand is holding, but they are very neat, like the holes of a musical instrument. Turning it slightly, she discovered that there were indeed holes in it, and there were two of them.
...it looks a bit familiar.
Like, holes like eyes?
"Hey, I'll go-"
Her heart skipped a beat, her hand slipped, and her entire skull was violently thrown out. Randomly, she ran back to the house crawling on the floor, shaking the two sleeping people desperately, and shouted:
"Wake up, wake up, don't sleep! Monsters, there are monsters, I saw them!"
After this ordeal, the two men with their heads covered were mostly awake. Mu Wan lit the lamp on the table, and Shan Hai quickly took out the compass. Just by the candlelight, it clearly seemed to be attracted by something and began to tremble violently.
"You protect her."
He simply explained, put on his coat and hurried out. Mu Wan hugged Aluan and followed him out of the room with her eyes until he turned around and ran towards the backyard.
The compass points directly to the well. Although he didn't see anyone, he still stretched out his head and looked into the well.
A crescent moon quietly reflected in the well, glowing with sparkling light.
Isn't it a dry well?
Staring at the suspicious well, he felt confused. But what is clear is that at least it is clear that there is indeed a problem with this dead village.
The crescent moon suddenly broke into pieces and twisted into a ball, as if there was something underneath it.
"Wow--"
Mu Wan heard a loud sound of water.
Without time to think too much, she rushed to the backyard with Dai Luan, and saw something reflecting light beside the well. When Ah Luan picked it up, it turned out to be the Compass of Mountains and Seas and the Mirror of Eight Desolations, but others did not know where they were.
...Actually, you know?
Their eyes quickly focused on the well.
"Oops……"
Miss Liangqiu was in trouble. She grabbed the umbrella tightly and hesitated how to fish him out.
I only heard a splash in the well for a while, and then it became quiet again. But soon, a figure jumped up from the mouth of the well. If Mu Wan hadn't been familiar with that skill, he might have mistaken him for a monster and hit him on the head.
You can't blame her for thinking so, Shan Hai's hair was spread out, and he looked just like a ghost.
His breathing was very uneven, and Aluan flew over to hug him.
"I was scared to death. I thought you were going to be eaten!" she yelled.
Why again.
Now is not the time to say that. Mu Wan still walked up with concern and looked him up and down.
"Your master's life is tough. Okay, let go, I'm covered in water, don't..."
Halfway through his words, he suddenly stopped talking. Hearing this, Aluan suddenly pushed him away.
This is what Mu Wan finds strange.
He had been struggling in the well for a long time, and they clearly heard the sound of water, not to mention that even his hair was loose... But there was clearly no water stain on Shanhai's body.
...Is it an illusion?
"I just saw a girl's face in the mirror." Shanhai recalled.
When confused, Dai Luan squatted on the ground without warning.
"I have a stomach ache……"
she whispered.
