Ye Lingyu didn't have much strength. After all, he had been keeping his fingers off the spring water since he was a child. This kid was too heavy for her, so with her help, Xie Zhe carried the kid on his back and left here quickly. Xie Zhe felt that the child was very heavy - although he was very thin, but because he really couldn't exert any strength and didn't know how to hold him, he felt lifeless like a corpse.
They soon came to a house on the edge of the village. The house here was relatively intact. Han Chang raised his hand to signal them not to approach rashly, and then walked in and walked around. He stayed inside for a long time before coming out, and his face didn't look good when he came out. His eyes crossed with Xie Zhe's, and Xie Zhe immediately understood that there might be dead people in this room. However, Han Chang said that they "can go in", and he probably has already found a way to hide them.
They brought the children inside. There was a layer of dust on the kang in the room, so Xie Zhe pulled up a bench, wiped it twice, and helped the child sit on it, leaning his back against the kang. The three people surrounded him, not knowing what to say. In the end, Ling Huan stood in front of him, squatted down, and asked softly:
"Hmm...are you a girl or a boy?"
"He's a boy." Han Chang's nose was quite sharp.
"Then why are you here alone? Your...do you know anyone else who is staying in the village?"
Although Ling Hu wanted to get straight to the point and ask: What exactly happened here? But she worried that the words might irritate him. The little boy's face was still lifeless. His eyes were big, round, and beautiful, but they couldn't show anything. In addition, he seemed a little sleepy, his eyes were half-closed, his long eyelashes hung in front of his eyes, and he didn't know where his eyes were falling.
"No more." He suddenly spoke, with a childish voice that was somewhat neutral and had not yet entered the voice-changing stage.
"What?"
Ling Hu didn't hear clearly. Because his voice is really small. But after she questioned him, the child became mute again.
"I think the child is frightened. It's better not to force him and let him calm down for a while. I'm going to see if the well is working and get some water to drink."
After saying that, Han Chang turned around and left the room and went to the backyard. Ling Huan and Xie Zhe looked at each other for a while, nodded, and prepared to leave the house temporarily. But at this moment, the child suddenly stretched out his hand and grabbed the corner of Ling Huan's clothes. He didn't seem to want them to leave. Xie Zhe spread his hands, feeling helpless.
"I'm probably scared. That's fine. You stay in the house first, and I'll go take a look at other parts of the village."
"Eh? Can...can we watch it later?"
Ling Hu looked a little scared. Xie Zhe thought for a while, and it seemed a little inappropriate to leave only this child and Miss Ye in the room. What's more, I don't know if Zhongli is trustworthy or not. He nodded and pulled out two more stools. Then Han Chang also came back, grabbing the rims of two cups from above with both hands, and handed each of them a glass of water. When the water glass was raised in front of the child, he didn't react as if he couldn't see it. One hand was still holding the corner of Ling Huan's clothes. So Ling Huan took the water cup and placed it on the ground aside.
"Can you ask me something?" Han Chang asked after taking a sip of water.
"No, the child hasn't recovered yet. It looks like he suffered a big blow..."
Han Chang clenched his chin and looked at the little boy thoughtfully. Immediately, he said generously:
"Boy, don't be afraid. No one can hurt you now. I'll just ask directly: Are bad guys coming to rob the village, or are there monsters coming to do evil? Don't worry, no matter what happens, my brothers and sisters will take care of you. Support me."
The child must have heard it. He raised his stiff head, his eyes still without any sparkle. He didn't answer Han Chang's question, but he did hear it. The three of them had no choice but to sit aside and speculate for no reason. After analyzing it for a long time, they couldn't come up with anything. Slowly, they had nothing to say.
It's not a problem for this kid to keep his mouth shut all the time. It seems that the trip will be delayed here for a while. I want to take him away, but I don’t know where his family is. Maybe they are looking for him elsewhere. Waiting for him to say something to solve the problem, his mouth seems to be stuck with glue. I can't utter a word for a long time; just stay here... Those three people have uneasy consciences.
Time is running out like this, and the sun is going to set in a blink of an eye. The child was a little sleepy and was about to fall asleep leaning on the kang. His little hands were still holding on to the corner of Ling Huan's clothes. She was so distressed that she saw the little boy's head tilted and was about to fall, so she quickly stood up to hold him, and then she pushed him back upright. The brief weightlessness made the child sober up. His eyes widened, and he suddenly put his feet on the edge of the bench, hugged his knees with his hands, and curled up into a small ball. There wasn't much fear in his voice, just a chill in his body. The three of them watched his every move to see what he wanted to do next.
"It's coming," he murmured, "It's coming again."
"What's coming?" Xie Zhe asked strangely.
The boy shut up and just hugged himself tighter. Han Chang jumped onto the kang and got close to the paper window. There was a hole in the window, and he peered out from inside, but saw that the sun was starting to set. Everything is still as quiet as before, there are no sounds of birds and insects, and there are no footprints of little rabbits and squirrels. There were no traces of any living thing.
Wait... isn't the sun going down too fast?
He had never noticed a sunset like this. The sun is sinking at a speed visible to the naked eye, rushing towards the embrace of the distant mountains in the west, like a pair of lovers reunited after a long absence. The bright day turned into golden yellow, light orange, warm red, until dark. The eastern sky is like a black giant, wearing a huge cloak as if it is chasing the escaping sun to the ends of the earth.
Suddenly, a strong force pushed Han Chang backward. He was immediately photographed off the kang and fell hard to the ground. All this happened so quickly that no one expected it. After Ling Huan reacted, he immediately helped him up. He hit the back of his head and was feeling dizzy from the pain. Xie Zhe looked at the paper window alertly, only to find that the force that opened the glass did not actually break the window at all.
"what happened?!"
"Uh-huh——"
With Ling Huan's help, Han Zhang rubbed his head and stood up. It looked like he was really in pain and couldn't speak clearly. Through the paper window, strange light is projected in, and various colors such as red, green, and yellow pass through the room one by one, constantly changing the colors of the dilapidated house, making it strange and strange. The little boy just turned his back to the window, hugged his legs, and exposed his eyes. He didn't close it, as if no matter how tightly he closed it, the colorful light in the room would penetrate his eyelids and penetrate into his heart.
People's panicked shouts came one after another. This sound also broke out suddenly, accompanied by strange colors. Men's noisy voices, women's screams, children crying, old people whining... all kinds of sounds came one after another, and they overlapped, making the scene extremely chaotic. In addition to the disharmonious colors, the shadows of people scurrying away kept flashing outside the house, as if something was really dominating. However, they could only hear the noises from the victims, and the murderer—who was either a thief or an evil ghost—did not notice any movement at all.
Xie Zhe walked to the door, stretched out his hand, and prepared to push the door open.
A hand was placed on his wrist, pulling Xie Zhe back forcefully. It was Han Zhang, and the place he hit had not yet recovered, but he shook his head vigorously to prevent him from doing such a reckless behavior.
"It's an illusion." Xie Zhe said immediately, "Did you hit your head and couldn't see it?"
"I know! But who told you that hallucinations are okay? Don't you think it's strange? Since you know it's an hallucination, there's no trace of evil at all!"
"But this is a kind of magic! If it is a magic, there will be people who cast it, think about it, and set up the formation!"
"Stop arguing!" Ling Huan shouted, "This child seems to be in a bad state, think of a solution quickly!"
At least she was really at her wits end. She hugged the little boy who was squatting on the bench. He was shaking constantly, and Ling Huan could even hear his teeth chattering. This crisp knocking sound came to Ling Hu's ears neatly from the hustle and bustle outside the door. She couldn't ignore it, but she couldn't solve the problem either.
Everything happened so fast.
"The change occurred since the time of encountering the devil. My child, you must tell us what is going on." Xie Zhe stood in front of him, his face and tone became stern, "If you don't tell us, we will all be blamed for helping you." You spend your time here. If you are unlucky, your life will depend on it!"
"……Won't."
The little boy spoke again. This was the third clearest sentence they could hear today.
"Why not? How can you be so sure?" Han Chang also stood with Xie Zhe, "Could it be that you set up all these illusions here? Although you do smell like a person, if you want to do it It’s not impossible for something like this to happen to a monster.”
"What are you talking about all of a sudden?!"
Ling Huan stood up suddenly, his face pale. But this paleness had little to do with fear, because her confusion and confusion far outweighed her fright. Her voice was trembling, maybe because of fear.
"Since he is a human being and a child, we have to... we can't find the reason and put the responsibility on him!"
"We are indeed speculating. But at present, we can't find any other reason."
Ling Huan only felt that his arms holding the child were a little cold. It must be an illusion. She turned her head tremblingly and looked at the child who was sitting blankly. Indeed, the emotion he conveyed was not one of fear, but one of... impatience.
It was strange, so she wasn't sure.
"You will not be involved -" the little boy spoke again, "this formation is harmless. You will leave here after experiencing this night and never come back in this life. Perhaps, there is some forgotten spell Inside. I am not an Onmyoji, and these visions are not set up by me. I am trapped here."
He said a lot in one breath, and he probably finally came to his senses. But his tone was a bit mature, not what a child of this age should be. And he knows a lot, which is key. It was only at this time of encountering the devil that his soul seemed to have returned, as if he had officially regained control over his body.
"You are trapped here." Han Chang repeated, and then asked, "Who trapped you here? And why?"
The boy lowered his head and was silent for a while. Ling Huan took two steps back, distanced himself from him, and finally stood together with the two men.
Finally, he raised his head and said:
"……I forgot."
