As night falls, the town gradually becomes quiet. After some discussion, Xie Zhe and the others decided to stay in Rangyangpo for a few more days. They couldn't pretend that the clay kiln where the dolls were made didn't exist. But it is not realistic enough to completely expel the puppets from the town. Time is too short for the townspeople to realize how terrible it is to be immersed in the shadow of the past. Although they are only here for a few days, they may not be of much use, but at least they can get some useful clues by at least asking around the town and trying to trick the old man.
The girls had all freshened up, but were in no hurry to go to bed. Wenying rolled around on the bed and kept asking Jiaomo questions. Jiao Mo responded while looking out the window. She sat on the chair by the window and looked at the quiet town wrapped in darkness. She felt very calm in her heart and all her worries were temporarily put on hold.
"You said before that you have never seen the Miss Ye they mentioned?"
"Yes." Jiao Mo nodded, "I met the two of them after Miss Ye disappeared."
"But actually, I remember my brother said... He, Mr. Xie and Miss Ye only met in the winter last year."
"That's true. Even though they didn't know each other for a long time, they still embarked on this long journey for her. I have traveled around the world for many years, and it doesn't matter who I know, who I follow, or what I do. Since everyone needs help "Help, it's a good thing to have people looking after you on the way. If I hadn't met them, I probably wouldn't have left for my hometown so early."
Wenying lay flat on the bed with her limbs stretched out wide. The beds in many inns were not big, and the ones in poor condition were still on the floor. But this was a big bed, which made her feel very happy. In the igloo, the bed was just a small one, and she was used to curling up in the corner to sleep. But when she's with someone she can feel safe with, she stretches out so much that she needs a roomier place.
"When did you plan to return to your hometown?"
"Perhaps... I am very old and very old. I should never meet my relatives in my hometown again. They have gone to far away places. I may not even be able to meet other tribesmen when I am on the shore."
"Are you sad?"
"I chose the road myself, and I have never regretted it." Jiao Mo said, looking at the stars in the sky. "I don't think I need to be buried in a coffin on the land. I will go to the depths of the sea and let the currents carry me away." I told my family about my death. That's when they knew I had lived a full life."
Wenying turned over and lay on the bedside to look at Jiaomo, and could see a little starlight falling in her eyes. Wen Ying said seriously:
"I really think you speak beautifully and poetically."
"I can only say that it sounds nice, but how can I say it beautifully?"
"It's really beautiful, like a painting."
As soon as Wenying finished speaking, Jiaomo's expression suddenly became serious, and she thought she had said the wrong thing. But she soon realized that Jiao Mo was staring in a certain direction outside the window, as if he was seeing something. She said to Wenying:
"Come over and see if that direction is where we went during the day?"
Wenying got out of bed, walked to the bedside in a few steps, and looked at Jiaomo's finger. They were on the second floor. Most of the buildings in this town were low, so they could easily see what was a few streets away. Just in midair, a column of black smoke curled up, and something was probably burning underneath. Wenying understood what she meant.
"Seems to be……"
The two of them were huddled by the window to watch, when suddenly someone knocked on the door.
"It's not locked, please come in."
As expected, it was Xie Zhe and Han Shang. They were in the next room and had probably seen the movement. Xie Zhe said that they wanted to go there and investigate again. In Xie Zhe's eyes, he believed that the black smoke was too evil and he was worried that something bad would happen. Originally, I wasn't going to tell the girls, but planned to do it privately. But Han Zhang remembered what happened during the day and felt that if something unexpected happened, the two of them might not be able to handle it properly, so he asked Jiao Mo if he was willing to go with him.
From what I heard, I didn’t plan to ask Yingying.
"Why? Can't I go?"
Han Chang said: "It's not a big deal, just go and have a look. You should rest early."
"Why didn't you take me with you?" She was a little angry. "Grandma asked me to follow you, wasn't it just to experience more things and see more of the world? Why did you let me hide and sleep when it was time to see the world? "
Jiao Mo immediately smoothed things over and said, "It's not a big deal. It doesn't matter. Since I asked Miss Ying if she wants to go, let's go together."
Han Chang sighed and said nothing more. The four of them came to the street like this. The night in the town is beautiful, the sky is very clean, and although the moon cannot be seen, the stars are extremely bright. Although the summer night is still a little warm, it is enough to make people feel physically and mentally happy compared to noon. If they don't have any serious tasks, they will feel more relaxed.
After a long time, Jiao Mo asked a question.
"Did we... walk for so long during the day?"
"There are fewer pedestrians at night, shouldn't we arrive sooner?"
"After walking for so long, the black smoke is indeed still so far away."
Several people started discussing, but Xie Zhe remained silent. They still went in that direction and paid more attention to the scenery around them. Eventually they discovered that no matter how long they walked, they would always end up at the same place they had walked before.
"Ghost hits the wall?"
"If it's a ghost breaking into the wall, I should be able to tell." Xie Zhe said, "I suspect that we have entered another enchantment at some point."
"When?! How could this happen..." Wenying tightened her brother's arm and said uneasily, "I am also good at the ecstasy formation, but I don't see any problem in it."
Han Chang has moved his hand to the weapon. He walked with everyone and listened carefully. After a cup of tea, he stopped and said to his friends:
"There is no need to leave anymore. Lao Xie is right, this is an independent boundary. In ordinary towns, you can hear people snoring or children crying at night. You also saw it during the day, and every household has a caretaker. We passed by many houses but not a single dog barked. In other words, there is no living thing here except us."
Xie Zhe's eyes kept scanning around, observing the surroundings, and said: "Indeed, there are only four of us now. The black smoke in the distance is probably just a bait... trying to trick us."
"Who would do this? That old guy?" asked Qiying, "Then why didn't he attack us during the day?"
Han Chang believed that there might be many people on the street during the day, and if a fight broke out inside, it would easily attract the attention of the townspeople. But this is not very convincing. After all, at night, no one will hear such a loud noise? And it would be unwise to start a fight in his workshop, as it would do him no good if his work and tools were destroyed.
"I'm thinking about something..." Xie Zhe's expression was a little ugly.
"how?"
"The disintegrator told us so much information, maybe it's not that he didn't take us seriously. Maybe, he saw our intention from the beginning. After all, we are outsiders, and we have nothing to do with it. The thing we asked him for was just a story we made up from the accountant. The third thing was the hostility we showed when he showed that he was not a Yongshi..."
"I'm still wondering when you will react."
Familiar voice! Xie Zhe and Han Zhang drew out their swords from their waists almost at the same time, and they pointed their swords in different directions on the street. Jiaomo and Wenying looked around, trying to find the owner of the sound. But the sound was elusive and seemed to come from all directions, making it difficult to distinguish. Everyone is extra vigilant and nervous.
At this time, Wenying noticed that the curling black smoke in the distance had changed its shape. It went from being straight before to twisting and turning, as if a living snake was living in the smoke column. Suddenly, the cloud of smoke expanded several times, as if all the breath that was being held was being exhaled, and a large amount of black smoke went straight into the sky. Before she could figure out what was going on, a black dot suddenly appeared high in the sky where the black smoke disappeared, and quickly flew towards it. The closer it gets, the clearer the shape becomes.
It's the Nightmare Tengu!
Han Chang pricked up his ears, pulled Wenying behind him, and changed his direction to face the tengu that was speeding towards her. He tilted his wrist slightly, and the sword began to glow with a familiar red light from the hilt, and the metal looked like it was being tempered again. Wenying was shocked because she had always thought that the thing on her brother's waist was a short sword. Why did it look like a long sword now? Before he had time to think about it, Han Chang swung his sword hard, and a red arc-shaped flame was thrown towards the black tengu. It breathed poisonous gas, and the flames ignited it, and a huge fireball exploded between the four people on the ground and the Tengu.
After the flames dissipated, the Nightmare Tengu sat on the roof of the street, the resentment between his brows shining with cold light. And beside it, there was a shadow of a familiar person.
"You're fine. It seems that our old acquaintance has made a new girl."
"Get off!" Xie Zhe's sword and Han Shang were both pointed at him, and he said angrily, "Give us back the Ling Yu!"
"who?"
The evil deceiver of lies had a confused look on his face, as if he really couldn't remember who this name represented. Not long after, he suddenly realized and said:
"Oh - yes, the previous owner of this thing?"
He raised his hand and shook it, and there was something he was holding on to. They recognized at a glance that it was the xun that Ye Lingyu had carried with him.
"Give it back!" Xie Zhe shouted angrily, "That's not your thing!"
"It doesn't belong to you either." He threw the xun up and caught it several times, making them helpless and angry. He then said quietly: "In this reunion, I still have a chance to return that little girl to you, but it's a pity..."
"What's a pity?!"
"Don't be nervous, she's not dead. She just ran away."
Han Chang sneered: "Oh, who believes your nonsense?"
Zhen's voice was still as cold as ever, and he whispered: "That girl is more capable than I thought. I underestimated her."
