It was really remote here; leaving the Black Raven Mansion, there was only a small path leading to the foot of the mountain.
But the foot of the mountain wasn’t really the base; to leave this forest, they had to go another hundred kilometers or so.
The terrain on the mountain was complicated; relying solely on their legs, they wouldn’t be able to cover the distance in a day.
Moreover, it was still raining, making the mountain roads even more slippery and muddy.
As they left the Black Raven Mansion, Gu Zhan turned back to take a look and found that the car at the entrance was gone.
He turned to Sang Yue and asked, "Is there only one car for this production team?"
Sang Yue was taken aback and remembered, "It seems so."
She also turned back to take a look and instantly blew her top. "What about that director? Did he drive the car away?!"
Sang Yue gritted her teeth in anger. "He should really die! Not only did he leave the entire production team behind when he encountered a ghost, but he also took the car away!"
Gu Zhan turned his head, rainwater streaming down the side of his face.
The rain was pouring too heavily for the raincoat to provide any protection.
He said lightly, "Let’s go."
They trudged down the muddy path towards the foot of the mountain.
Throughout the journey, Gu Zhan had a peculiar feeling, as if they were moving further away from the Black Raven Mansion, like they were walking from one world to another.
However, looking back, the Black Raven Mansion was not far away.
Their pace through the rain was rather slow.
After glancing back multiple times, even Sang Yue noticed something odd and asked Gu Zhan, "What are you looking at?"
Gu Zhan replied, "Nothing."
They continued to walk forward, and suddenly the rain stopped.
Gu Zhan took off his raincoat and carefully examined the ground.
It was strange.
Although the rain had stopped, there should still be water, but there was no pooling of water beside the stones underfoot.
The soil was damp, but it looked more like it had rained some time ago rather than just moments ago.
Soon, Sang Yue also realized this difference.
"Didn't the wizard say we only have two recall segments?" Sang Yue looked around, noticing that the scenery was still the same as before. "We wouldn't suddenly switch to another segment while walking, would we?"
Gu Zhan said, "That shouldn't happen. He can't predict our movements. If we weren't planning to act as a group, we could split into two worlds... Let’s keep moving forward."
The group continued down the mountain, and before long, they saw the village that Li Qing had mentioned.
Unexpectedly, there were actually people living in this village.
From a distance, they could see smoke rising from chimneys and the aroma of food wafting in the air.
"This village is inhabited; why did Li Qing say no one lived here?" Ma Xiaowen asked softly.
Sang Yue replied, "Let’s not worry about that for now; it’s better that there are people living here... Let’s go ask."
They reached the village entrance and were surprised to find someone on the road. Sang Yue signaled to Ma Xiaowen, who stepped forward cautiously and asked, "Hello, are you a resident of this village?"
The person turned around; it was an elderly man who appeared quite kind.
"Yes... Who are you?" The old man looked puzzled at Gu Zhan and the others.
Ma Xiaowen said, "We came up the mountain to have some fun but got lost and can't find our way down... Could you please point us in the right direction?"
Gu Zhan knew that this question would not yield any answers.
Because this was a recall segment built by the wizard; he wouldn’t create a complete world.
Sure enough, the old man looked even more confused, sighed as he looked at Ma Xiaowen, and said, "No one has come to this village for many years... You came here for fun? This is not a good place; it will be dark soon, and if you continue walking, you will only get lost deeper in the forest."
Ma Xiaowen asked, "So what should we do?"
She tried to show some fear, and the old man suggested, "Why don’t you stay in the village for the night and leave when it gets light tomorrow?"
As if to respond to the old man's words, the sky suddenly darkened, and the sun gradually moved westward.
The others looked up and understood that this was the copy using "plot" to keep them there.
Ma Xiaowen hesitated, and Sang Yue said, “In that case, it’s troublesome.”
“It’s not troublesome, not troublesome at all,” the old man said with a smile as he turned and walked inside. “Follow me.”
Sang Yue quickly followed.
“Old man, what kind of place is this? How come I’ve never seen it on the map before?”
While walking, Sang Yue chatted with the old man.
The old man seemed not to understand Sang Yue’s words and was momentarily taken aback. “Map?”
But he soon ignored the illogical part and cheerfully said, “This village is called Huangquan Village. It really hasn’t been visited in a long time... You’re the first to get lost and come to our village in the past decade or so.”
“Huangquan Village?”
The name made all four of them frown simultaneously.
The old man didn’t notice the strange atmosphere and walked ahead with his hands behind his back, muttering, “My surname is Chen, and I’m the village chief. Since you all look quite young, just call me Grandpa Chen. It won’t be taking advantage of you.”
“Grandpa Chen.” Sang Yue quickly became familiar and asked him about the village situation.
Village Chief Chen seemed to be quite forthcoming. According to him, Huangquan Village was a secluded place where the people were self-sufficient and rarely communicated with the outside world. He said, “The outside world is far away; even if there are changes in dynasty, it has nothing to do with us.”
These words sounded a bit strange. Sang Yue and Gu Zhan exchanged glances, both seeing similar doubts in each other’s eyes.
Soon, Village Chief Chen arrived at the door of a small house and said, “It’s not good to disturb others. Since you are just passing through, you can stay in this house for a day and leave tomorrow when it’s bright.”
Gu Zhan looked at the small house in front of him; it seemed to have been uninhabited for some time. The yard was overgrown with weeds, and only the flagstone path from the yard to the door was still passable.
As if sensing Gu Zhan’s confusion, Village Chief Chen said apologetically, “I’m sorry; this house has been idle for half a year. However, the furniture is still there. I’ll have my wife bring you some bedding later, so you can manage for one night.”
Sang Yue quickly said, “We just need a place to rest; you don’t have to trouble yourself.”
At this point, Gu Zhan asked, “Can we walk around the village?”
Village Chief Chen was taken aback, looking puzzled, but he nodded nonetheless. “Sure.”
That’s great.
Sang Yue was delighted.
Being able to walk around meant they had a chance to find clues.
However, Gu Zhan didn’t seem pleased.
He leaned towards the idea that being able to walk around meant they wouldn’t find any clues on the surface.
Village Chief Chen sent them inside and then left.
The house indeed hadn’t been lived in for a long time; it was fully furnished but covered in dust.
And…
“These furniture styles look really old-fashioned,” Sang Yue said as she wandered around the living room.
Ma Xiaowen remarked, “It looks like a style from several decades ago…”
Sang Yue said, “This old man talks strangely… By the way, how should we investigate? Together or separately?”
As soon as she finished speaking, Ma Xiaowen became fearful: “Let’s go together! Didn’t they say something about death conditions that could happen if we act alone?”
“That was in the last segment,” Sang Yue said dismissively as she looked at Gu Zhan.
Gu Zhan replied, “Let’s stick together.”
Sang Yue never contradicted Gu Zhan’s opinions. Since he said so, she nodded immediately.
The group set off from the small house, wandering around the village.
This was an ordinary village, with about two hundred households. It took only a little over ten minutes to stroll from the village entrance to the village committee.
The villagers were quite ordinary, and whenever they encountered anyone, Sang Yue and her companions would engage them in conversation.
What the villagers said was similar to what the village chief had mentioned; it was a secluded village, the villagers were self-sufficient, rarely went out, and hardly communicated with outsiders...
As for the so-called Heiya Mansion, they had never heard of it.
The only thing worth noting was that there was a river not far from the village.
The river wasn’t wide, and steps led down to the water’s edge. Many women were washing clothes there.
Sang Yue took the initiative to greet them, but those women paid little attention to her. After finishing their laundry, they carried their basins past Gu Zhan and the others without even looking at them.
Time passed, and dusk was approaching.
Sang Yue suggested, “Shall we head back?”
It was far from the city, and after dark, there would be no light at all. The surrounding forest was dark and eerie.
Staying outside was indeed not a good option.
Gu Zhan nodded.
Ma Xiaowen and He Hui were already frightened and wished to return as soon as possible. As soon as Sang Yue spoke, they hurried back.
“Hey, you two, slow down.”
Sang Yue called out loudly, chasing after them.
Gu Zhan fell a step behind because he felt something was off about the river.
The water was clear, but the center of the river was pitch black. This could only mean one thing: the river was very deep.
But looking at how those women were washing clothes by the river… it didn’t seem like it…
As Sang Yue moved ahead, he quickly followed.
After a few steps, he suddenly felt something was wrong.
The small path was quiet, and the women washing clothes, as well as Sang Yue and the others… all had vanished.
He didn’t know when it had become completely dark, with not a single ray of light. Only the faint glow from the windows of the nearby farmhouses illuminated the path ahead.
Gu Zhan hesitated and stopped, and then he heard Sang Yue calling him from the darkness ahead, “Gu Zhan, hurry up.”
Gu Zhan paused for a moment but then quickened his pace, striding toward the source of the voice.
However, until he reached the door of the small house arranged by the village chief, he didn’t see Sang Yue or the others.
Gu Zhan opened his personal panel to take a look, and his sanity value showed no fluctuation.
In other words, he wasn’t hallucinating.
But where were Sang Yue and the others?
Gu Zhan pushed open the door of the small room, and with his movement, dust in the room was stirred up. He coughed lightly a couple of times, walked in, and found no signs of anyone having entered.
The footprints on the ground were left before dark.
In the live stream, the audience watched in confusion.
【This is not how it was when I went through it.】
【How can you lose track of someone when you're this close?】
【It doesn’t seem like they got lost; it’s more like the ‘ghost’ activated a skill.】
【Let’s check out other people's live streams.】
【The situation on Sang Yue’s side is similar to Gu Zhan's; they were walking when their teammates vanished.】
【Sang Yue is also in a small room. Could it be that this instance has multiple spaces?】
【The fragments of the past are inherently virtual, so they aren’t in the real Huangquan Village next to the Black Raven Mansion; entering multiple spaces makes sense.】
【I lean towards the idea that the ghost activated a big skill.】
【Damn, that ghost】
Gu Zhan couldn’t see the bullet comments, so he naturally didn’t know what was happening around him.
However, he could roughly guess.
It was definitely the “ghost” that had acted.
But which ghost was it, he had no way of knowing.
He walked around the room a couple of times but suddenly heard footsteps overlapping with his own. Gu Zhan abruptly stopped and tentatively called out, “Sang Yue? Is that you?”
After a while, Sang Yue’s voice came through: “Gu Zhan? Where are you? I can’t see you!”
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