" If that husband is still alive, then..." Sang Yue spoke with difficulty, trying to analyze the situation.
But the current chaos was too overwhelming; she could only get halfway through her sentence before losing her train of thought.
Only Gu Zhan remained calm, unfazed by the complex clues in this story.
He continued, "The reason Xiao Xiu chased after Ye Sheng Ge must be significant; Ye Sheng Ge should be related to the missing husband."
Sang Yue asked, "Could it be that boss?"
"That's possible."
After Gu Zhan answered, no one spoke further.
Everyone remained silent, staring at the small grave mound that had just been formed in the yard.
After a long pause, Sang Yue said, "That means our film symposium is quite strange. Why are we holding a symposium at the Black Crow Mansion...?"
Gu Zhan suggested, "Let’s go out and explore a bit."
Sang Yue asked, "Should we stick together, or split up?"
Sticking together would be too much of a target, and splitting up could be dangerous.
Gu Zhan thought for a moment: "Let's pair up."
In the end, Gu Zhan teamed up with He Hui, while Ma Xiaowen and Sang Yue formed another group.
This way, they ensured that each group had at least one person capable of thinking clearly.
Gu Zhan was particularly interested in the river outside the village, so he volunteered to head out there, while Sang Yue took Ma Xiaowen to wander within the village.
It was odd, but even though He Hui had been there from the start, Gu Zhan wasn't very familiar with her.
This was mainly because she was introverted, spoke very little, and was incredibly reserved even when afraid.
At that moment, even though the two were in the same group and walking toward the riverside together, He Hui carefully lagged half a step behind Gu Zhan, quietly following him.
Coincidentally, Gu Zhan wasn’t much of a talker either, so there was an unusual silence between them.
They didn’t say a word until they reached the riverbank.
The sky was completely dark, and it seemed like there was no electricity in the village at night; there was not a glimmer of light on the road.
At the riverbank, they couldn’t even see the moon in the sky.
The river flowed quietly in the darkness, deep and unfathomable.
Beneath the calm surface, there seemed to be a hidden turbulence.
Gu Zhan stood by the river for a while before suddenly starting to move.
Seeing his actions, He Hui looked puzzled: "What are you planning to do?"
Gu Zhan replied, "I want to go down and take a look."
"Go down?" He Hui's face turned pale instantly as she looked at Gu Zhan in disbelief. "This is a river! It's full of water..."
Gu Zhan found her reaction strange: "I know."
He Hui pressed, "Then why do you want to go down?"
Gu Zhan had already begun warming up.
He believed there was something at the bottom of the river, and the quickest way to find out was to see for himself.
He Hui looked as if she wanted to stop him but ultimately held back and said nothing.
Once Gu Zhan finished warming up, he stepped into the water. The river was icy cold, each drop felt heavy, and as soon as he touched the surface, an invisible force pulled him down.
The water was murky, and in the absence of light, the depths were pitch black—nothing was visible.
Once Gu Zhan’s body was fully submerged, it felt like something was slowly brushing against his ankles, moving toward his calves.
He shivered and tried to shake it off, but it was of no use...
However, the thing didn’t seem to have any strong intent; it merely lingered beside Gu Zhan's leg, not applying any force. He splashed some water upward, and his body naturally floated to the surface without any resistance.
On the riverbank, He Hui anxiously waited.
Seeing Gu Zhan surface, she quickly asked, "What’s going on?"
Gu Zhan waved at her: "Help me shine a light."
He Hui frantically rummaged through the props and actually found a lighting device—a kerosene lamp.
She said, "This is all I have."
Gu Zhan responded, "That’ll do."
Once lit, the dim light illuminated the water’s surface, making it less dark.
Gu Zhan dived back in, and finally, with the faint light from the water's surface, he could see beneath.
It turned out that what had been brushing against his ankle was not some strange object, but rather clumps of long, black hair. They swayed at the bottom like seaweed, brushing against everyone who sank into the depths.
Gu Zhan swam toward the source of the long hair.
---
Sang Yue and Ma Xiaowen wandered around the village, and they noticed that every villager's house was lit up.
However, when they quietly approached the windows to listen, there was not a sound to be heard.
The entire village was utterly silent.
Ma Xiaowen quietly asked Sang Yue, "Could it be that they were all killed by that female ghost and are now just wandering around here as ghosts?"
"That’s possible," Sang Yue said. "But even so, these ghosts are not the same kind we’re looking for."
"That's true; they don’t seem to have any intention of attacking us." After passing by another silent window, Ma Xiaowen glanced inside and saw that there was no one there.
She asked Sang Yue, "Should we continue moving forward?"
Sang Yue pondered for a moment and replied, "Let’s go see what’s at the village entrance."
The two of them made their way toward the entrance of the village.
It was quite dark here; the lights from the village barely reached the entrance.
As they walked through the darkness, they suddenly heard a slight noise ahead.
Ma Xiaowen, like a small grass by the riverbank, was startled by the slightest rustle of the wind and called out, "Who’s there?"
Unexpectedly, a voice came from the depths of the darkness: "How did you end up here?"
Both Ma Xiaowen and Sang Yue showed expressions of shock, and Sang Yue quickly stepped forward, only to see a person who definitely shouldn’t be there.
It turned out to be the director who left in a car.
He stood by the roadside, the car parked not far away.
The sky had unknowingly begun to rain; Sang Yue brushed away the raindrops that had fallen on her eyelashes. She turned back to look and saw that the village behind had turned pitch black, as if it had sunk into the depths of an abyss.
The director was very surprised: "What are you doing out here?"
"I..." For a moment, Sang Yue began to doubt her own memory.
Weren't they just walking out of the village?
"We..." Sang Yue's head ached a bit, and in a daze, she said, "We... um, the Black Crow Mansion is leaking, Li Qing said we should come down and check if the houses in this abandoned village can still be used, to see if we can move the equipment down."
As she spoke, she noticed that Ma Xiaowen's expression next to her was a bit off.
Sang Yue paused and said, "We just checked; all the houses here are leaking and unusable. Let’s go back."
The director said, "Just right, I’ll take you back."
Sang Yue followed behind the director, but after just two steps, she felt someone pulling her from behind.
Turning around, she saw Ma Xiaowen looking at her anxiously.
Ma Xiaowen's eyes were darting around, clearly wanting to say something but unable to, making her expression increasingly anxious.
But Sang Yue was confused and shook off her hand, saying, "What are you doing?"
"I... I need to go to the bathroom!" Ma Xiaowen had no choice but to say this.
Sang Yue looked at her, more confused than before.
Ma Xiaowen felt helpless; Sang Yue's expression was clearly not right, as if she had already been bewitched by the so-called director.
Gathering her courage, Ma Xiaowen took a step back and said, "I... I need to go to the bathroom; you all stay away!"
The director frowned, "What are you making a fuss about? Wait until we get back to the Black Crow Mansion."
"No way." Ma Xiaowen continued to retreat. "I can't hold it any longer! I’m going to pee in your car!"
The words "pee in your car" seemed to have a certain impact; the director was taken aback, not immediately speaking up to stop her, allowing Ma Xiaowen to run away.
At this moment, Sang Yue also realized something was off. She said to the director, "I’ll go keep an eye on her."
After saying that, she ran after Ma Xiaowen.
On the dark little path, danger could appear at any moment, causing Ma Xiaowen to be extremely tense.
She was already timid; she used to have Wang Zhe with her, but now Wang Zhe was dead... Sang Yue also seemed to be under some kind of spell, leaving her all alone.
This scenario had a condition: "Being alone could lead to death..."
In the suffocating darkness, all she could hear was her own heavy breathing.
Her instincts told her that she couldn't just go back with the director's car.
She needed to find Gu Zhan and the others!
The village looked different now; the ground was muddy, and even the cobblestones were overgrown with weeds.
The houses she had seen with Sang Yue before were now in ruins, collapsed, with huge gaps in the roofs or walls, exposing the dark beams inside.
What village head, what windows with lights?
None of it existed!
This was clearly a village that had long been abandoned, dead for a long time!
"Ha..."
On the quiet little path, only Ma Xiaowen’s voice could be heard.
Just as she was gradually sinking into despair, a hand suddenly rested on her shoulder, pulling her back with an irresistible force!
"Help!"
Ma Xiaowen's first reaction was to struggle, but the other person was too strong. In just a few moments, she was pinned to the ground.
The rain-soaked ground was cold and slippery, and the small stones made her face hurt.
The person who subdued her did not continue to act but asked her, "Are you calm now?"
Only then did Ma Xiaowen realize the voice came from Sang Yue. She eased her struggles slightly and trembled as she asked, "Sang Yue? You... how did you get here? Did you remember something?"
Sang Yue paused and released Ma Xiaowen.
Both of them stood up, and after seeing each other clearly, Sang Yue finally said, "I remember now, I’m sorry."
Relieved that Sang Yue had regained her memory, Ma Xiaowen exhaled, "It’s great that you remembered; let’s go find Gu Zhan and the others..."
However, Sang Yue seemed troubled. Initially, they had decided that one group would stay outside the village while the other went inside.
Where did Gu Zhan and the others go?
---
On the other side, Gu Zhan was at the bottom of the water.
As he clearly saw the thing entangled around his ankle, the light above his head went out.
Even so, his vision did not disappear; he could still see the woman in the red dress, barefoot, with her feet bound and weighed down by a heavy stone, sinking to the bottom.
Her long hair was dark, flowing like seaweed with the current.
The river wasn't deep, and given where she was submerged, along with the rope and her height, her mouth and nose were only about twenty to thirty centimeters from the surface.
It was hard to imagine that she had struggled in this position, looking up at the sunlight on the surface, before finally losing all breath.
During the day, those women washed clothes by the riverside; perhaps they even caught her gaze through the water's surface.
This cruel and merciless reality.
Gu Zhan began to gradually float up, and soon he reached the water's surface.
But the surface felt solidified; Gu Zhan was trapped in the river by a layer of firm, transparent material. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t break through the barrier.
Gu Zhan turned around and saw the woman underwater opening her eyes, her dark pupils reflecting a smile, as if she was speaking to him.
Stay here.
You are more suited to this world than that one.
The woman, sunk to the river bottom by the heavy stone, resembled swaying seaweed and a blooming flower.
She spread her arms towards Gu Zhan, seemingly welcoming him.
No.
Gu Zhan turned away and continued to smash against the transparent barrier, wanting to leave this place.
But underwater, movement was already difficult, and as time passed, the air in his lungs was running low...
Gradually, the lack of oxygen and suffocation enveloped him.
His vision began to darken.
Comments