Free Web NovelChapter 386: Chapter 356: Her Usual Image Was Just a Disguise
They had run straight into the Evil Spirit, as if they’d fallen into a boundless swamp.
The more they struggled, the deeper they sank, and now they were trapped.
Every young face was etched with deep exhaustion,
a weariness born from both physical and mental fatigue.
Many of the young people no longer cared whether the ground was dirty,
simply lying down and curling up like wounded animals seeking a sliver of safety.
As night fell, others were overcome by the silent, terrifying atmosphere and began to miss their families.
They wept quietly, trying to stifle their sobs,
but the muffled sounds only echoed in the night air, adding to the desolation.
They were completely oblivious to the fact that Chu He, Sun Canxing, and Lai Yu Yao had suddenly vanished.
Even the able-bodied men assigned to guard them failed to notice anything was amiss.
...
Once the group of young men and women from the graduation party had left Xia Shui Village,
and village chief Chang Bailin had urged the other villagers to return to their homes,
Xia Shui Village fell quiet once more.
The solar-powered streetlights still glowed, but their light seemed incredibly faint,
like candles in the wind, threatening to go out at any moment.
It was hard to say whether they were always this dim or if they were being affected by some mysterious power,
but the wan, yellow light flickered in the darkness, casting an even eerier pall over the village.
"Are we sure it’s okay to just stroll down the village road like this?"
Sun Canxing asked nervously, her eyes darting around as if countless pairs of eyes were watching them from the darkness.
"The villagers of Xia Shui Village shouldn’t be out and about tonight."
Lai Yu Yao said nonchalantly.
She was walking on Chu He’s right, her eyes scanning their surroundings. "They need to prepare for that important ritual tomorrow, so they’ll definitely need to rest up tonight..."
Before she could finish, a strange noise came from one of the houses.
The sound was jarring in the silence of the night. It sounded like someone cautiously moving something,
or perhaps people whispering, though their words were unintelligible.
Clearly, the people inside weren’t asleep. They were up to something furtive.
"There’s a noise over there. I think we should go check it out."
Lai Yu Yao said.
She recalled that Chang Bailin had told the villagers to go home and prepare for the next day’s ritual,
but in a village this strange, the ritual was bound to be different from any other,
which meant their preparations would be unusual as well.
"What makes you say that?" Sun Canxing asked, frowning in confusion.
"For a normal ritual, you prepare common things like fruit, incense, candles, and so on,"
Lai Yu Yao replied. "But Chang Bailin told them to prepare *tonight*. He already knows something is wrong, yet he still sent the villagers off to get ready. Doesn’t that tell you something?"
Chu He listened and nodded in approval. ’This girl has potential,’ he thought. ’She’s perceptive and a keen observer.’
Sun Canxing, on the other hand, was stunned. She stared at Lai Yu Yao as if seeing her for the first time.
’This is nothing like the spoiled, headstrong rich girl I thought she was.’
’It looks like her usual persona is just an act.’
"Then let’s go check it out," Sun Canxing agreed.
Chu He once again placed his hands on Sun Canxing’s and Lai Yu Yao’s shoulders.
The two of them felt their vision blur, and in the next instant,
they vanished from the spot, as if swallowed by the darkness.
