Chapter 4: Night Journey

Chapter 4: Night Trek

"Should we wait a bit longer?" Ye Xin gazed at the pale, eerie full moon, a shiver of fear running through him.

An He shook her head. "We don't have much time. How long do you propose we wait?"

Han Rao declared, "Too many risks tonight. Let's call it off. The Ancestral Precept states that entering the Celestial Maiden Temple requires a blood offering, and we have nothing. Going in would be pointless. Tomorrow, An He, Ye Xin, and Shen Zhitang will scout for the temple's location, while this guy and I will find the blood offering. By the way, do any of you know what a blood offering is?"

Shen Zhitang replied, "It's a sacrifice—chickens, ducks, anything like that will do."

The village teemed with chickens and ducks, making the task simple. Fortunately, no human sacrifice was required. Han Rao nodded. "Tomorrow, Jian Guo and I will go steal a few chickens."

That evening, Sang Xu bathed, and everyone retired for the night. The next day, Sang Xu accompanied Han Rao on their chicken-stealing mission.

They wandered the village for a long time before finally setting their sights on the old man's chicken coop. His family had the most chickens, so one missing wouldn't be easily noticed. Han Rao dispatched Sang Xu to distract the old man, leaving Sang Xu no choice but to steel himself and enter the small courtyard. The old man was cooling off in the yard and, seeing Sang Xu return, smiled warmly. "You've finally come home."

"Grandpa," Sang Xu said, "I'm hungry."

"Alright, alright," the old man stood up, hands clasped behind his back, and hobbled toward the main room. "Grandpa will get Xiao Guai some big steamed buns."

He walked slowly and laboriously. Sang Xu hesitated for a moment before stepping forward to support his arm. The old man smiled, patted his hand, stepped over the high threshold, took a cloth bag from a drawer, and filled it one by one with the large steamed buns from the altar before handing it to Sang Xu.

Sang Xu glanced back and saw Han Rao sneaking into the small courtyard, tiptoeing toward the chicken coop. Sang Xu subtly shifted to block the doorway, his gaze inadvertently falling on the altar. It was densely packed with ancestral tablets: Sang Liyou, Sang Huanzhen, Sang Zhengnan, Sang Shoujia... all members of the Sang family.

They all shared the same surname as Sang Xu. Was it a coincidence? Sang Xu frowned slightly.

Wait, Sang Shoujia? That name sounded familiar...

The old man lit three incense sticks and placed them in Sang Xu's hand. "Our Sang family has served the Celestial Maiden here for generations. With you as the last one, it's enough. You can go now. Xiao Guai, don't be afraid of the ancestors. Once you're married, you'll be one of us. Do your duty well on the kang at night, make the ancestors happy, and life will go on as usual during the day."

Sang Xu: "..."

This grandpa was a bit of a dirty old man.

"Grandpa, what was your name again?" Sang Xu suddenly asked.

"Shoujia," the old man stroked his beard and sighed, "To guard the home and continue the line. As long as you're well, grandpa has no regrets."

So the old man was the Sang Shoujia on the ancestral tablet.

Sang Xu stiffened for a moment. No wonder he ate incense and candles at night—he wasn't human at all.

Did the old man know he was already dead?

Sang Xu's throat felt dry and bitter. He glanced toward the doorway out of the corner of his eye; Han Rao was still struggling to catch a chicken, so it wasn't time to retreat yet. Sang Xu steadied himself and asked, "Grandpa, can you take me to see the Celestial Maiden Temple?"

The old man shook his head and smiled. "I'm too old to walk anymore. It's west of the village, just past the bridge. Xiao Guai, you're grown up and married now, go on your own."

The sound of Han Rao imitating a dog bark came from outside. Sang Xu knew he had caught the chicken and it was time to leave.

Sang Xu picked up the cloth bag and said, "Grandpa, I'm leaving."

"Go on, go on," the old man urged earnestly, "Remember to keep the ancestors happy."

Sang Xu stepped over the threshold and left the courtyard. Han Rao was hiding behind a crooked-neck tree, holding a stinky chicken cage. Sang Xu looked back at the dilapidated tile-roofed house. The old man stood alone in the dim main room, a faint smile on his face. According to Han Rao and the others, the locals in the dream were all NPCs, but Sang Xu inexplicably felt they were real people.

The Sang family, Sang Xu.

Could he have some connection to the Sang family?

The old man waved his hand, signaling Sang Xu to leave quickly. Han Rao was also barking from behind the crooked-neck tree, urging him to retreat. Sang Xu didn't linger any longer and turned to leave the small courtyard.

In the afternoon, they gathered at the meeting point. Ye Xin and the other two had brought back the location of the Celestial Maiden Temple and had also stolen some weapons: a hunting rifle, a few firecrackers, several kitchen knives, and a manure fork.

Wait, a manure fork?

Sang Xu: "..."

Ye Xin said proudly, "I stole it from the manure collector. The longer, the stronger—this thing is the longest, perfect for me. I even specially coated it with shit for enchantment, at maximum power. I have another one; do any of you want it?"

Everyone gave him a wide berth.

Pushing open the window, they saw dark clouds covering the moon. Through the black veil-like clouds, the full outline of the moon was faintly visible.

The moon was obscured; there was no moonlight tonight, so they could act. Everyone filled their canteens and packed provisions. Han Rao took the hunting rifle and put the firecrackers in his backpack. The two girls each took a kitchen knife, Ye Xin took the manure fork, Sang Xu picked up the chicken cage, also grabbed a kitchen knife, and slung the cloth bag over his shoulder.

The cloth bag contained Zhou Xia's ashes and the old man's large steamed buns.

The five of them stealthily left the house and walked onto the north-south dirt road. Skirting the meeting point, they passed other tile-roofed houses and faintly heard the cries of children and the sound of villagers spitting.

They tiptoed westward. Passing by a wooden house, Ye Xin suddenly whispered, "What the fuck?"

"What's wrong?" Han Rao turned around.

Ye Xin pointed with the manure fork at the window of the wooden house. The window was half-open, and the inside was empty.

"Why is there no one inside?"

"Maybe no one lives here? Don't be so jumpy, you moron," Han Rao said.

Shen Zhitang also looked panicked. "No, no, this is the manure collector's house. We stole the manure fork here during the day."

As they spoke, the sound of an old man's hacking cough came from inside the house, along with the rough noise of a chair being dragged and its legs scraping the floor. However, they could clearly see that there was no one inside the house.

"That house is empty too," An He pointed to a tile-roofed house on the other side of the dirt road.

As they walked, they looked around and were horrified to find that the entire village was completely empty, with not a single person in sight.

It was too eerie. Even though there was no one, they could clearly hear the sounds of human activity. Han Rao felt his scalp tingle and said, "Don't worry about it, pick up the pace, hurry to the bridge. Remember, don't look back once you're on the bridge!"

After saying this, Han Rao started running first. The others saw him run and followed suit. The five of them ran breathlessly to the west end of the village and indeed saw a stone bridge over the stream. They stopped at the edge of the bridge, none of them stepping onto it. Han Rao gritted his teeth, took the first step, and decisively crossed the bridge. Seeing that nothing happened to him, Shen Zhitang, Ye Xin, and An He quickly followed. Sang Xu, carrying the chicken cage, was last.

Don't look back on the bridge? Why?

Sang Xu was a bit curious. He thought for a moment and silently raised the kitchen knife.

Using the kitchen knife to reflect what's behind him shouldn't count as looking back, right?

The shiny blade reflected his back, and he saw many tall, thin black shadows shifting behind him.

What were those things?

Just as he was about to take a closer look, the blade suddenly darkened, as if something had blocked it.

At the same time, a low voice sounded in his ear.

"You'd better not seek death."

Sang Xu's heart pounded.

He put away the cleaver and crossed the bridge with the chicken coop. Though all five made it safely across, none dared look back, sprinting forward desperately. This time, there was no ghost wall (a supernatural barrier); instead, they entered a banyan forest. The sounds of coughing and children crying in the air grew increasingly distant until they faded away completely.

Shen Zhitang patted her chest, still shaken. "This village is too strange."

Han Rao whispered, "Don't relax! The clouds aren't very thick tonight—I have a feeling the moon is about to come out. Hurry and find the temple!"

He was right. The moon's halo seeped through the clouds, faint and elusive like a wisp of smoke. Though beautiful, to the five of them, it felt no different from a death warrant. They hurried through the forest, desperately searching for the temple. Yet after a long while, they still found nothing.

"Look at the sky!" Ye Xin whispered.

Sang Xu looked up and saw the clouds gradually dispersing, the moon slowly revealing half its face.

The moon was pale and ghastly, like the face of a dead person, carrying an unspoken sense of menace. For some indescribable reason, Sang Xu felt as though it were alive. Under the eerie moonlight, the forest seemed to awaken. In the distance, rustling sounds echoed through the trees, as if the night wind were blowing or something were moving through the woods.

Han Rao was as anxious as an ant on a hot pan. "Find the temple, quick!"

Sang Xu looked down at the ground, where half-burned paper money occasionally peeked out from beneath the thick layers of fallen leaves.

Could it have drifted from the temple?

Sang Xu said, "Look for the paper money under the leaves and follow it."

Everyone quickly kicked aside the leaves, uncovering quite a few pieces of paper money. Following the trail, after about fifteen minutes, an ancient temple emerged deep within the dense forest. It had high lintels, fierce chiwen ornaments kneeling on the tiles, and a red wooden door studded with nails, its paint peeling like splattered blood.

At the same time, the moon fully emerged from the clouds, and the rustling sounds behind them surged like a tidal wave.

"Hurry!" Han Rao urged.

The five of them sprinted for their lives.

Ye Xin suddenly tripped, falling flat on his face.

He cried, "I sprained my ankle!"

His injury was severe. After several attempts, he couldn't run and could only crawl forward slowly like a turtle. Han Rao and Shen Zhitang didn't even glance back, sprinting far ahead without a second thought. The rustling in the forest grew more intense, as though something was charging toward them. Only Sang Xu remained by Ye Xin's side.

From the look in Ye Xin's eyes, he clearly wanted to drag Sang Xu into helping him.

"Dude, don't bother with that moron!" Han Rao shouted.

Ye Xin grabbed Sang Xu's pant leg. Sang Xu glanced at Han Rao, then at Ye Xin weeping on the ground. Sang Xu sighed—helping him directly would save more time than arguing. He tossed the chicken cage forward, and Han Rao quickly ran out to catch it before darting back under the temple's eaves. Sang Xu grabbed Ye Xin and dragged him forward with all his strength.

Shen Zhitang and An He, who had reached the door, looked surprised to see Sang Xu dragging Ye Xin.

In the forest, the rustling grew closer. Shen Zhitang and the others saw something about to emerge from the woods and covered their mouths in terror.

An He shouted, "Faster! Hurry!"

Sang Xu pushed himself to the limit and finally dragged Ye Xin to the entrance. Han Rao rushed out and helped Sang Xu pull him inside. Shen Zhitang and An He quickly shut the door and bolted it.

Han Rao gave Sang Xu a thumbs-up. "You're something else."

Ye Xin repeatedly said, "Thank you, really, thank you."

Sang Xu nodded faintly without a word.

Outside the door, waves of low murmuring could be heard—like human speech, yet also like the wind. It sounded familiar, but they couldn't understand what was being said.

An He pressed against the red door and whispered, "Look, what's chasing us out there?"

Just as Sang Xu was about to lean in for a look, he noticed Han Rao, Shen Zhitang, and Ye Xin hadn't moved and instinctively stopped. He remembered how Zhou Xia had stopped him when he tried to look behind using the cleaver's reflection.

Was it forbidden to look at the things outside?

What would happen if An He saw them?

Han Rao cautiously asked, "What did you see?"

An He pulled back her gaze and shook her head. "I couldn't see clearly—just dark shadows. But... it feels somewhat familiar..."

Sang Xu frowned slightly.

Indeed, he felt the same sense of familiarity. But where did it come from?

Amid the dense murmuring outside, a few coughs echoed, and Sang Xu's eyes widened abruptly.

The sound... why did it resemble the dung collector grandpa's cough?

"Do you think the people outside might be the villagers?" Sang Xu asked.

An He nodded repeatedly. "Exactly!"

That was it—Sang Xu finally realized the source of the familiarity. The murmuring sounded like the local dialect of the village.

Were the ones chasing them the dung collector grandpa?

Why was the grandpa chasing them? Was he holding a grudge over the stolen dung fork? Would returning it now be enough? If not, could Ye Xin offer him a fresh dump in exchange for their safety...?

Sang Xu recalled the shadows he'd seen reflected on the cleaver, and his confusion deepened—those shadows hadn't looked human at all.

Han Rao hoisted Ye Xin onto his back and said, "Enough, stop looking. Finding a way out is what matters. Let's get inside the temple and focus on our task."

With that, he carried Ye Xin toward the main hall. Shen Zhitang was already at the front, her face filled with fear and unease—more panicked than she'd been even when they couldn't find the temple. Sang Xu sensed that something had changed within the group, and this change was very tricky and unspoken.

Ye Xin, on Han Rao's back, waved Sang Xu over. When Sang Xu approached, he whispered, "Be careful of An He."

"Why?" Sang Xu asked in a hushed tone.

Han Rao glanced back at An He and said in an almost inaudible voice, "You're a decent person. There aren't many good people in this dream. I don't want you to die too soon. You remember, she is no longer An He."