I had never witnessed a zombie devouring a human before.
The raw and bloody scene truly startled me!
I'm not being overly delicate, nor am I a fragile flower in a greenhouse. But the sound of flesh being torn and swallowed made me retch involuntarily.
"Let me out... Let me out!"
By now, I've realized that all this was probably pre - arranged by Si Jiangchen.
Whether it's me, Lu Dayong, or even these villagers in Lu Village with their own hidden agendas, we're all just pawns in Si Jiangchen's game. He can toy with everyone with just a flick of his hand.
Si Jiangchen stared at me intently, pinching my face. Seeing that I was pale and on the verge of fainting, he wrapped his arm around my waist, hunched over, and walked towards the other side of the cellar.
The suffocating feeling of being held in his arms left me too weak to struggle. I could only let him lead me forward.
With a leap, I suddenly saw a bright light. Looking around, I found that we were now in Lu Dayong's dilapidated cave dwelling.
Outside, the sun was blazing. The sunlight filtered through the tattered window paper, casting strange golden spots on the ground.
For a moment, I was in a daze. I wondered if those disgusting scenes underground were just illusions caused by lack of oxygen.
This is the human world! There are laws and order!
But, down there in that dark underground where sunlight never reaches, some people have already disappeared silently from this world...
I'm sure the remaining two people in Lu Dayong's "storage room" will soon become his prey.
Blood, cruelty, horror...
Lu Dayong's cannibalistic appearance just now completely shattered my previous understanding of zombies!
After all, I'm human. Watching my fellow humans being devoured like animals deepened my fear of zombies.
I broke free from Si Jiangchen's arm and took several steps back.
Si Jiangchen didn't seem to mind. He stretched lazily, then took out a cigarette case.
"Is it okay?"
He raised his eyebrows, knowing the answer already.
I turned my head away, ignoring him. He then took out a cigarette, lit it, and put it between his lips. He threw another thing into my arms.
I originally wanted to dodge, but when I saw the familiar packaging, I immediately gave up and obediently caught it with both hands.
"Thank you..."
I unwrapped the golden wrapper and popped the black ball into my mouth.
Suddenly, a rich chocolate aroma filled my mouth, soothing my hungry stomach.
"How did you..."
The golden wrapper was from my favorite brand of hazelnut chocolate. Every time I pretended to talk to ghosts, I would eat a couple to satisfy my craving.
I originally wanted to ask Si Jiangchen how he knew I liked this.
But then, I got angry. He had dug out all my secrets and even knew what I ate!
I chewed the chocolate listlessly and walked out of the cave dwelling, avoiding Si Jiangchen.
The dry grass and fallen leaves rustled under my feet. I subconsciously wanted to go further.
"Miss Du... Miss Du, what are you doing there?!"
Suddenly, from outside the dilapidated courtyard wall, Aunt Li's panicked voice came. I saw her, Uncle Li, and an older man hurrying down the path on the hillside.
Looking down from above, they immediately saw me walking out of the cave dwelling.
"Nothing. I'm just curious," I said.
I had a really bad impression of these scheming villagers.
Zombies are different from cats, dogs, or ordinary wild beasts. If there's even a slightest mistake, the whole village and even the surrounding area for miles might turn into a dead zone!
"Is this... the 'master' invited by Young Master Wei?"
The older man behind Aunt Li sized me up suspiciously for a while, then turned to Uncle Li and asked, "Why is it just a young girl...?"
"Village head, the person invited by Young Master Wei should be no worse than the masters we invited ourselves," Uncle Li said with a smile, pointing at me. "You've invited so many highly - skilled masters, but none of them could solve the problem. Why not let her take a look? Even if it doesn't work, she's a girl, and there won't be any bad rumors."
As they were talking, they had already reached the courtyard gate.
"Miss Du, come out quickly. This is no place for humans. There's... that thing here!"
Aunt Li still looked terrified, waving for me to come out.
"I don't think it's that big of a deal," Si Jiangchen said lazily as he walked out of the cave dwelling when he heard the voices. "It's just a dilapidated house... Oh, right..."
As if he just remembered something, he smiled at Aunt Li and said, "I left the shotgun on the mountain, in front of a plague god temple."
"..."
The village head and Uncle Li stiffened at the same time. They looked at each other, and there was a hint of panic in their expressions.
Si Jiangchen didn't intend to expose the decades - long secret of Lu Village, so he changed the subject. He pinched out the already - burned cigarette butt with his thumb and index finger and threw it on the ground. A faint puff of white smoke came out of his thin lips. "Village head, do you have something to ask our Xiao He?"
The village head was so panicked that he didn't know how to respond.
The plague god temple was another exit they built for Lu Dayong. He didn't know if we had discovered the secret of this dilapidated cave dwelling.
Hearing Si Jiangchen change the subject, he couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.
"Yes!" The village head nodded. "There's been... some unrest in my family recently! I want to invite another master to take a look!"
I looked up at the village head for a few seconds, swallowed the chocolate in my mouth, then slowly opened the dilapidated courtyard gate and walked out.
"Your family? I think it's your children who are in trouble!"
I stared at the village head's face, my expression turning solemn. "Your daughter? Is she sick?!"
The village head's face changed drastically. His eyes widened, and he reached out his hand to grab my arm.
Si Jiangchen was right behind me. He waved his long arm and blocked the village head's out - of - control movement.
"How... how do you know?"
The village head looked both nervous and incredulous. He even turned back and glared at Uncle Li and his wife.
Uncle Li quickly waved his hands and said, "Village head, we didn't say anything. We really didn't say anything!"
Hearing this, the village head then said to me, "Little girl, can you really see the problem in my family, or are you just listening to others' nonsense?"
"Do I need to listen to others?"
A faint sneer appeared on my lips. My eyes were as sharp as knives as they scanned the village head's dark face. "Look at the area under your right eye. Your eye bag is puffy, and there's a horizontal wrinkle extending to the corner of your eye... This is a sign that your daughter is in trouble. It seems she's been sick... for two or three months!"
"You... You!!"
The village head was so shocked that he couldn't say a word. He had invited several masters before, but none of them could pinpoint the problem in his family like I did. Now, a young girl like me had casually hit the nail on the head.
He gritted his teeth, slapped his thigh hard, and said angrily, "I won't hide it from you two. My youngest daughter is possessed by an evil spirit. She's been targeted by a ghost!"