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墨書 Inktalez
Crossing the long field ridge, the land on both sides was overgrown with thick grass. Even the ridge itself was submerged in wild weeds, and occasionally a snake slithered by, startling Li Hao. Bai Yujing used a stick to push the obstructive creature away before continuing forward.
Walking along the ridge, Bai Yujing could see the distant mountains, their peaks stretching endlessly. A wide river flowed down from the mountaintops, winding around each hill and nourishing this piece of land.
"Look ahead!" Li Hao pointed forward, and Bai Yujing immediately spotted a dilapidated village coming into view. The first thing they saw was the archway at the village entrance. As Bai Yujing approached, he noticed that the archway was very old, standing less than five meters tall. Of the three characters inscribed on it, two had completely worn away, leaving only a faint trace of the middle character "Yuan."
The archway was entirely white and connected to the street and houses. In front of it were several layers of stairs about half a meter high, built with irregular stones each half a meter long. At the village entrance stood an aged mulberry tree, lush and thriving.
Bai Yujing nodded. "It seems this is the place. Let's go in and take a look."
The village still retained its ancient appearance, featuring typical southern water town architecture. As they walked inside, both sides of the road were lined with brick-and-stone tiled houses, and large stone slabs covered the ground throughout the village. Bai Yujing pushed open a door to one of the houses to take a look. As he reached out to push it open halfway, the upper part collapsed, sending up clouds of dust.
"Cough cough cough!"
Bai Yujing and Li Hao stepped inside to check. The room was furnished with tables and chairs, and pots and pans were all present; however, everything was covered in spider webs and thick dust. Bai Yujing opened the kitchen window, allowing light to flood in and brighten the space considerably.
The light fell perfectly on a water tank. Bai Yujing lifted the wooden lid of the water tank; it was empty of water but contained grains. Upon inspection, he found a bag of blackened old rice and half a bag of flour.
Li Hao also walked in from outside. "I've looked around; there's nothing here."
Bai Yujing replied, "There's something off about this place!"
Li Hao immediately came over to inspect the water tank. "It looks normal; what's wrong?"
Bai Yujing quickly explained, "Everything is too intact. Look, even food is still in the water tank. This means that when these people left, they were in such a hurry that they didn't have time to take their belongings with them; they just left in a rush."
Bai Yujing then exited the kitchen. "Let's check other houses."
The village consisted of interconnected alleys that made one feel somewhat disoriented while walking through them. Each house was linked together, sharing resources and dividing large public areas among them. The small doorways and alleys gave one a sense of stepping back into Jiangnan from last century.
Bai Yujing and Li Hao entered several courtyards and finally stopped at a spacious courtyard facing the street. They discovered that almost all the houses were in the same condition, with everything still inside. Bai Yujing could imagine that something significant must have happened in the village, causing the villagers to leave in a hurry without even returning home.
Li Hao, having seen so many places, felt that something was off: "It makes sense; why is everything still here? If they left normally, they would have taken their clothes and bedding with them."
Bai Yujing thought for a moment and felt there were too many things that didn't add up: "If they left in a hurry, even if there was some urgent situation at the time, why didn't they come back later to retrieve their belongings?"
Li Hao replied, "Maybe there was danger in the village, and they were afraid to return."
Bai Yujing nodded, agreeing with Li Hao: "But there could also be another possibility."
"What possibility?"
"The villagers all died overnight."
After Bai Yujing said this, their conversation abruptly stopped. In such a remote and desolate village, bringing up such a topic felt unsettling to anyone. Li Hao felt a bit anxious and dryly said, "No way!"
"I'm just joking. How could that be? If that were the case, we would have found bodies. It's clear that after the villagers left, no one has come here since, so my previous theory doesn't hold." Bai Yujing laughed heartily.
Li Hao looked at Bai Yujing with some exasperation when suddenly his phone rang. He glanced at the caller ID with a serious expression and said to Bai Yujing, "Wait for me a moment; I need to take this call outside."
Bai Yujing turned to the backyard and was taken aback when he saw a well appear before him. The Exotic Creature Hunter System in his mind was sounding an alarm. Bai Yujing immediately recalled what Qiu Shanqin, Professor Qiu, had told him before.
"Isn't this the mark of Shuiyuan Village? Every well there is dug particularly deep, and each family has an ancient well that has been around for years. The ancient Inoue are engraved with this kind of mark."
Bai Yujing quickly walked over and crouched down. Sure enough, he saw a mark on the side of the well that was identical to the one on Li Hao's ankle. Bai Yujing explored around the well; aside from this mark, he found nothing else.
Looking at the well, Bai Yujing noticed that the water level was quite high; he could see water less than two or three meters from the mouth of the well. The water was clear, occasionally bubbling up without any other discoveries. However, Bai Yujing had a question: "How did Professor Qiu know that this well is dug very deep? You can't tell just by looking! Did the villagers tell him? This area has abundant water resources; digging down ten or twenty meters should yield water easily. Is it really necessary to dig so deep?"
At this moment, Li Hao also walked in and gradually approached, squatting in front of Bai Yujing. Bai Yujing did not turn his head and looked down at the well: "Confirmed?"
Li Hao nodded and let out a long sigh: "Forget it, at worst, I won't be human anymore. I suddenly realized that I am the protagonist! Aren't the characters in those TV shows all like me, burdened with mysterious bloodlines and backgrounds? However, I don't want to die young. The person I consulted told me that issues related to this kind of genetics are fundamentally unsolvable. Now, I can only rely on you."
Bai Yujing turned around and said, "I told you I would help you to the end. My words still count; look at this mark."
Li Hao turned his head to take a look: "Isn't this the same as the one on my foot?"
Bai Yujing stood up and brushed off the dust from his hands: "Let's check other places. If there’s an Underwater Detector later, we can drop it down to take a look. I suspect there’s something at the bottom of the well!"
The two of them wandered around the village again. The village was small, but there were quite a few buildings, with each household connected together, creating a particularly spacious feeling. It seemed like the winding alleys would never end. While walking, Bai Yujing noticed that the circular mark could be seen in many places throughout the village; in every nook and cranny, new discoveries appeared from time to time.
They arrived at the center of the village, which served as a communal area for everyone. There was a large square with a very wide water well in the middle, and on the other side stood a large Banyan Tree, which had already died.
Bai Yujing took a glance and immediately recognized it. The scene in the photo found in Lin Ruoqiao's room was right here; he had previously thought it was a courtyard but realized it was indeed the central square of the village.
The woman in the photo was standing under this dead Banyan Tree when it was taken, but that was over ten years ago. Looking at this dead tree, Bai Yujing approached it, and as he did so, an alarm sounded loudly; it seemed there was something wrong here.
Bai Yujing's palm rubbed against the Dead Tree as he knocked and tapped occasionally until he found a fist-sized hole in the upper part of the tree.
Bai Yujing immediately called Li Hao over: "You sit on my shoulder and stick your hand into that tree hole to see if there's anything inside."
Li Hao immediately shrank back: "Why should I explore in there? What if there are bugs or snakes inside?"
"Does your family have snakes living in trees?"
"Anyway, I'm not doing it!"
Bai Yujing had no choice: "Then you squat down, and I'll go up!"
Bai Yujing sat on Li Hao's shoulders, perfectly level with the tree hole. Bai Yujing took a look; the hole was deep, just big enough for one hand to fit inside. It was pitch black inside, and even with the phone's flashlight, it was impossible to see what was inside. Sticking a hand into such an unknown hole certainly felt a bit creepy.
Bai Yujing used a stick to probe inside, poking around for a while but found nothing. With no other option, Bai Yujing slowly extended their hand into the hole. Li Hao, watching Bai Yujing's actions from below, felt a wave of anxiety.
After Bai Yujing's hand went in, they continued to feel along the walls of the hole until they reached the deepest part and touched something. A surge of excitement filled Bai Yujing, but then they let out a scream.
"Ah! Ah!!!!"
Li Hao jumped in shock, "What happened, Old Bai? Are you okay!"
Li Hao immediately grabbed Bai Yujing's legs and pulled them back out, causing Bai Yujing's body to sway awkwardly. "Wait, wait, hold on! I was just trying to scare you!"
By the time those words were said, it was too late. In a panic, Li Hao stumbled backward, and both of them fell to the ground hard. Especially for Bai Yujing, who was higher up and fell harder; it felt like their whole body had fallen apart.
Li Hao sat up and looked at Bai Yujing, who was struggling on the ground, with annoyance: "What's wrong with you? I thought you triggered some trap."
After a long moment, Bai Yujing finally sat up: "I was just joking! Who told you not to explore that tree hole? I took the risk just to scare you!"
"Enough about that. What do you have in your hand?"
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