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The wedding was still ongoing, and Su Jin'er quietly pondered her thoughts. She had unknowingly consumed several cups of tea, while Linyuan and the others were unaware of what she was thinking, only watching her furrowed brows with concern.
Chu Feifan occasionally glanced over at them, his brow never relaxing. The red groom's outfit made him appear even more tall and handsome.
"The ceremony is complete—"
Su Jin'er looked up briefly before lowering her head again. It was such an outdated ritual in this day and age; she wanted to laugh, but the twitching corners of her mouth prevented any smile from forming. Her hands resting on the table felt unusually cold.
Chu Feifan and Arian were led into a room, and Su Jin'er felt her eyes moisten. She weakly lifted the corners of her mouth, but it only resulted in a bitter expression.
Even knowing he was being forced into this, even knowing he liked her, the sadness in her heart still engulfed her like rising tides. She wanted to drink water to mask her sorrow but accidentally choked on it, leading to a fit of coughing.
Linyuan patted her back but didn't know how to comfort her. If she were in such a situation, she wouldn't be able to bear it at all—she would either run away or cause a scene! Yet, Su Jin'er continued to smile at everyone, even though she clearly understood how much pain and sadness she was in.
Su Jin'er’s face turned red from coughing.
After a while, Chu Feifan and Arian emerged. Arian had already lifted the red veil, smiling brightly as she linked arms with Chu Feifan to greet everyone. Su Jin'er felt that splash of red pierce her eyes like needles.
Chu Feifan stiffly toasted everyone, his smile becoming increasingly rigid; he seemed to have forgotten any other expression. His eyes occasionally darted toward this side, trying to catch a glimpse of Su Jin'er’s expression, even if just a little bit. But all she could see was her own smiling lips and indifferent gaze.
Finally, the wedding concluded as darkness gradually fell. They were once again led back into the Small Dark Room. Su Jin'er lay on the bed, staring at the ceiling. The images of Chu Feifan's red attire and the bride's red dress kept flashing through her mind. She tried hard to act indifferent, but she couldn't deceive her own heart.
She closed her eyes, wanting to rest for a moment, but her mind spiraled out of control; she couldn't even clarify what was bothering her.
Zuo Yi signaled Linyuan with his eyes, who helplessly shrugged his shoulders to indicate he couldn't do anything.
Su Jin'er opened her eyes and wondered why she felt sad about feelings she had never truly possessed! How could she forget the purpose of being here?
She sat up and looked at Zuo Yi, saying, "Chu Feifan mentioned they were worshipping the gods yesterday, right?"
Zuo Yi and Linyuan looked at her in confusion and said, "Yeah! Is there a problem?"
"He also said that after the wedding, the village chief would let us go, right?"
The three of them nodded again, not understanding what she was thinking.
"I'm really curious why they want to use a living person's heart to honor the gods. Are you curious?" Su Jin'er said with a mysterious smile.
A few of them were even more puzzled, but they still nodded.
"Then let's go out and take a look! Maybe we can find something."
"But can we get out?" Linyuan said, looking at the tightly locked door. Although he didn't know what she wanted to do, it was better than letting her be sad alone.
Su Jin'er took out a key and said, "I stole this today."
The others were so surprised that their jaws nearly dropped. No one expected Su Jin'er to steal a key. Everyone was worried she would be upset, yet she had the mood to steal a key; it seemed they didn't know her well enough.
Su Jin'er walked to the door and pulled it open, revealing a gap in the middle. Her slender hand reached out, slowly unlocking it, then she winked at them triumphantly.
It was completely dark now, and the villagers were still celebrating. The bonfire almost lit up the entire sky as people danced around it. Meanwhile, Chu Feifan was being awkwardly pulled by his bride to dance, and no one noticed that a few people were secretly trying to escape.
The night wind blew cold against their skin as they ran and hid into the woods. Finally, they escaped from sight. The four of them leaned against a large rock, gasping for breath. The cool air rushed down their throats like fire, causing dryness and pain.
"Cough cough! Did we make it out?" Linyuan asked while coughing.
"We—made it out, but where should we go now?" Zuo Yi panted, patting his chest. He hadn't run this far in a long time, especially uphill.
"I never said I wanted to leave!" Su Jin'er lay on the rock, looking down at the still-celebrating crowd with dreamy eyes. "Next is our time to fight back."
"What should we do to fight back, anything..." Before Linyuan could finish speaking, his eyes widened in terror as he looked into the forest.
"Why did you stop?" Su Jin'er turned around, intending to say something more, but her voice caught in her throat.
What was that?
Hanging from a tree in the forest was a person, a bloodied figure whose upper and lower body were nearly severed. Only a small piece of muscle barely held them together. His intestines were exposed, slowly writhing, and there was a large hole in the area where his heart should be—empty, devoid of a heart. Yet, he was smiling, his bloodied face grinning silently at them.
Zuo Yi and Gaya Ze had never encountered anything like this. They stared in horror at the figure that was no longer human, their chests heaving violently.
In this dark and eerie forest, anyone witnessing such a sight would be terrified. The person who should be dead was smiling at them, a smile so chilling it felt maddening.
Su Jin'er turned to look below. She wanted to call for help, but the people who had been celebrating below had mysteriously dispersed. Even the bonfire had been extinguished, as if no one had ever been there. The surrounding sky was so dark that nothing could be seen.
No!
What was wrong with this place?
Su Jin'er gathered her courage to look at the terrifying figure again. Why could they see the "person" clearly in such darkness? They could even see the intestines writhing distinctly.
"Xiaoyuan, what do you see?" she crouched down and asked quietly. After what happened in the dormitory last time, she knew she had to stay calm and not fall into the enemy's trap.
"I—I saw—a body split in two, yet still smiling at us."
Gaya Ze and Zuo Yi nodded in agreement.
A sudden chill swept through the air, causing them to shiver involuntarily. Su Jin'er fixed her gaze on the "person," and she was shocked to realize that the distance between them was slowly closing. But she hadn't seen when he moved at all.
Fear made her tremble continuously. Was her intuition wrong? Was that "person" really that thing?
Zuo Yi wanted to stand up, but his body was stiff and he couldn't move at all, his bones creaking.
As the distance closed, the smile on his face grew wider. His mouth had already split open, and his teeth fell out the moment it gaped wide, blood streaming down from the corners of his torn lips. The muscles on his face slowly cracked apart, pieces falling away to reveal stark white bones.
They wanted to escape, but their bodies had no strength at all. They tried to close their eyes to avoid looking at him, only to find that they couldn't even shut their own eyes. They could only watch helplessly as that terrifying thing drew closer, pushing them into a corner.
Sweat soaked their clothes, and the cold wind blew through, making it feel even colder.
Su Jin'er’s fingers were stiffly curled, her knuckles numb from the strain, yet she felt as if she had been paralyzed and couldn't move an inch.
Breathing became increasingly rapid; in the next moment, her heart might leap out of her mouth, leaving her devoid of all sensation.
Suddenly, a low sobbing sound echoed through the forest, as if someone was crying while desperately trying to suppress their sobs.
"Why do you want to dig out my heart? Give me back my life—"
The voice was piercing and filled with despair.
Then a harsh sound filled the air, like nails scraping against glass, irritating every fragile nerve in their bodies.
They painfully covered their ears.
"Are we collectively hallucinating or is all of this real?" Gaya Ze said in anguish. He had always dealt with corpses and knew that they would tell him things that the living would not. However, he had never encountered a corpse seeking revenge, which left him incredulous.
At that moment, he was only a meter away from them. He reached out with his bloodied hand; just a little further and he could touch Linyuan's neck. Linyuan looked at the "person" before her in terror, mouth agape but unable to make any sound, only breathing in the air thick with the smell of blood.
Just as those hands were about to touch Linyuan's neck, a bright light suddenly shone down.
The thing before them vanished in an instant. They gasped for air; the scent of blood still lingered in the atmosphere. Linyuan collapsed to the ground and began to vomit, tears streaming down her face. She had been so close—just a moment more and that horrifying thing would have killed her.
The light approached them, and they could see it was the villagers. At that moment, Su Jin'er felt a sense of familiarity; at least they were of her kind and not some terrifying monsters.
Su Jin'er stood up, her calves numb from sitting for too long. She bent down and rubbed them vigorously before helping Linyuan up from the ground. This village hid too many secrets, and it seemed they were aimed at her. If that were the case, even if she didn't investigate, these matters would find her on their own. It was just unfortunate for her friends who had to endure the fright alongside her.
They followed the villagers back into the village. Su Jin'er quietly sat in a chair while Linyuan was still shaken by what had just happened. Zuo Yi was berating himself for being a coward, regretting that he hadn't rushed in to punch that mysterious figure, while Gaya Ze could only smile helplessly.
Su Jin'er looked at Zuo Yi and said, "Stop blaming yourself. Anyone would be scared in that situation; no one would believe that was a person." After a pause, she continued, "I'm wondering why all the villagers were celebrating and suddenly dispersed without leaving a trace. More strangely, how did they find us?"
Su Jin'er's words made Zuo Yi quiet down. He frowned and said, "If you hadn't mentioned it, I wouldn't have noticed. It was pitch black around us; how could we see that thing so clearly? And why did we see it so distinctly?"
"Right, I've been thinking about that too," Gaya Ze said while stroking his chin.
"Maybe that thing really is a ghost," Linyuan said softly.
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