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墨書 Inktalez
That night, I tossed and turned in bed, hardly able to sleep, my mind in a bit of a jumble.
Although I had prepared myself for this trip, having heard Zhou Zhen say it was to broaden my horizons, the events that unfolded here still left me unsettled.
Especially the death of Xiao Gao; I felt his suicide was not as simple as it seemed.
Then there was Zhou Zhen's earlier cryptic mumbling. Before going to sleep, I kept asking him what he had muttered about, but he refused to say anything.
Xiao Gao's body had already been cleaned up by Chen Sheng, who planned to notify his family the next day and send him back. As for how to handle the aftermath, that was Chen Sheng's own business.
Zhou Zhen and I shared a room, and early the next morning, he called me out of bed, insisting that we go for a run together.
I was at a loss for words. Having barely slept through the night, I wanted nothing more than to sleep in that morning, so I was quite reluctant.
But Zhou Zhen insisted that I should run more and exercise to build a foundation for the future.
In the end, I reluctantly got out of bed under his insistence.
As I followed Zhou Zhen on our run, I felt somewhat listless. However, as we continued, I noticed something strange.
Suddenly, I furrowed my brow slightly and pointed ahead in confusion. "Uncle Zhou, isn't that the place we visited last night?"
Zhou Zhen smiled and nodded. "Yes, that's right. We're back here."
As he spoke, he kept running and stopped beside the half-buried stone tablet.
I immediately halted in my tracks and stared at him with a frown.
Xiao Gao was dead—horribly so—and it was a suicide.
Even if he hadn't died, given his condition, he wouldn't have lived long. After all, if a person's blood were to drain completely, could they still survive?
The answer was clearly no. What made all of this somewhat absurd was that it happened because he had defecated within the area marked by the stone tablet that read "No Entry."
What about Zhou Zhen?
Last night, Zhou Zhen also stepped in with one foot, yet nothing has happened so far. Could it be because he only stepped in with one foot?
What puzzles me the most is what Zhou Zhen muttered last night. Instinctively, I feel it must be related to Xiao Gao's death.
But when I asked him, he refused to say anything.
Zhou Zhen stood there for a moment, then I asked, "Uncle Zhou, did you notice anything?"
He shook his head and pointed ahead, saying, "Do you see that mountain up there?"
I was a bit confused about why he suddenly asked me this. Following the direction of his finger, I looked over. The mountain wasn't very tall and its area was not particularly large.
However, it seemed to be about two or three hundred meters wide. As for its diameter, I couldn't see clearly from my position.
Suddenly, I noticed something that made my expression change instantly. I looked at Zhou Zhen in shock and said, "Uncle Zhou, that mountain is behind the Half Stone Tablet. Does that mean it also falls within that range?"
He shook his head and replied, "I don't know."
But then he added, "Let's go see where they are mining."
When Zhou Zhen mentioned this, a sense of foreboding surged within me.
The small path we were on was the only route they had carved out for mining. Looking ahead, this winding path seemed to curve right around the back of the desolate mountain.
This inevitably led to more thoughts. If the area where this desolate mountain is located also falls within the range warned by the Half Stone Tablet, then the consequences...
I could hardly bear to imagine it any further. Zhou Zhen's expression was equally grim.
We both kept our heads down in silence and hurried along the path as quickly as possible.
After about ten minutes, Zhou Zhen and I had circled around the desolate mountain, almost making a complete loop, before finally reaching our destination.
At that moment, when we saw what lay before us, both of our faces turned ashen.
The figures of workers, the sounds of machinery, and at least a dozen people bustling about were evident; they were mining the very mountain behind the stone tablet.
"Uncle Zhou!"
The scene left me somewhat at a loss.
Zhou Zhen was furious; he no longer cared about anything else and shouted, "Stop! Everyone stop right now!"
Despite his loud voice, which was filled with anger, it had little effect and was soon drowned out by the clamor of machinery.
I noticed Zhou Zhen stepping forward as if he intended to rush in and stop them. I quickly grabbed his arm and said urgently, "Uncle Zhou, you can't go over there!"
If they were indeed mining within the area that belonged to the half-broken stone tablet, the consequences would be dire.
We were still outside that range for now, but if Zhou Zhen moved closer, it would mean entering that dangerous zone. At that point, he could be in serious trouble himself.
Once I stopped him, Zhou Zhen seemed to snap out of his rage. He appeared to understand the gravity of the situation and couldn't help but shake his head with a sigh. "It's hopeless; they're all doomed. They're all going to die."
My expression was equally grim, but I still clung to a sliver of hope. "Uncle Zhou, maybe we're overthinking this. Perhaps this mountain isn't within the range of that half-broken stone tablet."
"Not within the range?"
Zhou Zhen scoffed and pointed ahead. "Look at the trees and grass on that mountain; now look at the trees and grass next to them."
I glanced over with some confusion but didn't notice anything amiss.
However, I trusted that Zhou Zhen must have seen something significant; otherwise, he wouldn't have made such a statement.
Indeed, seeing that I seemed to notice nothing unusual, Zhou Zhen turned around and pointed to the trees and grass not far behind us, saying, "Look at the trees over there, the grass."
Upon hearing this, I looked again, only to furrow my brow slightly.
I scrutinized the trees and grass on the barren mountain, as well as those around the workers, and my brows knitted tightly together.
"How could this be?" I exclaimed, a look of shock and confusion on my face.
A gentle breeze blew, causing the distant trees and grass to sway lightly. Although the movement was not significant, it was still noticeable.
However, the leaves and wild grass near the workers remained completely still. Such a strange scene would have gone unnoticed by an ordinary person if it weren't for Zhou Zhen's reminder.
At that moment, Zhou Zhen spoke weakly, "Xiao Lin, do you know why I suddenly fell last night?"
"I don't know," I quickly shook my head and looked at him.
He continued, "It was because I sensed something from that place; I was struck by its essence. Luckily, I only stepped in with one foot. If it had been both feet, who knows what might have happened..."
Zhou Zhen's words trailed off, but I understood. If he had stepped in with both feet, he might have encountered serious trouble.
Yet his words left me puzzled. I had some understanding of the term "essence."
Essence refers to something that can evoke feelings and insights while holding infinite meanings; it is a subtlety and realm that is difficult to articulate in words—ethereal yet undeniably real.
It arises from the unexpected yet is contained within itself.
Often, when we watch touching scenes on television or read moving passages in books, we become immersed in them, unable to extricate ourselves; it feels as if we are experiencing it firsthand.
That is what essence is about. However, I did not comprehend what Zhou Zhen meant by the essence he spoke of.
He then casually asked, "And why did Xiao Gao bleed from his eyes? Why did he commit suicide? Do you know?"
I frowned slightly and shook my head again.
He said, "That's because Xiao Gao was deeply influenced by the atmosphere here, ultimately losing his rationality to it, which led to his suicide." Yin Wife interjected fiercely.
As he finished speaking, Zhou Zhen murmured, "He even completely regarded himself as a person within that atmosphere."
"A person within that atmosphere."
Although Zhou Zhen's voice was low, I was standing right next to him this time and heard it clearly. It immediately reminded me of what had happened last night when he stepped in.
So I furrowed my brow and asked, "Uncle Zhou, were you also influenced by the person within that atmosphere yesterday?"
Upon hearing this, he turned to look at me, nodded, but then shook his head.
Then he said weakly, "Xiao Lin, let's go. They are all going to die anyway. Even if we come out now, it would be hard to survive. This place is just too strange. It seems we can only wait for Senior Gu Chen to arrive."
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