Chapter 48: The Person from Nine Years Ago

  In the late afternoon, we returned to the lake again. This time, however, we stood at a different angle from the lake than before. From here, the lake water looked beautiful, a completely different beauty from last time.

  The evening sky is reflected with a special red color, and this red color is reflected in the lake water, making the lake water form a magnificent purple color.

  The round lake was calm as if there was nothing in the water, just like a mirror. But we all know that there are corpses under the water.

  When we really got here, we were already very tired. We were so tired that no one wanted to say anything, and everyone just quietly set up their tents and lit a bonfire. If it weren't for this eerie atmosphere, I even had the illusion that this time we were just out camping.

  The tranquility was broken by the voice of one of the Hans. He said, "Boss, we've arrived at the place and set up camp. Since it's just getting dark, can we settle the bill? We can still make it back home in the dark." He spoke cautiously, as if he feared that Ah Tian, who was holding a gun, tilting his head, and smoking, would point the gun at him if he wasn't satisfied.

  "Hey, what's the rush? It's getting dark and the road is not safe at night. Didn't you guys say this place was haunted? Let's wait till tomorrow, we'll count it as half a day's work for you, and I'll add 150 yuan on top."

  However, the two men still looked anxious. The current situation was no longer as simple as it was when money could be used to measure it. They had a kind of fear towards Ah Tian.

  Only the tall man remained silent and didn't speak. Su Haicheng sat beside the bonfire, watching Kakashi boil water to cook instant noodles. Of course, they were using mineral water. He sat there, the firelight shining up onto his face, making it look particularly eerie. He said, "Now that we've arrived here, do you guys know what we're going to do?"

  Those men still didn't say anything.

  I was a bit surprised that he would proactively bring this up with those men. So I sat next to him, leaning my body and gently nudging him. He looked at me, nodded slightly, and continued: "We're preparing to dive in. We'll rest tonight and set off early tomorrow morning."

  This afternoon, when I knew that the troops were coming over, I thought we would go straight into the water as soon as we reached the lake. After all, time was pressing, but when we really got here, I realized what it means to reach one's physical limit. Now asking me to get in the water is simply impossible. Fortunately, at this moment, everyone feels about the same as me, and no one has suggested getting in the water tonight.

  "Down water?" One of them repeated these two words in a strange tone.

  "Right, let's go down. Didn't they say this water is haunted? The dead will all come back. I'm the one who came back from the lake. And now, I'm going down again. Because I want to go down and find a way to bring up all those dead people below. Hmph, do you believe it or not?"

  One of the men swallowed his saliva and shook his head. Kakashi had already started making instant noodles, looked up at Su Haicheng, then leaned over and whispered in my ear: "Your dead husband is really good at creating a scary atmosphere with his serious tone."

  Su Haicheng continued: "Just over two months ago, in that village over there, I was burned to death. My whole body was scalded, and all I could think about was walking into the water to cool off. Many of us, no, many corpses, one by one crawled out from under the ruins and slowly walked towards this side. The lake water is very cold, really cold. Under the water, there are still many corpses, many, many." He raised his hand and pointed at the lake water beside us, "Right below here, it's all corpses, this whole lake of water, it's all corpse water. I heard that the village near you drinks from the same underground water source as here. It was the underground water in that mountain cave where you hid last night. Did you smell the stench of corpses in the water last night?"

  A man hastily said: "When a person is dead, he's just dead. Who would believe what you're saying?"

  "You don't believe me, what are you trembling for? Or do you think I'd come all the way here to this lake of dead bodies and spend money just for fun? Right, I'm not from around here, I really want to know if you've heard of any way to bring the dead people in the lake back to life?"

  Everyone in this village of bookworms who live outdoors knows the legend, and the men living nearby must also know it. The shock in their hearts is definitely much greater than ours.

  "Teng", that tall fellow suddenly stood up and said: "I'll go relieve myself. It's getting dark, we'll head back early tomorrow morning."

  As soon as the man walked into a nearby bush, Su Haicheng stood up and walked in his direction.

  Su Haicheng had just taken two steps when Ah Tian also stood up, tossing the gun to Kakashi: "Kakashi, you know how to play with this, right? Just have some fun with it, don't get too carried away. And later, after boiling the noodles, put out the fire. These are extraordinary times, no more fires."

  Kakaxi took over the gun: "I know how to play. I know how to play. Guaranteed not to misfire."

  He walked in that direction and said: "If we accidentally start a fire, it's no big deal. We're just poaching, killing a few people is normal."

  I muttered under my breath: "They really think we're poachers."

  The boss took over Kaka's instant noodle business, and from the thicket came the sound of someone being beaten. I whispered: "Bastard!"

  The boss looked at the two tense men outside and said, "Sometimes, indeed, a little special means are needed." He said so, but he felt that his participation in the whole thing was the least. Our boss has already passed the hot-blooded youthful period. No matter how he does things, he is more stable than us. Just like now, Kakashi held the gun and said to the man who was about to get up, "Don't move, this gun I really don't play well, it's my second time holding a gun. But last time I shot a mountain chicken, that one you ate last night. I guess my marksmanship is really bad."

  Is this supposed to be a threat? It doesn't have much deterrent force. I thought to myself, but unexpectedly, he continued: "So if I accidentally fire the gun, I estimate that the direction it will hit is your side, you guys should be careful not to scare me. My hand is shaking."

  Alright, he is indeed quite good at intimidating people.

  Kakaxi was acting like this, but the boss quietly cooked instant noodles, covering each bowl with a lid and then extinguishing the fire. His behavior was completely that of an outsider to this matter. If we were caught, he could say he was threatened into coming along, and that he was the victim in this case. This way, his job, his career, would not be affected.

  He used to work hard for Sakura's sake, but now that he knows Sakura is not dead, he doesn't need to try so hard. The boss is a university professor and indeed an intelligent person.

  Kakaxi is now holding a gun and pointing at others, if we get caught, he'll probably be the one to be dragged down. Me? I've already been dragged down by Su Haicheng.

  So I stood up and walked towards the thicket. Under the faint light of my flashlight, that tall man knelt on the ground, his hands supporting himself, and began to sob quietly.

  Atian and Su Haicheng surrounded him, one in front of the other, Su Haicheng asked coldly: "Don't you plan to tell the truth?"

  The man with a crying voice said: "You tell me first, who are you?" His words, listening to the accent, did not seem to be from this place.

  "I've told you, I'm a dead man who walked out of that lake."

  The man turned over, his face covered in wounds, and it seemed he had indeed been beaten. He sat directly on the ground, his muddy hands not even bothering to wipe away the tears on his face.

  Su Haicheng saw me walk in and shielded me behind him. This action was unintentional, yet it served to protect me. His gaze was fixed intently on the man sitting on the ground, silently waiting for him to speak.

  The man finally stabilized his emotions and then said: "I was a soldier in the squad that handled the incident nine years ago when everyone in Apricot Village died."

  Soldier? My heart skipped a beat. He was actually one of the soldiers who participated in the mountain village incident that was set on fire nine years ago. I think this must have stunned both Su Haicheng and A Tian.