Chapter 9: Desolate Village

  I pressed my temples hard with both hands, sorting out the recent events. The book said that on August 1st, the revenge would be implemented. The witch told me to wait for nine years before the Nine-Tailed Fox fully recovered. It seems what the book said was correct, she really took her revenge.

  But why did today become August 1st? This is the most incomprehensible thing to me, but in the end I gave myself an explanation that I must have gotten the time wrong, because on TV and calendars it all showed August 1st.

  I know I didn't remember wrong, but this strange thing happened anyway, what else can I do?

  The matter was handled much more easily than I had imagined. After the police asked us some relevant questions, they let us go. They ultimately determined that the large truck's brakes had failed. By the time we were released, Zhang Bao had already been cremated.

  And just like that, a good buddy of mine left, what surprised me was that I didn't shed a single tear, perhaps I thought this was a deserved retribution?

  "Wang Hui, I think you'd better not go to work today! You've also seen Zhang Bao's situation."

  Zhang Bao is dead, I don't want Wang Hui to be like him and die suddenly without warning. Wang Hui looked at me and shook his head, clearly not taking this seriously.

  "What's wrong, don't you still believe his death was due to Wang Xiaoya teacher's curse?"

  "I don't believe it, maybe it's just a coincidence. I told you about that notebook, it might be someone else's prank. You also know today is July 31st, not August 1st."

  "Wang Hui, all the shopping malls show August 1st, we don't need to doubt this point anymore. As for how the time differs by one day, I think there will be an answer later." I paused here, "Can you reveal a little bit now where that mysterious place is? I want to know!"

  Wang Hui shook his head and said to me, "Xiao Long, actually there is no such mysterious place. I only said that because Zhang Bao told me to say so. He said it would be good for you, so we both said we went to a mysterious place, but in fact it doesn't exist."

  I was stunned for a moment, then asked: "What Zhang Bao told you, doesn't exist?"

  "I asked him what was going on and he said don't ask, then I saw you wake up."

  "Hmm!" I nodded and said, "Then can you tell me where I was at that time? That night, it was clear that both of you disappeared one after another, but why did I see the two of you together when I woke up?"

  Wang Hui thought for a moment and asked back: "You really don't remember?"

  "I knew you'd disappear first, the two of us went to look for you, but you were gone, leaving a note telling us to find you in the woods. The two of us went there, but Zhang Bao was also nowhere to be found. Then I waited in those woods, wasn't that what happened?"

  "Little Dragon, since you want to know, I'll tell you. At that time, you were talking nonsense and insisted on going into the woods. No matter how we tried to persuade you, it was no use. Zhang Bao told me that you might have had a split personality disorder and asked me to find the village doctor. He stayed here to watch you, but still couldn't stop you from going into the woods. In the end, you fainted there."

  "Is everything you said true?" I asked doubtfully.

  "Of course, you know me, I've never lied! I knew you had schizophrenia and was very sad about it, originally didn't want to tell you."

  "Wang Hui! Are you saying that all these strange things happening to me are just my own imagination?"

  "I don't know what strange things are happening on you, but if there are any, they should be your own imagination."

  Wang Hui spoke every word seriously, not looking like he was joking around. In other words, no one could be joking at this time. After hearing his words, I let out a deep breath and closed my eyes, imagining many things in my mind. Could it be that I really have schizophrenia?

  "I think I should get back to work now, Xiaolong, take care of yourself!"

  Wang Hui finished speaking and left, while I could only helplessly press my temples. At this moment, I suddenly thought that it was impossible. The scenes that happened to me were so real, how could I be sick? Now there is only one way out, I have to go to the hospital, to the psychiatric department for a check-up, to see if I really have schizophrenia. If I do, then I will accept treatment. If not, then Wang Hui is in danger.

  If I didn't have schizophrenia, then he must be saying this to cover up something or he knows something that I don't know.

  I immediately hailed a taxi and went to the psychiatric hospital in the city. The test results were very good, I had nothing to do with schizophrenia at all. So does that mean everything I've been through is real?

  So is Wang Hui cheating on me? Why did he cheat on me?

  Is there still some other secret hidden in this? Now I don't want to guess randomly, for the time being, I'll find Wang Hui first. First, I dialed his mobile phone, but it was unreachable. Finally, I decided to go back to Rongshu Village. If he's not there, I can also ask other villagers where he is working and then go find him.

  Once again, I have to go to Rongshu Village. My heart is racing with anxiety and I feel a sense of emptiness. I think it's related to Zhang Bao's death. I don't know what's going on this time. The bus stopped at a distance of one kilometer from the village entrance, not in front of the village gate like before.

  Helpless, I had to walk into the village. The village entrance was still that dry well, but this time it was covered with weeds, which was strange. Last time I came, it was clean. I went straight to Wang Hui's door, just as I imagined, Wang Hui's door was locked, and he should not be at home. After looking around for a few moments, I left and prepared to ask the surrounding neighbors.

  I walked around several nearby houses, which didn't surprise me at all, because every household had their doors locked. It shouldn't be like this, should it? Rongshu Village doesn't have any special situation, and outsiders can't get in. Even when people go out to work in the fields, they don't need to lock their doors. What's going on today?

  Generally speaking, the village chief's home door is never closed because his house is the village office. So I went to his house to take a look, but when I arrived at his house, I was stunned. The large iron gate had grown rusty, and the weeds in the courtyard were taller than me. It was a desolate scene, looking like no one had lived there for at least two or three years.

  Surrounding the village of Rongshu to continue searching, it was found that all the houses were basically locked up, and those that were not locked up were like the village chief's house, a wasteland. At this moment, I suddenly discovered an undeniable fact, that is, the entire village of Rongshu no longer exists.

  Thinking of this, a chill ran down my spine again, I desperately ran towards the back mountain, and everything that entered my eyes once again made fear escalate...

  I saw many graves and wooden plaques, with over a hundred graves. The back mountain is the cemetery of Rongshu Village. Every time someone dies, they will be arranged to be buried in the back mountain. Although I was very scared, I still frowned and looked on. Here, I saw the name of the village chief, the names of Zhang Bao's parents, the names of Wang Hui's parents, and the names of all the villagers.

  What terrified me even more was that on the last two wooden plaques, I actually saw Zhang Bao and Wang Hui's names. Oh my god?! I suddenly felt a chill run down my spine, a strange feeling welled up inside me, I wanted to speak but couldn't, it was as if there was a stone stuck in my throat that prevented me from speaking.

  Zhang Bao, we were together just a few days ago, Wang Hui, we just broke up yesterday. What's going on in this grave? Obviously, the wooden sign here has been standing for many years and is now worn out.

  Just then, a figure suddenly appeared in front of me, a figure that seemed very familiar. I quickly chased after it, but there was no one in front of me. I rubbed my eyes hard and looked around. In the distance not far from me, there was a person wearing a black hat, walking down the mountain with his head lowered.

  I wanted him to stop in his tracks, but he didn't give me any response at all and just kept walking forward. I could only subconsciously follow behind him, watching as the distance between us got closer and closer, three meters, two meters, one meter away.

  I shouted at him loudly: "Who are you? Stop right now, or I won't be polite to you!"