Chapter Eighteen: The Swarm of Bizarre People

  I was stunned for over ten seconds before I realized I was wrong, there wasn't the distinctive smell of burning protein in the air, instead the flames were getting smaller and smaller, until they went out completely, when I could still see black worms squirming around in the ashes.

  Yu Mo swallowed two mouthfuls of saliva, somewhat shocked and fearful, saying it must be a ghost causing trouble, not allowing us to burn paper.

  I let him take Wenjing back first, I stayed behind to see if there would be any ghostly activity. You Ruo said firmly: "I'll stay with you, and we can run away when the ghost comes out."

  Just as we were talking, the fat earthworms crawled out of the ashes and approached us again. Yu thought about lifting his foot to trample them to death but was stopped by me. This thing can't be trampled on, first because it's disgusting, and secondly, there's a lesson from the hush money, maybe if you touch it, you'll have bad luck.

  Staring at them like that, we retreated as we got closer, but gradually realized that the earthworms' route of advancement was very strange, just like the difference between a drunkard and a normal person walking. Especially when I shone my flashlight on them, I suddenly exclaimed: "Huh? My grass! The earthworms are practicing calligraphy!"

  Earthworms have mucus on their bodies, and after getting stained with paper ash, the marks left on the ground are very obvious. I stared at the marks they crawled over carefully, resembling Chinese characters, seemingly saying "Brother, run quickly"?

  My heart skipped a beat, I hastily went to the side of the lawn, starting from where they crawled out, and indeed, all were words like "brother" and "run fast", only with many strokes connected together, making it hard to distinguish.

  Apart from Wen Jing, no one else calls me brother, she must be nearby.

  At this moment, I couldn't care less about the impending danger. I yelled out Jing's name loudly, telling her to come out quickly, no matter if she was human or ghost, no matter what form she had transformed into, at least let me take a look.

  No matter how hoarse my voice became, no matter how painful my throat was, Wen Jing still didn't appear. I stared at the dimly lit bridge with only a few scattered lamps, gritted my teeth, and was about to rush up recklessly when a shrill cat cry sounded from behind me, as if a kitten had seen its arch-nemesis and let out a mournful wail on the verge of death.

  It was a cat meowing in the quiet body of Wen Jing, I turned my head to look, and at some point, behind us, under the street lamp, stood a very tall person.

  Very tall, one-third as high as the streetlights, the light stretched his shadow very long, five or six meters long, I could step on it!

  A strange person stood quietly under the street lamp, from head to toe, exuding strangeness everywhere.

  His height was estimated to be over 2.3 meters, with very long arms and two hands hanging down to his knees. What's even stranger is that he wore a gray long gown from the Republic of China era, which was also lengthened, covering his feet and almost touching the ground. His face made me feel terrified, as if a horse's head had grown human features.

  The slender figure reminds me of the "flat-headed" grasshoppers that I often saw in the grass when I was a child, with their entire body being bright green.

  Wen Jing yelled at me to run quickly, and then this person appeared. Without asking, I knew that the newcomer was not a good person. Although he didn't have bulging muscles, judging from his height and arm length, I estimated that even if Yu Wu and I joined forces, we wouldn't be able to beat him. Moreover, someone who could make Wen Jing's soul alert obviously wasn't human.

  Our hearts were about to jump out of our throats, and we stared at him in terror, but he didn't look at us. He slightly turned his body, motionless, and the standoff continued for several minutes. It wasn't going to work if we kept going like this, so I pulled Yu behind me and slowly walked past him.

  "Clearing his throat, he bowed and said: 'Hello.'"

  As I drew near, I had to look up at him, but he didn't lower his head to look at me. He was still staring into the distance with a dazed expression, nodding slightly to indicate that he had heard my voice.

  I asked if you had something on your mind? He nodded indifferently, so I asked him what was wrong, he shook his head again. I said if you don't have anything, I'll leave then.

  This time, he didn't make any move, I gave Yu Wu a wink, and we slowly backed away from him, step by step, until we were more than ten meters away. The tall, strange man was still standing in the same place, my heart was filled with joy, Yu Wu carried Wen Jing's shoulders who had already fainted, I carried her feet, and we took off running.

  He was soon out of sight and I breathed a sigh of relief, then discussed with You Wu the identity of this strange person. You Wu said: "Not clear, but definitely not from the basketball team!"

  It's all nonsense, I decided to contact Liu Weimin after going home.

  From the big bridge to my home, I have to pass through a small alley. There are streetlights at both ends of the alley and one in the middle not far from the residential area. The rest of the road is pitch black. As we walk in the alley, Yu Wei seems a bit scared, so he makes a joke, saying that with us carrying Wen Jing like this, it's easy for people to misunderstand.

  I don't like him making fun of Wenjing, so I didn't respond. A moment later, he said that if Wenjing meows a few more times, she'll probably scare people to death.

  I was just about to ask him if he's done, when Wenjing gave a timely response, meowed and then struggled violently like a fish on the chopping board about to be slaughtered. I quickly put her down, wanting to pet her head to comfort her, but Wenjing trembled and burrowed into my arms instead.

  Don't be so careful and pinch my clothes, pointing to the street lamp tens of meters away, his voice trembling: "Wang Zhen, that guy blocked us!"

  Under the street lamp in the alley, a tall and thin figure stood out. From afar, he looked like a grey bamboo stick, straight and unmistakable.

  This time without any hesitation, I picked up Wen Jing and ran away immediately. You Moer picked up a brick and was about to rush over, seeing me running away, scolding and chasing after me, scolding me for escaping without calling out, but I didn't expect him to suddenly become so brave!

  I originally wanted to run directly to the police station, but when I was about to reach the alley entrance, that strange person appeared again under the streetlight. It seems we can't escape after all.

  When you can't win a fight and can't escape, there's only one way that works everywhere - reason!

  Let Yu hold onto quietness, I steeled myself and walked over, when the yellow glow of the streetlight enveloped me as well, I suddenly realized that where I was standing wasn't at the entrance of the alley, but rather at the bridgehead, just like we had never left.

  I don't know if it's a ghost hitting the wall or an illusion, anyway, it has something to do with that tall weirdo.

  I walked up to him, bowed deeply again and greeted him once more. He still didn't lower his head in response, but instead gave a slight nod, indicating that he had heard me.

  I asked him what was wrong, he shook his head.

  I said if you're okay, I'll leave then, he nodded.

  I immediately walked away a few meters, seeing that he had no reaction, thought for a moment, and still went back. I stuck my neck out and said to him: "Do you think this is fun? We can't beat you, whether you want to kill or torture me is up to you, but at least give me a reason, let me be a ghost with a clear conscience!"

  After saying that, the tall and strange person's face slightly **, then slowly lowered his head, almost a hundred and eighty degrees vertically looking at me, this action made me feel very small, like standing in front of a monster as a naive little girl.

  After facing him, his face seemed longer. Oddly, he had a pair of phoenix eyes without black pupils, but instead a murky white.

  He spoke in a hoarse voice, like a saw blade scraping back and forth on water-soaked wood. He said to me: "You can go."

  I'm somewhat skeptical and asked in return: "So I really left then?"

  He nodded his head, with a very serious expression!

  "I'm leaving, I really am leaving! It's you who made us leave, but you can't block our way under the streetlights again!"

  Staring at me, nodding slightly, without any extra movement, but I became curious instead. Seeing that he had no malice, I asked: "You're not going to kill me, so why bother with this?"

  He let out a sigh, smiled with a bitter smile, like a horse laughing, making my little heart beat fiercely. He raised his head and continued to gaze into the darkness behind me, saying slowly: "Actually... I came to take you away!"

  "Where are you going?"

  Don't kick me, he said in a low voice: "Where can you go? It's still ink, run quickly!"

  I also came to my senses and hastily said to the tall, strange man: "Brother, you are a person of status and ability. The strong can bully the weak, but they cannot deceive them. You've already let us go, aren't you going back on your word?"

  He calmly told me: "The reason I'm not taking you away is that I couldn't take you away, but maybe after a while I'll be able to. Now that we can leave, let's hurry up and go, or else we might not be able to leave anymore!"

  "Why can't you take it away?" I asked again, and Yu Mo was so anxious that he kicked me.

  The strange man didn't say a word, raised his chin and nodded towards me, indicating that I should turn around.

  Yu Wu and I turned around at the same time, as if we didn't know when the tall strange man would appear under the streetlight, nor did we know when two more strange men would appear behind us, hand in hand, standing at the bridgehead.

  There were no lights, only a pale and faint moonlight that fell on them like cow's milk. One wore a white robe, the other black, unlike the tall and thin stranger, their robes were not thin, but thick and somewhat bloated. The two men were of average height, but their attire made them look quite stout.

  They were far away, without a light, and it was unclear whether they were male or female, old or young. It was only after we turned around that Wenjing, who was being held in someone's arms, also saw them and cried out again. If the voice of the tall stranger sounded like the desperate cry of seeing an archenemy, then at this moment it seemed as if a cat with wounds all over its body was letting out a painful wail, causing my heart to palpitate along with it.

  I thought there was a savior behind me, such as Liu Weimin. But looking at the situation, it seemed not to be a good thing either. So I hurriedly turned around and said to the tall guy: "You let us go, right?"

  Without waiting for his response, I and You Wu hastily lifted Wen Jing and made a run for it, not daring to look back even once.

  This time, no one blocked our way again. We rushed back home in one breath. Wenjing had fainted, her small face pale, I didn't know if she was scared or shaken by us. I was out of breath and asked Youmo to call Liu Weimin. After hearing that something happened, Liu Weimin arrived quickly, wearing a very old-fashioned Zhongshan suit, his face as white as paper, and I don't know what he was busy with.