Chapter Fifty-Four: The Shadow of the Black Night

  Humans are social animals, as can be seen from the houses they build. Although the terrain is flat and the area is vast, the seemingly scattered layout still takes the form of a cluster, with only over twenty households in total. Tian Qi and the others quickly took a look around.

  The ancestral hall was easily found and is a central part of the village. Its foundation is much higher than other houses.

  It has to be said that the quality of the old buildings is really good, I don't know how many years have passed, except for the red paint peeling off on the pillars and some wind-dried gray tiles on the roof, the temple is still relatively well-preserved.

  Because the foundation is relatively high, some steps were built on the road into the temple.

  "Yingying, you and Qiu Shen wait here for now, I'll go up with Pangzi to take a look first," Tian Qi said.

  "En, okay, then be careful, Qi Ge." This time, Yingying didn't object. It was because she had some doubts from the start, but just didn't have the nerve to say it out loud.

  She wasn't afraid of seeing dead people, it's just that what the old man said was true, more than a hundred people died in the ancestral hall overnight. Even after so many years have passed, the villagers' bodies must still be there, thinking about such a scene would send chills down her spine.

  It's like when you're facing danger, it's one thing to suddenly encounter it without knowing it's there, but if you know it's terrifying and still have to face it, that in itself is a kind of torture. If Tian Qi didn't say anything, with Yingying's personality, she wouldn't take the initiative to show weakness, but actually, she was still a little scared inside.

  "Tian Qi, let Chou Shen and you go, I won't be of any help anyway." The fatty also retreated.

  Tian Qi dragged the fatty upwards, "If you have a deep grudge against those two, I'll let you and Yingying wait here. You're such a big man, don't be so cowardly, you're our biggest one."

  If Yingying weren't here, Pangzi would find an excuse not to go even if he had to be shameless about it. Tianqi knows he's vain, so he said that on purpose.

  The stairs weren't many, just about several dozen levels, and Tianqi and Pangzi quickly came up.

  "How is the door still closed?" After coming up, there was a platform, but the temple gate was closed, said Fatty.

  Yes, Tian Qi was also puzzled in his heart. The old ghost said that he saw everyone dead in the ancestral hall that day, and at that time, he was so scared that he only had one thought, which was to run away. How could he still have time to close the door? Was it the wind? But looking at the door of the ancestral hall, it's a relatively heavy one, even an adult would need to use some force to push it open normally.

  Perhaps it was after experiencing a storm that the door closed at that time, Tian Qi said so, could it be that the person who killed the villagers closed it?

  Tian Qi didn't dare to think deeply about it. Before making any discoveries, it's better not to make wild guesses, otherwise you'll just be scaring yourself.

  The two of them didn't rush to open the gate of the ancestral hall, but instead walked around it in a circle.

  "There are no windows, it seems we can only open the door to see what's inside." Tianqi and Pangzi walked around in a circle and found that the ancestral hall was also built quite uniquely, with no windows at all on either side. He had some knowledge of China's ancient architecture, and knew that ancestral halls were often highly individualized, with changes made to their structure and layout due to special requirements or circumstances. Not having windows wasn't unusual, he recalled reading about an ancestral hall that was even built underground.

  The gate of the ancestral hall is a traditional two-leaf door, Tian Qi and Qiu Shen stand on either side, pushing the door panels.

  "One, two, three!"

  "Cough, cough, cough, I'm choking to death!" As the door slowly opened, a cloud of dust fell to the ground. Pangzi didn't notice and was choked, but Tianqi was okay, dodging just in time.

  "Why is it always me who's unlucky!" Fatso had dust all over his hair and body, but Tianqi looked like nothing was wrong.

  Looking at Baozi's appearance, Tian Qi almost couldn't help but burst out laughing.

  "How are you? Are you all right?" Perhaps hearing the sound of the door opening, Yingying shouted from downstairs.

  "It's okay, let's go in and take a look."

  However, the ancestral hall was not as imagined, there were no remains of villagers on the ground, nor were there any broken limbs. There wasn't even a nameplate that could identify their identities.

  What's the reason, is it because it has weathered away over time? Tian Qi quickly ruled out this possibility. People die but their bones can last a long time. If they were outdoors, there would be a high chance of weathering away, but this was inside an ancestral hall.

  Tian Qi thought of a terrible possibility.

  "Shall we go together? You said that after these villagers died, they were eaten by something, not even leaving bones behind?" Fatso was actually a very clever person, it's just that he didn't quite understand this line of work yet, so sometimes he seemed a bit foolish. After a long time, he also came to understand many things.

  Tian Qi didn't say a word, just nodded his head. This old ghost wouldn't talk nonsense, so the possibility of what Fatso said is quite high.

  After confirming that there was nothing in the ancestral hall, Tian Qi let Yingying and Chou Shen come up too. The few of them decided to set up camp here for the night.

  Although they had brought water and it would have been enough for several days, just in case, Qiu Shen went to the river to fetch some more.

  Yingying is equipped with a water testing device and can also perform purification.

  "Is this little thing really that amazing?" Fatso said, because the thing was indeed very small, about the size of a basketball, and he thought that a machine capable of detecting and purifying water couldn't be too small.

  Yingying smiled and poured the water brought by Qiu Shen into the device, then pressed the switch. "Don't look at its small size, but the devices inside are quite complex, with several world-class patented technologies."

  The water quality test results are out soon, although it is not suitable for long-term drinking, but in the short term there is no problem, barely meet the drinking water standards.

  Tian Qi had always been worried that if the water was undrinkable and couldn't be purified, they would really be in danger. The water they brought with them would last at most three days.

  "I said we should pitch our tent somewhere else, thinking about the fact that so many people died here last night makes me feel a bit uncomfortable, although I didn't see anything, but can't help thinking about it."

  Tian Qi refused the proposal of Pang Zi, he chose this place for a reason, it can be said that among all the houses in the village, this is one of the highest places. Firstly, it's convenient for them to observe and see anything that happens at the first time, secondly, it's also convenient for them to defend themselves.

  Fatso also knew Tian Qi was right, anyway they were in a tent.

  They spent some more time wandering around the village and found nothing out of the ordinary except for the fish in the river and the black air that permeated everywhere.

  Time flies quickly in the mountains and it gets dark early too.

  "We took turns sleeping, I kept watch first, then Qiu Shen, followed by Pangzi. Yingying is a female comrade, so naturally she didn't need to keep watch." After dinner, the few of them chatted for a bit before Tian Qi told everyone to get some rest early.

  There was no insect chirping, nor any bird singing, the night here was very quiet. Tian Qi stood at the gate of the ancestral hall, admiring the scenery and borrowing the moonlight, the night here was also very beautiful.

  "Gege." A gentle voice sounded from behind Tianqi, and a coat was draped over his body. "It's cold, don't catch a chill."

  Tian Qi looked at Yingying and took off his clothes, then put them back on her.

  Yingying didn't refuse, but smiled instead. Her smile was so happy that the two of them sat down together, with their clothes covering both of their bodies at the same time.

  They sat quietly like this, neither of them speaking, as if speaking would break the tranquility of the moment.

  Tian Qi pulled Yingying into his arms, gently stroking her hair with his hand. This was their first intimate contact, and it happened in such a strange mountain valley.

  "Yingying, you said if I didn't choose this career would it be better for me. Maybe now I'm drinking tea and chatting with my family." Tianqi looked down at Yingying.

  Yingying lifted her head, her eyes looking up at Tian Qi, "Tian Qi Ge, don't doubt yourself, you've done very well. It's just that..."

  Ying lowered her head and didn't say anything.

  "What's going on?" Tian Qi asked.

  Yingying grasped Tian Qi's hand, "It's just that I feel like this place seems very dangerous, although it looks fine now, but my heart still feels a bit uneasy."

  A warm current surged in Tianqi's heart, he knew that Yingying was worried about him being alone at night and came over to keep him company. And Yingying had the same feeling as Tianqi, this place was absolutely not as simple as imagined, except for the fish in the river, there wasn't a single other animal here, not even an ant or a spider was found.

  The temple has been deserted for many years, yet there isn't a single spider web.

  This is not normal, and it's extremely abnormal.

  Tian Qi was not a person who would tell lies, he didn't know how to comfort Yingying, so he just held her tighter.

  Time passed minute by minute until Qi Shen came to take over from Tian Qi, and only then did the two of them return to their respective tents to sleep.

  It was a long time before Tian Qi was awakened by a hurried yet tense voice.

  "What's wrong?" Tian Qi opened his eyes and found Bao Zi beside him.

  "I've found something! Get up quickly, two big things!" The fat boy's tone was urgent, whether from tension or fear.

  Tian Qi suddenly woke up and got out of bed at the same time, waking up others as well.

  "What is that thing, how can it be so fast?" Several people stood on the platform of the ancestral hall, seeing two very large black shadows chasing each other in front and back. Although there was moonlight, the distance was a bit far, and they couldn't see what animal it was.

  "I think the one in front looks like a spider, and the one behind...the one behind looks like a person." Qiu Shen said uncertainly.

  When Ou Shen said this, Pangzi immediately raised an objection. "Looking at the way they run, it's indeed a bit like a spider, but have you ever seen such a big spider? It's more like a wild boar, and it's almost as big as an adult. How can the one in the back be human? Look at their speed, normal people won't run that fast, right?"

  Tian Qi didn't say a word, he couldn't see clearly what it was either, and could only continue observing.

  Two dark shadows ran back and forth for a few minutes, then the shadow in the back suddenly jumped up and knocked down the shadow in front. After that, several people saw what looked like a human shadow dragging another shadow away into the darkness of night.

  "Is this hunting?" said the fat man.