28th Day 1 Onigawara Village

  When I got up in the morning, I tried to dial the phone number that Dà ài had given me at first, but it was still an empty number. My heart was very anxious, so I checked out of the room. The small hotel was a family-run shop, and at this moment, it should be their daughter who was taking care of the shop - an 18 or 19-year-old girl with two big braids.

  I heard that to get to the ancient village, what bus should I take?

  The little girl was taken aback and said, "Ancient village? I've never heard of it. Is it in this town?"

  I said, isn't this Qinghe Town?

  The girl nodded and said, "Yes, but I've never heard of Gucun. Let me ask my dad, wait a minute."

  After finishing, he raised his voice and shouted, and a middle-aged man with a bronze face and a goatee came out. He looked at me suspiciously, as if to confirm whether I had just done something. The little girl said, "Dad, do you know Gucun?"

  The middle-aged man looked at me and said, "Are you going to the ancient village?"

  I said, yeah, how to go?

  The middle-aged man's face had a somewhat strange expression, he said, what are you going there for?

  I said, that's my hometown, I'll go back and take a look, visit some relatives.

  The middle-aged man's expression became even more bizarre, and he said to the little girl, "You go cook, I'll watch the store."

  The little girl responded with a sound and walked to the back. The middle-aged man said, "Why are you going to the ancient village? No one lives there anymore."

  I said, how could there be no one living here? My friend is getting married and just called me from there.

  A middle-aged man said that if no one lives there, then no one will live there. It's impossible for anyone to get married there. You're talking about getting married? Are you saying... getting married?

  I saw the middle-aged man become extremely panicked, as if I had mentioned some taboo topic. I nodded my head and didn't respond. The middle-aged man said, anyway, listen to me for a moment, don't go, there's no way to get to that godforsaken place without a car.

  The middle-aged man seemed to have said something he shouldn't have again, anyway, he immediately spat three times and told me that if I stayed another day, he would help me buy a ticket, and go back wherever I came from.

  The little girl came over from behind at this time and said to the middle-aged man, Dad, I remembered that Gucun is the ghost village on the internet, right?

  I was stunned, Ghost Village? Isn't that the same destination as Siyao and those donkey friends? How could Ancient Village become Ghost Village? When I was a kid, that was my childhood paradise, it's been so many years since I last went back, has it changed this much?

  The middle-aged man glared at the little girl and said, "What nonsense are you talking about? Are you daring to say anything? Quickly spit three times, children's words are innocent, and gods and ghosts won't blame you."

  The little girl looked like she didn't care, saying it's just a desolate village, there are weird things online, the more you talk about it, the weirder it gets. However, that village really doesn't have any cars passing by, if you want to go, I can lend you my bike, ride west for three hours and you'll be there.

  The middle-aged man said, how did you know so much detail?

  The little girl said, a few days ago we went out to play, it was here, there's nothing, just a deserted village.

  The middle-aged man almost jumped up and said, "You guys went to the ancient village? It's really... it's really... Just wait till your mom comes back and kills you."

  The little girl said, it's not as eerie as you adults say, there's nothing, let alone ghosts, I haven't even seen a rabbit. If you want to go on a trip, just go, give me 200 yuan deposit, take the bike and ride away, when you come back, don't worry, I'll return your money.

  I let out a sound, took out 200 yuan, and the little girl was also very pleased. She took the money and threw the key onto the counter, saying: "Ride west for one kilometer, at the end is a mountain, there's a mountain road, go through a section of excavated mountain belly, then down the mountain, you'll see it. At this time, if you come and go, you can return before dark."

  I let out a sound, said thanks and was about to leave when the middle-aged man called me. I turned around and he said, "If you must go, take this with you."

  After finishing, he rummaged through the box and cabinet, took out a cloth package, turned it over, handed it to me and said, "This is the wolf's tooth that was left behind before. It can ward off evil spirits. You take it with you and return it to me when you come back."

  How much does it cost?

  The middle-aged man shook his head and said, "Don't mention money. Now hearing my daughter say this, it seems to be very popular on the internet, many people will go there. But the ancient village is not a place for sightseeing, you should leave early and return early. Also, be careful... Never mind, never mind, just be careful in everything."

  I walked out with a little emotion in my heart. This place is still simple and unspoiled, and has not been swallowed up by money.

  However, it's also a bit strange that for the ancient village turning into a ghost village, two generations of people seem to have two attitudes. The older generation is tight-lipped, while the new generation doesn't think much of it.

  My mind also turned over with doubts, if I were to say that this thing happened to me, it would be a supernatural event. Mysteriously knowing that I still have 30 days to live, knowing that my friends are all cursed, running over to take a look at my old home which has become a ghost village, a holy land for adventure seekers, and a taboo that others do not dare to mention.

  What is this?

  I'm really confused and a bit scared now, anyone who encounters such things will be afraid, but if you don't go to the old village to take a look, you'll never know what happened there. If you don't figure it out, then after thirty days, I'll be gone in a daze.

  I got on the bike, thinking about how strange this was, and followed the little girl's directions up the mountain. I don't know how long I rode, but eventually I started to feel a bit out of breath. In the distance, I saw a group of people walking.

  A large group of people with various backpacks on their backs, equipped for adventure travel.

  Could it be those people I met on the bus yesterday?

  I rode over and indeed saw Shenpo and Sihua walking in the crowd. As I flashed by, Shenpo shouted out "Hey" and I stopped. Shenpo said, "Where did you get this bicycle from?"

  I retorted, how come you all walk?

  The nun said, never mind, no driver is willing to come over, I'm exhausted.

  Siya interrupted and said, "Aren't you going back to your hometown? Why are you taking this road?"

  I said, I asked around and found out that our destination seems to be the same.

  Si Yao exclaimed, "Your hometown is actually Ghost Village?"

  I smiled and said, it wasn't this name before, it was called Gucun Village before, maybe it's all because of your rumors. There are no ghosts in this world.

  Xiyao pouted, and her boyfriend, who was standing beside her, seemed to be unhappy about our conversation. He interrupted, "You go first, we're supposed to hike on foot anyway. We're all backpackers, not luxury travelers. You're not going the same way as us."

  As soon as I heard that it was driving me away, I smiled and really didn't have the mood to entangle with this kind of person. I waved my hand and said, then I'll leave first, I'll wait for you in the village.

  Just rode a few steps, heard a woman shouting, or take me with you, I can't walk anymore.

  I turned around to take a look, and it was that super beautiful woman, what's her name again? Fengyue, yes, Fengyue. The current Fengyue is different from others, while others are carrying big bags and small bags, she has empty hands, with the man beside her holding the bag. There were four or five men surrounding Fengyue, all following her as she walked, when I heard her call out to me, I felt countless piercing gazes shooting towards me.

  I like this feeling of being in the spotlight, and I don't care if it's jealousy or murderous intent in their eyes. I smiled and said, "Alright, let's go."

  The wind and moon seemed to be very happy, came over and got on my car seat. I turned back to look at the people behind me, whether male or female, their eyes were filled with hatred. This person is really cheap, deliberately raised his voice and said, "Hug me tight, this person drives fast, don't fall off."

  Fengyue hummed a sound, her hands gently placed on my waist, although through clothes, but I could still feel the softness and heat of those hands. I turned back to smile at everyone, shouting "Let's go!"

  Rode off on his bike.

  It's actually quite nice.

  Fengyue seems to be very interested in my hometown, which is the ancient village. Along the way, she asked me several questions, and I answered all that I could recall. However, when I left, I was too young, and the only time I returned was a hasty trip, so there's really not much I can say.

  It was actually me who was very interested in the ghost village mentioned by Fengyue, after answering a few of her questions, I asked, who organized your adventure here?

  Fengyue said, a group of friends of my brother, all donkey friends, I heard and followed.

  I said, which one is your cousin?

  The wind and moon were leaning against me, saying they hadn't come.

  I let out a sound and felt a bit strange, continuing to ask if Ghost Village was true or false.

  Fengyue said, I think it's fake, where are there ghosts in this day and age? However, you say students want to travel, tourist areas are expensive and not interesting, but places like this are not bad, everyone brings tents to explore, and they have something to talk about when they get back. You say is that right?

  I didn't expect Feng Yue to be so frank, nodding her head and saying, "It's still good being a student, with few demands and easy to satisfy."

  Fengyue said, "Aren't you a student?"

  I chuckled and said, "It's been many years since graduation. Tell me about Ghost Village, I'm really interested."

  It's said that there are some poor students who climbed a mountain and arrived at an abandoned village, which sounds scary enough. Add to this several hysterical girls scaring themselves, and after being exaggerated online, it became a "ghost village".

  To be honest, I've started to like Feng Yue. She speaks from a completely neutral standpoint and won't change her tone just because she's a student or a woman. This kind of straightforward girl really suits my taste, not because she's pretty, but genuinely.

  But another question follows, I asked, since it's meaningless, why did you come?

  The wind and moon were silent for half a day, then said, anyway, living is meaningless, come over and take a walk, to lower the IQ of people of the same age, isn't it?

  I smiled and said, I'm afraid your Mr. Right has arrived.

  Fengyue pinched my waist with both hands and said, "Don't talk nonsense."

  I didn't expect that I casually said it and actually got it right. I laughed and said, lowering my head, we've passed the mountain cave.

  This cave was the one Father built back then, dug out from inside the mountain. The cave wasn't long, just over ten meters in distance, but coming from under the sunlight, it still startled Feng Yue for a moment.

  It wasn't just her who was startled. As I passed through the cave, for a split second, I thought I saw a flash of red above my head. I turned around to look, but there was only the dark entrance of the cave, nothing else.

  Why can I feel like there is a pair of eyes staring at me?

  From the moment I passed through the cave, I felt like something was staring at me, and that red shadow...

  Was it really what I saw or just something I dreamed of?