Chapter 25: The Mysterious Man in the Strange Cloak

  Fourth brother's words reminded me that the clothes and snake skin were indeed very similar. Fourth brother saw us nodding, looking out the window with a shocked expression, and continued to say in a daze: "Of course, at that time I absolutely wouldn't have thought of putting this dress on Master Tianyu until... until ten days ago that night."

  "That night ten days ago?" Lao Liu asked while taking off his clothes.

  "Yes, that night ten days ago." The fourth brother's eyes revealed an unbearable fear again, staring straight at the candlelight, and countless cold sweats began to seep out from his forehead, and he couldn't help but feel a sense of horror in his heart.

  Just as I was about to ask if he had seen any ghosts, he murmured and continued: "Yes, that night, it felt like a nightmare. The moon was full and the moonlight was beautiful, such a wonderful night couldn't be wasted on just indulging in pleasure. So one person went for a walk in the woods behind the house. After having enough fun, because I still missed Master Tianyu, I wanted to come visit again before going to sleep. But..."

  My fourth brother suddenly opened his eyes wide and stopped talking. In the candlelight, I saw two lines of clear cold sweat dripping from his forehead down his face and into his collar. His round pupils showed a dull gray fear. Everyone else was also afraid to speak, feeling an eerie silence in the room as if some monster existed, making people feel extremely oppressed with a suffocating feeling. Guo Ling leaned against me, tightly grasping my hand, her palm already wet.

  He stopped for a moment, and then licked his dry, cracked lips with the tip of his tongue. "But I hadn't even entered the house when I heard movement inside," he continued. "I could tell it was the voice of a stranger, and my heart grew anxious that it might be an old enemy coming to seek revenge. So I cautiously pulled out both guns and quietly made my way to the window to observe the situation inside. Through the window, all I saw were two strangers standing in the room, wearing the same kind of robes with their entire heads covered by the hoods on their backs. Their faces were completely obscured from view. Just as I was worried that they might harm Master Tianyu and thought about shouting to stop them, one of them suddenly turned his head towards me, a sly and evil smile spreading across his face. In the moonlight, all I saw were the two eyes under the hood flashing with an intimidating cold glow, making my heart feel like it was being scorched by a fierce fire, and my entire body felt like it was covered in goosebumps. Suddenly, the blood vessels in my body felt like they were about to burst, and I felt an unbearable heat coursing through my veins. I tried to use my hands to scratch myself, but they wouldn't listen to me. After that person smiled at me, I was completely paralyzed, unable to move or make a sound, as if I wasn't even in control of my own body."

  His fourth brother wiped his sweat and panted heavily as if he had been oppressed for a long time.

  "You were hit by his evil spell, to be precise, it's a pupil technique. It's a powerful witchcraft that has been lost for hundreds of years in our Miao tribe. I've heard the old folks in our village mention it before, but I never thought this lost witchcraft would appear here." Guo Ling interrupted Si Di's words and sighed.

  "Yes, after being seen by him, it was as if I had become a completely different person. Those two must have known that I was peeking from outside the window, but they didn't care about me at all. After standing beside Master Tianyu's bed for a while, I only heard one of them say in a hoarse voice, 'Third brother, third brother, I thought that after so many years, the curse within you would have been lifted by that great person... who knew it would still be like this.' The other person spoke with an eerie tone, 'Yes, it seems that our master has not let him off. Poor old three, he will have to endure another year or more of suffering and torture. We can't take action ourselves to give third brother relief... it's up to his own fate now.' They stood beside the bed for a long time without saying anything else, then slowly walked out of the room. As they passed by me, it was as if they saw me as nothing at all. I only felt that the air around me was filled with an oppressive and suffocating pressure, and a chilling feeling that made me feel like death itself had descended upon me. When I turned my head to look at them again, the two of them were already gone, vanished into thin air, leaving behind only the lingering sound of their earrings clinking in the darkness. At the time, although I was extremely frightened, I still carefully observed their characteristics. The common features they shared, apart from wearing the same clothes, were that they both wore large black knives on their backs - those knives were even longer than sixth brother's knife by several inches. Also, both of them had long, snake-shaped earrings that hung down to their shoulders. That night, the moonlight was very bright, and I could see clearly." Fourth brother continued, his face filled with fear.

  "It seems that these two mysterious figures should know my master and may even be quite familiar with him. From their words, it can be judged that they seem to have no malice towards my master. Moreover, they also don't intend to harm you, otherwise, given your situation at the time, it would be easy to harm you. I looked at the fourth brother who seemed still in a dream-like state and told him this strange thing, perhaps this will become another clue to save my master."

  Fourth brother nodded thoughtfully: "I think so too, but if that's the case, then Tianyu Master's curse is really something. Those two mysterious figures mentioned 'master' and 'high-ranking person', what kind of people are they? And it seems like Tianyu Master got cursed because he did something, but all these things are unknown for now. However, one thing is certain: Tianyu Master has a mysterious identity. Clarifying these might be of great help in saving him."

  "Yes, that night's events Old Four might be the clearest. Perhaps those few minutes you spent outside the window felt like years to you. But I think Master Tianyu's innate ear hole and the snake-shaped pattern on the back of his head, as well as this garment, are all related to these two mysterious people. Maybe Master Tianyu's ear hole is also for wearing that kind of snake-shaped earring. Since we still have more than a year, we should do our best to rescue Master Tianyu. It would be great if we could get the help of those two." The second brother, who had been deep in thought for a long time, finally spoke up.

  After listening to the fourth brother's words, I suddenly had a very messy feeling in my mind. Many thoughts were intertwined together, and for a while, I couldn't make sense of them no matter how hard I tried. At first, it was the ancient map and characters in Master's will, then it was what Ling Yin Shang Ren said to me, and now there's this mysterious person and Master's unknown identity. Amidst the chaos, another clue emerged, and with it, a glimmer of hope. Suddenly, I remembered those two strange people we encountered on our way to Fanjing Mountain; perhaps they were their accomplices.

  I let out a long sigh and thoroughly released the sadness that had been stored in my heart, knowing that I couldn't rush things now, or else I would only end up like a headless fly, frantically buzzing around. It's better to calm down and wait for an opportunity to turn things around. Maybe my fifth brother, Sima Lin, will come as promised and provide me with a new turning point, who knows.

  After thinking it through, he felt refreshed and smiled at everyone: "Brothers, I think Xiaocui should have finished cooking dinner by now. Tonight, we were so busy discussing our master's affairs that we even forgot to eat. Everyone must be starving, right? Why don't we go make an offering at the Temple of the Five Organs now?"

  Several brothers saw me with a smile on my face, and the tone of speech changed greatly. Their eyes were filled with strange glances towards me. Coincidentally, Xiao Cui also came into the room to call everyone, and then went straight out of the room towards the kitchen.

  After finishing dinner, everyone chatted again about those two mysterious people. Seeing that the time was not early, they had to stop here and each returned to their room to rest.