Chapter Nineteenth: Black and White Twin Shadows

  Look up at the sky, the moon moves with the clouds, but it's this sudden sound in the empty air that makes my soul tremble. No unusual sights, no strange movements, yet my mind is fully occupied by a premonition, and no matter what, once I enter this place, there will be something eerie.

  Lying down in the house, closing my eyes and calming my mind, I need to sort out my thoughts after being disturbed by all these people.

  The next day, Nan Village was in an uproar. Nearly ten households of chickens had died inexplicably, and were neatly arranged at the entrance of each household, all with their necks bitten through, bloodless, but with black wounds that seemed to have been inflicted instantly by a swift hand.

  What's even more worrying is that several children have suddenly appeared with symptoms of fainting, foaming at the mouth, and speaking nonsense. After careful consideration, it seems like they are saying something about someone tapping their shoulder while playing yesterday, but it doesn't make any sense. The villagers are in a panic, some calling 120, others shouting to send them to the hospital.

  Some villagers who had opinions on the road repair beforehand gathered together, blocking the construction site and forcing it to shut down. An elderly villager came forward to negotiate, saying that they had disturbed the village's "qi" and that the south village was in trouble. As soon as this statement came out, it spread like a plague, and all the work that had been done previously was suddenly halted. Everyone said that they wanted to drive away the troublemakers and restore peace to the south village.

  Zhao Zai found me and Lao Qian with a dark face, and said something even more shocking. The four workers who were sent to the city hospital after being frightened by the stone coffin had originally recovered and were about to be discharged from the hospital, but last night they suddenly took a turn for the worse and fell ill in an extremely strange way. Liu Pang was so sad that he couldn't cry, the construction site had an accident, his heart was more painful than being cut with a knife.

  An accident occurred at the construction site, alarming the headquarters. The old boss came, and Lao Guo from the police station in charge of our company's jurisdiction also came due to his relationship with the old boss.

  The arrival of the police played a crucial role, and the chaotic situation was temporarily brought under control. As for the so-called "great security and great joint defense", Old Guo immediately took on the role, using the police car to rush several children to the city hospital, where they were admitted to the same ward as the previous few, controlling their condition. When it comes to children's affairs, there can be no sloppiness.

  At the same time, we will go to the village and work with them on site to persuade the crowd.

  Lao Guo saw the neatly arranged chickens and other livestock, his brow furrowed. Actually, I had known earlier that this was similar to our finance department being stolen, a case that still weighed on Lao Guo's mind.

  When everyone was in a mess, I felt cool inside, and last night's prophecy came true instantly.

  But behind Liu Pang, I saw two shadows, one black and one white, following closely. My heart suddenly exploded, Liu Pang, as the leader of the workers, had already been taken into the sight of the Shadowless Gate. Old Guo's back was clean and tidy, perhaps the pistol in his clothes had played a role.

  The construction work cannot be done for the time being. The elderly in the village are stubbornly insisting that digging and breaking the earth's veins will bring disaster to the southern village, so it's better not to continue for the sake of future generations.

  How can this be allowed to happen in a national project? Can it just stop like that? And if work stops for one day, the cost will be enormous.

  The boss was anxious and helpless, so Lao Qian and I comforted him: "Village affairs should be solved with village methods. You take Director Guo back first and entrust us with full authority. We'll think of a way to handle it, don't worry."

  The old general reluctantly nodded, and he still trusted us. Finally, he said to the surrounding crowd that due to an urgent matter, he would leave first, and everything was entrusted to the two of us supervisors.

  Director Guo went through the formalities of filing a case, and then also expressed that he would try to crack it as soon as possible to give an answer to the village. I clearly saw Old Qian twitch his mouth, I knew, he still didn't believe this usual phrase, the financial department hasn't cracked yet.

  The temporary silence makes people's hair stand on end, Zhao and Liu look at me and Lao Qian as the last straw. I know that this is actually still driven by interests, we two are here, their project money, can't run away.

  Two shadows, one black and one white, still closely followed Liu Pang. My heart suddenly burst into flames. Isn't it the appointment of the full moon? Isn't there still a day's deadline? Now let's get started. I know my guess should be correct. These two shadows not only followed Liu Pang closely but also stared at me.

  But what's even more deadly is that the grinding sound in my brain, which had almost been forgotten, suddenly started again. I clutched my head in pain with both hands, while those two shadows seemed to be giggling and whispering to each other. Damn it, this is like adding fuel to the fire!

  The black cat's pupils shone brightly, and I thought it wouldn't take advantage of the chaos to do something, but instead it kept circling around Liu Pang. I knew it was attracted by the aura of its kind, but this little evil spirit, I'm not afraid now. Liu Pang said that there was a new cat, and I said it was a stray cat that came last night, pitiful, so we kept it. After finishing speaking, he opened his eyes wide, let out a loud shout, and muttered: "Damn thing, go play on the other side."

  The black cat meowed and ran to the side, its shining pupils also dimmed, looking at me with a familiar pleading expression.

  Zhao said: "Director Li, what about that construction site? They are all old folks from the village, some of them are stubborn and I'm afraid they can't be reasoned with."

  I said, "Don't rush, let's find a few farm families, we'll chip in some money, make some food and send it to the construction site. Let's not starve these old folks, first stabilize the situation, then we can think of a solution."

  Zhao Cai nodded and said: "After all, Director Li is a magnanimous person. This way, people's hearts are at ease, and nothing big will happen."

  I said to Liu Pang again, "You can't leave us. You have comforted the workers and nothing will happen. As for the delay in work, we'll deal with it flexibly when the time comes." After finishing speaking, I glanced at Old Qian as if asking if this was okay. At that moment, Old Qian was deep in thought and didn't say a word. He also knew that things had changed over these days and nodded vigorously in agreement with me.

  Liu Pang saw that both of us nodded, and he smiled with his mouth open. He only cared about where his money was going, and wouldn't think about the neatly arranged pile of what looked like a corpse.

  I turned around and went into the house, and said to Zhang Mei: "Anyway, the chicken is going to die, so let's just cook one for us to eat at noon, so as not to waste it." Zhang Mei has become much more obedient now, and agreed.

  I called Liu Kun and Old Qian together, saying help Zhang Mei kill the chicken. Old Qian whispered: "I've only eaten it, but never killed one."

  I pulled Old Qian to one side, his face solemn, and told him to watch my lead when killing the chicken.

  Lao Qian's face changed suddenly, knowing that something was going to happen.

  I caught the chicken and went to the new tomb. The tomb was quiet, and upon closer inspection, there was nothing unusual. It seemed that the red-clothed person had kept their promise, which further confirmed that this was indeed the doing of the Wú Yǐng Mén Xiǎo Liǔluò (No Shadow Gate's Little Rogue).

  I'm so annoyed, to be exact, I'm furious. The sound of grinding knives is echoing in my mind and I feel helpless. I'm afraid my face is also twisted, with bloodshot eyes. Because Zhao Zai and Liu Pang looked at me with strange eyes. I said: "Too many things, didn't rest well."

  It's like talking to myself.

  Killing a chicken is something I've seen many times when I was young, and even as an adult, it's still something that happens often. It's very simple. But at this moment, I'm about to break a spell, one that only I can see.

  With a flash of the knife, the chicken's head fell to the ground. Zhao, who was standing beside him, let out a cry of "Ah!" and said, "You can't kill like that, Director Li."

  I ignored him.

  I took a step forward and handed the flapping chicken over to Old Qian, saying in a low voice: "Let's draw a circle of blood around us four."

  Old Qian hastily took over, saying only that it was just you and Liu Pang. My bloodshot eyes stared at Old Qian, who didn't dare say another word, and with a splat, the blood spilled onto the ground, making a gurgling sound.

  I picked up the chicken head, grasped the comb with both hands and tore it open. The comb was blood red, and blood dripped out.

  I grabbed Liu Pang with one hand, my eyes wide open, and used the chicken crown blood to tap on Liu Pang's shoulders, while shouting loudly: "As I said before, it's no wonder that I transformed you all."

  One black, one white, two shadows, I see clearly. Just now they were still laughing and joking, taking me as a spectator of a farce. But suddenly they were surrounded by Old Qian's rooster blood, baring their teeth and claws, struggling desperately, but unable to escape. The rooster blood stained Liu Bao's shoulders, the crown blood was the nemesis of evil energy. It happened in an instant, only to hear a hissing sound, Liu Bao's shoulders rose two wisps of black and white smoke, from afar seemed to come a long sigh, but immediately fell silent.

  A series of actions left Zhao stunned, while Liu Pang's entire body trembled uncontrollably, and he was utterly bewildered.

  As the sigh fell, Liu Pang suddenly jumped up and said: "Strange, mom, got up early to run to the toilet with stomach pain, now it doesn't hurt."

  I didn't say a word, I just nodded in the direction of the sighs, and with a wave of my hand, "It's not my fault, you reap what you sow."

  Zhao Cai stared at me with wide eyes, and I said: "What are you spacing out for? Hurry up and go cook for the construction site villagers. If there's another mess, it's on your head or mine."

  Zhao Zai was like a dream come true, muttering "oh" in response, but after staring at me for a few moments, he left. The incident happened suddenly, and Zhao Zai had been living in Zhang's countryside for a long time, so it would be good if he knew something about it.

  I invited Liu Pang and Lao Qian, brought chicken to Zhang Mei. Lao Qian asked timidly: "Can this chicken still be eaten?"

  My eyes blazed with anger as I said fiercely, "Damn it, eat it up and don't leave a single bit behind."

  Lao Qian looked at my twisted, almost crazy face and lowered his head without asking any more questions. On the other hand, Liu Bao was heartless and didn't feel any pain in his stomach anymore, he still had chicken to eat, and his eyebrows were raised with a smile.

  At the dinner table, I said to Zhang Mei: "You haven't offered food to your deceased husband recently, have you?" When we say "offer food", it means offering food to the deceased, placing chopsticks on top of a bowl of rice, and the deceased will eat by themselves.

  "What kind of meal is this, without even a seventh or eighth dish?"

  I picked up a bowl of rice and walked in front of him, saying loudly: "If you want to eat, then eat, don't starve."

  Within the window frame, I saw a hint of white mist rising, and I knew he was back. "Leave after eating, but keep your promise," I said loudly.

  Zhang Mei watched me from the side, her head deeply lowered, her eyes wet with tears. "Mr. Li is kind-hearted, and the dead will surely be grateful."

  I suddenly opened my eyes and said loudly: "No need to be grateful, just don't get into trouble."

  Lao Qian liked to ask why, but this time he didn't make a sound. He knew that one thing after another was going to lead to something big.

  The whetstone sound in my mind has not dissipated, I know this is because of my restless temperament, which has brought the urgent fire to my body, but it cannot be eliminated and cannot be waited out, this will destroy our rhythm.

  After finishing eating, Lao Qian went upstairs. I pointed to the window and saw that in the mountain valley below, people were sitting together, workers and villagers mixed together, at this time they had already eaten their meals. But what I saw was that above the heads of the crowd, dark clouds were pressing down, with flashes of red light flickering, which meant that a storm was brewing for everyone.

  Lao Qian looked at me suspiciously and asked: "Nothing, just those people."

  "I said: 'Accompany me for a walk at night.'"

  Lao Qian said: "Enter the underworld?"

  "Damn it, go donate blood!"