Chapter 37
I carried Sister Ma on my back and hid in an alley, intending to wait for the crowd to disperse so I could carry her out of the village. What happened next was exactly the same as what happened that day. After the villagers left, Sister Ma chased Ma Ping back to Changbai Mountain. That "me" and "Sister Ma" were still whispering, presumably waiting for dark to explore the Black Mountain Ridge.
I thought for a long time, and ultimately decided to return Sister Ma to the woodshed. I figured it was safe there because, although she had been unconscious when I found her, she was otherwise unharmed. I carried her to the woodshed and carefully searched behind the firewood pile, but found no bodies of the Xuanmen practitioners I had encountered. As I had just hidden Sister Ma in the firewood, she suddenly opened her eyes. Upon seeing my face, she screamed in fear. I quickly covered her mouth, and she struggled.
Her screams were so loud that even though I covered her mouth, the sound still came out. Such a noise would surely attract others, so I struck her in the neck with a knife. She fainted, and I quickly hid her in the firewood and fled the woodshed. I looked around, but no one was coming. With a sigh of relief, I quickly hid back in the well.
During this time, I swam down the well to the other side. Seeing that it was still dark there, and the villagers at the wellhead were still guarding it, I quietly swam back. I hid in the well for the entire afternoon. At night, I quietly emerged from the well and slipped into the woodshed. Seeing Sister Ma safe and sound, I felt relieved and went to see my other self.
I looked through the window at "Sister Ma" in the room, mainly wanting to know how she disappeared from my side without me noticing.
"Sister Ma" was sound asleep, but the ground seemed to be shaking. Soon, the ground cracked, and a shrunken hand emerged from the crack, followed by an arm, and then a head. At this point, "Sister Ma" sensed something and looked at the corpse crawling out. But like me, she was now completely drained of her mystical power. I quickly gestured for her to run.
"Sister Ma" didn't suspect anything and ran out of the house. I pulled her out of the yard and ran to the woodshed. At this moment, I suddenly stopped, because there was another Sister Ma in the woodshed, and that was the real Sister Ma!
"Sister Ma" saw me stop and said, "What's wrong?"
I looked at the "Sister Ma" in front of me. I had no idea what her connection was to the real Sister Ma. If something happened to her, would it have any impact on Sister Ma? "Sister Ma" didn't know I wasn't "me" yet, and she was completely defenseless against me.
I gritted my teeth, knocked "Sister Ma" unconscious with a knife, and then carried her to the woodshed.
Then I pulled the real Sister Ma out of the firewood pile and put her back. My thought now was to quickly carry the real Sister Ma back to the other side of the well, because I felt very bad now. If I met that "me", I was afraid that something very terrible would happen.
I ran to the well, carrying the unconscious real "Sister Ma" on my back. At that moment, some villagers, already mummified, were walking towards me. No, they were actually moving towards the "me."
I quickly ran outside the room of "me" with Sister Ma on my back. I was now very conflicted about whether or not to meet her, because I didn't know if anything happened to her and whether it would affect me personally. However, my sixth sense told me that I must not let her see me. So, I could only remind her by knocking on the window, but just as I was about to knock, she seemed to notice me.
I carried Sister Ma on my back and walked out, heading straight for the well. Now that she has become alert, I believe she should be able to notice anything unusual in this village.
Sister Ma and I entered the well again and swam to the other side. No matter what happened, I would never return to this side of the well. Now my cognition has collapsed to the point that I can’t tell which one is the real me.
I carried Sister Ma on my back into the water and swam to the other end of the well. When I swam out of the water, I found that it was already daytime. I quickly climbed out along the well rope. As long as I got out of this village, no matter who set up this formation or how sophisticated it was, I would break it. I didn't know how many lives this formation had ruined!
Just as I was pondering this, a figure suddenly appeared at the well's mouth. It was the village chief, a strange smile on his face, staring at me from the mouth. His sudden appearance startled me, my hands trembling, and Sister Ma and I fell into the well simultaneously. The water was bone-chilling, and after I fell in, I saw another "me," carrying Sister Ma on her back, falling from the other side of the well.
She saw me now too.
I understand everything.
That night, it was me who was spying on me from the window. Sister Ma didn't disappear silently. I noticed some mummies crawling out of the ground, and fearing they might harm her, I called her out. Actually, my spirit had already lost its function by then; otherwise, I would have definitely not noticed the movement in Sister Ma's room.
Afterwards, I knocked Sister Ma unconscious and hid her in the woodshed. This is why I was able to find Sister Ma in the woodshed later. As for those mummies, they had been chasing Sister Ma and me. They came out directly from the ground, so the mummies in the firewood pile who were dressed in Xuanmen clothes also crawled out directly from the ground, lying in ambush there, waiting for me to go to the woodshed.
Now we met in the well, but the terrifying thing we'd imagined didn't materialize. She and I, carrying the unconscious Ma sister on our backs, swam out of the well where I'd fallen. The village chief had vanished. We tacitly agreed not to speak, but instead climbed up the rope, one above the other. I'd braced myself for the villagers to appear, but they were gone.
The two of us carried Sister Ma out of the well, placed her at the mouth of the well, and looked at each other.
"Who are you anyway?" she asked.
This question really stumped me. Of course I am me, but I understand what she means, because in her heart, just like me, I am the second "me" in her eyes.
I didn't know how to answer her question because I was confused myself.
Seeing that I didn't say anything, she didn't continue asking questions, but instead carried "Sister Ma" behind her and walked outside.
I know that she has the same idea as me. She wants to leave the village without Sister Ma on her back. As long as she is not within the range of the formation, her ghost spirit will be restored. She can also call for external help, so that she can crack the secret of the formation.
I also carried Sister Ma on my back and walked out with her. At this moment, I suddenly heard a scream on my back.
Sister Ma is awake!
When she saw the current situation, she certainly couldn't accept it for a moment, so she cried out in surprise.
But this sound was like thunder in the quiet village! In every alley, those familiar mummies appeared!
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