Bai Hao did not immediately take Qin Nan away on his bicycle. Instead, he had Qin Nan put down her helmet, parked the bicycle at the entrance, and then took Qin Nan to visit several other open shops.
I bought a fleece-lined double blanket, a flashlight, and red candles. Finally, I went back to the funeral shop and got two boxes of incense and a lighter.
Qin Nan saw that the bus from before was still parked at the entrance of the town, but he didn't know what was going on inside.
Everything was ready. Just before leaving, the old man who made paper offerings suddenly got up and came out, giving Bai Hao something. It was a dark, black object that looked like an inkstone, but it didn't smell like one. It had a faint fragrance, and it seemed to carry a faint smell of blood.
Bai Hao glanced at it, took the item, and said, "I'll do my best."
The old man remained silent, his body hunched over as he slowly walked back into the shop.
Bai Hao packed his things, put the backpack on Qin Nan's back, put a helmet on him, and then drove the motorcycle faster towards the northwest of the town.
Qin Nan clung tightly to Bai Hao's waist. Wearing a helmet and with the wind whistling through the air, Qin Nan couldn't hear anything clearly.
It wasn't until Bai Hao stopped the car halfway through that Qin Nan dazedly let go of his hand, straightened up, and looked around, but it seemed to be in the middle of nowhere.
The two were in the middle of a grassy mountain road. At Bai Hao's signal, Qin Nan took off his helmet and heard the sound of a car not far behind him. Turning around, he saw the medium-sized bus from before.
Bai Hao didn't seem surprised at all. The two got off the motorcycle, and Bai Hao parked it under the trees by the roadside. He put his things on his back, took Qin Nan's hand, and walked behind a big tree.
Qin Nan then discovered that there was a small path behind it. Although it was covered with dry branches, it was still faintly discernible, but it was blocked by large trees, so people who didn't know it would probably not be able to find it.
Qin Nan: "Those people?"
Bai Hao: "Ignore it."
Qin Nan had doubts, but she didn't ask. She followed Bai Hao along the rugged path. They heard arguing in the distance behind them. After walking for about twenty more minutes, they heard hurried footsteps behind them.
The two stopped. Qin Nan turned around and saw Jiang Yuan, accompanied by three other people: a short-haired girl and two muscular-looking boys. All four were carrying travel bags, indicating they had come prepared.
Upon seeing Qin Nan and his companion stop, Jiang Yuan quickly stepped forward and said, "Excuse me, may we travel with you?"
Before Qin Nan could speak, Bai Hao said indifferently, "Whatever."
After speaking, Bai Hao led Qin Nan forward, and the four people behind them followed. The group of six silently trudged along the rugged mountain path.
The winter forest was getting colder and colder. Qin Nan zipped his coat up all the way and pulled his hat tighter. The sky was getting gloomy, but thankfully it didn't snow.
The four people behind them watched Bai Hao and Qin Nan walk briskly ahead, panting heavily, their faces full of disbelief, especially the three other than Jiang Yuan.
They initially agreed to Jiang Yuan's suggestion to travel with them because they were following Bai Hao and his companion along a side path, but the path behind them became shrouded in mist. Fearing they would lose their way, they realized that these two were no ordinary people.
They set off at noon, and now it's almost evening. It's been two or three hours on mountain roads, yet they seem perfectly fine.
Bai Hao was indeed fine. As for Qin Nan, he was also tired, but Bai Hao placed his hand on his lower back, as if using some kind of magic. Qin Nan felt light and didn't feel too tired, and his legs weren't as tired either.
Jiang Yuan and his three companions barely managed to keep up with Bai Hao and his companion. The path behind them gradually became shrouded in mist, which they found strange. However, there was no way back, and following Bai Hao and his companion was safer than returning the way they came.
About ten minutes later, Qin Nan saw that the path ended not far away, leading to a wide dirt road. They were now halfway up the mountain, and this dirt road connected the way up and down the mountain.
Because of the swirling fog, although the visible range was as far as a kilometer, one could not see the village at the foot of the mountain from the mountainside.
Qin Nan and his group descended the mountain along the mountain path. At the entrance of the village, there was a small archway with a wooden plaque in the middle that read "Liu Village".
It was nighttime, and the village was quiet. Only the old streetlights along the road were still lit, but strangely, no one in the village had their lights on. Only the intermittent chirping of insects and birds made the group feel slightly at ease.
Just as Qin Nan was about to ask Bai Hao if they were going into the village, she heard a series of hurried footsteps approaching. Bai Hao pulled Qin Nan toward a nearby haystack, and Jiang Yuan and the other three immediately hid behind another haystack.
Soon, a dozen or so men appeared, carrying various farm tools. They looked like farmers, but strangely, they were dressed in old-fashioned short tunics and their behavior was somewhat stiff.
Qin Nan looked at Bai Hao with a puzzled expression. Bai Hao was frowning, seemingly lost in thought. Qin Nan turned back to look at the village entrance and saw a dark, bluish-black face with black eyes that had no whites at all. The face was staring at Qin Nan.
However, Qin Nan had experienced quite a few thrills before, so he was unusually calm this time. Just as he was about to raise his hand to pat Bai Hao, who was deep in thought, the short-haired girl next to him screamed.
"Aaaaaahh ...
Bai Hao also came to his senses, but he wasn't surprised to see the group of people gathered in front of him.
Bai Hao stood up, pulled Qin Nan back, kicked the person in front of him, causing a series of people behind him to fly backwards, and then turned around and kicked away the farm tools next to the grain pile.
"run!"
After Bai Hao finished speaking, he pulled Qin Nan and ran into the threshing ground behind the farmhouse. Qin Nan turned around and saw that Jiang Yuan and the others had also run out, but the people who had been knocked down by Bai Hao earlier had gotten up and were chasing closely behind them.
"Crackling, crackling—"
Suddenly, several firecrackers went off in the village, and then all the lights in the houses turned on at once. A large searchlight appeared out of nowhere and swerved toward the group, causing Qin Nan to close his eyes.
When he opened his eyes again, he saw himself being bound by a strong hemp rope and dragged along by the villager who had just been chasing him. The villager would occasionally turn around and reveal a strange smile.
There wasn't a single tooth in the open mouth, only a blood-red tongue swirling around. Qin Nan trembled with fear, and with all his might, he broke free from the restraints and ran away as fast as he could. Qin Nan swore he had never run so fast in his life.
Bai Hao was slightly taken aback when he saw Qin Nan suddenly break free and flee frantically. He realized something was wrong and turned to look at the four people behind him, who were also suddenly scattering and running away.
There's something wrong with those lights!
However, Bai Hao didn't have time to think much and immediately went after Qin Nan, but after turning several corners, he lost sight of her.
Bai Hao didn't know what had happened. Not only did his talent fail, but his magic power also seemed to be imprisoned. He couldn't even change back to his original form. The village, which should have only had a few dozen households, suddenly had several hundred households, and the former threshing ground had been turned into scattered houses.
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