Chapter 165 Leave or Stay
"...Are you lying to us?" Jikong said with a dark face.
The sky was hazy and it was almost light.
The two who had escaped came back with the third, standing on both sides to confront them.
"Please give us a chance to clear our grievances." Liuwei said sincerely.
Shi Yuan raised his long stick threateningly.
Jikong gritted his teeth. Everyone in the village committee had seen the huge destructive power brought by this foreign weapon, and they were all hesitant at this moment. That thing blasted open such a thick wall in one blow. If it hit a person, what would happen to that person?
But there is more than that. The power of this thing to destroy a house should not be underestimated. If they use a long stick to knock off the roof after "dark", the consequences are unimaginable.
Although Liuwei didn't say it explicitly, he chose this time and this position, and every step he took was hinting at it.
"Don't you suspect that we killed the wizard? We have found evidence and the murderer hiding among them." Liuweidao.
The people in the village committee couldn't help but look at each other in bewilderment: "Really?"
"What evidence?" Jikong asked suspiciously, "Are you planning to lie to us again?"
"We have to escape from prison only because someone wants to silence us." Liuwei stepped forward and said solemnly.
Gu Dingbang slowly typed a question mark.
Is this true? Did he... miss something?
"Otherwise, why would we run? We are innocent. We just need to wait for you to prove our innocence. There is no doubt about that. Running away will not do us any good!" Liu Wei said loudly, "If it was really us, why would we come back after running? Even animals know that after escaping from the butcher's knife, they cannot return to their original place to prevent being caught, right?"
"This..." The village committee member hesitated, "Is there really another reason?"
Liuwei always looked innocent and friendly, making people trust him easily. His snow-white appearance added a sense of brokenness to him, almost making people soften their hearts involuntarily.
He said so, and it was so reasonable and well-founded, so he must not be lying, right?
For a moment, even the dog at the entrance of the village stopped barking and whimpered, coming forward to rub Liuwei's trouser leg as if to comfort him.
Jikong felt something was wrong, but Liuwei was right. However, he felt like he was being cheated again: "Are you really not lying?"
"Oh! Boss! I think what he said makes sense. It's almost dawn. Why don't we go inside and listen?"
"Yeah! Boss, I think so too."
"Let's listen. When the day breaks, we can't escape." Liuwei said with a smile.
In the room, dozens of people, big and small, crowded together. Jikong and Liuwei sat opposite each other and handed over the book in their hands: "I found this in the wizard's house. There are some interesting things recorded in it."
Just as Jikong was about to flip through it, Liuwei's hand pressed the book on the table first.
Facing Jikong's suspicious eyes, Liuwei kept smiling: "Put it here, everyone can watch it together, and I can introduce it to you."
What a joke! If Jikong keeps turning the pages, what if he finds the new things he added at the back?
Jikong nodded, crossed his arms and watched Liuwei's movements.
"This is a record I found in the wizard's home. It is part of the wizard's secret."
The pages of the book turned, and the people from the village committee couldn't help but move closer, squinting their eyes to read the contents in the dim light.
"This is the handwriting of an adult! I know it! But what is written on it?"
"An insect observation diary?"
"Wait...what kind of insect diary is being described in such words? Is there anything this big in our village?"
“At this time…”
"What is this?"
"…I saw my great-grandfather's name. How naughty of me."
"…I saw it too! I said I took after my ancestors! My parents and the others said I was talking nonsense!"
“…”
"Master...what are you recording?"
“…”
The recorded text was neither long nor short, and it was hard to describe how it created an atmosphere or made people feel terrified. But it was as simple as a steel knife in dissecting the weirdness of their lives bit by bit, exposing the flesh and skin of the villagers to everyone's eyes.
It's like when people first realized that fire could not only cook food, but also burn flesh and blood.
This illusion of paradise was shattered in an instant, and fear embraced them like a shadow.
“Gurgle…”
“Is there really such a thing in our village?”
Liu Wei's hand paused and pressed on the page. He looked at the faces of the people in the village committee with a determined gaze. Some of them were confused, or had already sensed the terror behind them. All kinds of faces were hidden under the light, either openly or secretly, avoiding his gaze.
Liu Wei's low voice was so loud in the silent room at this moment, accompanied by the sound of burning kerosene, with a chilling chill: "Yes! Right next to you."
"You're lying!"
"Yes! How is that possible! We are not blind!"
"Boss! Say something!"
Jikong remained silent.
Liuwei ignored the shock and even accusations of the village committee members, and continued to flip through the pages as if he saw nothing.
No more extra words are needed. The terrifying horror that comes with careful thinking has turned into enough trust for him to feel fearless.
Until the end.
Shi Yuan couldn't help but move forward. She only caught a quick glimpse at that time and couldn't really see clearly what he had written. She moved closer, and after a horrifying ceremony, the newly added things at the back had become exactly the same as the previous text, and it looked so time-worn that almost no one could tell what Liuwei had added in it.
"The mountain village I set up is a spell to suppress evil spirits. I have exhausted all my efforts and finally came up with a solution. I must succeed before everyone dies."
"Blood, spells, and death are all indispensable."
"On this journey that should have been lonely, I was waiting for your company. It's really... great."
Everyone's faces froze for a moment.
"Master Mage..."
There was a long silence.
After a while, a voice suddenly sounded, breaking the entire indescribable atmosphere.
"The death of the Master Mage is admirable, and it also completes the prerequisites for the ritual, which is enough to control the weirdness for a while. I don't know if you have ever thought about a question. Perhaps, we should not waste time. We must move out of the mountain village and notify the people outside to come in and complete the ritual."
The village committee members looked up suddenly, and they couldn't help but look for the person who spoke in anger.
What a heartless thing! After the Mage had sacrificed herself, she said such a heartless thing! The Mage died for them! How could they abandon her?
"What the hell did you say! Coward!"
A hot-tempered village committee member stepped forward and suddenly grabbed Liuwei's collar.
Liuwei was lifted up and coughed twice with some difficulty. In the dim light, he stared at the angry village committee and said puzzledly: "But what can you do? Ahem, she died for you. You should cherish the life she gave you and stay alive. It's not easy for her to protect you."
"You! You! There are no cowards in our village! We will never run away! We will fulfill the Master Mage's last wish!" The veins on the village committee's face bulged, and he spoke word by word, glaring at Liuwei and gritting his teeth.
A hand was placed on the village committee member's arm. Shi Yuan, who had been silent, frowned and warned, "Don't do it."
The village committee member gnashed his teeth, but he untied Liu Wei's collar obediently after hearing the sound: "If you want to run, run. We won't leave."
Liuwei narrowed his eyes and looked at the village committee member. He didn't seem to have that face...
"We have made our words very clear!" Shi Yuan retorted, "We are kind-hearted and want to remind you not to stay in the village. Come with us and leave here. There are many ways to solve this problem in the outside world. Don't act rashly."
The village committee members did not answer. Their eyes were all gloomy. Their flesh and blood were shrouded in the dim light, showing a kind of bloody and lonely courage.
"We have lived here for generations, and the Mage has always taken care of us. She died for us now, so why wouldn't we be willing to die for her? This ceremony was left by her. Those outsiders... humph! What if they don't believe her? What if they waste her kindness? Those people don't know how powerful she is! It would be better for us to do it and make sure it's done beautifully for her as usual."
Jikong, who had been silent for a long time, suppressed the increasingly excited village committee members around him and just said those words softly.
At that moment, Liuwei seemed to see a completely different person inside the monk's skin. Those were not words that Jikong would say. Jikong's life would not allow him to say that so frankly. He has always been twisted and hesitant. He always wanted to do his own thing, but he always compromised and changed for the reality.
More importantly, Jikong cherishes his life. He doesn't have that kind of thing yet, the kind of thing he is willing to die for.
He has already caught the handle.
Liuwei thought so.
The village committee members agreed one after another with almost no hesitation.
Shi Yuan: “…”
She turned her head away and said with a light sigh, "A bunch of idiots."
The long stick pressed on Liuwei's shoulder: "Use your eloquent tongue to convince them, I don't have the ability to do so."
Liuwei paused and said, "You are willing to die, but what about the children in the village? What about the young people in the village? Are they willing to die too? They are still very young and their lives have just begun. Have you ever thought that if they leave the mountain village, they can see a broader future instead of dying in a narrow life here?"
The village committee members were stunned, and finally a thoughtful expression appeared on their faces. However, Liuwei saw something weird and strange in them, and he suppressed this strange expression in his heart.
Liuwei continued, "I saw a lot of lively children in the village a few days ago. The Mage likes children very much. She has been teaching them and she regards them as her future. Are you going to bury them with her too?"
"...I want to stay! I'm with you!" Someone suddenly shouted, "I want to stay!"
Everyone was stunned. Where did this sound come from?
Everyone looked closely and saw Gu Dingbang, who had huddled up in silence before, shouting loudly: "I don't want to leave! I can stay too!"
“…….Adults are talking here! Go away, little brat!” Someone from the village committee frowned.
Gu Dingbang didn't stop talking, but pounced on him suddenly.
With tears welling up in his eyes, he said something that no one present could have imagined he would say.
He rested his hands on the table. "If I leave, I will regret it for the rest of my life."
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