novel
| ← Ch.156 | Ch.158 → |
This time, Abel and Abbott were no longer moving in the same direction as before. Instead, they were going through the forest without interruption. The trees became denser and the distance between trees was shorter. The umbrella's surface was easily scratched by the branches.
The two people in front had already put away their umbrellas. They touched their pockets and pulled out the long-prepared waterproof fabric that they placed over their heads.
... The umbrella had to be put away.
Xiao Li came to this conclusion after seeing how dense the branches were. Just as he was about to close the umbrella, another figure appeared in the forest. The other person didn't hide his meaning. He walked through the forest daringly. One hand broke a branch blocking the path and it made a clear sound that was covered by the rain.
The tall young man was wearing a black jacket and half his shoulders were wet by the rain. Shen Chenzhi stood in front of Xiao Li with an umbrella in one hand and a black hat in the other. He stared at Xiao Li, reached for Xiao Li's umbrella and then placed the hat on Xiao Li. This hat had a wide brim and could block the rain to a certain extent.
Xiao Li didn't refuse. He pressed the brim down and his entire face was almost covered in a shadow, leaving only his delicate jawline. The rain fell on his shoulder and penetrated into his coat. Shen Chenzhi put away his umbrella as well. He took off his coat and covered the two people with his coat, so that he could be closer to Xiao Li.
He bent over slightly and asked, "What are you doing here?"
"... Watching a play."
Shen Chenzhi stated, "Take me."
Xiao Li was a bit uncomfortable because he was used to acting alone. Ye Zeqing and the others might like following him but... Shen Chenzhi wasn't quite the same as them. However, now wasn't the time to hesitate.
Xiao Li flicked the brim of the hat with his finger and responded with body language. He gestured to the place where Abel's group had been and motioned for the other person to follow.
Shen Chenzhi was left behind. He smiled and followed.
This forest hadn't been cleaned for years. The trees were tall and the branches stretched out their claws towards the sky. The sound of rain was mixed with the sound of the wind, completely burying the sound of the two people stepping on the branches. It wasn't night yet but in the scary and dark forest, they could only see a short distance in front of them. Abel in front had to turn on his flashlight.
During the journey, Abel frequently looked behind him with a frown.
Abbott asked, "What's wrong?"
"I always feel that something behind us is following us..."
The flashlight shone on every inch behind the two people. There were the wind and raindrops hitting the leaves. The shadows of the trees shook constantly and it was as if there were monsters hiding in all directions.
Abel held something in one hand. He threw it up like a bowling ball. It shook in a circle before falling back into his hand. Abbott stared at the ball in this person's hand."Did you sense it incorrectly? It didn't react so there are no ghosts nearby."
Abel wondered, "Is it a person?"
"A person?" Abbott sneered."Those reincarnators? They are still looking for the evil spirit in the hotel. How can they have the courage to follow us?"
"Most people are like that." Abel turned his flashlight, persuaded by his companion to speed up and move forward."However, there are people worth noting."
Abbott's eyes were fixed on the things in his hands."For example, that Hercule? I think he is either the evil spirit or he is stupid and bold."
The rain had accumulated on the plastic sheet above Abel's head. He had to shake off the rain briefly, causing the nonstop rain to drop onto his neck like needles. Abel reached out to wipe the rain off his neck."It is almost time. Get ready."
"Holy shit, I really hate this rain. It can finally be over." Abbott couldn't wait.
He moved forward but found it too troublesome. He simply threw away the fabric and allowed the dense branches to scratch his clothes, even leaving small scratches on the side of his face.
Xiao Li stopped in the distance. He was very familiar with this path. It was the path to Lingxi Village. They walked out of the forest and a dim light fell from the sky. Abel and Abbott stood at the gate of this dead village, staring inside with the same expression.
Abbott raised his hand."This is the place. The previous location was misleading. This is the place we're looking for."
Xiao Li was able to see the thing in Abbott's hand. It was a statue.
It was a somewhat crude stone statue resembling the Egyptian pharaoh. There was a man with closed eyes and a crown on his head.
In front of the village, the stone carving man's eyes showed signs of opening and the corners of his mouth were raised.
"Mountains and rivers, the sunrise in the east, an extremely dark land." Abel showed a satisfied expression."The news we spent a lot of money to buy from the Judges is indeed correct. There is something we need in this instance world. It was worth spending a lot of money to buy a prop to intervene in this world."
"Get started quickly." Abbott urged."I want to leave the hotel early. Things are becoming weirder and weirder there."
Abel held up his umbrella, took out his task book and wrote a few words in it. Then a golden compass fell from the sky. He took the compass, bit his finger and a drop of bright red blood fell on the compass' pointer. A pure golden halo emanated from it.
This halo quickly spread toward Lingxi Village and covered the entire village. Wisps of transparent souls were sucked out from each household, floating in the air before entering the compass.
Abbott watched this scene with joy."As long as 128 souls are gathered from the village and sacrificed to the lord, we can leave here, get his favour and make a wish."
Abel glanced at the forest behind him. The shadows whirled and seemed unclear."I always feel... someone is following us."
This made him feel panicked.
Abbott reassured him."It's fast. It will succeed soon—"
The compass in the air attracted souls but after 10 minutes, the compass trembled. It wasn't complete but there were no other souls in the village.
"What is this situation?!"
They were on the verge of succeeding. Abbott reached for the compass and exclaimed, "A soul is missing... he clearly said there were enough here!"
Abel's expression changed. He clearly couldn't accept this fact. He played with the pointer on the compass, his arm trembling with force and the veins showing.
"Go inside and take a look!"
"This..." Abbott hesitantly glanced at the eerie dead village in front of him.
The disappointment after the anticipation made Abel lose his previous caution and care. He roared, "Go in!"
His voice broke with anger and was blown into the air, floating into Xiao Li's ear.
Xiao Li who was standing on the edge of the forest, "......"
He guessed that they were talking about Xu Jin's husband. It was a pity that this man had been carried to the laboratory by the back ghost. If Abbott had a tracking ability then he might have found the soul on the back or stomach of the back ghost. They were destined to return empty-handed.
Shen Chenzhi had been watching this with him the entire time. At this moment, he saw the expression on Xiao Li's face and asked, "Do you know where the last soul is?"
"In the stomach of the neighbour next door."
Shen Chenzhi, "..."
The young man smiled and glanced sideways.
The rain was deafening. Behind them was a dark and frightening forest while a dead village was in front of them, as well as the angry reincarnators. This really wasn't a good place to talk about love.
However, the teenager's side profile was real. Shen Chenzhi was accompanying the other person to do something he often did alone, making Shen Chenzhi feel that he had integrated into the other person's world.
They stood here for a short time.
The sound of the rain disappeared slightly and was replaced by his heartbeat. Shen Chenzhi shouldn't have this type of thing but he actually felt his heart jumping in this human body. One jump, two jumps, it seemed like it would jump out of his throat. This feeling was completely different from the sensations when he became a shadow or another form.
His fingers holding the coat tightened. Xiao Li's shoulders were touching his chest. The warmth of this contact entered him and rain dripped from his eyes. Everything else was false. Only this moment was true.
Shen Chenzhi lowered his head.
The kiss fell on the other person's hair. Like a drop of rain falling in love with a petal. It was doomed to fall but the second it stayed was magnified infinitely and stretched out for a century. Then it fell onto the soil.
***
Night time.
Another night arrived.
Xiao Li and Shen Chenzhi came back from outside. Then almost after dinner, Abel and Abbott appeared gloomy in front of everyone. Jiang Linwen tried to ask them what was wrong but there wasn't an answer.
Abbott even rudely slammed the door with a displeased expression. Abel was similar. Previously, he was a steady uncle but now he was like a sleepy beast. He was red-eyed as he paced back and forth in his room.
He and Abbott had previously been calm because of the stone statue. As long as they got all the souls from Lingxi Village and satisfied the lord, they could leave this world and make a wish. As for the remaining reincarnators left behind by their lord, it wasn't any of their business.
Now there was a missing soul and they had fallen into the same situation as the other reincarnators. They faced the murder of the evil spirit.
Damn. But... what if he could make up the soul? Killing a reincarnator should be enough to fill the vacancy.
Abel placed a hand on his waist and pulled out a gun from the holster around his leg. He looked at the barrel and made a decision in his heart.
It might be difficult to kill a person in reality but it was very simple in the world of reincarnators. He just needed to trick people and press the trigger gently. This wasn't the first time he had done this.
In all these years, he had done many such things in order to establish a relationship with the Judges.
Abel sighed with relief and was no longer so anxious. Just then, he heard a knock on the door.
Boom boom boom!
The sound frightened Abel and he jumped. He hadn't heard any footsteps.
Still, as a senior reincarnator, he immediately realized what was happening. He tensed up and quickly walked to the window. He pulled open the pillowcase that served as the curtain, trying to open the window and get away.
Since the person inside didn't answer, the one at the door spoke directly."Abel, something happened outside. They told me to have you come. It turned out... this person was 'it'!
Abel realized the identity of the other person and could immediately identify the evil spirit. The name was on the tip of his tongue when he suddenly hesitated. If he made a mistake then he would die. What if... the person outside the door was the real reincarnator? Or what if this was an illusion created by the evil spirit? He would die if he identified it incorrectly. He didn't dare take this risk.
The person outside the door knocked hard on the door and 'it' continued."Abel? Are you okay? The bodies have come out again. The others are waiting for you below."
Identify or not? The two ideas fought in Abel's mind and he covered his mouth without moving.
"Forget it, if you don't believe me then let them come up first and tell you. I'm going first." The person at the door stopped and then there were no more movements.
However, Abel didn't relax in any way. This person had come too quietly. Who knew if the other person had left or was standing at the door? He would escape by the window first. Abel turned and pushed the window open on both sides. He brought over a chair, stepped on the chair with one foot and tried to leave.
Just then, the person at the door shook the handle up and down. 'It' really hadn't left and now shouted, "Abel? What are you doing? What are you doing? They are waiting for you below. Are you going out?"
Abel's body was cold and his blood seemed frozen. He tried to control himself and pull out a life-saving prop, but his hands seemed caught and they couldn't move.
"You can't go out! You have to come down and be with them. They're waiting for you."
The door shook violently and there was no time to hesitate. If he didn't want to die then he had to identify the evil spirit.
Abel opened his mouth."I want to identify that the evil spirit is—"
The door was kicked open while he was speaking. 'It' appeared in Abel's vision and this person's hand stretched out suddenly from the door to the window. 'It' blocked Abel's mouth and he couldn't make any nose.
'It' looked at Abel's wide eyes and approached Abel.
The author has something to say:
Abel's ghost: I am dead and manipulated by the evil spirit, but I want to say something out loud: Hercule, you pit me! You're a ghoul who eats shit!
| ← Ch. 156 | Ch. 158 → |