"Clack."
The door to the woodshed was locked again.
Hearing the footsteps fade into the distance, Fang Ming cautiously approached the door and peered through a crack. He tested the lock's strength; escaping through the door was out of the question.
"What do these runes even mean?" His attempts to escape proving fruitless, Fang Ming turned his attention to the runes on the wall. At first glance, they resembled Taoist talismans, but they were too distorted to be certain.
Fang Ming found a piece of wood and broke off a section, sharpening one end to a point. He tentatively scraped at the wall.
"Painted on?" The runes scraped off easily.
Fang Ming frowned. Before understanding the cause and effect, it was best not to court disaster. But then he remembered the village chief's demand that he, a grown man (though currently in a woman's body), marry another man in three days and be forced into consummation…
"Yikes!" A wave of goosebumps prickled his skin. Fang Ming quickly rubbed his arms. His sexual orientation was resolutely straight, thank you very much.
"From what the village chief said, some things happen in this village at night. I'll wait until sunset to see how things unfold."
Fang Ming rested his chin on his hand, his mind racing. The village seemed normal enough during the day, but he could only guess that the original owner of this body had been brought here through some improper means.
He suspected the answers to his questions would only emerge at night. He regretted sleeping so soundly the previous night; otherwise, he might have gathered some clues.
Nothing happened for the rest of the day. Only a man periodically delivered meals through the door crack, consisting of normal balanced meals and a bottle of mineral water.
Out of caution, Fang Ming didn't eat the food immediately. He hid it away, planning to let the rats sample it first at night to check for poison.
However, he knew the food was likely safe. After all, who would marry him if he fell ill from poisoned food?
Furthermore, from what they said, his current physique seemed quite robust. A less scrupulous person could have blackmailed them for a much better deal.
Time passed quickly. As the last ray of sunlight vanished, the entire village plunged into an unnerving silence.
Yes, silence.
Even though Fang Ming hadn't seen anyone during the day, he had sensed a palpable "presence," like entering a house that is lived in versus one that is empty. Now, the village felt utterly deserted, as if no one had lived there for years.
The woodshed was plunged into darkness. Only when the moon cast its pale, cold light did Fang Ming manage to discern the outlines of objects outside.
Fang Ming pressed himself against the door crack, peering into the courtyard. There was no one guarding the door. He tentatively tossed a wooden stick; its clatter was jarring in the silent night, but nothing happened.
"Am I overthinking this?"
Fang Ming moved past the pile of firewood to the haystack, his thoughts swirling again.
Suddenly, a thought struck him. He remembered the rules the villagers had told him, one of which was not to go out after midnight!
"Outside?" Fang Ming stroked his chin, surveying the walls. The only window, facing the courtyard, was sealed with steel bars. The other three walls had no windows.
"I've got it!" Fang Ming looked up at the roof. The houses in Bai Mu Village were traditional rural tiled structures. The roof decking was made of leather and wooden boards, easily breached by external force.
He immediately set to work. Fang Ming climbed onto the haystack, reaching up to gauge the height. He was still a short distance from the roof. He quickly scrambled down and began hauling firewood from the woodpile onto the haystack.
Working for over an hour by moonlight, he finally built a stack high enough for him to reach the roof. After a short rest, he resumed his efforts.
"Thump, thump, thump..." He picked up a sharp piece of wood and began to probe a section of the roof. Soon, the wood sank into a certain spot.
Fang Ming's heart leaped. He had found a gap in the wooden boards!
He immediately applied more force, prying open the wooden boards, piercing through the somewhat rotten leather layer, and finally touching the outermost tiles.
Hope!
Ignoring his fatigue, Fang Ming exerted more pressure, prying open a gap in the tiles. Moonlight streamed through the opening, illuminating Fang Ming's fair face.
"Holy crap!"
"Crash!" Fang Ming tumbled from the haystack, but fortunately, he landed on the soft hay and was uninjured.
Fang Ming looked up at the roof, his heart pounding uncontrollably and cold sweat beading on his forehead.
The displaced tile, no longer supported from below, fell back into place, blocking the moonlight.
"What was that thing?" Fang Ming was overcome with fear. The instant he had lifted the tile, a fist-sized eyeball had appeared, blocking the gap!
Just an eyeball!
Through the moonlight, he could even see the wriggling blood vessels!
"Screech, screech..." A piercing scratching sound emanated from the roof. Fang Ming's heart was in his throat.
Atop the woodshed, a grotesquely shaped monster was frantically scratching at the tiles. Its body was covered in eyes, and its four arms alternately scratched at the tiles and picked up the falling eyeballs, stuffing them into its mouth to chew, blood splattering from its lips.
The runes on the roof glowed faintly, rendering the monster's efforts to dislodge the small tile futile.
"Eyes... eyes..." the monster wailed in agony.
Fang Ming, listening to the sounds from above, was too terrified to move. After more than half an hour, the source of the noise disappeared, seemingly unable to break in and having left.
"Pant, pant, pant..." Fang Ming gasped for breath, his heart still racing. But with his fear subsided came more questions.
"Is this monster what the village has been guarding against?"
Recovering his composure, Fang Ming grabbed a sharper piece of wood and climbed back up. Rather than marry a man, he would rather fight this monster. What was there to fear from an eyeball?
Following the original path, Fang Ming easily dislodged the tile again and peered outside.
"My heavens... this Bai Mu Village..." Fang Ming stared in disbelief, muttering to himself.
In the moonlight, he saw unknown monsters darting and leaping between houses. The smaller ones were the size of watermelons, while the larger ones were as big as houses!
He couldn't make out the details of the small monsters in the moonlight, but the large one was clearly visible.
It had two heads, one large and one small, with several human faces contorted in agony. It lacked arms but had several thick tentacles distributed irregularly on its body, constantly snatching smaller monsters and stuffing them into a giant maw on its fleshy abdomen.
This Bai Mu Village was far more "lively" at night than during the day!
If it weren't for the protective runes on the walls, this village would likely have been devoured long ago.
"The scent of human..." the two-headed monster suddenly sensed something. The eyes on both heads simultaneously turned towards Fang Ming's direction, and their gazes met!
Disaster!
Fang Ming quickly retracted his wooden stick, letting the tile fall back into place, and jumped down to hide in a corner, cautiously watching the roof.
Perhaps due to the runes' effect, Fang Ming couldn't hear sounds from outside, but he could feel the two-headed monster approaching.
Indeed, a minute or two after he jumped off the haystack, the scratching sound of runes resisting the monster's attack began on the roof.
"Human... flesh..." the two-headed monster roared, striking the roof wildly. A tentacle probed the area near where Fang Ming had just appeared.
Finally, its tentacle found a gap—the result of Fang Ming's hasty descent, which had caused the tile to not close properly. The monster had discovered it!
"Pain... so much pain..." the two heads wailed.
The monster's tentacle slowly squeezed into the gap, while the runes continued to resist, causing the monster immense pain. But for the sake of flesh, it was driven to madness, desperately trying to force its tentacle into the opening.
Fang Ming could see the tip of the tentacle inching in and could even hear the monster's cries. Cold sweat poured from him, soaking the wooden stick in his grip.
The monster must not get in! Otherwise, he was as good as dead!
"I have to try!"
Fang Ming struck his trembling legs with the wooden stick. The sharp pain brought some control back to his limbs amidst his fear and tension.
Gritting his teeth, he climbed back onto the haystack. The tentacle had already extended over a meter in, and standing on the haystack, he could smell a disgusting stench.
"Die!"
"Bang!" Fang Ming struck the tentacle with his stick. However, he had clearly underestimated its toughness. The blow not only failed to hurt the monster but also allowed it to pinpoint Fang Ming's location based on the attack!
The tentacle seized the wooden stick and lunged towards Fang Ming along it. Seeing this, Fang Ming quickly released his grip and retreated two steps. The tentacle, reaching its end and finding no target, angrily flung the wooden stick aside.
"Thud!" The stick hit the door, making Fang Ming's heart lurch.
"This thing is too strong." Fang Ming's heart sank. He was no match for it. Once it broke through the roof, his fate would be sealed.
After flinging the stick away, the tentacle thrashed even more violently, extending further into the room. However, the backlash from the runes intensified, and foul black blood began to ooze from the tentacle.
Fang Ming crouched on the haystack, carefully dodging the probing tentacle, his mind growing calmer. His eyes scanned the woodshed, hoping to find an axe or some other cutting tool.
But alas, the village chief would never leave such a tool for him. It would be considered a favor if he wasn't bound hand and foot.
"Snap—" The sound of breaking tiles came from the roof.
Fang Ming looked up, his pupils constricting to pinpricks in sheer terror!
The tile that had been blocking the tentacle—it had shattered!
"Whoosh!" A several-meter-long tentacle shot in, then began to thrash wildly, its immense force creating whistling sounds.
"Bang!" Caught off guard, Fang Ming was instantly struck by the tentacle. Before he could fly out, he was ensnared by the sensing tentacle and rapidly pulled towards the roof!
The tentacle's horrifying crushing grip almost suffocated Fang Ming!
"Am I going to die..." Fang Ming thought despairingly.