"Of course, from your parents," the principal said, looking into Fang Ming's eyes and speaking the words Fang Ming most wanted to hear.
Indeed! Fang Ming's heart leaped with joy, and he quickly pressed on, "Do you know where they are now?"
"They are in the white mist," the principal replied, but the answer left Fang Ming somewhat confused.
"In the white mist? This world?"
"Yes and no," the principal offered a vague response.
Fang Ming's brow furrowed, and he asked again, "Can you tell me what that means?"
"Their souls are in the white mist, their bodies are not," the principal stated directly, without concealment.
Hearing this, Fang Ming thought of his current situation and asked, "Is it the same as my current situation?"
"Your situation? No, no, no, your situation is much better now," the principal waved his hand and explained, "Both your soul and body are in reality. What you are seeing and hearing now is just a re-enactment of a story."
The principal continued, "The owner of this body you are inhabiting was a woman who once died in Baimu Village. Everything, including you, me, and Baimu Village, are things that woman once experienced."
After hearing this, Fang Ming asked again, "Then how can I get my soul in? I want to find my parents and bring them back."
"Simple," the principal managed a stiff smile. "Go through everything this woman experienced again, and you'll find a way in."
"But are you really sure you want to continue experiencing this?"
Fang Ming looked at the principal's ill-intentioned smile, his heart pounding, and he mentally simulated what might happen next.
Since the principal said the owner of this body would die, then according to history, she would definitely die. His current situation was that he hadn't been taken a liking to by the fool, and according to the rules, he would be drowned in the well. But now he had escaped and come here to this old man... which meant...
Fang Ming suddenly stood up, his eyes fixed on the principal, "You want to kill me!"
"Don't be nervous, sit down, sit down," the principal pressed his hands, telling Fang Ming not to get excited. "I won't kill you, I'll just hand you over to those villagers who will come to catch you tomorrow."
Fang Ming heard this and sat back down without a word. "Can you tell me what will happen after I am captured by those villagers?"
"..." The principal paused unusually, then slowly said, "Skin and flesh scraped, bones sunk alive."
"Huh?" Fang Ming didn't understand. "What does that mean?"
"After you are captured, the people of Baimu Village will flay your entire body alive, using a secret method to prolong your life and keep you conscious, until only your bones and sinews remain. Only then will you be sunk into the old well and drowned."
The principal's tone was very calm, yet it sent chills down Fang Ming's spine.
Isn't this an enhanced version of Lingchi torture? And he would be conscious the entire time, only to be drowned at the end.
What kind of vicious person could think of such a method! These devils of Baimu Village! Were their true forms human or monsters?
"Aren't they afraid of divine retribution? How dare they do this?" Fang Ming said angrily.
The principal didn't answer his question and instead asked, "Do you still want to continue experiencing everything this woman went through? You know, if this woman isn't sunk in the well, you won't be able to return to this world."
"This..." Fang Ming stammered. He didn't know. No, he was certain he didn't have the courage to endure such "Lingchi." Or rather, anyone who knew that such a thing would happen in the future could still have the courage to continue experiencing it.
"Decide for yourself," the principal chuckled, stood up, and walked to the window. He looked at the peaceful scenery outside, then fell silent.
After a long while, the principal suddenly spoke, "Do you know? I've always wanted to be a good principal. I want to watch these children grow under my care and become pillars of the nation."
Fang Ming didn't understand why the principal suddenly said these things. Of course, he wasn't in the mood to understand them now. The principal's words interrupted his hesitation, and he made up his mind.
"I will continue to experience what this body has to go through!"
Hearing this, the principal turned back and stared at Fang Ming with sharp eyes.
"Truly? You know that torment is beyond what ordinary people can bear."
Fang Ming gritted his teeth. "Yes! To find my parents, I'll risk it all!"
"Hahaha, good, good! Fang Daolong wouldn't have lived in vain to have a son like you!" The principal laughed heartily. "Tomorrow I will hand you over to those villagers, but I have something to give you." httpδ:/m.kuAisugg.nět
The principal took a piece of candy from his pocket. The wrapper looked quite old.
"This is..." Fang Ming took the candy and looked at the principal doubtfully.
"After I hand you over tomorrow, keep this candy in your mouth and swallow it when they are scraping your flesh and blood. It will temporarily disconnect you from this body."
Fang Ming was overjoyed. "Thank you, Principal."
"It's nothing. As Fang Daolong's son, I'm just doing my best to help you," the principal waved his hand and patted his lower back. "You can rest here for tonight. I'll be leaving now."
With that, the principal, hunched over, left the office. Fang Ming still had many questions, and as he rushed out, he found himself standing in front of a thatched cottage. Behind him was a worn wooden door, with two fist-sized lanterns hanging from the eaves, emitting a faint glow. There was no school to be seen anywhere.
As for the principal, there wasn't a trace of him.
Fang Ming gave a wry smile and didn't dare to run around anymore. He turned back into the thatched cottage. The furnishings hadn't changed; it was still the same as the office before.
"I'll make do for tonight. Let's see what happens tomorrow."
With a sense of unease, Fang Ming leaned against the long bench and gradually drifted off to sleep.
...
The night passed uneventfully. With the crowing of a rooster, the sky brightened.
"Catch her!"
"Don't let her escape again!"
...
A commotion woke the sleeping Fang Ming. Fang Ming rubbed his eyes, not yet fully recovered. "What's going on?"
"Bang!" The door was kicked open, and several burly men, ignoring the principal's obstruction, rushed in.
"What do you want?" the principal said feebly, but the burly men completely ignored him, roughly pushing him aside and approaching Fang Ming.
The village chief slowly entered the thatched cottage. He glanced at Fang Ming and said indifferently, "Take her away."
Several burly men reached out to grab Fang Ming. Fang Ming didn't resist. He knew this was something he had to go through. His eyes calmly stared at the village chief.
"I originally thought you were just monsters in the night, but I didn't expect you to be more terrifying than monsters during the day."
The village chief's brow furrowed imperceptibly at this. He knew that this woman had seen Baimu Village at night, so she definitely couldn't be left alive!
"To the ancestral hall," the village chief said coldly. The burly men tied Fang Ming up with ropes and carried him out of the thatched cottage.
The early morning air outside was still cool, making Fang Ming's heart feel even more hollow—a hollowness born of facing the unknown and the known.
From a corner not far away, Bai Po watched the situation at the thatched cottage with a grim expression. That old fellow was actually doing nothing? This test hadn't yielded any useful intelligence for her. From the moment that woman entered the thatched cottage yesterday, she had only come out once, and that old man hadn't appeared at all.
"What exactly does this guy want?" Bai Po couldn't figure out the principal's intentions, so she could only slowly fade into the darkness. She didn't dare to act rashly.
Meanwhile, the principal, who had been pushed down, calmly stood up after everyone left. He patted away imaginary dust from his clothes, his gaze subtly shifting towards Bai Po's hidden position.
"I hope you can save her," the principal sighed and slowly sat back in his chair, closing his eyes. His figure gradually faded until he completely disappeared.
This was Fang Ming's first time in the ancestral hall of Baimu Village. The ancestral hall was large, a very tall building. Compared to the rustic architecture of Baimu Village, this ancestral hall had a strange sense of incongruity, as if a Western church had been placed among a group of ancient buildings.
At the entrance of the ancestral hall stood two statues, five to six meters tall. The statues were human-shaped, but their heads were cylindrical, inscribed with many human faces.
Led by the village chief, several burly men passed through the main hall, brought Fang Ming into the backyard of the ancestral hall, and then confined him in a room in the backyard.
"How long has this tree been here?" Fang Ming looked at the towering ancient tree outside the window, his heart filled with doubt.
The most prominent feature in the backyard was this ancient tree. It was an ancient pagoda tree, its trunk at least ten people hugging to encircle. Judging by the growth of pagoda trees, this tree must be at least a thousand years old!
The lush shade of the tree covered the entire backyard, bringing a touch of coolness to the ancestral hall.
Fang Ming didn't pay too much attention to the ancient tree. He struggled to stand up and observed his surroundings through the front and back windows.
His death this time was inevitable, so he might as well observe his surroundings more carefully. The next time he came, he would have more confidence.
The front window of the room faced the backyard, and the back window faced the scenery behind the ancestral hall.
"This is..." Looking at the scene outside the back window, Fang Ming was somewhat surprised. When he had come to Baimu Village, he had wondered where the cemetery of such a large village would be. He hadn't expected it to be here.
Behind the ancestral hall was an endless expanse of graves. Tomb mounds were neatly arranged on the open ground. Further in the distance was the area of white mist that stretched to the horizon. Strangely, wherever the graves were, there was no white mist at all.
"Is the white mist avoiding the graves, or are the graves avoiding the white mist?" Fang Ming pondered. If it was the former, some things would be worth pondering, and it might even become a means for him to traverse the white mist area in the future.
But if it was the latter, as Baimu Village continued to develop and the cycle of life and death continued, the graves would sooner or later come into contact with the white mist area. What would the people of Baimu Village do then?
"It seems that no matter what the situation is, Baimu Village has a way to dispel the white mist," Fang Ming secretly thought. It wouldn't be a waste to return here and pay more attention to this matter. If he could find such a method, it would be worth it.
Time passed as Fang Ming lost himself in thought. The sun gradually moved from east to west, and during this time, no one came to see him, not even the village chief. He seemed to have been forgotten.
"I'm so hungry..." Fang Ming leaned against the wall. He hadn't eaten anything for several meals, and his frail body couldn't take it.
As the last sliver of the sun sank below the horizon, the entire ancestral hall suddenly became gloomy. Looking at the sky through the window, the tree canopy blocked the moonlight, allowing not a single ray to penetrate. The wind whistled through the branches, sounding like howls.
"Tap, tap, tap..." A sound of footsteps approached from afar, heading in Fang Ming's direction.
"They're here?" Fang Ming's heart jolted. He quickly put the candy he had prepared into his mouth, waiting for the people of Baimu Village to begin their torture.