The sun was already high in the sky when Fang Ming woke up at noon. Out of habit, he opened his diary, only to see the content he least wanted to read—Zhao Xue was in trouble again.
Fang Ming sat up abruptly, all sleepiness vanishing instantly. His mind raced, trying to figure out where things had gone wrong. As far as he could tell, as long as Zhao Xue didn't harm the monster that the fool had turned into during the night, the fool would likely have taken a liking to her. This shouldn't have happened again.
Unless…
Fang Ming’s brow furrowed. Had Zhao Xue not listened to him? Or had she, in the middle of the night, broken through the roof and made contact with the two-headed monster?
However, he quickly dismissed this idea. The two-headed monster had appeared in the square yesterday, so historically speaking, the timeline had already changed. Zhao Xue shouldn't have had any contact with it.
“It seems I need to find Zhao Xue and get to the bottom of this, and at the same time figure out how to rescue her.”
Fang Ming dared not delay. He got up, tidied himself up casually, and went out to glance at Uncle An’s room.
“Strange, this old man is actually home?”
Uncle An’s room door was ajar, and a figure was busy inside. It was Uncle An himself.
Something clicked in Fang Ming’s mind. He walked to Uncle An’s door and knocked.
“You’re awake,” Uncle An looked up at Fang Ming. “Come in and sit down.”
“Apologies for the intrusion.”
Fang Ming entered Uncle An’s room and surveyed the layout. There was a small bed, a small table, a few small stools, an altar with a portrait of the deceased, and next to it, a graduation certificate from some unknown school. Incense sticks were burning on the altar, their flames flickering.
Seeing Fang Ming’s gaze fall on the portrait, Uncle An chuckled, a hint of pride in his tone. “This is my son. He passed away ten years ago, sacrificing himself for the village and some fellows in battle.”
“Battle? Against what? Bad guys?” Fang Ming asked, puzzled.
Uncle An sighed suddenly. “It’s nothing. Just some beings that shouldn’t exist.”
Fang Ming narrowed his eyes at this. What did Uncle An mean by that? He didn’t press further, knowing that this old man was definitely hiding some secrets but, for some reason, had never told him.
“Uncle An, is there anything I can help with in the village today? I’ve been eating and sleeping all day, and I feel a bit ashamed.”
Uncle An pondered for a moment, a hint of apology in his voice. “The village is busy with ancestral rites lately, and I’m getting old and forgetful. I can’t think of anything you can help with right now.”
Fang Ming quickly waved his hands, pretending to be unbothered. “It’s fine, it’s fine. It’s just that I feel restless when I’m idle.”
Inside, however, he was analyzing Uncle An’s words. This old man definitely knew about Zhao Xue’s situation, yet he was keeping silent this time. What was going on?
“You should rest well and contact your family to go home,” Uncle An chuckled. “There’s some food left for you in the kitchen. You can have some.”
Fang Ming glanced at Uncle An, who gave a subtle nod.
The kitchen was strange?
“Thank you, Uncle An. You’ve been so troublesome lately,” Fang Ming expressed his gratitude, then got up and headed straight for the kitchen.
The meal was as simple as ever: a plate of vegetables, a steamed bun, and a bowl of thin porridge.
Fang Ming glanced outside before closing the kitchen door. He first poked around in the vegetables and porridge with his chopsticks. Everything seemed normal.
His gaze then fell on the steamed bun in front of him.
He broke it open.
A small piece of paper appeared.
Fang Ming quickly pulled out the paper and unfolded it.
“Do not go to the ancestral hall! Enter and never leave! Flee the village quickly!”
“… “ Fang Ming stared at the note, silent for a long moment. He could tell that Uncle An’s actions were somewhat different from the other villagers in Baimu Village. This warning was definitely not just to scare him.
But he had a reason to go to the ancestral hall!
If he didn't go, Zhao Xue would have to endure the agony of being cut into a thousand pieces again. The kind of pain that could make one’s very body produce emotions—how could a frail woman endure it? He couldn't forget that look in her eyes. It was his unresolved issue!
“You’ve truly gone to great lengths for nothing.”
Fang Ming’s gaze drifted towards Uncle An’s room. He let out a wry smile, then tore the note to shreds and threw it into the fire pit of the stove. He picked up the steamed bun and porridge and ate a few bites, grabbed a cleaver from the counter, tucked it into his waist, and left the kitchen.
Uncle An stood behind the door, watching Fang Ming leave with resolute determination. He sighed with complex emotions. Baimu Village, the place where he was born and raised, had been a twisted existence from the very beginning.
This young man, once he went, would never return…
He knew better than anyone the terrifying nature of the ancestral hall, the sole forbidden area of Baimu Village, a place even more terrifying than the old well!
Uncle An turned his head to look at the portrait on the altar, then at the graduation certificate next to it. “Son, am I doing the right thing?”
…
During the day, Baimu Village returned to its characteristic mountain village tranquility. Occasionally, a few villagers walked along the paths, either fetching water, carrying farming tools to the fields, or simply chatting.
Fang Ming avoided these villagers and gradually approached the ancestral hall. He decided to enter the ancestral hall during the day to rescue Zhao Xue.
Compared to the villagers who turned into monsters at night, Fang Ming felt that dealing with them in the daytime was more manageable. Perhaps he could scare them away with his knife?
However, going into the ancestral hall in broad daylight was too conspicuous. Coupled with the incredibly high walls of the ancestral hall, the only way he could get in was through the main gate.
But the main gate was always guarded by two villagers. Without the village chief’s permission, they would absolutely not let anyone in. As for forcing his way in, one shout from them would alert the entire village, and he would surely be beaten into a pulp by these xenophobic villagers.
He had to rely on the diary.
Fang Ming hid in the shadows, quietly observing the main gate of the ancestral hall. The two villagers stood guard diligently, not even dozing off.
“Speaking of which, where did they get the money to build such a magnificent ancestral hall?” Looking at the two tall statues at the entrance of the ancestral hall, Fang Ming couldn’t help but grumble. This poor place, which subsisted on vegetables and thin porridge daily, could build such a grand ancestral hall.
From Fang Ming’s estimation, the construction of this entire ancestral hall would cost at least ten million. The two strange statues at the entrance alone would cost at least a hundred thousand each!
As Fang Ming muttered to himself, he didn’t notice a figure appearing behind him at some point.
“Hello there, outsider.” An aged voice startled Fang Ming, causing him to jump and quickly turn around.
“Bai Po…”
Looking at the old woman before him, Fang Ming’s heart sank. He had forgotten about this in the diary!
Bai Po’s expression was a strange mix of a smile and something else. She had seemed kind before, but now she appeared eerily stiff.
“Oh? How do you know my name is Bai Po?” Bai Po asked with a smile.
Fang Ming choked on his words. Where else could he have known? It must have been from his previous playthrough.
But Fang Ming definitely couldn’t say that. If he did, he would likely be close to death.
Fang Ming’s mind raced. He quickly tried to play it off. “Uh… uh… oh right, Uncle An talks about you every day, and I’ve always been curious about who Bai Po is. Seeing your attire just now, I guessed it might be you.”
Bai Po didn’t seem to suspect Fang Ming’s words. Instead, she advised him, “If you have nothing important to do, don’t go near the ancestral hall. The village rules here are quite strict. It would be terrible if the village chief found out.”
“Yes, yes, yes, I know. I was just curious about how our village has such a grand building, so I came specifically to take a look,” Fang Ming said immediately, starting to talk nonsense with a serious expression.
“That’s good, that’s good.”
Bai Po finished speaking and slowly walked away. Fang Ming watched her receding back, and for some reason, he felt that Bai Po seemed somewhat ethereal, lacking a sense of reality.
Thinking of this, Fang Ming suddenly realized something absurd—where had all the women in this village gone? It seemed that since he arrived, excluding Zhao Xue who was from another village, he couldn’t recall seeing any other women from Baimu Village except Bai Po?
Where had they all gone?
“Could they have all been thrown into the well?” Fang Ming entertained an incredible possibility, only to dismiss it. Based on what Bai Po had revealed to him before, the women of this village were only thrown into the well if they couldn’t bear sons or weren't chosen. Otherwise, they shouldn't have been affected?
And even if they were all thrown into the well for some reason, why was Bai Po still alive and well?
Perhaps he needed to investigate Bai Po’s identity…
Fang Ming quietly concealed his presence, moved to a different location, and continued to observe the surroundings of the ancestral hall. He took out his paper and pen and began sketching a rough map of the area, preparing to devise some escape routes.
He opened his diary, and new content had appeared.
“Two more villagers have arrived to replace the guards, but their watch remains strict, with no slackening whatsoever. I had to find other methods, finally deciding to use a diversionary tactic and set fire to the ancestral hall to lure them away.”
“Huh? This time the diary is actually a bit reliable?” Fang Ming said in surprise. Based on its usual performance, it would have been good enough to just give the result, let alone provide a method.
However, thinking about it, even if the diary hadn’t prompted him, he would have thought of it himself. After all, the diary recorded things he would do in the future, and it was just revealing them in advance.
Fang Ming quietly left his hiding spot and began to survey the area around the ancestral hall. Since the plan was to set a fire to lure the two villagers away, he had to control the intensity of the fire.
If it was too weak, it might only lure away one villager, which wouldn't be enough. If it was too strong, it might attract other villagers, increasing the risk. Therefore, Fang Ming had to carefully consider this balance.
After wandering around for about ten minutes, Fang Ming’s eyes suddenly lit up as he discovered a good spot to start a fire.
The location was slightly to the right of the main gate of the ancestral hall, at a small turn in the wall. It couldn’t be seen from the main gate, allowing Fang Ming to prepare there boldly. At the same time, it wouldn’t be a significant blind spot for the villagers, ensuring that they would see the fire as soon as it started.
Having chosen the spot, Fang Ming climbed into a nearby villager’s house. Seeing no one inside, he secretly went to the kitchen and “borrowed” some cooking oil from them, also swiping a box of matches.
“Whoosh…”
Fang Ming arrived at the chosen spot and poured the cooking oil from the ceramic jar onto the corner of the wall, splashing some onto the wall itself. Feeling that it was enough, he stopped.
“Here goes!” A match flew in a parabolic trajectory and landed steadily on the oil-soaked wall.
“Boom!” The fire instantly ignited, and thick black smoke began to spread.
Seeing this, Fang Ming immediately shouted, “Fire! Quickly, put out the fire!”
The two villagers on guard were instantly alerted. Seeing smoke billowing from a section of the ancestral hall, they rushed over in a panic to extinguish the flames. For them, if anything happened to the ancestral hall, they would face severe consequences!