The sense of being watched had disappeared for too long, so long that Fang Ming had completely forgotten about it.
There was still a formidable presence within the ancestral hall. If he, along with Zhao Xue, had been caught "leisurely" hiding in a corner, wouldn't that have been tantamount to seeking death?
It was still daytime. If he forced his way out now, he would only encounter the villagers. The best-case scenario would be a scuffle with the two guards at the gate; the worst would be facing the entire village.
These villagers, before they transformed into monsters, still possessed reason and wouldn't inflict excessive harm on Fang Ming.
But if he were caught by the entity lurking behind the scenes in the ancestral hall, it would truly be a case of certain death!
Fang Ming pulled Zhao Xue and they ran all the way to the main gate, forcefully pulling it open.
"Who are you? How dare you trespass into the ancestral hall!" The two villagers on guard heard the gate creak open and turned to see Fang Ming and Zhao Xue running out.
"Run!"
Fang Ming, pulling along a bewildered Zhao Xue, shoved past the two villagers and, recognizing the direction of Uncle An's house, fled quickly.
"Stop!" The two villagers, seeing this, immediately gave chase.
"Didn't you say we should wait until dusk to escape?" Zhao Xue panted, not having run far.
Fang Ming glanced back. The two villagers were not slow and would soon catch up.
"I'll explain later. For now, listen to me. I'll hold off the two villagers behind. You run in this direction. At the next intersection, turn right and hide in the first courtyard of the second row." Fang Ming quickly outlined the next steps.
Zhao Xue knew this was not the time to throw a tantrum and nodded immediately.
"Let's go!"
Fang Ming abruptly stopped, turning back to confront the two approaching villagers. Zhao Xue looked at Fang Ming with a complex expression, feeling as if she had wronged this man.
"You must return safely!" Zhao Xue said with concern in her eyes, then turned and fled along the route Fang Ming had indicated.
Hearing this, Fang Ming's lips twitched. How familiar this scene felt. Had he not just experienced something similar?
"Who exactly are you people? Why did you break into the ancestral hall?" The two villagers also stopped, glaring at Fang Ming menacingly.
"Look at the UFO!" Fang Ming suddenly shouted, pointing at the sky.
The two villagers instinctively looked up.
Now's the chance!
Fang Ming seized the opportunity and charged forward, using their distraction to knock one of them down. His head slammed into the man's chest, and Fang Ming could hear the distinct sound of ribs cracking.
"Damn it! You bastard!" The other villager, recovering his senses, immediately cursed, but his feet began to retreat. "You're finished, I'm telling you!"
"Wait here, I'm going to get reinforcements. You dared to intrude into the ancestral hall and injure our villagers. You're dead!"
With that, the villager turned and bolted, his speed even faster than when he had been chasing Fang Ming. He left behind the villager Fang Ming had headbutted, groaning on the ground.
Fang Ming, who had been poised for battle, was stunned by the fleeing villager. He had prepared for a fight, only for this villager to just run away?
"Good thing he was a coward," Fang Ming breathed a sigh of relief. To be honest, he was also afraid of fighting. A fistfight was genuinely painful. He wasn't a protagonist in a heroic drama; he felt pain when bumped or scraped, just like anyone else.
Glancing at the still-groaning villager, Fang Ming turned and ran. Who knew when the villager who fled would return.
The ancestral hall was not far from Uncle An's house. A few minutes later, Fang Ming arrived at the entrance of Uncle An's courtyard. Zhao Xue was cautiously crouched in a corner outside the gate.
Fang Ming opened the courtyard gate and called out to Zhao Xue, "Come in quickly!"
Seeing Fang Ming return unharmed, Zhao Xue was overjoyed and rushed over. "Are you hurt?"
"I'm fine, but we need to keep running after we get what we need." After Zhao Xue entered, Fang Ming carefully locked the courtyard gate and then headed straight for Uncle An's bedroom.
He intended to take Uncle An's son's portrait, fulfilling Uncle An's last wish.
"What are you doing? Why would we take a portrait with us when we're escaping?" Zhao Xue was somewhat displeased. The portrait was about half a person's size; wouldn't carrying it be a burden?
"If I leave, I must take it with me." Fang Ming didn't explain, offering only a resolute answer.
He lifted the portrait. The glass-framed portrait was rather heavy. Carrying it like this wouldn't work. Given Fang Ming's physique, he wouldn't be able to go far before collapsing.
"My apologies." Fang Ming picked up the portrait and knocked it against the corner of a table.
"Crack." The glass shattered, revealing the photograph within. After a few more knocks, the entire photograph was removed.
"This is..." As soon as the photograph was out, Fang Ming discovered a small, palm-sized notebook hidden behind it.
He opened it.
"May 10, 1944. I captured another side of the village with my camera. The village at night seemed like a den of monsters, with all sorts of creatures gathering, and I myself became a monster without reason."
"May 14, 1944. I began investigating the source of the monsters. Using myself as a reference, I discovered that what turned me into a monster was the village well water!"
A diary! A diary from 1944!
"What year is it now?" Fang Ming asked Zhao Xue, looking up.
Zhao Xue didn't understand why Fang Ming was asking her this. "If I remember correctly, it should be 1966, or maybe '65. I don't really pay attention to this."
1966? Fang Ming frowned. In 1966, his father should not have even been a concept. Then how did the village chief know him?
Even greater doubts swirled in Fang Ming's mind. He thought he had understood the truth of Bai Mu Village, but it turned out to be just the tip of the iceberg.
Time was pressing, and Fang Ming didn't dwell on these thoughts. He put away the diary, rolled up the portrait, and tucked it into his clothes. He then prepared to leave with Zhao Xue through the back door.
"Rumble..." Fang Ming looked at Zhao Xue, who glared back at him.
"What are you looking at? I haven't eaten in almost two days. Isn't it normal to be hungry?"
Fang Ming rubbed his stomach. Hearing this, he realized he was also a bit hungry, so he headed to the kitchen.
"Fortunately, there are still a few steamed buns and cornbread buns." Fang Ming took out the food from the cupboard, stuffed it into his clothes, and handed a steamed bun to Zhao Xue as he left the kitchen.
"You want me to eat this?" Zhao Xue's face was full of disbelief. How could she eat this cold, hard, coarse-grained steamed bun?
"Are you eating it or not?" Fang Ming glared at her. Why was this woman being so picky at such a time? Having something to eat was fortunate enough; she was still being choosy?
"I'm not eating it." Zhao Xue threw the steamed bun on the ground, her spoiled nature surfacing.
"You!" Fang Ming was a little angry. He quickly picked up the steamed bun. "Eat it if you want, or don't!"
With that, he ignored Zhao Xue and headed for the back door.
Seeing that Fang Ming was ignoring her, Zhao Xue, feeling a pang of anger, quickly followed. "Can't you just make me something hot to eat?"
Fang Ming turned and looked at her, his gaze making her feel uneasy.
"Do you know what the current situation is? We're running for our lives, not on a vacation!"
"..." Zhao Xue was speechless after Fang Ming's scolding, lowering her head in silence.
"I'm really done with you." Fang Ming was somewhat annoyed and, not wanting to deal with the woman anymore, strode outside.
Seeing that Fang Ming was truly ignoring her, Zhao Xue became a little flustered and quickly followed.
"Quick! They must still be in the village. Find them for me!" Just as they were about to leave through the back door, several villagers ran over from the corner of the road. The leading villager gave angry instructions.
Startled, Fang Ming quickly pulled back the leg he had already stepped out and dragged Zhao Xue back into the courtyard.
The leading villager was the same guard who had run away earlier! He hadn't expected to rally so many people; at a rough estimate, there were about ten of them.
"You, go notify the second team to search the east side of the village. The third team is responsible for the west. The rest of you, search house by house. If you see them, immediately blow your whistle. Be careful of that man; he's very cunning."
Outside the gate, the guard was directing his subordinates. Fang Ming cautiously hid behind a pile of debris in the courtyard, watching them through the gap in the slightly open door.
"Captain, I know who that outsider is!" Suddenly, a villager raised his hand.
Fang Ming's position allowed him to see the man through the door gap. Upon seeing his face, Fang Ming's heart sank.
"Er Ming and I were patrolling the village earlier and found him lying unconscious on the ground. After we notified the village chief, he was arranged to stay at Uncle An's house," the villager explained.
This man was none other than one of the two youths Fang Ming had met upon arriving in Bai Mu Village. He knew where he was staying!
"Uncle An's house?" The guard turned to look at the courtyard behind him. "Is this Uncle An's house? And the door is still open?"
"Could they be hiding inside?" a villager asked.
"Search!" The guard waved his hand and led the charge into the courtyard, but the villagers behind him did not move.
"Second Uncle, that's Uncle An's house. If we go in like this, and happen to run into Uncle An, won't we get scolded?" a villager asked cautiously.
The guard's eyes darted around, and he stopped. He also dared not offend Uncle An, but if he couldn't catch the intruder who had trespassed into the ancestral hall, he would be punished.
"You two, climb over the courtyard wall and see if Uncle An is home. If he's not, we'll rush in," the guard ordered, pointing at two young villagers.
The two young villagers were afraid of their "Second Uncle" and reluctantly began to climb the courtyard wall.
Fang Ming, hearing their words inside the courtyard, quickly scanned the wall. He didn't know which side those two would climb from, and his current position was not ideal.
"Follow me."
Fang Ming got up and ran towards the main gate. They were currently occupied at the back door, making the main gate the safer option.
"They're in the courtyard!" As soon as the two villagers climbed the wall, they saw Fang Ming and Zhao Xue leaving through the main gate and immediately shouted, "They just ran out the front gate!"
"Chase!" The guard was overjoyed. He had finally found the intruder. "Notify the other teams to block this direction. We must catch them today!"
Fang Ming heard the shouts from the courtyard wall and knew he was in trouble. He looked outside, recalled the village map he had previously scouted, and led Zhao Xue in a certain direction.
Bai Mu Village was so small. Wandering around the village with Zhao Xue would inevitably lead to them being caught by these villagers sooner or later. Instead of that, he decided to take a gamble!
That's right, Fang Ming decided to enter the white mist!
He knew there were terrifying malevolent spirits in the white mist, but they couldn't possibly be everywhere. If he and Zhao Xue could hide carefully after entering, they could then look for a way to leave.
Danger was certain, but it was better than being caught by the villagers and subjected to unknown torture. He would rather he and Zhao Xue be devoured by the spirits than to experience the taste of "scraping flesh and sinking bones" again.