Nan Yue's heart skipped a beat.
As expected, the things that felt off from the very beginning really were problematic.
It was impossible for a town to have no children.
"Children?"
Dongfang Yuelai frowned slightly, but her voice remained as steady and gentle as ever. "What children?"
"He Jiang just said they were children. Many, many children, playing games outside."
"Anything else?"
"He didn't say anything else. He just told me to follow him closely and that he knew how to complete the mission."
Seeing that she really couldn't get anything more out of him, Dongfang Yuelai said, "Then rest easy. Everything will be fine after a nap."
Zhao Dekai's eyes were glazed as he slumped onto the bed and fell into a deep sleep.
The three of them didn't exchange any thoughts. When they slipped out of the room, He Jiang was still in the courtyard.
Nan Yue felt like He Jiang glanced toward them with a sneer in his eyes.
He relied heavily on his ability and wasn't afraid of others knowing.
Nan Yue looked at the three people following He Jiang; it seemed he had gained new members.
Bai Jun and the other two looked very excited, their faces flushed as if they were in on some secret.
But when they saw Nan Yue and her group approaching, they immediately wiped the smiles off their faces and exchanged rather forced glances.
Nan Yue didn't care about their petty schemes. He Jiang wouldn't tell the others everything he saw, but the fact that there were children outside was likely correct.
Those in the inner residence faced greater danger but gained more clues. If Nan Yue had been in the inner residence and hadn't seen the figures outside the window, she would have immediately suspected the figures were children, given the town's lack of them.
But what mattered wasn't what was outside, but why children would come to the scholar's old residence at midnight to play games.
Nan Yue didn't believe for a second that they would be safe as long as they never looked outside.
Every scavenger knew that missions only grew more dangerous as they progressed.
What did those children want?
Why did those who saw them have to be brutally killed?
When it was time to eat, the others took a walk around town and found that every household had closed its doors. Only the lanterns of Evermercy Restaurant were still lit.
Bai Jun and his companions were naive; they had been eating there all along and didn't think anything was wrong. Chang'an, however, looked rather grim.
Seeing so many people arrive together, Xu Youci's eyes crinkled into a smile.
"We have Milk-stewed Fawn Soup today. It's piping hot. Let me get a bowl for everyone."
After the soup was served, Bai Jun and the other two drank first, followed by Zhao Dekai. The others more or less avoided the soup.
They weren't so stupid as to think the soup was completely fine.
However, for now, the death rules didn't seem related to the soup, and filling their stomachs was the priority.
Nan Yue and her two companions picked at some side dishes but didn't eat much; they were already full from the steamed buns.
"Boss, is there anything special about this Blood Moon?"
As soon as Nan Yue spoke, the others stopped their chopsticks.
The Blood Moon? What Blood Moon?
Xu Youci gave Nan Yue a smiling glance. "Not bad. You even know about the Blood Moon."
"It's actually just an astronomical anomaly that happens once a year. Our town just happens to use that day for our sacrificial rite."
Seeing everyone staring at him, Xu Youci explained further, "It's an Polar Night."
Bai Jun asked curiously, "There's an Polar Night here? This isn't the South or North Pole."
Xu Youci shrugged. "I don't understand those big theories. All I know is that it happens once a year here."
"As for rules, the townspeople don't come out after dark. You outsiders don't have to worry about it."
Nan Yue keenly noticed that his statement contradicted what he had said at the beginning.
"Didn't the mayor say before that we couldn't go out at night?"
Xu Youci rubbed the prayer beads in his hand and chuckled.
"That's because the mayor was afraid you'd wander into the woods and get attacked by wild animals since you're unfamiliar with the area. Now that you've been here for a few days, there's no reason for our town to restrict your movements."
That wasn't right.
Nan Yue didn't believe a word of it. She sensed that the death rules were changing, likely starting from the moment the daylight began to shorten.
Some understood the implication of his words while others didn't, and the meal proceeded relatively harmoniously.
Halfway through, Li Maocai finally returned and immediately downed a bowl of soup.
"I couldn't find Old He. I don't know where he went."
Li Maocai looked panicked. "It's strange. First Tan Hao, and now Old He."
He was clever enough not to say anything further in front of Xu Youci.
"Don't talk nonsense. It's still early. He'll be back."
He Jiang's expression wasn't great either. He wasn't afraid of death, but he feared disappearances where not a single clue was left behind.
After dinner, the group didn't split up. Once darkness fell, the town felt like a deserted ghost town. Only the lanterns of Evermercy Restaurant on the hillside were lit, creating an eerie atmosphere.
This eeriness was shattered when they passed an alley. The screams of Pu Yuan and Jiang Ningning pierced the sky.
They had stumbled upon He Hongyun's corpse.
He Hongyun was dead in the middle of the alley, his head, limbs, and torso scattered about, blood splattered across the entire lane.
There were no lights in the alley. Pu Yuan and Jiang Ningning had come face-to-face with He Hongyun's head, causing them to scream in terror.
"How did Old He end up dead here!"
He Jiang put on a look of deep grief. "This afternoon he said he was going to look for clues in town. I never expected..."
Nan Yue looked at He Hongyun's corpse for a moment and asked, "What time did he leave?"
He Jiang didn't expect Nan Yue to speak to him, but since he favored his nice guy persona, he cooperated.
"I don't know. It was just after lunch, and the sky was still very bright."
The others secretly breathed a sigh of relief in the dark. At least Xu Youci was right; even though the nights were getting longer, being out at night wasn't a death condition.
Bai Jun even began to speculate that if one went out at night with their eyes closed, they might not die as long as they didn't make eye contact with those children.
Only a few people looked grim, and Nan Yue was one of them.
This only proved that the ghosts in this mission could now come out during the day.
On the way back, He Jiang tried to get close to Nan Yue. "Little girl, there were some misunderstandings between us at the start. Now that so many people have died, it's time for us to be united."
"I suggest we stand together against our common enemy."
Nan Yue looked at He Jiang's reaching hand and smiled. "Do you really think I'd let you touch me?"
He Jiang's face contorted for an instant. He withdrew his hand and made a few snide remarks. The others didn't react much, but Jiang Ningning found Nan Yue's words strange.
She wouldn't let He Jiang touch her?
Jiang Ningning remembered He Jiang coming to the three of them that afternoon, saying they should clear the mission together, and he had ceremoniously reached out his hand.
They had thought it was just a habit of an older man and had all shaken hands with him. Could there be something wrong with that?
The more Jiang Ningning thought about it, the more frightened she became. She didn't dare say anything, her nerves pulled taut.
He Hongyun's death left the entire team in silence. Pu Yuan, still reeling from the shock, muttered to herself.
"Strange. Why is Tan Hao still missing? We haven't even seen his body yet."
Rate on N.U.
