Forest
Lu Congxing paused for a moment, unable to suppress the rising feeling of disgust within him.
Although it was the first time he had heard this voice, he immediately recognized its source.
The owner of this voice was the one pulling all the strings behind the scenes.
It was the one who had sent the rattle containing the dead infant to Mrs. Xiang, the one who had guided the Di Jiang film crew to the Village of the Living Dead, and the one who had given the voodoo doll to Wen Yi’s assistant.
Even the realm he had entered was under that person’s control.
It was as if he were a pawn, pushed forward despite knowing the dangers ahead.
The voice in his head grew louder with each passing moment, like the bell of a divine kingdom ringing to awaken all, carrying both divinity and oppression.
The pain, like being pricked by needles, churned in his mind, and his right leg uncontrollably moved as if to take the first step.
Grinding his teeth, Lu Congxing lowered his head, taking a small blade from his pocket and cutting into his leg.
As blood poured out, the uncontrollable feeling faded significantly.
He said coldly, “Who are you?”
Then the voice vanished.
Before him stood two paths: one leading to the village and the other to the forest.
He hastily placed a blood-stopping talisman and took a step forward.
The large yellow dog from the village saw him and wagged its tail.
A few children, eager to catch loaches in the river, carried their shoes in their hands and ran barefoot. When they saw Lu Congxing approaching the village entrance, they all stopped in a swarm, curiously watching him.
Lu Congxing smiled at them, and the bravest child, who was at the front, asked blankly, “Who are you?”
“I am…” Lu Congxing initially wanted to say that he came from the forest, but then he remembered the rickety bridge he crossed earlier.
It was old, long neglected, and had been worn down by wind and rain, clearly not a place where many people would cross to the other side.
So he changed his answer, “I’m from another place, looking for someone, a relative.”
The children didn’t doubt him at all. Seeing how easygoing Lu Congxing was, they all started asking questions.
“Who are you looking for?”
“Is it a man or a woman?”
None of them asked where he was from, as if their minds had already filled in the gaps of his lie for him.
He had no qualms about lying to children. He casually guessed, “Hmm, I’m looking for a chubby uncle who talks a lot, his chin is often red, and one of his ears is missing a piece. He wears the same black clothes all the time.”
To his surprise, upon hearing this, the children all exclaimed, “Wow——!”
The leader of the children eagerly raised his hand, saying, “I know, I know! It’s Uncle Er Lai! I’ll take you to find him!”
Lu Congxing couldn’t help but twitch his mouth. He didn’t expect that someone would actually match his description.
He had no choice but to follow the energetic children deeper into the village.
Along the way, they passed many adults working in the fields, all of whom looked over curiously.
After all, the village was small, and it was rare to see a new face around here.
Any little piece of gossip could quickly spread from one end of the village to the other.
Soon, the whole village knew that Er Lai had a relative who looked like someone from the city.
Some of the children’s parents, hearing the news, came over to take a look. The villagers were all very honest, and seeing how familiar Lu Congxing looked, they didn’t grow suspicious about their children playing with a stranger.
A woman hurried over and twisted her mischievous son’s ear, then apologetically looked up at Lu Congxing and said, “Sorry, my son didn’t make a mess on you, did he?”
She looked at his spotless clothes and sighed in relief, wondering why her child was suddenly so obedient today.
Usually, he liked to mischievously splash mud on others, and she’d end up scolding him twice a day.
Lu Congxing then realized he was wearing a white shirt today. No wonder the children had been hesitant to come too close—they were afraid of dirtying his clothes with the mud on their hands.
The children had rarely seen anyone wearing such clean white clothes, and their bright eyes were full of curiosity.
He smiled at the woman, “No, he’s very well-behaved and smart.”
No parent would dislike hearing their child being praised. The woman’s darkened face from the sun broke into a simple smile. She pointed to a somewhat rundown house in the village and said, “Look, if you’re looking for Er Lai, that’s where he lives.”
The house she pointed to looked similar to the others at first glance, but upon closer inspection, there were differences.
The yard was surrounded by a fence, but there were no chickens, ducks, or trees, and it was bare, with no grains or food drying outside.
The house was also quite damaged, and Lu Congxing had no doubt that when it rained later, the house might have even leaked, and a strong wind could have blown half of the roof away.
A child shouted, “I’m the one who brought him here!”
“I’m the one who led the way!”
The group of kids chattered noisily as they tumbled together in a chaotic mess. Meanwhile, the leader—who had been leading them from the start—took the chance to dash off and knock on the door of Er Lai’s house.
As soon as a groggy person opened the door, they were immediately dragged outside.
It all happened so fast that Lu Congxing couldn’t stop it in time.
He sized up this “Er Lai” guy and realized that, surprisingly, he matched the earlier description quite well. There was a small nick on his left ear, and the only thing different was his red-stained chin, which seemed to be colored from some kind of fruit.
While Lu Congxing was still lost in thought, the woman suddenly stepped forward and gave Er Lai a slap, hands on her hips as she said, “Er Lai, this child came all this way just to find you. You better take good care of him!”
Lu Congxing, now labeled “this child,” was baffled and already thinking up an excuse to get out of this situation.
But unexpectedly, Er Lai squinted at him for a moment without calling his bluff. Instead, he seemed to really be trying to recall something. “Aren’t you that kid from my second uncle’s side?”
Lu Congxing froze, then hesitantly nodded.
Er Lai lit up, slapping his thigh. “Ever since my second uncle and his wife went off somewhere, I’ve had no relatives in this village. Thank goodness you came! Come on in, come in—have a seat!”
His sharp, narrow eyes suddenly gleamed with excitement.
Er Lai pulled him inside, and the woman at the door looked like she wanted to say something but held back.
Unfortunately, Er Lai was in too much of a hurry. After shoving Lu Congxing into the house, he waved at the woman. “Take care, sister-in-law!”
Then, with one swift motion, he shut the door—cutting off all the curious gazes from outside.
Once the door was closed, he enthusiastically invited Lu Congxing to sit down, offering him the only stable chair in the house.
Lu Congxing played the role of an awkward guest visiting an unfamiliar relative perfectly, deciding to just go with the flow for now.
At the very least, the current events unfolding in this “painting” were working in his favor. He was sure He Zhouyan must have noticed his disappearance by now—he’d probably come looking soon.
So he kept himself calm, though inwardly still slightly agitated by the strange voice that had suddenly echoed in his mind earlier.
It seemed that Er Lai really had mistaken him for someone else. He began rummaging through boxes and cupboards, trying to find something to offer his guest. In the end, he dug out a handful of red berries.
He couldn’t even find a bowl without chips, so he had to use one with a crack running through it to hold the berries for Lu Congxing.
Lu Congxing recognized the fruit. It was a type of wild berry—sweet and sour—but the red juice easily stained things. Judging by the red tint around Er Lai’s chin, it looked like he often ate these berries.
Without changing his expression, Lu Congxing took the bowl and set it aside, then casually asked Er Lai how he’d been doing lately, as if they were just chatting at home.
A trace of embarrassment crossed Er Lai’s face, but unwilling to lose face in front of someone else, he puffed up and said, “I’ve been doing alright. The neighbors all treat me well and say I’ve got a bright future ahead of me.”
But thinking back to how that woman and the kids had treated him earlier—with such disregard—it didn’t really seem like someone with any standing in the village.
Lu Congxing didn’t call him out, just quietly listened, which only encouraged Er Lai to keep going.
In fact, judging by his appearance, Lu Congxing could tell the man was only in his thirties, but he looked more like someone in his forties—worn out and weary. He hadn’t even bothered to shave, with a scruffy beard on his face.
Er Lai talked on and on, his back straightening more with each sentence, as if he were really some wise sage pretending to be simple-minded.
He was like a man boasting loudly at a drinking table.
It wasn’t until an hour had passed that he finally smacked his lips and changed the topic. “How are your second uncle and aunt doing these days?”
Lu Congxing’s expression turned heavy. “My parents were in a car accident last year…”
Er Lai froze, caught off guard. “I… I didn’t know…”
Lu Congxing said nothing, letting him fill in the blanks on his own.
Seeing the sorrow on Lu Congxing’s face, Er Lai’s mind raced, and in the end, he even wiped his eyes, tears welling up. “Good kid, you’ve had a rough time.”
Lu Congxing shook his head silently.
Er Lai didn’t dare press further and stood up to ask, “You haven’t eaten yet, have you?”
“No.”
“I’ll go find you something to eat!” Er Lai opened the door and left, leaving Lu Congxing alone in the house without a second thought.
After all, there wasn’t anything valuable in his home—he didn’t even bother locking the door on a regular day.
As soon as Er Lai left, Lu Congxing stood up and began searching through the few pieces of furniture in the house.
He even checked the bed but found nothing unusual—just an ordinary, messy home of a rural man.
Nothing out of place.
The little fire came out too, sniffing around, and even managed to sneak a bite of the red berries while Lu Congxing wasn’t looking.
Nothing. Nothing happened.
Lu Congxing had hoped to discover something here, like he had in the remote village he visited with the film crew. But all he found this time was confusion.
He stepped outside and saw Er Lai grinning as he knocked on someone else’s door, holding two bowls in his hands.
Lu Congxing was stunned. He hadn’t expected Er Lai’s idea of “finding food” to mean begging from house to house.
“Hey.”
A voice suddenly called out to him from the side—it was the woman from earlier. She had come back, clearly still uneasy.
“Is something wrong?” Lu Congxing asked politely, walking over and looking her in the eye.
The woman gave an awkward smile. “I just wanted to let you know… Er Lai’s well-known in our village for being a freeloader. Everyone—young and old—laughs at him. He never works, just sneaks around and mooches off others. He’s been eating handouts since he was a kid. No one thought he’d grow up and still be going door-to-door with a bowl.”
Lu Congxing listened patiently, a slight frown forming on his face at just the right moments.
He desperately wanted to know what had led that mysterious voice to bring him to this village.
The woman continued, “So now, he probably just thinks you look clean and easy to fool. He’s trying to play the sympathy card and get some money out of you. Don’t let him trick you.”
Though plainly dressed, the woman’s eyes held genuine sincerity.
Lu Congxing hesitated for a moment, then said, “Actually, I don’t have any money.”
The look on the woman’s face showed she didn’t quite believe him. After all, anyone could see that Lu Congxing looked like a young master from a wealthy family—born with a silver spoon, carrying himself with an air of refinement.
There was no way to force her to believe him, so he just accepted the misunderstanding that he was a rich orphan who’d inherited a large fortune.
He smoothly changed the subject, asking casually, “Do you all go into the forest often?”
He had remembered the red berries—they only grew in forests. Maybe his initial assumption that the villagers avoided the woods was wrong.
But the woman’s expression turned puzzled. “Forest? What forest?”
The confusion in her eyes seemed genuine. Lu Congxing abruptly turned to look toward the village entrance—across the river, the outline of the forest was still faintly visible in the distance.