The next day.
He saw the dark circles under Lina's eyes, and he looked much the same. The entire village's mental state was not good; everyone appeared exceptionally exhausted. Worse news was that there was another disappearance last night. One of the hunters who had entered the cave that day was missing. He seemed to have helped the one-eyed man move the statue, but still, no one heard any noise yesterday.
There was a heavy fog in the morning.
The fog didn't clear away until noon, and Su Ziyu sensed a strange atmosphere brewing, as if everyone in the village was in a daze.
Lina's condition was even worse.
She looked like a patient with anxiety disorder, staying by Su Ziyu's side almost all day, seemingly afraid of the dark. Her spirit seemed more scattered when she was alone. Sometimes when she was sitting and daydreaming, it took Su Ziyu calling her several times to bring her back to her senses.
Something's wrong!
This is very wrong!
Everyone in the village is off! Everyone's condition is off!
Su Ziyu racked his brains trying to find a way to deal with this situation, but he had no clue. Finally, he came up with a non-solution solution, which was to take Lina and leave this place.
Night fell again.
Su Ziyu sat by the bedside, thinking about how he should handle this situation. He deeply felt how inconvenient it was not to speak the local language. Although he could understand Lina's language with the help of a system translator, he couldn't speak it. Even if he wanted to persuade Lina to leave, he didn't know how to start. He couldn't just grab her and run away.
It seemed to be foggy outside again this evening.
The mist seemed to be slowly engulfing the village. He couldn't find Ken during the day, but it seemed Ken had gone out again.
Su Ziyu couldn't sleep now and was somewhat afraid to sleep.
Fortunately, his physical condition was much better than before, and his mental state was still quite good. Just as he was lying with his eyes closed pretending to sleep, Su Ziyu vaguely heard footsteps outside. Almost instantly, he grasped the black short blade beside his bed, and then he heard Lina's voice.
Su Ziyu opened the door holding his weapon, and outside, Lina looked pale and immediately fell into his arms.
The girl seemed to have just taken a bath, with a faint fragrance on her body which trembled slightly as Su Ziyu held her, stroking her back. In a moment of panic, she raised her head and kissed his nose. Suddenly kissed, Su Ziyu was taken aback, and before he could react, Lina kissed him again, this time on his lips. Now he was a bit confused and couldn't make sense of the situation but instinctively felt he shouldn't lose out, so he turned and kissed Lina back, as if that made them even.
"What's happening? What's wrong? You're so cold!" Su Ziyu realized afterward that Lina couldn't understand a word he said.
The girl's body was icy cold.
Her mental state was terrible, and she was hugging Su Ziyu's arm tightly, causing a bit of pain. Lina's expression now was one of venting craziness, clumsily kissing him several times in a row and then trying to pull off Su Ziyu's clothes with both hands. Luckily, Su Ziyu's reason was still intact. The girl's cold body was peculiar, and without thinking, he gave Lina a karate chop to knock her out. His improved ability from the White Crow Swordsmanship ensured he didn't hurt the girl in his arms, and she awakened after about half an hour. Her pale face flushed slightly, and the girl awkwardly said, "I... I'm sorry... I don't know what got into me..."
"It was just so scary!..."
"And then... I wanted to try things I hadn't done before..."
Her voice grew increasingly small, realizing Su Ziyu couldn't understand her language. But to her surprise, he came over and hugged her, patting her back in consolation.
"It's okay. You'll be fine." Su Ziyu said softly.
Action needed.
Even if there's a language barrier, we must find a way to make Ken understand by tomorrow morning that we have to leave this place. The situation in the village is too eerie; staying could mean death for everyone.
Lina rested by Su Ziyu's bed, occasionally sneaking glances at him.
While Su Ziyu sat beside her, pondering how to persuade Ken to leave, the language barrier was a challenge, as was convincing people of this era to leave their homes, but it was the best solution for now.
Time ticked away.
Just as Su Ziyu felt a bit agitated, suddenly a slightly heavy footstep approached from the left. He swiftly picked up his weapon and made a gesture for Lina to be silent.
"Lina?" Ken's deep voice sounded.
They quickly opened the door to see Ken, fully armed with a pack on his back, outside. His face looked grim, glaring fiercely at Su Ziyu, then addressing Lina in a serious tone: "Pack your things. We're leaving the village now."
"Leave?! Now?!" Lina looked bewildered, seemingly not comprehending.
"Yes. Don't waste time." Ken's expression was grave. He turned to glance at Su Ziyu, saying, "You will come with us too. You can understand us, right?"
Having said this, he took Lina back to his own house.
Ken seemed to know something. He was barely seen during the day, but now he chose to leave in the middle of the night. The only explanation was he didn't want others knowing.
He abandoned the others in the village.
The three quickly met outside, with Lina now holding a small pack. Led by Ken, they avoided the others and left from the side of the village. The night village was still enshrouded in a layer of thin fog, visibility wasn't great. Ken didn't even bring a torch, relying on his familiarity to lead them out.
The village was in complete darkness, akin to a terrible beast looming above, ready to devour everyone within.
Ken is not simple.
He must be the village chief or leader, yet he left others behind without hesitation.
The pace at night wasn't quick, but fortunately, after some distance, the thin fog dispersed, and at least with the faint starlight, they could find their way. Lina's mental state improved slightly, her face no longer as pale, even having the energy to help Su Ziyu a bit on the rough road. Her physical condition was very good, with better swordsmanship than others. Now she began to show traces of her usual self, unlike the person she seemed to have become at the start.
Unknown how long they walked.
The winter night was long. Just as the sky began to grey, a chilling wind swept through, and a sinister voice followed the wind: "Where do you think you're going?"
.........