In this ancient mountainous area, there has always been a saying that if some of the mountain people are distracted, in a trance, and have nightmares about encountering various accidents, then in their view, these people are haunted by evil spirits and have been cursed.
If you want to be safe and sound, you must perform a ritual called Sha.
The so-called "sending away evil spirits" is actually very simple. All you have to do is choose a rooster or a black dog that has been raised at home for many years, tie the clothes of the person who has been possessed by the evil spirit on them, and then throw these animals into the mountains and forests.
After a simple ritual, the chosen animal will become a substitute for the person who has been afflicted by evil spirits, taking the place of the human being to bear the calamity.
Because they are tied with human clothes, it is very inconvenient for them to move, and it won't be long before these little animals die from various accidents.
In the eyes of the mountain people, the evil spirit is transferred to the wild beasts that kill the "substitute" or to the grass, trees and rocks in the mountains.
"This is so cruel..."
After hearing He Yuan's explanation, Bai Ke murmured.
"It's nothing but feudal superstition, but they're sacrificing the life of a small animal they've raised for so long. The mountain people are so cruel."
The young boy frowned, as if he couldn't bear it, and his eyes became sympathetic as he looked at the corpse on the ground.
It was Bai Ke's voice that brought Jiang Chuyan back to his senses in an instant.
He glanced at the primeval forest beside him again. A mountain breeze blew slowly, and the lush vegetation rustled. The moisture in the mountains was overflowing, and a little mist could be vaguely seen lingering.
But the feeling of being watched has long disappeared.
...It must be an illusion, right?
Jiang Chuyan thought.
While thinking, Jiang Chuyan's gaze also fell on Xu Yuanzhou and Bai Ke.
Xu Yuanzhou obviously had not yet reacted to what he had just done, and one hand was still reflexively on Bai Ke's shoulder.
It was not until he met Jiang Chuyan's thoughtful gaze that Xu Yuanzhou suddenly came to his senses.
He shuddered and quickly withdrew his hand.
grass...
He cursed in his heart, and then realized what he had just done.
If anyone was to blame, it was that the accident happened too suddenly. Xu Yuanzhou subconsciously protected the person closest to him, so he didn't care about Jiang Chuyan at all.
But Xu Yuanzhou didn't dare to say these words to Jiang Chuyan no matter what.
Especially when thinking about the strange silence that Jiang Chuyan had vaguely revealed along the way, Xu Yuanzhou felt as if there was an invisible hand in his stomach, squeezing it so hard that his entire stomach was cramping.
This is really bad.
The boy looked at his boyfriend nervously, groaning inwardly. He rubbed his hands together, then approached with a stiff smile.
"Chu Yan, I didn't scare you just now, did I? It was so sudden. Who the hell would have thought that a chicken that had been crushed like that could still fly? I was so scared that I didn't react at all. Luckily, it was just a chicken, so no one was hurt. It's just a little disgusting..."
Xu Yuanzhou tried hard to sound extremely cheerful, as if everything that had just happened was just a harmless little episode.
But in his heart he was praying to God, hoping that this matter could be dealt with as soon as possible.
During the three years of dating Jiang Chuyan, Xu Yuanzhou always felt that he was lucky.
After all, that was Jiang Chuyan.
But he had to admit that Jiang Chuyan was actually the type that was a bit difficult to deal with.
That's right, Jiang Chuyan's appearance is beyond words. He is so beautiful that people can't take their eyes off him. Otherwise, Xu Yuanzhou wouldn't have pursued him so wholeheartedly for so many years.
He still remembered how excited he was when he first caught up with her, staying awake in his dorm for three days, feeling like he was in a dream. He had previously worried that a beauty like Jiang Chuyan might develop some character flaws due to the absolute preferential treatment she had received since childhood, but Jiang Chuyan had never acted outrageously in front of Xu Yuanzhou.
He is simply the most perfect partner in every boy's mind, gentle, restrained, considerate, and to put it bluntly, he can even be called virtuous.
Xu Yuanzhou regretted it more than once, why wasn't Jiang Chuyan a woman?
If Jiang Chuyan were a girl, he would have snatched her home to marry her as soon as she graduated from college, and his parents would probably have been grinning from ear to ear.
But after spending a long time together, Xu Yuanzhou discovered that Jiang Chuyan, who was so gentle and considerate and never lost her temper, would be harder to coax back if she accidentally offended him.
Thinking of the painful experiences he had encountered after making stupid mistakes several times before, Xu Yuanzhou's heart was in turmoil and he was about to break out in a cold sweat.
At this moment, he saw some red spots on Jiang Chuyan's clothes, which were the blood stains splashed when the dead chicken flew up.
Xu Yuanzhou's heart moved, and he felt that this was an opportunity given to him by God. He pretended to take off his coat and put it on Jiang Chuyan's shoulders.
"Oh, look at all the blood on you... You're such a germaphobe, it must be so uncomfortable. Come here, let me give you my coat, you can put it on."
…
A faint sweet fragrance emanated from the boy's coat, which was the scent of the perfume Bai Ke used.
Unlike other boys, Bai Ke pays close attention to his appearance. He even wears makeup and expensive perfume when he goes out.
Such an expensive perfume naturally has a strong lasting fragrance.
Xu Yuanzhou and Bai Ke had been sitting in the car for such a long time, and the two of them had been so close to each other for so long that his coat was soaked with Bai Ke's scent.
Jiang Chuyan took a step back and avoided Xu Yuanzhou's hand.
"Chu Yan? What's wrong?"
Xu Yuanzhou was a little panicked, but still pretended to be stupid and asked.
Seeing Xu Yuanzhou's face stiffen and pleading in his eyes, Jiang Chuyan raised an eyebrow and said calmly, "It's okay. I'll have to change clothes when I get there anyway. And didn't you wait a long time to get this dress from a scalper? I won't wear it."
Jiang Chuyan's voice was calm.
Hearing this, Xu Yuanzhou's expression relaxed a little.
I still remember the origin of this trendy brand jacket of mine... That's great. Jiang Chuyan doesn't sound angry.
At this time, Jiang Chuyan took the opportunity to escape and walked towards He Yuan who was standing beside him.
While Xu Yuanzhou and Jiang Chuyan were whispering, the dark-skinned boy with curly hair remained silent beside the corpse of the dead chicken, seemingly in a daze.
When Jiang Chuyan walked over, she vaguely felt that the boy in front of her pursed his lips and seemed unhappy.
Of course, He Yuan's face had been extremely ugly since the chicken appeared. So at this time, Jiang Chuyan didn't think too much about it. He was just looking for an excuse to leave Xu Yuanzhou.
"He Yuan, next——"
"…"
When he saw He Yuan's face, Jiang Chuyan realized that perhaps because he was standing in front of him, He Yuan's face was also splashed with a lot of chicken blood.
However, the boy didn't seem to notice any of this. The chicken blood that had fallen on his face had already dried up. Combined with his exceptionally deep features and stern expression, He Yuan looked a bit inexplicably eerie...
No wonder no one else dared to come over and talk to me.
Jiang Chuyan looked at him, reached into his pocket, took out a wet wipe and handed it to him.
"There's blood on your face."
Jiang Chuyan gestured.
"And...thank you for just now."
He whispered to the boy who was busy pulling out tissues.
Hearing Jiang Chuyan's words, He Yuan's fingertips paused slightly.
"You're welcome. It's what I should do."
The boy's voice was low.
Then he took out a tissue and wiped it on his face a few times as if he was trying to cover up something.
However, the dried chicken blood was not so easy to wipe off. The wet tissue wet some of the blood foam, but it was not wiped clean.
The diluted chicken blood left a long red mark under He Yuan's eyes.
As a person with mild mysophobia, Jiang Chuyan felt uncomfortable as he saw the bloodstains on He Yuan's face getting worse and worse.
He was now certain that He Yuan was indeed a young master born with a silver spoon in his mouth, otherwise why would he wipe his face so clumsily?
Jiang Chuyan couldn't bear to watch it anymore, so he took out a tissue and motioned He Yuan to lower his head.
"ah?"
At this moment, the way He Yuan looked at Jiang Chuyan could even be described as silly for a moment.
Jiang Chuyan didn't think much about it and reached out to wipe the blood off He Yuan's face. With his help, the blood on the boy's face was instantly clean.
He Yuan was clearly not used to being so close to another boy. Jiang Chuyan could feel every muscle in He Yuan tense up.
After making sure that the blood on He Yuan's face was clean, he quickly withdrew his hand.
"...Brother Chuyan is still so gentle and considerate."
Just at this moment, Bai Ke's sigh came from behind him.
"Hahaha, that's not true. Jiang Chuyan is indeed very considerate. After all, he doesn't like women, unlike us straight guys."
Liu Tianyu also said something quietly from the side.
"But he seems to be particularly gentle to He Yuan, huh? We don't seem to be treated that way—"
After hearing what the two said, Jiang Chuyan turned his head and made eye contact with Xu Yuanzhou.
Xu Yuanzhou laughed along with a somewhat stiff smile.
"You're just stereotyping him," Xu Yuanzhou said to Liu Tianyu. "He's always been so gentle and considerate. What does this have to do with his sexual orientation? You're talking nonsense."
The boy's voice was a little dry.
After a few seconds of silence, Jiang Chuyan also laughed.
"Yes, it's the same for everyone who comes. I always care about my friends."
Although Xu Yuanzhou and Jiang Chuyan had been in love for three years, no one at K University knew about it.
After all, to outsiders, Jiang Chuyan and Xu Yuanzhou have a very good relationship and have been childhood friends.
Jiang Chuyan knew that some people in school were supporting him and Xu Yuanzhou as a couple, but it was probably because Jiang Chuyan was too open with Xu Yuanzhou in his daily interactions, and the two of them were never close together, so in the end, no one really thought they were a couple.
When Jiang Chuyan was dating Xu Yuanzhou, they had thought about making it public.
However, Xu Yuanzhou's parents were not in good health. Such a big boy cried in front of Jiang Chuyan, saying that it was not that he was unwilling to come out, but he was really afraid that the news would be passed to his parents and their health would collapse.
Jiang Chuyan has never been the type to force others, and he doesn't have any particular obsession with coming out.
This matter is over.
However, in the third year of their relationship, Jiang Chuyan looked at Xu Yuanzhou's face and had the same idea as He Yuan without knowing it.
...What was going on in my head at that time that I fell for such a fool?