Bang..."
Seeing the hand that clearly did not belong to a living person, Jiang Chuyan's body suddenly froze.
The phone in his hand slipped out of his hand uncontrollably and fell to the ground.
Hearing the sound of his phone hitting the floor, Jiang Chuyan shuddered and snatched up his phone, but he didn't dare look at the screen again. Fear was like a pair of cold hands, constantly rubbing his heart.
He just stood there, took a deep breath for a long time, and then mustered up the courage to slowly turn his head and look under the bed.
...There were no purple, rotting hands.
Jiang Chuyan swallowed his saliva, raised his phone tremblingly to confirm, and found that the hands were gone.
It was as if the scene just now was purely Jiang Chuyan's own illusion.
But Jiang Chuyan knew that was not the case.
He approached the bed step by step, clutching the knife He Yuan had given him, exerting so much force that his palm ached slightly. Then, he slowly leaned over and looked towards the bottom of the bed, in the direction where the hand had just stretched out.
The area under his bed was clean, no carrion, no water monkeys...
There is only one notebook.
The notebook looks familiar.
Jiang Chuyan carefully pulled the notebook out from under the bed. After looking at it for a while, he was shocked to find that this was the notebook he had accidentally picked up in the abandoned building that night - the night that everyone had told him did not exist and appeared only in his hallucinations.
"…"
The room was silent, with only Jiang Chuyan's increasingly heavy breathing as a sound.
Jiang Chuyan stared at the notebook intently, his body shaking slightly uncontrollably.
Yes, he knew that there were many strange things in Longzhao Village. He encountered a ghost wall that could not be explained by scientific common sense, and saw water monkeys that seemed to have crawled out of a horror movie.
He had already convinced himself to accept all this.
But since he came to Long Marsh, he had never been so panicked as he was now. He felt as if something in his body was shattering bit by bit.
…
The people who told him that it was an illusion that day were not only the strangely behaving Budacuocuo in Longzhao Village, but also the only person he trusted in this strange village.
His only companion, the lover who just confessed to him yesterday, He Yuan.
He even remembered He Yuan's expression at that time. Every word and every reaction of the boy was so natural, so natural that Jiang Chuyan completely believed what he said.
But, if what He Yuan said was true, then that night when Bai Ke was boiled alive, Liu Tianyu rotted until maggots appeared, and Xu Yuanzhou was skinned and stuffed into a thermos was really an illusion...
Where did this notebook in his hand come from?
Jiang Chuyan opened the notebook with trembling hands.
This is a very old book. The cover is made of plastic, and the surface is old and wrinkled. The paper inside is hard and stiff when you turn it over.
Every page of the notebook was covered with newspaper clippings of varying sizes.
Obviously, this is a scrapbook that is no longer popular today.
Jiang Chuyan flipped through a few pages casually and did not find any special information in the notebook.
The era of material scarcity recorded in the clippings was already a distant past for the young college students. Looking at the date on the clippings, Jiang Chuyan frowned.
Fifty years ago…
All the newspapers in this clipping book are basically from about fifty years ago.
This number sent a chill down Jiang Chuyan's spine.
He carefully flipped through the outdated news page by page until the three words "Longzhao Village" appeared on a certain page of the briefing.
Jiang Chuyan's gaze suddenly fixed on the small piece of "tofu".
It was a very short piece of news, just a few lines.
Shih Hsin Press, Beijing, May 17th
According to the Daily Beijing News, the southern part of Xishan in K Province suffered large-scale landslides and mudslides due to extremely long and continuous rainfall.
The natural disaster destroyed the entire village of Longzhao, a primitive village deep in the Xi Mountains, and all seventy people in the village were killed.
This tragedy is deeply distressing. The Longzhao Village "village annihilation" incident also serves as a warning to governments at all levels: in the face of natural disasters, we must...
Jiang Chuyan's vision was a little blurry. He placed his fingers on the gray-yellow old newspaper and read it word by word.
But even so, it still took him much longer than expected to finish reading that short piece of news.
Fifty years ago…
All seventy people in Longzhao Village were killed...
The entire primitive village deep in Xishan Mountain was wiped out...
If all the people in Longzhu Village had died so many years ago, then what happened to Longzhu Village where he is now?
The notebook in Jiang Chuyan's hand slipped from his knees.
The page number stays on the clipping at the back——
A Herbalist Goes Deep into Xi Mountain and Accidentally Enters a Ghost Village
Several people disappeared after entering the undeveloped area of Xishan
Urgent Help! Several Young People in K City Have Not Been Heard Since Entering the Mountains
…
Where am I now?
Jiang Chuyan murmured to himself in his heart.
He knew. Perhaps there were other reasons to explain it all. For example, the Longzhao Village that was destroyed wasn't the same village he was in now. Perhaps communications were underdeveloped at the time, and the news was inaccurate. Perhaps Longzhao Village was rebuilt on the original site...
Jiang Chuyan was inexplicably certain that these reasons were just self-deception.
The Longzhao Village in the news is exactly where he is now.
He was in Longzhao Village, which had long been destroyed.
No wonder…
No wonder there has been so little news about Longzhao.
Why didn't I notice it all this time?
Jiang Chuyan suddenly closed the notebook and pushed it back under the bed in fear.
It seemed that by doing this, he could avoid facing reality.
However, after staying for a moment, Jiang Chuyan rushed to the bed with a pale face and reached out to take out the notebook.
He bit his lip, carefully spread it flat on the ground, then raised his phone and started taking pictures of the pages of clippings in the notebook.
Important information clues must always be backed up. Jiang Chuyan was originally just following his instinct to do so, but he had no idea that when he took pictures of those pages of clippings and then retrieved the photos on his mobile phone to check, the picture that appeared on the screen made him, who was already shaky, even more unbearable.
"Master Long... marry a bride..."
"Red cloth...long chain..."
…
In the distance, the faint sound of cheerful children's songs came from outside the window.
The sound of firecrackers and the crackling sound of the burning pagoda blended together.
But as the bride of the Dragon God, Jiang Chuyan was in a dead silence in the room.
He stared at his phone, the color draining from his face, and he felt almost suffocated. Because the notebook in the camera's photo was completely different from what he saw with his own eyes.
The notebook next to him was an old, crude clipping book from more than fifty years ago.
However, Jiang Chuyan recognized the notebook in the mobile phone camera very clearly. It was his own notebook.
A friend of Jiang Chuyan liked notebooks, so he gave him a customized one on his birthday.
That notebook is very useful, so Jiang Chuyan also got used to carrying it with him and writing down some memos and study materials on it.
The notebook should still be in Jiang Chuyan's backpack, but now, the notebook appeared under the bed, and it looked like something different.
What made Jiang Chuyan even more unable to calm down was that when he opened the custom notebook, he saw that the smooth paper was densely covered with his own handwriting.
Weather on X-month-X-year: Sunny
Departing personnel: Bai Ke, Liu Tianyu, Jiang Chuyan
The round-trip tickets have been purchased.
Things to bring: Cell phone, charging cable, ID card... medication, instant food...
Weather on X/X/X: Light rain
Arrived at Long Marsh.
all the best.
Weather on X/X/X: Rain
The second day after arriving at Longzhao.
Poor signal.
It was said that it was affected by the rain.
I hope it will clear up soon.
I suspect that because the weather was so humid, all the electronic devices I brought with me consumed an astonishing amount of power.
p.s. I need to bring more power banks next time I come back.
The iPad wasn't working, thank goodness I had a paper notebook with me.
Weather on X/X/X: Rain
It is still raining in Longzhao.
Today I walked around the village with an umbrella.
I haven't been back for a long time. I feel that everything here seems very strange. Moreover, after so many years, Longzhao seems to have never changed.
Time seems to be frozen here.
Weather on X/X/X: Rain
We couldn't stay in the room any longer because it was raining.
The village chief took us to Luolong Cave today.
This study group's investigation finally yielded some results.
However, the murals in Luolong Cave seem a bit strange to me. Both the painting techniques and the image of the dragon god are very special.
There seems to have never been a similar case in previous information.
If I report this to the professor after I get out, maybe he can send someone to do an in-depth study?
Weather on X/X/X: Rain
My sleep quality has been a bit bad recently and I have been having nightmares.
Bai Ke kept complaining about the poor sound insulation in the house and accused me of walking around the room at night, which made me very confused.
After returning to Longzhao, I feel tired every day, probably because of the rain. I fall asleep easily once it gets dark.
But after the explanation, Bai Ke still seemed to not believe me.
I can feel that Xu Yuanzhou has been trying hard to reconcile the relationship between him and me.
I feel even worse.
Well, I'm starting to think about breaking up with him.
Weather on X/X/X: Rain
It was still raining, which prevented many of the activities I had planned from happening.
We seem to be trapped here and can only stay in the room every day.
It's annoying to have no internet.
My sleep quality was still very poor. Every night the dogs in the village barked very fiercely. I asked Budacuocuo what had happened, and he said it was just wild animals from the mountains.
I don't think he's telling the truth.
Weather on X/X/X: Rain
I had a second conflict with Bai Ke, and I also had a fight with Xu Yuanzhou. I thought that my relationship with him was over, so to lighten my mood, I took a walk outside the village in the rain today.
As a result, I met a weird guy.
They must be the kind of "mountain people" who live in the legendary Xishan. I never expected to see the real people here, and I was shocked.
I felt that his life must be very difficult. The mountain man was obviously very young, but he looked like a savage, his body covered with mud and unable to communicate normally.
I gave him some chocolate and a protein bar.
Weather on X/X/X: Rain
It seems that there is no weather other than rain in Longzhao Village.
I could feel everyone's mood getting worse and worse.
Bai Ke and Liu Tianyu have been arguing frequently recently.
As for Xu Yuanzhou and I, we haven't spoken to each other for a long time.
I wanted to end the group study early and go back to the city, but Budacuocuo told me that the road had been destroyed by mudslides and it would take some time to repair it.
This is the worst news I've ever heard. I hope those three people can keep their composure after hearing this.
Weather on X/X/X: Rain
I asked Budacuocuo for some herbs. I should bring more skin medicine next time I go out.
Xu Yuanzhou finally spoke to me today and asked me to check the rash on his body.
The situation is more serious than I thought.
I felt like his skin was rotting.
I'm worried he might get infected.
By the way, Bai Ke and Liu Tianyu have been complaining about tinnitus and itchy noses.
Now I can only pray that the herbs in Longzhao Village can work on them.
X Year X Month X Day
Maybe I don't need to write about the weather anymore, it's still raining.
I saw the strange man again outside the village. I don't know if he recognized me, but he didn't resist my approach.
He had a serious eye disease and it looked very red.
I gave him eye drops, but he looked like he didn't know what they were.
Although it was dangerous, I still approached him and put eye drops in him.
He jumped up suddenly, which scared me.
He is indeed a mountain man. If he could leave the mountains, he would probably be a sports expert outside.
X Year X Month X Day
That weirdo wasn't dumb after all.
Today he suddenly called me "Yanyan".
I was stunned at the time. You know, no one had called me like that for more than ten years since my mother passed away.
I don't know how he knew that.
It's impossible that he was just shouting randomly, right?
It's really strange and I can't understand it.
X Year X Month X Day
Xu Yuanzhou's skin disease is getting worse, and his behavior has become strange. Last night, he wandered outside the platform without an umbrella and was caught in the rain.
I asked him to come in, but he refused.
Said soaking in the rain would make him feel better.
His skin disease is very terrible now. Bai Ke said that he wanted to live with us on the second floor. It must be because he dislikes his skin disease, right?
I had a very bad feeling, but I didn't dare to say it.
X Year X Month X Day
I gave that strange guy a Chinese name.
I plan to call him Aye.
I tried to teach him to say this name in Chinese, but he always pronounced it as Ayuan.
So his name now is A Yuan.
It seems that I can only feel a little better when I am with him.
X Year X Month X Day
The situation is getting worse and worse.
Liu Tianyu started to go crazy and screamed, saying that something would grow out of the masks hanging above our heads.
He also said that the reason his nose itched so much was because those monsters were sucking things from his brain every night.
He said that's how the monsters stole things from his mind.
I suspect he developed meningitis due to the high fever.
I asked Budacuocuo, is there really no way to leave Longzhao Village? If Liu Tianyu continues like this, his life may be in danger again.
Budacuocuo said there was no way.
I don't know what to do.
Sometimes I feel like I'm about to collapse.
Today, when I passed by a family's kitchen, I clearly heard the crying and screaming of children, but when I rushed in, I found that they were just killing fish.
I think that fish has a human face.
When I was eating, I couldn't help but vomit when I found out there was fish for dinner.
X Year X Month X Day
I told A Yuan, stop following me like that, it's scary
X Year X Month X Day
It seemed like someone sneaked into my room last night.
I asked everyone, but no one admitted it.
Liu Tianyu is so crazy that we can only lock him in the room.
Xu Yuanzhou's skin ulcers became more serious.
Bai Ke kept eating. He ate all the food we brought. I don't know if something happened to him too.
I'm devastated.
X Year X Month X Day
Am I crazy?
X Year X Month X Day
Budacuocuo said that she hoped I could become the bride of the Dragon God.
He said that maybe in this way, the Dragon God would be able to stop the rain and let us leave the Dragon Swamp.
To be honest, I didn't want to, but they seemed to think it was my obligation.
I never realized that the companions I spend every day with could become so unfamiliar.
X Year X Month X Day
I became a bride.
…
The diary ended abruptly here. Jiang Chuyan picked up his mobile phone and started taking pictures frantically. However, after the last entry, the back of the notebook was blank.
However, looking at the blank papers, some vague images emerged in Jiang Chuyan's mind.
Something must have happened...
After "myself" became a bride, something must have happened!
But why is there no record in the diary?
Why...
For some unknown reason, Jiang Chuyan closed his eyes.
He stroked the cover of the notebook.
The cover that looked worn out when he opened his eyes turned into a soft, brand new leather cover of his notebook when he closed his eyes.
Compared to the notebook in my memory, the notebook cover seemed softer under my fingertips - there was something hidden under the leather cover!
Jiang Chuyan tore off the cover of the notebook without hesitation.
Sure enough, something floated out from inside.
It was a piece of paper folded into a small square.
The edges of the paper were rough, obviously having been torn off in a hurry.
The handwriting on it was also extremely messy.
Jiang Chuyan panted and looked down intently.
If anyone can see this diary, I hope you can regard it as my suicide note.
My name is Jiang Chuyan.
K is a junior student in the Department of Chinese Language and Literature at University of Hong Kong.
I hope you can tell others what my companions and I experienced, and warn others not to go deep into Xishan Mountain, and not to get close to the so-called Longzhao Village.
This village doesn't exist at all.
I entered the village with my companions, but this wasn't the real world. There was no such place as Dragon Swamp in the real world.
I don't even know why this is my hometown in my memory.
I don't know whether those phone calls urging me to return to Longzhao really happened or whether this village forcibly added memories to me.
To this day, I still know nothing about Longzhao and what happened here. I can only guess that we are entering a place similar to the other world. In this world, the villagers of Longzhao once devoured the flesh and blood of the so-called "Dragon God", and then they themselves were contaminated and turned into monsters.
Everything in this village, including the residents, the air, and even time and space, has been completely polluted.
A lot of strange things happened to us, and the longer we stayed in Long Marsh, the more polluted we became.
It was becoming difficult for me to distinguish which of my memories were my own, and I couldn't tell whether the people around me were my companions or the village monsters working overtime.
Everyone is dead.
In order to escape from Longzhao, my companions, Bai Ke, Xu Yuanzhou and Liu Tianyu, left me in Longzhao Village as a sacrifice to the Dragon God, but even so, they failed to successfully leave this place.
Longzhao is indispensable.
He forced me to witness the scenes of their horrific deaths.
I couldn't understand what He wanted to do with me, but He seemed to think that I had entered into some kind of marriage relationship with Him. However, I didn't know if He was forcing this idea on me.
I felt like I was going crazy. I knew what a disgusting, horrible monster he was, yet I still thought he was trying to please me.
My mind is being messed with by Him.
Sometimes, I almost forget who I am.
This is why I am writing these words. I need to leave a record before I completely fall into His plaything.
During the final ceremony, I will find a way to kill Him.
If I fail, I think I will die.
And if you see this piece of paper, it means that my ending is the latter.
Don't feel sorry for me. You, who are reading this, are probably in extreme danger right now.
Please remember my advice, don't trust anyone, don't trust your own eyes, find a way to observe your surroundings with mirrors and any objects that can be used to take pictures.
I hope you can escape from here for me and my other three companions.
Escape from Longzhao Village.
good luck. ]