"Xiaoyou and the others are in danger!"
Xie Nanzhou and Jiang Younian bolted from their chairs, intending to rush back in a panic. Suddenly, a deafening boom echoed through the air. The sky turned gloomily dark in an instant, accompanied by thunder and lightning, as if the apocalypse had begun in the middle of the morning.
"The sacrifice is about to begin," Axu said, staring at the thundering sky with a look of near-obsessive fascination.
"What sacrifice? Explain yourself!" Xie Nanzhou grabbed Axu by the collar and hoisted him up.
Forced to stand on tiptoe, Axu struggled to breathe, yet a defiant, infuriating smirk still played on his lips. He spat out a few words through gritted teeth: "Aren't you wondering where the people who left went? This is where they are... ha ha..."
"How do we save them? Speak, or I'll destroy it!" Jiang Younian threatened, holding the book—which Axu treasured above all else—directly over the flames of the hearth.
"No... don't!" Axu struggled under Xie Nanzhou’s grip, but he couldn't break free.
Jiang Younian lowered the book another inch; the licking flames nearly grazed the spine.
"I’ll talk! I’ll talk!"
The book was clearly vital to Axu; his smug confidence instantly crumbled.
"Hurry up! If any one of them gets hurt, I’m burning this wretched book just the same!" Jiang Younian lowered the book further. The flames licked at a section of the pages, and the pungent smell of burning paper immediately filled the air.
"The cellar! Go to the cellar!" Axu screamed in a breakdown. Jiang Younian pulled the book back. A patch of scorched yellow had appeared on the cover, but he sighed in relief—at least it hadn't burned through.
They marched Axu to the cellar, which was located in a corner of the woodshed. After prying up a wooden board covered in thick mud, a ladder leading downward was revealed. Xie Nanzhou bound Axu with a rope, made him climb down first, and then followed. Once down, he reached back up to help Jiang Younian.
The cellar was dark, damp, and reeked of mold.
"The torch—I can't hold it," Axu said, gesturing with his bound hands toward the torch stuck in the wall.
Jiang Younian tucked the book into his clothes and stepped forward to take the torch.
"The book! That's mine!" Seeing the book disappear into Jiang Younian's clothing, Axu became instantly frantic.
"Stay still! As long as they are safe, you’ll get it back," Xie Nanzhou said, yanking the restless, squirming Axu back into place.
As the torch flared to life, the entire cellar was illuminated, revealing everything at a glance.
"Why is there a bed in a cellar?" Jiang Younian asked, confused, eyeing the low wooden cot in the corner.
It felt less like a cellar and more like a prison cell. Not only was there a bed, but there were steel rings embedded in the wall behind it. Chains hung from them; Jiang Younian picked one up and realized, to his shock, that it was a shackle.
Xie Nanzhou and Jiang Younian exchanged a look of mutual astonishment, but they knew saving their friends was the priority. They would deal with this later.
Xie Nanzhou landed a heavy blow on Axu’s shoulder. "Talk! How do we save them?"
Axu lurched to the side, wailing, "Sss—ah! Move forward! Keep moving!"
At the far end of the cellar was a dark tunnel. Axu led the way while Jiang Younian and Xie Nanzhou suppressed their shock and followed closely behind. The tunnel was a massive undertaking, sprawling in many directions. It was a complex network of paths that would have been impossible for a few people to construct without the entire village’s involvement.
"Don't ask me about the tunnels. I don't know anything about them; I only just discovered this place myself." Axu led the way, occasionally pausing at junctions to figure out the route. He certainly didn't look like he had known about it for long.
After many twists and turns, Axu finally stopped. "The ladder is against the wall. We go up here."
Jiang Younian brought the torch closer and spotted the ladder. He moved it into place, but once again, he made Axu lead the way. With the book in his possession, he wasn't afraid of any tricks.
As they pushed the wooden hatch above open, a blinding light forced them to squint. Climbing out, they realized they had traveled under the entire village and arrived at the village chief's house—right in the kitchen.
"Hurry!" Axu urged them, terrified that if someone died, his book would be destroyed.
The two men snapped to attention and hustled Axu out of the kitchen. The kitchen was a separate structure outside, much like the outhouse. Once they rounded the corner of the kitchen, they were in the village chief's courtyard.
The sight that met them was so horrific it almost stopped Jiang Younian’s breath. The house looked like prey trapped in a spider's web; from the roof to the ground, the steps, windows, and door frames were completely swarmed by thick, dark locks of hair. The hair was still spreading outward from the lake, as if a spider king were delivering a final, lethal blow.
Looking at the sheer volume of hair, Jiang Younian thought to himself that all the boy’s urine in the world wouldn't be enough to stop this.
From inside the house, the terrified screams of Kong Que and the others rang out.
"Help! Someone save us!"
"Hurry up and spray!"
"I'm out of urine!"
"We're done for! We're not getting out of here alive!"
Despite the dire situation, the chaotic scene inside was easy for Jiang Younian to visualize through the door. It was almost absurd.
Jiang Younian and Xie Nanzhou grabbed Axu by the collar. "Save them!"
"Alright, alright! Let me go!" Desperate to save his book, Axu reached out with his bound hands. Thinking he wouldn't dare pull any tricks now, Xie Nanzhou let him go.
But as soon as he was released, Axu turned and bolted. Jiang Younian and Xie Nanzhou chased after him, but Axu ran straight toward the lake. The two men didn't dare get too close, keeping a watchful distance.
"Don't you want your book? Don't think I won't burn it!" Jiang Younian pulled the book from his shirt, stunned that the one thing that had controlled Axu the whole way was suddenly useless.
Axu stopped at the edge of the lake, hardened his heart, and bit down hard on his finger. Bright red blood gushed out, dripping steadily into the water.
Xie Nanzhou noticed Axu’s actions and motioned for Jiang Younian to watch the lake. As the blood hit the water, it spread with incredible speed, like a web touching every corner of the lake, until the entire surface turned blood-red. The dark clouds above the lake seemed to be veiled in a red gauze, casting an eerie glow.
But Axu had only dripped a few drops of blood; how could it possibly dye the entire lake red after being diluted?
As if responding to a signal, the hair that had been frantically trying to invade the house recoiled, retreating rapidly back into the water. Everything that had just happened felt like a dream.
Axu turned slowly. The water behind him hadn't yet returned to its pitch-black color. Standing against the light, he looked like a priest performing a mysterious ritual, possessed by some unknowable spirit, untouchable.
In an instant, everything returned to calm. The dark clouds dispersed, and the blue sky reappeared. The lake returned to its original, deathly silence, and Axu came trotting back to them.
Xie Nanzhou and Jiang Younian didn't have time to process the anomaly in Axu; they rushed back to the house to check on the others.
As the door opened, Xie Nanzhou sensed something approaching and instinctively pulled Jiang Younian aside. A second later, a desperate howl echoed:
"Go to hell, you filthy monster!"
A basin of foul-smelling liquid was hurled out from inside. Xie Nanzhou and Jiang Younian, hiding behind the door, didn't get a drop on them.
Axu, however, had rushed over eagerly, hoping to retrieve his book, and took the entire splash directly to the face.
"Aaaaaah! So disgusting! What is that smell?!"
"Ugh! Retch! Ugh!"
Axu gagged violently, leaning against a stone pier in the courtyard.