Chapter 618

"What's described here isn't just a curse, but also some very peculiar campus legends."

"It notes that the residents of a vanished town disappeared without a trace in a single night."

"Many have conducted surveys, but to this day, no results have been found—it has become an unsolved case."

"Afterward, some suspected it was the work of a curse, so they filed it in the school's archives."

214, The Strange Village

"That Nai Zi said."

"The events in that village share many similarities with this incident, but the two events are separated by decades."

"Luo En furrowed his brow slightly and carefully read the information—he indeed found the two incidents extremely similar."

"Could this be the work of the same person?"

"That Nai Zi shook her head."

"It doesn't look entirely the same, though there are many similarities."

"But in certain details, there are major differences, proving someone is imitating this method."

"Tonight we'll go back to the small village again; we should find more clues."

"Luo En nodded. The only lead now lies in the small village."

"That night there was no moon; not a finger could be seen in the darkness."

"That Nai Zi called Luo En, and the two of them, carrying flashlights, headed for the small village."

"Coming here at this hour is truly eerie."

"That Nai Zi said as she walked."

"When they arrived at the small village, they were stunned to find it brightly lit."

"The villagers showed no unusual expression upon seeing Luo En and That Nai Zi."

"What's going on?"

"Luo En looked at That Nai Zi, who shook her head—this was completely different from the incident decades ago."

"Luo En blocked the path of one villager and asked."

"Where did you go during the day?"

"The villager stared at Luo En in confusion, as if he didn't understand his meaning."

"At that moment, another villager walked over and warmly greeted Luo En."

"You've come here again?"

"Luo En saw the villager and his expression subtly changed."

"The villager before him was the very one who had invited him to stay overnight at the temple."

"Luo En asked, somewhat surprised."

"Are you also living here?"

"The villager stared at Luo En in confusion."

"Brother, you're joking—didn't you stay at my house just a couple days ago? How could you forget?"

"But during the day, it seemed you weren't here at all."

"The villager said, surprised."

"We've always been here; our ancestors have lived here for hundreds of years."

"That Nai Zi quietly pinched Luo En and whispered."

"It seems we must have been mistaken before, didn't see clearly."

"She gestured for Luo En to exit with her."

"Luo En didn't understand That Nai Zi's meaning, but he still followed her outside."

"I feel something's wrong with this village."

"Luo En nodded—he'd felt the same thing all along."

"When they came during the day, it was silent, with no one around."

"Yet now, these people had suddenly become active."

"But what should we do now? Pretend nothing happened?"

"Luo En said."

"Let's wait and see how things develop."

"Then the two of them re-entered the village."

"The villagers were extremely hospitable, warmly inviting them to their homes."

"Luo En nodded and followed them inside."

"The house looked very tidy."

"Luo En carefully observed his surroundings and quickly extended his perception outward."

"But to his surprise, there was no trace of curse energy here."

"At that moment, the villager came over carrying steaming hot food."

"Just as Luo En was about to pick up his chopsticks, That Nai Zi stopped him."

"Luo En looked at That Nai Zi in surprise."

"That Nai Zi whispered."

"Haven't you noticed? This house feels strangely odd."

"Luo En said."

"We both know something's wrong here, but if we refuse to eat now, we might alert them."

After saying that, he had already picked up a piece of meat, but could he really eat it in this kind of environment?

He had already picked up a piece of meat, but could he really eat it in this environment?

Ron looked at the piece of meat, swallowed hard, and found it rather difficult to swallow.

Luo En stared at the meat, swallowed hard, and found it hard to swallow.

Naizi looked at him with a cheerful smile.

Naizi smiled warmly at him.

"It looks like we should just give up now."

"Now it seems we should give up."

"This is the cured meat we've been storing for years—go on, try it. It must taste wonderful."

"This is cured meat we've kept for years—quickly try it, it must taste wonderful."

The villager beamed at Ron, then brought over another plate of food.

The villager smiled broadly at Luo En, then brought another dish of food.

Just then, a sudden wave of heat rose from Ron's chest.

At that moment, a sudden warmth rose from Luo En's chest.

It must have been emanating from the mark left by the jade pendant.

That must be the trace left by the jade pendant emitting heat.

Ron felt a bit startled.

Luo En felt surprised.

He had always thought that mark would only react when a curse appeared.

He had thought the trace would react only when a curse appeared.

He never expected the reaction to be this intense—in that instant, a surge of heat rushed toward his eyes.

But he hadn't expected the reaction to be so intense—in that instant, a surge of heat rushed toward Luo En's eyes.

He felt something strange about his eyes and quickly rubbed them with his hands.

He felt something strange in his eyes and quickly rubbed them.

Immediately, he noticed the surroundings seemed to have changed.

Immediately, he saw that the surroundings had changed.

Before him was still the shabby little hut, but the people were all gone.

Before him was still the dilapidated little house, but all the people were gone.

The table was covered with rotting dishes, giving off a constant nauseating stench.

The table was piled with rotten food, emitting a nauseating stench.

Ron sprang to his feet and quickly looked around.

Luo En leapt to his feet and quickly scanned around.

Naizi noticed something off about Ron and asked.

Naizi noticed Luo En's odd behavior and asked.

"What's wrong with you?"

"What's wrong?"

Ron said in a low voice.

Luo En whispered.

"There's something wrong with this village. We need to leave right now."

"This village is wrong—we must leave quickly."

Saying that, he tried to pull Naizi up, but at that moment a rotting corpse walked out of the hut.

As he reached to pull Naizi, a rotting corpse stepped out of the house.

"Are you leaving? Don't these dishes suit your taste?"

"You're leaving? Doesn't the food suit your taste?"

Ron saw the rotting corpse—its flesh was nearly falling off its body, and it gave off a pungent stench.

Luo En saw the rotting corpse—its flesh was nearly falling off, emitting a sharp, foul odor.

He quickly stepped back two paces.

He quickly stepped back two paces.

But the corpse didn't seem to notice anything unusual about Ron and kept saying.

But the corpse seemed unaware of Luo En's reaction and continued speaking.

"This is the best cured meat in our village. If you don't eat it, it'll be wasted."

"This is the best cured meat in our village—if you don't eat it, it's a waste."

Naizi whispered to Ron.

Naizi whispered to Luo En.

"What exactly did you see?"

"What exactly did you see?"

Only then did Ron realize Naizi probably hadn't noticed anything strange here, and he said in a low voice.

Only then did Luo En realize Naizi likely hadn't noticed the anomaly—he whispered.

"I suddenly felt a wave of heat in my eyes. I can see what's going on around here."

"I felt a sudden warmth in my eyes—I can see what's around here."