Once they had decided to set out, neither of them dragged their feet. Zhou Kun immediately arranged for a driver to take him and Wang Liang to the area where Wangshan Village was located.
On the muddy dirt road some distance from Wangshan Village, the driver said,
“Brother Zhou, it rained here a few days ago. The road ahead isn’t suitable for driving anymore. We might not be able to get through.”
“Then we’ll walk. You can head back. If anything comes up, I’ll contact you by satellite phone.”
“Yes.”
Wang Liang and Zhou Kun got out of the car. Wang Liang carried a backpack, and Zhou Kun did the same. Inside were the things they usually brought when dealing with supernatural incidents, along with some simple food.
Since vehicles could not pass, Wang Liang and Zhou Kun stepped through the mud and headed toward the village in the mountains.
“After you told me the name, I had someone look up the records. This village is very small and very remote, and there wasn’t much information to find. All I know is that on the fifteenth of every month, the village arranges for people to go into the city to buy supplies. Usually, very few people leave the village. The information the village committee reports to the city doesn’t contain anything special either,” Zhou Kun said as they walked.
Wang Liang nodded.
“That’s about the same as what I found out. Looks like we can only see what the situation is after we enter the village.”
“Mm.”
“By the way, do you know Zhou Zheng? The former person in charge of Dachang City,” Wang Liang asked.
“Zhou Zheng? He was my older cousin. Sigh, he got into trouble during the Knocking Ghost incident in Dachang City. Oh, right, I’ve seen your file at headquarters. You used to teach in Dachang City, so…”
“…That’s right. The day Zhou Zheng came to No. 7 Middle School to give a briefing, I was the one who received him. I also went through the Knocking Ghost incident. So you’re his younger cousin. No wonder I thought the two of you had somewhat similar personalities.”
“Was that Knocking Ghost really that troublesome?”
“Very vicious…”
After traveling for some time and chatting along the way, Wang Liang and Zhou Kun gained a preliminary understanding of each other.
By the time both their trouser legs and shoes had been dirtied by muddy water, they successfully arrived outside Wangshan Village.
But as soon as they approached the village’s perimeter, Wang Liang and Zhou Kun both frowned at the same time.
Because the air here did not carry the earthy scent of countryside fields, but instead held a faint stench of rot.
To ordinary people it might not have been obvious, but for people like them, who often came into contact with corpses, they could immediately distinguish that smell in the air.
There was no one at the village entrance. Only a few skinny old dogs lay listlessly beneath the eaves. Seeing strangers arrive outside the village, they were too lazy to even bark.
At the entrance stood a crooked old locust tree. Several faded red cloth strips hung from its branches, swaying gently in the breeze.
Wang Liang noticed that the red cloth was stained with dark brown marks. They looked like stains left from food, yet also like dried blood.
Such details made Wang Liang secretly heighten his vigilance. A village that could be chosen by the Movie Ghost as its place of descent seemed to have long since become unusual.
Of course, it was also possible he was overthinking it. Those dark brown marks might not be blood at all, but merely some other kind of filth.
“This place…” Zhou Kun had also noticed something was wrong and spoke hesitantly.
“Let’s go in first.”
After saying this with a frown, Wang Liang took the lead and entered the village.
Zhou Kun cautiously looked over this village, where a supernatural incident might occur, once more before following.
They walked along the dirt road inside the village. The houses on both sides were a mix of two- or three-story brick-and-tile homes and simple adobe houses.
Some doors were tightly shut, while others were only left ajar, as if the occupants had left in a hurry and forgotten to close them. Through the cracks, they could see a little of what was inside.
Some of the clothes hung out to dry in the courtyards were still dripping water, clearly having been hung not long ago.
Yet after walking for a while, Wang Liang and Zhou Kun did not encounter a single person.
“Wang Liang, you said a supernatural incident would break out here. Has it already broken out?” Zhou Kun asked while cautiously observing their surroundings.
“No. There are some abnormalities, but it doesn’t feel like it. From what I know, something shouldn’t happen here yet,” Wang Liang said, shaking his head.
“Then why is there no one? Not a single person. That’s far too unreasonable. It can’t be that everyone is staying inside their houses without making a sound. No matter how small this village is, there should be at least dozens of people.”
“I don’t know. We have too little information. Blind guessing is useless. Let’s keep walking.”
“Good.”
The two walked forward for another stretch, then faintly heard the mournful, drawn-out sound of a suona from the distance.
They exchanged a glance, quickened their pace, and headed toward the direction from which the suona sound came.
When they passed a fork in the road, Wang Liang and Zhou Kun stopped at the same time with tacit understanding.
Because in the fields beyond the fork stood a dry well, its outer wall climbed over by several green vines.
Beside the well, a hunchbacked old man was blankly tossing copper coins and paper money into it, muttering quietly under his breath. They could not hear exactly what he was saying.
Sensing movement behind him, the hunchbacked old man’s unfocused eyes sharpened, and he turned to look over.
After seeing Wang Liang and Zhou Kun, each carrying a bag on his back, a trace of vigilance flashed through the old man’s somewhat cloudy eyes.
Zhou Kun gave a low cough and reached toward his trouser pocket, preparing to take out his Interpol credentials. He took a step forward, ready to speak.
Wang Liang caught sight of his movement, and his expression darkened. Who exposed their official identity the moment they arrived in an environment like this? Did he really think people in this sort of atmosphere and setting would honestly cooperate just because of an ID? That would only make the other party even more wary.
Wang Liang stepped forward and pressed down on Zhou Kun’s hand just as he was about to take the credentials from his pocket.
“Old uncle, we’re…”
“We’re here on a hiking trip. We passed by the village and came in to take a look, but after walking all this way, we found hardly anyone around. What’s going on? Do you know, sir?”
Zhou Kun’s words were cut off by Wang Liang. He was somewhat stunned, but immediately reacted and remained silent where he stood, letting Wang Liang ask the questions.
“…Except for some old folks who can’t walk far, everyone’s gone to help at the cemetery. There’s nothing worth seeing in this village. Hurry up and leave,” the old man said hoarsely after sizing the two of them up.
Wang Liang moved closer and could smell the tobacco on the old man, clearly marking him as someone who smoked often. He took a pack of cigarettes from his bag, opened it, and handed it over.
“Ah, hiking is all about seeing everything there is to see. Is someone holding a funeral here? Sigh, I’m sorry. But since we’re already here, we should go over and give some condolence money as a gesture. Could you tell us a bit more, old uncle?”
The old man lowered his head and glanced at the cigarettes Wang Liang offered. It was a good pack, completely unlike the ones he usually smoked. This made him secretly swallow.
After hesitating for a moment, the old man still accepted the pack of cigarettes.
“Sigh. The daughter of Old Li’s family on the east end of the village passed away some time ago. Her seventh day is almost here now, so everyone in the village went to the cemetery to the north to help prepare the site in advance.”
“Everyone went? A daughter? What happened for her to pass away so young?”
The hunchbacked old man waved his hand and did not answer that part.
So Wang Liang changed the question.
“Then how long is it until her seventh day? Since we’ve come across this, we’ll go give some condolence money when the time comes.”
“A little more than a day. That’s why the village has to prepare everything ahead of time.”
A little more than a day!
Wang Liang’s pupils constricted slightly. This was extremely close to the Movie Ghost’s descent time. In fact, under these circumstances, it could basically be confirmed that the woman whose seventh-day rites were being prepared was absolutely connected to the Movie Ghost’s descent.
Moreover, the seventh day, the return of the ghostly soul, the descent of the Movie Ghost—no matter how one looked at it, this could not be a coincidence.
Ahem. Within a week, he would definitely control a second Movie Ghost!