Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Several dozen days passed in the blink of an eye.

Gradually, I grew used to life here.

One day, while chatting with the women, I asked them about Crossing the Yin.

According to one woman who had undergone Crossing the Yin, it meant stepping half your body into the Yin Realm.

“If a woman is Crossing the Yin, she has to stay in the same room with a dozen or so strong men, using the yang energy on their bodies to form a barrier against the cold aura of the Yin Realm.”

“Only that way can a life be snatched back from the hands of the Yin beings.”

As she spoke, her cheeks flushed pink and her breathing grew faintly uneven. It was as if what she was recalling was not some terrifying experience, but a sweet, forbidden pleasure.

The women beside her chimed in one after another, all talking over each other about the wonders of Crossing the Yin.

One mentioned a daughter-in-law in the village who had been barren for years and had prayed for a child to no avail. But after Crossing the Yin, it was as if the yin energy inside her had been driven out, and she soon became pregnant.

Another said that a certain family’s little girl had once been sickly and listless, but after Crossing the Yin, she had miraculously regained some vitality, and her small face had become rosy again.

But the more I listened, the more wrong it all sounded.

“If women are yin energy, then why are men yang energy?”

“Aren’t men all born from women?”

At that, the women were struck speechless for a moment.

They ignored my questions and quickly changed the subject. “Did you hear? There was a big case in the provincial capital. A murderer is on the run everywhere…”

“The news said he fled here!”

“Really?”

One woman slapped her own thigh. “Oh, who cares about some murderer? The important thing is keeping an eye on your own children!”

“Exactly. It’s been more than ten years, and children in the village have been going missing the whole time!”

“Wasn’t Chuxue’s aunt one of them…”

Halfway through, the woman caught sight of my expression and hurriedly shut her mouth.

The others fell silent as well. A heavy, oppressive atmosphere spread through the air.

Seeing that I wouldn’t be able to ask anything more, I was just about to leave when someone called out to me from nearby.

“Miss Bai, Chuxue is unwell again!”

I hurried back to the little building.

There, I saw Aunt Chen holding the girl in her arms, anxiously patting her.

“The child doesn’t look good. Could she still be Crossing the Yin?”

I was just about to ask her what exactly counted as Crossing the Yin and what didn’t.

But there was no time to explain anything.

She had already called over several strong men, burned talisman paper, muttered under her breath, and forced that bowl of murky gray medicinal soup into the girl’s mouth.

After drinking the talisman water, Chuxue did indeed fall asleep.

I held her skinny little body in my arms and sat in the courtyard until night fell.

At some point, the girl woke up.

But she didn’t say a word. She only looked at me quietly.

After a long while, she finally spoke, her voice as faint as a mosquito’s buzz. “Big Sister, I saw a ghost just now.”

Thinking she was joking again, I nodded.

“Mm.”

“Big Sister, can you see it too?”

“Mm.”

I had only meant to humor the child, so I followed the direction of her finger and looked toward the second floor.

But the moment I looked overhead…

For some reason, I felt an intense gaze on me.

Yes. Right there, in the crack above us.

Someone was watching us.