Chapter 6

Chapter 6

“Tomorrow, we go to the altar and slaughter a sheep.”

The moment Xu Da sat down, he made the announcement to the rest of us in a solemn tone. “My brother and I only want one sheep. It’s for treating my brother’s illness. You can catch the other three however you like. We won’t interfere.”

“But if anyone thinks they can get something for nothing and sets their sights on our sheep-”

With a swish, Xu Da drew a gleaming short knife from his waist and drove it straight into the wooden post. “When the time comes, don’t blame me for being rude!”

The faces of those seated around him all shifted in different ways. Xu Er tugged at Xu Da, getting him to put the knife away.

“I’m out.”

Just as everyone was lost in their own thoughts, the university teacher, Yi Jingchen, suddenly spoke up. “I was only curious to begin with. I’m not interested in catching sheep. You can divide those three among yourselves. I won’t be taking part.”

That left four people and three sheep.

If Ren Meng and Shi Yuhan, the couple, only needed one sheep as well, then everyone could take what they needed and work together.

But the two of them still said nothing.

The sky grew darker and darker. We stamped out the fire and returned to the wooden cabin to rest.

The black mountain goat tied up outside seemed to have made enough of a fuss too. It resigned itself to its fate and lay down where it was.

I was worried about Dashun’s safety, and I couldn’t stop thinking about my family back home.

My parents had passed away early, and my wife had died of illness. All I had left at home were a son, a daughter, and my elderly mother-in-law.

Whenever I was out driving, my daughter would call me every day.

Now that I had vanished for two whole days for no reason, who knew how worried she must be?

With so much on my mind, I never sank into a deep sleep.

Gradually, the sounds of sleeping breaths filled the cabin. Zuo Hao was probably the first to fall asleep, and his snoring was the loudest.

Next was most likely Xu Er. His breathing wasn’t very even, but he seemed to be sleeping deeply too.

I listened, distinguishing each person’s breathing, trying to relax myself as much as possible and get at least a little rest.

Then, all of a sudden, I sensed something was wrong.

It was as if, without anyone noticing, there was one more person’s breathing in the cabin.

That sound was extremely similar to Xu Er’s. Even the rhythm was exactly the same.

My eyes snapped open, but the cabin was pitch-black. I could only make out the rough outlines of everyone inside.

I was just about to turn on the camping lantern Zuo Hao had brought when Xu Er’s breathing suddenly grew frantic.

Xu Da rolled over and sat up. I hurriedly switched on the light.

There were still only the few of us in the cabin, but Xu Er’s face had turned deathly pale, and his whole body had begun to convulse.

“Erzi! Erzi, open your eyes!”

Xu Da held Xu Er and shouted anxiously. Xu Er stretched his neck long, his entire head tilting backward, the whites of his eyes showing.

Yi Jingchen grabbed Xu Er’s wrist and checked his pulse. “His pulse is all over the place. What illness does he have?”

Xu Da’s eyes were bloodshot, but he seemed unable to answer. He only held his younger brother tightly.

Xu Er convulsed for a long while before suddenly raising his hand, clawing wildly at the air as he cried, “It got in! It got in! Brother, Brother, run! We have to run-”

Those words made everyone in the cabin break out in goose bumps.

I looked at Ba Wuyue. Ba Wuyue took off her sunglasses and scanned the room, then shook her head. She hadn’t seen anything.

“It got in, it’s right there! I don’t want to die! Don’t kill me!”

None of us knew what Xu Er was shouting about. Xu Da, however, had clearly seen him have an episode before.

“Erzi, Erzi, hang in there a little longer. Tomorrow, I’ll take you to slaughter the sheep. Once we slaughter the sheep, you’ll be cured, and we can go back to school.”

Yi Jingchen massaged several acupoints on Xu Er’s body. Whether it actually worked or not, Xu Er’s convulsions eased considerably.

“This looks like some kind of hysteria. Haven’t you taken him to a hospital?”

Xu Da’s attitude toward Yi Jingchen softened quite a bit. “We have. He’s been getting treatment for years. My brother was originally in college, but because of this illness, everything got delayed.”

As they were talking, a cold, eerie gust of wind slipped in from outside the door.

Xu Er, who had already been improving, suddenly opened his eyes wide and sat bolt upright in Xu Da’s arms.

He stared blankly ahead. When he spoke again, his tongue seemed tied in knots, his words slurred and unclear. “They all lied to me. They all lied to me…”

That sentence instantly reminded me of the five bloody words I had seen on the wall when I first woke up.

Once again, I looked at Ba Wuyue.

This time was different.

Her face was ghastly pale. Trembling, she raised a hand and pointed at Xu Er. “Something came in. It’s on Xu Er!”