Chapter 27: Loss of Control (6)

While Wei Ling was still hesitating, Lu Jinchao only pondered for a few seconds before stepping inside.

"Wait? You..."

Wei Ling was startled for a moment but immediately followed. Although she did not know why Lu Jinchao was so daring, based on what she had learned along the way, she did not believe Lu Jinchao was someone who lacked common sense. Perhaps she had discovered something that she herself had overlooked.

Ye Jingyun, who was trailing at the back, hesitated for a long time before choosing to wait outside for the two of them.

"...It's broad daylight, and there are people around, so nothing should happen, right?"

Despite saying this, she had seen cases where ghosts killed people in broad daylight. Such thoughts were, at best, a psychological comfort; they were far from convincing. Ye Jingyun watched the backs of Lu Jinchao and Wei Ling as they walked in, then glanced at the empty country paths on either side, struggling several times over whether to follow them.

But as she looked up, she saw the old man standing inside the ancestral hall, his face gloomy, staring fixedly at her. That thought vanished instantly.

"This old man... why is he looking at me so strangely?"

"I think I'd better not go in..."

Ye Jingyun felt a chill from the old man's gaze. She became increasingly convinced that the ancestral hall was not a good place and that this old creature must have lured them inside on purpose.

"Oh no, what if something happens to Wei Ling?"

Thinking this, she hurriedly looked into the ancestral hall, but to her surprise, she saw nothing.

"...Where are they?!"

Ye Jingyun was shocked. Suspecting she had been too nervous and missed them, she searched the interior carefully for any sign of Wei Ling and Lu Jinchao.

But... there was nothing. The two of them seemed to have vanished!

"That old man!" Recalling something, she looked immediately toward the spot where the old man had been standing just moments before.

But... there was no one there either.

A chill ran down Ye Jingyun’s spine. She abruptly took several steps back, distancing herself from the entrance of the ancestral hall, and quickly looked left and right. There was nothing unusual, but there was also no sign of anyone else. The surroundings were exceptionally quiet, and it was only now that Ye Jingyun realized how abnormal such silence truly was.

"...Wei Ling? Are you done looking?"

She called out softly into the ancestral hall. There was no response.

"Wei Ling?"

"Are you still there?"

Ye Jingyun's voice grew louder, but still, there was no reply. She suddenly felt cold, yet there was no wind. Perhaps it was the fear taking hold of her.

"Wei Ling!"

Ye Jingyun no longer cared about anything else. She shouted Wei Ling's name again, and after receiving no response, she gritted her teeth and stared at the entrance of the ancestral hall. Inside, apart from the disappearance of the people, nothing had changed. In the dim environment, only the flickering light of the eternal lamps remained. From Ye Jingyun's perspective, the gate looked like a giant, gaping abyss waiting to swallow her whole.

A chill crept up her back as she thought of Li Haoyang, who had vanished so suddenly. According to the other passengers, Li Haoyang had run off without a word. Could it be that he had discovered something terrifying and was desperate to escape? If this really had something to do with the Chinese zodiac, did that mean she was about to witness something horrific?

No!

She should not have waited outside alone!

Only now did this realization dawn on Ye Jingyun. The silence, so absolute that it felt as if she were the only person left in the world, shattered her sanity. The illusion that a ghost might appear behind her at any second made it impossible for her to think clearly. She only knew that she had to find Wei Ling immediately—at the very least, she needed to be with her companions.

So, she began to run toward the entrance of the ancestral hall. The distance, which was only a few meters—a gap she could have crossed in just a few steps—seemed to stretch into infinity. The ancestral hall she had been afraid to enter moments ago now felt impossible to reach, no matter how much she wanted to go inside.

The sound of her running caught the attention of Wei Ling and Lu Jinchao inside. After entering, they had observed the place carefully; it was cleaner than before, but otherwise, there was nothing unusual. However, after only two minutes, the sound of hurried footsteps echoed from outside—the sound of someone running away.

The noise immediately alerted the two women. By the time they rushed out, they could only see the back of Ye Jingyun as she fled in a panic.

"Damn it."

Wei Ling's expression darkened. She realized something had gone wrong, though she wasn't entirely surprised.

"Follow her. Let's see where she's going."

Lu Jinchao had already started chasing. However, even though she had been exercising daily since returning to reality from the first platform, she still couldn't keep up with Ye Jingyun. She was a girl who looked somewhat delicate, yet for some reason, her running speed was abnormally fast. Every time it seemed like Lu Jinchao was about to catch up, the figure would pull further away after a single turn.

After turning a few corners, they completely lost track of her.

Lu Jinchao stopped, breathless, leaning forward with her hands on her knees. "How... how is she running so fast?"

Wei Ling frowned, though she looked to have more stamina than Lu Jinchao. "Her physical fitness shouldn't be this good."

"...Then it’s likely she’s in grave danger."

With this, they could confirm that there was indeed something wrong with the "Rat" zodiac sign. Two passengers who had shown abnormalities were both born in the Year of the Rat.

"Could it be the Year of the Rat here?"

The word "sacrifice" was too sensitive, and the two naturally gravitated toward this thought. After all, on the platform, it was a common association to think of using people born in their zodiac year for sacrifices.

"We'll know once we ask." Lu Jinchao straightened up after catching her breath. "Let's head toward the altar and ask the villagers along the way."

However, on the road to the altar, Lu Jinchao noticed that the number of villagers was even lower than she had expected. Furthermore, they were almost exclusively the elderly. It was easy to predict that if nothing changed, the village would be abandoned within a few years.

"Even so, are they still going to hold a sacrifice?"

Fortunately, the village was not large. They hadn't walked for long before they encountered an old woman carrying a basket. She was walking along the path with her head down, her gait unsteady. Wei Ling called out to her, but there was no reaction.

"Maybe she's old and hard of hearing," Wei Ling thought, raising her voice to call out again. Only then did the old woman look up at them with a blank expression.

"Ma'am, do you know what year it is? Is it the Year of the Rat?"

As the old woman looked up, Lu Jinchao noticed that her eyes were so cloudy it was likely a struggle for her to see anything at all.

Hearing Wei Ling's question, the old woman slowly opened her mouth: "No, no..."

"This year, it is the Year of the Ox. The Year of the Ox has come."

"The Year of the Ox..."