Suddenly, the old man's face changed.
His smile disappeared, leaving only a cold feeling.
Turning around, the old man entered the security office, with his back to me. He sat quietly in front of the incense.
The smoke swirled around, slightly blurring his figure.
In contrast, the photograph seemed to become slightly clearer.
He was not particularly old, in his thirties, wearing very old-fashioned clothes, from the style of decades ago.
Suddenly, I shivered all over again.
The person in the photograph and the old-fashioned clothes seemed to overlap with a memory I had in my mind...
At that time, Han Qiu fell down, a large amount of dense fog appeared outside the village, I was chased out of the village by the Revenge Ghost to the wasteland in front...
That revenge ghost, isn't he dressed just like this?
Is the old man worshiping the revenge ghost?
What kind of person is he to the revenge ghost?
"Want to go in and die? Go in and die then."
"Damn it, they're already dead. Adding a few more won't make much difference."
The old man did not directly answer me, but instead muttered in a low voice.
He hesitated for a few seconds more, and I was about to walk into the crematorium.
Suddenly, Lao Gong suddenly shook his head vigorously and said, "Towards the west."
At that moment, the old man's body shook slightly.
It was as if Lao Gong's words had touched something within him.
My pupil slightly contracted.
Because heading west is the opposite direction, it's not going into the crematorium, but rather going out...
Walking in should lead me to find Han Zizi and the female Taoist, as well as Sun Zhuo.
If I go back out, I won't know the exact situation.
I came straight over earlier, worried that Sun Zhuo might use underhanded means.
But... there is a trace of Wu Zhongkuan's soul in Lao Gong.
In normal circumstances, all the hints from Lao Gong within Qiya Village would be helpful to me.
I hesitated for a few seconds, retreating a few steps and stepping out of the gate of the crematorium.
Lao Gong's most commonly used phrase.
Heeding others' advice, being able to eat a full meal.
It was my own decision on thoughts and actions, which was not prompted by Lao Gong.
He is very loyal to me, and he must be aware that I need to accomplish something in Qiya Village, so he wouldn't have directly guided me to leave.
Therefore, the indecisiveness in my heart dispersed.
I walked briskly towards the west.
Actually, this is the same path I originally came from.
About ten or fifteen minutes later, I found myself back in the original willow forest.
Seeing the slab of the coffin I had stood on, you can hear the sound of the water flowing.
Lao Gong's head was still looking towards the west, which is where I inferred to be the other side of the road.
Without hesitation, I continued walking forward.
A few minutes later, after passing through the willow forest, I saw that it was indeed still a road in front of me.
The road was paved with broken stones, and in the distance, there were still some shadowy buildings.
It was too far away to make out the details...
For a moment, a chill ran through my heart.
Does that mean that if I go this way, it's also a crematorium?
Is this another kind of ghostly wall?
However, Lao Gong did not say much, just staring at that direction, which made me feel more at ease.
Taking a step, I continued walking along the road.
After walking for a few minutes, the distance to the outline shortened, and it was distinguishable that it was a village's architecture...
The road is wide, like a branch, and it's almost time to walk onto the road of Qiya Village.
But suddenly, the road became narrower again, still a branch of the village path, but with mist surrounding the branch.
The environment before my eyes was distorted, as if I was walking on one road but could step onto another at any moment...
"Come from there, go there."
Suddenly, an old voice sounded behind me!
The voice was familiar, it was the old man from before, wasn't it?
I turned around abruptly.
Only then did I notice that the old man was following me from a distance behind.
He was hunched over, looking stealthy.
The distorted road around me seemed to become normal again.
There was no more fog, the road was flat.
The old man had a stern face, showing no emotion.
"This place, is not something you should be here for, Taoist. If the Taoist wants to come, let the Taoist come, if the Taoist wants to die, let the Taoist die. You should go where you should go."
His face showed no expression, but his tone was eerie and full of malice.
I found this to be very strange.
As I slightly turned my head, I looked at the road ahead with a glance.
Indeed, the road was completely normal now.
There seemed to be a person in the distance.
According to the figure, it seemed to be Zhang Xu.
But Zhang Xu didn't see us...
If I walked out from here and met Zhang Xu, could I then leave Qiya Village directly?
Suddenly, I had another thought!
Was the previously distorted road, the narrow path filled with gray mist, the entrance to the outer village ghost wall area where Han Qiu was located?
Does this old man know that there's something wrong with Han Qiu?
That means that Han Zizi hasn't actually encountered Han Qiu yet!?
Usually, when anyone touches Han Qiu, the Revenge Ghost would appear directly...
Now, it is the old man who is preventing me from meeting Han Qiu, because the Revenge Ghost is being constrained, right?
At that moment, a chill ran through my heart.
Han Qiu was a crucial part of my plan.
The Revenge Ghost discovered the anomaly and made the corresponding interruption.
Fearfully, Han Zizi won't be able to easily obtain the control over him.
It's even possible for a much bigger change to occur.
"You should stay where you belong, like your security office."
"I know where I should go." I trembled slightly in my hand sleeve, two razor blades were at hand.
Zhang Xu can't see the situation here.
Entering the branch road, being able to come here, there must be some specific circumstances.
I can see him because that's the normal way out.
But I cannot take that path.
If I could catch this old man, Lao Gong would definitely be able to make that path appear again!
In an instant, my thoughts were settled. I suddenly exerted force on my calves and rushed towards the old man!
The old man's eyes widened. He suddenly raised his arms and surged towards me!
My heart was exceptionally steady, without any fear or hesitation.
The old man was just a normal person, and I had already plastered the symbols on him before.
A normal person couldn't be my match.
In the next instant, I felt a chill in my heart, and a prickling sensation on my scalp.
Because the old man's hands were dusty gray, as if covered with some kind of dust.
Especially his fingernails, which were incredibly black and slender.
This black, is zombie poison!
He has been in contact with corpses for a long time, and he has been dealing with old corpses!
My muscles tensed up, and the old man prepared to grab my arms. I dared not let him touch me, so I tilted my body to the right to dodge his move, then suddenly lifted my forearm and swung the razor blade towards his head!
After all, he is old and his body is feeble, which is not as agile as mine.
In a swipe, I cut off half of his hair.
"Halt! Halt!"
"Don't cut off his hair!"
Lao Gong suddenly shrieked sharply.
His tone was filled with unease and suspicion.
I felt a slight change in my heart, and I suddenly leaped backwards, keeping some distance from the old man.
The old man stared at me blankly. He was breathing heavily, and the dusty gray on his arms seemed to be growing and spreading.
And his fingernails were becoming even darker and more slender...
It's like... the dusty gray things and the nails, breaking the balance, starting to grow...
The old man's face showed a hint of pain and struggle.
