Fifteen days later, we drove a long commercial van deep into the remote mountains outside City A, arriving at a small town called Basin Town. Rufina Howard had been enjoying herself immensely these past few days.
The rear seats had been partially removed, just enough to fit a coffin. Rufina Howard was still asleep, even as the sun was about to set.
Basin Town, with only a single street, is the southernmost town of City A. Its population is small, and at this hour, the streets are nearly deserted. When a local elderly woman saw our unfamiliar vehicle, she stared for a while before leaving.
Serena Zheng was still watching some TV drama on her phone, headphones in, laughing every now and then. Mr. Lowell had become like a grandfather to us, taking good care of Rufina Howard along the way. Shadow was lying next to the coffin, eyes closed; he rarely got up before nightfall.
After getting out of the car, I looked toward the southern mountains. According to Rufina Howard, we needed to enter the forest, find a small path, and walk along it for three days and nights to reach the village she once came from.
"Wake up, kid."
She seemed to have played too hard these days—Rufina Howard had been running wild day and night. I patted her cheek, but she turned away, pulled the blanket over her head, and went back to sleep. I decided not to wake her, planning instead to check out the village Noah Grimm had previously investigated. If I floated over, it should only take ten minutes or so.
After checking my phone for directions, I made sure no one was around, parked the car in a spacious spot, and floated up into the air.
"Go ahead, Ethan. I'll keep watch here."
I nodded and flew south. The forest here was dense, so I could only move slowly, searching for the path Rufina Howard had described.
As night fell, I returned to Bazikou. Rufina Howard and the others had already settled into a shabby little inn—actually, it was just a converted house, the only inn in town.
"Qingyuan, did you see the village chief?"
As soon as I walked in, Rufina Howard asked. I shook my head.
"The village has long been abandoned. There's no one left here."
"You're lying. When I left, everyone in the village was fine. Oh, and I remember the village chief said, if I want to come back, I must walk every step of the way to see everyone again. Let's walk tomorrow."
I made a sound of acknowledgment. There was nothing unusual about that place; my instincts hadn't sensed anything odd.
"Tch, little tramp."
Just then, Ji Yuner suddenly cursed from the side. I turned my head; her cheeks were flushed with anger, while Zhuang Bo behind her stared intently at his phone.
"What weird drama are you watching now?"
I walked over as I spoke, and snatched Ji Yuner's earphones off.
"Qingyuan, what are you doing?"
I glanced at the screen and was surprised for a moment—it was Jing Le. The show starred Jing Le, and after watching for a while, I realized she was playing the role of a mistress. Her acting was impressive, even though she wasn't the lead.
"Enough, Ji Yuner, stop watching. You can catch up later—we've got more important things to do."
Zhuang Bo spoke up. Ji Yuner reluctantly put away her phone and let out a sigh.
"If it were me, and my man was tangled up with some little tramp like that, I'd kill her. How could anyone just swallow it and even help their boyfriend date that kind of woman? What kind of dog-brained writer came up with this script?"
Watching Ji Yuner lose her mind like this, showing classic symptoms of drama addiction, I sighed. Zhuang Bo just smiled calmly.
"By the way, Jiang Tianci..."
Suddenly, Ji Yuner shot up from her seat. Zhuang Bo kept signaling to me with his eyes. The two lovers seemed to have met, but something unpleasant must have happened. Ji Yuner glared at me, her face full of anger.
"Hmph, don't mention that bastard. On our first date, he went off to flirt with some young girl. Tch."
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After a while, Ji Yuner finally calmed down. I forced a smile; Rufina Howard was giggling quietly beside me.
Watching all this, I felt as if I'd gone back to more than two years ago, to the noisy days in the apartment building. I walked to the window and sighed—the moon was already up.
Early the next morning, after Rufina Howard finished breakfast, we slipped into the mountains while no one was around. Shadow carried the coffin, hopping ahead on the trail, while Rufina Howard kept talking about the village.
Everyone in the village treated her well—she was like a little princess there. For more than ten years, she lived happily every day.
Rufina Howard had heard bits and pieces about the outside world. She didn't want to leave everyone, but she was curious about what was out there. After arguing with the village chief for days, he gave her two hundred yuan and told her to go see the world.
"You know, Qingyuan, when I left the village, I played in town for half a day and then went to the city. As soon as I arrived in a county, I was abducted by human traffickers."
I let out a surprised sound and looked at Rufina Howard. She continued her story.
At the time, she had no idea what those men wanted. Naively, she thought the traffickers were nice, saying they'd found her a job where she could make big money—just play with some uncles, they said, since those uncles liked young girls.
I swallowed and gave a helpless smile.
"Later, I taught those two a harsh lesson. I bet they'll be traumatized for the rest of their lives. Ha!"
The path ahead grew steeper—we were climbing the mountain. According to Rufina Howard, it would take three days and nights to reach the village, so people rarely left. Most only ventured out once every month or two.
We walked and rested all the way, and on the fifth day, Rufina Howard smiled happily. I stared in disbelief—at noon, smoke curled up from the village, and figures moved everywhere. Everyone wore ethnic clothes in blue, white, red, black, and green, with white headscarves. I'd never seen this kind of traditional dress before.
On the clothes were embroidered women—one was a kneeling pregnant woman.
"Everyone, I'm back!"
The wooden houses in the village looked dilapidated, but the whole place wasn't overgrown and abandoned like I'd seen the day before. There were men and women everywhere. As soon as Rufina Howard shouted, the entire village erupted in excitement.
Rufina Howard ran over, happily greeting everyone. People gathered around her—there must have been fifty or sixty villagers. An old man with a cane approached, and Rufina Howard hugged him joyfully.
"Village Chief Grandpa, I'm back, I'm back!"
"It's good you're back, child. It's good you're back."
Suddenly, the village chief looked our way. His gaze was sharp as a knife, cutting across us. I swallowed—this wasn't the look an old man should have.
"These few must be ghosts."
The village chief glanced at us and spoke.
"Yes, Village Chief Grandpa, they're ghosts, but they're good ones—they're my friends."
I still couldn't believe what I was seeing. And the people before me—they were unmistakably human. This shocked me deeply, since yesterday, there was nothing here.
The village was preparing for a three-day festival to celebrate Rufina Howard's return. Just as she'd said, she was like a little princess—men, women, young and old all treated her kindly, asking after her and surrounding her, leaving us off to the side.
But then, I noticed some of the young men in the village staring at us. Rufina Howard, surrounded by villagers, had already gone into one of the wooden houses.
"Prepare to die."
Suddenly, I heard an ancient voice. In an instant, everything before me twisted and warped.