"Back to the time?"
I looked at Jonas Darong in confusion. He nodded, his face full of sorrow.
"The villagers, who have only been given the knowledge, birth, memories, and feelings of this thirteen-year era, have no idea why they exist or what they're really doing. The Harmony Village on the Yang Side has just begun, born out of renewal and destruction. In the world of the living, time flows, but everything will be returned on the day of yin-yang transformation."
"New Year's Day, January 1st?"
Right now, outside, it's exactly January 1st, 2013. The village is full of tourists, and everything is thriving. But once thirteen years pass, on January 1st, 2026, Harmony Village on the Yang Side will return to the Yin Side, and time will stop flowing. The villagers in Harmony Village are forced to relive January 1st, 2013, endlessly.
"You entered, didn't you? On January 1st, 1998."
Jonas Darong nodded.
"Earlier, a young man named Felix Zhou came here. He was the first to crack the method of entering Outcast Village, opening its entrance. He developed some theories, and the only way to prevent Outcast Village from opening is to go in before the transformation begins."
Back then, after Felix Zhou tried to unravel the secrets here, he found Jonas Darong and talked to him. The rumor that Outcast Village devours people is something that exists deep in most villagers' memories.
The number of villagers on the Yang Side and the Yin Side must always be equal. But often, after a birth on the Yang Side, the numbers become uneven. The newborn babies are actually transformed from the Yin Side. That's why Outcast Village opens its entrance, guiding some villagers over, swallowing those from the Yang Side to balance the numbers.
All of this is completed at this thirteen-year time point. Back then, Felix Zhou didn't know much, but he theorized that if there were a way to keep the entrance to Outcast Village from opening after thirteen years, it would be for villagers to enter at a time other than this thirteen-year mark.
A small notebook in Outcast Village records the people who went missing at this thirteen-year time point, confirming this idea. There must be a reason why these people are swallowed up at this specific time.
These records were kept by Jonas Darong on the Yang Side, generation after generation, as if to end the existence of Outcast Village. He wanted to free his clan, so he began keeping records, driven by memories passed down through generations.
In Harmony Village, there's a rule passed down for generations: villagers cannot marry outsiders. For centuries, some have broken this rule, but after marrying outsiders, they couldn't have children, and at the thirteen-year mark, they would be drawn back to Outcast Village and eventually swallowed.
When people from the Yin Side transform to the Yang Side, any unsettling factors in their memories are wiped clean. The newborns have no desire to marry outsiders or even leave Harmony Village.
"So the other members of the Ghost Burial Squad are in Harmony Village at different time points?"
Jonas Darong nodded.
"It's about the same. The four people at this time point keep reliving January 1st. Many have already suffered mental breakdowns, but they were originally living people. Only by drinking the blood of Harmony Village's Yang Side villagers could they come in, so it's impossible to remove them now. The only way is to let them fade into dust and fragments of time."
I clenched my fist and quietly watched Jonas Darong. He looked helpless.
"A person's lifespan is set at birth. Even time can't take away their lifespan. Only when their natural life ends can they be killed. So, as the one who broke this mechanism, all I can do is wait."
"Where exactly is Yvonne May's primal essence?"
I asked, but Jonas Darong just shook his head.
"I've never seen it. As for David Wu, he died earlier, on January 1st, 1986, coming over from the Yin Side. That's why you'll never truly know the cause of his death—because those who enter here aren't just people, but ghosts as well."
I swallowed and quietly watched Jonas Darong.
"Can you travel between the different thirteen-year eras of Harmony Village?"
"Impossible. I've tried before, but was excluded. My entry into Harmony Village at this thirteen-year era was an accident. Originally, the number of villagers on the Yin and Yang Sides was perfectly balanced, but the numbers shifted, so I was able to come in. The anomaly was caused by Yuna Darong, Darren Rong's sister, who is now on the Yang Side."
Whenever Yuna Darong is mentioned, I can't help but think of Darren Rong, who has now gone insane.
"How is her brother doing?"
"He's lost his mind."
"I see."
There was helplessness in Jonas Darong's eyes.
"On yesterday's January 1st, everything you did truly triggered some unusual changes. At this time point, what I can tell is that the power to replenish Yvonne May's primal essence is rapidly dwindling."
I seemed to understand: if a person possesses time, then time becomes everything to them—it is their hope. But everything I have done is destruction, aimless slaughter. All these villagers, once full of hope for tomorrow and the days after January 1st, I have brought them only despair.
In an instant, hope vanished, replaced by the negative energy of ghosts. This prevented Yvonne May's primal essence from being replenished. Slowly, I began to float, and at that moment, the Seven Ghost Souls rushed back into my body.
"If this is the way, then I'll keep doing it."
"Even if it means becoming the Evil Ghost in their eyes?"
Jonas Darong laughed. I nodded, and with a whoosh, flew to the top of the village. In the sky, strange and powerful forces began to gather.
Currents of yin energy completely covered the moon, which had just emerged after the heavy rain.
"What are you planning to do?"