Chapter 84: Deadly Travel Group (9)
After they finished, they fooled around for a while longer. By the time they got dressed, they realized it had already grown dark outside.
The bus traveled along a country road. In the distance, scattered lights from the village were already visible.
The female tour guide picked up her megaphone and introduced the passengers to the local customs of the Yao people, then asked everyone about their lodging preferences: "Since tourism in the village hasn't fully developed yet and the guesthouses aren't finished, you can choose to stay in a villager's home or in an empty, uninhabited house. But don't worry, everything has been cleaned thoroughly, and it's free of charge—complimentary lodging for everyone!"
Ji Ning and Sheng Churan exchanged a glance, both understanding this was another "life-or-death choice."
"Where do you want to stay?" Sheng Churan asked Ji Ning's opinion first.
"I think…" Ji Ning took a breath. "A villager's home is better. It's best not to be isolated."
Sheng Churan nodded. The two reached a consensus once again, with no disagreement.
Before long, the bus stopped on an open patch of ground at the village entrance. The travelers filed off one by one, finally getting a full view of the Yao settlement.
Calling it a village was less accurate than calling it an entire fortified hamlet. The dwellings were clustered together, tightly concentrated. In tribal settlements like this, the indigenous people were usually exceptionally united.
Setting aside the driver and the locals who were dealing with the two corpses beneath the bus, the tour guide led the remaining group deeper into the village. As she walked, she introduced: "It's late today, so everyone settle in first. The villagers have already prepared dinner. Eat well and rest early. Tomorrow, I'll take everyone to see the scenery of Mount Ai and admire Cat's Eye Spring. Tomorrow night, under the full moon of the fifteenth, is the main event of this tour—the Yao tribe's Harvest Sacrifice Festival. It will be very lively, so look forward to it."
Hearing the guide, Ji Ning looked up at the sky. The moon was hidden among the clouds, its shape faintly visible, indeed just shy of being perfectly full.
If this weren't a horror instance, a full moon would represent reunion and happiness. But in an instance this eerie, the arrival of the full moon meant disaster was looming.
Ji Ning couldn't help but shiver. Just then, Sheng Churan reached for her, so she placed both hands together and stuffed them entirely into his palm.
Sheng Churan noticed Ji Ning's shrinking. He switched hands, his large palm closing around both of hers like he was restraining a suspect. Then he wrapped an arm around her shoulder, half-embracing her, and leaned close to her ear to say warmly: "I have strong yang energy. Don't be afraid."
Ji Ning had no objection to this claim. She had already absorbed it; his yang energy was indeed strong.
The group followed the guide further into the village. Many residents stood by their windows or outside their houses, watching these outsiders. Their stiff, black-and-white ethnic minority clothing made them look like paper effigies all trussed up under the dim lights.
Ji Ning leaned close to Sheng Churan and whispered: "Have you noticed? There are way more men than women. The ratio is really skewed."
"Yes." Sheng Churan had also noticed. In this Yao village, among the people visible now, the male-to-female ratio was roughly seven to three.
Everything felt off. Ji Ning shook her head, silently repeating "it's all fake," and secretly bolstered her courage.
Under the guide's arrangements, Ji Ning and Sheng Churan were assigned to stay in a villager's home.
The owner was an old widower with two sons; only the eldest son had taken a wife. A family of four: three men and one woman.
The only light in the house was an old, yellowed incandescent bulb. It had been used for too long and its wattage was low, offering no more illumination than a lit candle.
Seeing the gazes of the men, both young and old, flick toward Ji Ning, Sheng Churan silently moved in front of her, holding her hand and positioning her behind him, blocking their view.
Those people were half-hidden in the darkness, their stares turning inscrutably sinister. He didn't want her getting spooked anymore.
The only woman of the household stepped forward. She brought two plates of food from the kitchen and placed them on the wooden table, saying in clumsy Mandarin: "We ate dinner early. This is made for the guests. Please don't disdain it."
"Thank you. We'll take it to our room to eat. Please rest early, hosts, and don't worry about us." Sheng Churan thanked her politely. He moved Ji Ning's hand to his clothing hem for her to hold, then picked up the dishes and led Ji Ning into the room the host family had vacated for them.
The light in the small room was just as dim.
Sheng Churan set the food aside, took off their backpacks and luggage bags, and pulled out the bottled water and bread they had brought.
Ji Ning stood beside him, smiling slightly: "We're not eating their food, right?"
Sheng Churan turned around, bent down next to Ji Ning's ear, and whispered: "Horror movie survival rule number two: don't casually eat food from strangers."
"You've seen those too!" Ji Ning's eyes suddenly lit up, and her hand grasped Sheng Churan's arm.
Sheng Churan nodded, a smile tugging at his lips. This was a small, shared understanding between them.
"But we only have two pieces of bread. We need to ration them," Sheng Churan tore open the packaging and handed it to Ji Ning. "Eat what you can, and leave the rest for me."
Ji Ning took it, broke off a small piece, and handed the larger piece back to Sheng Churan. Her cheeks slightly flushed, she said: "You eat more. We don't know how many 'offerings' we'll still have to give the Poye."
She had a point.
In bed, she could trust him completely and just lie back and enjoy. So he needed to eat more.
The two reached an agreement, sitting on the edge of the bed and secretly eating their bread. Ji Ning recalled the lodging choice and quietly asked Sheng Churan: "No. 7 and No. 11 chose the empty house, probably because the game hint was 'the most dangerous place is the safest.' What do you think will happen to them?"
Sheng Churan frowned slightly in thought, then answered: "They'll die."
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