Ke Xun quickly told Wei Dong to find a safe place to stay, then followed Mu Yiran. They walked a little further and stood on a huge rock, finally able to take in the entire valley.
Wildflowers covered the slopes, vibrant and dazzling.
If it weren't for the fact that this was a scene from a painting, it would truly be considered a paradise on earth. Unfortunately, in Ke Xun's eyes, even the most beautiful scenery here had a particularly fake, lifeless, and terrifying feel.
"These flowers, like those four o'clocks, have absolutely no fragrance," Ke Xun sniffed.
"Let's go down and take a look," Mu Yiran said.
Descending into the valley, Ke Xun discovered that the area was lush with vegetation—wildflowers, vines, and tree stems—a riot of colors, yet still lacking vitality.
Mu Yiran wandered among the flowers and grasses, stopping occasionally to pluck a few blades of grass, pick a few flowers, or even dig up a few roots.
"Can I know what your current thought process is?" Ke Xun asked.
"These plants are strange," Mu Yiran mused. "Like the four o'clocks before, it's not their blooming season right now, and many of these plants aren't in season to flower or bear fruit either. Some shouldn't be growing in the Ganxiong Highlands, yet they're all growing here together."
"It is indeed strange," Ke Xun nodded. "There must be something fishy going on. Why don't we take a little of each kind back and ask the villagers? Even if we don't get any information, we might be able to exchange them for something else useful."
Mu Yiran glanced at him, having to admit that this guy often came up with some unexpected and whimsical ideas.
For example, using these things to exchange for other things.
He hadn't really thought of that direction before, so he didn't object.
When the two went back to look for Wei Dong, they found that the guy was nowhere to be seen.
Ke Xun was furious and cursed as he rushed towards the sky burial platform.
Halfway there, seeing Wei Dong running towards them, his face pale, Ke Xun slapped him on the head: "Didn't I tell you to wait where you were? Why are you running around like that? You scared your old man so much I almost had a stroke!"
"Damn it, don't even mention it," Wei Dong waved his hands, "I almost got polio from fright!"
He then told Ke Xun and Mu Yiran what had happened.
Apparently, he suddenly needed to relieve himself and was looking for a secluded spot. While wandering around, he suddenly saw Zhou Bin and his group sneaking towards the sky burial platform.
Wei Dong thought these guys were courting death and, to avoid being implicated, quickly found a place to hide.
He hadn't been hiding for long when he heard Zhou Bin shouting from the direction of the sky burial platform. Within a minute or two, Zhou Bin quickly ran past, followed by the group of people on the sky burial platform.
Wei Dong, worried about being discovered by those people, dared not linger any longer and quickly turned back from his hiding place. He saw, in the distance, on the sky burial platform, Brother Sha Liugeng and his group frantically gathering up the mangled corpse, even stuffing the difficult parts into their clothes.
"I think they've gone mad," Wei Dong said. "I was so scared I didn't dare talk to them and quickly ran back the way I came."
"They used a diversionary tactic, their goal being to get that corpse," Ke Xun said, also finding it unbelievable. He looked at Mu Yiran, "What are they trying to do?"
Mu Yiran moved his lips, forcing a completely unsmiling smile: "Collect offerings and ritual implements."
Ke Xun asked, "What about us? Are we still collecting ritual implements?"
"Collect them if you want," Mu Yiran glanced at him and walked away.
"At a time like this, why bother with all this 'you' and 'me'?" Ke Xun followed. "If you accept, I'll accept; if you don't, I won't. Don't be so formal with me."
Wei Dong, walking at the back: …unable to bear it.
By the time they returned to the large tent, it was almost dark. Zhou Bin and the others arrived about ten minutes later than Ke Xun and his companions, all looking tired and pale, but with a hint of excitement in their spirits.
After dinner, the middle-aged man, as usual, came to arrange the tents: "Tonight, three people per tent, two men and one woman. Remember, each tent must have three people, two men and one woman."
Everyone was stunned upon hearing this.
There were eleven people in total: Ke Xun, Mu Yiran, Wei Dong, Qin Ci, Zhou Bin, Geng's father, and the Geng family's child—seven men. There
were only four women: Geng's mother, Zhao Dan, Sha Liu, and Li Ziling.
Two men and one woman per tent meant that one man and one woman would be left out, failing to meet the requirements.
The three members of the Geng family hugged each other tightly; it seemed they could be "bailed out" early for the night.
Zhou Bin gripped Zhao Dan's hand tightly and pointed at Qin Ci: "Dr. Qin, you're in our group."
Qin Ci naturally wouldn't refuse, leaving only Ke Xun and his two companions, along with the two women, Sha Liu and Li Ziling.
Wei Dong stared palely at Ke Xun and Mu Yiran.
He never imagined that the axe of fate would fall upon him and his good brother tonight.
He knew Ke Xun had feelings for Mu Yiran, and he knew Ke Xun was definitely not the type to prioritize romance over friendship, but the rules dictated that only two of the three could have this sliver of hope. Any choice would be incredibly cruel and tragic.
Before Ke Xun could speak, Li Ziling screamed and rushed towards Mu Yiran, kneeling before him and kowtowing frantically. Tears streamed down her face, which hadn't been washed for days, leaving distorted marks. "Big brother, please, please be in my group! I don't want to die! I'll do anything you ask! Please, choose me, choose me..." She
then turned to Ke Xun beside Mu Yiran, pleading, "Big brother, please, I'll do anything you ask! Really, anything! Just please, you two be in my group! Please..."
Sha Liu stood there, pale-faced and stunned, until Li Ziling's voice was hoarse from crying. Only then did Sha Liu raise her unfocused eyes and look at Ke Xun. "One of you three will die. Have you thought it through? Who... will you choose?"
Suddenly, everyone's gaze fell on Ke Xun's face.
At that moment, no one realized that although Mu Yiran was the most important person in everyone's hearts, whenever faced with a choice, everyone inexplicably and habitually turned to Ke Xun for the answer.
Unexpectedly, Ke Xun turned to Qin Ci: "Dr. Qin, I have a question I'd like to ask. Let's talk in private."
The two went outside the tent and returned a moment later. Li Ziling was still wailing, Wei Dong and Sha Liu were still distraught, and the rest remained silent.
"Have you chosen? There's no time, we need to go back to the tent," Zhou Bin said to Ke Xun.
"I've chosen," Ke Xun said.
All eyes turned to him again, and he looked at Mu Yiran: "I have a favor to ask," pointing at Wei Dong, "knock Dongzi out."
Wei Dong was stunned, and before he could react, he saw Mu Yiran nod slightly and walk towards him. "Wait—" Before he could finish his sentence, Mu Yiran had already reached out and grabbed his neck. In just two seconds, everything went black and he collapsed to the ground.
Everyone was stunned, but not because Mu Yiran had knocked Wei Dong unconscious. They were stunned because, just as Mu Yiran approached Wei Dong, Ke Xun followed closely behind. The instant Wei Dong passed out, Ke Xun swiftly struck Mu Yiran on the back of the neck. Mu Yiran laboriously turned his head
, his brows furrowed, his eyes filled with anger, confusion, and a complex mix of emotions as he looked at Ke Xun. The next second, he collapsed to the ground.
Ke Xun reached out and caught him, bending down to hoist him onto his shoulder. With his other hand, he grabbed Wei Dong's clothes, who lay unconscious on the ground, and turned to Sha Liu with a smile: "You two, once you've decided, come find us in the tent. Time is running out."
He then carried one of them and dragged the other out of the large tent.
Qin Ci watched Ke Xun's retreating figure with a complicated expression.
Slashing someone's neck is an extremely dangerous move. Too little force won't work, while too much force could cripple or even kill them. The success rate of knocking someone unconscious is already very low, let alone the fact that he only briefly taught him the technique, the placement, and described the approximate force needed.
This person is truly audacious, making decisions without hesitation and acting on them immediately.
But he is also truly... a genius in a certain area, with astonishingly precise control over his physical strength.
Qin Ci left the large tent with Zhou Bin and Zhao Dan, and the Geng family of three also went to their own tent, leaving only Li Ziling and Sha Liu, classmates and friends, in the large tent.
Ke Xun placed Mu Yiran and Wei Dong side by side in the tent, then looked down at Mu Yiran's furrowed brow. After a while, he smoothed the furrow between Mu Yiran's brows with his finger and chuckled, "Well, you've never seen such a goofball like me before, have you? I was quite surprised too. After my dad sacrificed himself to save someone, I even called him an old goofball. I didn't expect this goofball trait to be hereditary."
As he spoke, his voice gradually lowered, his gaze falling on a point in the void. After a long while, he whispered, "I don't want my dad to be ashamed of me."
Ke Xun returned to his own tent, took out the sharp-edged stone shard he had picked up earlier from his pocket, held it in his palm, and lay down with his hands behind his head.
His thoughts were sometimes clear, sometimes chaotic, sometimes tense, sometimes calm, sometimes regretful, sometimes reckless and determined.
After a chaotic period of time, he vaguely heard staggering footsteps coming from the direction of the large tent, heading towards Wei Dong and Mu Yiran's tent.
Sha Liu and Li Ziling, who was left?
A long time passed, and the other one didn't come looking for him. Perhaps they knew that even sharing a tent wouldn't meet the manpower requirement, and they wouldn't escape sooner or later, so they resigned themselves to staying in the large tent.
Of course, there was another possibility: the remaining one had already died and couldn't find him.
Night deepened, the snow's light was deathly white, and a giant shadow slid down from the sky, its eight arms outstretched, twisted like a python.
Ke Xun held a stone shard to his throat, his gaze fixed on the tent roof.
The small tent now seemed incredibly empty; he was alone, so lonely, so small, so helpless.
The giant shadow passed the tent of the Geng family of three, passed Wei Dongmu Yiran's tent, and stopped beside his tent.
The overwhelming black shadow pressed down, clinging tightly to the tent roof.
Ke Xun felt as if the leather of the tent roof had suddenly thinned, becoming so transparent that he could almost see the face of the giant shadow pressing down on it. Its features were contorted in fury, its enormous eyes blinking as it surveyed everything inside the tent.
Ke Xun stared at it, the stone shard in his hand pressed against the flesh of his throat.
The tent roof grew thinner and thinner, the giant shadow's features becoming clearer: a face as black as a grotesque rock, enormous, bulging, blood-red eyeballs, and four long, sharp fangs protruding from its gaping maw. It slowly pressed down, squeezed down, about to tear through the tent's fabric. Its long, crimson tongue twisted and turned, eager to swallow the tiny human inside.
It was almost there, almost there.
Ke Xun pressed the stone shard down, the dull pain cutting into his fragile skin. In that instant, all his fear, regret, resentment, and anger vanished.
He even felt a slight urge to laugh.
This thing above his head—was this what some sects called God?
What was the point of believing in it? Could it grant eternal life? Could it grant wealth? Could it keep family members together, and prevent separation in life and death?
If he could, he would believe in it.
But it couldn't. So he might as well believe in himself, in freedom, in willfulness, in doing as he pleased, in having control over his own joy and pain.
Ke Xun raised his middle finger high, and with his other hand, he held the stone shard, ready to press it against the carotid artery in his neck and slash it.
Author's Note:
Ke Xun: Dad, your son is going down to join you, mwah~
Dad: Get lost! Your mom and I finally got a few months of alone time, you little bastard, get the hell out of here!
Ke Xun: ...Am I really your biological son?
Dad: No. No. Don't make that claim.
Ke Xun: ...
Ke Xun: [Orphan Certification.jpg]