Qin Ci lowered his eyes, pondering and muttering to himself, "It seems we'll face the death of one or even several more tonight. Is there really no other way..."
Mu Yiran said, "I don't know much about the Satuo religion. My limited knowledge comes from what others have said. I think if we want to find the seal or avoid being harmed by that thing, we need to find a way to learn more about the Satuo religion.
"And the difficulty lies in the fact that the Satuo religion has many branches, each with its own almost independent doctrines and system of gods and demons, separate from the main religion. Sometimes, the definitions and settings of these doctrines and systems of gods and demons are even opposite. For example, something that is considered a demon in the main religion becomes a god in a branch. There are countless examples of this."
"Take this giant shadow, for example. We speculate it's the Eight-Armed Black Corpse Heaven, but the Eight-Armed Black Corpse Heaven varies in good and evil across different lineages, and its form is also diverse. In some lineages, it's a female deity; in others, a guardian deity; and in still others, it's human during the day and animal at night.
If we can't determine its affiliation, we can't focus our efforts. I think this is the key to finding clues."
Sha Liu, standing nearby, opened her mouth as if to say something, but hesitated and remained silent.
Dinner was eaten listlessly, and Geng's mother didn't eat a single bite, silently weeping.
Before nightfall, the middle-aged man entered and said, "Tonight, three people per tent. Remember, it must be three people per tent."
Silence fell.
Now there were nine people left. Three people per tent would be a perfect division, but it also meant that three people might die tonight.
"Then," Qin Ci said in a low voice, "Brother Geng's family of three will share one tent, and we'll divide the rest among ourselves."
"No! No, no!" "Geng Ma suddenly cried out, grabbed her child, rushed to Ke Xun, and pushed the child towards him. "Young man, I beg you, please let my son go with you tonight, okay? I beg you, I don't care if I die, I just want my son to get out of here alive—young man, you have the spiritual power, I beg you, please protect my son, he's still so young, he's so young, please have mercy..."
Geng Ma was about to kneel down and kowtow to Ke Xun, but Ke Xun stopped her.
"Okay, let him go with me." Ke Xun lowered his eyes to look at the mother before him, remembering that he too had once had a mother who loved him dearly.
Ke Xun didn't speak again, his gaze shifting from the weeping mother and son to the darkening night sky outside the tent. The snow-capped mountains reflected in his eyes, shimmering slightly in the wind.
Mu Yiran stood in the shadows where the snowlight didn't reach, watching him. The young man, his usual carefree and playful demeanor gone, now had deep, unwavering eyes and a striking profile.
"Brother Ke..." Sha Liu was about to speak to him, "Could I also..."
"Dongzi is in my group too." Ke Xun didn't even turn his face towards her, speaking calmly.
Sha Liu bit her lip, remaining silent.
Ke Xun pulled the child aside, called Wei Dong, and walked out of the tent. Passing Mu Yiran, Ke Xun stopped, turning his head to look at him: "Sorry. Take care." Mu
Yiran didn't say anything.
Ke Xun had already said that if it came to a life-or-death situation, and he had to choose between him and Wei Dong to live, he would choose Wei Dong.
Of course, Ke Xun had also said that if it came to a life-or-death situation, and Mu Yiran chose to save himself while sacrificing himself, he would never blame him.
Regarding the remaining six people, Mu Yiran suggested that Geng's parents form separate groups with the others.
Geng's father was stunned for a moment before understanding. Mu Yiran's suggestion was clearly to at least save one of them, lest the creature happen to target their tent, causing the child to lose both parents at once.
"Thank you," Geng's father said softly to Mu Yiran.
"No need," Mu Yiran said calmly, "I just don't want to see another person hiding family photos in a closet." "
I don't want to see another child whose heart is forever incomplete."
The remaining six people eventually separated by gender and headed towards their respective tents.
Before Mu Yiran could enter his tent, he saw Ke Xun leading the child and Wei Dong out of a nearby tent, directing the two to pull the tent towards him.
Mu Yiran stood outside the tent watching him until he saw him too.
"Guess what I thought of," he smiled at him, his features no longer as cold as mountains and seas, his eyes crinkling, "Why don't we pull the tents closer together? Three tents side by side, the distance between our hearts will be closer, what do you think?" Before Mu Yiran could
speak, Sha Liu poked her head out from a tent a little further away, somewhat alarmed: "If you're too close, won't we get caught in the crossfire? What if that thing accidentally kills everyone in two tents—it's safer to stay further away."
"What she said seems to make sense," Ke Xun stopped and looked at Mu Yiran, "What do you think?" "
Qin Ci's voice came from inside the tent: 'I think it's better to be closer. We might need you to be a firefighter and come over to fight that thing if we encounter any danger.'
Qin Ci made a joke, but Geng's father agreed with Ke Xun's idea. He wanted to be closer to his child, in case... in case that thing unfortunately chose Ke Xun's tent, even if he knew it was overestimating his abilities, he would fight it to the death for his child.
With no objections, Ke Xun and Wei Dong dragged their tent next to Mu Yiran's tent. The openings of the two tents were so close together that one could easily slip from one tent into the other.
Geng was inside Sha Liu's tent..." The mother wanted to be closer to her son, but Sha Liu dissuaded her, and she ultimately stayed at a distance.
Ke Xun had the child lie in the middle of the tent, while he and Wei Dong stood on either side. He was near the tent door and could easily lift the curtains of both tents, seeing Mu Yiran also on the side near the tent door.
It wasn't time to stop moving yet, and based on past experience, there was no danger at this time. Ke Xun didn't want to lie down, so he sat up, lifted the curtains to one side, and spoke to Mu Yiran, who was also sitting cross-legged.
"You really believe my power of faith can fight that monster?" Ke Xun rested his chin on his hand, his voice low and hoarse, sounding almost indulgent of someone's wild imagination.
"Don't think you can rest easy now," Mu Yiran said coldly, "Mental strength, like potential, can't be unleashed at any time, nor can it be unleashed whenever you want. It might depend on opportunity, it might depend on luck, and you might only have that one time in your entire life." "
You're so mean," Ke Xun sighed. "You just won't give me a word of encouragement. Maybe if you did, I could have a huge burst of energy and stay strong for a long time."
Wei Dong: "Heh."
Ke Xun: "Shut up."
Qin Ci: "Little Ke, love and grief are the two most effective ways to unleash potential. You can choose whichever suits you best and try it."
Ke Xun looked at Mu Yiran: "See, love can unleash potential, the doctor said so."
Mu Yiran gave him a cold stare: "Pain can also unleash potential. Do you want to try it?"
Ke Xun: "Look at this tent, it's so big and round, doesn't it look like an upside-down bowl?"
Ke Xun was merely changing the subject casually, but to his surprise, Mu Yiran's gaze suddenly sharpened, and
he stood up and stepped out of the tent. Ke Xun quickly followed, and when Mu Yiran was about ten steps away from the tent, he turned back and stared at it.
"Right, it looks like a bowl," Ke Xun said.
"Maybe it is a bowl," Mu Yiran retorted, turning and going back into his tent.
Ke Xun didn't return to his own tent but followed Mu Yiran to his. The four of them squeezed inside, and Mu Yiran looked up, scrutinizing the tent ceiling.
"I've noticed these tent tops too," Qin Ci said. "They have some intricate patterns, but most of them are faded and hard to see clearly over the years. Does Xiao Mu think something's wrong?"
"The skull bowl that Sha Liu mentioned is indeed an important ritual implement for certain sects of the Sataka religion," Mu Yiran replied to Qin Ci while staring at the tent. "The brain beneath the skull is believed to contain all of a person's soul power and life force. Most of the gods in certain sects like to use skulls to hold fresh human brains to eat, so they can possess a person's soul and life force."
Qin Ci was startled upon hearing this. He quickly touched the tent and examined it closely. After a long while, he exclaimed in surprise, "This tent… is made of thin human bone skin! Could this be…"
"Skull?!" Geng's father's expression was one of disgust and revulsion.
"So, we were all food for that thing from the very beginning," Ke Xun said. "The tent is a skull bowl, and we're the food inside, with our brains and bodies inside, souls and vitality, plus an underbelly."
"If we don't stay in the tent, can we avoid becoming food for that thing?" Geng's father quickly asked.
"Obviously not," Ke Xun said. "Li Ziling wasn't in the tent when she died."
Geng's father said sadly, "That's true, food that falls out of the bowl can still be picked up and eaten."
Mu Yiran didn't pay attention to what the others were saying, as he was carefully trying to discern the patterns on the tent's roof, but unfortunately, the patterns were very blurry.
Time flew by, and as night deepened, Ke Xun had to return to his own tent and lie down near the curtain.
Lying on his side, looking at the other side separated by the curtain, Mu Yiran's profile, illuminated by the snow, resembled a majestic and serene mountain range. Ke Xun couldn't help but reach out and trace his shadow on the tent with his finger. Starting from the forehead, there was a smooth arc, then it dipped to the slightly deep eye sockets, then rose, high and straight, to the prominent nose, before abruptly dipping again, the fingertips resting on the two soft, rounded curves.
Suddenly seeing Mu Yiran move, he quickly withdrew his hand, coughing lightly with a guilty conscience, then added, trying to cover up his misunderstanding, "Did you put any offerings in your tent?"
Qin Ci answered, "No, nothing. But I think Sha Liu left all the offerings behind
."
Geng's father seemed to only then realize this, and flew into a rage: "She's practically asking for death! She'll ruin my wife!"