The 35th Chapter: Ancient Family Village

A few minutes later, the five people walked out of the small forest, facing the side of the mountain, which resembled a sleeping giant. The sky was a dull gray-blue, and the black night was about to engulf the quiet valley.

Before them was a dried-up pond, to the left of which was a vegetable garden surrounded by bamboo fences, long abandoned and overgrown with weeds.

Behind the pond and the vegetable garden was a small village, with a dozen houses arranged in a staggered pattern at the foot of the mountain, all built from yellow clay bricks and crumbling with age.

A small stone path ran through the front yards of the houses, curving up the slope, and at the top was a house made of black bricks and white tiles, which appeared to be an old ancestral hall.

The five of them followed the small dirt path along the pond and through the vegetable garden, arriving at the entrance of the village.

The night had completely fallen, and there was no one in the village. All they could hear were the eerie sounds of the wind, the faint chirping of insects, and some unidentifiable strange noises.

Officer Wu took out a flashlight and illuminated a cracked stone tablet on the ground, with the character "古" (Ancient) also cracked in a strange manner.

"Wait, wait a minute..." Fat Jun's face turned pale, and his throat tightened, "I... I suddenly feel unwell, I might be having a reaction. How about I go back to the basement of the villa and tie myself up, just stay there quietly."

To be honest, Gao Yang also felt a little uneasy. After all, this was a village where a massacre and a mass disappearance had occurred, but since they had come this far, considering the sunk cost, they decided to press on.

Wang Zikai put his hands in his pockets, holding a flashlight in one hand, walking with a nonchalant stride. He kicked over a bamboo basket on the side of the road, completely unaware of what fear was.

Qing Ling showed no expression, but her demeanor and actions suggested caution.

"Are you that scared?" Officer Huang asked Fat Jun.

"Officer Huang, this place really feels creepy," Fat Jun, like a startled bird, looked around frantically. "I once went to a fortune teller, and he said my body type easily attracts unclean things and told me to avoid places with heavy yin energy. This place feels so sinister, it's really uncomfortable..."

"I'm an atheist. If you're scared, just go back on your own," Officer Huang said, not forcing him.

Fat Jun looked back at the path they came from. The sky was completely dark, and the darkness seemed to hide countless dangers. He hesitated for a moment, but the other four had already started walking ahead. Left behind, Fat Jun felt the air around him grow even colder. He shivered and hurried to catch up. "Hey, wait for me!"

The five quickly climbed up the small hill and arrived at the ancestral hall at the farthest end of the village.

The hall was built against a mountain cliff, with two small stone lions standing in front, their expressions fierce. The walls, made of green bricks, were covered in damp moss. The black paint on the door had peeled off, and above it hung a plaque, covered in dust and cobwebs, with the characters "古氏宗祠" (Gu Family Ancestral Hall) faintly visible from right to left.

Officer Huang approached the black door, grabbed the lion-shaped door knocker, and lightly knocked three times.

"Bang, bang, bang." The door made a deep, aged sound that echoed in the darkness.

"We've knocked, can we go in now?" Officer Huang turned to Fat Jun.

Fat Jun, his large body shrinking behind Gao Yang, peered out with only his round head showing. "You... don't ask me... how would I know?"

Officer Huang inserted the brass key into the lock. "That's right, it's this lock, it matches."

He took a deep breath and turned the copper lock. There was a crisp "click."

Gao Yang felt something was off.

Sure enough, Officer Huang smiled bitterly. "Looks like the key broke."

"Move aside! You're all too slow!" Wang Zikai had already rolled up his sleeves, eager to try. He rushed forward and kicked the door open.

"Bang!" Due to excessive force, half of the door fell off and crashed to the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust.

"Brats! Your grandpa is here!" Wang Zikai rushed in ahead.

The others looked at each other and quickly followed.

Inside the door was a square courtyard, surrounded by two-story buildings on three sides, with an ancient and elegant appearance. Above, there was an open skylight through which faint light streamed down, landing on a dry well in the center of the courtyard.

In front of the dry well was the open door to the ancestral hall.

"Is this it? Where's the enemy? Where's the lizard monster!" Wang Zikai stood beneath the skylight, one foot on the edge of the dry well, looking disappointed.

Officer Huang glanced at Gao Yang. "Do you know how to use a gun?"

Gao Yang shook his head, then thought for a moment. "I have a copying ability."

"Alright." Officer Huang took out a handgun and handed it to Gao Yang.

Gao Yang took it and also held Officer Huang's hand.

A second later, he successfully copied Officer Huang's 3rd-level Gunslinger talent, and a wealth of knowledge about firearms, shooting experience, and muscle memory flooded his mind.

Gao Yang held the gun with his right hand, the barrel pointing down. He unloaded the magazine, checked the bullets, then reloaded it, performing the actions fluidly.

"Model 92, 15 rounds, effective range of 50 meters, use it sparingly," Officer Huang said.

"Actually... my copying ability lasts only three seconds," Gao Yang smiled bitterly.

"You... that's too fast," Officer Huang was astonished.

"Exactly! A man can't be a slow gunman!" Wang Zikai laughed loudly from the side.

Gao Yang rolled his eyes: This idiot, I should never have saved him!

"Hopefully, we won't run into any tricky enemies." Officer Huang said, then looked at Fat Jun. "And the bull demons and snakes."

Gao Yang and Qing Ling each held a weapon, covering Officer Huang as they entered the ancestral hall.

Inside, the hall was quite ordinary, with an inset wall cabinet covered by a thin white sand curtain, filled with spirit tablets. Above the tablets was a plaque with four large characters: "祖德流芳" (The Virtue of the Ancestors Endures).

In front of the tablets was an altar with some half-burned candles, incense remnants, and several empty plates for offerings.

"Gu Huawen, Gu Huawu... Gu Rongjie... Gu Changxue..." Wang Zikai shone his flashlight on the spirit tablets, reading from the bottom to the top.

"Stop reading! Please stop!" Fat Jun hurriedly ran out of the hall.

"Look at you, so scared!" Wang Zikai sneered.

"Zikai! A massacre happened here!" Fat Jun was both scared and agitated. "Later, the whole village disappeared, who knows what happened! These are all vengeful spirits! Are you trying to summon them by calling their names?!"

"Now that you mention it, I remember a movie I watched once." Wang Zikai scratched his chin. "I think it was called Village Old Corpse or Mountain Village Corpse, about a vengeful spirit that killed everyone in the village..."

"Enough, stop talking." Gao Yang stopped Wang Zikai, and honestly, if this continued, Gao Yang would start getting chills, too.

In fact, from the moment they stepped into the ancestral hall, Gao Yang had felt something was off, like something in the darkness was watching them. But when he checked his system, the "luck" bonus hadn't doubled, which meant there was no immediate danger.

Gao Yang looked at Officer Huang. "What should we do next?"

"What did White Rabbit say about the assessment?"

"Find the door with this key and explore it," Qing Ling repeated White Rabbit's words.

"Well, we've explored, what are we waiting for? Let's get out of here..." Before Fat Jun could finish his sentence, his face turned pale, "What sound is that!"

"Rustle—rustle—rustle rustle—"

Suddenly, everyone heard the eerie sound, as if countless tiny snakes were moving rapidly in the darkness of the ancestral hall.

"My God! A ghost..." Fat Jun covered his head and ran out of the hall.

"Stop!" Gao Yang shouted, but it was too late.

"Rustle—" Countless strands of black hair shot out from the dry well in the center of the courtyard, spreading like seaweed in a lake under the pale moonlight, filling the entire courtyard of the ancestral hall. A second later, they rapidly rushed toward Fat Jun and quickly bound him into a black "human mummy."

"Help me..." Fat Jun's pupils dilated as he reached out desperately toward Gao Yang.