The shadow of death was like a heavy, cold shroud, tightly wrapping the three of us in this dilapidated and hopeless house. The highly decomposed and strangely dead body became a silent declaration, completely shattering all our luck and tearing apart the fragile trust between us.

  Suspicion grew wildly in silence like poison ivy. Xiao Zhang had no intention of disguising his hostility and suspicion towards me. Sometimes he stared at me with gloomy eyes, as if I were a demon in human skin; sometimes he fell into a state of obsession, muttering about the non-existent "woman in white", and his mental state was extremely unstable. Meiling was completely immersed in her own world of fear. She no longer cried or spoke, but just wrapped herself tighter in the blanket and curled up in the corner of the bed, like a doll that had lost its soul and had lost all reaction to the outside world.

  The air in the room seemed to freeze and become so heavy that it was suffocating. No one spoke, no one moved. There was only the sound of each other's suppressed breathing, and the occasional creepy noises in the thick fog outside the window, or the whimpering of the wind blowing through the broken window, or the shrill night cries from afar, or. even more disturbing and vague whispers and scratching sounds.

  The third night. Terror has become a habit, despair has become the norm.

  I was also exhausted physically and mentally, but I didn't dare to sleep. On the one hand, I couldn't relax because I was worried and vigilant about Xiao Zhang's condition; on the other hand, after experiencing the "ghost pressing on my body", I developed a great fear of sleep itself, fearing that the cold and slippery touch and suffocating pressure would come again as soon as I closed my eyes.

  I leaned against the wall, still holding the stick in my arms, and listened attentively to every movement outside. In this extremely tense and depressing atmosphere, time seemed to be stretched to an infinite length.

  I don't know how long it took, maybe it was midnight, or maybe it was when the dew was heavier. When my consciousness began to blur due to extreme fatigue, the darkness in front of me began to distort and halo, a very faint but very strange sound suddenly penetrated the thick fog and silence and floated into my ears.

  That sound. didn't sound like crying, nor did it sound like scratching. Rather, it sounded like a low, strangely rhythmic chant? Or. a chanting sound?!

  My nerves were instantly tense!

  This sound was different from the chaotic and noisy chanting in the background that I heard the previous two nights. It was clearer and more concentrated. Although it was still low and vague and I couldn't understand the specific content, it contained an ancient, solemn, and strangely cold rhythm that constantly penetrated my eardrums and vibrated my heart!

  The sound seemed to come from.the direction of the ancestral hall in the center of the village!

  I subconsciously held my breath and carefully moved closer to the broken window, trying to see what was happening outside through the dirty glass fragments and thick fog.

  The night was as dark as a ferocious beast opening its mouth to breathe deeply. All I could see were distorted shadows and blurred outlines.

  But the low and rhythmic chanting continued, like an invisible thread pulling my curiosity and fear.

  Is that the old man?!

  Who else could it be besides him?!

  What is he doing? Chanting in the ancestral hall in the middle of the night? Is he performing some kind of ritual? Is this ritual. related to the body found yesterday? Is it related to the curse of this village?

  A series of questions rolled in my mind like boiling bubbles. The fear still existed, but a stronger, almost morbid desire to explore overwhelmed everything again. I must go and see! I must know what he is doing! Maybe. this is the key to solving all the mysteries!

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  I glanced at Xiao Zhang and Mei Ling, who were still in a daze. They seemed to be completely unaware of the sounds outside, immersed in their own world.

  This is fine. I don't need to explain myself or worry about being a burden.

  I made up my mind to take out the most important items in my backpack, including the camera, voice recorder, spare batteries, and the Swiss Army knife. Then I took a deep breath and quietly moved the debris against the door like a night cat, opened a gap just wide enough for one person to pass through, and then quietly closed the door again.

  The air outside was freezing cold, and the thick fog was mixed with an indescribable smell of corrosion. The low chanting sound was clearer and more eerie behind the wall. It was not like any Buddhist or Taoist scripture I was familiar with. The language felt very ancient, the rhythm was monotonous and repetitive, but it had a kind of unsettling magic, as if it could directly affect people's subconsciousness.

  I bent down and used the broken walls and overgrown vegetation as cover. With the extremely weak night light and my vague memory of the terrain, I carefully walked towards the ancestral hall in the center of the village.

  Every step was thrilling. The mud and gravel underfoot would make noises if you were not careful. The twisted black shadows around were like lurking ghosts. The thick fog was unpredictable, sometimes so thick that you couldn't see your hand in front of you, and sometimes a small gap would briefly reveal an even more terrifying outline of the ruins.

  My heart almost jumped out of my throat, and the cold sweat on my back had soaked through my clothes. I kept telling myself to stay calm, I must stay calm.

  Finally, after spending a lot of time and energy, I successfully hid behind a half-collapsed low wall not far from the ancestral hall. This position is relatively hidden and can barely see the situation in front of the ancestral hall.

  The low and strange chanting sound was now very close to me, like a devil's sound piercing my ears, making me feel dizzy and nauseous.

  I held my breath and carefully poked half of my head out from the gap in the low wall to look toward the door of the ancestral hall.

  The scene in front of me made me gasp for air instantly, and the blood in my body seemed to freeze in an instant!

  There was no light on the relatively empty dirt ground in front of the ancestral hall. But with the extremely weak and almost non-existent night light, I could vaguely see.

  The skinny, hunched old man was kneeling in a very strange posture, facing the tightly closed vermilion door of the ancestral hall!

  His upper body was straight, his arms were raised high, and he seemed to be holding something in his hands (I couldn't see clearly, like a black bowl or a vessel?). His head was raised so high that it felt like it would break off his neck in the next second, his face was facing the dark night sky, and the tongue in his mouth was sometimes extended and sometimes retracted, constantly making that low and strange chant!

  What's even more creepy is that there seems to be something placed in front of him!

  The light was too dim and the distance was too far for me to see clearly. But the outlines of those things. looked like. some small animal skeletons?! There were also some black, twisted strips of material that I couldn't tell?! And. a few clusters of candles that seemed to be slowly burning and emitting a strange burnt smell. or something else?!

  An ancient, evil, and primitively terrifying sacrificial scene appeared before my eyes without any warning!

  My mind went blank, only the most primitive fear was madly impacting my consciousness!

  What is he offering sacrifices to?! Is it the "white snake lady"? Or the "fox spirit"? Or. a darker, more evil existence?! Those bones. what kind of animals do they belong to? And those black strips. what are they?!

  Just when I was terrified and almost unable to control my screaming, the old man's chanting suddenly stopped.

  He slowly lowered his head and respectfully placed the black vessel in his hand between the offerings on the ground.

  Then, he made a move that was even more incomprehensible and frightening to me!

  He stretched out his right hand, which was as skinny as a chicken claw, and scratched his left wrist fiercely with his sharp nails!

  Although I couldn't see clearly, I seemed to be able to feel the sound of flesh being cut!

  Then he stretched his bleeding wrist over the black vessel!

  Tick-tock…tick-tock…

  It was as if there was a sticky liquid dripping into the vessel, and the sound was particularly clear in the dead silent night sky!

  He's. He's using his own blood for sacrifice?!

  Terror! Endless terror is like the cold sea water, completely drowning me!

  This old man. he's crazy! Completely crazy!

  Or.he is not a human at all?!

  I could no longer endure the horrifying scene before my eyes that was beyond my comprehension! I covered my mouth and dared not make a sound. My body was shaking violently, my hands and feet were so cold that I almost collapsed to the ground.

  I have to get out of here! Now! Right now!

  I didn't dare to look at him any more. I used all my willpower to control my trembling body, and quietly backed out from behind the low wall little by little. I slowly turned around and then desperately ran back in the direction I came from!

  The low and eerie chanting behind me seemed to sound again.