C13 There be an oddity in the old wood

I no longer looked at the light, or at any reference around me, but took out my cell phone compass and looked for directions.

Because the needle's direction was very stable, he speculated that the magnetic field around this strange circle hadn't changed much. Therefore, if he followed the needle's direction to the east, there was hope for him to return to the village.

Worried that I would be affected by the other markers, I stared unwaveringly at the needle as I walked for more than half an hour with my head down.

When I couldn't help but look up, I found that the light that was always on had disappeared. However, I still couldn't see the village.

It was almost 12 o'clock, and the ghost door was open at midnight!

According to Wu Ji's words, with my physique, if I were to wander around in the middle of the night without any precautions, I would simply be a walking target.

The more I thought about it, the more I felt a chilly wind blowing around me. I slapped my cheeks hard to calm myself down and stopped thinking about random things. Perhaps it was as I had guessed, as long as I followed the directions of the needle, I would be able to return to the village.

After cheering myself on, I quickened my pace.

This time, before he had gone far, he saw a flash of light in front, and suddenly heard Wu Ji's voice.

"Nun Qing! Qing Sheng! " Wu Ji was shouting my name.

I was delighted and replied loudly.

Wu Ji saw me and strode over. He approached me and grabbed my shoulder, and sized me up, frowning as he asked if I was alright.

The moment I saw him, my heart felt a lot more at ease.

Wu Ji said that after he and his aunt discovered that I had gone missing, they called a few villagers to look for me everywhere, asking them why would they come here.

I looked around and still didn't know where I was. The countryside was similar to the land, and this place seemed completely unfamiliar.

After Wu Ji said this, I realized that I was already very far away from the village. There were a lot of forests nearby, if I went deeper, I would enter the old forest behind the village.

Earlier, my aunt had said that the old forest behind the village was very deep. Even if the old people from the village entered, it would still be difficult to get out. She urged me not to enter.

Hearing Wu Ji's words, I couldn't help but turn around to look. Behind me, it was still so dark that I couldn't see the road clearly.

But now that I think about it, if I hadn't discovered that light earlier, perhaps I would have been led into the old forest by now.

At that time, even if it were day time, it would still be difficult for me to walk out of there in a short period of time.

I still had lingering fear in my heart as I followed Wu Ji home. After receiving the news, Big Aunt and the villagers had already returned to wait for me. When they saw that I had returned safely, they all heaved sighs of relief.

My aunt was a little angry and said that if I ran around any longer I would be sent back to the city and would not be allowed to stay with her again.

Even so, she held on to my hand as if I were really going to walk away.

Later, when the villagers and my aunt learned that I had accidentally almost walked into the old woods behind the village, everyone suddenly became very silent, looking at each other with fear.

I did not know to ask if there was anything strange about that old forest, why did everyone's expression become so strange when they heard about that old forest.

Eldest Aunt didn't answer immediately, but instead thanked the villagers and sent them off before answering my question.

It turned out that the old forest behind the village had another name: 'Xiao Xi Kou'.

Rumors had it that there were man-eating demons living in the Xiao Xi Kou.

Anyone who entered the forest to wake up the demons would be skinned and eaten clean. Therefore, even if the villagers were willing to starve in these desolate years, no one would be willing to enter the Xiao Xi Kou to search for food.

However, during the early Cultural Revolution, everyone wanted to get rid of the four old people. Even if they didn't have the four old people, they had to think of ways to get rid of them.

In the past, there were a few villager, Zhiqing, who heard of this legend and refused to believe it. They dragged the villagers and Zhiqing, a total of six people, and entered Xiao Xi Kou together, saying that they wanted to eliminate the demon from the Xiao Xi Kou.

The village chief did not dare to say too much, because if he were to say too much, he might be dragged along like a ghost or a snake into a bullpen. He could only watch helplessly as the six youths entered the old forest.

The six of them entered the forest for two days without any news. The village chief was worried that if these few youngsters died in the village, there would be no explanation for the organization, so he arranged for a few brave young adults to enter Xiao Xi Kou to look for people.

The village chief and his group wandered around the forest for an entire day and night, but not only did they not see any of those knowledgeable youths, even they themselves had lost their way.

Everyone in the village grew up listening to about Xiao Xi Kou, and from the bottom of their hearts, they felt a sense of dread. Upon discovering that they were lost, every single one of them panicked, thinking that a monster was coming out to eat humans.

Once a person's heart was occupied by fear, they would involuntarily begin to let their imagination run wild as they imagined all sorts of scary things.

One of the Big Man s saw the hare and chased after it. When the Village Chief and the others came back to their senses, he had already disappeared without a trace, and they had not seen him for a long time.

A living person disappeared in the blink of an eye. Everyone was even more convinced that there was a monster in the forest. Some were timid and ran away in fright. No matter how the village chief shouted, he could not stop it.

In the end, only the village chief and two young men remained.

The three of them thought that they wouldn't be able to find him, or perhaps those who knew had already found their way back to the village. In short, it was more important for them to find a way out and protect their own lives.

After a period of five days, the three finally returned to the village. The three of them were in a sorry state and were in a trance. One of them was seriously injured and had lost half of his right arm.

When the Village Chief found out that none of Zhi Qing's people had returned, he did not seem surprised at all. Furthermore, he continued to mutter, "Dead! Dead!". Everyone could tell that the Village Chief must have encountered something extremely terrifying.

Furthermore, ever since that incident, the Village Chief and the other two men had become somewhat strange.

The village chief used to be a person who liked to joke around, but after Xiao Xi Kou came back, he had to stay at home all day depressed and not see anyone.

Two months later, in the morning, when the Village Head's wife opened her eyes, she saw him hanging on her house's beam, his eyes bulging and his tongue sticking out about a foot long.

At the same time, another young man, who had entered Xiao Xi Kou with the village chief, was found drowned in a pond at the edge of the village.

Until now, out of the two groups of people who had entered the Xiao Xi Kou, only the robust young man with half of his right arm still lived. However, after receiving some unknown stimulation, his brain wasn't very bright, and he was sometimes no different from a normal person.

Since then, no one in the village dared to approach Xiao Xi Kou.

However, a few years ago, a team said that they were doing geological exploration and entered Xiao Xi Kou to do terrain research.

A group of a dozen or so people, together with messy equipment, majestically entered Xiao Xi Kou. Half a month later, three people came out, all of them in miserable states, and their bodies smelled even worse than if they had fallen into a fecal pit.

I listened intently, waiting to continue listening. But my aunt stopped talking and finished.

Wu Ji turned his head and asked me how I entered the forest.

I then explained everything that had happened in detail.

Wu Ji frowned and fell silent, then asked his if she knew what was inside the Xiao Xi Kou.

I understand Wu Ji suspects that there is some kind of cultivation species in the Xiao Xi Kou.

The big aunt closed her eyes for a minute or two, then opened them again after a minute or two, saying that none of the deities could enter Xiao Xi Kou.

Wu Ji said that was strange, what exactly was powerful about Xiao Xi Kou, that could cause so many people to be unable to return.

The aunt said that most of the things that people knew were told by the old people in the village, as well as by that one-armed Ah San when he was in his right mind.

Therefore, no one could be sure whether what happened in the forest was real or fake, but what they could be sure of was that there was definitely something inside the Xiao Xi Kou, and it was better not to provoke it.

After hearing all of this, my curiosity towards Xiao Xi Kou had already completely covered up my previous fear.

Wu Ji, on the other hand, asked his whether the three surviving geological exploration team members had revealed anything.

The aunt said no, the three of them returned to the village in a sorry state. That night, they returned to the city and didn't come again.