"It's already getting late. If you want to attend tomorrow's Grand Sacrifice Ceremony, I suggest you turn in early," the little girl said. "The town's inns, guesthouses, and unoccupied houses are all available to stay in. No payment is required."
"Has it ever been early?" Sun Hang looked up at the sky. Aside from the bright full moon, the pitch-black night had always blanketed the entire town. For people living in the Shu Province region, this night-after-night existence had gradually become routine.
"We need to make preparations for the ceremony, so we'll be taking our leave." The two little girls nodded slightly at Sun Hang, then turned and left.
In the blink of an eye, they turned into an alley and vanished from Sun Hang's sight.
Sun Hang hurried after them, but when he reached the spot where the two girls had disappeared, there was no alley at all—only a solid concrete wall between two houses.
Sun Hang walked over and shoved the concrete wall hard.
The wall did not budge.
Sun Hang inspected it carefully again, but it did not seem to conceal any secret passage or hidden door.
"Another illusion? They don't want me following them?" Sun Hang muttered to himself.
He reached up and touched his throat again. The huge hole was still there. He stuck his fingers into it and could even feel the mucous membrane lining his esophagus, as well as the texture of the muscles beneath it.
The edges of the hole were smooth, without the slightest sign of injury, as if the hole had always been a normal part of his anatomy—like eye sockets, nostrils, and a mouth, a "passage" connecting the human body to the outside world.
Sun Hang pondered for a moment, then took out his phone and switched the camera