The Burned Witch Doctor

The view was desolate; a page was turned by the wind, and dust filled the air.

The houses were not far apart, and were messy, dilapidated, and overgrown with weeds.

Under the sunlight, these old-fashioned cottages were covered with cobwebs, and some had even collapsed, turning into ruins through weathering.

Yu Xing stood there, stunned, a thought swirling in her mind: How could this be...?

He stepped onto the ground outside, his heart pounding, and glanced back.

The house belonging to Old Zhang's family was no different from the other small houses. Although it hadn't collapsed, it was so old that it looked like no one had lived there for a long time. Hunting ropes and nets hung on the outer wall, faded and rotten, as if they would break if pulled.

"..." Yu Xing was a little scared and shrank back.

He seemed to have just slept in a little longer, but it feels like everything has changed since he woke up.

Where's Old Zhang? Where's the woman who gave him porridge? And where's Mai Mai?

Was it a hallucination? But... how do you explain the new bandages on his body and the pants, which, although a bit old, were clearly very clean?

He walked cautiously for a while, confirming that there was no one in the small village and that the village was surrounded by mountains and forests, the destination of which he did not know.

A sense of loneliness welled up inside Yu Xing blinked and returned to Old Zhang's house.

This place is strange, he thought.

He went into the kitchen, trying to find any trace of the Old Zhang family's recent presence, but he was disappointed. There was no food in the kitchen; instead, there was much more mold in some of the crevices than in other places.

"What... happened here before?" Yu Xing squatted down, observed carefully for a while, and a guess arose in her mind.

He searched through Old Zhang's house and found a rusty kitchen knife and some other small tools among the cobwebs and ubiquitous nameless insects. He wrapped them in a tablecloth that had been gnawed by insects and carried them with him.

"I have to find the reason..." Although he had amnesia and couldn't remember his past, and was full of doubts about the current strange events, it didn't mean he would just sit idly by and wait for death.

He seems to be born with a nature that doesn't back down, even if there are unknown dangers around him.

Yu Xing decided to search all the huts she could still enter first, with the main goal of figuring out why the village was abandoned. For example, had the entire village moved away, or had they encountered some kind of accident? It would be even better if she could find some usable supplies.

He has no idea why he ended up here.

Old Zhang's house was located on the very edge of the small village. Using this house as a base, Yu Xing first walked around the village, memorizing the location and collapse status of all the houses, and completed a simple map in his mind.

This place is really small, with only twelve rooms at most, which means twelve households. Yu Xing numbered them for easy record-keeping.

"..." He still didn't speak, listening to the sound of the wind rustling through the weeds, and walked into house number two.

This is a well-preserved house, unlike the surrounding houses number three, four, and five, which have collapsed into ruins and are completely blocked, making it impossible to enter.

Yu Xing reached out and pushed open the door, the harsh scraping sound making him frown.

Under the sunlight, the dust particles became visible. Yu Xing was choked by these particles and coughed violently several times, feeling as if a wound in his chest was about to burst open.

He wiped away the tears that came out of his mouth and squinted as he looked into the room.

The room was a mess.

All the small items were thrown to the ground, and the larger items were also overturned.

The table was tilted to one side, supported by its four wooden legs, with the tabletop against the wall, as if it had been thrown over there by someone.

Yu Xing sniffed and smelled a strong, pungent moldy odor.

The floor was dirty, but Yu Xing couldn't care less about that now. He went inside and then noticed something was wrong with the wall.

What are these?

Large patches of black marks were splattered on the wall, but since the wall was already black and yellow, it wasn't noticeable unless you looked closely.

The black marks appeared here and there, but strangely, they disappeared completely once they reached within a meter of the ground.

With intense unease, Yu Xing approached to examine them closely. These black marks were so old that they had long since blended into other things and could not be separated.

"Is it blood?" The bloodstains, dried for too long, turned from red to dark brown, and finally to black.

His intuition told him he was right; this place seemed to have witnessed a death.

But why does the bloodstain disappear down there?

It was probably wiped off.

Yu Xing remembered this and didn't waste time on other ordinary things. After observing the state of the damaged things on the ground, she started searching for cabinets that could still be opened.

These pieces of furniture are all old-fashioned. Although Yu Xing couldn't recall seeing any newer styles before, the idea naturally came to mind.

He opened each drawer, not quite sure what he was looking for, but he felt he would find some useful information.

No.

The drawers were either filled with rotten banknotes, the remains of unimportant everyday items, or completely empty.

"Never mind..." Yu Xing murmured, walking towards the door. As she passed the door, she saw a hoe lying on the ground.

He paused in his steps.

During the subsequent investigation, while searching for clues, he also paid attention to whether there were any hoes in the other houses, and sure enough, almost every house had one.

Moreover, the furnishings in each room were in a mess, with some bearing bloodstains. It could be said that, apart from Old Zhang's house, which was relatively intact, the other rooms looked as if they had been robbed by bandits.

After searching all six small houses out of the twelve (excluding Old Zhang and the five that had already collapsed), Yu Xing had to admit, "There are no clues."

The sun was high overhead, and he searched each house carefully, which still took him quite a while.

"Gurgle..." Yu Xing's stomach, wrapped in bandages, began to rumble with hunger, but there was nothing she could do.

There's nothing to eat here, and he doesn't even know if there are any animals left in the forest. Even if there are, he won't hunt them.

"Never mind, let's walk around and see if there are any other villages." He guessed that there was more than just this one small village of twelve households in this area, because he saw hoes in the villagers' homes, but he didn't see any fields.

This suggests that there should be a separately cultivated field nearby.

The plots of land available for cultivation are usually not small, so it seems a bit unfair to only give them to these twelve families to farm.

After thinking for a while, Yu Xing decided to go in the opposite direction from Old Zhang, since he had fainted at the entrance of Old Zhang, which meant that he came from the direction of Old Zhang.

There's something in that direction that could hurt him. What if he runs into it again as he walks along? Wouldn't he be walking right into a trap?

It's better to go in a direction that might be safer.

The trees in the mountains were sparse, with a few uprooted and falling towards the village. The more Yu Xing walked, the more he felt the deathly silence around him. Even with the sunlight shining on him, he still felt a lingering gloom.

Touching the rusty kitchen knife he carried, Yu Xing felt goosebumps rise on his skin. He unconsciously looked around erratically, muttering, "... How scary."

Fortunately, after walking for about ten minutes, Yu Xing saw a very hidden path that was covered by grass and trees, clearly worn out by people. He knew then that he had come to the right place.

Sure enough, there was a field not far ahead. It wasn't very obvious, but the area was relatively flat and there were faint traces of it having been cultivated. However, it was now abandoned.

Yu Xing crossed the field and continued walking forward.

He also wanted to try walking directly out of the forest and into areas with human activity.

He has no food or water, and is covered in injuries. He is clearly not suited for wilderness survival, especially since he has no relevant knowledge. He will most likely die.

However, when it comes to her injuries, Yu Xing feels that she has recovered very quickly, and many of her wounds no longer hurt.

After walking for a while, he saw the outline of a large village in the distance.

However, at this moment, the sun hid behind the clouds and slowly set, and it was getting dark again.

The flow of time was abnormal, as if it had been sped up four times. Yu Xing realized something was wrong and hesitated for a while.

"Isn't a normal day 24 hours?" He almost doubted his common sense, since he had no memory of anything to support his idea.

"This is too eerie. Everything has been strange since I woke up... Am I really not dreaming?" As the sky visibly darkened, Yu Xing shook his head and quickened his pace toward the large village.

As he approached, he could see wisps of smoke rising from chimneys, and he couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief—there were people in this village, so he wouldn't starve to death in the mountains.

But he looked so disheveled that the villagers might mistake him for some strange, uninvited guest.

He finally stepped into the village, which looked very large, took a deep breath, and knocked on the first door.

"Knock knock knock."

Is anyone home?

Yu Xing called out somewhat nervously.

A dozen seconds later, the door opened, and a thin middle-aged man peeked out, clearly startled when he saw Yu Xing.

Yu Xing hurriedly said, "Hello, I'm just passing by, could you...?"

"Bang!" The man suddenly slammed the door shut with a look of disgust.

Yu Xing: "..."

Is it really necessary?

He turned and knocked on another door; this time, a thin woman answered.

The woman at least didn't slam the door shut, but she stood there, wedging herself in the crack, looking wary. "Who are you?"

"Hello, I'm just passing by, I'd like to..."

"Don't look for me." The woman interrupted Yu Xing, her face numb and cold, pointing in one direction, "Go find the Witch Doctor. Only Witch Doctor allows you to stay will we take you in."

Witch Doctor?

Yu Xing followed her finger and looked over there. There was only one house, which was the largest house in the village at a glance.

He sincerely said to the woman, "Okay, thank you..."

"Bang!" The woman closed the door as well.

"..."

Why were they so mean to me?

Yu Xing felt a little wronged, as if the whole world disliked her.

That makes sense; the Old Zhang family and the two villagers he sees now are the whole world he remembers.

He even wondered: Was it because I'm too ugly that I scared them?

After much hesitation, he decided to go see the Witch Doctor.

Let him be scared, he doesn't want to starve to death anyway.

The Witch Doctor's dwelling was larger than it appeared from a distance, and a fence surrounded the house.

"Aren't pigsties and chicken coops usually fenced off? Why would you fence off a house to prevent someone from escaping?" A thought flashed through Yu Xing's mind as she pushed open the fence.

He looked back and saw that it was evening at the restaurant. Many families were cooking, and although no one came out, the smoke from the chimneys carried the aroma of food, making Yu Xing somewhat dazed.

I'm so hungry... so hungry... so hungry...

The Witch Doctor's house was deserted and quiet, with no smoke coming from the chimney.

Yu Xing placed her hand on the wooden door, her heart suddenly racing.

It seems like something bad is about to happen.

It was a strange premonition that came without warning, Yu Xing didn't know whether she should believe it or not.

However, nothing good seems to have happened since he woke up; at worst, it can't be worse than starving to death.

So he knocked on the door.

"Thump..."

The moment my finger touched the door, it opened a crack by itself, indicating that it hadn't been closed at all.

Yu Xing didn't go in immediately; an indescribable feeling gripped his legs, making it impossible for him to take a step.

A cool breeze came through the crack in the door, brushing against his exposed, fair skin. As if possessed, he secretly peeked through the crack.

There was no light inside; a piece of clothing swayed through the darkness.

Yu Xing was startled and took a step back, but then couldn't help but continue watching.

He wasn't mistaken; it really was a hem of a garment... hanging from the roof beam, swaying back and forth.

The man's legs hung limply, stiff and straight, his eyes wide as he stared at the man peeking through the crack in the door.

The body was soaked through, and drops of water dripped from the tips of its shoes, pooling into a shadow on the ground.

Yu Xing was only surprised for a moment, but when the light from outside slightly illuminated the room, he could see the face of the person who had hanged himself.

"Old Zhang!" Yu Xing covered her mouth in fright, preventing herself from making a sound.

How so?

What happened to Old Zhang here, and why is he hanged?

His pupils constricted as a surge of grief and anger, not of his own volition, welled up within him. He thought he was merely terrified, not yet deeply saddened by the death of Old Zhang, whom he had only met once. Yet, the feelings within him erupted uncontrollably without his permission.

It was as if... he had experienced all of this before.

It's not just Old Zhang.

The wind blew the crack in the door wider, Yu Xing to see more.

Old Zhang's wife, who served him porridge, the shy yet curious and agile Mai Mai, and many other people he didn't recognize—men and women, young and old—were all suspended by hemp ropes, with a puddle of water beneath each person that was constantly filling up.

There were many figures inside.

The corpses inside were swaying like pendulums.

Just like the ghostly child Toshio in Ju-on who played by pushing hanging corpses, the scene before me seemed as if countless hands were pushing the corpses.

Wait, what is Ju-on?

Yu Xing thought blankly.

But this was just a fleeting thought; for now, he was terrified.

Is this place, filled with corpses, the Witch Doctor's home?

He might as well starve to death! He's going back; he doesn't want to go inside!

"What are you looking at?" Suddenly, a deep female voice sounded from behind Yu Xing a chill run from the soles of her feet to the top of her head, and she shuddered.

He turned around stiffly and, in that instant, saw an ugly woman standing right in front of him.

The woman had a good figure, wearing a Chinese-style black dress that seemed out of place in the village, and her hair was styled in a beautiful and elegant updo, exuding sophistication.

It's a pity about that face; it's probably burned. Most of the face is covered with scars and obvious scabs, and one eye has no eyelid, leaving the eyeball exposed to the air, as if it's constantly glaring at others with resentment.

For example, right now, she's glaring at Yu Xing as if she wants to strangle Yu Xing.

"Ah!" Yu Xing cried out in alarm, his face filled with fear as he backed away. His bare feet stepped on a rather sharp stone, and he cried out in pain, losing his balance and falling directly to the ground.

With a buzzing in his head, Yu Xing looked up with a pained expression, only to be stunned again.

Before him stood a beautiful woman with smooth, fair skin. Her features were a delicate balance between softness and sharpness. Time had left faint traces around her eyes, but had compensated with a profound air of elegance.

What burns and scars?

The woman seemed surprised and somewhat displeased by his strong reaction, but still asked, "Are you alright?"

Alarm bells rang in Yu Xing's mind.

Regardless of which version of her image is real, what does it mean that such an extraordinary woman is present here?

This means that her status is different from that of the villagers.

She's Witch Doctor!

A dangerous person with many corpses hanging in the room!

Yu Xing got up on his own, relieved that his feet weren't cut. He tried to remain calm. "It's okay, it's okay."

"You're afraid when you see me?" The woman's tone was as full of doubt as coldness, and she took a step closer to him.

At that moment, Yu Xing herself didn't know why, but a sudden thought came to her, "I'm sorry! I... I have low self-esteem..."

"Oh?" The woman's coldness lessened, replaced by a hint of surprise. A smile played on her lips as she asked with interest, "What are you insecure about?"

"I... I'm covered in scars, I'm so ugly..." Yu Xing said, covering his chest and abdomen with bandages, which was of course futile; it was just a way to get the woman to notice his injuries.

His expression was downcast, and his voice was hurried. "I don't know where I came from, who I am, why I have such a useless body, and... and long hair... I'm sorry, I'll scare you, I'm sorry, I'm sorry..."

The woman looked him up and down, then her gaze lingered on his face, her expression softening suddenly. "It sounds like you're a lost child."

She smiled and patted Yu Xing's head, glancing at his long hair, which resembled that of men from ancient times. "Don't worry, you're not ugly at all. Your body is the most perfect I've ever seen, and your appearance is the envy of many. Believe me, once your wounds heal, you'll be incredibly handsome..."

The moment her hand touched his head, Yu Xing felt as if a cold, damp energy flowed through his limbs and torso, making it difficult for him to breathe and causing him to feel dizzy.

A metallic taste rose in his throat, and he couldn't help it; a trickle of scarlet liquid slowly seeped from the corner of his mouth.