Half an hour later, outside the ruined ghost village in the valley, Annie, Daiyu, Tanchun, Zijuan, and Xueyan were still in the same place.
By then, night had fully fallen.
Cold winds swept through the valley, and miasma curled through the air. The ruined villages near and far lay utterly silent. Will-o'-the-wisps drifted between broken walls and rubble, while the air reeked of rot and ill omen.
Farther away, the mountains loomed like ink beneath a starless, moonless sky. Only from the depths of the valley and the barren graveyards at its foot did the occasional shrill caw of a crow break the silence, adding to the eerie dread.
"..."
"..."
Before Annie, Lin Daiyu and Tanchun stood side by side, staring at the village in the distance, which resembled the remains of some giant beast. Both of their faces had gone pale.
Beside them stood Zijuan and Xueyan, still shaken out of their wits!
Each had gone inside, one after the other, but neither had lasted even half an incense stick's time before fleeing in a worse state than the other.
Zijuan's hairpins were askew, her hair a mess, and her face as pale as paper. Xueyan looked even worse: the hem of her skirt was soaked, her whole body trembled like a leaf, and her face was streaked with tears. She had cried so hard that she'd nearly passed out. Clearly, something unspeakably terrifying had happened to her in there.
Their reactions were much like those in the nursery rhyme Annie had sung earlier.
Of the two, Xueyan had naturally been the most frightened!
Everyone had seen it. Those "ghosties" had really chased her all over the mountain!
By the time she ran out, she'd been crying so hard her face was drenched in tears. It also seemed