Zhang Yangxu

While moving the body, Ning Zhe took the opportunity to swipe the phone from the pocket of the man in the vest. A hundred-yuan bill was tucked inside the black phone case, but there were no documents like an ID card or driver's license to confirm his identity.

Ning Zhe did not know the vest-wearing man's lock screen password, so he used the corpse's fingerprint to unlock the screen. Once unlocked, the first thing Ning Zhe did was enter the system settings and set the auto-lock to "Never," only then beginning to browse through the various information on the man's phone.

--About three hours after a person dies, the faint bioelectricity in their cells disappears completely; at that point, electronic devices like phones can no longer recognize their fingerprints.

The WeChat nickname of the man in the vest was "AAA Qiaogao Li Fitness Club - Coach Zhiyuan," and his real-name verification was "Lin *yuan."

Lin Zhiyuan had many WeChat friends, mostly female users labeled as "Client" or "Student." In a recent chat with a female client named Cai, Lin Zhiyuan mentioned that he was going back home to visit his elders and would have a colleague cover his shifts for a few days.

The other party replied with a "Miss you" sticker.

Browsing through his Moments, the last post Lin Zhiyuan made was yesterday morning. The content read, "The food at the service station is too expensive, greasy and overpriced. One meal and I'll need a month of dieting to recover," accompanied by a photo of an N1 coupe parked next to a charging station.

"Lin Zhiyuan was still complaining about greasy food at a highway service station yesterday morning, which means he entered the village at least after that." Ning Zhe recalled the circumstances of his own entry into He Family Village; he had been pulled in here at 7:00 AM, a few hours earlier than Lin Zhiyuan.

After confirming that data was turned on, Ning Zhe sent a "Are you there?" message to the female client named Cai.

A red exclamation mark appeared on the left side of the message, indicating it failed to send.

"As expected, it failed again." Ning Zhe was not surprised.

Checking the Call History and chat interfaces, he could see that Lin Zhiyuan had called contacts labeled as parents and girlfriend several times, and even used the carrier's emergency call function, but all these attempts to contact the outside world had failed.

Ning Zhe was not surprised by this, as he was in the same boat. Ever since entering He Family Village, he had completely lost all contact with the outside world. The 4G signal showed full bars, yet he couldn't send or receive a single message.

A normal person might feel frustrated by this situation, but Ning Zhe was not a normal person. For reasons unknown, he exited WeChat and used Lin Zhiyuan's phone to call his own number.

Buzz—buzz—

A buzzing vibration came from his thigh; the phone in his pocket began to ring.

At this moment, footsteps sounded outside the Ancestral Hall.

Ning Zhe hung up the phone, kept Lin Zhiyuan's phone screen lit, shoved it into his jacket pocket, and focused his attention on listening to the footsteps outside the door.

When Lin Zhiyuan had entered earlier, the sound of his air-cushioned sneakers on the yellow earth and stone slabs had been very muffled, but these footsteps were crisp and loud. The sound of hard heels tapping against the ground was rhythmic—not just one set of sounds, but two.

Ning Zhe's gaze remained fixed on the doorway. Walking in were a Middle-aged Man in a suit and leather shoes, and a long-haired woman wearing an OL uniform. Their exquisite leather shoes and high heels were stained with a few spots of yellow mud.

"How could it be him?" Ning Zhe was somewhat surprised.

He recognized the Middle-aged Man, though the man likely did not recognize him.

Ning Zhe knew this man from the news; his name was Zhang Yangxu, the head of the New World Group, the largest real estate development enterprise in Qinzhou. Ning Zhe had left school to return to his rural hometown precisely because Zhang Yangxu's company intended to acquire land nearby to develop a new industrial park in his hometown, Ancient Tablet Town. His family's house was on the list for demolition by Zhang Yangxu's company.

However, his Grandmother and Grandfather at home were illiterate, which was why he, a high school student still in school, had to ask for a few days off to go home.

"Zhang Yangxu was actually pulled into this place too... Right, I saw it on the local TV station news before. The executives of New World Group were coming to Ancient Tablet Town for a site inspection in the next few days to finalize the land acquisition contract with the local authorities. I never expected the president himself to come. The woman next to him must be Zhang Yangxu's secretary or assistant."

Relying on fragmented information, Ning Zhe roughly deduced the sequence of events: "Lin Zhiyuan was pulled in while returning home to visit relatives. I was pulled in on my way home to help my Grandmother and Grandfather look over the demolition contract. And Zhang Yangxu and that woman were pulled in while coming to Ancient Tablet Town for a site inspection?"

Did this eerie village called He Family Village have any connection to his hometown, Ancient Tablet Town?

Amidst his doubts, Ning Zhe watched as Zhang Yangxu and the woman in the OL uniform walked up to the Lotus Platform where the statue of the Snake God was enshrined.

Zhang Yangxu used one hand to take out his phone and turn on the flashlight, while the other hand pressed down on the yellow calendar paper fluttering in the wind, examining the content in detail. Soon, he developed the same confusion Lin Zhiyuan had earlier; the content of the yellow calendar did not match the taboo he had violated yesterday.

He glanced sideways at his phone screen, and his brow immediately furrowed: "Lunar calendar, the twenty-third day of the fourth month. It shows today's content. The calendar has been flipped."

Zhang Yangxu's voice was low, carrying a hint of a smoky voice, his tone calm and serious: "Someone has been here."

The woman beside him asked in a low voice: "Is it the villagers?"

Zhang Yangxu shook his head: "We already checked when we arrived. The Room Doors on the entire street were locked from the inside. Not a single villager has left their house tonight."

"Not the villagers? Then who...?" The woman's voice was puzzled and uncertain: "Could it be that besides us, there are others who have been pulled into this place?"

"It's possible." Zhang Yangxu did not deny it.

"...He just said that the two of them walked along the street and checked the locks on all the Room Doors. If that's the case?" Ning Zhe did a quick mental calculation, and a weight lifted from his heart: "It seems that if one only leaves the house to walk on the village streets, it does not violate the 'travel' taboo."

The taboo on travel must refer to something else.

Having determined the fortune for the day, Ning Zhe had no intention of further contact with Zhang Yangxu and his companion. In this environment, no one was worth trusting. A few steps behind the pillar where he was hiding was the Side Gate of the Ancestral Hall; it was time to leave from there.

Ning Zhe watched Zhang Yangxu and the woman discussing in front of the Snake God statue with vigilant eyes. With his back to the Side Gate, he lightened his steps and slowly retreated. The cold night wind poured in from outside the door, chilling his spine.

Before he could even retreat outside, suddenly, a scream filled with tears erupted from behind Ning Zhe.

"Who are you..."