Ask Only of Your Arrival, Not of Your Departure

The sun was high up, and the dense water vapor settled over the basin, obscuring the scorching sun into a hazy blur before falling as a fine drizzle.

People always feel that time passes quickly when they have something to do. Through the hair-thin drizzle, Ning Zhe glanced at the time; it was already 11:49 AM, nearing lunchtime.

He could no longer remember how many offerings from various households he had eaten for the Snake God. His stomach, once stuffed to the brim with food, no longer felt bloated or painful, as if everything he had consumed before had never existed.

"It's about time." Ning Zhe put his phone back into his pocket, closed his eyes, and took a deep breath.

What he could do ended here. Soon, the villagers of He Family Village would begin preparing lunch. Whether his attempt to crack the rules of He Family Village would make progress depended on the next few decisive minutes.

"Let's go, back to the Ancestral Hall." Ning Zhe led the silent Feng Yushu through the bustling streets and alleys, heading toward the Ancestral Hall together.

If He Family Village at night was empty and desolate, giving off a sense of lonely deathly silence, then the village by day was the complete opposite. Walking on the bluestone-paved streets, Ning Zhe could see shops opening their doors and hanging lanterns for business. From traditional Chinese medicine herbs to children's toys, from peddlers pushing carts selling vegetables to the Miscellaneous Tavern filled with constant shouting, the entire village was overflowing with noisy vitality.

But this lively scene failed to dispel the worry and fear in Feng Yushu's heart, because the crowd walking on the streets—regardless of whether they were men or women, tall or short, fat or thin—each had their face covered by a square, withered piece of Yellow Paper, hiding their expressions and features.

The content written on the paper on everyone's face was different, but the commonality was that they were all people's names, and all started with the character "He".

Everyone in the entire He Family Village had used a piece of Yellow Paper to stick their own name onto their faces, living their lives as usual while covering their eyes, ears, mouths, and noses.

These faceless people moved very slowly, their joints turning with a stiff, stuttering motion. They looked like old, poorly maintained cars, running through the streets while looking back every three steps, imitating the bustling prosperity that once existed here. The more normal their daily scenes appeared, the more they gave off an indescribable, eerie feeling.

This feeling was not lethal, but it was incredibly uncomfortable and oppressive, as if something was about to arrive at any moment, yet it never actually did.

The hair-thin drizzle slanted down as the two returned to the Ancestral Hall through the rain.

Feng Yushu stood at the entrance and peered inside. The Ancestral Hall was still the same, and the Snake God was still the same statue, but something seemed different.

"Did you see it?" Ning Zhe said softly.

"See what?" Feng Yushu asked, puzzled.

"The Snake God." Ning Zhe gently brushed the raindrops off his shoulders, walked into the Ancestral Hall, and looked up at the Snake God on the Lotus Platform: "The Snake God looks different than before."

Feng Yushu looked closely, and sure enough, the Snake God before her was indeed different: the rot and decay on its body had become more obvious, a thick layer of mold had accumulated at the base of its scales, and milky-white hyphae grew wantonly... It was like an old man terminally ill, with only one last thread of breath left, lingering without passing away.

"The Snake God's illness has worsened." Feng Yushu looked at Ning Zhe and whispered: "Is it... because of you?"

"Who knows?" Ning Zhe spread his hands, lazily leaning his shoulder against the pillar to the left of the Snake God, and looked down at the time displayed on his phone screen.

He could feel that the decisive moment was about to arrive.

Waiting for results after completing a task is always the longest part, just like after a game ends, the score calculation is already fast, yet players always wish it could be faster, even faster.

The silence lasted for an unknown amount of time, until wisps of cooking smoke drifted out from the houses of He Family Village.

Ning Zhe knew that "something" had happened.

Driven by an inexplicable impulse, he looked up at the Snake God statue on the Lotus Platform. Its posture was still soaring, seemingly no different from a few minutes ago, but when Ning Zhe focused his gaze, he discovered an anomaly:

--The Snake God's right eye had also gone blind.

The right eye of the wooden Snake God statue had been filled with milky-white hyphae in just a few minutes; it was completely blind.

"Did it work...?"

The moment this thought occurred, Ning Zhe's vision went black, and without warning, he lost all perception of the surrounding world.

He felt a mass of ink-thick darkness envelop his brain. There was not a single ray of visible light. He had too many words to describe this darkness: vast, grand, profound, boundless, magnificent... yet every single word was inaccurate.

In the profound and silent darkness, Ning Zhe heard an Unusual Voice.

The drifting sound was as soft as the wind blowing from afar, or like the pattering rain currently falling outside the Ancestral Hall, with every raindrop being a clear, cold word.

If the villagers who gathered to worship the Snake God earlier had chanted a pile of complex sacrificial words with strange tones and unclear meanings, then the voice echoing in Ning Zhe's mind now sounded more like a Famous Actress with a refined figure, humming a tune for her lover in a hushed voice. The melody was winding and melodious, carrying a faint sense of sorrow:

[Longing for you, sighing, sighing, tears fill my eyes.]

[Thinking of you, waiting, waiting, fog fills the window.]

[Missing you for so long, fate, fate, flowers fill the room.]

The soft humming drifted into his ears, blurring his vision.

In the water-like mist, Ning Zhe dimly saw an open window. Outside the window, a fine drizzle was falling, and inside the window sat a charming young woman.

She wore a loose, bright red dress that could not hide her exquisite, curvaceous figure. She leaned lazily against the window, watching the drizzling rain outside. Her skin, like congealed fat, was even more lustrous than the jade bracelet on her wrist. Her face, with its obscured features, was as pale as snow, with a faint touch of Red Plum adorning the snow—her luscious, delicate lips, carrying a trace of lingering resentment.

Her bright red lips parted slightly, humming a melancholy, winding tune, like a wronged young wife snuggling in her Husband's arms, acting spoiled. Her rosy little mouth spoke only of resentment, yet her eyes held only tenderness that was abundant like water.

[Only asking for you to come, not asking for you to return.]

[Only for your sake, not hearing your sorrow...]

That gentle gaze fell upon Ning Zhe, making him shudder.

How could a person without facial features have such a clear gaze fixed upon him?

Ning Zhe woke up from the hallucination covered in cold sweat. Before him was still the dilapidated Ancestral Hall, the terminally ill Snake God was still enshrined on the Lotus Platform, and Feng Yushu was crouching beside him with a worried expression, nervously holding his shoulders.

"Ning Zhe, what happened to you?"

"I..." Ning Zhe closed his eyes and rubbed his temples: "I think I saw something just now? Or someone? I am certain I saw it, but I have forgotten... I can't remember it no matter how hard I try."

Ning Zhe's consciousness was still blurry from just waking up. He felt he had obtained very important information, but he could not recall the content at all. Only a mournful tune continued to echo in his mind, containing water-like tenderness, gentle yet deadly:

[Only asking for you to come, not asking for you to return.]

[Only for your sake, not hearing your sorrow...]