"": 200, "": "",
"": "The sunlight grew stronger, more dazzling.
There was no moss on the ground. It was actually a puddle, with the crown of the old tree beside it reflected in the water. The direct sunlight briefly blurred his vision, creating an illusion.
The shadow was normal, too. It was just the angle of the sunlight, along with that momentary daze.
He Gongde had walked some distance away. Luo Bin snapped to attention and hurried after him.
The path beneath his feet felt familiar, as though he had walked it before.
But... didn't I walk this path every day?
The houses and little courtyards before him clearly looked the same as always, yet Luo Bin felt something had changed. Inexplicable things kept popping into his mind.
In the blink of an eye, they reached the village entrance.
Luo Bin looked at an enormous old locust tree.
"Ghost Tree..." The words had barely left his mouth when He Gongde entered someone's courtyard. Quite a few villagers were gathered outside. Though they were watching the commotion, every face bore wariness and fear.
There was a child in the courtyard, apparently two or three years younger than Luo Bin, no more than ten.
Under the sunlight, his entire face was wooden and his eyes vacant. He looked dull and witless. His clothes were red, so red they seemed to have been soaked in blood.
He held his hands loosely raised, his toes off the ground, giving the impression that he was floating. He moved forward, turned, tilted his neck, then swung his arms a few times.
He Gongde held out his hand to Luo Bin. Luo Bin quickly opened the case and fished out something black: Old Donkey's hoof.
Taking the donkey hoof, He Gongde shoved it into