He Really Wasn't Little Shan!

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"": ""Xiao Shan just..." Gu Ya began to explain.

The village chief raised his index finger to his lips and shot her an icy glance.

Gu Ya fell silent.

The village chief turned his gaze back to Luo Bin's face.

Luo Bin could tell at once that this village chief was not someone to cross...

Several details suddenly flashed through his mind.

When the knock had sounded, Gu Ya had said the village chief was here, and they mustn't let him find out.

When Luo Bin had first woken up, Luo Feng had said an evil spirit had killed the body's original owner and pulled out the nail on his left little finger.

It dawned on Luo Bin why Luo Feng had smashed his little finger!

His thoughts raced like lightning, and Luo Bin answered quietly, "I was with my parents all last night. How could I have gotten hurt? I touched the cremation platform just now, and when Dad tried to stop me, the back of his axe accidentally hit my finger..."

With that, Luo Bin pointed at the empty cremation platform.

There were obvious bloodstains at the end of the platform, and a small puddle on the floor.

"Don't touch the cremation platform. The Spirit Medium has drawn talismans on all the firewood beside it." A trace of displeasure showed on the village chief's face.

"Sorry, Chief. Xiao Shan doesn't know any better. We won't bring him in here again..." Luo Feng looked deeply apologetic.

The village chief said nothing and walked straight toward the cremation platform.

Sweat poured down Luo Bin's back.

The village chief crouched and pinched a bloodied fingernail out of the blood.

Luo Bin's heart felt like a giant pendulum swinging to its highest point.

Then the village chief stood and glanced into the tarnished copper oil lamp hanging from a slender iron chain. His tense expression relaxed considerably. "You mustn't touch anything in the Morgue. Don't bring him here again."

"Go straight home. Remember to close your doors and windows before dark, and light your oil lamp. Whatever you do, don't let it go out."

Had he bought it?

The tension abruptly drained from Luo Bin's heart, leaving his legs weak.

Luo Feng and Gu Ya agreed repeatedly and hurried Luo Bin out through the main doors.

Sunset streamed over him, and Luo Bin instinctively raised a hand to shield himself from the brightest light.

The long-missed sensation made Luo Bin want to cry.

Through the gaps between his fingers, he saw towering, magnificent mountains stretching in rolling ridges.

Dense vegetation and towering old trees covered the foothills. Along their outer edges stood courtyards of gray brick and dark roof tiles, single-story houses, and small multistory buildings. A concrete road ran through the village, with similarly arranged houses and courtyards on the other side, all encircled by the foothills.

The village was very quiet.

Luo Feng walked two steps ahead, his profile grim and cold.

Gu Ya held Luo Bin's hand, her steps just as hurried.

Villagers along the roadside carried hoes and sickles, with baskets strapped to their backs, and cast glances their way.

At first, their gazes were ordinary, but a flicker of alarm appeared when they glanced behind them.

Luo Bin looked back.

The place he had just left was an enormous single-room building, with a stone foundation and gray brick above. A blackened wooden plaque bore two neatly written white characters: "Morgue."

Quiet did not mean safe. From what he already knew, this village was dangerous, with evil spirits roaming at night to maim and kill!

And night was about to fall!

The villagers soon began hurrying on their way again.

Luo Bin looked away and silently followed Gu Ya and Luo Feng.

Fooling the village chief had only been the appetizer.

Though Gu Ya had no suspicions whatsoever, the original owner's father, Luo Feng, was the real problem.

Luo Bin didn't believe the village chief's sudden arrival would let him bluff his way through.

Luo Feng noticed every detail.

So much so that Luo Bin had barely spoken before he realized he wasn't Luo Shan.

So much so that the moment the village chief knocked, Luo Feng smashed Luo Bin's little finger, then pulled a fingernail off the corpse and tossed it into the blood to cover their tracks.

Without that, none of them would have made it out of the Morgue.

What puzzled Luo Bin was why Luo Feng had concealed the truth when the village chief arrived, despite already suspecting him. Wouldn't exposing him outright have been better?

Before long, the three stopped outside a small courtyard with a single-story house.

Once inside the courtyard, Luo Feng calmly closed the gate.

Gu Ya was leading Luo Bin toward the living room.

Suddenly, Luo Bin's hair stood on end.

His sixth sense told him something was wrong!

He spun around, his eyes nearly bulging out of their sockets.

A woodcutting cleaver pressed against the center of his chest. A little more force, and it would pierce his heart!

"Heavens, what are you doing? Are you possessed?" Gu Ya screamed.

"Who exactly are you?" Luo Feng's voice was chillingly cold.

Ten thousand curses thundered through Luo Bin's mind.

Suddenly, he rolled his eyes back and collapsed, his limbs sprawled awkwardly and his eyes squeezed shut.

"You really are possessed! You've scared Xiao Shan unconscious!" Gu Ya was so furious she burst into tears.

Then Luo Bin felt his head being lifted and a fingernail digging hard into the groove beneath his nose!

It hurt-an agonizing pain that pierced him to the core.

Wake up? There was absolutely no way he was waking up!

At a time like this, playing unconscious was his best way to stay out of it.

"He really isn't Xiao Shan... You've been fooled." Luo Feng sounded anxious and distressed.

"Then why didn't you tell the village chief just now? Let him decide!" Gu Ya was still sobbing, her voice filled with anguish.

"Don't give me all those excuses! Little Shan only just managed to survive. If you hurt him, I'll fight you to the death! You never liked Little Shan in the first place, so after the soul summoning, you kept saying the time was up and you had to cremate him! I know, I know it all. You think he'll never amount to anything! But as parents, shouldn't we be happy as long as our child grows up healthy?"

Gu Ya kept her tearful voice low, as though afraid someone would hear, but it carried a sharp edge and brooked no argument!

The courtyard fell silent.

Luo Feng said nothing more.

Gu Ya helped Luo Bin up and supported him into a room.

She removed his coat, shoes, and socks, laid him properly on the bed, and covered him with a quilt.

Her hand gently stroked Luo Bin's cheek.

Tears streamed down like beads from a broken string.

"I won't let you suffer any harm. No person, no thing, can take you away from me!" Gu Ya's voice was utterly resolute!

Only then did she rise.

Footsteps receded, and a door closed.

Luo Bin opened his eyes a slit. Once he was sure the room was empty, he quietly sat up.

The original owner's mother loved him deeply.

The original owner seemed to have been a good-for-nothing who had never amounted to much?

As he thought, Luo Bin inspected the room again.

Four bare white walls, a yellow cypress-wood bed, an old-fashioned desk, and a wardrobe. It was a simple room, with nothing else in it.

Luo Bin's mind was equally empty.

He had none of the original owner Luo Shan's memories.

He didn't know even the slightest thing about this place.

Such a dangerous village.

Such a difficult father.

How could he fit in here when he was a complete blank slate?

As his thoughts tangled, Luo Bin's gaze landed on the window in the room's back wall.

Wooden strips covered the entire window, nailed firmly at both ends.

Through the gaps, he could see pitch-black night beyond the glass.

Had it gotten dark that quickly?

Without warning, a face appeared in a gap, staring blankly into the room.

Luo Bin jumped, then his heart tightened. He immediately got out of bed and hurried to the window.

Though the gap was narrow, it gave him a considerably broader view.

The man outside looked about forty, with a round face, a low nose bridge, and heavy dark circles under his eyes. Wearing a white coat, he stood silently, staring motionlessly into the room.

"Doctor Xu? What are you doing here?" Luo Bin couldn't hide his delighted surprise.

Xu Kaiguo, his attending physician.

Ever since Luo Bin had become a regular at the hospital, he had been dealing with Xu Kaiguo for five or six years. They were more like friends than doctor and patient.

Luo Bin had never imagined he would find someone he knew in this strange, dangerous village!

"Shh! Keep your voice down. Don't let anyone hear you." Xu Kaiguo raised a finger to his lips, glancing cautiously at something.

Luo Bin's heart tightened slightly, and he didn't dare make a sound.

"The people in this house aren't normal. That couple are actually two evil spirits. They're extremely dangerous," Xu Kaiguo said gravely.

"This village is even less normal. You've only just arrived, so there's still a lot you don't know..."

"Hurry and open the window. I'll get you out."