You think you can?

"": 200,

"": "",

"": ""There are a lot of outsiders in the village, aren't there?" Luo Bin asked quietly again.

"Almost everyone started out as an outsider, so they understand better than anyone how unpredictable outsiders can be. Rejecting them at first is inevitable. Plenty of people used to harbor the same needless kindness as you. In the end, they all became handfuls of ash." Luo Feng's words carried a pointed implication.

Luo Bin fell silent. His gaze swept over the vehicles again, the blazing sun making his vision swim.

"Has no one ever made it out?"

"Everyone wants to leave, but no one has any way to leave." Luo Feng repeated something the Village Chief had said, then started back.

When they returned home, Gu Ya and Zhang Yunling had indeed gone to rest. The courtyard was empty.

Luo Feng went back to sharpening his blade, utterly focused. The cleaver looked as though it could slice through a hair blown against its edge and cut iron like butter.

"Dad, I'm going to the Mountain God Temple to get my things," Luo Bin said.

"Mm." Luo Feng did not even look up.

Back at the Mountain God Temple, Luo Bin noticed that the oil lamp had not been refilled. The Village Chief had not been here yet.

He carefully gauged how much oil remained. There was a little over a tenth of a lampful. That should be about enough to keep him lucid.

He searched the Wooden Cabin but found no container suitable for holding lamp oil. Instead, he discovered a plastic bag, much to his delight.

He lined an enamel bowl with the bag, then took down the lamp and carefully poured out its oil. Luo Bin held that position for a long time.

His hands were aching by the time a good amount of oil had drained out. Only then did he put the lamp back.

He carefully tied off the bottom of the plastic bag and tore away the excess, leaving only a tiny pouch of oil. After putting it away, Luo Bin finally breathed a full sigh of relief.

He was still far too inexperienced. Otherwise, the first time he returned to the Mountain God Temple, while everyone was clamoring to parade Zhang Jun through the streets, he would have had every opportunity to slip into plenty of houses and steal oil.

Hindsight was still hindsight. It did him no good now.

When he returned home again, Zhang Yunling was combing Gu Ya's hair. Sitting beside the well, the two of them looked warm and companionable.

Most villagers were cold and indifferent. Zhang Yunling and Gu Ya were so close-had something happened between them in the past? Luo Bin wondered.

"Put your things down. Let's go." Luo Feng stood.

Luo Bin hurried to put the bundle containing his clothes back in his room. Then the family of three, along with Zhang Yunling, headed toward the village's main road.

Luo Feng deliberately took a detour. When they reached the main road, they happened to be right at the village entrance.

An archway stood at the entrance, bearing the words "Cabinet Mountain Village."

Luo Bin recalled a piece of information. Zhang Li and the others had said they belonged to an archaeological team. After a cave-in at the Cabinet Mountain Ancient Tomb, they had stumbled into the village while seeking help.

The Prisoner Cart stood beneath the archway.

Quite a few villagers stood by the road, examining Zhang Jun and whispering among themselves.

Zhang Jun leaned feebly against the Prisoner Cart's wooden bars. Deep, bloody marks scored his fat neck.

"I'm innocent..."

"I didn't..."

"I... hadn't even had the chance... it wasn't me..."

Zhang Jun had struggled and shouted for so long that his voice was completely hoarse.

Luo Feng's eyes were ice-cold, as though he were looking at a dead man.

Luo Bin noticed several gazes turning toward them, most of them settling on him.

With a loud clatter, Zhang Jun suddenly began struggling as though something had triggered him. He roared, "It wasn't me! It wasn't me! It wasn't me!"

"It was Zhang Yunling!"

His voice cracked with that shout. It almost seemed to carry the taste of blood.

His tiny eyes opened so wide they nearly bulged out.

"You plague-ridden bitch! You're the vicious one! It was you! You!"

Zhang Yunling's face went white with fright, and she ducked behind Gu Ya.

Gu Ya stared coldly at Zhang Jun, shielding Zhang Yunling behind her.

With both hands confined in the Prisoner Cart, Zhang Jun shook violently, making the cart rattle.

"You've been fooled! She's fooled all of you!"

"You can know someone's face without knowing their heart! She's lying! My mother told me pretty women all lie! She's poisonous!"

"She hasn't killed you yet! Next time, none of you will get away!"

Zhang Jun kept cursing and roaring.

Then he shuddered again and cursed, "Luo Shan! You lustful bastard! You betrayed your brother! You thought that outsider's woman was pretty, so you set me up!"

"You thought Zhang Yunling was pretty, so you set me up again!"

"You're a piece of shit! Let me out! I'll kill your whole family and fuck your mother to pieces!"

Luo Bin took a deep breath but did nothing else.

As Zhang Jun cursed, he began crying again, still murmuring that he was innocent, that it was not him, that he truly had not had the chance.

The sky gradually began to darken. In twos and threes, the people on the village road headed into nearby courtyards.

"Do you want to watch the beginning, the middle, or the end?" Luo Feng's gaze swept over Gu Ya and Zhang Yunling.

As the names implied, the beginning was when Zhang Jun first encountered the evil spirit, the middle was the process, and the end was the conclusion.

They were at the village entrance. Was the final stage at the Mountain God Temple at the far end of the village?

"Let's stay at the entrance. The process and the outcome are both too bloody. I'm afraid Little Shan and Little Ling will be frightened," Gu Ya said.

"All right, we'll stay here." Luo Feng nodded.

Only some of the buildings along the road had courtyards. Most were simply single-story houses.

Some houses were already packed with people, especially around the windows.

The spot Luo Feng chose happened to be a single-story house beside the village archway.

The view from here was not particularly good; they could only see Zhang Jun's profile. Of course, that suited Gu Ya's wish perfectly: nothing too bloody.

They entered the house, which held roughly a dozen people. Luo Bin spotted a somewhat familiar face: one of the men who had helped capture the outsiders.

"Old Kong." Luo Feng greeted him.

Old Kong looked a little over forty, lean and muscular, with a round face covered in freckles.

"Oh, Old Luo." He nodded, looking surprised. "You're staying here? After what that short-lived bastard did to you, you aren't going to the middle or the far end of the village?"

"Better for the wife and kids to see less blood," Luo Feng said with a smile.

"Uncle Kong." Luo Bin greeted him first.

Old Kong paused before nodding. "You've grown. That's good. Don't ever run around with people like Zhang Jun again. You've seen it yourself: people like him always take revenge. If not for the Village Chief, Old Luo and your mother would've been tortured to death by the evil spirit."

"Mm-hm." Luo Bin nodded as well.

As for the other villagers in the room, their looks remained somewhat strange, with a faint hint of rejection.

Old Kong was clearly the homeowner. He picked a spot for Luo Feng, and Luo Bin followed him over. The villagers could hardly object.

The spot happened to be by the door, with a window right beside it. Given how poor the house's overall position was, this offered the best view available.

Then Old Kong barred the door. The room was evidently full, and he would admit no more villagers.

The other dozen or so people went to the remaining windows. Everyone waited quietly for night to fall.

Just then, a Santana pulled up

beneath the archway at the village entrance!

It drew the attention of everyone in the house.

"More outsiders?!" a villager exclaimed.

"They aren't new outsiders. Things were chaotic today, and the outsiders in the Mountain God Temple escaped. The Village Chief hasn't had time to tell everyone. Ignore them." Old Kong walked over beside Luo Feng and explained to the room in a low voice.

Luo Bin's heart pounded wildly. He reached to unbar the door.

"What are you doing, Luo Shan?" Old Kong reacted quickly and grabbed Luo Bin's wrist.

Under everyone's burning gazes, and Luo Feng's faintly frowning scrutiny, sweat beaded on Luo Bin's forehead.

He knew what he was about to say would upset them, but Gu Yiren was far too useful...

So Luo Bin forced himself to speak. "Uncle Kong... here's the thing. The Village Chief did put me in charge of watching the outsiders. They only escaped because I failed to keep an eye on them... I watched them these past two days, and they behaved themselves. If someone has to die, one death should be enough... There's no need for them to lose their lives just because they don't understand the village..."

"You think you can save them?" As Old Kong spoke, he exchanged another glance with Luo Feng.

"Mm." Luo Feng nodded.

With a clatter, Old Kong actually opened the door!

For a moment, Luo Bin was utterly bewildered.

He had thought he would have to spend some time talking everyone around before they would let him go out and bring Zhang Li and the others inside.

Under normal circumstances, Luo Bin would never have done this. He had only just established himself with Gu Ya and Luo Feng, and had only just gained a foothold with the Village Chief.

But Gu Yiren really was... far too important.

He simply never imagined that the door would open just like that...