What? Could it be...?
Qian Cangyi turned his head for a glance.
Under the bleak sky, the Black Shadow hidden among the furniture gradually poked its head out, like omnipresent ghosts.
The Black Shadow did not pursue them, but once again revealed the terrifying smile it had shown before, as if mocking their overconfidence.
Upon seeing this, Qian Cangyi only felt a chill covering his entire body, even his breathing becoming slightly heavier.
"We'll head for the area behind the mountain." Hawkeye said, letting go of his hand.
"I'll read while walking." Qian Cangyi nodded, his voice somewhat shaky.
Li Chenxi's house was quite close to the area behind the mountain, thus the two could already see the route there. However, they would need some time to reach it.
"The Black Shadow did not attack us, I'm afraid it's waiting for the sun to set." Qian Cangyi was deeply worried.
In June, the sun sets around half-past six. However, dark clouds were currently looming over Yu Xi Village, causing the light to be dim.
Even though the sun hadn't set yet, by six o'clock, the light would be as dim as night.
It is not just difficult to find traces of the Black Shadow in the darkness, but even walking is affected.
One hour was the relative safe time left for the two of them, one and a half hours, were their limit to survive.
"The time left for us... is not much." Hawkeye turned his head to look at the horizon, his expression solemn.
Qian Cangyi immediately opened the notebook.
The name written on the title page was Li Chenxi.
[To those who also wish for immortality. ]
[At first, I thought that the Sacrifice would only affect me. But it turns out it affects the entire Yu Xi Village.]
[Although it's a bit regretful, it's not too bad. This way, I won't be alone after achieving immortality.]
[What do people live for?]
[For years, I've been contemplating the answer to this question.]
[When it comes to immortality, many people may think of the ancient emperors' quest for the elixir of life, various rumors abound.]
[However, I'm curious. Do common people have no interest in immortality?]
[Obviously not, even common elders think about how to live longer.]
[From this, it can be seen that everybody's fundamental aim is to live longer. Because only by living, can we have everything else.]
[Being alive is the foundation of everything.]
[I want to live. My illness is incurable. The doctor said it might be a genetic disease and I would need to go abroad for a check-up.]
[Ha-ha.]
[Visiting the hospital almost drained all my savings, going abroad? Maybe in my next life.]
[I couldn't do anything but wait for death's arrival in Yu Xi Village.]
[While others of my age travel to various places, it's not the same for me, I'm just waiting for death.]
[I don't want to die, I want to live.]
[Every night before I go to sleep, I would silently recite these words.]
[In the past, I would laugh at those who seek refuge in religion. But now, I feel a bit pitiful.]
[If I were like those people, at least I would still have some spiritual support. Even if I were deceived, I would rather be fooled.]
[I cannot bear the terror of death any longer. It is like a maggot in my bones, gnawing at my brain 24 hours a day, giving me splitting headaches.]
[Until two days ago, on June 9th to be exact. Starting from this day, everything became different. On this day, I happened to find a black stone tablet behind the mountain.]
[The stone tablet isn't large, rectangular, about the height of a common chair, the thickness similar to a thumb's width. It has strange symbols carved on it, the distance between each symbol being the same. The symbols are difficult to understand, something I've never seen before, like tangled yarn.]
[I brought the stone tablet home, planning to study it thoroughly since I didn't have anything else to do.]
[That night, I had a strange dream.]
[In the dream, I traveled with the wind, visiting the four seas. In the end, I landed in a village. The villagers gave me a warm welcome.]
[At the dining table, I noticed that none of the villagers ate, they just watched.]
[When I asked, I found out that they had achieved immortality, they did not need to eat or drink, nor did they need to sleep. They were always in a good mood, free from worry or anxiety.]
[I was instantly curious and asked the villagers how to achieve immortality like them. Then, the villagers took me to a shrine in the village.]
[A sign with the words "Sacrificial Shrine" hung in the shrine. There were no ancestral spirits being worshiped inside the shrine, instead, a black stone tablet was enshrined.]
[The villagers told me, the black stone tablet is called the "Sacrificial Tablet." Without it, it was impossible to hold the Sacrifice and the secret to immortality was hidden within the Sacrifice.]
[The Sacrifice means to offer sacrifices to death. After holding the Sacrifice, one will no longer be troubled by death and can exist in the world forever.]
[After listening to the villager's stories, I became excited and asked how the Sacrifice is held.]
[The villagers were happy to hear my request. They held my hand and kept telling me about the ways to hold the Sacrifice, repeating it over and over again for three days and three nights. The methods were so engrained in my memory that even if I wanted to forget, I could not.]
[Before I left, the villagers repeatedly reminded me that during the Sacrifice, the Sacrificial Tablet was extremely fragile and need to be well-protected.]
[After saying thanks, I departed with the help of the wind.]
[When I opened my eyes, dawn was breaking. As I sat up, all the memories of how to hold the Sacrifice appeared in my mind.]
[Was the Sacrificial Tablet communicating with me in the dream?]
[I do not know whether it was or not, but I decided to hold the Sacrifice.]
[White candles, paper money, a bizarre dance, and a chant that I didn't understand, fortunately, I remembered it all.]
[It took me a morning to make the preparation, which wasn't too long. In the afternoon, I moved the Sacrificial Tablet to the empty ground behind the mountain. Holding the Sacrifice required a spacious location. Moreover, I didn't want to be seen by the villagers of Yu Xi Village.]
[The empty ground behind the mountain is a tranquil place and is normally devoid of people.]
[After everything was prepared, I began the Sacrifice. First of all, I lit the candles and placed them around the Sacrificial Tablet, a total of 16 candles. Then, I burnt the paper money and scattered it into the wind.]
[Following that, while dancing around the Sacrificial Tablet, I recited the chants...or perhaps, they were ballads.]
[At first, my movements were clumsy since I didn't have a knack for dancing. But after two minutes, my movements became more and more proficient as if I had already performed this dance countless times. Suddenly, I realized, it was not me dancing, but the Sacrificial Tablet that was making me dance.]
[The Sacrifice... has begun!]
[The strange symbols on the black stone tablet started to shake, as if they were about to come out of the stone. Then, the next second, these symbols truly came out of the stone, appearing in the air, in sync with my dance. I had never seen such a wonderful sight.]
[A unique power was coursing through my body, supporting me to keep on dancing. At that moment, I felt as if I would never stop.]