The impending death weighed on Qian Cangyi's mind, gradually leading him away from his calm demeanor.
Everyone is afraid of death, and he was no exception.
Hawkeye maintained his original pace. Raindrops fell on his face, split at the bridge of his firm nose, and slid to the corners of his mouth.
"Do we have a choice?"
"Although you're new here, our understanding of what happened in Yu Xi Village is largely the same."
"If you have a better way, you should suggest it."
"Do you?"
Saying this, Hawkeye looked back, but not at Qian Cangyi; instead, he looked at the black shadow behind them both.
The rain did not affect the Black Shadow at all, but it also didn't make a full effort to besiege them anymore; instead, it spread into the forest on both sides.
Qian Cangyi didn't speak again because what Hawkeye said was right.
At such a critical moment, simply raising questions would not be very useful. What they needed now were solutions to these questions.
Even if they didn't fully understand the principles behind these things, it wouldn't matter because as long as they solved the problems, they would be able to survive.
The biggest difference between the movie world and the real world is that there it has a visible finish line.
Rain dripped on his shoulders, and the resistance from the muddy road under his feet gradually increased. Fortunately, the Black Shadow did not catch up again.
The two ran all the way to the eaves in front of Li Ling's house. Behind them, the collected rain fell down like a curtain of water.
"Wait, the door...." Qian Cangyi suddenly recalled the scene of their departure.
At that time, they left in a hurry and did not close the door. Now, the door of Li Ling's house was actually closed!
Hawkeye turned his head to look at Qian Cangyi, did not speak, but just nodded at him; then he pointed his right index finger inside the house.
"Let's go in together and remember anything unusual."
His voice was very soft, but Qian Cangyi could still hear it clearly.
Qian Cangyi nodded and then stood beside Hawkeye.
When Hawkeye pushed open the door, he would rush into the house with him and seize this rare opportunity.
Hawkeye began to push with both hands and opened the door. Then, he rushed in, and at the same time, Qian Cangyi also went in.
The main door of the living room hit the wall heavily, creating a loud sound. But inside the house, there was no one.
"This is..."
Qian Cangyi's eyes shifted to the floor of the living room.
A pattern made up of rainwater had unexpectedly appeared on the ground.
The rainwater leaking from the roof gathered in a fixed path.
From an overall perspective, the pattern was a circle.
The center of the circle was wet, with lines extending from the upper and lower halves to the outside, while the rest of the area had only a few scattered drops of rainwater.
"Open space, this is the shape of the open space!"
Naturally, Qian Cangyi associated the pattern before his eyes with the open space.
He wasn't quite sure how the villagers of Yu Xi Village were able to do this, but one thing was for sure: without external interference, this pattern could not exist.
Because at this moment, the rainwater falling from the roof had already wetted the entire floor, and the pattern from before could only exist for 2 seconds.
The pattern on the living room floor was the key clue!
"The Sacrificial Tablet must be on the open ground!"
Unable to contain his joy, Qian Cangyi involuntarily let out a laugh.
All of a sudden, an odd feeling welled up in his heart; his breathing became rapid, his heart raced, and adrenaline surged, signaling danger.
The moment Qian Cangyi turned around, Hawkeye had already turned to look behind him.
Outside Li Chenxi's house, countless Black Shadows were surrounding the house, and they were gradually closing in.
The Black Shadows had blocked all the paths around them.
Qian Cangyi took a step back, at a loss of what to do.
Hawkeye grabbed Qian Cangyi's arm with his left hand and said:
"We only have one chance left. We must find the Sacrificial Tablet; otherwise, we will both die here."
"Get ready. Start running."
Qian Cangyi hesitated for a moment and asked:
"How do we run out of here?"
As he said this, Qian Cangyi looked outside, his eyes filled with terror.
The terrifying Black Shadows were shrinking their encirclement. Their crescent-like smiles seemed like death omens.
Qian Cangyi suddenly recalled something Hawkeye had once said regarding the reward after surviving a movie—special props.
Hawkeye was just about to speak, but he was interrupted by Qian Cangyi.
"The special prop?" Qian Cangyi turned to look at Hawkeye, his eyes wide with anticipation. After all, under these circumstances, a miracle couldn't be created by their strength alone.
Hawkeye solemnly nodded and then began to explain:
"This special prop is called Tumbleweed Sand. It can reduce our presence."
"The enemy will mistake us for tumbleweed. It works well against enemies who rely on sensing to judge but very poorly against highly intelligent enemies."
As he said this, Hawkeye reached into his trouser pocket with his right hand. When he pulled his hand back out, he was holding a handful of golden gravel. He did not hesitate and threw the gravel into the sky.
The golden gravel slowly fell, covering both of them. The Tumbleweed Sand that fell on the ground completely disappeared, as if it had never existed.
"Pay attention to the speed of your movements. Moving too fast will expose us." Hawkeye finished his sentence and began to walk toward the door.
Qian Cangyi looked down at the back of his hand. The scattering of golden gravel on his arm made him very doubtful of its effects.
Then, he turned to look outside the house. The slowly approaching Black Shadows had now stopped moving, as if they had lost track of their whereabouts.
Leaving his left hand, Hawkeye then raised it, his wrist bending, pointing toward the outside with his index finger.
Then he began to walk toward the door, his movements very light, pausing after each step.
The Black Shadows surrounding the house began to disperse, seemingly wandering aimlessly around Yu Xi Village.
Qian Cangyi followed suit, staying two meters behind Hawkeye.
The two of them slowly moved toward the open space behind the mountain.
Despite not knowing the exact location of the Sacrificial Tablet, according to various clues, the most probable place was the open space.
Furthermore, even if they wanted to search elsewhere, they didn't have the opportunity.
The only chance for the two of them to survive was one—to find the Sacrificial Tablet in the open space and then smash it!
Qian Cangyi looked at the only remaining fish belly white in the sky, his eyes filled with worry.
The rain made the sky darker, but the sun had not yet set.
The warm sunlight was only a remnant glow.
The two of them proceeded along, returning to the open space with a quick stride.
Qian Cangyi scanned the open space with his gaze. Suddenly, a figure flashed by not far in the distance.
The pitter-pattering rain seeped through the figure's dark grey coat, landing on the ground.
Qian Cangyi blinked, and the figure had disappeared.
"Did you see that? There was someone on the open space just now." Qian Cangyi asked Hawkeye.
"I saw it, but it's not a good sign, and perhaps we've also been transformed by the Sacrifice." Hawkeye replied earnestly.
The two stopped in their tracks, letting the rain hit their bodies.
On the round open space, apart from the candles, the burnt paper money, iron shovel, and hammer, there was only a dug pit left.
There was no Sacrificial Tablet in sight.