In the deep mountains, lies an isolated village far from the world, with scant traces of human presence.
Song Cheng stood in his own yard and suddenly closed his eyes.
His Heart's Eye remained vigilant; closing his eyes actually heightened his senses.
An ink-and-white world instantly returned.
Ding...
Ding-ding...
A metallic sound as faint as an illusion abruptly emerged.
As if stabbed by a spike from behind, Song Cheng sharply twisted his neck toward the direction of the metal sound.
The air stirred by the motion of his neck swirled heavily like mercury.
Both women stopped what they were doing because of his action.
Most of the surviving villagers had reformed families—this maiden paired with that uncle, barely making do day by day.
But Young Mrs. Nan Hui really had nowhere to go. She could only stay with Song Cheng day after day, and then she built a side house next to the main building to live together.
She knew she had been with a man before, rumors had spread in the village of "sneaking around with father-in-law," and she had been plundered by bandits, humiliated night and day; although she still had her looks, she was a withered flower, a ruined willow. Hence, she never dared to harbor thoughts of "getting along with Song Cheng."
Of course, aside from her inferiority, she also felt a "disgust for men"... Now all she sought was to survive.
And she felt that only by staying by Song Cheng's side would the possibility of survival be greatest; thus, she set aside her dignity, even ignoring her reputation, to stay here.
After watching Tong Jia practice martial arts, Nan Hui took the initiative to take care of cooking, laundry, tending the medicinal garden, sewing, and embroidery.
Honestly speaking, she did these chores better than Madam Tong.
Song Cheng and Young Mrs. Tong had discussed it, and they could mostly guess her thoughts, so they let it be.
At this moment, Nan Hui saw Song Cheng's tense face and became nervous herself.
The oppressive atmosphere made her almost speak out.
Tong Jia gestured "silence."
Nan Hui hurriedly covered her mouth but still watched Song Cheng with extreme nervousness.
After the illusionary sound, Song Cheng made no further discoveries and thus opened his eyes.
"What's wrong, Big Brother Song?" Nan Hui asked urgently.
Song Cheng said, "Gather the villagers, bring food and water, and we'll stay at the foot of the mountain for two days."
After speaking, he added, "There might be something unclean."
...
...
Upon hearing Song Cheng mention something unclean, each villager quickly packed up and then hurried out of their homes with bundled bags.
Almost two hundred people arrived at the foot of the mountain by dusk, each utterly exhausted.
The campfire lit up quickly, and a group sat around it, glancing towards the west where Tang River Village lay in a misty haze—it was also known as the Murderous Village.
While huddling to the east, the crowd addressed their questions to Song Cheng.
"Lord Song, what unclean thing is it, can you see it?"
"Old sister, there's no Lord Song here; if you call out to Lord Song, no one will answer."
"Hehe, Brother Cheng is the best. Sister asked you, is there really something unclean?"
The villagers held their breath and focused on Song Cheng.
After pondering for a moment, Song Cheng said, "Everyone, to be honest, I'm not certain either. But I just feel that something is off."
An elderly man said, "Brother Cheng, is it that rotting smell?"
Song Cheng nodded.
The man hesitated before speaking, "Actually, yesterday afternoon, Er and I found some animal carcasses more than ten miles south of our new village. The smell must have come from there..."
Song Cheng was taken aback and began to doubt himself.
As a martial artist, perhaps his sense of smell was sharper, so that's why he felt the stench of decay was stronger?
The man had only just spoken when someone else said, "Listen to Brother Cheng, Uncle Fuhai. Who here is more capable than Brother Cheng?"
Considering this, Song Cheng looked at the man and said, "Uncle Fuhai, let's... let it be."
The villagers immediately began to persuade him one after another.
"Brother Cheng, we're about to start spring plowing, everyone's preparing, we can't leave the village."
"Brother Cheng, why not go have a look first? Where else can we go? This village has not been built easily. We can't run away without even seeing a shadow of the problem."
"Brother Cheng..."
Song Cheng listened to the many villagers' advice and thought again.
After a good while, he nodded.
If they could lay low in the mountains and develop securely, naturally, he was not keen to leave.
Moreover, Uncle had already scouted the area. There was no need to be so needlessly alarmed, at least... they should investigate a bit more before deciding.
He liked this place, and the villagers had also put in a lot of effort; how could they give up so easily without any clear sign?
Seeing him nod, Uncle Fuhai smiled and said, "Alright, alright."
...
Two days.
Nothing happened.
Song Cheng turned to look towards the west at Tang River Village, which bore an unmistakable bloody question mark, and then towards the mountain with nothing to be seen.
"Let's go, back home," Song Cheng finally decided.
...
The next day.
Song Cheng, along with Uncle Fuhai and Er, walked for most of two hours on the mountain road to the burial site of the animal bones; Young Mrs. Tong and Nan Hui also followed.
The black mud wrapped around the white bones, damp air wafted around, carrying the pungent smell of decay.
"Brother Song, is this it?" Er asked.
Song Cheng surveyed the surroundings.
Aerial roots dangled, dead leaves stacked, ancient trees towered, and even the sunlight that filtered through was sparse and scattered, creating a gloomy atmosphere in both light and temperature.
Young Mrs. Tong suddenly called out, "My husband, my husband, over here!"
Song Cheng walked over, following his wife's gaze.
It was a slope...
Perhaps due to a flash flood or the melting of snow, a large section of the slope had collapsed, revealing an old rusted cage that had been buried in the earth.
Uncle Fuhai exclaimed in surprise, "How come there's a cage here? What's it doing in these deep woods?"
As he spoke, he began to approach the object.
Song Cheng stared at the cage.
Suddenly, he recalled the metallic sound from three days ago that he had thought was an auditory hallucination and hurriedly grabbed Young Mrs. Tong's hand.
Nan Hui, standing beside, also subconsciously grabbed the corner of Song Cheng's clothes.
Uncle Fuhai took a step, then another, walking forward until he reached the slope, where he used his homemade hardwood walking stick to poke around in the dirt.
With that poking, the dirt surprisingly crumbled away, revealing even more of the cage.
A pale, hollow sheen, filled with a deathly stillness, leapt out from the cage, silently expanding...
All around, bizarre and spooky changes began to occur.
However, no one seemed to notice at all.
They held their breath and stared intently ahead.
The cage was not small; it was clearly a hunter's trap for wild animals.
Inside the cage, at some unknown time, a beast that looked like a tiger or a cat squatted, its fangs exposed on the outside, yet its eyes were devoid of any spirit or ferocity, showing only numbness and submission.
"How about that, my tiger cat is pretty good, right?" a man with a mustache, dressed in wide extravagant robes, came over asking with a smile.
He laughed while clapping his hands, turning to the crowd around him and said, "Welcome to my Extreme Joy World. Everyone has come a long way and must be eager to see something fresh."
With that, he stepped onto the stage.
Nan Hui looked at the mustachioed man, glanced at the dense crowd of people gathered around, and whispered softly, "Big Brother Song, it's so lively."
Song Cheng nodded.
He detected no anomaly, and his brain did not issue any warning or sense of discomfort.
It seemed as though he had seamlessly and naturally entered a new scene.
"It seems there is something worth talking about here, not a wasted trip coming here specially."
Next to him, Young Mrs. Tong said, "Yes, head of the household, if someone did not vouch for us here, how could we ever have gotten in? What exactly is this place?"
Song Cheng replied, "Just watch."
He looked carefully, only to see the man ascend a set of steps covered with a thick black cloth, each step seeming to conceal a cage beneath it, as quiet as a blind box with unknown contents.
The stacking of cages upon cages formed an undulating rise like a small hill...
From what he had heard from acquaintances, this place was known as "Extreme Joy World," and the man with the mustache was the master of this world, where anyone could enjoy thrills unheard of in the mundane world.
The man in the extravagant clothes reached the highest point, resembling a small hill, and looked down at the crowd below with a smile, "Guests, guests, just wait a bit longer, there are many more guests like you who are on their way.
Good things come to those who wait; for that moment of extreme joy, waiting a little longer is also a delightful pleasure."
Some among the crowd began to laugh along.
Yet, no one was impatient, those who came here were wealthy individuals seeking novelty, and none would lack even a little patience.
Before long, footsteps approached from behind.
Song Cheng turned his head to look, only to see a number of familiar faces.
"Miss Guan Xi," he called out.
The beautiful young woman also hurried over, saying with a smile, "I didn't expect Mr. Song to share this interest."
After speaking, she stood next to Song Cheng.
Song Cheng, recognizing the other acquaintances, called out to each one, "Sister-in-law Caihua, Sister-in-law Baojin, Uncle Tian, Ding..."
The acquaintances also paid their respects one by one, saying, "Brother Cheng is here too."
More and more people gathered...
Song Cheng looked at the small hill of black cloth-covered cages with great enthusiasm and anticipation.
Everyone beside him felt the same.
Their eyes sparkled with "desire," "indulgence," "curiosity," "pleasure"...
Everyone knew that once the heavy black cloth was lifted, Extreme Joy World would arrive.
But what Extreme Joy World was, no one knew.
That's the novelty!
The thrill!
Suddenly, Song Cheng felt his eyes itch and he leaned down to rub them.
"What's wrong, head of the household?" Young Mrs. Tong asked.
Song Cheng said, "It's nothing."
After speaking, he looked up again.
At the high point, the mustachioed man, seeing that everyone had arrived, was about to speak when a clamor arose from the west.
The crowd turned their heads to look, only to see a group of surly rural bumpkins rushing over.
The man in front shouted, "We're missing a few people!"
Without giving the man with the mustache time to react, he squeezed through the crowd to Song Cheng's side and said, "You, come with me!"
Hissss...
An intense pain sprouted in Song Cheng's mind, as if his entire being was being torn apart.
He opened his eyes and saw the newcomer clearly, surprised, he exclaimed, "Village Chief."
The man leading the group was indeed the Village Chief of Tang River Village.
The Village Chief said urgently, "Hurry up and follow me! You are from our village, and that shameless woman dishonored herself and harmed an elder, she must be soaked in the pig cage. You have to come and watch too!"
Song Cheng suddenly clutched his head, the headache unbearable.
The Village Chief grabbed his hand and forcefully dragged him out from the crowd.
Young Mrs. Tong, as well as Nan Hui who had grabbed Song Cheng's clothes, was dragged out like wooden dolls by the cluster of villagers and taken rapidly to the west.
To the west lay Tang River Village.
Song Cheng turned slowly to look behind him, where the pitch black cloth was slowly being lifted, revealing an explosive dot of blinding red light that burst in his eyes.
It was an eye that seemed to have just awoken from a dream...
The blood-red eye, glaring fixedly at the Village Chief, also stared at him.
His heart started to pound furiously, like a drum in full swing, a cold breath crawling up his body as if the pale hands of the dead were brushing over him, and then snaking into his body through his orifices...
An Illusionary Realm?!
No!
Reappearance!
When had he become ensnared?
He didn't know!
He just didn't know!
Meanwhile, the Village Chief, with his arm around Song Cheng's shoulder, started running along with him, shouting, "Hurry up! It's time for the pig cage soaking in the village! We're too late!"
Tong Jia, whom Song Cheng was holding, and Nan Hui, who had seized the corner of Song Cheng's clothes, also began to run, their pace quickening.