deltrittennovels #592 - Number of wolves
#592 - Number of wolves
"Xia Hui, calm down!" Wang Lina rushed forward, trying to soothe Xia Hui, who had already collapsed. Her voice trembled, but she still tried to remain calm.
"How do you want me to calm down!! Why!? Why did it become like this!? It's simply—ugh" Xia Hui's hysterical roar was suddenly interrupted by a burst of dry heaves. Whether it was due to oxygen deprivation from excessive shouting or because she had been staring at the bloody corpse, she didn't even have time to cover her mouth before bending over and vomiting violently. In the thick fog, her painful figure looked particularly miserable.
"We can't help but want to shout too. Don't joke around, how can we be casually killed by a legend?" Zhao Gang clenched his fists, his knuckles turning white from the force. His young face was filled with anger and unwillingness.
"Did you know about this beforehand?" Tang Yin suddenly turned to Zhao Gang, his eyes sharp. His voice was low and cold, as if it could penetrate the fog and reach into people's hearts.
"Huh?" Zhao Gang was stunned for a moment, seemingly not reacting.
"Did you know this kind of situation would happen?" A look of grief and indignation appeared on Tang Yin's face as he pressed Zhao Gang for an answer. Each of his words was like a sharp knife, piercing Zhao Gang's heart.
"I wouldn't say I knew anything. It's just that there's been a legend for a long time that people die when the fog comes," Zhao Gang said, his voice tinged with bitterness, his gaze drifting towards the distant fog.
"That was caused by an accident," Qian Jin suddenly interjected, his voice filled with obvious panic. Cold sweat had already broken out on his forehead, shimmering faintly in the morning light.
"That's what I thought too! And I just listened to the elders' explanation! It's all lies, right, hey!" Zhao Gang's voice suddenly rose, filled with anger and doubt.
"What do you mean lies! What, what do you mean by that? That, are you trying to say this is the resurrection of the wolf!?" Qian Jin's voice began to tremble, his face turning pale.
"Stop pretending!! No matter if it's a monster or a god, how could they just pop out so easily!! The elders must have sent the beasts to attack us!!" Zhao Gang's roar echoed through the mountains.
"Enough, you two," Hua Lu's voice, though gentle, carried an undeniable air of authority. She slowly parted the crowd and gracefully walked to Zhou Zhengxiong's corpse, then knelt down. The ends of her long hair gently brushed against the blood-stained ground, yet she didn't look disheveled at all.
"He didn't complete the preparations before the banquet; it's our responsibility. We should properly entertain our guests," Hua Lu's voice was as light as a breeze, yet it sent a chill down everyone's spine. A strange light flickered in her eyes.
"At least let the guests peacefully embark on the road to the Yellow Springs," she continued, her voice filled with an almost devout tenderness.
"I will purify your pollution." As soon as she finished speaking, Hua Lu made an unbelievable move.
"Wh-what?" Tang Yin's eyes widened, unable to believe what he was seeing. Hua Lu actually brought her face close to the pile of bloody minced meat. The thick fog swirled around her, as if drawing a curtain on this bizarre scene. Tang Yin felt his heart almost stop, his throat tighten, unable to speak. This seemingly gentle woman's actions were now terrifying.
"Get out of the way!" A sharp shout cut through the silence. Xia Hui rushed over like a gust of wind, interrupting Hua Lu's bizarre actions. Her eyes were bloodshot, the muscles in her face twitching from extreme agitation, and she exuded an aura of madness.
"Hey, what do you want to do? Don't move!" Zhao Gang instinctively reached out to stop her, but Xia Hui reacted even faster.
"Don't stop me!!" Xia Hui shouted hysterically, her expression twisted and terrifying, her voice filled with a chilling madness. This almost out-of-control state made everyone present, including Tang Yin, hesitate for a moment. She seized this opportunity and rushed towards Zhou Zhengxiong's corpse. Blood quickly stained her clothes, but she didn't care, frantically rummaging through the broken pieces of meat.
"It's definitely, definitely here!!" she muttered to herself as she rummaged, her voice trembling with a mixture of hope and despair.
Tang Yin watched her movements and suddenly understood something. "I'll help too!" he shouted, ignoring the bloodstains on his clothes, and joined the search. Xia Hui didn't respond to him, but she didn't stop him either. Although she seemed to have lost her composure, Tang Yin could feel that her rationality was still, to some extent, controlling this madness, preventing her from completely falling into the abyss of panic.
If it were Zhou Zhengxiong, he would definitely carry that thing with him. Tang Yin thought as he carefully groped through the remains. The thick fog continued to swirl around, adding to the eerie scene.
"Tang, Tang Yin, what are you doing..." Wang Lina's voice was filled with obvious horror and confusion.
"The camera! If it's him, he might have taken some photos with clues!" Tang Yin didn't stop his movements and continued searching.
"Ah!" Wang Lina exclaimed, seemingly finally understanding their intentions.
Tang Yin's fingers kept touching the broken flesh, a sensation that reminded him of the previous death case—the killing method was indeed exactly the same as last time, the victim died inexplicably without a whole body, as if they had been frantically torn apart by some kind of beast. Suddenly, his fingers touched something rough. Was it hair? That meant the head should be nearby.
"Don't overthink it." Tang Yin forced himself to concentrate. The camera should be hanging around his neck, as long as he continued to feel along this direction...suddenly, he felt the touch of a strap.
"Found it!" Tang Yin shouted excitedly.
"Where!!" Xia Hui immediately turned her head, her eyes flashing with eagerness. Tang Yin pulled hard, pulling a broken high-end digital camera from the flesh. The camera's casing was covered in blood, but Xia Hui didn't seem to care at all. She snatched the camera and roughly pried open the deformed casing.
"Monster—monster, ah—how is it possible—" Xia Hui muttered incomprehensible words as she quickly removed the memory card. Then, she casually threw away the damaged camera and turned to rush out of the crowd, disappearing into the thick fog.
"Wait, where are you going!? Ah, really, Gang, I'll leave the rest to you!" Wang Lina sighed and quickly chased after her, leaving everyone standing in the bloody scene, looking at each other, unsure of what to do. The thick fog continued to flow silently, as if mocking this group of people trapped in a maze.
The fog was like a giant curtain, slowly swallowing the figures of Wang Lina and Xia Hui. The remaining people stood silently in the bloody scene, the air filled with a suffocating sense of heaviness.
"." Qin Ming frowned, seemingly thinking about something. His young face was filled with solemnity.
"Do you have any clues? Qin Ming," Tong Xiaoliang asked softly, a hint of anticipation in his eyes.
"Not really clues, just..." Qin Ming's voice was low, his eyes drifting towards the activity room not far away, "There's no toilet in the activity room."
"." Tang Yin's heart jolted, and he instantly understood Qin Ming's implication. Yes, if they needed to relieve themselves, they could only go outside. For those who didn't know the importance of the pre-banquet preparations, this was an inevitable outcome. A deep sense of self-reproach welled up in his heart—if he had chosen to live in the activity room himself. Zhou Zhengxiong's death was, to some extent, his fault. But now there was no time for regret. The thick fog was still flowing silently, as if mocking his remorse.
"." Hua Lu silently walked towards the corpse, but before she could get close, Zhao Gang grabbed her shoulder.
"You don't need to do that," Zhao Gang said, his voice filled with a hint of undeniable firmness.
"But..." Hua Lu hesitated, a trace of hesitation flashing in her eyes.
"I don't want to rely on you mysterious elders, nor do I want to be relied upon by you," Zhao Gang's tone was tinged with coldness. "Things will only get worse afterward, and the Hua Lu family is already struggling, right?" He paused, his voice softening slightly, "Just clasp your hands together is enough."
Zhao Gang's tone wasn't exactly peaceful, and there was no hint of concern in his voice. Although Tang Yin didn't quite understand what he meant by "struggling," he could feel that Zhao Gang was protecting Hua Lu in some way.
"I understand," Hua Lu responded softly, then clasped her hands together and began to pray. Her long eyelashes trembled slightly, and her lips moved silently, as if reciting some ancient prayer.
"Tch." Qin Yi coldly looked at Hua Lu, his face always wearing an unpleasant expression. And Qian Jin, who had missed his chance to perform, stood in place, motionless like a statue, staring blankly at the distant fog.
"Qin Yi, Xiaoliang, take everyone back, wash your hands, and get ready for dinner," Zhao Gang's voice broke the silence.
"I understand," Qin Ming nodded and turned around first.
"Don't order me around..." Qin Yi grumbled, but still followed the group.
"Sister Hua Lu, let's go," Tong Xiaoliang said gently.
"Qian Jin, let's go." Qin Ming looked back at Qian Jin, who was still in a daze.
"I don't need you to lead the way." Qian Jin finally came back to his senses, a trace of unnaturalness flashing in his eyes. "Let's go, Hua Lu."
In the thick fog, the figures of the group gradually disappeared, leaving only the broken corpse lying quietly in the morning light. The bloody smell permeated the air, intertwined with the fog, forming a chilling picture. Tang Yin looked back at the scene one last time, a feeling of indescribable bitterness rising in his heart. Everything that happened this morning was probably just the beginning of a bigger mystery.
"Sorry, Tang Yin," Zhao Gang said, his voice tinged with apology, his gaze falling on the broken corpse. The morning light shone through the hazy sky, casting mottled shadows on the blood-stained ground. Zhao Gang's hands were trembling slightly, his face pale, obviously not good at handling corpses, and fine beads of sweat had broken out on his forehead.
"It's nothing, just leave it to me as much as possible," Tang Yin took a deep breath, forcing himself to look directly at the tragic sight before him. He squatted down, trying to find the most suitable way to move the body. The smell of blood permeated the air, mixed with the damp fog, making him nauseous. This suffocating feeling reminded Tang Yin of the first time he saw a dead body, but now there was no time for him to reminisce about the past.
The door panel of the activity room couldn't be removed no matter what, and the rusty screws didn't budge. Helplessly, the two had to search for a replacement near the construction site. Piles of construction waste were piled up like mountains, and scattered pieces of wood and broken bricks and tiles were everywhere. Finally, they found a discarded wooden board that was still intact. The surface of the wooden board was rough and uneven, and the edges had several rusty nails, the dark brown rust shining eerily in the morning light.
While carefully carrying Zhou Zhengxiong's body onto the wooden board, Tang Yin noticed that Zhao Gang's face had become even more unsightly. The broken pieces of the corpse stained the wooden board, and dark red blood slowly flowed down the wood grain, painting a chilling pattern on the ground. Tang Yin suppressed the churning in his stomach and, together with Zhao Gang, lifted the wooden board and walked towards the direction of the Shenge River.
The fog flowed above the river, like a layer of hazy veil covering the dark water surface. The river water exuded a strange chill, as if it could penetrate into people's bones. With a dull thud, the corpse sank into the river. This time Tang Yin clearly heard the sound of the water falling, which was particularly harsh in the quiet morning.
After briefly saying goodbye to Zhao Gang, Tang Yin returned to his cabin. Standing in front of the washstand, he carefully cleaned the bloodstains on his body. Cold water droplets slid down his arms, but they could not wash away the lingering haze in his heart. The mirror reflected his tired face, and a hint of indescribable worry was revealed in his deep eye sockets.
When he returned to the square, he found that everyone had gathered near the cafeteria.
"Did you wash your hands?" Granny Rong stood hunched over at the entrance of the cafeteria, her turbid eyes shining with concern. Her face was more haggard than usual, and the wrinkles under her eyes seemed to hide endless stories.
"Yes, I've washed them clean," Tang Yin showed his clean hands, trying to force a smile.
"You've worked hard," Granny Rong's tone was obviously much gentler, and a trace of kindness appeared on her weathered face. "Young people, eat a little more, otherwise you won't be able to hold on," she said, her voice carrying some kind of predictive warning.
"Okay, Granny Rong, what about you?" Tang Yin noticed that the old woman's calloused hands were trembling slightly.
"I don't have much of an appetite," Granny Rong shook her head, her voice filled with undisguised fatigue. Her thin fingers twisted together unconsciously, and her eyes wandered aimlessly.
"If you can eat it, try to eat a little," Tang Yin softly persuaded, although he understood that in this kind of scene, it would be difficult for anyone to eat in peace.
"Mm," Granny Rong responded vaguely, suddenly her body shook, and her eyes stared fixedly at a standing rock next to her. The fear revealed in her eyes made Tang Yin's heart tighten. Following her gaze, his breathing stopped instantly.
"This is—" There were blood-colored marks on the stone wall, and three crooked, swirling rhomboids looked particularly eerie in the morning light.
"There are three wolf gods," Granny Rong's voice was low and hoarse, carrying a trace of imperceptible trembling. Each word seemed to be squeezed out from the depths of her throat.
"What do you mean?" Tang Yin asked, although his intuition had already sent out a warning.
"I'll tell you when the time comes," Granny Rong's answer was still ambiguous, but the worry in her eyes was real.
"I understand. I'll see you later." Tang Yin suppressed the unease churning within him and turned to leave. His mind raced—the number was greater than last time. He'd heard the Wolf God only had three members at most, but this time it was a full-scale attack? How was the number determined? Compared to last time, there were far too many differences. All sorts of questions swirled in his mind, but he couldn't find any answers.