Chapter 10: New Objectives

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[Li Chenxi says he did not touch the Death Sacrifice Stele!]
[The situation is becoming increasingly strange. No matter how we ask, or even after we threw the furniture outside, he insists that he did not bring the Death Sacrifice Stele back, nor has he hidden it anywhere.]
[If this were before, I would certainly believe him, but after our previous questioning, I am highly suspicious. I believe Li Chenxi is capable of doing anything for immortality, including lying to me.]
[I do not know if Li Chenxi will achieve immortality after the death sacrifice is completed, but I do know that Yuxi Village will never have peace again.]
[However, even when we threatened him with force, Li Chenxi still claimed he had not touched it, and even swore an oath.]
[I suddenly had a feeling that he might not be lying, so we asked him to take us to the clearing behind the mountain.]
[The result was the same as before; he pointed at the center of the clearing and said that was where he had placed the Death Sacrifice Stele.]
[It was not there! Everyone said they saw nothing.]
[We searched the clearing, dug pits, and searched the village, but it was nowhere to be found.]
[There was no sign of the Death Sacrifice Stele anywhere in Yuxi Village.]
[At night, the black shadows appeared again. Some villagers wanted to take the opportunity to leave under the cover of darkness. Although the mountains are dangerous, at least there was a chance to survive.]
[However, one villager has already returned, saying there is simply no way to leave.]
[The rest of the villagers did not believe him and headed toward the village entrance one after another. I did not stop them. Half an hour later, all these villagers returned to Yuxi Village.]
[We are trapped in Yuxi Village.]
[The death sacrifice is underway, and the black shadows are everywhere.]
[I have never heard of a death sacrifice, nor do I know about the Death Sacrifice Stele. The only thing I can do is make the villagers hide in their houses, hoping to hold out until tomorrow.]
[Now, I write this diary, hoping it will be of some help to you.]
[Wei Guangyuan, recorded on the night of June 11th.]

Qian Cangyi took a deep breath after reading and closed the dark blue notebook.
The content of the notes he had just read surfaced in his mind, and he filtered out the keywords.
Li Chenxi, Death Sacrifice Stele, Death Sacrifice.
The four can be connected by a single thread. Although he does not know the origin of the Death Sacrifice Stele or why Li Chenxi knows how to conduct the death sacrifice, the death sacrifice must be inseparable from Li Chenxi.
Back mountain, clearing, Death Sacrifice Stele.
These three can be linked. From the notes, it can be seen that the last location where the Death Sacrifice Stele appeared was the clearing behind the mountain in Yuxi Village.
Although Wei Guangyuan did not find the Death Sacrifice Stele on the back mountain, this does not prevent it from being a clue that cannot be ignored.
Death sacrifice, immortality, black shadows.

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Qian Cangyi was certain there was a connection between these three keywords, but they were not tightly linked; there was still a missing link in between.
By connecting these threads, a brand-new web was formed.
Although many things remain unclear, he knew far more than when he first began.
The only regret was that Wei Guangyuan stated in the diary that it was already impossible to leave Yuxi Village; likewise, Bian Zhe and Zhang Zi'an might also be unable to leave.
Qian Cangyi let out a sigh of relief, turned his head to look at Eagle Eye, and handed over the notebook.
"Tell me what we should do next." Eagle Eye opened the notebook and began to read.
Qian Cangyi mimicked Eagle Eye, scanning his surroundings to guard against the black shadows that could appear at any time, while saying:
"Go to the back mountain of Yuxi Village. Both the Death Sacrifice Stele and Li Chenxi's house are near the back mountain."
"Therefore, we must go to the back mountain."
Eagle Eye did not reply, but was reading Wei Guangyuan's notes intently.
Qian Cangyi did not disturb Eagle Eye, waiting for him to finish.
Soon, Eagle Eye closed the dark blue notebook, returned it to Qian Cangyi, and said:
"Let's hurry."
With that, Eagle Eye walked out of the courtyard gate.
Qian Cangyi nodded and followed behind Eagle Eye. Suddenly, a feeling of being watched came from his back, exceptionally intense.
The two turned their heads almost simultaneously to look at the living room door.
On the mottled wall, black shadows emerged. There was more than one; from left to right, there were five in total.
Compared to the previous black shadows, the newly appeared ones no longer had distorted forms; they were almost exactly like normal people, and the jagged edges had also disappeared.
Qian Cangyi swallowed hard and could not help but take two steps back. He felt his whole body go cold, as if he were being stared at by a venomous snake.
These black shadows were even more terrifying than venomous snakes!
However, the black shadows did not chase after them, but instead revealed a smile.
On the lower half of their heads, a crescent-like, eerie smile even caused the surrounding temperature to drop by several degrees.
Qian Cangyi felt terrified by the impending attack from the black shadows.
Five black shadows—if they all rushed up together, the two of them would have no way to hide.
Neither the black shadows nor Qian Cangyi's pair moved, as if in a standoff.
Suddenly, the clouds in the sky parted, revealing a gap, and sunlight fell, spilling into the courtyard.

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The forms of the black shadows began to tremble slightly.
"I'll count to two, get ready to run," Eagle Eye whispered.
"Mm." Under the threat of the black shadows, Qian Cangyi did not even dare to nod.
"One, two!" The moment Eagle Eye shouted, he bolted out, heading toward the depths of Yuxi Village, which was the direction of the back mountain.
Qian Cangyi also took off running, adrenaline surging, with every cell in his body mobilized.
At this critical moment, the script for the fifth act, the final act, appeared in his mind.
Why did the script arrive at this moment?
Qian Cangyi really wanted to complain that Hell Movie really knew how to pick its timing, but the situation was so urgent that there was no time even for that.
After the two ran about 200 meters, Qian Cangyi finally slowed down and looked back.
The black shadows had not followed them.
Qian Cangyi gasped for breath. He exercised occasionally, but in terms of physical fitness, he was only slightly better than a shut-in.
To conserve his strength, Qian Cangyi chose to slow down while beginning to view the script for the fifth act.
[Act Five]
[Approaching 5:00 PM, on the small path from Yuxi Village to the back mountain.]
[Bian Zhe stops, looks up at the sun hiding behind the clouds again, his mood heavy.]
[Bian Zhe: Zhang Zi'an, should we leave Yuxi Village? If this continues, we'll probably die here too.]
[Zhang Zi'an: Is it really possible to leave now? It's already written clearly in Wei Guangyuan's notebook.]
[Bian Zhe: We have to try. We are different from the villagers; we only arrived today, and besides, the sun hasn't set yet.]
[Zhang Zi'an thinks for a moment and nods.]
[The mystery of Yuxi Village remains unsolved, but night is coming. Bian Zhe and Zhang Zi'an do not intend to linger and choose to leave.]
[The two run toward the entrance of Yuxi Village.]
[The wooden sign at the entrance of Yuxi Village still stands in its place, and the two take a shortcut.]
[The road home is longer than usual, yet until the sun sets, the two are still wandering in the mountains.]