Next, the four people proceeded through the pool, using the corpses like handrails to support themselves.
The corpses were generally overweight, with a few skinny ones that had been recently murdered and tossed in before they had the chance to turn into giants for display.
Especially when passing by a particularly normal-looking corpse, Li Zhiyuan’s left hand, as if by coincidence, ended up lodged in the corpse’s hand, and for a moment, he couldn’t pull it free.
"Xiao Yuan?" Run Sheng, who was behind, saw the boy stop and hurriedly asked.
"I’m fine." With his other hand, Li Zhiyuan touched the face of this corpse.
He was no expert in physiognomy like a blind man feeling bones, but he had or had had the skills necessary.
Through touch, the image of the corpse’s face formed in Li Zhiyuan’s mind, not very clear but recognizable—it was Zhu Yang.
Li Zhiyuan withdrew his hand from Zhu Yang’s face, intending to pat his chest to signal "condolences."
Although advising a dead person to "restrain their grief" felt somewhat strange.
For now, it could only be seen as the deceased not resting in peace.
However, when he patted, his hand sank into the chest, slipping inside the chest cavity.
He... had his chest ripped open.
Li Zhiyuan truly couldn’t understand why, after killing people and robbing them, the villagers still needed to treat the corpses this way.
No, a more plausible explanation was not post-mortem desecration, but rather that they were tortured to death.
Then he remembered the previous "ghost" kicking open the door of a house, the corpse water seen on the beds and in the cabinets, and the cured meat Tan Wenbin had brought.
It was hard to imagine that in this day and age, such profound evil still existed in the world.
The hand that reached into Zhu Yang’s chest felt something hard and thick inside, something that could be crumbled and spread apart upon grasping.
The thick pirated novels smeared with ink that Zhu Yang used to read in his spare time in the car.
They had stuffed all these books into Zhu Yang’s body.
The hand that was trapping Li Zhiyuan’s released.
The boy pulled out his hand and continued forward without further delay, catching up to the two ahead.
The area of this pool was truly terrifying; even though they could rest and lean on the corpses for support, everyone was slowly becoming exhausted.
And without these corpses as "markers," finding the shore in complete darkness would be akin to a fool’s dream; even if Run Sheng swam straight in one direction, they would deviate from a straight line in the distance.
Finally, sounds of emerging from water came from ahead—they had reached shore.
Run Sheng, trailing behind, helped Li Zhiyuan onto a rock.
All four people lay on the ground, exhausted and gasping for air.
Li Zhiyuan said, "The time inside this spatial interlayer is most likely consistent with the outside; it should still be dark out, we shouldn’t delay and take advantage of the darkness to leave."
All four stood up; apart from Run Sheng, the other three staggered upon getting up, a sign of being too long in water and now unaccustomed to the gravity on land.
Xue Liangliang said, "The last corpse was slanted towards here, let’s follow this direction."
The four followed a slight protrusion along the rock wall outside, noticing the path was winding, but as they continued, they could sense the wind’s response more clearly and vaguely see some light—it was moonlight.
And beside them, the pool also narrowed here, turning into something like a stream; it seemed that the villagers wouldn’t walk too far in to discard corpses but would drop them from the outside, letting the current carry them to the deepest part of the pool.
As they continued outward, they finally broke into the open and saw the moon overhead.
This place should be located at the foot of the hill where the village sat, while the path leading to the main road was on the other side of the village.
Li Zhiyuan and Xue Liangliang both pointed in one direction, choosing the mountain path.
Passing through the village to get back to the main road was clearly impossible, as being discovered would be courting death; the only option was to go around the mountain.
This time, Li Zhiyuan took the lead at the front of the group, and soon after they started up the slope, he heard some noises and raised his hand in a pressing down motion.
Everyone crouched down motionless.
Li Zhiyuan slowly moved forward; his hearing was sharp, and soon he heard voices from under a tree above on the slope, a man and a woman:
"You’re in such a hurry, don’t tear my pants!"
"Then hurry up and take them off, I’m dying here."
"Am I not taking them off? Let go of me, or I won’t do it for you."
"My dear lady, stop wasting time; your man may have drunk alcohol tonight, but he can handle his drink; he might wake up in the middle of the night and search for you when he finds you’re not in bed."
"What’s there to fear, if he wakes up it’ll at least be the latter part of the night, isn’t that enough time for you to have your way?"
"I want to have it once, rest a bit, and then have it again."
"Look at you and your demands."
Shortly after, from there came the muffled moans of the man and woman.
Li Zhiyuan turned to Run Sheng behind him and gestured, indicating that there were two people under the tree above, and they should directly subdue them when the time comes.
Worried Run Sheng might hesitate and cause an incident that would alert the pair, Li Zhiyuan also made a throat-slitting gesture, implying Run Sheng could decide to take a more extreme approach if necessary.
Run Sheng nodded firmly.
But just as Li Zhiyuan made the signal to move, the moaning sounds ended under the man’s long groan.
Li Zhiyuan and Run Sheng remained frozen in place.
The boy felt that he had been quick with the gestures, but he hadn’t expected the others to be even quicker.