The more you believe me, the more real it becomes.

Chapter 2 A Prophecy Come True

After watching them leave, Du Yuan, the young master, smiled and then looked at the surrounding mountains and fields with a slightly lonely expression.

I've been here for almost half a month now, without really knowing what was going on.

He originally went to teach in western Sichuan.

For some reason, the cement road turned into a mud road as I walked, and even the people on the road were dressed in ancient style with short shirts, narrow sleeves, and long pants.

Without any pre-cast animation, I started with zero frames and gave him a seamless transition.

This is the kind of thing that would get him roasted even in a game, and yet he just happened to encounter it!

You could even have a classic lightning strike or a reincarnation truck come along!
But no matter what, people still have to survive, even if things are absurd.

Du Yuan also wanted to go to the nearby county town, but he soon discovered that he was a proper unregistered person and did not have a travel permit.

Once you're in there, you'll be arrested and imprisoned for your crimes.

The only thing we can do is retreat to our original positions and figure out what to do next.

Fortunately, although this trade route was not very prosperous, there were still quite a few people coming and going.

He managed to make a living easily by telling traveling merchants about his heavily modified novels.

After all, the people here had hardly ever heard such a fantastical story, so what he said was very useful to them.

The appearance of the ultimate imperial weapon instantly thrilled those accustomed to stories of scholars and female ghosts.

Although the Red-Haired Monster's old age is unknown, what he wrote is truly brilliant and useful!

In just a few days, he has almost raised a considerable sum of money.

Although the issues of travel permits and unregistered residents are still unresolved, at least having money gives them some confidence.

This also opens up more possibilities for operation.

After all, I can't just stay here telling stories for the rest of my life, can I?
How do you say that?

If life was just so-so before the transmigration, and even worse afterward, then wasn't the transmigration pointless?!
Of course, he was just joking. What he really wanted was to go home!

When he used to read novels, he couldn't quite understand why the protagonists could so easily settle down in a completely unfamiliar world with the simple phrase "since I'm here, I might as well make the best of it."

Now it's even more unacceptable; they even think it's pure nonsense.

The further away he was from home, the more he wanted to go back.

It's not because there are snakes, insects, and rats here, making life uncertain.

It was because his grandparents were getting old. His parents were also entering middle age, and their health was declining year by year.
He was afraid that he would achieve great success here and forget everything he absolutely could not forget.

What I fear even more is that I will be trapped here for the rest of my life, unable to stay or leave.

He went to teach in western Sichuan because a friend who was originally there needed to rush back to his hometown to handle his grandfather's funeral, and he went there temporarily to fill in.

It wasn't that Du Yuan really wanted to leave her home at this time.

So, he really wanted to go home.

After gazing up at the gradually setting twilight for a long time, the young man sighed and returned to sit down in front of his hut.

Prepare to start a fire and cook.

The shack was built for him by kind-hearted people who passed by, and they even gave him a few changes of clothes that were not new but were very clean.

Otherwise, passersby wouldn't see a storyteller with short hair who seems to have left the monastic life, but rather a monster with short hair and strange clothes.

The food he ate consisted of flatbreads given to him by onlookers during the day, and some other things that he couldn't name but were probably some kind of fermented bean paste.

The spicy flavor, combined with the slightly sweet sesame seed cake, creates a unique taste in this mountain wilderness.

As he ate the sesame seed cake dipped in sauce, he recalled the scene that had just occurred.

That's why I said having one more person is the most terrifying thing.

It wasn't because he wanted to scare the caravan.

Du Yuan knew that these merchants, although they did not believe in gods or Buddhas, did believe in the existence of demons and ghosts.

I noticed this when he was telling stories before: whenever there were tales of demons, ghosts, or strange phenomena, these people would all hide and dodge, wanting to listen but also afraid to listen.

In addition, the sun was setting at that time, so saying this at that moment was the most effective way to stop them from fighting and calm their anger.

People come and go, each with their own hometown; there's no need to actually fight over something like this.

He was injured and hurt, and it was his parents, wife, children, and elderly relatives who were saddened, not him or any passersby.

Du Yuan used to not care much about these things, but after leaving her hometown, she has become more and more concerned about them.
-
The caravan had already traveled more than ten miles.

As night deepened, passersby had already settled down to rest in the teahouses not far ahead.

It wasn't a great place, but it was passable for a group of people crammed into one room.

Only their group of people who were in a hurry to deliver goods were still on the road.

Fortunately, the bright moon was high in the sky, so we could see the road without needing to carry lanterns or fire.

On the way, some of them couldn't help but complain:

“You should have left long ago, but you insisted on listening to that person tell stories.”

I don't know where the sound came from.

But the voice sounded familiar, so it must be one of theirs.

That's why he couldn't help but retort with a couple of sarcastic remarks at the end.

Even if it's your own problem, you can't really blame yourself, right?

So it's all your fault for speaking so well, making us walk in the dark at night!
"What do you mean we have to listen to that person tell stories? Don't you want to?"

They had never heard such a fantastical story before, so they were all captivated and refused to move.

The initial sound was clearly choked up, and he could only manage two muffled sounds before falling silent.

But as they walked, the voice suddenly rang out again:
"But do you believe it?"

"Believe in what?"

"The one where suddenly there's an extra person in the team?!"

Upon hearing this, the entire caravan, men and horses alike, froze for a moment.

After a long while, someone finally managed a forced smile:

"It's nothing but a bunch of nonsense. I've traveled all over the years and seen all sorts of things, but I've never seen anything like this supernatural stuff!"

"What if, what if it was just good luck before?"

The voice sounded somewhat timid.

This sparked discontent among the crowd.

"What nonsense are you spouting so late at night? Shut up!"

The caravan members were clearly angry, and also clearly genuinely afraid.

As mentioned earlier.

They don't believe in gods or Buddhas, but they do believe in the existence of demons and ghosts.

Strange and intriguing. The voice fell silent, seemingly afraid of further criticism from its companion.

The group naturally continued on their way.

The night was deep, and the pedestrians were silent.

But once the thought was stirred, it was impossible to stop it.

The person walking at the very back, who was also the one who had said a few sarcastic remarks at the beginning, couldn't help but think about it.

Who is speaking?
Xiao Liuzi? No, his voice sounds younger.

That Zhao Dachui? Still not right, his voice sounds like he's choking on phlegm.

It's neither this nor that, so who is it?!
As I pondered this, a chill suddenly shot up my spine and straight to the top of my head.

After swallowing hard, he forced himself to look ahead and count the heads, suppressing his fear.

One, two, thirty-one.

Thank goodness, thank goodness, it was right, it was right.

The head is correct!
The chill that had startled me was immediately soothed.

He let out a long sigh of relief and then subconsciously began counting the horses again.

These packhorses are their lifeline; they can't afford to lose even one!
One horse, two horses, six horses?!
Where are two horses?!

Startled, he immediately spoke up:

"Oh no! We're missing two horses!"

Upon hearing this, everyone in front stopped and turned to look at him.

Especially at this time.

He noticed another crucial fact—it wasn't that there were eleven people in total, but that there were eleven people in front of him!
Even in late summer, the nights are still chilly.

At this moment, the chill seemed to surge from the depths of his heart, reaching his limbs.

The person was so shocked that they felt dizzy and lightheaded.

His throat was filled with gurgling sounds; he clearly had a thousand words to say, but couldn't utter a single one.

The rest of the caravan didn't notice this; they were only startled by his comment about two missing horses.

The horses of the caravan were their lifeblood. Even a nag that couldn't run a trade route would cost several strings of cash, but their horses were naturally not those useless nags, but proper packhorses.

Each one costs fifty strings of cash!

In addition, there were the goods carried on their backs.

Losing even one horse is a life-threatening situation, let alone losing two!

And how come there's so little?

They didn't even notice.

"Are there too few horses?"

"Where is it missing?"

"Isn't this the right thing to do?"

Everyone in front of the man was looking at the horse in front of them.

No matter how you look at it, nothing is missing!
"Third brother, what nonsense are you talking about? There's no horse missing here."

But this scene sent chills down the spine of the person called the third brother.

Nothing terrified him more than this.

They were right in front of us, and they were all horse caravans who loved their horses dearly, but I just couldn't tell that two of the eight horses were missing.

And, and, that thing is inside them!
The third brother even felt an exceptionally sinister gaze shooting out from in front of him, fixed intently on him.

The sight sent chills down his spine, and he trembled all over.

'Who is it? Who is it? Who is the extra one?'

'What should I do? Run now?'

'But what about these brothers?'

'But I'm just a human, and that thing is a demon of unknown power. What can I do?'

While the third son hesitated.

A man slightly younger than him walked up and patted him on the shoulder, saying:
"Third Brother, what's wrong with you?"

The slap sent a chill down his spine, but the word "Third Brother" also made him make up his mind.

These are all his cousins. If he runs away, how will he face their wives and children when he goes back?

The chaos that had just gripped his mind was now completely calmed down.

The previously clueless thought process immediately began to unfold.

As a clear and feasible method took shape in his mind, his feet kept moving.

The third brother, having calmed down, smiled and pushed the man away, saying:

"It's nothing, it's nothing. It's just that it's too dark, and my old eyes are blurry. I must have misread it."

The crowd breathed a sigh of relief and burst into laughter and curses.
"You old bastard, you scared me to death!"

"Third brother, when you get back, ask your sister-in-law to get you a few more chickens to nourish you."

The third brother responded while waving his hand and walked to the nearest packhorse.

"I need to get something, could you guys help me unload this?"

The man from before immediately stepped forward, and another person followed him.

"What are you looking for so late at night, Third Brother? If you ask me, let's hurry up and move on."

"It's very important, very important."

The third brother explained as he tried to unload the goods with a slightly hurried manner.

His thinking was simple: they were just a bunch of ordinary people, and they couldn't defeat that unknown thing.

But he knew who could!

That's the storyteller!
Undoubtedly, the gentleman noticed that someone had infiltrated their group, and thus gave them a few pointers.

Unfortunately, they didn't take it seriously at all.

Fortunately, the gentleman did say something at the end.

He said he's been staying in the same place for the past few days.

What does this mean?
This shows that the gentleman still left them a glimmer of hope—that is, to let them go to him!

Otherwise, why would he specifically say that he would be here from now on?

(End of this chapter)