Since all these rules and superstitions are outdated, what's wrong with me indulging in some me

"I've left something behind." An Zhiyu's voice remained cool. "You guys go first, I'll go back and get it, I'll catch up soon."

"It's not safe for you to be alone."

Kevin stopped as well and said in disagreement.

"It's okay, I know my limits."

An Zhiyu shook her head, her attitude resolute.

Her reasoning sounded reasonable, but Lu Changsheng noticed that her gaze seemed to inadvertently sweep towards the narrow alley.

Lu Changsheng's eyes flickered slightly, but he didn't point it out, only saying:

"Okay, be careful. Come back as soon as possible."

"Um."

An Zhiyu nodded, turned around, and quickly disappeared into the mist and the shadow of the earthen wall.

Emily looked in the direction where An Zhiyu had disappeared, raised an eyebrow, and moved the blade of grass she was holding in her mouth, but said nothing.

"Let's go."

Lu Changsheng withdrew his gaze, his expression unchanged, and returned to the courtyard with the rest of the people.

As soon as they entered the courtyard, they heard rustling sounds coming from inside the house.

Everyone was stunned. Apart from the injured, burly black man, there was no one else in the room.

However, at this moment, the door to their room was ajar, and suppressed, heavy breathing and the rustling of fabric could be heard from inside.

"Leo?"

That was the fake name the burly black man gave when Chen the Blind Man was telling his fortune.

Kevin's expression changed, and he rushed over to push open the door!

The scene inside the room stunned everyone.

On the earthen bed, the burly black man, Leo, who had been unconscious and barely breathing, had actually sat up!

He leaned against the mottled earthen wall, his face still terribly pale, his lips chapped, and his forehead covered in large beads of sweat.

"Leo! You're awake! Thank God!" Mark rushed forward in surprise.

"Thanks!"

Leo spoke hoarsely, his voice dry as if sandpaper was being rubbed. He relaxed slightly when he saw familiar faces like Lu Changsheng, Kevin, and Mark, but his body remained tense.

"What happened? How did you hurt your leg? Where did you go last night?"

Kevin asked questions as he walked to the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed) and carefully checked his condition.

Leo took a few deep breaths, trying to calm his trembling. His gaze fell on his broken leg, a look of intense pain and unbelievable absurdity flashing in his eyes.

"I...I was too reckless."

He spoke, his voice still unsteady, "Yesterday morning, I wanted to go out and explore by myself. It was still dark, so I thought everything would be fine. I went north to see what was behind the ancestral hall."

He licked his chapped lips, and Kevin immediately handed him a bowl of water. He drank several large gulps greedily before continuing:

"I saw a very small side courtyard with the door ajar. I heard noises inside, so I peeked through the crack in the door..."

A look of humiliation and fear crossed Leo's face.

"I smelled a very strange smell, a little sweet and a little fishy... and then, I don't know anything else."

"Drowned?" Lu Changsheng frowned. "Did you see who it was? Or were there any distinguishing features?"

Leo shook his head painfully: "No, I didn't even see a shadow of anyone, I only smelled something, and then I lost consciousness."

He clenched his fists. "But I know it was definitely done by people from the village."

Why are you so sure?

Lu Changsheng asked.

Leo hesitated for a moment, then said:

"Actually, when I came out of the yard that day, I felt like someone was following me. Don't you guys feel like you're being watched?"

Everyone nodded in agreement.

Kevin pondered for a moment, then asked in a deep voice, "On the first night, you shared a room with Ivan. What happened that night?"

Leo's eyes glazed over for a moment, as if pulled back to that terrifying night. He licked his chapped lips and uttered a sentence that sent chills down everyone's spine—

"Ivan... I really didn't kill him."

The air fell silent for a moment, and everyone felt the chilling meaning of that instant.

"What did you say...?" Cheng Caijun swallowed hard. "You didn't 'kill' Ivan?"

Leo, lying on the bed, was taken aback by everyone's expressions. He instantly understood and tentatively began to speak:

"What's wrong? Why do you all look like that? Ivan... what's wrong?"

"Is there any possibility...?" Mark, standing beside him, also felt goosebumps rise all over his body, "that Ivan is still alive?"

"What did you say?!" Leo's voice suddenly rose, and he abruptly sat up straight. The force of the movement even aggravated his not-yet-fully-healed wound. He groaned, staring intently at Mark. "Ivan is alive! I clearly saw him die?!"

Mark was startled by Leo's reaction. The next second, he was a little annoyed and was about to start cursing when Kevin pulled him back.

"Ivan is definitely not dead!"

Kevin remained calm.

Leo froze.

"Explain yourself!" Lu Changsheng said in a deep voice, suppressing the turmoil in his heart. "What exactly happened? Start from the first night, after you went back to your room, tell me every single detail!"

Leo realized that things seemed to have gone terribly off track, something he was completely unaware of. He swallowed nervously and tried to recall.

He began to narrate in a hoarse voice:

"The atmosphere was strange when we got back to our room that night. He barely said a word."

A flash of anger crossed Leo's dark face. He didn't explain why, because everyone knew the reason.

"Our earthen beds were separate, with a distance between us. I was so uneasy that I didn't dare to fall into a deep sleep."

His breathing became rapid:

"It was probably late at night? I was half asleep when I suddenly heard a noise next to me. It was very faint, but I woke up. I squinted and looked over. In the dim moonlight, I saw Ivan sit up."

The color drained from Leo's face, as if he were seeing that horrifying scene again.

"He was holding his dagger in his hand. Then he pointed the tip of the blade...at his own neck."

Everyone held their breath, and even Emily stopped playing with the grass stem in her hand.

"And then he just slowly, with the tip of the knife... cut down."

Leo's voice trembled, "I saw blood, dark red, flowing down his neck. But he didn't make a sound, and there even seemed to be a slight smile on his face?"

I couldn't see clearly; it was too dark. I didn't dare move. A short while later, he collapsed beside me. I waited a moment, then checked his breath. I found he wasn't breathing anymore.

"That's why I rushed out the door this morning," Leo said, taking a deep breath.

"I don't want to be in the same room as a dead person."

"So," Lu Changsheng's voice was low and slow as he sorted through this horrifying narrative, "according to you, on the first night, Ivan committed suicide in front of you. Then you left alone and met with misfortune."