Passerby: Secret Image of Ancient Scrolls

The beast was still walking. The trap was still on its leg, the net was still on its body, and the four men were still pulling from behind. It didn't stop. It lunged at the white deer's neck. Its claws dug into the mane, into the flesh.

Blood streamed down the white deer's neck, dripping onto the snow, a glaringly red stain. The white deer didn't move. It didn't cry out. It simply stood there, watching the beast. It felt no pain. It felt the pain for the beast.

The beast's body moved closer and closer, its face almost touching the white deer's. If it succeeded, no one could bear the consequences.

"This won't do! We can't hold it back! Think of something!" Ao Luya's voice trembled, and she was on the verge of tears.

Ye Zhuo's expression darkened, and a glint of light flashed in her eyes. "Old Gu, do you have a tow rope in your car?" Ye Zhuo shouted, increasing the pressure on her hand. The rope left a deep red mark on her hand.

"Yes, it's under the seat!" Old Gu suddenly realized something, and a hint of joy appeared on his face, which was distorted from squeezing with all his might. Everyone else realized it too.

Ye Zhuo wanted to use a pickup truck to pull the beast away.

"Hold on tight, I'm going to get the car to pull it out." Ye Zhuo said, releasing his grip. The group's previously drained energy surged forth again, and Xiao Yuan, his voice hoarse, shouted, "One, two, one, two..."

With a synchronized effort, everyone strained in unison, pulling the beast backward for a moment before it lunged forward again, dragging them a little further. Its claws dug deeper. The white deer remained fixed on it, unmoving.

Ye Zhuo had already run outside. She ran to the pickup truck, opened the door, climbed in, found the tow rope under the seat, and rushed into my house.

"We have to tie the rope directly to it! Otherwise, it won't be able to exert any force. Aoluya, is that feasible?" Ye Zhuo pulled the net up again, and with the rhythm of "one, two, one, two," the beast's forward-leaning body was straightened again. The flame in its eyes was still fixed on the white deer, wanting to burn it to ashes.

"I don't know! It only has eyes for the white deer right now, I bet it won't attack! There's no other way, we have to take a gamble!" Ao Luya's anxiety intensified. "Ye Zhuo, you hold on, I'll go tie it to it!"

Ye Zhuo turned his head, glanced at her, and said in a deep voice, "I'll go. In case of any unexpected events, I can dodge faster." Both Ye Zhuo and Ao Luya were thinking of each other, fearing that if the wild beast attacked, there would be no chance to dodge at such close range. For a moment, they couldn't make a decision.

Old Gu watched and listened to them, but dared not look up. He was truly terrified of that beast. He hated himself for being useless, letting the two girls stand in front of him, yet he gritted his teeth, powerless to do anything.

Just then, a deep voice came, "Stop arguing, I'll go. I was supposed to die. If I die, I can be free." Xiao Yuan looked at Ye Zhuo, "Sister, remember to write to me." He smiled, the curve of his lips exactly the same as when he was a child.

"Xiao Yuan! No! Let me go!" Ye Zhu cried as she looked at Xiao Yuan's smile. She remembered the boy squatting on the street corner, his clothes tattered.

But she couldn't stop him; he had already let go. With one less person pulling, the beast leaned forward, its claws digging deep into the white deer's skin. The white deer's blood dripped down its body onto the wooden floor. "Drip, drip," countless cuts were made on the beast's body by the net, and black viscous fluid dripped from the cuts, mingling with the white deer's blood and spirit.

Pulsating, boiling, burning!

The wild beast was tightly strangled by the net, with only its arms and head breaking through, the rest of the net rope held together by several tensions.

There was no space behind us; we had to go forward and face the beasts head-on.

Ye Zhuo watched as he took the tow rope from under his feet, watched as he looked back at him, and watched as he turned and walked towards the wild beast.

Look at him.

They walked up to the beast, snuggled into its arms, and then stood up abruptly.

He stood between the beast and the white deer, his face pressed against the beast's half-missing face.

The fire in the beast's eyes burned even brighter. But it had already seized the white deer's body and was unwilling to let go. Its teeth were still healthy and could bite through its neck at any moment, but it wanted to bite the white deer.

Its body trembled violently, and its scales snapped and popped.

Xiao Yuan stared at the ball of fire without a trace of fear. If it bit off his neck, he would never have to suffer in this world again. If it possessed his body, perhaps he could return to his childhood, to the days he spent with Sister Ye Zhuo, those were the happiest times of his life.

Her hands didn't stop, wrapping around the beast again and again. Finally, she tied a knot—the kind Ye Zhuo had taught her, a knot that wouldn't come undone.

His gaze left the raging fire, and he walked back to stand beside Ye Zhuo, pulling on the net rope.

"The rope is tied up. Go get the car, sister." His voice was calm.

Ye Zhuo glanced at him, her eyes hardening. She didn't speak, and quickly ran towards Pikachu. "One, two, one, two..." The crowd pushed off again in rhythm, bringing the beast to a halt.

A loud bang pierced the night sky as Ye Zhuo started the engine. The tires slipped on the snow, kicking up a cloud of snow. She shifted into reverse, stepped on the gas, and the pickup truck lurched backward, the tow hook still attached to the trailer hitch.

There was fire burning in the white deer's eyes. Not the fire of a wild beast, but its own. That fire burned, making its entire body glow.

Ye Zhuo floored the accelerator, the engine roared, the tires spun, smoke billowed, and the pickup truck was pulled backward. The beast was pulled back a step, but it still managed to keep its balance. The rope was taut and about to break, the net digging into the beast's flesh and bones.

The beast didn't stop. It pulled a claw from the white deer's body and grabbed its antlers. It was pulling the white deer, trying to drag it closer; it wanted the white deer's body, it was in so much pain.

With the pull of the pickup truck, Aoluya was finally able to free her hands so she could cast a spell to purify the evil energy within the beast.

The bell is ringing, growing more urgent and shrill, as if someone is shouting, "Wake up, wake up, do you remember? You are not it, you are the guardian spirit. You are the oldest thing in this forest."

do you remember?

The beast's claws paused for a moment. Just a moment. It didn't loosen its grip. It was still pulling.

The white deer's antlers bent downwards, its neck bent downwards, its body bent downwards. It was bleeding, it was glowing, it was waiting. It didn't know how long it would have to wait. It was just waiting.

The pickup truck's rear wheels sank into the snow, slipping and smoking. The rope was taut, the net digging into the beast's bones. The beast didn't stop. It pulled the white deer an inch closer. An inch further.

The white deer's face pressed against the beast's face. The fire burned from the white deer's eyes and into the beast's eyes.

They're all holding on. Holding on with their lives.

Wild beasts, white deer, and people—all are the same.

Xiao Bu saw the torrent shoot out of Mr. Li's mouth, saw it rush towards the drone, saw it crash into the propellers, and saw a flash of light. His hands on the remote control became even steadyer, and he controlled the drone, with two broken propellers, to chase after Mr. Li.

The drone plunged into the black tide. Its propellers slicing, the light shining, and the faceless figures, emitting black smoke in the light, dissipated, screaming. The chuckling laughter turned into sizzling, burning sounds. The drone emerged from the black tide.

The aircraft was tilted and swaying, the light still flashing. But the light didn't go out.

"Shine the flashlight on it!" Lu Ye roared. The speeding bread cart had already blocked Mr. Li's path; they had a chance to crash into it from behind earlier.

But he couldn't do that. Mr. Li was there to help him, but the evil tide had taken advantage of his weakness and taken over his body.

The team members raised their flashlights, and the beams of light cut straight into the darkness, illuminating Mr. Li's face. The van headlights and flashlights blocked their path, making it impossible to break through.

Mr. Li shielded his eyes with his two bulky arms, turned his body around, and faced the direction he had come from. He stared at the building, his eyes filled with an obsession that didn't belong to him.

His feet moved, and he ran back.

He needed to go back and absorb more of the evil tide to make himself stronger. Under the flashing lights of the drone, Mr. Li returned downstairs in a few breaths. The bread cart and drone followed closely behind.

The group got out of the car and surrounded Mr. Li again, shining their flashlights around them.

The evil tides returned, and began to spin again, gathering in the wound on President Li's hand. The Saturnian rings lit up again, growing larger and larger.

Footsteps echoed in the stairwell. Shen Xun walked in front, his peach wood staff tapping on the steps, tap, tap, tap, like a heartbeat, like a countdown. His face was still white, deathly white, as white as paper, as white as snow. Lin Jian and his teammates followed behind him. The red runes in the stairwell had turned into a pool of sticky red liquid, spreading on the ground. The stairwell door was already open.

They stepped out of the building. The light was blinding; over fifty drones hovered motionless in mid-air, illuminating the area near the opposite staircase. Lu Ye and his team huddled around the bread cart, their flashlight beams all focused on a middle-aged man in the center. Upon seeing Shen Xun, Lu Ye's composure vanished, replaced by excitement: "Brother Shen, you're finally out! That's great! I was so worried!"

Shen Xun looked at him and nodded: "He's been possessed by the evil tide."

Shen Xun walked to the bread cart and tapped his peach wood cane on the snow. Golden light spilled out from the cane, very weak, like a candle flame about to go out.

But it's still here. It hasn't died out.

He squatted down and drew lines on the snow with his fingers, still surrounded by a golden light.

The golden light enveloped the snow, spreading outwards from the center along the golden lines that stretched across the snow.

President Li was enveloped. The evil tide was kept out. They clung to the golden shield, squeezed into the cracks, and laughed. Hehe, hehe, hehehehehe. But they couldn't get in. At least not now.

"Flashlights, get them in position!" Lu Ye gave the order. The team members raised their flashlights, the beams shining on General Manager Li. He was naked, slumped on the ground, his stomach swollen like a balloon, the rings of Saturn still swirling around him, but slower now.

Those faceless faces, emitting black smoke in the light, were dissipating and screaming. They shrank into Mr. Li's body, shrinking in through the wounds, through the nostrils, through the corners of his mouth. Mr. Li's stomach was bulging, not stopped, but started again. His skin was stretched until it shone, veins bulging, and those things were turning over inside his body.

"Lin Jian. Press the flash," Shen Xun called out. Lin Jian stood at the edge of the golden light shield, camera in hand. Her hands trembled, the camera trembled, and her heart trembled. She remembered how her flash had shattered the golden light shield in that building. She dared not press it again.

"Press it," Shen Xun said. She didn't move. "Press it," he repeated. Her finger was on the shutter button, but she didn't press it.

She was afraid. Afraid that the golden light would shatter, afraid that the evil tide would surge in, afraid that they would all die here.

"The evil tide isn't as strong as last time. I can handle it. Press." Shen Xun's voice was calm, as calm as a frozen river. Lin looked at his face, at his eyes, and at the nearly extinguished peach wood staff in his hand.

She pressed the shutter. "Click..." The flash exploded in the darkness, the white light cutting across Mr. Li. The Saturnian rings evaporated in the light, emitting black smoke and screaming.

They shrank deeper and faster into President Li's body. President Li's belly swelled up again. Another crack appeared on the golden light shield. Shen Xun didn't move. He just stared at President Li, and at the still-shrinking Saturnian rings.

"Press again," he said. Lin Jian pressed the shutter. The flash went off again, and another ring of Saturn disappeared from President Li's body.

His belly was bulging, the cracks in the golden light shield were widening, and Shen Xun's hands were trembling.

He didn't loosen his grip. He held the peachwood staff; the golden blood had stopped flowing. He was risking his life. "Press again." Lin Jian pressed again. Again. Again. The flash's cooldown time was half as fast as last time—not fifteen seconds, but seven or eight seconds.

She didn't know why this was happening, whether the camera had changed or the golden shadow was helping her. She just kept pressing the shutter. Click, click, click. The Saturnian rings on Mr. Li's body became fewer, thinner, and fainter. His belly swelled as if it were about to burst, his skin stretched transparent, revealing the still churning black tide inside. They were shrinking, hiding, and burrowing deeper.

Mr. Li's body began to tremble. Not from the light, but from the inside out. The things inside him were turning over; they were about to come out.

Mr. Li opened his mouth, intending to unleash a torrent of water to shatter the barrier that was trapping him.

A torrent of water shot out, and countless hollow faces shot toward the largest crack in the golden light shield.

The golden shield shattered. An evil tide surged in, from the cracks, from the broken edges, from the faceless figures.

They pounced on Shen Xun, on Lin Jian, and on the team members who were still shining flashlights.

They're laughing. Hehehe, hehehehehehe.

Shen Xun gripped his peachwood staff, standing in front of the crowd. He did not retreat. He had never retreated.

Lin Jian raised his camera, aimed it at the surging evil tide, and pressed the shutter.

Flashes of light exploded again and again in the darkness; the light shone, the evil tide receded, and then surged again.

She was just pressing the shutter. Click, click, click.

Lu Ye gritted his teeth and cursed, "Take a good picture!"

The drone swayed its body and used its flickering light to project the evil tide.

As the team members raised their batons to scatter the remaining empty-faced individuals, they also held up their flashlights, the beams of light flickering wildly in the darkness, illuminating the faceless ones, the churning black tide, and Shen Xun's still-bleeding hand.

He's holding on. They're all holding on.

Wait for the light to brighten a little more, wait for the sky to clear a little more, wait for Jin Xue to recover more.

They didn't know how long they would have to wait.

But they knew that if they held on, they could overcome anything.