Passerby: Secret Image of Ancient Scrolls

Aoluya held the beast in her arms. The face, now only half its original size, was no longer terrifying. Its scales were soft and smooth, like silk, and warm. So warm they were almost burning. It didn't leave, nor did it struggle. It simply stood there, held in her arms.

The white deer looked at them and walked over.

Aoluya closed her eyes. She felt it. She heard it. The white deer said it wanted to become one with the wild beast. It couldn't bear to see the wild beast continue to wallow in suffering.

This is a good thing. This is the path they should take, the home they should return to.

The process was extremely perilous; the slightest misstep could result in the complete annihilation of both the white deer and the wild beast. Furthermore, Su Jin's evil aura within the forest had not completely dissipated, making the fusion even more difficult. However, she believed that the primordial guardians of the Greater Khingan Mountains, two of the most ancient beings, possessed the purest power to resist the evil and complete the fusion, thus becoming guardian deities once more.

She opened her eyes and looked at the white deer, the wild beasts, and the still-burning fire.

"The white deer and the guardian deity must merge. Become one. The guardian deity's soul is suffering greatly, and all those who believed in it have left. It will continue to suffer." Ao Luya's voice was very soft, as soft as falling snow.

Everyone was stunned. They didn't know what fusion was, how to fuse, or what would happen after fusion. They just stared at her, unsure of what to say.

Aoluya offered no explanation. She released the beast and took a step back. She looked at the white deer, at the beast, at the still-burning fire. She reached out and embraced the white deer.

They were holding each other very tightly.

"Everyone, go into the cabin and bring out some dry firewood. I need to light a campfire," she said, looking at the crowd.

The firewood was piled up outside the cabin, not far from the pickup truck.

The bonfire was lit, just like the bonfire that cast shadows on the walls of the cave ten thousand years ago.

It's the same campfire.

It's like the flame in a wild beast's eye.

It's the same fire.

She began to dance. It was a shamanic dance. She didn't say anything, but everyone knew that the fusion had begun. Her feet sank into the snow, and into the firelight.

Her hands were waving; no one had ever seen this kind of dance before. It was too ancient for people to watch nowadays.

She was singing, not songs, but those ancient, forgotten tunes that no one remembers.

The shamanic bell she had carried with her since childhood was broken. Without the bell, she tapped the rhythm with her hands and feet.

She had only fire, only dance, and only the oldest things in that forest to accompany her.

The white deer's eyes began to change. Not red, but bright. A light emanated from its eyes, illuminating its entire body.

The beast's body began to go limp. Like a piece of clothing that had been taken off, it slowly slid down, and the fire melted into the white deer's body. The scales fell off its body piece by piece, landing on the snow, shimmering like ripples in a river under moonlight.

Its claws shrank, its body shrank, and its flame dimmed. It was burrowing into the white deer's body, burrowing into that light.

An evil aura has arrived. It doesn't come from the outside, but from the beast's body. The black, sticky substance seeps out from the limp body lying on the ground, from the gaps between the scales that haven't yet fallen off, from the still-bleeding wounds, and from the edge of the fire in its eyes.

They were hidden so well that even Aoluya hadn't noticed them. Yet, at this crucial moment, they emerged and burrowed into the white deer's body. They wanted to disrupt the fusion, to devour the white deer, and to destroy everything.

The lurking evil energy found its outlet at that moment. It surged from the beast's body like a black whale breathing.

They pounced on the white deer, burrowing into its wounds, into its eyes, into the burning light within it. A faint blackness appeared on the white deer's body. That blackness spread from the deer's pure white form. The beast's fire burned, and the evil blackness seeped in.

They were fighting, snatching, and scrambling. The white deer's legs buckled, its head shook violently, and its antlers trembled uncontrollably.

It was in pain; now it's its turn.

The purest soul, capable of healing all, is now in pain.

"Awooo!" The beast roared. It was no longer a muffled gurgling sound from its throat, but a roar.

It was the roar of a truly savage beast. It was a roar that exploded from that ball of fire.

It hurts. It hurts so much.

It can endure pain.

But those evil spirits are eroding the white deer's soul.

It cannot be allowed.

Aoluya's dance steps quickened. Her feet pounded in the snow, leaving a circle of footprints. Her hands moved incessantly, unaware that they were aching and numb. Her mouth sang, until her voice was hoarse. She didn't stop. She couldn't stop. If she stopped, the white deer would be gone. If she stopped, the wild beast would never return.

She stopped, and the forest was left without a guardian spirit.

She can't stop.

The man stood up. His legs were shaking, his hands were shaking, his whole body was shaking.

He walked step by step out of the wooden house, into the snow, and to the fire.

He began to follow behind Ao Luya, imitating her movements and starting to dance. He couldn't dance, didn't know what the dance steps meant, didn't know what the gestures were calling for, and didn't know who the tunes were for.

He was just dancing. He was dancing along with Aoluya, using his dying body to begin a shamanic dance. He didn't do it well; his steps were shaky and he couldn't keep up with the rhythm, but he was still dancing.

He was coughing and jumping at the same time.

Ye Zhuo, Lao Gu, and Xiao Yuan exchanged glances.

They instantly understood what the other meant.

They joined the group, following Aoluya's dance steps.

They started jumping.

The white deer trembled less, and its fur, which had turned black from the evil influence, began to gradually return to its former pure white color.

The originally viscous, black evil energy was forced out of its body, turning into wisps of black smoke and dissipating.

Shen Xun stood there, looking at those red lines. One by one, they sprouted from the ground, from the cracks, from beneath the frozen soil, from things buried for who knows how many years.

They are connected to every empty face in the evil tide. A red thread connects each face. They are underground, in the darkness, in places no one remembers. They are being sucked, drained, and dried up. They are the source of the evil tide.

"Are there any tools on the bread truck? We need to dig here. Dig out what's underneath," Shen Xun said to Lu Ye. His voice was soft, but steady.

"Let me look, this isn't my car," Lu Ye replied. "Cross cover, two people, come with me to look." He turned and walked to the back of the van, opened the trunk, and pulled out a shovel from under the seat.

"There's one shovel! We'll take turns digging." There was only one. He went to the clearing and began to dig. The snow was shoveled away, the frozen soil was shoveled away, the cracks were shoveled away. One shovel, two shovels, three shovels. The evil tide surged, the empty faces cried out, laughed, pounced. They knew someone was digging up their roots.

Shen Xun looked into Lin Jian's eyes and said, "You and your teammates repelled the evil tide. I'm now exhausted of spiritual energy and can no longer use the Golden Light Shield." After saying that, he turned his head away without looking at Lin Jian again. He walked to Lu Ye's side, picked up the peach wood staff, and repeatedly inserted it into the frozen soil, stirring it up. It was like metal piercing tofu.

It was originally a wooden staff, but it was sharper than steel. Lu Ye looked at Shen Xun, and even in this moment of crisis, he couldn't help but smile. He quickened his pace, shoveling the frozen soil that the peach wood staff had turned over and throwing it out of the pit, one shovelful at a time.

"Watch out for those evil tides, they're coming!" Lu Ye shouted. The team members raised their flashlights, the beams cutting into the darkness and forcing back the surging empty faces. Xiao Bu could see it clearly on the screen, his fingers flying across the remote control. The drone descended, its beams striking the still churning evil tides.

The van's headlights were still on, the SUV's headlights were still on, and the beams of flashlights, drone lights, and headlights intertwined, creating a network of light.

The evil tides evaporated in the light, emitting white smoke like water that had evaporated. They were not afraid of the wind, but they were afraid of the light. With the light present, they dared not enter. At least not now.

Lu Ye was digging. One shovel, two shovels, three shovels. He didn't know how long he had been digging; his hands were trembling. Another team member took over and continued digging. Then another took over and continued digging. They took turns digging, took turns resting, and took turns shining flashlights on the still churning, turbulent tides.

Shen Xun was also digging.

The pit grew deeper and deeper, from one foot to two feet, from two feet to three feet. The frozen soil was dug away, revealing the black mud beneath; the black mud was dug away, revealing the sand and gravel below; the sand and gravel were dug away, revealing something else beneath. The shovel struck something hard. Not a stone, but bone.

The team member stopped. He crouched down and shone his flashlight into the pit. He saw it. It was skeleton.

It's not from animals, it's from humans.

The evil tide began to surge. Those empty faces surged in from all directions. They no longer cared that they would be illuminated and disappear.

They had gone mad; they pounced on the crowd. They laughed again. Hehehe, hehehehehehe.

It wasn't laughter, it was crying. After countless laughs, finally, tears streamed down her face.

The drone was still shaking, two of its propellers were broken, and its lights were flashing. Xiao Bu pulled the drone up and shone the light downwards. He could see on the screen that the evil tide had begun its frenzied attack. He couldn't care less about the drone now.

He only wanted to use the maximum amount of light to protect everyone, his teammates, and Lu Ye.

Lin Jian's camera flashes pierced the darkness time and time again, illuminating countless empty faces.

Lu Ye gripped the flashlight tightly, the beam cutting into the darkness and forcing back the empty face at the front. But more surged up from behind, wave after wave.

The team members waved their flashlights, the intense white light shining towards the evil tide, and the empty faces disappeared one after another.

But they eventually broke through the defenses, and the team members started laughing again.

Shen Xun ignored the team members who were laughing strangely. He squatted down, leaning on his peach wood staff, and stared at the skeletons for a long time. The red lines grew from these skeletons. The evil tide surged from their bodies. The empty faces were crying out on their behalf.

"Keep digging. Dig out all these bones," Shen Xun said. The team member paused for a moment. Then, a smirk appeared on his face. He looked at the bones, then at Shen Xun, and began to laugh strangely.

Shen Xun snatched the shovel, jumped into the deep pit, and continued digging. One shovel, two shovels, three shovels.

"Lu Ye, tell your men to hold on. Lin Jian, keep the flashes going." Shen Xun's voice came from below the pit. Bones were dug out—one, two, three. There were adults and children.

The child's bones were small, huddled next to the adult, their hand bones resting on the adult's body. They were buried together, died together.

The flashlight beam shone on the bones, revealing something. It wasn't bones, it was a doll.

The teddy bear was faded and torn, with cotton peeking out from the holes. It was buried next to a child's bones, held by the child's hand bones.

Shen Xun looked at the doll; it was the source. Those red threads originated from it, from the doll being held by the child's skeleton.

The doll's face had no features. No eyes, no nose, no mouth. It was just a blank face.

Like those empty faces, it's smiling. It has no mouth, but it's smiling.

"Found it. It's you." Shen Xun picked up the doll.

He took off his sunglasses. His golden pupils gleamed faintly in the darkness.

This is a faceless doll. Back then, it had eyes, a nose, and a mouth.

It sat beside the child's pillow, watching the child fall asleep.

The scene shifts to three people bound by ropes: two adults and a child. The child is clutching a doll, refusing to let go. The doll has seen them. The people throw the three of them into a deep pit that has already been dug.

The brand-new high-rise buildings in front of the deep pit gleamed in the sunlight, looking quite sacred.

The threads on the doll's body began to move. Each thread was taut and straight.

The evil tide stopped attacking the people above, and the team members' eerie laughter ceased. They no longer paid attention to Xiao Bu's drone with two broken propellers, nor did they care how long the car lights would remain on.

They changed direction and rushed towards the deep pit. They wanted to turn Shen Xun into someone like President Li.

The doll knew it could do it. The man had no spiritual power. He had nothing. He was just a person standing at the bottom of the pit holding a doll.

The doll has no mouth, but it smiles.

Shen Xun looked at the doll's empty face, at the threads, and at the empty faces rushing towards him.

His lips curled up at an angle he hadn't done in a long time.

He laughed; he couldn't remember the last time he had laughed.

Even passersby, guardians of reincarnation, and those who have lived for hundreds of years can smile. He raised his hand and gently stroked the doll's faceless face.

Then he heard it.

It's the wind.

A tremendous sound that shook the very soul appeared out of nowhere in everyone's mind, including the minds of the evil tides and the dolls.

Anger, resentment, and grievance appeared on the doll's empty face.

A tremendous gust of wind arose from the void and crashed into the deep pit. The red threads were breaking, one by one. The taut threads, as if weighed down by some unseen weight, snapped all at once.

The evil tide spread out, like an ant colony whose nest had been overturned, scattering in all directions, crawling into the cracks that had not yet been dug, shrinking under the frozen soil, and rushing into the tall buildings.

A dark shadow, obscuring the sky, occupied the entire bottom of the pit, the entire cluster of high-rise buildings, and the very soul of everyone present.

It was the shadow form of Bai Wuchang (the White Impermanence). She's back.