Translator: Yuzu
Half of the full moon shines, while the other half is hidden behind the clouds.
The surroundings were silent and calm, and the sky was a bit dusky, with layers of dark clouds. Except for the moon, there were not even one or two scattered small stars.
Perhaps it was too quiet that one could hear a wind sound blew over from time to time, and even the rustling sound of leaves being shaken could be heard clearly.
Xiao Chen stood at the window, squinting his eyes as if he recalled something.
Tan Jun’s eyes rolled around, and at some point, he stood behind Xiao Chen. When he wasn’t paying attention, he hugged the other’s waist and leaned his head on his left shoulder like a rogue.
Xiao Chen was shocked, nudged at the other man but failed to push him away. When he saw who it was, his body softened, maintaining an odd pose.
“What’s on your mind?” Tan Jun followed Xiao Chen’s gaze and looked out the window.
Xiao Chen smiled and let out a soft laugh, then reached out and closed the window.
Xiao Chen turned around in Tan Jun’s arms and looked into his eyes.
Tan Jun had a pair of grayish eyes. The candles’ light in the room reflected in his eyes with a flicker, as if they were full of stars.
Xiao Chen paused as if he was nostalgic and softly said, “Do you remember the first time we met?”
Tan Jun raised his eyes and stared at him.
Xiao Chen isn’t a native of Laodu Village. He came here at the age of three with his aunt, who had remarried.
Tan Jun was nine years old at the time, and although he was young, he had an air of being a lone wolf. He had a cold face, tattered clothes, and didn’t like to talk.
Xiao Chen, who was white and clean, looked even more tender than the little girls in the village. Every move was well-behaved, and he even had a pair of big eyes, which was also very pleasing to others.
However, the village children didn’t know of their xenophobic mentality. Even if Xiao Chen doesn’t provoke them, they like to tease him and force him to cry.
Xiao Chen wasn’t quite able to speak and was overly sensible, so he didn’t say a word every time he was bullied and suffered in silence.
“Why didn’t you even resist?” The bangs half covered the boy’s eyes, making it difficult to see his appearance.
Xiao Chen rubbed his palms, then blinked and sat on the floor, looking up at the boy who had suddenly spoken to him somewhat helplessly.
“Does it hurt?” The boy looked gloomy and spoke in a hoarse voice.
Xiao Chen shook his head carelessly, then wondered if he was a little aggrieved, curled his lips, and nodded again.
The boy suddenly laughed out loud; Xiao Chen was surprised and raised his head, pursing his lips as if he was a little dissatisfied.
The boy swept a glance at the kids who just rushed out to push people and ran away from the corner to observe the situation here, and his expression returned to indifference.
He looked at Xiao Chen and walked with a cold face in the direction of the group.
Xiao Chen’s mind flashed with the first meeting’s image and suddenly laughed out loud, reaching out his index finger to scratch at Tan Jun’s nose.
“Thank you for always protecting me.” Xiao Chen said it word by word with a voice that wasn’t loud, but it was genuine. The corners of his mouth slightly upturned, and the corners of his eyes were also a little moist.
Tan Jun didn’t say anything but simply reached out and ruffled up Xiao Chen’s hair with a smile on his lips.
Xiao Chen curled his mouth, slightly laughing, and sighed, looking at him with incomparably deep eyes and said, “In the future, I’ll protect you, okay?”
There was a moment of silence.
Someone answered, “Okay.”
You don’t know, from the moment you appeared in my life, I was never able to take my eyes off you. From then on, my world was only you.
—
Hu Bing handed the silver knives to each of them personally, and in the process, he locked eyes with Huang Ke, who looked over at him several times. Hu Bing’s teeth clenched as he tried to pretend he hadn’t seen his probing gaze, maintaining the appearance that he was unaware of what was going on.
Ma Chenggong nodded when he received the knife. He had dark circles under his eyes, and one could tell he hadn’t rested too well.
Ma Hang stayed in his room because he was injured, and they didn’t let him out.
After distributing the knives, Hu Bing was ready to knock on Xiao Chen’s door. After Zhang Xiaoxian’s death, Jin Hong had been separated from Xiao Chen’s room.
Huang Ke, who had been silent for a long time, seemed to have read Hu Bing’s intentions and suddenly stood up, stopping Hu Bing’s way. In a split second, Hu Bing’s face turned ugly.
Huang Ke spoke concisely, “Give me the knife. I’ll do it.”
Hu Bing pursed his lips as if he had a long mental struggle and finally placed the silver knife he had prepared for Xiao Chen in the other’s hand.
Huang Ke’s attitude towards Xiao Chen was also strange.
Hu Bing was keenly aware of this.
The silver knives Hu Bing had prepared were all found in the storage room on the second floor. It was after he guessed that the villagers might be werewolves that he began to realize that there were no silver products in the entire house at all.
Thinking of this, Hu Bing’s hand holding the knives paused.
These items had appeared so timely that they instead made him feel unreal, like someone was calculating something in the dark.
Hu Bing stared at Huang Ke’s back, not knowing why he suddenly felt a little flustered.
But now, Hu Bing didn’t have time to overthink!
Because it’s getting late at night!
If his suspicions held true, these villagers would be transformed into werewolves tonight! And every single one of them here is meat to the werewolves!
Thinking of this, Hu Bing pulled out the lighter he had prepared from his pocket and pursed his lips.
Werewolves are afraid of silver products, and they are also scared of fire.
‘A fire to burn this place down.’ Hu Bing’s mind couldn’t help but be reminded of that low and cold voice.
And that mysterious man.
Hu Bing’s eyes were dark, not knowing what he was pondering. Hu Bing vaguely felt that he wasn’t far from the so-called truth.
This step might mean death, but to succeed was to be desperate.
Huang Ke paused outside the door of Xiao Chen’s room, wondering if he was under some kind of oppression. The cold sweat on his forehead was tearing down hard, and the closer he got to the door, the more oppressive the pressure was. While his expression became increasingly grim, it seemed as if he would kneel in the next second due to his legs’ weakness.
Eventually, Huang Ke kneeled straight down with a thud, along with the knife he was trying to give to Xiao Chen, which also fell off his hand in response.
‘Don’t think about things that don’t belong to you.’ Someone’s voice pierced through his eardrums and poured directly into his heart!
The voice was angry, even murderous, and the words were powerfully possessive.
Huang Ke’s mind was shaken, something was pulled out of his head, and his expression changed from distorted to dull, even lifeless.
The man was like a puppet with a broken string, losing his life and only being manipulated like a machine. Huang Ke stood up with a blank expression, turned around, and finally left.
Heh.
Someone let out a sneer.
Even if you have such memories, it’s not something you experienced personally.
He! Is mine!
“Wooo!” A sudden, long howl cut through the sky, the sound dragging on for a long time, startling the otherwise drowsy crowd to their feet with a sudden jolt.
This cry was very sharp, even piercing, and one could hear the source of the sound a distance away.
The cry, which was too disproportionate to the silent night, finally stopped. However, before the crowd could breathe a sigh of relief, the tiger's body shook the next instant.
“Ang–”
“Woo-”
“Ow–”
The moment the first howl ceased as if in response to it, one cry after another of varying lengths suddenly rang out. The howls carrying a burst of echoes in the silent night came from all directions, boiling like a carnival.
The moon was full! The entire silhouette was exposed from behind the clouds! The dead leaves on the big trees’ tops seemed to be sprinkled with silver powder, shearing out light and shadow.
“Thud-”
“Da-da-da-”
Strange sounds came from outside the house, one after another.
Ma Chenggong’s hands were all sweaty.
He thought that he had lived a new life and knew the whole truth about this village, that the person who cursed this village and killed him was Tan Jun. But the funny thing was that he didn’t know anything else but that. What he was experiencing now was a huge deviation from his memory.
Could it be that after he died, these things happened to the rest of the group? Did they learn that all villagers are actually werewolves?
In the end, he turned out to know nothing.
That’s ridiculous!
“Boom, boom, boom!!!” Someone was pounding on the door.
The people were on edge and took their weapons.
“Squeak-” As if some sharp object was scraping the glass and the walls, making an unpleasant, ear-splitting sound.
“What do we do?” Jin Hong asked out in panic, and one could tell that she was desperately trying to control herself not to be afraid. Still, at this moment, when her life was at stake, she simply couldn’t handle the emotions causing her to break down.
But, before anyone could answer,
“Boom!” Once again, the door was knocked directly open, but the door panel flew straight to the ground, unlike the last time.
The hairy creature, with its ghostly green eyes, stood in the doorway. It was huge, with very rugged and muscular arms! It is both human-sized and a wild animal, with a wolf’s head!
Werewolves!
Everybody choked!
The werewolf moved its neck, its bones cracking, and its muzzle parted, its ghostly eyes staring at everyone in the room.
Hehe, it’s food.
Tan Jun held Xiao Chen in his arms, his eyes were deep, and his gaze contained many emotions. Finally, he gently drew a cross symbol with his index finger on Xiao Chen’s head.
The originally drowsy Xiao Chen blinked his eyes in confusion and tilted his head, looking at him with some doubts.
Tan Jun laughed and leaned into his ear, “Remember, don’t be afraid! No matter what happens next! You just have to remember! Me! I will definitely come back to you!”
And the only thing I ask of you is that you be able to protect yourself.
–
The author has something to say: This world is almost over!!!! Was it a pleasant surprise?