Escape from the Film Set

Hawkeye's words were still echoing in his mind.

Qian Cangyi took a deep breath, gradually accepting concepts he didn't originally believe in.

Whether it was the bloody words on the sclera, the forced control over his body, or the pitch-black bus... everything existed in reality.

Since these bizarre things have already happened, it's not difficult to take on already existing concepts, such as danger intuition and souls.

Qian Cangyi was a materialist, but not a staunch one.

He always maintained a cautious attitude towards unknowns, believing the correctness of scientific theories had their application scope.

Obviously, from the appearance of Hell's Movie, science could no longer reasonably explain everything he encountered, unless it was attributed to an omnipotent illusion that was immune to doubt.

Was everything an illusion? Hawkeye and Yu Xi Village, were they just fantasies?

Qian Cangyi didn't believe it; if it was all an illusion, he would still rather believe in its reality, for everything he experienced felt incredibly real.

Bit by bit, Qian Cangyi was slowly adapting to his identity as a Hell's Movie Actor.

"Since he is the village chief, wouldn't the house he lives in be much better?" Qian Cangyi broke the silence.

"Not necessarily." Hawkeye shook his head.

"Indeed, but..." As Qian Cangyi was speaking, a new house that appeared around the corner caught his attention.

This newly appearing house was larger than the previous homes, with more rooms, and the yard was enclosed by a wattle fence.

From various perspectives, the house around the corner matched Qian Cangyi's perception of the village chief's house.

"It seems like it's right in front of us." Hawkeye started running.

Qian Cangyi quickly followed, however, the distance between them was still growing further.

So fast! Why is he so fast?

Qian Cangyi wanted to keep up with Hawkeye, but found that he couldn't catch up even if he increased his speed, so he decided to save his energy and slow down a bit.

The sun was gradually setting, stretching their shadows.

A clean courtyard appeared in front of them.

Hawkeye was already standing by the entrance of the courtyard waiting on him.

By the time Qian Cangyi ran to Hawkeye, he was slightly out of breath, sweat already covering his forehead.

Hawkeye turned to look at Qian Cangyi, his right index finger in front of his mouth signaling silence.

Qian Cangyi controlled his breathing, slowed down his steps, and listened carefully.

Faint sounds were coming from the living room, not the chirping of insects or the singing of birds, but human voices, as if someone was chatting in the living room.

The only problem was, whether he moved closer or further away, the sound was so small, he could only hear it when paying close attention.

With such a faint noise, it was impossible to make out what was being discussed.

By the time Qian Cangyi reached Hawkeye, Hawkeye turned to look at him, pointed at the ground with his left index finger and then pointed at himself before pointing at the living room entrance with his right index finger.

Qian Cangyi nodded, he understood the gesture. Hawkeye was telling him to stay put while he went to check out the living room entrance.

Then, Hawkeye crouched and walked toward the living room door, his steps were light, hardly making any noise.

He walked beneath the veranda, stuck to the wall, then slowly moving towards the entrance of the living room.

Once here, Hawkeye's movement became even slower. He placed his ear against the light gray wooden door and peeked through the door crack.

Qian Cangyi couldn't help but hold his breath, even slowing down his heart rate a bit.

A few seconds later, Qian Cangyi suddenly realized something was off, the noise from earlier had disappeared.

The problem was, Hawkeye, who was standing outside the living room, showed no sign of noticing.

Hawkeye still maintained his original posture.

About ten seconds later, Hawkeye straightened up, turned his head to look at Qian Cangyi, his face full of confusion.

Qian Cangyi spread out his hands, showing the same expression.

What's going on?

Qian Cangyi couldn't figure out what had happened.

Hawkeye came over, whispering:

"There's no one in the living room, not a single person."

Qian Cangyi's mouth slightly opened, he blinked, and countered:

"Nobody?"

"Nobody." Hawkeye nodded.

Qian Cangyi frowned tightly, he definitely heard the noise just now, and so did Hawkeye. It couldn't have been an auditory hallucination.

"But——" Qian Cangyi was still somewhat disbelief.

"——See it for yourself." Hawkeye pointed behind with his right thumb and stopped trying to persuade him.

Qian Cangyi ceased the conversation and walked towards the living room entrance at a normal pace.

The light grey front gate carried a sense of mystery, as though shocking secrets were hidden behind it.

A Bagua mirror hung above the door, slightly inclined, facing the door.

Qian Cangyi placed his hands on the door, one on each side. He then moved his head towards the gap in the door, and after getting closer, had his right eye glued to the gap.

The view of the living room left nothing to the imagination. The furniture was lined against the wall, very quiet.

Just as Hawkeye said, there was not a soul in the living room. Likewise, there were no dogs, cats, chickens or ducks.

Qian Cangyi couldn't believe it. His brow furrowed into a frowning figure, still staring at the door crack.

After a few seconds, the situation remained the same.

Qian Cangyi ran over to the window of the adjacent bedroom, looking inside, he couldn't spot anybody either.

"What on earth is happening? I definitely heard something just now."

Qian Cangyi looked down at the ground, trying to make sense of the situation.

"Let's go in and check." Hawkeye walked up to the entrance of the living room, forcefully pushing the front gate open.

Simultaneously, a new script unfolded in Qian Cangyi's mind.

Qian Cangyi immediately began to read, eager to understand the reason.

[Fourth Act]

[Approximately 4:30 in the afternoon, the Village Chief's House in Yu Xi Village.]

[Zhang Zian stands in front of the front gate, Bian Zhe stands in front of the bedroom window, the two of them facing each other.]

[Bian Zhe: Zhang Zian, what do you think is happening? I believe we couldn't both be hearing things.]

[Zhang Zian: The fact is that there's nobody inside the house. I've already checked, you saw me going up to the living room. Even if there were people, they wouldn't have had time to escape.]

[Bian Zhe: What do you think, could it be possible that Yu Xi village is haunted? I have no idea what's happening in the village, or what that Sacrifice is all about.]

[Zhang Zian: Bian Zhe, I think we should start considering our personal safety.]

[Zhang Zian: Whether the village is really haunted or if there's another reason, the villagers of Yu Xi are all missing. With just the two of us, even if we find out the truth, we won't be able to save them; instead, we might get ourselves caught up.]

[Bian Zhe: What do you think we should do?]

[Zhang Zian: First, let's go back, report this incident, then bring people back here.]

[Bian Zhe: Mm, looking at the dark clouds in the sky, it's probably going to rain. We should head back as soon as possible. But first, we need to investigate this house.]

[Zhang Zian: Well, let's hurry then. Let's stick with the previous plan and split up to search.]

[Bian Zhe: Okay, call out if anything comes up.]

[End of Fourth Act]

Qian Cangyi quickly finished scanning.