13: Chapter 13 Have you ever watched the Spring Festival Gala, bro?

An old locust tree stood at the entrance of the village. Its trunk was so thick that three people could not wrap their arms around it, and its bark was chapped into countless deep grooves. From a distance, it looked like the severed hand of a giant old man. There were no leaves on the tree, and its bare branches stretched toward the sky, casting a distorted shadow in the afternoon sunlight.

Mo Tang stopped at the entrance of the village, took out three copper coins from her bundle, and pasted them onto the forehead of the Puppet one by one.

The copper coins embedded themselves into the grooves on the Puppet's forehead, fitting seamlessly.

The Puppet's eight arms unfolded simultaneously, and a faint light lit up in the center of each palm, resembling eight half-opened eyes.

"After we go in, I will stay inside the Puppet," Mo Tang said. "If the eerie entity disguises itself as me, it won't know how to control the Puppet. If you see anything wrong with the Puppet's movements, call out to me directly."

"How do you call us?" Tu Ziguan asked.

Mo Tang thought for a moment, fished two small bronze bells out of her sleeves, and handed one each to Tu Ziguan and Xie Feng.

"Ring this. Three short rings mean 'It's me', and one long ring means 'There's a situation'. If the ringing stops," she said earnestly, "that means something has happened."

Tu Ziguan tied the bronze bell around his waist.

Xie Feng tied his on as well. When his fingers touched the edge of the bronze bell, he felt extremely fine patterns engraved on it, resembling some kind of formation markings.

The village was not large. Two main streets ran from the village entrance to the tail of the village in a cross structure, flanked by low adobe houses with dilapidated doors and windows.

The footsteps of the three people and the alternating landing of the Puppet's eight legs made soft sounds on the dirt ground.

Xie Feng walked in the middle of the group, Tu Ziguan walked to his left, and Mo Tang's Puppet walked to his right.

Xie Feng noticed that Tu Ziguan's right hand was always tucked inside his sleeve, his fingertips pinching a copper coin whose edge emitted an extremely faint light under the sunlight.

Xie Feng mobilized the Spiritual Qi within his body. All six Meridians grew slightly warm simultaneously, and Spiritual Qi slowly gathered in his palms.

When they reached the middle section of the village, Tu Ziguan stopped.

"Let's check separately," he said. His voice was not loud, but in this overly quiet village, every single word was excessively clear. "Mo Tang, you take the left. Brother Feng, you take the right. I'll take the middle. Meet back here after the burning of an incense stick. If anyone doesn't return, the other two will go look for them."

Mo Tang nodded and manipulated the Puppet to turn into the alley on the left. Its four feet alternated, its eight arms folded in, and it quickly disappeared into the shadows of the alley entrance. Tu Ziguan nodded at Xie Feng and continued walking forward along the main street.

Xie Feng walked toward the right.

The right side was a narrow alley. The adobe walls on both sides were pitted and scarred by rainwater, with withered yellow moss growing at the base of the walls. At the end of the alley was a house that had collapsed by half, with a roof beam thrust obliquely into the ground and broken tiles scattered all over the floor.

Xie Feng walked up to the house and poked his head in to take a look. There was no one, no eerie entity, only a damp, moldy smell.

He turned around and walked back.

When he walked to the middle section of the alley, he heard footsteps.

They came from the alley entrance and were very light.

Xie Feng stopped, his palms poised for action.

Tu Ziguan walked in from the alley entrance.

"Brother Feng," he said.

Xie Feng's palm-bound Spiritual Qi condensed without releasing.

"Why did you come over? Didn't we say to check separately?"

"I finished looking, there's nothing much," Tu Ziguan walked up to him. "Let's go, to the gathering point."

"Tu Wu."

"Hm?"

"On that Blue Star of yours, is there Cthulhu?"

Tu Ziguan was stunned for a moment, then laughed: "Brother Feng, why are you asking this again? Didn't I say last time, I've never heard of it."

"What about TRPG?"

"Never heard of it either," Tu Ziguan's smile was very natural. "Why are you asking these?"

Xie Feng looked at him.

Tu Ziguan's face wore that just-right smile, his eyes curving into two shallow arcs, and his tone and expression were all completely natural.

Xie Feng's hairs stood on end.

Because the question he asked Tu Ziguan was wrong.

The two of them had never used the term "TRPG".

Xie Feng himself always said "TRPG", and Tu Ziguan had heard him say it, but whenever Tu Ziguan spoke of it himself, he always called it "that board game of yours".

He was not Tu Ziguan.

"Although it's cliché, when it happens to oneself, why is it so terrifying!"

Xie Feng continued to walk forward, his pace unchanged, his breathing unchanged.

When he reached the alley entrance, he saw Mo Tang's Puppet walking out from the opposite alley, its four feet alternating, its eight arms folded, everything normal.

"Mo Tang," Xie Feng shouted.

The Puppet stopped. Mo Tang's voice came from inside the Puppet, muffled through a layer of wooden shell: "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," Xie Feng walked over to the Puppet and lowered his voice. "Three short ones mean 'It's me'."

The Puppet fell silent for a breath.

Then Mo Tang's voice came out, carrying a hint of confusion: "What three short ones?"

Xie Feng's palms instantly broke out in cold sweat.

"Pulling this kind of stunt!?"

Xie Feng did not answer and continued walking forward, his pace unchanged.

The Puppet followed behind him, the sound of its four feet alternating landing one after another. Tu Ziguan walked ahead of him, his back exactly the same as usual. Xie Feng walked in the middle, and both his left and right sides were his teammates.

On the left was a "Tu Ziguan" who could answer fluently, and on the right was a "Mo Tang" who had forgotten the secret code she herself had set.

"The immortals are numerous like hemp."

He walked alone between two eerie entities.

When they reached the gathering point, Xie Feng stopped.

In the center of the main street, the sunlight shone straight down from overhead, casting three clusters of shadows on the ground.

His, Tu Ziguan's, and the Puppet's. Tu Ziguan's shadow was very normal, humanoid with clear edges. The Puppet's shadow was also very normal, with four feet and eight arms, clearly outlined.

Xie Feng lowered his head to look at his own shadow and suddenly discovered something.

His shadow had no head.

His shoulders were still there, his body was still there, his legs were still there, but from the neck up was completely blank. The sunlight passed right through the top of his head to shine on the ground, like passing through a piece of transparent air.

Xie Feng looked at his headless shadow and fell silent for a breath.

Then he raised his head and smiled at "Tu Ziguan".

"That's right, Tu Wu. Last night I told you that Yog-Sothoth was watching me."

"Tu Ziguan" looked at him with that just-right smile on his face. "Mhm, you said so."

"Then do you know what Yog-Sothoth is?"

"Tu Ziguan"'s smile did not change. "Didn't you say, a person looking at you?"

"Right," Xie Feng nodded, "but not a person."

He paused.

"Do you know what Yog-Sothoth's full name is?"

"Tu Ziguan" did not answer. The smile was still hanging on his face, but there was no warmth or amusement in his eyes anymore.

It was waiting for Xie Feng to say that name.

Xie Feng did not say it.

He mobilized all the Spiritual Qi in his body's six Meridians, infusing it into the palm of his right hand. The ball of light in his palm was no longer faint; it was steady and bright, illuminating his palm until it was nearly transparent.

He struck out with a palm toward "Tu Ziguan"'s chest.

"Tu Ziguan" quickly took a step back, attempting to dodge.

The movement was very fast, much faster than any Tu Ziguan Xie Feng had ever seen.

But Xie Feng still hit him.

Because right beside them, Mo Tang's Puppet fiercely kicked off the ground with its four feet, its eight arms unfolding simultaneously like a giant spider pouncing on Tu Ziguan, trapping him.

Then Mo Tang's voice came from inside the Puppet, carrying obvious pants, as if she had just finished running a very long distance.

"Three short ones mean 'It's me'," Mo Tang's voice came from within the wooden shell, muffled.

"Just now in the alley, I ran into a Xie Feng who asked me a question. He asked me what my ranking was in the Su Family, and I said third. It said no, Mo Tang ranks fourth in the Su Family."

"Pity that I have no ranking in the Su Family. My surname is Mo, and the Su Family is my mother's Family."

Xie Feng was stunned.

Xie Feng looked at the Puppet, then looked at "Tu Ziguan".

"So you really are Mo Tang."

"Yes."

"Then what about this one?" Xie Feng pointed at "Tu Ziguan".

Mo Tang did not answer. But the Puppet's eight arms slowly adjusted their direction, changing from pointing at Xie Feng to pointing at "Tu Ziguan". Action itself was the answer.

"Tu Ziguan" looked at them, and that just-right smile on his face finally disappeared. It looked at Xie Feng, opening its mouth as if it wanted to ask something—perhaps wanting to ask how he found out. Unfortunately, the Puppet's eight arms had already sealed off its retreat.

Then it smiled.

The corners of its mouth split wider than its cheekbones, and its eyes curved into two extremely thin slits, smiling until the corners of its mouth and the corners of its eyes connected, without a sound.

Then it began to melt.

Starting from the top of its head, from a distance it looked like a giant candle being lit from the wick.

Skin, muscle, and bone flowed downward layer by layer, revealing what was underneath—gray-white, translucent, shapeless wax oil.

It exploded with a bang.

Smoke dispersed in all directions, passing through the walls, through the rubble, through the branches of the dead old locust tree, and dissipating into the afternoon sunlight. The laughter also scattered, like a gust of wind blowing by, leaving nothing behind.

Xie Feng stood in place, the spiritual light in his palm slowly extinguishing.

"It ran?" he said.

"It ran," Mo Tang's voice came from within the Puppet.

They fell silent for a moment.

"Let's go," Xie Feng turned around and walked toward the entrance of the village.

The Puppet followed behind him, the sound of its four feet alternating landing one after another. When they reached the village entrance, Xie Feng stopped and glanced back at Kumu Village.

The main street was empty and desolate, with sunlight shining on the adobe houses and gravel roads. The eerie entity disguised as Tu Ziguan had disappeared, but the real Tu Ziguan had not yet appeared.

"Where is Tu Wu?" Mo Tang asked.

Xie Feng lowered his head to look at his shadow. Above his shoulders, his neck, chin, and facial contours were all there.

Then he heard footsteps.

They came from the other side of the old locust tree at the village entrance, very light and steady. Tu Ziguan turned out from behind the tree trunk, wearing that just-right smile Xie Feng was familiar with. Seeing Xie Feng and Mo Tang, his smile remained unchanged, his pace unchanged.

"You guys are back too? Just now I walked down the middle path, and when I reached the end of the village, I found a cellar, but there was nothing inside. I walked around once and came back," he looked at Xie Feng, then at the Puppet. "What about you guys?"

Xie Feng looked at him.

"Court Jade Liquid Wine minus Big Hammer minus Small Hammer."

"Sixty," Tu Ziguan answered in a second, then continued, "You guys ran into something?"

"What kind of secret code is this?" Mo Tang was dazed. "Your hometown is really weird."