An Eerie Welcome to Dawang Village

“I’m going to sleep for a bit. When we arrive, remember to wake me.”

Bai Wanwan let out a long yawn, looking utterly adorable.

Liu Hanzhi’s heart melted at the sight. She instinctively offered her shoulder for Bai Wanwan to lean on.

“Wanwan, lean on my shoulder instead; it’s softer.”

Shi Xiangning watched Bai Wanwan lean against Liu Hanzhi’s shoulder, a touch of envy involuntarily surfacing in her expression.

“Oh, mm… okay.”

By then, Bai Wanwan was already half-asleep. She mumbled a casual agreement, and in moments, she had drifted into a deep slumber.

Bai Wanwan was roused from her sleep by a burst of laughter and noise. By the time she fully awoke, the vehicle had already come to a steady stop at the entrance of Dawang Village.

The sky was fully bright now. Bai Wanwan rubbed her drowsy eyes, her hair disheveled, and gazed around with a hint of bewilderment.

Fortunately, she hadn’t been immediately pulled into an eerie domain.

“You’re awake? We just arrived. I was about to call your name.”

Liu Hanzhi looked at Bai Wanwan, who still seemed a bit grumpy from waking up, and couldn’t help but purse her lips.

“Let’s go to the inn and rest a bit more. It’s too noisy here.”

As Liu Hanzhi spoke, her gaze fell upon a group of young people laughing and joking as they retrieved their luggage from the overhead racks.

Ever since they boarded the bus, they had been excitedly discussing various supernatural occurrences in Fengmen Village. From the sound of it, they seemed to be planning an exploration of the village tonight.

“No need, I’ve rested enough.”

Bai Wanwan tidied her disheveled hair, then gestured for Liu Hanzhi and Shi Xiangning to gather their belongings and disembark.

She called the woman who was meant to pick them up. Soon, a woman dressed in simple clothes, with an apron tied around her waist and a headscarf covering her hair, bustled into view at the village entrance.

Spotting Bai Wanwan, the woman quickly wiped her hands on her apron and hurried forward to greet them.

“Master Bai, I’ve finally met you in person. You look even more beautiful than you do in your live streams.”

“And these two assistants are truly lovely as well…”

The woman immediately launched into a string of compliments for Bai Wanwan and her companions.

“This isn’t the place to talk. Please, come sit in my family’s restaurant first. It’s lunchtime, too, so you can try my cooking.”

Despite the anxiety etched on her face, the woman persisted in forcing a smile, clearly trying to win Bai Wanwan’s favor.

In her eyes, Bai Wanwan was her last remaining hope.

“First, tell me about the situation. How many days has your child been missing?”

“Today is the third day.”

The woman answered without hesitation, then led Bai Wanwan deeper into the village.

This small village appeared to be in decent condition, with most of the visible buildings being two-story houses.

Along the main road leading into the village, there were no fewer than four or five inns and restaurants, clearly indicating that the villagers were developing Fengmen Village as a tourist attraction.

As they entered the village, Bai Wanwan noticed a considerable number of villagers gathered beneath an old locust tree at the entrance. They were either chatting, playing cards or chess, or fiddling with a crackling, old radio.

The moment Bai Wanwan was led into the village by the woman, almost everyone stopped what they were doing and looked up, their gazes fixed on her.

The woman, however, buried her head a little deeper and quickened her pace, focused only on moving forward swiftly.

Bai Wanwan merely met their gazes for a moment before withdrawing her own. She couldn’t shake the feeling that the village’s atmosphere was strangely off.

Many trees dotted the surroundings, yet, apart from the old locust tree at the village entrance, almost all of them were withered, devoid of even a single leaf.

Dried branches occasionally snapped and fell from the trees, while crows had built nests atop their bare crowns.

“The conditions in the countryside are a bit rough, Master Bai. Please don’t mind it.”

The woman led them to the entrance of a shop named ‘Happiness Restaurant’. The first floor served as the restaurant, while the second floor functioned as an inn.

The restaurant wasn’t open for business at the moment. In the lobby on the first floor, several middle-aged men and elders were seated.

Upon seeing Bai Wanwan and her companions, they all promptly rose to their feet.

“Master Bai has arrived.”