The Disappearance of Feihu

“Is that so? Well, if there’s nothing else, I’ll be heading back then to rest.”

Seeing Angela’s reluctance to answer, Uncle Macon had no intention of pressing her further. He offered her a kind smile, turned, and re-entered his house.

“You’re certainly bold.” Phini watched the old man depart. The moment his door clicked shut, she finally sighed, turning to Angela.

“To confirm what happened, this was definitely necessary. But if it’s truly as you said, Phini, and the monster came from within…” Angela paused, her words trailing off. “Then why does Uncle Macon seem completely unfazed?”

A myriad of questions swirled in Angela’s mind. If Phini’s words were true, how could Uncle Macon still be alive? Yet, considering Phini had no reason to lie, Angela’s mind was utterly swamped by a sea of question marks.

“That’s what I want to know too,” Phini said, her heart equally riddled with doubts.

If those specters truly devoured people, how could the old man be unharmed? Phini had personally witnessed the ghoul emerging from this very house last night!

“Could it be that it was too dark last night, and you misidentified the house?” After much deliberation, Angela found it utterly illogical. This was the only possibility she could conceive.

Perhaps Phini had simply made a mistake. After all, if the specters weren’t afraid of the ash, then the entire village’s customs and defenses would be a lie.

“Perhaps.” Prompted by Angela’s suggestion, Phini’s conviction wavered slightly.

It had indeed been incredibly dark last night. Could she truly have been mistaken? While Phini had never personally witnessed these specific specters attack anyone, there was one thing she could definitively state: those monsters were far from benevolent! The defilement rolling off them was proof enough.

“Since we have no leads, let’s head back for now. I still need to go up the mountain later,” Angela said after waiting a few minutes, sensing she couldn’t afford to linger too long due to her chores.

“You’re going up the mountain?” Phini snapped out of her thoughts.

“Yes.”

“What for?”

“To replenish our storeroom, of course!” Angela replied, as if it were completely obvious.

“Oh…”

“But Phini, you definitely shouldn’t come. You’ve only just started to feel better, and honestly, I felt uneasy letting you go to the forest yesterday!” Angela quickly cut off Phini’s path, anticipating her request and denying her the chance to ask.

“Can you manage alone?” Although Angela had firmly shut down the conversation, Phini wasn’t one to give up so easily. Considering the various dangers lurking in the wilds, she was utterly unwilling to let the girl go alone.

“Why not? When you weren’t around, I went up the mountain all the time! The mountain is like my backyard!” Seeing Phini’s disbelief, Angela glared at her with a hint of displeasure, placed her hands on her hips, and spoke proudly.

After all, she had gone up the mountain alone many times before. Phini herself had been found and brought back by Angela!

“Is that so…”

“Phini, I understand your concern. There’s no real danger on the mountain, so just go home and wait for me.” Though Phini’s face remained devoid of expression, Angela deduced she was worried. She patted her shoulder, signaling her not to fret.

“Alright, but you must be careful.” Phini decided not to dwell on the issue, choosing to trust her.

“Then let’s head back.” Seeing Phini had no objections, Angela turned and started walking back the way they came.

‘Did I really misremember?’

As Angela walked away, Phini unconsciously turned her head to look back at the wooden house. After carefully scrutinizing it from all angles, she stroked her chin, muttering thoughtfully to herself.

Unable to piece together the puzzle, she eventually shook her head slightly, as if giving up on thinking for the moment, and followed Angela’s retreating figure.

They were almost in the middle of the village when Phini heard a clamor of voices ahead. Among them was Angela’s voice.

“No way? You mean Feihu is missing?!”

“Yes! Feihu didn’t show up for guard duty today. I thought he’d overslept, so I came to check, and I found his house unlocked! But he’s gone!”

The voice answering Angela also sounded somewhat familiar to Phini. Quickening her pace toward the commotion, she soon arrived at the scene.

Besides Angela, there were several other people gathered outside a wooden shack. Among them was Magua, the slender youth who guarded the village entrance. He was anxiously scratching his head, looking distressed.

“Exactly! We thought Feihu was just being lazy, but we searched his entire house and couldn’t find him!” another villager added.

“And everyone around said they hadn’t seen him leave his home this morning!”

They seemed to be explaining the current situation to Angela.

“Is that so? That’s strange… When I passed by here earlier, I don’t recall seeing Feihu come out,” Angela murmured, thoughtfully stroking her chin with a serious expression.

“What happened?” Sensing something amiss, Phini walked over to Angela’s side.

“They said Feihu is missing. Phini, do you remember seeing him?” Angela asked.

“No. When I came down the road earlier, I remember this house being closed,” Phini replied, feigning a moment of thought. To be honest, she hadn’t paid much attention to this specific house earlier, as her mind had been preoccupied with Macon’s hut.

“I see… Alright.” Hearing Phini’s answer, Magua realized there was nothing to be gained and looked defeated.

“What exactly happened?” Although she had gathered a rough idea, Phini wanted to confirm the details.

“It’s just that when we arrived, we found Feihu missing…” Magua explained.

“What about the situation inside?”

“The house was normal. We didn’t see any signs of a struggle or a mess.”

“Is that so?” Phini lowered her head, seemingly deep in thought.

“Phini, why are you asking this?” Angela turned back, a little puzzled.

“Let’s talk about it when we get back.” Phini didn’t answer immediately, instead gesturing for Angela to wait. She felt it wasn’t appropriate to voice her thoughts in front of a panicked crowd.

“Oh, I understand.” Sensing the hidden meaning, Angela didn’t press further.

“Miss Phini, do you perhaps have a clue?” Seeing both of them appear to be holding back, Magua looked at them with hopeful eyes, as if he had found a lifeline.

“I apologize, but it’s difficult for me to explain this to you. Please allow me to confirm something first,” Phini said, shaking her head in refusal.

“But…”

“There are no ‘buts.’ It’s not something we can easily discuss yet. We’ll give you a satisfactory answer once we’ve confirmed it,” Angela interrupted firmly.

Angela naturally knew what Phini was thinking. She wasn’t some short-sighted village girl; although she had a compassionate nature, that didn’t mean she lacked common sense. If Phini were to reveal that the monsters might not actually be stopped by the ash barriers, the entire village of Kabi would undoubtedly plunge into widespread panic! To avoid a riot, it was best for Phini to stay silent for now. After all, it was still morning, and they had plenty of time to investigate.

“Hmm…”

“No more ‘hmm’s. Angela has already said so, so let’s just wait for their good news.” Just as Magua was about to say more, another youth walked up to him, patted his shoulder, and smiled reassuringly.

“Exactly! Feihu will definitely be fine. Isn’t there a saying, ‘Fortune favors fools’?”

“Yes! Feihu will be absolutely fine! Magua, don’t worry too much!”

Several more people gathered around, offering words of comfort to the distraught youth, trying to calm him.

“Alright… alright, I understand…” Listening to everyone’s words, Magua nodded, looking somewhat helpless but accepting.

“May I go inside?” Phini asked, waiting for the crowd to settle down before addressing Magua again.

“You may.” Magua nodded without much thought. Since she seemed to have some clues, he naturally wouldn’t make things difficult for her.