…and back down to the village
translator: baumkuchenย editors: juurensha, c3ltic
Having grown a full head of thick hair, Zhu Miaomiao was ecstatic. At long last, she didn’t need to wear a hat all the time. Of course, besides feeling grateful, Zhu Miaomiao also felt an unparalleled respect towards the well in Lu Qingjiuโs home and even sought out ย Lu Qingjiu to confirm that people had really died in that well, rather than ascending to godhoodโฆ
Faced with Zhu Miaomiao’s questioning, Lu Qingjiu felt rather helpless. He explained what had happened with the well and expressed that even he also had no idea why the well could do this kind of thing.
โThe reason doesnโt matter. Anyway, I managed to grow a full head of hair,โ Zhu Miaomiao continued, โIn the future, can I bring other people here to grow their hairโฆโ
โI suppose you can,โ Lu Qingjiu answered, โbut you need to explain it to them first. Most people would probably be too scared, right?โ
โThat’s true,โ Zhu Miaomiao said.
In the end, even though they could grow their hair, people had died in that well. Perhaps some people wouldnโt be able to accept it, but to her, balding was far more terrifying than the female ghost inside the well was.
To celebrate her hair growth, Zhu Miaomiao specially took a few photos to send to her friend group. The before photo was her previously balding head, while the after photo was her current luscious locks. In the comments, the majority of people were all asking her how she’d done it, and there was no shortage of people questioning if sheโd secretly gotten a hair transplant…
Seeing this, Zhu Miaomiao was incredibly satisfied, thinking that in this life, she’d never dreamed that there would come a day when she could fix her hair.
Her leave wasn’t long, only lasting four days. Since she’d come to such a remote place, she naturally wanted to witness the beauty of the great outdoors, and therefore ย wanted Lu Qingjiu to bring her around to explore.ใใ
Lu Qingjiu agreed and led Zhu Miaomiao on a trip around the village. Seeing the thick forest nearby, Zhu Miaomiao asked, โI want to go up the mountain. Is that okay?โ
Lu Qingjiu originally wanted to agree but suddenly thought of the puddle he and Bai Yuehu had come across on their last trip up the mountain. He hesitated for a moment before replying, โI’ll go ask.โ
โAsk what?โ Zhu Miaomiao asked curiously.
โSometimes wild beasts will appear on the mountain,โ Lu Qingjiu said, โSo we need to first check if going up the mountain will be safe or not.โ
โAlright,โ Zhu Miaomiao didn’t ask any further.
Afterwards, Lu Qingjiu returned home and asked Bai Yuehu if there would be any problems with going up the mountain at this time. Bai Yuehu checked the sky, then responded, โIn clear weather, there’s no problem. On clear days, they don’t usually appear, and even if they do, they won’t really do anything. If you guys do come across one, don’t get close. As long as you circle around them, you’ll be fine.โ
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
Only after hearing this did Lu Qingjiu relax. He let Zhu Miaomiao know that he’d take her up and around the mountain in the afternoon.
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Yin Xun plucked down two rose fruits for Zhu Miaomiao. Seeing her face wrinkle up ย due to the sourness, he laughed, “These fruits aren’t bad for making alcohol, they just don’t taste very good.”
โThen why’d you give me this to eat.โ Tears were forming in Zhu Miaomiaoโs eyes.
“Isn’t it because I could see the yearning in your eyes,” Yin Xun replied, “And when you shoved it into your mouth, you didn’t hesitate at all.”
Zhu Miaomiao, โ…Who asked it to look so delicious.โ
The two of them had extroverted personalities and quickly became familiar with one another.
As the three people walked further and further inwards, the woods became thicker and thicker. The towering trees blocked out the sun, leaving only mottled shadows on the ground. Seeing that it was getting late, Lu Qingjiu said, โLetโs go, itโs about time to go home now. Yesterday, I bought some cured pork ribs and bacon from the neighbours next door, I braised some for you to eat.โ ย
Zhu Miaomiao happily nodded.
They began to make their way down the mountain, but as they passed a thick cluster of trees, Zhu Miaomiao suddenly paused. She asked, โYi, did you guys hear something just now?โ
โWhat did you hear?โ Lu Qingjiu stiffened.
โIt wasโฆโ Zhu Miaomiao seemed scared as she continued in a small voice, โA little child crying.โ
โNo?โ Lu Qingjiu replied, โI don’tโฆโฆโ Just as he wanted to say that he hadn’t heard anything, he heard the sobs of a young child coming from somewhere within the deep woods. The sobs sounded spasmodic, ย as if the child was quickly running out of energy for tears.
โI also hear it,โ Lu Qingjiu corrected himself.
โCould it be some kid from the village?โ Yin Xun also heard the crying noise. When he spoke, his brows were furrowed.
โDid they get lost?โ Zhu Miaomiao worried, โLet’s go take a look.โ
Yin Xun’s mouth opened and closed, as if he was about to say something. In the end, he decided against it, merely replying, โIt looks like moving around in there will be difficult. How about I go over to check it out, and you two just stay here and wait for me?โ
โI’ll go with you,โ Lu Qingjiu replied, โMiaomiao, wait here for us, Yin Xun and I will be going over to check it out.โ
Zhu Miaomiao rubbed her arms, inexplicably feeling a little cold. โNo, I’m scared. I don’t want to be alone, I’ll go with you guys.โ
โFine,โ Lu Qingjiu didn’t try to argue any further. The child’s sobs were becoming weaker and weaker, as if it would disappear any moment.
Having reached a consensus, the three then began moving towards the area of the woods where the sound was coming from.
Yin Xun’s brow was still furrowed. Seeing his expression wasn’t right, Lu Qingjiu asked quietly, โWhatโs wrong?โ
โOhโฆ This child sounds rather unfamiliar,โ Yin Xun replied, โDoesn’t really sound like any of the children from the village.โ Furthermore, the kids from the village spent every day running around on the mountain and would know it better than any of them. How could any of them still need their help?
Just as Lu Qingjiu was about to ask a question, he thought of something. His heart squeezed in his chest.
As the three people went deeper into the forest, the sobs also started sounding closer. Lu Qingjiu kept a close eye on the surrounding patches of grass, but the entire time, he didn’t see any traces of a child. Suddenly, from behind him, Zhu Miaomiao reached out a hand and tugged at his shirt. In a shaky voice, she asked, โWhyโฆ why doesnโt it seem like it’s a child that’s crying.โ
Lu Qingjiu looked back at her, a questioning look in his eyes.
โThere seems to be something in the grassโฆโ Zhu Miaomiao was a little scared now. She retreated back two steps and pointed at the patch of grass in front of them.
Yin Xun looked over at the grass. He walked forward two steps, bent down, and felt out something from within the patch of grass. Lu Qingjiu was standing right next to him and instantly recognised what Yin Xun was holding with just one look. โฆIt was actually a pair of kidsโ shoes. The shoes were dirty and worn, the canvas was stained with mud, and whatever details it had had been completely obscured.
As Yin Xun picked up the shoes, his expression instantly changed. Lu Qingjiu hurriedly asked, โYin Xun, what’s wrong?โ
Yin Xun looked over at them, replying in a hoarse voice, โDo you still remember what I told you last time, about how a kid from our village drowned to death?โ
Lu Qingjiu answered, โ…I remember.โ
โWhen they found his body, it was missing a few things,โ Yin Xun smiled bitterly, โIncluding a pair of red shoesโฆโ Clearly, the pair of shoes in his hands, were the very ones missing from the remains of the child who had drowned. What he just couldn’t understand, was why they would appear here, in the patch of grass before them.
A layer of cold sweat formed on Lu Qingjiu’s palms. The most frightening thing was, just as Yin Xun had picked up that pair of tiny red shoes, the child’s sobs had suddenly stopped.
โWhat do we do?โ Zhu Miaomiao was a little panicked, she said in a small voice, โLet’s just go.โ
โLet’s go,โ Yin Xun agreed.
However, just as they walked forward two steps, the voice of a little child rang out once more. But this time, he wasnโt crying. He was giggling merrily. The sound of laughter made the skin on their scalps crawl. Unconsciously, they quickened their pace, wanting to quickly leave this place. But the original short journey had suddenly become excruciatingly long. The three people travelled through the woods for a long time, but never made it back to their original path, and their surroundings just became more and more unfamiliar.
โI’m really scared.โ Next to Lu Qingjiu, Zhu Miaomiao asked in a small voice, โAre we lost?โ
โSeems like it,โ Lu Qingjiu smiled bitterly.
Next to them, Yin Xun who had been silent up till now, finally spoke softly, โShould we throw these shoes away?โ
โWhat do you mean?โ Lu Qingjiu asked.
โThere’s a custom in the village,โ Yin Xun said, โIt’s said that one shouldn’t carry with them clothing dead people wore at the time of their death, or else they’ll have lingering attachments and won’t be able to reincarnate.โ He waved around the pair of little red shoes he was holding, and continued, โCould it be that these are the reason why we can’t leave this place?โ
Lu Qingjiu replied, โThen just toss them.โ
Actually, he had no knowledge whatsoever on such things. Even though heโd occasionally run into some strange things, as long as heโd pretended to not see them, theyโd just go away. Only when he returned to this village, did he finally have some real contact with such things.
Yin Xun nodded, then carefully placed the shoes in the patch of grass beside him. The minute he released his hand, the sound of a childโs crying once again started ringing in their ears. These cries were shrill with despair, causing Yin Xun to stumble in shock.
โAhโฆ Seems like itโs started to rain,โ Zhu Miaomiao said, โHow long have we been on this mountain?โ
At some unknown time, the sky had already turned completely dark. Heavy black clouds drifted along in the sky. The forest was abnormally quiet, to the point that they could even hear pitter-patter of raindrops falling onto the leaves of the trees.
โItโs already 8pm.โ Lu Qingjiu looked at his phone. There was no signal. They been wandering around here, utterly lost, for a full two hours, but from beginning to end, they had no way of finding the correct path out of the increasingly eerie forest.
โOh no, we need to walk faster,โ Yin Xun had an ugly look on his face, โIf it gets dark and starts raining, itโll really be troublesome.โ
As to why exactly this would be troublesome, he didnโt say.
…maybe I should add a horror tag hehe :3c
Humm, strange things have been going on for a while to him.
Why are ghost children so terrifying ๐
Whereโs a โfoxโ when you need him?
Thanks for the great translation ๐
Because they are PURE~
PURE HORROR!
hahaha
My heart is trembling rn and it’s midnight here. Gotta read more smutty manga to cure this.
hahaha
Where the fox guardian ๐ Thank you for the chapter. I am fans of two demon pigs. They are cute LOL ๐๐๐
Thanks for the chapter! ๐๐๐๐
๐ฑ. Maybe?
Fox needs to come claim his chef.
Thank you.
thanks 4 the chapter………
Thanks for the chapter!
Yin Xun really know his ghosts but try his hardest to get away from them.
!!!
After so many chapters you just realized about the horror tag!
Orz too late
I’ve started getting hooked already
Why?! Iโm alone at the house in broad daylight but Iโm still scared!
Thank you for the updateโ
Sometimes daylight is more horrifying than night because you are alone – and can see clearly unlike at night since it’s dark
Fluffy but horror I dunno what to feel.
All I can say is I like it tho โฅ๏ธ
You should definitely add a horror tag!! The title is misleading! I expected a fluffy farming story with fantasy animals!! But the story is super interesting!!!
Thank you so much for the chapter!(เนยด>แ<)~โค
This is so creepy my god ๐ I’m scared someone give me sweets to plug my mouth.
Thanks for the chapter! ๐
It’s creepy, but you just know that at some point, the author will find a way to make it a comedy~
This author Xฤซ Zวxรน is really good at writing horror novels, all their works makes me burst out in goosebumps. coughKoDcough.
So scary๐ซ๐ซ๐ซ๐ซ
Yin Xun seems to know a lot about the supernatural. He keeps saying ‘there’s a saying in our village’, but MC grew up in the same village and didn’t know it.
D*ng, I’m really scared. ๐ I was reading this at dawn earlier and had my flashlight on the entire time ๐คฆ๐.
I thought this was a wholesome danmei, just farming and such but boyyyy what is thiss???? You should consider about putting a horror tag