Fear spread like a storm in the hearts of the villagers. Some stumbled and fled, some hugged in the corner and remained motionless, and some hugged their heads and cried with the people around them.

The relaxed and pleasant atmosphere the villagers tried their best to create was shattered under this heavy blow, and the common witness actually made disguise and concealment a fantasy.

After this group dinner, all the villagers began to stay away from any liquid as much as possible. If they weren't thirsty, they wouldn't even drink water.

When they have to drink water, they will close their eyes and grop to contact the water source, because the village chief is already everywhere, and only where liquid exists can he be seen.

Can't sleep all night.

The next day, the sacrifice was held as usual. No matter how fearful or unwilling to approach the small temple, the villagers had to go because they would die faster without sacrifice.

Everyone's mental state was very bad, and all this was seen by the old madman, and he knew what happened in the village during this period.

But he couldn't quite understand one thing. He didn't know why others would hide from a long distance when they saw the water, whether it was the dirty ditch on the side of the road, the drinking water in the bucket, or even the spit out.

This was the fastest sacrifice ever. The villagers burned incense, bowed and left in a hurry, as if they were burning their butts.

The old madman was a little confused, but he felt happy in his heart. He knew that all this was related to the village chief.

However, the old madman has not experienced anything unusual during this period, nor has he ever been worried about this issue, or he doesn't care at all.

Seeing his sister's family of three die with his own eyes, the old madman felt sorry for them. Even if the village chief killed him, he would not complain.

On the way back to the village after the sacrifice, an incomprehensible thing catalyzed the fear to the limit. A child was hit by someone because he ran around and stepped on a small puddle.

The next moment, the child seemed to be trapped in a swamp and was gradually swallowed by the puddle.

The villagers understand the village and everything around the village. This puddle is just the accumulated water left after the rain. Its depth can only cover the upper of the shoe. How can it flood a person?

During this period, the child cried wildly for help, but no villager dared to come forward to rescue, and even his parents just hugged their heads and cried bitterly.

After the death of the whole family in those previous families, this was the first person to die, a child, and in the eyes of the villagers, he was an innocent person.

At this point, the villagers finally understood that the village chief had no intention of letting them go, but compared to killing those families, they could die slowly and tactfully.

After escaping back to the village, the villagers began to pack up their luggage quietly.

They are preparing to escape from the village. Although they will die if they do not sacrifice on time, they will live at least a few more days. And who knows whether the changes in the ancient well will have caused the rule to be broken.

The villager was scared crazy before and did not attend the sacrificial ceremony today. His family wanted to take him with him, but how could the madman be honest and obedient?

However, when we came back, everyone saw the madman rolling on the ground at the entrance of the village.

According to past experience, if the sacrifice is missed, the symptoms of dehydration will soon appear, and will basically be severe enough to death the next day, but the old madman doesn't feel uncomfortable.

It won’t be a problem to escape! The villagers kept saying to themselves in their hearts that perhaps as long as they escape, they will not only be able to get rid of the village chief’s nightmare, but also be no longer restricted by the ancient well.

They heard the village chief talk about how wonderful the outside world is, a city bigger than the town they sometimes buy daily necessities, trains, ships...

Perhaps the villagers can live a happy life in such a place, and yearn for it.

As for why they left quietly? They hope that someone can stay. When they are chased by wild beasts, there is no need to outperform the beasts. As long as they outperform their companions, the more companions they have, the safer they will be. Now in their eyes, the village chief is a wild beast.

Soon someone packed up his luggage, but in fact, there were not many things that could be taken away by manpower.

Lao Zhao was the first to pack up. He didn't bring anything except money. When the village chief was still alive, the two often chatted. He knew that in the outside world, having money was enough to survive and there was no need for anything else.

With all his savings, Lao Zhao went out with his wife and children. Because he didn't carry anything, he was walking around in the garden just like usual.

Lao Zhao understands the truth that a fellow Taoist dies and does not die, and he is confident that he will not be discovered by other villagers.

After arriving at the entrance of the village, Lao Zhao looked back at the village and might never come back again after leaving.

Lao Zhao's daughter cried, and his wife comforted her softly. Lao Zhao didn't say a word, and pulled his wife and daughter onto the dirt road.

If it weren't for the fact that a half-old man had been engaged to his daughter some time ago, the one who was thrown into the well might be his own daughter.

Lao Zhao never felt that he was a despicable person. Where can there be good people in this village? Will good people use other people's daughters to worship the ancient well?

Not long after Lao Zhao left, the villagers set out one after another. In order to avoid the sight of others, many of them chose not to follow that path, but to walk through the mountains.

They lived in the village all their lives, and they were very familiar with this mountain. They could go out in any direction, and at most they would have to spend some effort.

Of course, after all, there are many people in the village, so some villagers still met on the road.

After meeting, they greeted each other enthusiastically, but they didn't mention what they were going to do, and they would soon part ways with each other and speed up.

In just over an hour, there were only two people left in the village, old madman and real madman.

The real madman sat at the entrance of the village and drooled, staring at the villagers walking through the mountains in a daze.

He was abandoned by his family, and it was too difficult to bring a disobedient madman out, and his family couldn't do it.

The old madman stood next to the real madman, watching all this coldly.

This sacrifice allowed the villagers to expose their vicious side to the fullest, which made him feel regretful and disgusted.

He also watched coldly as others were thrown into the well, but now he only feels that living like this is better than dying.

As for whether the villagers could leave, he didn't know, maybe, but he didn't think that those people could live happily after leaving the village.

After watching for a while, the old crazy man felt bored and returned to the village.

The real madman was still sitting there. He no longer ran around the village all day and shouted. Most of the time he was in a daze, like a contemplator.

...

Old Zhao felt something was wrong. He had been setting off for a long time, and when he reached the fork in the road, there was a sudden fog.

The climate in the mountains is like a child's face, changing as soon as possible. Although this sudden fog is rare, it has not happened before. So Lao Zhao didn't care at that time. After all, he could still see the road under his feet clearly, so he continued to take his wife and daughter along the stone road that was coming out of the mountain.

But after walking in the fog for so long, it was supposed to have gone out, but they were still on the mountain.

Lao Zhao's daughter was a little scared because of the fog and kept not talking much. Lao Zhao's wife asked once why she hadn't walked out, but Lao Zhao couldn't figure it out, so she simply scolded her wife without explanation.

As time passed, Lao Zhao was panicked and his steps became faster and faster.

Finally, the eyes suddenly became clear. Before Lao Zhao could be happy, he discovered the problem. He actually walked back and stood at the fork in the road. He looked forward and could see the village.

Lao Zhao's daughter was scared to tears, and his wife sobbed in depression.

Cold sweat flowed down Lao Zhao's temples. He had a very bad premonition, but he didn't dare to think about it carefully.

After hesitating for a while, Lao Zhao pulled his wife and daughter and turned around and walked to the fork in the road again.

He would rather believe that everything just now was an accident, so this time he was extra careful, walked very slowly and carefully.

Not only Lao Zhao, but all the villagers encountered the same situation, no matter which direction they chose to leave.

As long as they walk a certain distance, they will be surrounded by fog, and after walking through the fog for a period of time, they will return to where the fog appears.

When Lao Zhao returned to the fork in the second time, the sun was about to set. Even though he was unwilling to admit it, he knew that he could no longer walk out, and he did not dare to wander around the mountains when it was dark, so he took his wife and daughter back to the village.

Other villagers also returned to the village one after another, and no one successfully left.

Moreover, the villagers who came back later saw another scene. The villagers who didn't know whether they were humans or ghosts were wearing white cloaks, hoods and masks, and walked neatly towards the direction of the small temple.

I happened to meet all the people I hid on the side and dared to go home after this wandering team passed by.

The villagers who returned home were all desperate and had no way to leave. Could they have to wait for death here?

After falling asleep due to sleepiness and fatigue, the villagers had the same dream. In the dream, there was darkness around them that could not be seen.

They could feel themselves in the water because the water was constantly pouring into their eyes from their mouths and noses.

A strong sense of suffocation tortures them, but they cannot lose consciousness.

This situation lasted for a while, until the surroundings began to brighten, and then they realized that they were in the well, which was the ancient well in the temple.

When the surroundings were completely lit up, they came to the village again in a trance. They could see themselves and the people in the village living in peace, just like before the sacrifice, but there was no village chief in this beautiful scene.

They have no way to control their bodies and can only be a bystander.

When the sun sets and when it gets dark, they return to the well, surrounded by coldness and suffocation, all of which goes on and on until they wake up from their dreams.
Chapter completed!