Escape Filming Location - Chapter 6 - The Unknown Dark Shadow

[Act Three]

[Close to 4 PM, inside Yuxi Village.]

[In front of Li Ling’s house, sunlight streams through the windows, casting patterns on the floor.]

[Bian Zhe and Zhang Zian are searching inside the house, each taking a room as before.]

[In the left bedroom, Bian Zhe rummages through the desk drawers.]

[Bian Zhe: This should be Li Ling’s desk. His textbooks are here, but where’s the diary?]

[The drawer on the right side of the desk is pulled out, revealing a notebook with a black cover.]

[Bian Zhe smiles, reaches for the notebook, and begins to flip through the pages.]

[The last entry in the notebook is dated four days ago, the day before Li Ling stopped attending school.]

[The diary contains crucial clues related to the disappearance of Yuxi Village’s residents.]

[Bian Zhe is engrossed. There aren’t many entries about the village’s oddities, so he finishes quickly.]

[Bian Zhe: Death Ritual? What is that?]

[Suddenly, a black shadowy figure begins to form on the bedroom wall, sticking to it, then slowly moving down towards Bian Zhe, silently.]

[As the shadow reaches Bian Zhe’s feet, he releases his grip, leaning on the desk, and turns to look.]

[Bian Zhe: What is this?]

[Upon being noticed, the shadow swiftly retreats, gliding to the window and slipping out through the gap.]

[Bian Zhe: Zhang Zian, I’ve found something!]

[Bian Zhe rushes towards the living room, but after just two steps, his legs give way, nearly causing him to collapse.]

[Bian Zhe: What’s happening? Why do I feel so weak? Was that shadow attacking me?]

[Zhang Zian: What did you find?]

[Bian Zhe: Go outside quickly, I just saw a shadow on the wall. It must be related to the villagers’ disappearance.]

[Zhang Zian rushes outside, scanning the surroundings. Bian Zhe takes a couple of deep breaths, steadies himself by the doorframe, and follows.]

[End of Act Three]

Qian Cang Yi paused his actions.

The script of Act Three caught his attention. Compared to the previous scripts, this one had a noticeable change.

His character, Bian Zhe, was attacked by an unknown shadow. Though it wasn’t life-threatening, it did affect his stamina.

This was quite troubling.

However, there was a gain. Li Ling’s diary contained information about the villagers’ situation before their disappearance, though the details weren’t fully described and needed to be read to understand.

“Your script seems to have some different findings. Care to share?” Hawkeye suddenly spoke up.

“Yes,” Qian Cang Yi nodded, recounting the script’s content.

“A shadow?” Hawkeye mused.

“Yes, should we still search separately?” Qian Cang Yi took a deep breath, asking the question that had been on his mind.

“Since we have a lead, let’s not split up. We’ll search the room you were in,” Hawkeye revised his previous decision.

Hearing this, Qian Cang Yi felt a sense of relief.

He hadn’t forgotten the earlier “suggestion.”

If Hawkeye were inflexible, he might be more dangerous than the threats in this cinematic world.

In such a scenario, Qian Cang Yi would keep his guard up, and if necessary, wouldn’t hesitate to act alone.

Together, they headed to the left bedroom.

Once inside, Qian Cang Yi quickly moved to the desk, pulling open the right drawer to retrieve Li Ling’s black diary.

The diary was A5-sized, with pages no longer tightly bound, showing signs of yellowing.

Most of the diary was filled with entries, mostly mundane daily details.

Qian Cang Yi flipped to the last page, the day before Li Ling stopped attending school.

[June 11, Tuesday.]

[Today’s homework wasn’t difficult. I finished it quickly, and I’m sure the teacher will praise me tomorrow!]

[Last night, I was scared while sleeping because I felt something watching me, but I couldn’t find it.]

[It seemed to be everywhere, even when I hid under the covers, I could feel it.]

[I told my parents about it today, and surprisingly, they felt the same way.]

[They told me not to worry, but I could see they were scared too.]

[Just now, when I was about to find them, I overheard them talking about something called a Death Ritual. I didn’t understand.]

[When I asked them about it, they said it was nothing, and that the Village Head Uncle was handling it, so there was nothing to worry about.]

[I hope the Village Head Uncle can solve it. Those things are really frightening!]

[That’s all for today, time to sleep.]

The diary ended there, with a few blank lines, followed by hurried notes from Li Ling, written in a much sloppier hand, indicating his rush.

[I was scared awake tonight. Those things are definitely in the house, but I can’t see them. I’m so scared.]

[I searched the house, but my parents were gone. No matter how much I called, they didn’t answer. Could those things have… taken them?]

[My parents mentioned the Death Ritual. I don’t know what it is, but I’m sure it’s related to whatever’s watching me.]

[I hope my parents are okay. I’m going out to see if the Village Head Uncle knows what’s happening.]

The notes ended there.

The previous page’s diary entry had some connection to the villagers’ disappearance, but it was mostly about Li Ling noticing something odd about the people in Yuxi Village, nothing particularly noteworthy.

While Qian Cang Yi was engrossed in the diary, Hawkeye kept watch, as they had agreed upon.

According to the script, Bian Zhe would be attacked by the shadow while reading the diary. If they could anticipate it, they might avoid it.

“I’ve finished reading,” Qian Cang Yi said softly.

“The shadow hasn’t appeared,” Hawkeye remarked, his gaze fixed on the diary.

Understanding Hawkeye’s implication, Qian Cang Yi handed over the diary.

Hawkeye reached out to take it.

Suddenly, Qian Cang Yi noticed a dark shadow forming on the wall behind Hawkeye, just as described in the script.

The shadow was a distorted humanoid shape, like a wavering wave, with jagged edges that seemed to tremble.

Then, the shadow slid down the wall, moving across the floor towards them.

Qian Cang Yi’s eyes widened, about to warn Hawkeye, when Hawkeye bent his knees and leaped into the air.

What?

The shadow swiftly passed beneath Hawkeye’s feet, heading straight for Qian Cang Yi.

Oh no!

Qian Cang Yi quickly released his grip, leaning sideways against the desk, then used his core muscles to pull his legs up.

As the shadow passed beneath his feet, it turned and slid towards the desktop.