Escape Filming Location

The script for Act Four didn’t provide any useful information, but the development of the plot within the script surprised Qian Cang Yi.

Bian Zhe and Zhang Zian were planning to leave Yuxi Village, so could he, playing Bian Zhe, leave Yuxi Village as well? Would the plot take a new turn?

Qian Cang Yi was eager to know what would happen next, as it concerned his survival.

For now, the most important task was still to investigate the house in front of them.

Qian Cang Yi cleared his throat and recited his lines:

“Zhang Zian, what do you think is going on? I’m sure we didn’t both hear things.”

Performing according to the script could improve his character rating, and Qian Cang Yi wanted his rating to be as high as possible. This way, his Reputation Points and Payment would also increase.

He hadn’t forgotten what Hawkeye said on the bus; the films he needed to participate in weren’t limited to just this one.

“Let’s go, don’t waste time,” Hawkeye said, leaving the words behind as he walked into the living room.

Qian Cang Yi was momentarily stunned; he hadn’t expected Hawkeye to respond like that.

Three seconds later, Hawkeye had already entered the right-side bedroom, and Qian Cang Yi sighed and headed toward the living room.

According to the plan, Qian Cang Yi would search the left bedroom of the living room. He pushed open the wooden door with his right hand and peeked inside to observe the room.

The layout of the bedroom was similar to the previous rooms, with the only difference being that the Village Head’s house was larger, so the bedroom had another door leading to the next room.

Qian Cang Yi searched the room expertly; after several searches, he was becoming quite adept.

In about a minute, he had thoroughly searched the bedroom, even checking inside the pillows.

After confirming there were no clues, he moved to the next door, grabbed the handle with his right hand, and pushed it open.

This room was either a study or a workspace.

Near the window stood a dark red desk, with shelves and bookcases lining the walls on either side.

The shelves held various items, including small stone sculptures and potted plants;

The books in the bookcase were diverse, categorized into two types: classics, both ancient and modern, seemingly from a second-hand bookstore; and newer books, mostly about rural prosperity.

Qian Cang Yi entered the study, and his first target was the desk.

In the upper left corner of the desk was a calendar, frozen on June 11th.

Near the center of the desk, close to the office chair, lay a notebook with a deep blue cover, a black pen neatly placed to its right.

Qian Cang Yi reached out and unlocked the notebook, then flipped to the first page.

The name Wei Guangyuan appeared before his eyes.

“Wei Guangyuan, seems to be the Village Head’s name.”

Qian Cang Yi pressed his left fingers against the inner side of the notebook pages, thumb on the side, and then used his thumb to lift all the pages, starting to flip through them.

The first page was pristine, with no writing.

“What is this?” After scanning through, Qian Cang Yi found that aside from the name on the title page, only the first few pages had writing.

A theory formed in his mind: Wei Guangyuan had intentionally left the notebook on the desk to leave a message.

Qian Cang Yi’s eyes lit up, and he quickly flipped back to the first page.

Neat handwriting appeared before him, easy to read.

However, after a quick glance, he didn’t continue reading but instead picked up the notebook and held it in his arms, heading toward the living room.

He hadn’t forgotten the previous attack by the Dark Shadow.

At that time, the script had provided a warning, allowing him to prepare in advance; now there was no script warning, but would the Dark Shadow refrain from a sneak attack?

Qian Cang Yi didn’t know, but he preferred to play it safe.

“Zhang Zian! I’ve found an important clue, come quickly.”

His voice echoed through Wei Guangyuan’s house.

As Qian Cang Yi reached the living room, Hawkeye also appeared there.

“I haven’t read it yet, worried about the Dark Shadow,” Qian Cang Yi raised the deep blue notebook in his hand.

Hawkeye nodded and said:

“Let’s go to the yard.”

Qian Cang Yi agreed.

From the previous attack by the Dark Shadow, it was clear that its method was suited for ambushing in confined spaces.

The yard was spacious; even if the Dark Shadow attempted a sneak attack, it would be quickly noticed.

The two stood in the yard.

“You read first, and organize your thoughts,” Hawkeye kept a vigilant eye on their surroundings.

Qian Cang Yi opened the notebook, placing his right index finger on the first line, and began to read.

[I don’t know if anyone will see this notebook, but I’ll write everything I know in it.]

[Things started to become abnormal last night; for some reason, everyone in Yuxi Village felt they were being watched by something.]

[Not just me, my family, but other villagers too, all had the same feeling.]

[Later, I realized that what was watching us were shadows, black shadows, which seemed to have life, lurking in the dark.]

[After the strange occurrences, I thought of someone, Li Chenxi, who lives near the Back Mountain.]

[Li Chenxi lost his parents, and somehow, after turning 18, he developed a strange illness, occasionally experiencing temporary blindness, but it would recover after half a day, and the hospital couldn’t find any issues.]

[Yesterday, a villager came to me, saying Li Chenxi had carried a black Stele to the clearing in the Back Mountain, preparing candles, paper money, and other things, very odd, asking if I wanted to check it out.]

[I was busy at the time, and since Li Chenxi often did similar things, I didn’t pay much attention.]

[Now I think, if I had stopped Li Chenxi then, perhaps none of this would have happened.]

[Anyway, the next day, I found Li Chenxi and asked him what he had done, and what the Stele he moved to the Back Mountain was.]

[Li Chenxi told me the Stele was called the Death Ritual Stele, and he was performing the Death Ritual on the clearing yesterday.]

[At the time, the name Death Ritual sounded off to me; what kind of ritual is called a Death Ritual? I’ve only heard of live sacrifices.]

[Li Chenxi said the Death Ritual was a ceremony for death, and after performing it, one could gain eternal life, no longer worrying about money, illness, and could be happy forever.]

[I asked him if he saw any strange shadows last night, or knew what they were.]

[Li Chenxi shook his head, saying he didn’t know, but he didn’t care, firmly believing he would gain eternal life, just needing to wait.]

[At the time, I thought Li Chenxi might be insane, and didn’t ask further, but went to the clearing in the Back Mountain.]

[Death Ritual, Death Ritual Stele, I believed the so-called Death Ritual must be related to the Death Ritual Stele; if I could destroy the Stele, everything would end.]

[When I reached the clearing, I found it covered with half-burned white candles and paper money ashes, but saw no Stele, searched the entire clearing without finding it, so I returned to find Li Chenxi, of course, this time with a few people.]