Tang Yu shook her head helplessly at Song Hao. Song Hao smiled but ignored her. Sun Bao's illness was controllable, which was also a source of support for Sun Litong. Since Sun Litong wanted to keep this ability and was unwilling to seek treatment, there was nothing Tang Yu could do.
Song Hao, Tang Yu, and Sun Baoli returned to Aken Village. Sun Baoli, now feeling much better, was unaware of what had happened to him. He only knew that Song Hao had cured his headache and thanked him profusely. When the villagers saw Sun Baoli again, they exclaimed in surprise, "Baoli, you look like a completely different person today! You're much more energetic, and your eyes are so lively!"
Upon hearing this, Song Hao and Tang Yu smiled with delight.
Upon meeting Liu Yong, Song Hao briefly explained the situation, only mentioning that Sun Baoli's illness had been completely cured. To avoid causing further trouble for Sun Baoyong, he didn't mention the Sun father and son.
Upon hearing this, Liu Yong was overjoyed and ran to Sun Baoli's house to take a look. To Sun Baoli's bewilderment, he laughed and asked, "Officer Liu, what's the matter?"
"You...you can smile again, you're really cured!" Liu Yong said in surprise.
At the town's police station, Zhang Yonghe was overjoyed to hear Liu Yong's report. He then expressed his gratitude to Song Hao and Tang Yu. Meanwhile, the car at the repair shop had been fixed, and Tang Yu picked it up, said goodbye to Zhang Yonghe, and continued on their way.
Later, Zhang Yonghe took Sun Baoli to a major hospital in the provincial capital for a comprehensive examination. The results were all normal, which put his mind at ease. Six months later, Sun Litong and his son Sun Baoyong abandoned their stone house and melon patch in the mountains and disappeared without a trace.
Tang Yu and Song Hao drove all the way and entered Qinghai Province that day. The Northwest Plateau is a place of high skies and long roads, with majestic mountains and thick earth, rugged and strange, and a feeling different from human landscapes.
"The sky here is so clear! It's like a mirror!" Tang Yu couldn't help but exclaim. She simply parked the car on the side of the road and got out with Song Hao to admire the scenery.
"Spending a long time in this place must broaden one's mind!" Song Hao exclaimed.
At this moment, the once clear sky began to darken. Song Hao looked up at the sky and said, "The climate on the plateau is unpredictable; it looks like wind and rain are coming."
Tang Yu said, "No way, I can't feel any rain coming." At this time, it was cool and windless, and even the grass and trees by the roadside did not show any signs of swaying.
Just then, the sky suddenly darkened, as if a thick cloud had moved in from a distant mountain pass, blotting out the sun. An eerie atmosphere filled the surroundings, greatly increasing the sense of dread.
Traditional Chinese Medicine Under Heaven - Volume Two: The Heavenly Doctor's Hall - Chapter Forty: Another Realm
The Dao, which governs and gives birth to Heaven and Earth, to humanity and all things, contains the mechanisms of Yin and Yang, movement and stillness, and embodies the profound principles of creation. It governs the Limitless (Wuji), from which the Supreme Ultimate (Taiji) arises. The Limitless is nameless; the nameless is the beginning of Heaven and Earth. The Supreme Ultimate is named; the named is the mother of all things. Because of the nameless, there is name; thus Heaven gives birth to Heaven, Earth gives birth to Earth, humanity gives birth to humanity, and all things are born! — *The Great Dao Treatise*
_______
"Song Hao, something's not right. The sky is unusually dark. It's not like it's going to rain..." Tang Yu said in surprise.
"Get back in the car quickly!" Song Hao, seeing the increasingly thick black mist, hurriedly pulled Tang Yu back into the car.
At this moment, the abnormal blackness had already enveloped the world, and was as black as ink, so dark that one could not see their own hand in front of their face. Song Hao and Tang Yu felt as if they were being trapped in a vortex of darkness, and everything instantly lost its support.
"Song Hao..." Tang Yu, who was usually very brave, also became frightened and grabbed Song Hao's hand tightly.
"Don't be afraid!" Song Hao held Tang Yu in his arms and waited for the situation to unfold.
This sudden, eerie darkness made one feel as if they were immersed in a fine, thick layer of ink, as if they could almost touch its presence.
Such terrifying black mist left everyone bewildered. Song Hao fumbled for a flashlight nearby, quickly turned it on, and tried to use the light to dispel some of the eerie black mist.
But then, an even more terrifying phenomenon occurred: the flashlight, which had been fully charged, suddenly seemed to have insufficient power, dim and unclear, showing only a faint light. The light only shone three or four inches before being blocked by the black mist and then dimmed.
It seemed to be a passing black mist, flowing silently without making a sound. Although the car body felt as if it had been lifted up, it had not moved at all, as if it were suspended in the air.
The thick black aura created a sense of oppression and made it difficult to breathe.
"Don't be afraid! Don't be afraid!" Despite this unexpected turn of events, Song Hao displayed a man's courage and comforted Tang Yu.
But then, Song Hao was filled with even greater fear. He felt that he had suddenly lost his voice. Although he was speaking, he could not utter a sound, as if the sound was absorbed by the eerie black energy before it could even leave his mouth.
"How could this be?!" Song Hao exclaimed in shock.
It was an apocalyptic feeling, a sense of impending doom, that everything would be swallowed by this black aura. Tang Yu dared not look at the strange black aura any longer, so she simply closed her eyes and hugged Song Hao tightly in his arms. At this moment, this was the only place she felt safe and could rely on.
The black mist that filled the heavens and earth seemed to freeze time and dissolve all things, leaving only the faint presence of thought...
It felt like millions of years had passed... Suddenly, the black mist vanished, and Song Hao felt a bright light before his eyes. The car, the road, the sky, the white clouds, and the distant mountains—everything seemed to have suddenly reappeared, making him feel as if he were in a dream.
Song Hao turned his head and glanced out the car window, seeing the shadow of the black mist disappear into a distant valley. The flashlight, which had been showing its battery nearly depleted, gradually began to glow brighter.
Song Hao gently touched Tang Yu, who was still clinging to him in fright, and told her that everything was over.
Tang Yu opened her eyes, gazing blankly at her surroundings, as if she too had been in a dream. The two sat motionless in the car, speechless for a moment, unable to process what had happened.
Another half hour passed, and a car drove by. The two people inside, who were chatting and laughing, glanced at Song Hao and Tang Yu in the car with surprise. From their expressions, it was clear that they had also experienced that eerie darkness.
"Oh dear! How did the car end up in the middle of the road? I just parked it on the side of the road!" Tang Yu exclaimed in surprise. She quickly moved the car back to the side of the road.
Afterwards, the two got out of the car and stood there, bewildered and at a loss.
"What just happened?" Tang Yu asked.
Song Hao shook his head. Although they were in a high-altitude area with unpredictable weather, both of them understood that their experience just now was unrelated to the weather changes. This strange experience became a mystery that Song Hao and Tang Yu could never unravel in their lives, and they never spoke of it to anyone afterward.
"Song Hao, let's find a place to stay up ahead. I don't want to walk any further for the next couple of days," Tang Yu said.
"Alright!" Song Hao nodded. After experiencing this strange realm, the two of them needed to adjust their mindset.
The car arrived at a town ahead, and Song Hao and Tang Yu found a hotel to stay in. After resting for a while, the two went for a stroll in the street.
While eating at a restaurant, Tang Yu whispered to Song Hao, "Song Hao, I have a feeling that someone is following us. From Baihe Town to Shangqing Temple, and then to Qinghai, there have always been people observing our movements."
Song Hao looked around but didn't find anyone suspicious. He shook his head and said, "You're being too sensitive. I can't sense anything."
Tang Yu said, "I told you before, your whereabouts have always been being monitored."
Song Hao said, "Who cares who they are? If we have the time, let them follow us."
Tang Yu said worriedly, "I wonder what they intend to do? Their target is probably no longer that acupuncture bronze figure. They have another purpose. Right now, all I care about is..."
Song Hao knew what Tang Yu was going to say, and shook his head, saying, "It may not be them, or there may still be people who are still obsessed with that acupuncture bronze figure."