Uncanny Valley - Chapter 16
Yue Dongbei, his belly bulging, paced around the campsite, the dummy still lying beside the campfire. As he passed by, he lightly kicked it, laughing and cursing, "It's because of this piece of junk that we didn't get a good night's sleep all night."
"Compared to the two on night duty, we're much luckier," Zhou Liwei said, then looked up and searched for a moment before asking curiously, "Where's Wu Qun?"
"He went to fetch water." Luo Fei pointed in the direction of the puddle, then suddenly realized it was only a short walk away, and Wu Qun had been gone for quite some time, so he couldn't help but say, "Hey? Why isn't he back yet? I hope nothing bad has happened to him?"
"What could possibly happen in broad daylight—" Bai Jian'e's words were cut short as the word "accident" was forced back down his throat.
Wu Qun returned at that very moment. His appearance immediately drew everyone's attention. Upon seeing the scene before them, everyone's hearts sank.
Wu Qun emerged from the bushes, staggering as if he were drunk. His features were contorted in extreme pain, his eyes wide open as if they were about to burst from their sockets; even more horrifying, his hands were reaching into his mouth, performing an incomprehensible and bizarre action!
He rolled his ten fingers into cone shapes, gripped his tongue tightly with his fingertips, and pulled it out with all his might!
"What's wrong?" Bai Jian'e shouted, and quickly went to meet him. Zhao Liwen followed closely behind him, and the two of them supported the swaying Wu Qun on the left and right.
Luo Fei and the other two immediately went forward to check.
Wu Qun stared blankly at Bai Jian'e, his expression filled with despair and fear. He seemed to want to say something, but his tongue was stretched out of his mouth, so he could only make intermittent "uh uh ooh ooh" sounds, which were dry and harsh, devoid of any human vitality.
It seemed that all his strength was concentrated in his ten fingers. His tender tongue had been pulled out more than two inches long, and his fingernails were deeply embedded in the tongue coating, with faint traces of blood.
Although they couldn't communicate, everyone could sense that Wu Qun had a strong desire to rip that soft, strip-like object out of his mouth, as if it weren't his own tongue, but a venomous snake that had burrowed into his body!
"Stop him quickly! He'll die if he keeps going like this!" Zhou Liwei shouted anxiously.
Before he could finish speaking, Luo Fei rushed forward and tried to pry Wu Qun's fingers off, while Bai Jian'e and Zhao Liwen each offered a hand to help. But Wu Qun's ten fingers were as hard as iron, firmly gripping his tongue, and he couldn't move them an inch!
Wu Qun's tongue seemed to have been stretched to its limit; his face was flushed red, and his breathing became unusually rapid.
"Come help!" Luo Fei shouted, realizing the situation was dire. Zhou Liwei and Yue Dongbei joined the group, prying at Wu Qun's almost stiff fingers one by one.
Finally, Wu Qun seemed to have exhausted all his strength, and his ten fingers loosened, allowing the others to separate them from his tongue.
But no one could feel a trace of joy, because at the same time, Wu Qun's breathing had stopped, his eyes were stiff, and there was no longer any light of life in his gaze.
His body went limp, with only his tongue still sticking out of his mouth, forming a bizarre and terrifying image on the dead man's face.
Bai Jian'e was both shocked and enraged to see yet another of his trusted subordinates die a gruesome death. He suddenly pulled himself out of the crowd, drew his machete from his waist, and headed straight for the water pit.
The waterhole was actually only a dozen meters away from the camp, but due to the cover of the jungle, the two sides could not see each other. In an instant, Bai Jian'e had arrived at the edge of the waterhole. The area was surrounded by trees and was quiet, seemingly without any abnormalities.
He paused for a moment, then, knife in hand, he looked around angrily and shouted in a hoarse voice, "What the hell are you? Get out here!"
A soft rustling sound came from the bushes, and a figure emerged. Bai Jian'e was startled, and upon closer inspection, he saw that it was Luo Fei.
Unlike Bai Jian'e, Luo Fei was not excited. His face was calm, but his eyes were bright and piercing as he carefully looked around.
Most of the water bottles Wu Qun brought were neatly stacked around the edge of the water tank, except for one that was lying askew elsewhere, with obvious traces of spilled water on its spout. Luo Fei took two steps forward and picked up the water bottle. It felt slightly heavy, indicating that there was still about half a bottle of water left inside.
"Is this Wu Qun's water bottle?" Luo Fei asked Bai Jian'e, who nodded in response.
Luo Fei squatted down again, only to find the ground covered with weeds and fallen leaves, making it unlikely that he could find any footprints here.
"Let's go back to the camp and check. There won't be many clues here." After a moment of contemplation, Luo Fei said to Bai Jian'e.
Bai Jian'e had calmed down considerably by this point. His face was ashen as he put away his machete and walked back with Luo Fei.
At the campsite, Zhou Liwei was examining Wu Qun's body, while Zhao Liwen stood guard beside him, his hand on his machete. Every time he saw the gruesome state of his comrade, his face would show resentment. Yue Dongbei stood alone, hands behind his back, his face turned towards the sky, lost in thought.
"Is there any situation over there?" Zhou Liwei asked immediately upon seeing Luo Fei and the other person return.
Luo Fei did not answer immediately, but first squatted down to examine the deceased's front of his shirt. It was obvious that there were large water stains there.
Luo Fei held Wu Qun's water bottle in his left hand, and lightly tapped the damp patch of his shirt a few times with his right index finger. Then, tilting his head slightly, he began to describe the scene unfolding in his mind step by step: "He went to fetch water—first he filled his own bottle—then he started drinking it right there, and just then, something unexpected happened..."
"What accident?" Bai Jian'e asked from the side.
Luo Fei shook his head, looking at the deceased's face with confusion, and asked himself, "Why? Why would someone pull out their own tongue?"
He pondered for a moment, seemingly without any clue, then asked Zhou Liwei, "By the way, have you discovered anything? Also, what was the specific cause of death?"
“There were no injuries on his body, and no signs of blows to his vital areas. At first, I thought that his action of pulling out his tongue caused his mouth to become blocked, thus suffocating him to death, but…” Zhou Liwei pointed to the deceased’s exposed tongue, “There seems to be something else going on here.”
"What's wrong?" Luo Fei immediately focused his eyes on the spot Zhou Liwei was pointing to, while Bai Jian'e also squatted down, watching closely.
"Look, there's some abnormal swelling here!"
Following Zhou Liwei's prompting, Luo Fei indeed noticed that the back of the deceased's tongue was swollen and its color was abnormal, slightly blackish.
"What caused this? Was it a disease or poisoning?" he immediately asked.
“It’s not clear yet. These are just external signs. Based on my judgment, the central problem area should be at the base of the deceased’s tongue. To see what’s there, we need to use some special methods on the body.” Zhou Liwei said, glancing at Bai Jian’e beside him with a look of seeking his opinion.
Luo Fei understood what "special methods" meant. Wu Qun was brought by Bai Jian'e, and if he wanted to do anything to the corpse, he would have better get Bai Jian'e's approval first.
Bai Jian'e naturally understood Zhou Liwei's meaning. Without hesitation, he reached for his waist, his cleaver already in hand. Then he leaned forward and gently made a cut on the lower jaw near the base of the tongue with the blade.
The machete was extremely sharp, and a large gash immediately appeared in the victim's throat, from which a large amount of blood seeped out. The blood was jet black, just like ink!
Zhou Liwei's judgment was correct; the problem indeed lay in that area. Luo Fei's heart tightened, and he held his breath, continuing to monitor the situation.
Seeing the scene before him, Bai Jian'e's eyebrows twitched a few times. Then, he gritted his teeth, increased the force of his wrist, and thoroughly cut open the skin and muscle at the base of the deceased's jaw. Immediately afterward, he inserted two fingers, and after some groping, pulled the entire tongue out from the incision.
Black blood instantly filled the air, and the victim's long tongue dangled under his jaw, a horrifying sight. However, those present paid no heed to this; their eyes were all fixed on the area where the victim's tongue connected to his esophagus.
The tongue, which should have been pink and tender, was now completely black, swollen and raised like a steamed bun. And in the center of that bun, a brightly colored spider was perched!
The spider's body was about the size of a little fingernail, symmetrically hexagonal with distinct edges, and its eight legs were slender and long. Although it had been dead for some time, its mandibles were still tightly gripping the victim's tongue.
A complex expression appeared on Bai Jian'e's face: surprise, helplessness, sadness, and a hint of realization. He gently pinched the spider off and said with a bitter smile, "Poison Fairy."
"Poison Fairy?" Luo Fei's eyes followed the spider. "Is that its name?"
Bai Jian'e nodded: "This kind of spider is extremely venomous. Even a bite on the leg can be fatal if not treated properly, let alone a bite on a vital part like the throat."
Luo Fei frowned: "It lives in the water?"
"No." Bai Jian'e seemed a little confused as well. After thinking for a moment, he added, "Could it be that it climbed into the kettle first?"
This conjecture sounds logical.
Although sulfur was sprinkled around the bedding of Bai Jian'e and his two companions, their water bottles were placed outside the sulfur circle. The highly venomous spider crawled into Wu Qun's water bottle during the night. Wu Qun filled his bottle first and then eagerly drank, swallowing the spider whole. The dying spider naturally bit his tongue, releasing its venom. Wu Qun was in excruciating pain and, in horror, instinctively pulled at his tongue, trying to clear the venom from his throat. Realizing that self-preservation was impossible, he forced himself back to camp, but ultimately succumbed to the poison.
If that's really the case, then Wu Qun's death was truly unjust. Luo Fei shook his head, neither confirming nor denying. Zhou Liwei and Zhao Liwen also remained silent, both with doubtful expressions on their faces.
"Hehe, what a coincidence!" Yue Dongbei, who had been silent until now, finally spoke up, bluntly stating his thoughts, "This is by no means an accident. This was destined to happen, it was already like this two days ago."
"Two days ago?" Bai Jian'e looked at Yue Dongbei with a puzzled expression. "Two days ago, we were still in Mi Hong Village."
Yue Dongbei didn't answer. He looked up at the sky and suddenly sighed in frustration, "Alas, it's my fault for being so careless. 'Peeling the skin and stuffing the grass'—I could see through the subtlety. But such an obvious warning slipped right under my nose, and I didn't even notice it..."
Luo Fei and the others looked at each other, completely bewildered as to what he was saying.
"The punishment of tongue-pulling! Have you all forgotten?" Yue Dongbei opened his eyes wide and looked at everyone, saying, "That piece of Xuan paper, Li Dingguo's notes, 'he' has already made it clear that at Mao Shi (5-7 AM), the 'tontongue-pulling punishment' will be inflicted on the 'leaker'!"
Yes, the punishment of having one's tongue pulled out! At Mopan Mountain! After Yue Dongbei said that, everyone started to understand. If we interpret it this way, Wu Qun's death does indeed have a very strong symbolic meaning.
In the blink of an eye, Luo Fei had replayed the events of two days ago in his mind. There was a detail that he hadn't thought much about at the time, but now it had caught his attention.
"You seem to have mentioned that the Xuan paper wasn't originally in the parchment scroll?" His gaze swept over Bai Jian'e and Zhao Liwen in turn.
Zhao Liwen paused for a moment, seemingly unsure how to answer, and could only look at Bai Jian'e.
Bai Jian'e's face was grim. After a long while, he nodded and said in a low voice, "Yes. To this day, I still don't know where that piece of paper came from... This matter is getting more and more interesting..."
Everyone understood the subtext of Bai Jian'e's words: the mysterious appearance of the Xuan paper was undoubtedly the best explanation for Yue Dongbei's "warning statement." For a moment, everyone fell silent, pondering the possible mysteries hidden within this matter.
“If that piece of paper really is a handwritten note by Li Dingguo, it is indeed very interesting.” After a moment, Zhou Liwei spoke first. “This is not an ordinary object; most people wouldn’t have one.”
This was exactly what Luo Fei was thinking. He looked up and gestured for the other person to continue.
But then Zhou Liwei said, "Since Chief Bai has confirmed that it is not their original possession, I believe that only someone who has studied history deeply, and in other words, someone who has explored Li Dingguo in great depth, could possess such a rare artifact."
Although these words didn't name names, they were highly pointed. Yue Dongbei wasn't stupid; he immediately blushed and asked, "You suspect that thing is mine?"
"At least you once showed us that you have a lot of historical artifacts and materials related to Li Dingguo. Who has studied Li Dingguo's personal history more thoroughly than you? And the series of strange events that have happened these days are exactly what you wanted to see, right?" Zhou Liwei's words began to become aggressive.
"Ridiculous! Ridiculous! Did I orchestrate all of this? Would I really create a cautionary tale and then explain it?" Yue Dongbei seemed somewhat embarrassed and angry. "Yes, I hope to see such strange things happen, because these events are gradually confirming my theory and enriching my academic materials. But if I directed these events myself, what meaning do they have for me? Academic fraud will only become a lifelong disgrace! You repeatedly use such despicable ideas to attack me. Is this how you scientists behave when faced with differing viewpoints?"
Zhou Liwei narrowed his gaze, coldly staring at the fat man opposite him. He desperately wanted to discern something hidden beneath the man's outwardly agitated emotions, but he was disappointed. Yue Dongbei was panting heavily, his anger and astonishment palpable—the standard expression of a proud person whose dignity had been insulted. If this expression was feigned, then Yue Dongbei was undoubtedly a rare and excellent actor.
Bai Jian'e and Luo Fei were also closely observing Yue Dongbei's reaction. Analyzing things logically, Yue Dongbei was indeed highly suspicious. Although he lacked the means to directly commit the crime, he explained all the strange events with remarkable detail, leading one to the following inference:
The "mysterious force" behind the scenes is carrying out a terrible plan step by step under the guidance of Yue Dongbei!
But Yue Dongbei didn't seem like someone who could hide his true intentions so well. Luo Fei was always very confident in his ability to judge people; could this straightforward, fat man really be someone he couldn't possibly misjudge?
Luo Fei pondered for a moment, then shook his head slightly. There was another aspect of Yue Dongbei's behavior that didn't quite make sense: if Yue Dongbei had planned and carried out all these events, why would he explain the hidden meanings so clearly step by step? It wouldn't have been too late to demonstrate one's theory after the plan was complete. Now that the plan had just begun, speaking too much would only arouse suspicion, which would be extremely detrimental to his future actions.
In the midst of this tense and deliberate atmosphere, Bai Jian'e suddenly asked Yue Dongbei a question.
"Mr. Yue, according to your theory, why was the punishment of 'tongue-pulling' inflicted on Wu Qun?"
Yue Dongbei seemed unprepared for this question. He hesitated for a moment before answering vaguely, "The punishment of tongue-pulling was established by Li Dingguo for those who leak secrets... Since Wu Qun suffered such punishment and was warned beforehand, I think he must be related to some kind of leak."
"What exactly?" Bai Jian'e stared intently at Yue Dongbei with piercing eyes. "What kind of leak was it?"
Zhou Liwei also seemed very interested in the question, waiting intently for Yue Dongbei's answer.
"This..." Yue Dongbei scratched his forehead, looking somewhat embarrassed. "I'm not sure either. Perhaps Wu Qun's ancestors leaked secrets while serving in Li Dingguo's army and weren't punished at the time. Now that the 'demon' has been resurrected, is this blame being placed on Wu Qun? This is just my guess; there's no historical evidence yet. We need to do more research, more research..."
Bai Jian'e chuckled. It was clear he wasn't satisfied with the answer.
Zhou Liwei frowned almost imperceptibly. He had always scoffed at Yue Dongbei's theories, so why was he paying so much attention to this particular issue?
"The situation is unclear right now, so let's not be suspicious of each other." Luo Fei had been observing and thinking for a long time before finally speaking up. "The villagers of Mi Hong Village are all descendants of Li Dingguo's subordinates. It wouldn't be particularly strange if someone secretly kept Li Dingguo's notes."
Yue Dongbei nodded, while glancing at Zhou Liwei with considerable dissatisfaction: "Although Officer Luo also disagrees with my point of view, what he said is much more objective than yours. This is the academic attitude of actively seeking the truth."
Zhou Liwei sneered and stopped responding.
"Alright, enough of this nonsense, let's discuss the next step of the plan." Bai Jian'e glanced at the dead spider in his hand, then flicked it aside with disgust.
A cold glint of jealousy flashed in Zhao Liwen's eyes. With a flick of his right hand, he slashed out with incredible speed.
The spider's corpse had barely hit the ground when it was chopped into dust by this precise strike.
Chapter Nineteen: Fishing for Corpses
Daylight had broken, and the group sat solemnly around the small campsite. Bloodstained mannequins and Wu Qun's gruesome corpse lay at their feet, silently recounting the terrifying and bizarre events of the night. And the journey to "Terror Valley" had only just begun.
Now, a very real question is facing everyone: should this trip continue?
Yue Dongbei's attitude was naturally the clearest: "Of course we must continue. Things have come to this point, how can we give up halfway? Aren't you interested in the truth behind these mysterious events? The answer lies in the 'uncanny valley,' within reach!"
Luo Fei then began to express his opinion: "Personally, I think we absolutely must go to 'Terror Valley.' The more strange things we encounter along the way, the more it proves that we are indeed approaching the core of all the secrets. Retreating now might be exactly what our opponents want to achieve. However..." After a moment of contemplation, he looked at Bai Jian'e and said, "It seems that your safety is indeed under great threat. You can choose to withdraw. The general route is clear. As long as we go down the mountain and successfully find the river, we can reach 'Terror Valley' on our own."
"No, no, no, Officer Luo, that's because you haven't grasped the situation." Yue Dongbei shook his head vigorously. "The current situation is that even if we don't go, Chief Bai is determined to go to 'Terror Valley'!"