What kind of haunted place is this? There used to be living people here, but now they've all become ghosts. Fortunately, we escaped. Looking at the eerie village monument, we didn't want to stay another moment and rushed to leave. But thinking about our destination, our hearts grew apprehensive again.
"Boss, can you please not take such terrifying jobs in the future? My heart can't take it," Stein grumbled between gasps for air as we walked. He added that he especially missed Stella now - that girl wasn't perfect, but at least she was a Celestial Master.
I told him to shut up and save his breath. The Siberian weasel's grave would be even scarier, so he'd better conserve his energy for running.
Stein wasn't happy, but since I was right, he kept quiet.
The Siberian weasel's grave wasn't far from the dam - about one kilometer - since the mountain was close to the village.
After ten minutes of walking, we finally reached the gloomy Siberian weasel grave. The mountain wasn't tall, but Stein's legs trembled as we climbed. When I asked why, he said he was scared. This place didn't even have a chilling wind - it just smothered people with panic. Stein explained this was because the malignant energy was so strong it suppressed all ghostly aura.
Stein also asked me, "Do you know why the village ghosts didn't chase us out? Because they're all afraid of the master on this mountain. The one in the well is the real threat, and they all hide far away from this area."
I told him not to scare himself. The seal wasn't broken yet - at worst we'd only have to deal with that weasel. With Orwell here, it wouldn't kill us, right?
When we reached the grave, I saw the weasel carving on the tombstone again, and the terrifying well.
The well's dark opening always seemed like something might jump out. It was so quiet yet frightening that I dared not approach, feeling like the eerie eyes at the bottom were watching me.
"You shouldn't have come back!"
Suddenly, a man's voice rang out. Beside a tombstone hung a green lantern. I couldn't see where the man was hiding, but his voice seemed nearby.
"Lucky, Aria, you need to stop hurting people!" Orwell pleaded bitterly.
"Hmph, it's useless. If we don't kill everyone in this village, her ghostly resentment won't be dispelled," the man replied.
"But why continue when everyone else has moved away? The village is gone!" Orwell argued.
"They'll come back. They used to fill the wells and all drank river water. I put Aria's ghostly resentment in the river. They'll return as soon as they fall asleep, like sleepwalking, once Aria breaks this damned seal," the man continued.
From their conversation, the man hiding nearby must be the weasel - it had taken the human skin of the dam worker and transformed into that man.
Orwell's pleading words couldn't persuade the weasel. It was determined to help Aria kill everyone in the village. Even after thirty years, this debt still had to be settled. The ghostly resentment had only grown stronger over these decades.
Everyone must die! Everyone! Except perhaps Orwell.
"Stop wasting words with it," I said. "Hurry and call your second uncle! This Siberian weasel is stubborn - you can't reason with it. To undo this, we need the one who caused it. We must find your second uncle!"
Orwell nodded in understanding and began calling for his second uncle. His clear voice echoed through the gloomy graveyard.
Just then, a loud bang sounded from the well, accompanied by a faint golden light - something was trying to come up! Orwell's voice seemed to have triggered something in the well. She was trying to emerge!
Another thud came from the well, and the golden light grew dimmer. Now all three of us panicked. Orwell immediately stopped calling - what would we do if Aria climbed out now?
"Get out of here! If she comes out, you'll die too," the weasel said slyly. It had been hiding all along, never revealing itself.
"That Aria might kill Orwell too!" Stein muttered.
What did we care now? I didn't know if Orwell would be safe, but the two of us were certainly doomed.
Then I suddenly remembered - the Equinox Flower tattoo on Orwell's body summoned spirits. And ghosts were spirits too. No wonder the thing in the well was reacting so strongly.
"Go! Hurry!" We both grabbed Orwell and dragged him away. Now was the time for quick thinking - retreat first, then figure out another plan.
"You two aren't leaving!" The voice turned murderous. At that moment, every grave in the Siberian weasel cemetery trembled, the coffins inside seeming ready to burst open.
Shit! The weasel really planned to catch us and feed us to the ghosts. We couldn't stay here - we had to retreat now.
Without waiting for Orwell, we dragged him along as we ran. He kept calling for his second uncle, while the movements from the well grew more violent. The golden light flashed faster but grew weaker.
We hadn't run far when suddenly - my foot slipped, then Stein's too. Both of us fell weightlessly through darkness... into what seemed to be... the well...
With a loud crash, we screamed as our bodies finally hit the ground.
"Where is this, Little Boss?" Stein asked. Though it was pitch black, I could feel Stein right across from me.
I looked up and immediately broke out in a cold sweat. This was... a fucking well! It seemed we... had fallen into the well.
"No way! We were clearly running down the mountain. How could we have fallen into a well?" Stein yelled in disbelief. "Where's Orwell? The three of us were running together! Where is everyone?"
"Orwell?" At that moment, I looked at what I was holding and shouted in shock, "Fuck! We fell for that weasel's trick again! What we were dragging wasn't Orwell - it was a piece of wood! WHAT THE HELL!"
"Are you guys okay? Come on up! What the hell happened to you two? You just picked up a piece of wood and jumped into the well without even screaming. Hurry up and climb out!" Orwell's anxious voice called from above.
Damn it! We really got tricked and fell into the well. That weasel was truly evil. Could we... still get out? Aria was down here!
"Run!"
Stein and I both screamed and immediately started climbing upward with both hands. But strangely, something seemed to be pulling us down - our bodies felt unnaturally heavy, and we kept slipping back down after climbing just a little.
Then an icy cold presence surrounded us. I thought I saw a cloaked woman standing behind Stein - her hair covering her face, wearing a blood-red wedding dress that looked freshly dyed.
"Stein... Stein... there's... behind you..." I gulped and stammered.
"Don't... don't scare me!" Stein was even more terrified than I was, his whole body shaking uncontrollably.