Chapter 821 Standing Among the Trees
Qi Tongwei's breathing became rapid. He quickly picked up the bedside lamp and used it as a weapon, ready to deal with unknown dangers at any time. The door slowly opened, and a cold wind rushed in, blowing the curtains violently. With the faint moonlight, Qi Tongwei saw a dark shadow standing at the door, with a twisted body, as if being pulled by an invisible force.
The shadow let out a sharp cry and pounced on Qi Tongwei. Qi Tongwei waved the lamp, trying to repel the shadow. At this moment, he suddenly remembered the word "sincere" that he had silently recited in his heart when he broke the curse last time, so he closed his eyes, his heart filled with thoughts for his family, villagers, and love for life, and shouted loudly: "I will not be defeated by you!"
Strangely, the shadow paused in midair and then gradually dissipated. Qi Tongwei breathed a sigh of relief and slumped on the ground. He thought the crisis had been resolved, but then a roar of a motorcycle came from outside the window, getting louder and louder, as if it was hovering outside his window.
Qi Tongwei stood up and walked to the window. He looked out and saw a black motorcycle parked downstairs of the hotel. A man covered in a black cloak sat on the motorcycle, and his face could not be seen clearly. The engine of the motorcycle kept roaring, and the sound seemed to have some kind of magic, which made Qi Tongwei's head hurt.
Suddenly, the headlights of the motorcycle lit up, and a dazzling white light shone into the room. Qi Tongwei subconsciously covered his eyes with his hands. When he opened his eyes again, he found that the man in black was already standing in his room. The man in black slowly raised his head, revealing a pale face, with no spirit in his eyes and cracked lips, as if he had been dead for a long time.
"Why did you come back again?" the man in black asked, his voice sounded like it came from hell, cold and empty.
Qi Tongwei pretended to be calm: "I am here to discuss business, it has nothing to do with you. Who are you? Why do you keep pestering me?"
The man in black sneered: "You ruined my plan, I won't let you go. Do you think you can resist everything with your sincerity? You are too naive!"
After saying that, the man in black stretched out his hands, his nails became long and sharp, and he rushed towards Qi Tongwei. Qi Tongwei dodged everywhere, and in panic, he saw a Bible on the table, which was provided by the hotel. He didn't have time to think about it, so he grabbed the Bible and waved it at the man in black.
Miraculously, the moment the man in black touched the Bible, he screamed and his body began to smoke, as if it was on fire. "No! How can you find something to restrain me!" The man in black roared, his voice full of anger and unwillingness.
Qi Tongwei took this opportunity to continuously attack the man in black with the Bible. As the light shone, the man in black's body gradually dissipated, leaving only a shrill scream echoing in the room.
Everything finally returned to calm, Qi Tongwei sat on the ground exhausted, breathing heavily. He knew that this night's experience made him understand more clearly that the unknown forces in this world are so powerful, but as long as there is a firm belief and a yearning for beauty in the heart, fear can be overcome.
The next morning, the sun shone through the window into the room. Qi Tongwei slowly got up and put his clothes in order. He walked out of the room and came to the front desk, wanting to check out and leave this terrible place. The front desk clerk saw him and showed a strange expression: "Sir, did you encounter anything last night? I heard strange noises in your room."
Qi Tongwei hesitated for a moment, but decided to tell the waiter what happened. The waiter turned pale after hearing what happened: "Sir, you may not know that there was a murder case in this hotel before. A young man was killed here, and the murderer has never been found. Later, guests often said that they heard strange noises and saw strange things at night."
Qi Tongwei was shocked. It turned out that this hotel was hiding such a terrible secret. He thanked the waiter and left the hotel. After returning to the village, Qi Tongwei shared his experience with the villagers again. Everyone was worried about his experience, but also admired his bravery even more.
"Tongwei, don't go to that place again. It's too dangerous!" said an old villager with concern.
Qi Tongwei nodded: "Don't worry, I will be careful. However, this experience also made me understand that no matter what difficulties we encounter, we must not retreat."
Since then, the village has returned to its former peace, and Qi Tongwei continues to lead the villagers on the road to prosperity. The crops in the farmland are thriving, and the tourism projects are attracting more and more tourists.
One day, a stranger came to the village. He looked flustered and asked everyone he met whether there were any hidden forests near the village. The villagers found him strange and brought him to Qi Tongwei. When the stranger saw Qi Tongwei, he knelt down with a plop.
"Please save me!" the stranger said in a crying voice.
Qi Tongwei quickly helped him up and asked, "Get up first and tell me slowly, what happened?"
The stranger calmed himself down and said slowly, "I am a herbalist. I found a rare herb in a deep mountain not far from here. But when I got closer, I found that the herb grew around a huge strange tree. The vines of the tree moved, as if they were alive! I saw with my own eyes that a vine rolled up a hare and swallowed it in an instant. I was so scared that I ran away, but the tree spirit vine seemed to be targeting me. I felt something following me wherever I went."
Qi Tongwei frowned after hearing this. He recalled his horrific experience in the hotel and knew that some things in this world should not be easily provoked, but now that the tree spirit vine has threatened the safety of the villagers, he cannot just sit back and watch.
"You stay in the village first and don't run around. I'll gather some people and we'll go take a look together." Qi Tongwei said to the outsider.
The news quickly spread throughout the village, and the villagers expressed their willingness to go with Qi Tongwei. Everyone prepared their tools, took sickles and axes, and followed Qi Tongwei toward the deep mountains that the outsiders had mentioned. Along the way, everyone was in a heavy mood, and no one knew what they were about to face.
Finally, they arrived at the forest. As soon as they entered the forest, they felt a gloomy atmosphere. The surrounding trees blocked out the sun, and the ground was covered with thick fallen leaves, which made a "crunching" sound when stepped on.
"It's just ahead." The stranger pointed ahead and said in a trembling voice.
Qi Tongwei looked in the direction he pointed and saw a huge tree standing in the woods. It had a thick trunk and rough bark covered with strange lines.