“Fatty,” Jiang Cheng suddenly told him, “Do you… want to climb back up the tree?”
Jiang Cheng and Fatty had been following Chen Ran and Su Xiaoxiao. The deeper they went into the forest, the stronger the sense of strangeness they felt. Every tree around them looked the same, but a feeling of absurdity exuded from them. This grabbed Jiang Cheng and Fatty’s attention.
The two chose a random tree and studied it closely. The longer they studied it, the stronger that feeling. It was like… the tree was constantly changing.
“Doctor,” Fatty swallowed, “Do you feel it too?”
“Yes.” Jiang Cheng scratched his chin. “In my subconscious, this tree is changing, but my eyes are telling me that it is not.”
“Yes, yes.” Fatty nodded consecutively. He wasn’t as erudite as Jiang Cheng, but he experienced the thing Jiang Cheng just described. The tree… was transforming, and the transformation was irreversible and non-repetitive. At least, that was what it felt like in their senses.
“Stop looking at it.” Jiang Cheng interrupted Fatty before walking away, “Let’s follow them. We’ll need to check out the stone plate first.”
Along the way, Fatty stayed close to the Doctor. A few times, the latter complained that Fatty was blocking his way, but Fatty brushed it off. “Doctor,” Fatty sidled up to Jiang Cheng shamelessly, “Don’t you think our relationship is so good that we’re basically one person?”
Jiang Cheng narrowed his eyes. “If you don’t always remind me that I’m an orphan, I might believe you.”
Ever since he knew the Doctor, Fatty felt like his brain could more easily ignore things. If this happened in the past, his mind would be blank, and he’d freeze. Now, even though he was scared, he could function normally. For example, he still slept wonderfully even though he was constantly stared at by the aged woman. He merely didn’t have a good dream. If this was in the past, this was unimaginable.
He could even find time to argue with the Doctor while in the midst of danger. This was something he did subconsciously. Every time he had a friendly exchange with the Doctor, he would not feel as nervous.
“Doctor,” Fatty whispered, “Should we move faster? With Su Xiaoxiao leading the way for them, they are probably faster than us.”
Jiang Cheng shook his head, “No. It’s too quiet here. If we move faster, we’ll be discovered.”
“Then… Doctor, they will reach the stone plate before us. If they do and don’t see us there, won’t our plan be exposed?” Fatty asked.
“Not necessarily,” Jiang Cheng explained, “After all, the stone plate is very strange. Or rather… No one knows the effect the stone plate might have. Su Xiaoxiao’s description is too surface-level. I have a feeling the stone plate is not that simple.”
“Raising the dead is too simple?” Fatty couldn’t understand the Doctor.
“Fatty,” Jiang Cheng suddenly asked, “What is your opinion about the people from Black Stone Town?”
Fatty was startled before stammering, “Do you mean… the assimilated things?” He blinked, not understanding the Doctor’s question, “What opinion can I have?”
“Do you think they know they are creatures of assimilation?” Jiang Cheng asked.
“They… should,” Fatty said with hesitation. This question had an unequivocal answer. Fatty had to be careful. Soon, he understood why the Doctor asked this. This involved the purpose of the things from Black Stone Town.
Fatty didn’t have more time to think because Jiang Cheng continued, “Fatty, I believe they do know. Even if they didn’t earlier, they will figure out the difference in their bodies in these few days.
“Most important is their memory related to that stone plate.
“If they have forgotten they were revived by the stone plate, why would they remember everything else about the stone plate? It doesn’t make sense.”
Fatty thought about it and nodded. “Indeed. If their memory about the stone plate is wiped, then their memory about the stone plate should not exist.”
“Indeed.” Jiang Cheng elaborated, “Now, consider this. If the people from Black Stone Town realise that they are not real humans but monsters with human bodies and emotions. Then…” Jiang Cheng turned to Fatty, “Why would they undo the curse? In other words, they are still alive now because of the curse. However, once the curse is undone… what will happen to them?”
Fatty’s eyes slowly widened with fear. “They… will turn back into corpses!”
“Perhaps.” Jiang Cheng gave a vague answer, “In any case, they won’t turn into anything good. To be frank, I think if I were them, I’d maintain the status quo because at least I would still have a life. However, once the curse is gone…” Jiang Cheng didn’t finish the sentence, but Fatty got the gist.
“So… Their goal isn’t to destroy the curse!” Fatty gasped, “Everything they’ve told us is a scam!”
“That’s right. However, there has to be a reason why they’ve lied to get us to keep the lighthouse burning,” Jiang Cheng glanced at Fatty strangely, “Or else they wouldn’t waste so much effort to put on such a show to get us to do that.”
“Put yourself in their shoes.” Jiang Cheng moved away from the branch that blocked his way and slowed down, “If you were them, what would be your greatest hope?”
“I would want to escape from Black Stone Town, the place where I can’t ever feel the warmth of the sun!” Then, something dawned on Fatty, and he said excitedly, “Therefore… Doctor! They just want to escape from the cage that is Black Stone Town. They don’t want to undo the curse!
“The curse… and escaping from Black Stone Town are two different things!”
Jiang Cheng nodded. What he said next froze Fatty to the ground, “Fatty, do you really think they found the stone plate on accident?”