"It's getting late, hurry up and pull it out..."
At the northern edge of the village, Second Uncle was pacing anxiously in circles.
After waiting for what felt like an eternity and still seeing no one tugging on the straw rope, he couldn't hold back any longer and darted forward.
The people around him hesitated.
After all, they had agreed beforehand that someone inside would tug the rope before they pulled from the outside.
But Second Uncle was frantic.
"How big can this cursed village be? Even if you had to cross it, it should've been done by now. Something must have happened!"
With that, he yanked hard on the rope, only to find it growing looser and looser until all he pulled out was the end of the rope.
Whether it was Old Sheepskin, the clan leader, or Zhou Datong and the other villagers following behind, everyone was stunned.
"My dear mother..."
Second Uncle groaned, his body trembling.
He tore off his coat and charged toward the cursed village, shouting, "I'm going to find him!"
"..."
"Calm down, Second Uncle..."
Old Sheepskin hurriedly stopped him, yelling, "With your limited skills, how dare you barge into that cursed village?"
"Even an old stove would go out if you blew on it like that..."
"..."
"Even if it goes out, I have to find him..."