(Time: Late night on the second day of departure)

  I huddled in the tent, the blinding light of the headlamp barely dispelled the small patch of darkness in front of my eyes, but it could not dispel the coldness and fear that permeated the air and penetrated into my bones. My face must have been as pale as a ghost, and my lips were shaking uncontrollably because of the cold and nervousness.

  The door.is closed.

  The hoarse warning of the skinny old man sounded in my ears again like a curse: "It's getting dark. the door. is closed. I can't get out."

  What does this mean? Is it some kind of physical isolation, such as the entrance to the village being blocked by some kind of mechanism or barrier? Or. some more bizarre supernatural confinement? Does the village itself become an inescapable cage at night?

  I didn't dare to think about it any further. Every guess made my scalp tingle. I only knew that with the loud noise, the aura of the entire Fengmen Village seemed to have undergone a qualitative change. If the village during the day was dead silent, gloomy, and disturbing, then the village at night seemed to have completely awakened, come alive, and turned into a devil full of malice, hunger, and danger. The previous oppression and ominousness condensed into a substantial and aggressive atmosphere of terror, like cold venom silently permeating every inch of space.

  I hugged my knees tightly and held the poor stick across my body, as if this could bring a tiny sense of security. I pulled the zipper of the tent tightly, but what could this thin layer of nylon cloth withstand? It was more like a self-deceiving psychological comfort, a fragile eggshell that could be crushed at any time by the endless darkness and unknown outside.

  Unrest in the stronghold:

  The abandoned house I was in might have once been a primary school classroom or a village committee office. It looked even more eerie under the light of the headlamp. The walls were mottled with cracks and mildew, as if twisted faces were peering out from the darkness. The broken tables and chairs and garbage scattered on the ground cast strange shadows like lurking monsters. The holes in the roof and the broken windows were like dark eye sockets, greedily absorbing the light and my remaining courage.

  I took out the remaining half of a compressed biscuit and a small bottle of mineral water and stuffed them into my mouth mechanically. The biscuit was dry and hard to swallow, but I forced myself to swallow it. I needed energy and needed to maintain my physical strength to cope with this long and terrifying night. The cold water flowed through my throat with a chill that made my body tremble involuntarily.

  I didn't dare make too much noise, and even my chewing and swallowing movements were done with caution, for fear of alarming the unknown being outside.

  Weird noises:

  Just as I barely finished my "dinner" and was about to put away the garbage, an even more disturbing noise suddenly came from outside the tent and from all directions of the building!

  It was not the vague nursery rhyme or the clear wall-scratching sound. It was a more chaotic, denser, and more eerie sound!

  It was like. there were many people sobbing in low voices far away, their cries were suppressed and desperate, as if countless wronged souls were expressing their unwillingness.

  It was like. there were a lot of people chanting some scriptures in a strange, monotonous and unruffled tone. The sound was vague and came in waves like the tide, carrying a hypnotic and dizzying power.

  There were also some tiny "rustling" sounds, like fingernails scratching wood or stone, which were more frequent and more agitated than the ones heard last night, as if countless invisible hands were frantically scratching something inside and outside this dilapidated building.

  Occasionally, there would be a few dull "thump" sounds, like something heavy falling to the ground, or a "swish" sound of something being dragged and rubbed against the ground.

  These sounds mixed together, sometimes far, sometimes near, and from different directions, like a terrifying symphony, surrounding me from all directions. They drilled into my ears, penetrated into my brain, stirred my nerves, and made me feel nauseous and dizzy.

  My breathing became rapid, my heart was beating wildly, and the cold sweat in my palms soaked the stick again. I covered my ears tightly, trying to isolate these horrible sounds, but they seemed to have penetrating power and went straight into the depths of my mind.

  "No.don't." I couldn't help but let out a low moan, and my body curled up even tighter.

  What are these noises? Is it the wind? Is it the building itself? Or is there really something outside? Is it one of those legendary ghosts?

  Short Outing and Lost:

  Fear was like an icy hand, tightly gripping my heart. But at the same time, a strong, almost morbid curiosity, and the journalist's determination to see the Yellow River, were also quietly growing deep in my heart.

  I need to know! I need to know what's going on out there! Are these noises real, or am I imagining them? What's the point of me coming here if I just keep hiding in my tent and scaring myself?

  Once this thought came to my mind, it quickly entangled my mind like a wildly growing vine. Maybe. maybe it was just some natural phenomenon that was magnified? Maybe it was just some nocturnal animals? If I could see it with my own eyes, even just for a moment, maybe I could break this horrible imagination?

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  After a long inner struggle, an impulse mixed with fear and excitement finally prevailed. I made a decision that now seems extremely stupid and reckless - I want to go out and take a look.

  Go far, definitely not far. Just. just at the entrance of this building, maybe. just walk a few steps forward, shine the flashlight, and confirm the situation.

  I took a deep breath, and with shaking hands, I slowly unzipped the tent. The cold air immediately rushed in. I turned my headlamp to the brightest, tightly grasped the stick and trekking pole, crouched, and climbed out of the tent lightly.

  The room was still dark, with only the light of my headlamp shaking restlessly. The horrible sounds seemed to become clearer the moment I climbed out of the tent, as if those things were just outside the wall.

  I held my breath and moved forward step by step to the empty door frame. The darkness outside was like a solid wall, and the thick fog rolled in the darkness like boiling asphalt. The mixed sounds seemed to come from all directions, and it was impossible to identify the specific source.

  I gritted my teeth, mustered my last bit of courage, and shone the flashlight beam outside!

  The beam of light tore through the darkness and illuminated a small area in front of the door. The muddy ground, the overgrown weeds, the blurred ruins in the distance. Everything seemed to be no different from what I saw during the day, but under the cover of night and thick fog, it looked even more eerie and strange.

  Didn't see anything unusual.

  Is it really.Is it just me who is overthinking?

  Just when I felt a glimmer of hope, I decided to. walk a few more steps forward. I would follow the path that I remembered during the day leading to the village entrance, and walk about. ten meters? Twenty meters? Maybe I could see more clearly.

  I took my first step out of the door frame. The dirt beneath my feet was cold and soft.

  Step 2…Step 3…

  I held the flashlight tightly, the beam of light swaying uneasily in front of me, trying to identify the path I remembered during the day. I walked this road during the day, and it should lead to.

  Sudden!

  Without any warning!

  The scene before my eyes suddenly changed!

  It was as if someone had pressed a distorted fast-forward button in space!

  The path that was vaguely discernible just now disappeared in an instant! In its place, there was a cold stone wall covered with moss and strange carvings! The wall was so real that one could even smell the damp earthy smell emanating from it!

  I was so frightened that I turned around suddenly!

  However, the elementary school building behind me that I had just walked out of, the familiar hollow door frame. also disappeared! Instead, there was a dense black thorn bush that could not be melted! Those thorns were twisted and hideous like the claws of the devil, blocking all my escape routes!

  Left! Right!

  It was no longer the broken walls and ruins I had seen during the day, but. an endless rolling thick fog! The fog surrounded me tightly in an extremely small space like a living thing!

  Ghost Wall!!

  These three words were like a cold lightning that instantly struck me! I encountered the legendary ghost wall!

  Fear was like cold sea water, instantly drowning my head! I felt like I had fallen into an invisible, constantly changing trap! I knew clearly that I had only walked less than 20 meters, and I knew clearly that the "primary school" was right behind me, but the scene in front of me told me that I was lost! Completely lost!

  "No! No!!" I screamed in fear and waved the flashlight wildly, the beam of light sweeping randomly between the thick fog and the walls.

  Walls! Thorns! Thick fog!

  No matter which direction I look, this is all I see! It's like I'm trapped in a recurring nightmare with no way out!

  Return and Fright:

  "Xiao Zhang! Meiling!!" I screamed the names of the two young men frantically, my voice became sharp and hoarse because of extreme fear, "Where are you?! Help!!"

  However, my cries were like falling on deaf ears, swallowed up completely by the thick fog and the strange background noise, and there was no response at all.

  The feeling of despair was like a cold poisonous snake tightly wrapped around my heart. Am I going to die here? Like those missing people in the legend, trapped to death by this strange ghost wall?

  I frantically used my trekking pole and wooden stick to hit the stone wall and thorn bushes in front of me, trying to smash a path, but they were as hard as steel and did not move at all. The light of the flashlight also began to become unstable, flickering, as if it would go out at any time.

  Fear, despair, a feeling of suffocation. all the negative emotions overwhelmed me like a tide. My consciousness began to blur, my body went limp, and I almost gave up struggling.

  Just at this moment!

  A gust of cold wind, as if mixed with ice, suddenly blew over without any warning!

  The wind was so strong that I could hardly open my eyes and my body was shaking. The thick fog was torn by the strong wind and rolled violently!

  The scene before my eyes began to twist and deform violently in the strong wind and rolling fog!

  The cold stone wall and the hideous thorn bush quickly blurred and disappeared like a melting wax figure.

  After a few seconds, the wind died down.

  The thick fog spread again, but it no longer had the malicious intent of a living thing.

  And I.

  I was surprised to find myself standing at the door of the abandoned "primary school"! I was less than two steps away from the empty door frame!

  Under my feet was the familiar, muddy path.

  All around are dilapidated ruins.

  Everything.seems to be back to normal?

  As if the hopeless loss and terrifying scene just now were just an overly realistic illusion?

  I stood there, gasping for air, my whole body soaked in cold sweat as if I had just been pulled out of the water. My calves kept trembling, and I could hardly support the weight of my body.

  Just now.what on earth happened just now?!

  Is it an illusion? Or. have I really entered some abnormal space?

  I didn't dare to think about it for another second. I rolled and crawled, staggered back to the door of the "primary school", and rushed back into the relatively familiar darkness.

  Ending:

  I frantically got into the tent, zipped it up, and then used all my strength to block the door of the tent with my backpack, food, water bottle, and everything I could move, in an attempt to build a fragile "line of defense."

  I curled up in the deepest part of my sleeping bag, my body still shaking violently. Fear was like a solid ice cube, freezing my blood and my mind.

  I don't know how long it was before I remembered my recorder.

  With trembling hands, I took out the cold metal gadget from my pocket and pressed the record button.

  “Ahem… I… I’m Li Xue…” My voice was hoarse and trembling, with a strong tone of crying and fear. “Fengmen Village… there’s really… there’s really something wrong… I… I just went out… right at the door… I got lost… I’m trapped in a maze… it’s real… I saw the wall… I saw the thorns… I couldn’t come back… I almost… I almost couldn’t come back…”

  "It's. too scary here. those noises. that closed door. and what happened just now." I was incoherent and my thoughts were confused. I could only pour out my true fear and despair to this cold machine without reservation.

  "Can I.can I leave here alive?."

  The last sentence is more of a wail of despair than a question.

  The recorder faithfully recorded my trembling, my sobbing, and the darkness outside the tent, which had once again become dead silent but seemed to be lurking with endless terror.