This Taoist priest is so unprofessional!

Back at the firm, Wang Xiaoer was completely dejected, as if his bones had been removed, and slumped in a chair.

Zhang Chen glanced at him, said nothing more, put on his headphones, and continued fighting in the game world.

The only sounds in the office were the tapping of keyboards and Wang Xiaoer's heavy breathing.

Out of sheer boredom, he turned on the old desktop computer.

The screen lights up, and the penguin icon in the lower right corner keeps flashing.

He casually clicked on it, and a bizarre group name popped up—"Approaching Pseudoscience".

This is a QQ group that the chubby tech geek guy dragged him into. It's supposedly full of all sorts of weirdos and supernatural beings, and they like to discuss spooky paranormal events and urban legends.

Wang Xiaoer hadn't paid much attention to it.

Since he had nothing better to do today, he opened the group chat.

Hundreds of unread messages flooded the screen as the group chat was buzzing with discussion about a particular topic.

A group member with the ID "Archaeology Elementary School Student" posted several photos in the group.

The photos are blurry, as if they were taken with a mobile phone at night. The images show the outline of continuous mountains, and in one of them you can vaguely see a dark cave entrance halfway up the mountain.

Archaeology Elementary School Student: "Dear experts, I urgently need help! Strange things have been happening in the mountains behind my hometown lately. I can hear eerie cries coming from the mountains at night, and a couple of days ago, a kid found a piece of rotten wood at the foot of the mountain with incomprehensible scribbles carved on it! I suspect we've unearthed some ancient tomb. Is anyone knowledgeable enough to organize a group to explore it? Food and lodging included!"

As soon as the message was posted, dozens of replies immediately followed.

The swift-as-the-wind man said, "Brother, are you still dreaming? Still exploring tombs? You've been reading too much 'The Grave Robbers' Chronicles'!"

Neighbor Wang: "Exactly, this photo is so dark, I'd believe you if you said you photographed a UFO."

This humble Taoist priest only seeks to rob women: "Strange noises in the mountains? That's either wild boars in heat or the village idiot has run away again. Let's disperse, let's disperse."

Walking with birds under the moonlight: "Elementary school students should focus on their studies and stop thinking about tomb raiding all the time; that's illegal."

A group of people joked and laughed, hurling insults and accusations, and no one took it seriously at all.

Wang Xiaoer originally intended to treat it as a bit of fun, but when his gaze fell on one of the photos showing the outline of a mountain range, his heart skipped a beat.

Although the photo is blurry, the unique curves of those mountain peaks connected together, the familiar undulations...

Why does this place look so familiar?

Isn't this the mountain behind his hometown?

Just as Wang Xiaoer was about to click on the profile picture of the "archaeology elementary school student" to ask him some questions in a private chat, a hand suddenly patted his shoulder.

He was startled and turned around to see Zhang Chen standing behind him, seemingly out of nowhere.

The playful smile on Zhang Chen's face disappeared, replaced by an unusually serious expression.

"Waiter, the Ghost Festival is just two days away."

His voice was deep.

"According to custom, you should go back to your hometown to pay respects to your ancestors. Although the feng shui of your family's house is broken, the roots are still there. You should go and worship every year during the Ghost Festival to stabilize the fortune."

Wang Xiaoer snapped out of his daze and closed the flashing QQ interface.

"It's time to go back."

Come to think of it, it has indeed been a while since he returned to the village where he was born and raised.

The two set off immediately, packing their luggage with remarkable ease.

Wang Xiaoer stuffed a few changes of clothes into his backpack, while Zhang Chen was even more enthusiastic, stuffing a whole bunch of strange and unusual things into his bag in addition to clothes.

"Why are you coming back with me?" Wang Xiaoer asked, puzzled by his posture.

Zhang Chen naturally stuffed his newly bought PSP into the box as well.

"Nonsense, of course I'll stay with you."

He patted his backpack, looking serious.

"Your family's 'Ten Generations of Wonders' formation is extraordinary. Although it's broken, the earth's energy is still there. The Ghost Festival is the time of year when yin energy is at its peak, so I have to go and keep an eye on it for you to prevent any mishaps."

Wang Xiaoer felt a warmth in his heart and didn't say anything more.

The next morning, the two boarded a long-distance bus to the county town.

Wang Xiaoer leaned back in the swaying seat, watching the city skyscrapers rushing past the window. The vexation in his heart was gradually replaced by a complex emotion of trepidation at returning home.

He inexplicably took out his phone again and opened the QQ group for "Approaching Pseudoscience".

The group chat was still lively, but the topics had changed several times.

Wang Xiaoer found the netizen with the ID "Archaeology Elementary School Student", clicked on the profile picture, and sent a private message to him.

[Xiao Er]: Bro, I saw the photo of the back mountain you posted in the group. Where are you from?

He thought he would have to wait a long time, but the other party replied almost instantly.

[Archaeology Elementary School Student]: Holy crap! Are you really interested in this? Or are we from the same hometown?

[Archaeology Elementary School Student]: My hometown is Xiaxi Village! It's in Qinghe County, which is right below the provincial capital! Why are you asking this? You know about our area?

Wang Xiaoer raised an eyebrow.

Xiaxi Village is right next to his hometown, Kaoshan Village; the two villages are separated by a mountain.

[Waiter]: Is that mountain called Coffin Mountain?

[Archaeology Elementary School Student]: Yes, yes, yes! It's Coffin Mountain! Brother, how did you know? Are you from around here too?

Wang Xiaoer did not answer his question and continued to press him.

[Xiao Er]: What exactly is the strange thing you're talking about?

[Archaeology Elementary School Student]: Hey! Don't even mention it! For the past two weeks or so, there have been strange lights in the mountains at night, not like flashlights, but something... eerie green, flickering, like will-o'-the-wisps!

[Archaeology Elementary School Student]: Also, for several nights, the villagers living at the foot of the mountain said they heard crying! It wasn't just one person crying, it sounded like many people, men and women, young and old, were crying together, it was chilling! A few brave young men in the village didn't believe it at first and wanted to go up and see, but they were so scared that they ran back before they even got halfway up the mountain!

[Archaeology Elementary School Student]: Now the old folks in our village don't allow children to run up the mountain anymore, saying that the mountain god is angry and is going to arrest people!

Wang Xiaoer frowned more and more as he looked at the text on the screen.

He handed his phone to Zhang Chen, who was standing next to him.

"Take a look at this."

Zhang Chen was listening to music with headphones on, looking quite relaxed. He took the phone and glanced at it a few times, and the relaxed expression on his face slowly disappeared.

Before he could finish reading, the other party sent several more messages.

[Archaeology Elementary School Student]: Oh, right! Bro, there's something else! I'm telling you, but don't tell anyone else!

[Archaeology Elementary School Student]: My cousin works on a construction site in the county. He heard from his coworkers that recently a group of bosses from out of town, driving several SUVs, looked very wealthy. That group was going around asking locals for favors, offering them quite a lot of money!

[Archaeology Elementary School Student]: They specifically inquired about Coffin Mountain! They asked if there were any old people in the mountain, any legends, and even if any important figures had lived there in the past! Judging from their demeanor, it seemed like they were looking for something!

The message stopped there.

Wang Xiaoer took the phone back and turned to look at Zhang Chen.

Zhang Chen took off his headphones, touched his chin, and his eyes sharpened.

"Glowing light, crying sound..."

He pondered for a moment and then gave his judgment.

"A hundred ghosts weep at night, and yin energy surges into the cave. This is very likely a sign that there is a sizable ancient tomb in the mountains, and that yin energy has been severely leaked for some reason."

He paused, then pointed to his phone.

"Plus this group of mysterious out-of-town bosses... it's highly likely they're a bunch of tomb raiders eyeing the mountain behind your house."