Gou Zai, a corpse sewn into a spirit in a mortuary during the Republic of China era, became a spirit

At the foot of Laojun Mountain, beside the Qinghe River, lies a cave.

Outside the cave, a cold wind howled, while inside, a fire burned, making it warm and cozy.

The group ate around the fire. At first, the atmosphere was a bit heavy, but as they chatted casually, it gradually became lively.

Only Xie Bingxiang, looking worried, pulled Xie An aside to a secluded corner and began to inquire about Xie An's true purpose.

Xie An looked up and saw the gray in his father's temples and his worried, concerned eyes. He couldn't bring himself to say the words he had intended to use, and instead said:

"Father, you've managed the mortuary for most of your life and dealt with petty officials from both the previous and new dynasties. You should know the wickedness of such people... Ever since Liu Ziming led Shen Molan to put that evil coffin into the mortuary, he has no intention of leaving us a way out."

Xie Bingxiang stared blankly at Xie An, noticing the determination and seriousness in Xie An's eyes. Suddenly, he shuddered and his body went limp as if deflated.

"Yes, Shoucheng is right. The guns are in their hands; life and death are just a matter of their word. How can we entrust our lives to their mercy..."

After a pause, Xie Bingxiang looked at Xie An again: "Shoucheng, are you planning to hide in the mountains with us for the rest of your life? That estate is the culmination of three generations of our Xie family's hard work... I just want to be an honest person and pass on the family business, why is it so difficult..."

"Father, don't worry about this. I'll take care of it." Xie An didn't want to talk about it before the matter was resolved, so as not to worry his father.

"Erniu, Huge. I'm going out for a bit. After you put out the open fire, just burn charcoal for warmth. Don't come out no matter what noise you hear."

Leaving behind a single sentence, Xie An strode out of the cave.

The night wind howled outside, and the Qinghe River gurgled in the distance.

Xie An walked to a secluded spot, took out his pocket watch, and checked the time.

2:30 a.m.

"We need to speed things up. Let's go find Radish first."

Just now, Luo Bosi sent word: scouts have discovered soldiers entering the mountains...

Following Xie An's instructions, Luo Bosi led her underlings to patrol and keep watch in the forest, sending messages to Xie An at any time.

The only downside is... at the current command level, long-distance communication is only one-way. Real-time communication and feedback are not possible.

Xie An followed the rugged, winding mountain path for about a mile, and finally found Luo Bo Si (Radish Silk) hiding behind a large camphor tree in a thicket of thorns, with her little brother beside her. She occasionally scolded her little brother, leaving him completely bewildered…

Upon seeing Xie An approach, Luo Bosi abandoned her "elder brother" demeanor and hurried over like a grandson, her mouth moving up and down, excitedly gesturing and pointing into the distance.

Xie An looked in the direction Luo Bosi pointed and saw lights on in a mountain hollow below, along with several military tents with waterproof walls, surrounded by barbed wire, and patrolled by armed sentries.

The central tent was not only heavily guarded, but the ground around it was also covered with lime mixed with cinnabar—clearly not to keep people out, but to keep out something else.

Through the information transmitted via the spiritual link with the radish, Xie An knew that Shen Molan and the others had arrived here half an hour ago. However, Shen Molan did not rush to cross the Qinghe River, but instead set up camp near the Qinghe River and began a carpet search from there.

Clearly, Shen Molan knew some of the taboos of Laojun Mountain and dared not easily enter its territory.

Moreover, setting up camp here also implies a desire for reinforcements.

Xie An inquired in detail about the personnel on the other side from Luo Bo Si. He learned that Shen Mo Lan had brought six soldiers, including Ding Si, and Li Zhong Lin had brought ten patrolmen.

A total of... eighteen people.

They were all armed.

Xie An hid behind the camphor tree and carefully observed the camp for a while. He saw the patrolmen, in pairs, each carrying a rifle and a lantern, leave the camp in batches to search.

The six soldiers remained hidden within the area enclosed by barbed wire, patrolling without ever leaving. Every now and then, Shen Molan could be seen stepping out of the central tent, looking around as if waiting for something, before returning to her tent.

By this point, Xie An had a clear understanding of the camp's defenses.

He took out his pocket watch and checked the time.

It's 3 a.m.

"Shen Molan is quite cautious; she even fenced herself off with barbed wire. Let the patrol officers handle the dangerous tasks. It'll be dawn in two or three hours. We can't wait any longer; it's better to get things done under the cover of darkness."

Xie An looked around and asked Luo Bosi: "Where is the coffin?"

Radish pointed to the thicket of thorns beside her, which was covered with branches and completely obscured. It was hard to spot unless you looked closely.

Xie An nodded and asked about Luo Bosi's gunshot wound with concern.

Luo Bosi pointed to her chest and pelvis, where the two wounds were wrapped in rags...

Xie An asked it where the rag came from, and Luo Bo Si pointed to the coffin... indicating that it was taken from the corpse in the coffin.

This left Xie An speechless, secretly thinking that this little radish was quick to learn. But the problem was... bandaging an injury was to help the skin heal faster and prevent infection.

You're just a skeleton... what's the point of bandaging you?

Fortunately, Xie An didn't dampen its enthusiasm, asking if it affected its mobility. Radish said no.

Xie An nodded: Now it's your turn to sacrifice yourself.

The radish shreds said no problem.

"That's good. I'll send you a message in a bit. Once you receive the message, carry the coffin close to the camp, making sure to attract the soldiers' attention. Then, run directly to the place across the Qinghe River where the giant snake is. Understand?"

Radish patted her chest and ribs like a gorilla, indicating that she would take care of it.

Xie An patted Luo Bosi on the shoulder, "The hunt begins!"

Having said that, Xie An activated the Shadow.

Luo Bosi stared wide-eyed, an incredulous look on her face: Master... had actually disappeared right under her nose!?

As expected of a master who is as terrifying as a god!

……

Two miles from the camp, there was a mountain hollow overgrown with weeds reaching above the knees.

The wind howled, making the flame of the lantern flicker and cast menacing shadows among the rocks and withered trees.

Two men in grey-blue patrol uniforms, carrying Hanyang rifles, trudged through the grass, their steps uneven. The one in front was a man with a sharp, angular face, nicknamed "Crippled Sun," though he wasn't actually lame; he was just tired and dragging his feet. Behind him followed a short, stout man, whom everyone called Wang San.

"Damn it, this godforsaken place..." Sun the Cripple spat, the spittle flying out of his mouth before being swept away by the wind. "In the middle of the night, they make us brothers crawl into this old forest, while those guys with long guns are sitting around the barbed wire in the camp, warming themselves by the fire! They don't treat us like human beings at all."

Wang San, panting heavily, wiped his runny nose: "Let's keep quiet, Brother Sun... If Master Ding hears us, he'll give us a hard time again. Those soldiers are directly from the Governor's Mansion; even Section Chief Li has to fawn over them. What are we compared to them... Hey, Brother Sun, why are you grabbing my ingot?"

"Who the hell arrested you? Have you lost your mind?" Sun the Cripple, walking ahead, spat in disgust. After taking a couple of steps and not hearing footsteps behind him, he turned around and yelled, "Wang San, what the hell are you doing? Hurry up and keep up..."

Before he could finish speaking, Sun the Cripple was speechless, his eyes wide open.

Wang San stood upright three meters behind them, but his head was gone... Blood was still gushing out from the severed neck.

What...did we really encounter a monster from the mountains...?

Sun the Cripple was so frightened that he sat down on the ground with a thud. Just as he was about to shout, he suddenly felt an invisible hand grip his neck, making it impossible for him to breathe.

He frantically reached for his neck... and actually touched a pair of human hands.

But... I just can't see it.

next moment--

"Snap!"

With a forceful twist, those unseen hands sent Sun the Cripple's head spinning 180 degrees, killing him instantly.

……

Under a large tree, three miles from the camp.

Li Zhonglin and an assistant named Liu San sat here smoking Hademen cigarettes.

Pooh.

Li Zhonglin spat fiercely, "Being called to this old forest in the middle of the night for duty, it's a fucking inhuman thing to do. And that woman Shen Molan even gave me a hard time."

"I became a patrolman to earn a living, not to be a scout for the soldiers! Good things never come my way, this deadly job... Hey, smell this wind, what's that?"

Liu San sniffed; a smell mixed with damp earth and a faint sweet, fishy odor made his stomach churn.

"It looks like... something completely rotten." Liu San's voice was a little weak. "Section Chief, are you saying there really are skeletons that can run around in these mountains?"

"Don't believe her!" Li Zhonglin retorted defiantly. "It's probably just that woman Shen Molan trying to scare us. If it really is, I'll shoot it dead and take it back for the reward... Ugh, this wind is really creepy, it's making my neck feel cold."

"Section Chief," Liu San suddenly lowered his voice, a lewd smile on his face, "After this job is done and we get our reward, shall we go to 'Hundred Flowers Book House' to relax with Xiao Taohong? Last time she said..."

"Pah!" Li Zhonglin laughed and scolded, "With your three-second performance, you're still thinking about Xiao Taohong? You should be saving your money to buy fabric for your wife to make her a padded jacket. Stop with this nonsense and go see why the other four groups of brothers haven't come back to report to me yet."

Eleven patrol officers were divided into five groups and went out on patrol.

They agreed to return regularly to report to Li Zhonglin.

Liu San took out his pocket watch and glanced at it. "It's been more than ten minutes since the agreed time, and not a single team has returned. That's strange..."

He hadn't finished speaking.

Liu San felt a light tap on his right shoulder from behind.