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

The morning sun shines through the dampness of the forest, casting dappled, swaying light.

Two soldiers in dark green uniforms waded through the ankle-deep weeds, their Hanyang rifles occasionally whistling through the overgrown branches.

Leading the way was a young soldier with a black mole on his chin. He hunched his shoulders, his eyes constantly glancing into the shadowy depths of the woods, his voice tinged with fear:

"Damn, this place...it's eerie. Brother Wang, what we saw at the camp just now was terrifying...my goodness, dead bodies everywhere! A patrol team, and our own men led by Deputy Section Chief Shen...all lying there!"

The man called "Brother Wang" was an older veteran with deep wrinkles on his face. He spat out a curse: "Pah! I've been a soldier for over ten years, crawling in and out of piles of dead bodies more than once. But this time is different... What's sinister isn't the dead bodies, but the wounds."

The young soldier shuddered, his voice lowering even further: "The neck was slit, the heart was pierced, and...and the skull was ripped off! But there weren't many signs of struggle at the scene, and many shots hadn't even been fired! This isn't the work of a human; it's clearly...something filthy from the mountains went berserk!"

"Shh! Keep your voice down!" The veteran looked around nervously, his Adam's apple bobbing. "Keep this to yourself, don't shout it. Who is Deputy Section Chief Shen? He's trained, his marksmanship and fighting skills are both excellent, and he even has that 'spy scope' protecting him... And what happened? A bloody hole right in the middle of his forehead! Li Zhonglin's head was gone! When our Section Chief Shen saw the scene, his face was so dark you could wring water out of it!"

The young soldier, his face contorted with grief, cried out, "The section chief's face is grim, and our lives are in even greater danger! He knows perfectly well that this mountain is dangerous. Deputy Section Chief Shen led so many men and they all perished, yet he still sent us two brothers in first to scout and search the mountain? Isn't he just using us as pebble to be thrown into the gates of hell?!"

The old soldier sighed, his voice filled with resigned weariness: "What can we do? This is our livelihood. The section chief said that 'coffin' is crucial to the commander-in-chief's affairs, and we must retrieve it. Not only us, but the section chief personally brought twenty brothers this time, all handpicked experts, and they brought plenty of equipment. And..."

He paused, a complex meaning creeping into his voice, "See that tall, thin guy in the black jacket next to the section chief, the one who keeps his eyes closed and doesn't say a word? I heard he's a martial arts expert the section chief specially invited from Tianjin, called something like 'Mr. Qing.' I caught a glimpse of him from afar; he's got a strong, muscular build, and his qi and blood are as deep and powerful as a mountain. He seems to have walked all this way without touching the ground—a sign that his martial arts have reached the Blood Flow Realm. With him around, the section chief feels more confident. We… sigh, we're just destined to walk the minefield."

As the two were talking, the old soldier stepped on a dry branch and snapped it with a sharp crack that was particularly jarring in the quiet forest.

The two men simultaneously tensed, raised their guns back to back, and warily surveyed their surroundings.

As dawn broke and the mist still lingered in the forest, the only sounds were the rustling of leaves in the wind and the faint chirping of birds in the distance.

"You scared yourself..." The young soldier breathed a sigh of relief and was about to complain when he seemed to catch a very slight sway in the dense thorn bushes on his right side out of the corner of his eye, so fast it was like an illusion.

He instinctively turned his head, his pupils shrinking sharply—

Without warning, a hand holding a dagger appeared before him, the knuckles white from the force, the blade reflecting the cold sunlight, drawing a deadly arc, precisely slicing towards his throat!

too fast!

Before he could even gasp, he felt a chill on the side of his neck, as if an ice line had grazed it, followed by the burning sensation of a warm liquid gushing out.

He opened his mouth wide, but could only let out a "hoarse" sound as his vision was quickly swallowed by darkness, and his body slumped forward.

"Little Zhao?!" The veteran realized something was wrong, turned around abruptly, and turned his gun around.

Before he could even fire, he felt a chilling killing intent instantly envelop his entire body, followed by a cold dagger pressed tightly against the area below his Adam's apple.

puff!

Without hesitation, the dagger was slashed horizontally, clean and swift.

The sharp blade sliced ​​through the skin, muscles, trachea, and finally the carotid artery.

The veteran shuddered violently, and the rifle in his hand clattered to the ground. Hot, viscous blood gushed from his throat, splattering onto the tree trunk and grass in front of him with a faint hissing sound.

He collapsed to the ground, his wide eyes filled with disbelief, horror, and a rapidly dissipating despair...

"Twenty elite soldiers, and a Mr. Qing whose strength seems to have reached the Blood Rush Realm... It seems that Shen Qianjun has made ample preparations for entering the mountains this time." Xie An quickly dragged the two corpses into the thorn bushes, and then slowly made his way towards the camp in Shadow mode.

As they approached Shen Molan's camp, Xie An used the tree trunks for cover to look ahead.

The camp that had burned down the previous night had been cleared out, and a dozen or so bodies covered with straw mats or military blankets were neatly arranged. Six soldiers in dark green uniforms were silently carrying the bodies.

Besides them, a dozen or so elite soldiers were busy at work, and a dark, water-cooled Maxim machine gun, like a crouching steel behemoth, was set up behind a makeshift sandbag fortification near the camp entrance, its muzzle coldly pointing into the depths of the forest. Two soldiers stood guard beside the machine gun, their fingers on the trigger guard, their sharp eyes scanning the surroundings.

Not far from the machine gun, several rough earthenware jars and several open cloth bags lay on the ground, revealing strings of old copper coins strung together with red thread. The coins seemed to have some kind of pattern drawn with cinnabar. A few bundles of freshly cut peach tree branches were piled up nearby, with clear sap still seeping from the broken ends.

This team not only carries deadly weapons, but also has ample equipment to deal with "inhuman" beings.

She's obviously much more difficult to deal with than Shen Molan.

Xie An composed himself, his gaze sweeping over the soldiers and settling on the heart of the camp. There stood a tall, imposing man in a sharp navy blue woolen officer's overcoat—it was Shen Qianjun.

A tall, thin man in black stood half a step to Shen Qianjun's left. This man kept his eyes slightly closed, his hands hanging naturally at his sides, his fingers long and slender with large knuckles, clearly a skilled martial artist. Just standing there, he exuded a heavy, imposing aura.

It must be that "Mr. Qing".

However, what caught Xie An's eye the most was the man standing to Shen Qianjun's right. The man was completely wrapped in a large, heavy, dark gray cloak, with his head covered by a deep hood, making it impossible to see his face, or even whether he was male or female and his height.

He was slightly hunched over, like a silent stone statue. Unlike the composed aura of "Mr. Qing," this man exuded a cold and eerie aura, as if the surrounding sunlight and vitality were deliberately avoiding him.

Shen Qianjun seemed to say something to the cloaked figure. The cloaked figure then very slowly approached the corpses, lowering its head to sniff the bodies like a dog.

After a moment, the cloaked man stood up, said nothing, and pointed to the Qinghe River in the distance.

brush!

Shen Qianjun and Mr. Qing turned to look at the Qinghe River at the same time.

Immediately, a cold glint appeared in Shen Qianjun's eyes. "Whether you are human, ghost, or some kind of spirit that has come to life in these mountains... if you took what you shouldn't have taken and killed what you shouldn't have killed, you have to leave your life and your possessions behind."

The next moment, Shen Qianjun pointed towards the Qinghe River: "Everyone, proceed to the riverbank!"

……

Xie An quietly left the vicinity of the camp and headed straight for Qinghe.

The campsite was vast, with a long riverbank. Xie An, possessing the ability to conceal himself in shadow, wasn't worried about being discovered. However, the pressure he felt was immense.

"This cloaked figure seems to have an exceptionally keen sense of smell. Even though I have shadow abilities, once I get close... even if the cloaked figure can't see me, they might still be able to detect my presence through their sense of smell."

He hadn't forgotten that Shen Molan had found his location by the smell of blood, and the paper baby had also found him by smell. This cloaked man's sense of smell was even more acute... It was clearly unrealistic to try to use the same method to kill Shen Molan against Shen Qianjun.

"Let's go find Radish first and see what that second snake has to say."

Xie An rushed all the way and arrived at a secluded riverbank, where he indeed saw Luo Bosi sitting on the rocks, disciplining her little brother.

No one knows what Radish said to its little brother, but the little brother actually clasped his hands in a fist salute to Radish... Whenever the little brother's fist salute and bow were not in the correct posture, Radish would pretend to be angry, scaring the little brother so much that he would tremble. Radish, on the other hand, enjoyed this feeling of being superior.

cough cough.

Xie An coughed softly.

Upon hearing the familiar voice, Luo Bosi immediately stood up in surprise, rushed over, bowed and clasped her hands in greeting to Xie An, and even slightly raised her head, looking as if she were waiting for praise.

Xie An was speechless. "Stop with the nonsense. What did Snake Second say?"

Luo Bosi was slightly disappointed that she didn't receive Xie An's praise, but she still gestured excitedly while maintaining a mental connection.

This means that the second snake was very excited about Xie An bringing it food, but it could not cross the Qinghe River and could only enter the river.

Xie An was taken aback: "The second snake can't cross the Qinghe River? Why?"

Radish scratched her head, indicating that she didn't know.

Xie An didn't ask any more questions. He looked in the distance in the direction where Shen Qianjun's army was advancing, and after thinking for a while, he made a plan.

Xie An glanced at Luo Bu Si, then at Luo Bu Si's underlings, and finally patted Luo Bu Si on the shoulder. "This matter is extremely dangerous; your underlings will have to be sacrificed. Any objections?"

Without a second thought, Luo Bosi patted her chest and said no problem.

In reality... Radish had no idea what sacrifice meant. In its simple and rudimentary understanding... its master's orders were above all else.

Xie An nodded: "Have your younger brother carry that coffin to the area with a lot of people ahead. If anyone makes a commotion... immediately pounce into the Qinghe River. And you go and inform Snake Brother Two to prepare to feed. Understand?"

The shredded radish opened and closed its mouth with a "crunch crunch" sound, indicating that it understood.

Xie An said, "There's no time to lose, let's act immediately. If you handle this matter well, I won't treat you unfairly. Also, your bowing posture just now was very standard."

Finally receiving praise from her master, Radish excitedly picked up her chopsticks, shouted, and waved her hands wildly. She then ran over to encourage her little brother and gave him many instructions.

Upon hearing Xie An praise the radish shreds, the underling excitedly scratched his head, then followed suit, bowing to his "big brother" Xie An. He then went to a nearby location, grabbed a coffin, and rushed towards Shen Qianjun's direction.

Meanwhile, the radish stalks dived into the Qinghe River and swam towards the opposite bank.

Xie An found a suitable spot behind a large tree nearby to hide, picked up his Hanyang rifle, and watched from afar as Shen Qianjun and his men marched toward Qinghe.

call!

Xie An breathed a sigh of relief, "Whether this succeeds or not depends on Luo Bosi's snake brother..."