22: Chapter 22 First Encounter with Demons and Ghosts

The next day, Wu Xi and Gray Fur were saying goodbye to the Mimei Rat people.

"Wait a moment." The Speaker walked out from the crowd.

"Speaker, what is it?" The Speaker pulled a small leather pouch from his robes, its opening tightly bound with fine vines.

He handed over the pouch, the vines digging deep into his palm. "Inside are some Concentrating Herbs and a few drops of Moon Essence Dew. Take them with you on your way. Those boys are at a critical juncture in their Cultivate in the temple, and they cannot afford to be delayed due to a lack of Materials."

Gray Fur took the pouch and weighed it in his claws. From inside came the rustling sound of rubbing grass leaves, along with the faint gurgling of liquid sloshing about. He brought the pouch to his ear and shook it, then stuffed it into the small bag at his waist and patted it. "Don't worry, Speaker. The items are with me; they won't get lost. Even if I lose myself, I won't lose your treasures."

"Slick-tongued."

"That's called having the strength to back up the boast." Gray Fur grinned, revealing his two front teeth, and turned to leave again.

"Wait." The Speaker called him back, this time looking at Wu Xi. "The Mimei Trail hasn't been peaceful lately. Even with Gray Fur leading the way, you must be careful."

The two of them left the Mimei Rat tribe. The stone houses behind them were gradually swallowed by the dense shade of the trees, and not even a wisp of cooking smoke could be seen.

Ahead lay the Mimei Trail, a path that cut through an ancient forest and was the shortest route to Wusa Town.

Gray Fur's footsteps slowed.

"About that, let me tell you, stay close to me once we enter the forest." Gray Fur's voice was still loud. "I've been to this place, but that was many years ago, following a group of clansmen to the south to trade Materials. Back then, there weren't so many strange things, and the road was easier to walk..."

Once they entered the forest, the light dimmed—not because the sky was overcast, but because of those fungi.

They were everywhere: on tree trunks, on rocks, in piles of rotting leaves, in clusters and clumps, emitting a dark green phosphorescence. Some unfurled little umbrellas with transparent slime dripping from their edges; some opened like trumpet maws, pitch black inside as if concealing something; and others were shaped like strings of inverted bells, packed densely together, swaying gently whenever the wind blew, emitting a faint rustling sound like some kind of whispering.

The light was very weak, like a candle about to go out, flickering on and off, casting the surroundings in dim, flickering shadows. Wu Xi stared at his feet, walking forward step by step; it took his eyes a good while to adapt and see the path clearly. The ground was covered in a thick layer of rotting leaves; stepping on them felt soft, and the soles of his feet felt the dampness.

The air was filled with the stench of decay—rotting leaves, wet soil, and the fishy, sweet scent emitted by those mushrooms, all mixed together, making one dizzy when inhaled.

"Don't look at those mushrooms." Gray Fur warned from behind, his voice a little quieter than before, as if afraid to startle something. "If you look at them for too long, you'll get confused. There's something wrong with that light; if you stare at it, you'll see things you shouldn't."

"What things?"

"Paths. Paths that don't exist. And voices—someone calling your name. Whatever you do, don't turn around."

Wu Xi didn't reply. He stared at his feet, making sure he stepped firmly with each stride. The sensation under his feet was strange—sometimes soft, sometimes hard.

The forest was unnaturally quiet. There were no bird calls, no insect chirps, only the rustling sound of their footsteps on the rotting leaves, and the occasional water droplet falling from above, hitting a mushroom cap with a faint "tap," like knuckles knocking on bone.

After walking for a while, Wu Xi suddenly felt something was wrong. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught sight of a narrow path on the left, leading deep into the forest. The fallen leaves on the path were packed down, forming a grayish-white trail. But he clearly remembered that the direction he had been walking was straight ahead, and this path branched off at an angle.

His steps slowed for a moment, and his toes involuntarily turned slightly toward the left.

"Don't get distracted!" Gray Fur slapped his lower leg with a claw. "That path is fake. If you look at it too much, you'll end up turning onto it. Once you enter that path, you'll never be able to walk out again."

Gray Fur was still talking, but his voice became lower and softer, gradually turning into muttering to himself.

"...Anyway, back then there weren't so many strange things," Gray Fur muttered, then forced his voice louder, though it sounded shaky. "Forget it, I won't say anymore. Anyway, just follow me closely. I know the way—I should know it, I probably know it."

Wu Xi stopped walking. He raised his head and looked ahead.

"What's wrong?" Gray Fur almost bumped into his legs, his voice suddenly tense, his claws digging into Wu Xi's pant leg. "What did you see?"

"There's someone over there."

Gray Fur looked in the direction he was pointing. Deep in the forest, where the phosphorescence flickered, there was a blurry shadow. It had the silhouette of a person, standing motionless. He couldn't see the features clearly, but it was definitely the shape of a person: two legs, a torso, and a head.

"Hallucination." Gray Fur said immediately, but his claws were already reaching for the short dagger at his waist, his knuckles turning white from the force. "This place is like that if you look at those mushrooms too much. I told you, don't look at those lights. How long have you been staring at it?"

Wu Xi didn't answer. The shadow flickered once and disappeared, as if swallowed by the darkness.

"See? It's gone, right?" Gray Fur let out a sigh of relief, his voice still shaking, the tail end of his words trembling. "I told you it was a hallucination. This place is just like that; the more you want to see something, the more..."

The shadow appeared again.

This time it was closer, and it was moving. It wasn't standing; it was running. Running toward them, its footsteps rustling rapidly on the fallen leaves. The sound was very clear, not something a hallucination could produce.

Gray Fur's breathing became heavy instantly, his nostrils flaring. The short dagger in his claw was drawn halfway, its cold light flashing in the green luminescence. "Damn, it's not a hallucination. There's actually someone... or something."

"Two," Wu Xi said.

This time they could see clearly: it wasn't one person, but two silhouettes. One was stumbling and running in front, while the other was chasing from behind. The one in front kept looking back, using both hands and feet, running in a sorry state.

The one behind didn't look right.

"That's a Demon Ghost, an underground creature." Gray Fur's voice changed pitch, the fur on his tail standing on end. "Demon Ghosts generally don't come to the surface; they fear light, and strong sunlight will kill them. Although this place is dark, it's still the surface. How could they..."

"Are you sure it's a Demon Ghost?"

"I'm sure." Gray Fur swallowed, his throat making a "gulp" sound. "That way of running, that way of leaping—no other creature can do that."

The human in front clearly couldn't run anymore. His footsteps were unsteady, his legs gave way, and he fell to the ground. His knees slammed into the pile of fallen leaves with a dull thud. He struggled to get up, his hands slipping on the wet, slick leaves, and he fell back down again. He let out a miserable scream, the sound echoing in the forest, extremely piercing.

The Demon Ghost behind stopped for a moment, its form revealed in the phosphorescence.

It stood upright, two heads taller than a normal person. Its two hind legs were thick and powerful, its feet hoof-like, making dull sounds when they hit the ground. Its skin was pitted and covered in calluses. It had no nose on its face, and its forehead was sunken. Its two eye sockets were deeply hollowed, containing a pair of small eyes that glowed with yellow light. Its back was hunched, and its spine was covered in black hair that swayed constantly in the phosphorescence.

The human climbed up and continued running. The Demon Ghost moved. With a push of its hind limbs, its entire body sprang five or six meters away, landing almost without sound, followed immediately by another leap. It wasn't in a rush to pounce; it was toying with its prey. Every time it landed, it blocked the human's escape route, forcing the other back into the center of the circle. Its hoof-like feet stepped on the fallen leaves, emitting a "crack, crack" sound of crushing.

The human's face was twisted, covered in tears and snot. He tried desperately to stand up, but his knees were as soft as cotton. His clothes were torn to shreds by branches, his arms were full of bloody cuts, and every breath he took carried a sobbing tone.

"It's playing," Wu Xi said. "It's teasing him, waiting until he's out of strength before it strikes."

The human finally couldn't run anymore. He knelt on the ground, supporting himself with both hands, gasping for air, his chest heaving violently. The Demon Ghost landed in front of him, lowered its head, and brought that noseless face close to him, its two holes sniffing as they opened and closed. The human shrank back, but his legs were too weak to stand. He opened his mouth, but before a sound could come out, the Demon Ghost's nails had already scraped his face.

The Demon Ghost's nails scraped a line of blood onto his cheek. Beads of blood seeped out, and the Demon Ghost lowered its head and sniffed.

The human let out intermittent whimpers. "Give it to you... I'll give it all to you... I won't draw anymore."

"So fast," Wu Xi said.

"Its lower limb explosive power is six or seven times that of a human," Gray Fur licked his lips. "In the dark, they track people by their nose; they can smell blood within twenty meters."

The Demon Ghost lowered its head, its nose close to the human's neck. It had no nostrils, only two slender holes moving on its face. The human was trembling all over; the smell of urine drifted over. The Demon Ghost opened its mouth, revealing two rows of fine, sharp teeth.

Gray Fur shrank back behind the tree. "It's fine, it's eating. It'll leave once it's finished. Let's wait for it to finish..."

Before he could finish, the Demon Ghost's head suddenly turned.

It wasn't its body turning, but its head. Its neck was like a soft rope, and its head twisted one hundred and eighty degrees, the two holes aiming directly at the direction where Wu Xi and Gray Fur were hiding.

The air changed. The stench of decay in the shrubbery suddenly grew intense.

"Damn." Gray Fur grabbed Wu Xi's arm, his claws digging into the flesh. "It smelled us."

The Demon Ghost released the human on the ground, its hind limbs slowly bending, its torso leaning forward. That wasn't a retreat posture; it was the buildup of force before a leap. The black hair on its back stood on end, like a cluster of thorns ruffled by the wind.

"Are we running or not?" Gray Fur's hands were shaking, his teeth chattering with a clacking sound. "Wu Xi, are we running or not?"

Wu Xi didn't answer. He was looking at the human. The man was lying on the ground, his face covered in blood, looking desperately toward them.

"Save him," Wu Xi said.

Gray Fur stared at him. "Are you crazy?" Wu Xi didn't explain.

Gray Fur looked at the Demon Ghost, then at Wu Xi. The Demon Ghost had already taken a step toward them, the muscles of its hind limbs bulging, ready to spring over at any moment.

"Crazy." Gray Fur cursed, reaching back to pull a telescopic rod from the side pocket of his backpack, snapping it open with a clatter. The metal rod gleamed coldly in the phosphorescence, and the veins on the back of his hand bulged. "Nothing good ever happens when I'm with you."