223: Chapter 223 The Woman of the Fallen Flower Cave

Along the way, Lin Ye was in no rush.

Although the wave of global eerie resurgence was making a huge stir on the dark web, Great Xia's official suppression efforts were indeed formidable.

Shuttling traffic could still be seen on the highways.

However, at night, all highway entrances and exits were forcibly blocked off by special agents from The Ninth Bureau and the military, strictly prohibiting any civilian vehicles from passing through.

Evening arrived.

The off-road vehicle drove into the border of Western Hunan.

The weather here became extremely peculiar.

Just moments ago, the setting sun was as red as blood, but after turning around a mountain ridge, a drizzle of cold rain began to fall from the sky.

The surrounding mountain ranges grew steep, and the vegetation was so lush it seemed capable of swallowing all light.

The air was thick with the scent of rotting leaves that hadn't seen sunlight in years, along with a faint mist and miasma.

"Boss, the road ahead is impassable for the car. We'll have to rest for the night at Phoenix Settlement and switch to the waterway to go into the mountains first thing tomorrow morning."

Ayugu looked at the increasingly familiar scenery outside the window, her tone gradually growing somber.

"Phoenix Settlement?"

Lin Ye opened his eyes and gently moved Frost Star, who was sleeping soundly in his arms, to the side.

"It's a land-and-water transit town on the outer edge of our Miao Frontier. Usually, many traveling merchants and herb gatherers rest here, but this place... is also a very bizarre, ominous location."

Ayugu explained.

After bumping along the muddy mountain road for over ten minutes, the off-road vehicle finally stopped at the entrance of an ancient, dilapidated town just before night fell completely.

Lin Ye pushed open the car door and stepped out.

A gust of eerie wind mixed with moisture blew against his face.

He narrowed his eyes slightly, his Pure Yang Eyes scanning the surroundings in the dark.

This town, called "Phoenix Settlement," completely preserved the stilt-house architectural style from hundreds of years ago.

Built against the mountains and beside the water.

But strangely enough.

Night had only just fallen, yet there wasn't a single bright electric light in the entire town.

Every household had its main doors tightly shut.

Only under the eaves of every house hung a ghostly white paper lantern.

The lanterns swayed in the cold rain, emitting a dim, eerie faint light.

Moreover, the bluestone-paved streets were covered with white, round joss paper soaked by the rain.

As a gust of wind blew by, the joss paper stuck to the tires of the off-road vehicle, giving off a strong stench of the dead.

"With a setup like this, anyone who didn't know better would think the town is holding a massive group funeral."

Lin Ye shoved his hands into his hoodie pockets and stepped over the joss paper covering the ground. His tone carried a hint of cynical banter, but a chill flickered in his eyes.

"It's not a funeral... it's a bridal send-off."

Ayugu walked to Lin Ye's side and looked at those white paper lanterns, her face pale.

"A bridal send-off? Whose family gets married hanging white lanterns and scattering joss paper? That's way too morbid."

Helena stood to the side, her ice-blue eyes full of confusion.

In Western perception, such a scene was definitely an omen of a demon's arrival.

"It's a folk custom in the Western Hunan region of Great Xia—the Flower-Falling Cave Maiden."

Leng Yue, who had been silent all along, suddenly spoke. Her voice was as cold and clear as spring water, sounding remarkably crisp in the eerie street.

Having lived for a thousand years, she naturally knew these unorthodox folk practices like the back of her hand.

"Deep in the mountains of Western Hunan, spirits and monsters often cause trouble and proclaim themselves Mountain Gods. If an unmarried woman in town has weak destiny characters or low fortune, she might accidentally be 'chosen' by this Mountain God."

"The chosen maiden will initially become obsessed with her appearance, spending all day dressing up in front of the mirror, her eyes filled with romantic longing as if she's fallen deeply in love."

"However, they stop eating human food and consume only dew. Until on a specific night, they put on the most radiant wedding gown and, with a bizarre smile on their face, walk alone into a karst cave deep in the mountains... to 'complete the marriage' with the so-called Mountain God."

Leng Yue cast a glance at the joss paper covering the ground.

"Once the Flower-Falling Cave Maiden enters the cave, she can never come out again."

"And the family members in town dare not stop the Mountain God from taking a bride. They can only hang white lanterns and scatter joss paper that night, treating it as if they are marrying off a deceased daughter. This is what's called a bridal send-off."

Hearing Leng Yue's explanation, Helena couldn't help but shiver.

"This... this is too cruel. Isn't that Mountain God actually just a man-eating monster?"

"A man-eating monster?"

Lin Ye sneered.

"Mountain God my foot. As far as I can see, it's nothing more than some old bachelor ghost hiding in a gutter without even a physical body, using a bit of hallucinogenic miasma to pull off lowlife tricks like scamming people and abducting young women."

"Come on, let's find an inn to stay at. I want to see if this old bachelor in the Ten Thousand Mountains dares to knock on my door tonight."

Lin Ye waved his hand grandly and led the three women strutting into the depths of the town.

The street was dead silent.

Only the footsteps of the four echoed on the bluestone pavement.

Occasionally, the suppressed sound of a woman softly sobbing could be heard from behind the tightly closed wooden doors on both sides of the road.

After walking for about ten minutes or so.

At the end of the town, an inn with its door half-a-jar finally appeared—"Yuelai Inn."

Half the paint on the inn's signboard had flaked off, and two ghostly white paper lanterns hung under its eaves as well.

Lin Ye walked forward and pushed open the dilapidated wooden door with a loud "bang."

There were no lights on in the inn lobby; only a pea-sized flame from a kerosene lamp on the counter flickered weakly.

A skinny old man, thin as a bamboo pole, was curled up behind the counter.

Hearing the door open, the old man shivered violently, dropping the dry tobacco pipe in his hand directly onto the floor.

"G-Guests... our shop isn't taking business or overnight guests tonight... You folks had better leave quickly!"

By the light of the kerosene lamp, the innkeeper saw the three gorgeous beauties following behind Lin Ye clearly.

Seeing how Leng Yue and Frost Star possessed looks so ethereal they didn't seem mortal, the innkeeper's face instantly turned whiter than paper, his voice trembling with utmost terror.

"Hey, old man, you're open for business. How can you drive customers away?"

Lin Ye unceremoniously pulled out a long bench, sat down, and tapped the tabletop.

"We've traveled a long way to get here, and we're tired and hungry. Hurry up and boil a few buckets of hot water in the back, slice two pounds of cooked beef, and whip up a few of your specialty dishes. You'll get your money."

Saying that, Lin Ye pulled out his phone and waved it over the table: "Do you take mobile pay?"

How could the innkeeper care about scanning QR codes or mobile pay?

He scrambled out from behind the counter, fell to his knees with a thud in front of Lin Ye, and slapped his thighs in anxiety.

"Young master! Please listen to my advice! Take your female companions and get out of Phoenix Settlement immediately!"

"You're outsiders, so you don't know our local rules. Tonight... tonight is the night of Lord Mountain God's 'Grand Wedding'!"

The innkeeper pointed at the white joss paper filling the air outside, his voice shaking violently.

"Usually, Lord Mountain God only selects one Flower-Falling Cave Maiden a year. But a few days ago, after an earth-shattering boom came from deep in the mountains, Lord Mountain God flew into a rage!"

"These past couple of days, he's come down the mountain every single night. Any young virgin he takes a fancy to—no matter where she hides—will walk into the mountains on her own in the middle of the night, smiling!"

"More than a dozen young maidens in this town have gone missing over the last few days! Bringing these three flower-like ladies here is like walking right into the tiger's den—it's practically delivering betrothal gifts to Lord Mountain God's doorstep!"

Hearing this.

Standing behind Lin Ye, Frost Star's heterochromatic eyes instantly flashed with an excited green light.

"Mountain God? Is he tasty? Brother-in-law, if he dares try to kidnap us, can I freeze him into a slushie and eat him with sugar?"

The Nether Empress's crisp yet bizarre statement completely dumbfounded the innkeeper kneeling on the floor.

This little girl was so pretty, but was something wrong with her head?

She actually wanted to eat the Mountain God?

Lin Ye helplessly flicked Frost Star on the forehead.

"You sure talk a lot. Go sit over there and don't scare the old gentleman."

He turned his head and looked at the shocked innkeeper.

"Old man, get up. In a modern society ruled by law, we don't do this kneeling stuff."

Lin Ye casually pulled the innkeeper up from the floor and pressed him down onto a nearby chair.

"That Mountain God of yours. Did he pay a bride price when he took a bride?"

Lin Ye suddenly asked an unusually peculiar question.

"Huh?"

The innkeeper was stunned.

"What... what bride price?"

"Look here."

Lin Ye folded his arms and solemnly began his logical deduction.

"Since ancient times, getting married and taking a wife requires the Three Letters and Six Rites, a formal and proper marriage."

"He's an old monster hiding in a cave, paying no bride price and hosting no wedding feast. In the dead of night, relying on cheap illusions, he wants to abduct decent young maidens. What do you call that? That's fucking mooching!"

Lin Ye slapped the table, righteous and indignant.

Then he walked over to the inn window and forcefully pushed it open.

An eerie gust of wind carrying white joss paper poured in through the window, making the kerosene lamp inside flicker erratically.

Facing the chilly, eerie wind, gold and red light flashed within Lin Ye's Pure Yang Eyes like two searchlights tearing through the darkness, piercing straight into the depths of the Ten Thousand Mountains.

"Innkeeper, go boil water and cook."

"I'm somewhat interested in this Mountain God."

The innkeeper stared blankly at this young man.

Although he thought the young man might be crazy, under this domineering and unmatched aura, he actually nodded as if possessed and turned toward the back kitchen.

The night grew deeper and deeper.

The mist outside the inn gradually turned an eerie shade of pink.

A strangely sweet, cloying floral scent began to drift through the air.

"Hee-hee-hee..."

An ethereal sound of a woman's sweet giggling echoed above the quiet streets of Phoenix Settlement.