The mountain wind swept through the treetops, making a "woo-woo" sound, eerily similar to a female ghost weeping in the shadows.
Yu Zhen, with half a cigarette dangling from his lips, followed behind Feng Kangping, who was holding a flashlight.
The ember of the cigarette glowed and dimmed in the darkness.
"Everyone, stay sharp!"
Yu Zhen barked, his voice rough. He threw the cigarette butt to the ground and ground it under his heel.
"When we find the treasure hidden in these mountains, you'll each get two jin of white flour as a reward back home!"
"If anyone dares to slack off, you'll answer to me!"
Carrot and stick.
Feng Kangping in front of him hunched his shoulders, agreeing repeatedly, yet his footsteps unconsciously slowed half a pace.
It was pitch black everywhere, not even moonlight could penetrate, so dark you couldn't see your own hand in front of your face.
Feng Kangping always felt there was something off about this mountain. Where the flashlight beam swept, the tree shadows twisted and contorted, like figures standing on tiptoe.
The mere thought of that vicious woman Shen Nanchu's terrifying strength made Feng Kangping shiver involuntarily.
"Boss, this place is too dark, and the mountain path is slippery. How about we come back tomorrow at daybreak?"
Feng Kangping suggested in a hushed, ingratiating voice.
Before Yu Zhen could answer,
Feng Kangping, not paying attention, suddenly kicked a round stone underfoot, startling him so much he nearly jumped, swinging the flashlight beam up into the sky.
"Craven!"
Yu Zhen spat. He jabbed Feng Kangping's arm hard.
"One more word of nonsense and you're on rear guard!"
Feng Kangping quickly shut his mouth, but in his heart, he cursed Yu Zhen eight hundred times over. If it weren't for this guy insisting there was treasure in Wang Family Village and threatening everyone to come, he wouldn't be suffering in this godforsaken place.
A young man nearby suddenly let out a surprised "huh," pointing at a bush not far away.
"Boss, look, what's that?"
Everyone looked in the direction he pointed. By the roadside, amidst a patch of wild mugwort, stood a dark figure wearing a tattered straw hat, its body faintly shimmering with a greenish light, swaying gently with the mountain wind as if nodding towards them.
The beam from Feng Kangping's flashlight shot over abruptly, and the scarecrow vanished.
"Who's there? Who is it?"
Yu Zhen's heart skipped a beat. He instinctively tightened his grip on the wooden club in his hand, but his voice held a trace of weakness.
No one answered.
A dark figure wearing a tattered straw hat darted out from another direction, its green light flickering on and off, making one's scalp prickle and cold sweat break out on the back of the neck.
Feng Kangping moved swiftly, ducking behind Yu Zhen and shrinking down.
"B-boss, there really aren't... really aren't unclean things in these mountains, are there?"
"Shut up!"
Yu Zhen forced himself to appear calm.
"It's definitely a scarecrow put up by the villagers to scare off wild boars! That's how it is in the mountains!"
He mustered his courage and took two steps forward.
Before he could take a third step, the scarecrow disappeared again.
All around, except for the flashlight beams, everything returned to inky blackness.
The next second,
Something white landed on Yu Zhen's face.
Swish~~~
Two clusters of greenish, phosphorescent light appeared above Yu Zhen's head.
Blown by the wind, the two glowing clusters suddenly brightened noticeably and swayed with the breeze.
"Good heavens!" a Red Armband screamed in terror. "A ghost! It's a ghost!"
"Don't panic!"
Yu Zhen roared, though his own heart was also filled with dread.
Because he realized everyone's gaze was fixed on his head.
This ghost, it couldn't be...
Yu Zhen jerked his head up to look. There was nothing.
He let out a sigh of relief.
The next second,
Feng Kangping suddenly pointed ahead on the mountain path, his voice trembling uncontrollably.
"B-boss, look ahead!"
Everyone looked forward and immediately gasped, drawing in a sharp breath.
In the distance, on both sides of the mountain path, countless points of phosphorescent light flickered on.
The flashlight beams swept over them, revealing they were scarecrows, one after another. They stood like a row of silent underworld guards, quietly watching the intruders from the darkness.
"This is sinister..."
Yu Zhen swallowed hard, his grip on the flashlight becoming unsteady, the beam wavering across the ground.
"Where did so many scarecrows come from? How could scarecrows from the fields run off into the mountains?"
Everyone knew scarecrows were stuck in fields. They didn't have legs to run into the mountains on their own.
The mountain wind howled, and the scarecrows collectively began to sway. Their green lights connected into a shimmering patch in the dark, like countless blinking eyes, sending a chill down everyone's spine.
"Let's... let's move faster!"
Yu Zhen steeled himself and pressed forward, but his pace noticeably quickened.
"Don't mind these damned straw men. Find the stuff and let's get out of here! We have to leave this cursed place before dawn!"
"Anyone who deserts tonight, I'll have their job stripped when we get back."
The group, necks hunched, didn't dare move a muscle.
These guys were used to throwing their weight around. If they lost their Red Armband status, they'd be sure to get their comeuppance.
They had families back home too.
They couldn't lose their jobs.
Led by Yu Zhen, the group kept their heads down and sped along the path. No one dared speak; only heavy breathing and the sound of footsteps echoed through the woods.
The green-glowing scarecrows flickered in and out of sight in the darkness, as if taking small, hurried steps in pursuit.
From their hiding place in the dark,
Pei Yunzhou: "Seems we didn't scare them off!"
Xiong Lei: "Not quite."
Sun Xuelin: "It's fine. We still have the rocks."
Pei Zhengnian, who had been waiting in a tree all along, descended silently.
"Follow them quickly."
"Received, Regimental Commander."
...
When they reached a relatively flat area halfway up the mountain, Yu Zhen was just about to lean against a tree trunk to catch his breath when he suddenly heard a faint "crack" from above, like a branch snapping under weight.
Before he could react, he heard Feng Kangping scream at the top of his lungs.
"Boss, run! Rocks! Rocks rolling down the mountain!"
The flashlight beams shot upward. On the slope above their heads, several millstone-sized rocks were tumbling down the incline.
With a "rumbling" roar, sending gravel and dirt flying, they charged towards the group like roaring beasts.
"Run!"
Yu Zhen was scared out of his wits. Forget about searching for anything now; he turned and bolted downhill.
He had never run so fast in his life, not even daring to stop when his trouser leg got caught on a branch.
The people behind him also fled like madmen. Screams, cries, and the thunderous roar of the rolling rocks turned the quiet mountain forest into a scene of utter chaos.
Actually, Pei Zhengnian had calculated the angles long ago. The rocks looked terrifying, but their landing points were all in the empty ground behind the crowd. At most, some gravel might splash onto their trouser legs; they couldn't possibly hurt anyone.
But in the pitch-black mountains, with so many large rocks suddenly rolling down, anyone would be scared out of their mind.
"Rumble..."
The rocks finally came to a stop in the clearing, kicking up a cloud of dust.
Yu Zhen and the others lay on the ground, not daring to lift their heads for a long time. Their hearts pounded as if trying to leap out of their throats, and cold sweat soaked through the clothes on their backs.
"B-boss... are you alright?"
Feng Kangping, lying in a bush, was covered in mud, with a few blades of grass stuck in his hair.
Yu Zhen struggled to sit up. His whole body felt like it had fallen apart, and his throat was parched.
"Damn it all, what happened?"
"How could rocks just roll down for no reason?"
"It... it must be the ghosts in the mountain!"
A Red Armband, clutching his arm, his face smeared with tears and snot, cried out.
"Those scarecrows are ghosts in disguise! They led us here just to have the rocks crush us!"
As soon as he said it, several others chimed in agreement.
The scarecrow earlier was frightening enough, and now with rocks tumbling down, anyone would start thinking about ghosts and spirits.
Feng Kangping trembled as he spoke,
"I told you this village is creepy! Last time we came, rocks chased us, and now it's happening again..."
"The mountain god doesn't want us here! We should leave now, forget about looking for any treasure!"
Yu Zhen's heart was also pounding with fear, but he stubbornly insisted,
"Nonsense! It's just a landslide. It's been raining these past few days, it happens all the time!"
But even he didn't believe his own words.
What were the odds of a landslide happening just then?
Right as they were passing by, and with such uncanny accuracy?
