"Song brother, it's me."
Hearing Xu Yi's voice, my heart, which had almost leaped out of my throat, finally settled back into place. But by then, the two figures, one tall and one short, carrying Fang Huixin, were about to disappear from my sight.
"Boss Fang has been taken, why aren't you chasing?"
Seeing this, I stood up, ready to pursue. Regardless, she was a living human life. How could she be carried away by those things, whatever they were?
"Song brother, don't worry. Those ghostly things carrying her are not Boss Fang. They are dummies I made. She is safe in another tent. Follow me."
I glanced at the two figures disappearing into the black mist, then at Xu Yi, who was about to vanish as well. In the end, I chose to follow Xu Yi.
Xu Yi walked at a moderate pace, stopping and starting as if trying to orient himself. After a couple of turns, he stopped in front of the tent I had just searched.
"Don't tell me Boss Fang is in here? I just searched this place."
"I know you searched it just now, but those were all fake tents I made of paper to confuse them." After speaking, Xu Yi pushed aside the tent flap and walked in.
Seeing him go in, I didn't think much of it and followed closely. Inside the tent, including Fang Huixin, there were three people. Everyone's faces were ashen, and Fang Huixin's lips trembled uncontrollably, as if she had witnessed something terrifying.
"Song brother, wait here for a moment and help me look after them. I'll go find Brother Zhang." Without waiting for my agreement, he lifted the tent flap and walked out.
It was then that I noticed that the entire tent had been covered in yellow paper by Xu Yi, even the tent flap. The yellow paper was covered with dense cinnabar characters, seemingly to ward off something.
Originally, I wanted to ask them what they had seen to be so frightened, but their eyes were somewhat vacant, and their bodies trembled non-stop. Even if I wanted to ask, I couldn't get anything out of them, so I had to give up.
In a short while, the tent flap was lifted again, and Xu Yi and Zhang Dabiao entered one after another.
Seeing Zhang Da safe and sound, the stone in my heart finally fell, but seeing his grim expression, I couldn't help but ask, "How is it? Did you find any survivors?"
Zhang Dabiao shook his head, "They're all dead, not a single living person. Most of them had their stomachs split open, with all their internal organs gone."
"No, they are devils, they are devils! I want to leave here, I don't want to stay here for another minute..."
Upon hearing this, one of the men madly tore at his hair and stood up to leave. As he passed Zhang Dabiao, Zhang Dabiao struck him in the neck with a palm strike. His body then went limp.
"Damn it!"
Xu Yi quickly pulled a few strands of hair from the man's head, wrapped them in yellow paper, and his hands moved with lightning speed. In the blink of an eye, a small paper figure appeared in his hand. He whispered a few words and blew the paper figure away.
As the paper figure landed, it emitted the man's scream from earlier, the sound growing fainter in the distance. Simultaneously, a chirping sound came from outside the tent, and it too faded away.
Seeing this, Xu Yi breathed a sigh of relief, "Finally, I've lured them away. We need to find a way to leave here quickly. The things in the black mist are quite difficult to deal with."
"Do you know what those things in the black mist are?" I asked Xu Yi in surprise.
Those things looked somewhat like people, but also different. When people walk, they sway a bit, but these things walked with their shoulders completely still, as if floating in mid-air.
Xu Yi gave a wry smile and shook his head, "I don't know what they look like either. If I hadn't gotten into the habit of using a paper figure to substitute for me when I slept, I would have also fallen victim to their deadly hands."
Hearing this, I gasped. What exactly were these things that even a paper craftsman almost fell victim to? Could it be that the mountain god himself had appeared?
I quickly dismissed the idea of the mountain god's presence. If the mountain god had truly come, with his arrogant nature, he wouldn't resort to such tactics. He could have appeared before us openly and played with us however he pleased, because he had the strength to do so.
"Don't worry about what they are now. The important thing is to leave here quickly. My paper house can't hold them off for much longer."
"But the outside is completely shrouded in black mist. Where can we go? They are in the dark and we are in the light. If we go out, won't we become living targets?"
Upon hearing that they had to leave, Fang Huixin was the first to object. A flush of excitement appeared on her pale face, giving me the impression that she would rather die than leave.
Another person nodded frantically, "If you want to go, go. I won't leave here even if I die. Those things are too terrifying..."
Hearing this, I frowned. I should have just left with Zhang Dabiao from the beginning. If they wanted to seek death, what could anyone do? It's like forcing a cow to drink water when it doesn't want to.
"My paper house can only trick them for a while. If it's too long, they will discover it. It's still possible to leave now, otherwise, by the time they surround us, we won't be able to leave."
"But what if they attack us on the way?"
Seeing Fang Huixin waver, Xu Yi quickly added, "You saw the substitute paper figures I used earlier. I can make more substitute paper figures to lure them away. It's safe."
"Then what are we waiting for? Let's leave here quickly. I don't want to stay here for another minute."
Fang Huixin was also a determined person. As soon as she finished speaking, she pulled out a lock of her hair and handed it to Xu Yi.
The other person hesitated, still struggling internally. Seeing this, Zhang Dabiao stepped forward and slapped him.
"Such a big man, being so indecisive at a critical moment. Not as useful as a woman. If you don't want to go, stay here with this guy and wait to become food for the evil spirits."
Fang Huixin was displeased that Zhang Dabiao called her a woman, but she didn't say anything. Instead, she said to the other man, "Staying here is a dead end. It's better to fight for a slim chance of survival. If you survive this, I'll give you an extra 1 million on top of your hard work fee."
Fang Huixin masterfully employed the tactic of a stick and a carrot, thus igniting his fighting spirit. "Damn it, let's fight! At worst, in eighteen years, I'll be a good man again... But what about Old Zhou? His wife and children are still waiting for him to return?"
"No way."
Zhang Dabiao took out half a bottle of water from his bag and poured it over Old Zhou's head.
Startled by the cold water, Old Zhou jumped up. Before he could curse, Zhang Dabiao covered his mouth.
"If you want to live, shut up. If you want to die, run out. Don't harm everyone."
With fear in his eyes, Old Zhou nodded, and Zhang Dabiao released him.
"I'm sorry, I just..."
"Alright, we can talk about apologies when we're alive. Quickly, each of you give me a few strands of hair so I can make substitute paper figures."
Xu Yi worked quickly. In a short while, everyone had five substitute paper figures in their hands.
"You don't need to use the substitute paper figures intentionally. When those things come, these substitute paper figures will run on their own. You just need to stay quiet."
"Understood!"