Chapter 14: The Secret History of the Ghost Village

  The Secret History of the Bandit's Lair

  The cloud soared to the sky, took over the telegram and looked at it, also really surprised not small, the telegram ordered the 206th regiment's 2nd battalion to abandon Lingfeng and retreat to Wusong Ridge when the Japanese army attacked. Wusong Ridge is more than 300 miles away from Lingfeng, if the National Army retreated to Wusong Ridge, it would mean that the entire Lingfeng area was going to be handed over to the Japanese, and the National Government wanted to use the Japanese to eliminate the Eighth Route Army's Anti-Japanese Independent Brigade on Mount Qilin in Lingfeng. Cloud Sky put down the telegram and asked tentatively; "Is there an accurate time for the Japanese army's attack?" Huang Min looked at Ye Zichun, although Huang Min was higher than Ye Zichun in official rank, but Ye Zichun was after all a special envoy sent by the provincial government, so he still had to give Ye Zichun face. Ye Zichun raised his head and sighed lightly; "Say it, he's already seen the telegram, there's no secret to speak of anymore. These despicable local warlords only know how to preserve their own strength, without considering the feelings of the people." It could be seen that he was filled with worries. Lingfeng was his hometown, and he did not want to let the Japanese army trample it at will, let alone the secret of Mount Fengling that no one knew about, how could he put his heart at ease?

  Huang Min looked at Yun Xiangtian who was studying the map and said, "According to reliable intelligence, the Japanese army will attack in half a month's time and is currently gathering troops near Linping."

  Yun Xiang Tian laughed after hearing it, he said: "What? The devils want to attack Lingfeng in half a month? Ridiculous."

  Huang Min and Ye Zichun were both confused, Huang Min hastily asked: "Younger brother, why are you saying this? This is intelligence that has been passed down from the high levels of the Japanese army, it definitely can't be fake."

  Yun Xiangtian beckoned to Huang Min and Ye Zichun, saying, "Come take a look." He pointed at the map and said, "This is the defense zone of the Eighth Route Army's Kirin Mountain Independent Brigade. This is the defense zone of the 206th Regiment, 1st and 3rd Battalions of the National Army in Nanshanwa. And this is the defense zone of the 2nd Battalion, led by Huang, in Lingfeng." In other words, on both sides of the front line of Lingfeng are the defense zones of the Eighth Route Army's Kirin Mountain Independent Brigade and the 206th Regiment, 1st and 3rd Battalions of the National Army in Nanshanwa. If the Japanese army advances alone and directly attacks Lingfeng, it will undoubtedly be a suicidal move.

  "Alright, alright, look at you talking big, what's the use? You're not a commander in the war zone! What's the point of just talking on paper? It's all empty talk, let's think about where we should go and what we should do instead."

  Yun Xiang thought to himself; Alas, I'm not their battlefield commander, so it's meaningless for me to point fingers here. He raised his head and asked Huang Min, "What do you mean, big brother?"

  Huang Min no longer had the anger he felt when he first read the telegram, and he walked over to sit down, saying: "Military orders are like mountains, what can we do? We have to obey military orders. But this way, Lingfeng will only be left with the 8th Route Army's independent battalion on Qilin Mountain, and at that time, they will also be isolated and helpless. Lingfeng will have no choice but to surrender to the Japanese! The secrets on Mount Ling will also have to be deciphered by those little devils!"

  Yun Xiangtian felt that he was hinting at something, and it seemed to be directed at Yezi Chun. Sure enough, Yezi Chun couldn't sit still anymore, and he exclaimed excitedly: "Military orders, military orders! More than half of China has been given away to the little devils, what's the point of talking about military orders? Are we really going to become slaves to the invaders? Handing over our beautiful mountains and rivers to them?"

  Huang Min said calmly: "Special Commissioner Ye, don't get excited. As a military officer, isn't obeying orders your duty? Do you still want to disobey and disrespect?"

  "Alright, alright, it's all good! You all leave, I'll stay behind. I'm going up the mountain now to discuss with the various village heads how to defend Mount Fengling together. I swear to live and die with Mount Fengling."

  Yun Xiang Tian's dark way; Well done, Huang Min, you're so rough and careless, I didn't expect your city to be so deep, and you actually used the stimulation method on Ye Zi Chun. Alas! As expected, Huang Min said: "I didn't expect Special Envoy Ye to be so generous, this makes Huang feel ashamed. If Special Envoy Ye really has this intention, then at that time, Huang will leave a regiment behind, and let Special Envoy Ye command it."

  After the three of them had discussed and agreed, Yun Xiang Tian bid farewell to Huang Min and Ye Zi Chun. When he returned to the mountain stronghold, it was already the beginning of a new moon. Hong Shan Gu and Chi Tuan He Shang were waiting for him in the grand hall. Yun Xiang Tian told Hong Shan Gu and Chi Tuan He Shang about Ye Zi Chun's strange encounter. The two of them did not seem surprised after hearing this, and Hong Shan Gu calmly said: "Do you want to know about Gui Zhai? I'll tell you now."

  The Ghost Village was formed after a massacre. Originally, the Wang family's large village and other villages coexisted peacefully, but secretly had close ties with the old master of Anmin Village, Red Knife. However, they mistakenly killed the second master of Xuanjian Cave, leading to a feud with Xuanjian Cave. Although the old master tried to mediate, the master of Xuanjian Cave, Yidian Hong, and his third master, Hundilong, insisted on destroying Wangjia Village to avenge their grievances.

  The old master Red Knife and Wang Yuanwai discussed the situation and decided that since they couldn't resolve the conflict with Xuanjian Cave, it was inevitable that something unexpected would happen. They found skilled craftsmen to build a secret passage from Wangjia Village to Anmin Village on Yuquan Ridge.

  Later, Yidian Hong and Hundilong seized an opportunity to kidnap a mountain villager's wife and child, forcing him to open the village gate at night to seek revenge. Fortunately, the villager didn't lose his conscience and pretended to agree with Yidian Hong while secretly reporting their plan to Wang Yuanwai.

  Wang Yuanwai received the news and immediately sent someone through the secret passage to ask for Red Knife's help. However, Red Knife was not in the village that day, and the person sent had to return empty-handed. With no other choice, Wang Yuanwai organized the male villagers to prepare for battle with Yidian Hong while arranging for the female villagers to escape.

  The villager who had been kidnapped by Yidian Hong advised Wang Yuanwai to lead the villagers to escape. Wang Yuanwai smiled and patted him on the back, saying, "You abandoned your family to protect the villagers from being killed, and you came to report their plan. How could I abandon you and your child to escape alone?"

  That night, when Yidian Hong gave the signal to open the gate, the villager took advantage of Wang Yuanwai's unpreparedness and knocked him unconscious, letting someone take him away with the villagers to escape. The villager himself stayed behind with his family to fight against Yidian Hong.

  However, the honest and simple-minded villager was no match for the ruthless mountain bandits. In an instant, more than a dozen villagers were killed. Yidian Hong became even more cruel, ordering his men to kill the villager's family and his in-laws, totaling over 20 people. He still wasn't satisfied and set fire to Wangjia Village.

  Just as he was rejoicing, Red Knife received news of the situation and led the brothers from Anmin Village, wearing red scarves to cover their faces, to suddenly attack through the secret passage. Yidian Hong was caught off guard and killed by Red Knife on the spot. Hundilong was severely injured and died soon after without being able to escape back to Xuanjian Cave. None of the mountain bandits they brought survived.

  Red Knife also suffered severe injuries, and over 50 brothers from Anmin Village were killed or wounded. In total, 263 people lost their lives in this battle, including those from Wangjia Village.

  The old master Red Knife couldn't take away the bodies of his brothers due to his injuries and was afraid of being recognized, so he ordered his men to disfigure the faces of all the dead. After returning to the village, Red Knife knew that his injuries were severe and that he wouldn't live for long, so he passed on the position of master to Hong Shangu.

  He entrusted Hong Shangu to take care of his four-year-old daughter, Xiuzhu, and to protect the secrets of Fengling Mountain and the bodies in the village. Ten days later, on a deep night, Hong Shangu and the foolish monk led the brothers from Anmin Village through the secret passage to secretly transport out all the bodies for burial.

  From then on, Wangjia Village became an empty village, with no one living there again.

  Yun Xiang Tian couldn't help but interject, "What about Wang Yuanwai and those who escaped?"

  Hongshan girl didn't respond to Yunxiangtian's question, but instead continued her own story:

  After the battle at Wangjia Dazhai, both Anmin Village and Xuanjian Cave were severely damaged. Ba Tianlong, the son of Hongdoudao, who had just taken over as the new leader, learned about the sudden death of his father, Hongdoudao. He suspected that his father's death was related to Anmin Village. He wanted to join forces with Zhenshan Hu to destroy Anmin Village and avenge his father's death. He promised that if they succeeded in taking down Anmin Village, he would listen to Zhenshan Hu's orders from then on and never betray him again. However, Zhenshan Hu knew that the terrain of Yiquan Ridge was treacherous and that it wouldn't be easy to take down Anmin Village. He was afraid that if they failed, not only would they fail to avenge Hongdoudao's death, but they would also offend Anmin Village. After careful consideration, Zhenshan Hu refused Ba Tianlong's proposal for an alliance. He declared that he wouldn't get involved in their conflict and wouldn't help either Ba Tianlong or Hong Shangu. Instead, he would sit back and watch the two sides fight each other. For years, although the various villages didn't interact with each other, they coexisted peacefully. However, each village was secretly recruiting soldiers and expanding its forces, trying to outmaneuver and defeat the others. They all hoped to be the one to dominate Fengling Mountain and uncover its secrets.

  Yun Xiang Tian urgently asked: "Do they also know the secret of Fengling Mountain?"

  Hong Shangu picked up the teacup and took a light sip. She said faintly, "It's not just them who know, the entire Fengling Mountain knows, and even people outside the mountain are talking about it in hushed tones. From then on, there were always some unknown individuals lurking around the mountain. We're afraid they'll discover something, so we have to resort to trickery again to protect the Wang family's stronghold and the secrets of Fengling Mountain."

  "Is it about the haunted mountain stronghold?" Yún Xiáng Tiān asked curiously.

  Hong Shan looked at Yun Xiang Tian with a kind expression and smiled, saying: "That's right! It's just a ghostly affair."

  Hong Shangu told him: After the death of Hong Dao Lao Zhai Zhu, Wang Yuan Wai was sad for several days. He was afraid that the mountain people would be harmed again. So he gave everyone a living allowance and scared them by saying; "Red Old Village Master helped us kill the thieves in Xuanjian Cave, those other thieves in Xuanjian Cave will come to take revenge, this place is already full of crisis. You bring the living allowance and go elsewhere to make a living! However, if anyone reveals what happened here and invites disaster, it's entirely their own fault, not blaming others at all." After finishing speaking, he turned around and left, ignoring the mountain people who begged him to let them stay behind, shouting hoarsely. After the crowd of mountain people left, only Wang Yuan Wai's family and the widows of the mountain people who died in the protection of the village were left in the village. From that moment on, they took on the task of guarding the secret of Wangjia Dazhai and Fengling Mountain with Anmin Village. Since then, those thieves who wanted to spy on Fengling Mountain were always disturbed by ghosts and could not live in peace. The ghost village came from this.

  Two years ago, Yezi Chun returned. He was a special envoy sent by the county government to Lingfeng. When he heard the legend of Fengling Mountain, he secretly returned to his hometown, Qingshuiwan Town, singing a tune that there were no ghosts or gods, and looked for people to explore the ghost village with him. A few days later, two orphaned children in the town agreed to accompany him on a night expedition to the ghost village. Yezi Chun did not find any valuable clues in the village, but the ghostly spirits in the village scared him badly. He witnessed Hei Wuchang hanging Wang Shitou at the gate of the village, and Hu Zi being thrown off the cliff by the emerging ghosts. He ran back to the town in terror, asking the villagers to go and rescue them. When the spirit sheds of Wang Shitou and Wang Huzi caught fire and their bodies disappeared, he suddenly went mad. Every day, he muttered to himself, but no one paid attention to him. However, no one expected that Yezi Chun's schemes were extremely deep, and everything was just an act.