Chapter 2: Bloodstains in the Mountains

  The air in the mountains is very refreshing, this mountain is not famous because there are no unique scenery, few people come here, only poor students like us who have no money to spend their holidays here. I had never been here before, it was still found by Wang Liu Li, that stinky boy, and how he found it out, he kept it a secret with a mysterious smile.

  I also got to know a bit about the girl, her name is Xia Xue, she's an ordinary city girl, her parents grew up in Chengdu and have their own convenience store there. The girl just graduated from university and has been with Wang Liuli for only a few days. As we walked, Wang Liuli secretly told us that this time he came to ask his brothers for help, if they could help him win Xia Xue's heart, everything would be okay.

  It seems that this guy is taking advantage of us, but we are also happy to help him out. He even promised to pay for all the expenses on this trip, and splitting the car rental fee is just what he said, how can he really want money?

  Lao Zhao has always been gentle in nature, and he didn't refuse me, so I couldn't let him down. After all, I had to live up to my nickname "腹黑小王子" (Little Black-Bellied Prince). I pounded on his door a few times, and he agreed to cooperate with us. The three of us big men finally reached an agreement, and Wang Luli went off to pester Xia Xue again.

  Old Zhao and I were both aware of the situation, and it was unwise to be a light bulb at this time. The two of us chatted about the scenery in the mountains as we walked together. The freshness of the air made me involuntarily take a few deep breaths. Strangely, I felt that the air was mixed with a faint smell of blood.

  I didn't get the title of "腹黑小王子" for nothing, with my suspicious mind, I always felt that there was something strange about the off-road vehicle parked over there, but couldn't quite put my finger on what it was. It seemed like this desolate mountain had few visitors, and even if people did come, they were probably here to sweep graves. Along the way, we saw a few isolated tombs, the soil around which was relatively clean, at least without any overgrown weeds, indicating that someone regularly came to tidy up. So, was the owner of that Land Rover also here for a wild picnic like us?

  The sky gradually darkened, Wang Liuli pulled Xia Xue to find us: "Enough brothers, hurry up, there is an ancient temple in front, we can rest there and eat something, and stay overnight."

  Abandoned ancient temple? When I first heard it, I was stunned. In those Hong Kong movies, there's always a group of idiots who go up the mountain or to some remote place where people rarely set foot, and as a result, they either encounter some awesome monster or some bizarre ghost, and among them, the abandoned ancient temple is an important clue.

  I don't know why, but since I found out that my master is a half-immortal, I've been struggling with it. On the surface, I don't believe it, but that unchanging face still makes me unable to come up with an explanation. Is Master an alien? Or did he eat some kind of elixir of immortality like in myths?

  Lao Zhao seemed to have noticed my unease and asked: "Jiang Chu, what's wrong with you? You've been a bit distracted since the beginning."

  I hastily refused and pushed back: "Don't be ridiculous, what mental confusion do I have? It's clearly your own eyes that are the problem, alright?"

  Lao Zhao didn't pursue the matter anymore. Zhao Xian Ge, just by looking at his name, you can tell what kind of person he is - a complete gentleman, with very steady manners. I really don't know how we became friends with him, could it be that "opposites repel, likes attract" not only applies to magnetic poles and men and women but also to personalities?

  This mountain isn't very high, but we're all book-smart students who aren't exactly athletic. At this point, we were all panting like a bunch of dogs, while Xia Xue seemed to be doing just fine, sitting on a big rock and laughing at us three. Zhao and I didn't care, but Wang Liuli's face was bright red - how could he not lose face in front of the girl he likes?

  We rested by a stream in the mountains, and the water was flowing down from the top of the mountain. We sat there and washed our faces with the cool spring water, it felt so refreshing!

  The sky was getting darker and we had already taken out our flashlights. We had also followed those experienced hikers on outdoor trips before, although we ended up giving up halfway through. However, this didn't prevent us from having some basic knowledge of outdoor camping. For example, in a mountain like this near the city, there wouldn't be any wild beasts. Our resting place was not far from our destination, that ancient temple. Wang Luli told us that it had been abandoned for a long time and the temple was already in ruins. There were also very few people passing through the mountains, so we shouldn't be disturbed tonight. Of course, the owner of that Land Rover might be an exception - it looked like they might still be on the mountain.

  As we were discussing, the mountain started to condense white fog due to the drop in temperature, and the damp cold air was very heavy. This kind of thing is relatively common on mountains, but it's not often seen when there's such a thick fog. After all, the elevation here isn't that high. Looking at the increasingly dense fog and the dim light, we realized that the road ahead was just a dirt path and hadn't been well developed. Continuing on like this, getting lost wasn't impossible, so after discussing it, we decided it would be better to rest here instead.

  The terrain here is not flat, but there are still open spaces to set up tents. Resting on the mountain, fire is a must, one is for safety and dispelling fear, and the other is to drive out the cold and dampness. Of course, fire prevention measures are necessary, but we are camping by the river, so it should be fine. We were originally planning to have a barbecue on the mountain, and what we brought was not dry food, but meat skewers and roasted skewers that had been semi-processed. As long as they are placed on the grill, the oil and water will sizzle, and the flavor is very fragrant.

  We looked around for firewood, we brought that stainless steel grill, but charcoal is also necessary, we didn't bring much, who knows if it's enough? While the daylight was still bright, we gathered the firewood together, it will be convenient to use at night.

  Looking at this intelligent fog that can see human shadows, my heart started to feel very uncomfortable. I also carefully read the book given by my master. In that book, dew is a kind of natural medicine, the fog gathers and condenses into dew, which is sweet in nature, cold in property, non-toxic, and can make one's body light and prolong one's life if taken for a long time, making one immortal like an immortal being.

  However, fog is also a symbol of witchcraft. Legend has it that the Yellow Emperor fought Chi You, who was the ancestor of witches and had ancient magic. At that time, Chi You used his magical powers to summon white fog to trap the Yellow Emperor's army, making it impossible for them to escape. Later, the Yellow Emperor received the Dragon Armor Divine Chapter from the Mystic Maiden and created the South Pointing Chariot with the help of Feng Hou, which finally broke through Chi You's great fog. From then on, it was called Fog Magic, also known as witchcraft later on.

  Modern science has proven that fog is a natural phenomenon caused by the condensation of water vapor suspended in the air. There shouldn't be anything to think about, but I just feel like there's something strange about this fog. In the thick fog, I can faintly smell the scent of fresh blood, and what makes me even more afraid is that when visibility is low, I feel like a pair of invisible eyes are staring at me from not far away?

  I gathered my spirits and ran back with the not-so-much firewood, which was also covered with a layer of dew. It wouldn't be easy to burn it for a while, but fortunately we had brought dry charcoal, so we weren't at a loss. The wet firewood could easily be dried by roasting. After I rushed back, the snowfall was waiting for us there, and the two of them still hadn't returned.

  Xia Xue is a very cheerful girl, smiling and taking over the firewood I was carrying, saying: "Jiang Ge, you're back so soon, isn't it a bit too little?"

  I'm too embarrassed to say that I was enveloped in a strange feeling just now, and even more embarrassed to say that I got scared. A man's face is very important, so I can only say that my stomach is hungry, so I hurried back to eat something.

  Xia Xue didn't mind, and after a while Old Zhao came back carrying a pile of firewood. Xia Xue and I had already lit the charcoal fire and set up the stove rack through our collaboration. But for some reason, the three of us waited here for a while, and Wang Liuli still hadn't returned, no one knew where she went.

  After waiting for a while, the skewers were ready, but Wang Liuli still hadn't returned. At this time, not only did I have a bad premonition, but Xia Xue was also getting anxious. It seemed that this girl had taken a liking to Wang Liuli. Old Zhao remained calm and said: "We can't just keep waiting here, the fog is getting thicker and the sky is darkening. We can't rule out the possibility that Old Wang wandered off too far and got lost. I'll go with Old Jiang to look for him, Xia Xue, you stay here and keep the fire burning bright, so it's convenient for us when we get back."

  His proposal was quickly agreed upon by both of us, and Old Zhao and I turned on our flashlights, shouting for Wang Liuli as we walked out. To avoid getting lost again, the two of us didn't split up and planned to act together. I was also a little scared - how could a good person like that get lost? And what's with this Wang guy, anyway? It's already late at night and it's even foggy outside! We came out to relax and clear our minds, but now we're more anxious than ever, and we've just added to our own troubles.

  I looked for a while and got a bit angry, shouting: "Wang Liuli, listen up! If you don't come out now, I'll ignore you. You can do whatever you want, but I won't bother with you anymore." At first, I was still a bit intimidated, but in my heart, I felt like there was a fire burning that wouldn't go away unless I let it out.

  Lao Zhao suddenly squatted down on the ground at this time, and beckoned to me: "Old Jiang, Old Jiang come quickly, you take a look, there are bloodstains here, is something wrong?"

  My fire suddenly disappeared without a trace, I quickly squatted down to look, and the soil there indeed had a patch of fresh bloodstains, touching it still faintly retained some heat, so much blood although not fatal, but enough to make people dizzy, is this Old Wang's blood? Did he encounter something?

  I suddenly thought that if there's really something dangerous here, it's too risky to leave Xiaoxue, a girl, behind. I told Old Zhao: "Don't rush, this doesn't feel right. It's not easy for us to find Old Wang now. Why don't we head back first and bring Xiaoxue along? It's better if there are more of us together to look out for each other. After finding Old Wang, we can immediately go down the mountain and report to the police. What do you think?"

  Zhao Xian Ge agreed without thinking, then the two of us walked towards the campsite with flashlights in hand.

  Print chapter error; If you think it's great! Then please recommend the website URL to your friends and watch together!