Chapter 10

The Hei Zang, its entire body covered in black bristles, glared at Li Ang with its one remaining eye filled with resentment. As if equipped with springs in its feet, it leaped out of the assembly hall, sprinting along the two-lane rural road to the left of the gate like a gust of wind, quickly disappearing into the night.

Even shouliudan couldn't kill it...

Li Ang, who had poked his head out from behind a pile of tables and chairs, exhaled a mouthful of stale air, dusted off the wood shavings and debris from his body, and stepped out of the door.

At this moment, the three villagers who had been playing cards together earlier had already led the able-bodied men of the village, riding motorcycles, tricycles, and bicycles along the road on the right, rushing to the entrance of the assembly hall.

Looking over, these villagers, holding flashlights, torches, rakes, pitchforks, machetes, and even crude hunting firearms, formed a dense mass, possessing a certain intimidating power in the night.

Difficult terrain breeds violent people. Living in a treacherous place like Yinshan Village, it's impossible not to be brave and fierce.

Unfortunately, this kind of bravery and fierceness is only somewhat useful when fighting for water resources or in inter-village brawls. When encountering a Hei Zang that even assault rifles can't break through, it's basically just delivering food.

"Tiechui, where's that thing?"

The burly man at the head got off his motorcycle, waved the firearm in his hand, and asked Li Ang.

Li Ang glanced at the villagers, whose combat effectiveness was worrisome, shook his head, and said expressionlessly, "Which way does the road on the left lead to?"

Swept by Li Ang's calm gaze, the burly man subconsciously replied, "The provincial capital."

Li Ang nodded, strode forward, got directly on the burly man's motorcycle, twisted the throttle, and chased after the Hei Zang's tracks.

----

Feng Tiegen drove his silver-gray Wuling mini-truck, its headlights on, along the winding mountain road.

The night was deep, and the dense branches hanging from the low mountain walls were like a dense fishing net, blocking the cold moonlight.

Feng Tiegen was going to the county to obtain his mother's death certificate.

His wife, Zhang Cuifang, sat in the passenger seat. She had a gaunt face, prominent cheekbones, dyed brown hair, and heavy makeup. She was leaning against the window, scrolling through short videos.

The inexplicable laughter and noisy background music in the short videos echoed in the narrow car. Feng Tiegen found it irritating and took a deep breath, saying to his wife, "Can you keep it down?"

As if she hadn't heard him, Zhang Cuifang changed her position and continued to swipe the screen, giggling. The volume of the phone even increased a bit.

Anger surged, and Feng Tiegen turned his head and roared, "Turn the volume down! Didn't you hear me?"

Zhang Cuifang was stunned for a moment, scrutinizing her usually timid and cowardly husband with disbelief. "You dare to yell at me?"

"So what if I yell at you?" Feng Tiegen gritted his teeth. "If it wasn't for you, you stinking woman, would my mother have died?..."

"What did you say?" Zhang Cuifang frowned, her eyes widening, the whites of her eyes seeming to bulge out. "Feng Tiegen, you're really becoming more and more shameless. Who was it who said that treatment was too expensive? Who was it who said that taking care of an old woman was too tiring? And who was it who brought his own mother into the cowshed?

You went out to play cards, drank too much, and fell asleep, and you blame others for not bringing your mother food?"

Feng Tiegen clenched the steering wheel, the veins on his fingers bulging as if he were about to crush the steering wheel.

"Oh, what, you want to hit me?" Zhang Cuifang glanced at her husband, put down her phone leisurely, twisted her body and lay back in the seat, sneering, "Hey, Feng Tiegen, I'm just curious, how could I have been so blind to marry such a useless wimp like you..."

Sarcasm, mockery, all kinds of sarcastic and mean words, like machine gun bullets, splattered from Zhang Cuifang's mouth.

Suddenly, the storm of ridicule subsided instantly. Feng Tiegen subconsciously looked back, only to see Zhang Cuifang staring at the rearview mirror, her face, already covered in heavy makeup, turning pale.

Tap, tap, tap, tap, tap.

Rhythmic running sounds rang out behind the truck. From the rearview mirror, Feng Tiegen saw a slender black figure wearing a brown shroud, running wildly along the mountain road.

The pace of the figure's running wasn't fast, but the distance between steps was extremely long. Each time it leaped and landed, it could cover a distance of seven meters, looking like it was floating in the air.

And its gray-white hair was like a straight line across its back, the hem of its brown shroud dancing wildly. In the night, it could actually keep up with the speed of the truck.

In just a few breaths, the figure was only a few positions away from the truck. As the distance between the two sides closed, Feng Tiegen was finally able to see the figure's face clearly.

His mother.

"Ho... ho..." Feng Tiegen was uncontrollably horrified. Zhang Cuifang, who was equally terrified, pushed her husband hard and shouted, "Drive faster!"

Feng Tiegen woke up as if from a dream, ignoring his pounding heart that was about to explode, and slammed on the accelerator, leaving the Jiangshi behind.

The mountain road was winding and rugged. One side was a sturdy stone wall, and the other was a hundred-zhang mountain stream. For ordinary travel, even during the day, one had to drive cautiously. A slight carelessness could cause both the person and the car to fall off the cliff, resulting in death. What's more, it was in the middle of the night.

Feng Tiegen couldn't care about so much. His palms, soaked with sweat, gripped the steering wheel tightly, his foot switching back and forth between the accelerator and the brake.

A race against time.

The sound of running gradually became faint, and finally disappeared completely. Feng Tiegen breathed a sigh of relief and asked his wife without turning his head, "Did we shake it off?"

There was no response. Feng Tiegen turned his head to look at the passenger seat, only to see the Jiangshi with disheveled hair and a ferocious face, soaring up the sturdy stone wall with the speed of lightning, grabbing the protruding branches, climbing like an ape, and rushing to the front of the truck in a few breaths.

Before Feng Tiegen could react, the Jiangshi jumped down from the treetops. Its slender figure was as heavy as a thousand pounds, crashing down on the window of the truck's cab.

The glass shattered in response, and the vehicle involuntarily turned to the side, crashing head-on into a stone guardrail on the edge of the cliff.

The truck's steel frame twisted and deformed, making a deafening noise. Feng Tiegen, who wasn't wearing a seat belt, was thrown out of the cab, rolling and losing consciousness.

...

After a long time, Feng Tiegen woke up, blood dripping from his forehead. The skin on his face and palms was half-worn away, and every part of his body was in excruciating pain.

Disordered memories gradually pieced themselves together in his mind, and Feng Tiegen struggled to get up from the ground.

The truck's headlights were still barely on. In those two beams of light, Feng Tiegen saw his wife lying in front of the car, and his... mother.

The woman named Zhang Cuifang was already dead, her silent pupils staring at the dark night. The Jiangshi, covered in black bristles, was squatting beside her body, reaching into Zhang Cuifang's body, searching her intestines and stomach.

Literally searching her intestines and stomach.

Chewing, chewing, the Hei Zang chewed on the organs, and dripping blood slid down the front of the shroud.

The thick bloody smell filled Feng Tiegen's nostrils, making him want to vomit, but his strong will to survive made him cover his acidic mouth and turn away.

He had to escape.

His left ankle seemed to be fractured. Every step he took, the severe pain would cause Feng Tiegen's back to spasm involuntarily. He staggered, walking, walking in the dark night.

At some point, the chewing sound slowly stopped, and the Hei Zang stood up. In its gray, lifeless pupils, the figure of its son was reflected.