Shanglin District, this place is considered the outskirts of the outskirts of our city, remote and secluded.
Backing onto the Dabashan mountain range, further in lies primeval forest.
The place where we got off the bus is called "Qianniao Village".
I heard before that this place had many birds and was a nature reserve.
However, looking at it now, it’s not quite like that.
Let alone a thousand birds, since entering the village, I haven't seen a single one…
"Old Qin, the navigation pointed here.
How come we haven't seen a single bird, not even a speck of bird droppings.
They call it Qianniao Village, I think it should be called Rasengan Village."
Old Mo handed me a cigarette and said with a complaint.
I nodded:
"No mistake, look, there's still a cordon line ahead.
Let's rest for a bit, and then we'll get to work!"
As soon as I finished speaking, Xiao Mei sniffed towards the forest and said with a frown:
"There's a heavy scent of corpse energy in this forest."
Old Mo exhaled a puff of smoke, appearing casual:
"It's only right that there's corpse energy, it means there's something unsettled in this forest.
Otherwise, we wouldn't be here.
I just don't know what kind of thing it is in this forest, and if it can take a beating!"
Old Mo looked confident.
Over the past three months, Old Mo might have been spurred on by Chen Yao and his Taoist skills had improved.
His lightning magic had also made breakthroughs.
He was training intensively every day, mainly to extend the duration of the "Summoning God Technique".
I didn't respond. Seeing an old man carrying a hoe walking towards us,
I went up to ask:
"Old man, excuse me.
I heard before that there was a madman in our village who bit people, right?"
The old man looked to be in his sixties, with dark skin.
He wore a straw hat and shorts, barefoot.
Hearing my question, he sized me up.
Then, in a somewhat hoarse voice, he said:
"Young man, you're from out of town!
It's getting dark, don't wander around here.
I'm telling you, that wasn't some madman.
It was a monster, man-eating, and very ferocious…"
As he spoke, the old man showed a hint of fear.
But I had come for this very reason.
I also wanted to see if I could gather any useful information.
Still smiling, I asked:
"Old man, didn't they say that madman was shot dead?
And in this day and age, where are there any monsters?"
Hearing me say that, the old man showed displeasure.
He immediately retorted:
"Young man, you're too young and don't understand many things.
The authorities said it was a madman, but in reality, he was possessed.
I saw that corpse, how could it be all rotten when it was shot dead?
That was a Jiangshi, it came from the mountains.
To tell you the truth, there are monsters in our mountains.
It's getting dark, you should leave quickly!"
The old man continued to advise, looking very serious.
Hearing this, Old Mo also became interested.
Clearly, this old man possessed some clues that Captain Li didn't know.
Old Mo stepped forward:
"Old man, tell us about it, what kind of monster?"
After speaking, he took out a cigarette and offered it.
Seeing that we were asking sincerely, and there was still some time before dark,
The old man took the cigarette, and I lit it for him.
Then I heard the old man begin:
"Our village used to be called Qiannian Village, look at it now, not a single bird can be seen.
Instead, there are many more cats.
As soon as night falls, those wild cats come out from the mountains, meowing incessantly.
Several families in the village have gone missing.
Everyone says it's the cat demon from the mountains that has appeared and comes out to eat people at night.
Especially the Old Bamboo Gully in the mountains, you must not go there…"
The old man introduced while smoking.
He also pointed towards the place called "Old Bamboo Gully".
He kept reminding us three that this place was not peaceful and urged us to leave quickly.
As he spoke, an old woman appeared not far away, with one hand on her hip.
She pointed towards us with a finger and shouted:
"Old man, it's so late and you're still not home, don't you want to live?"
The old man smoking turned green with fright:
"Hey! Coming, coming.
Young men, I'm going home for dinner.
Listen to me, don't wander around here at night, it's dangerous…"
Saying that, he picked up his hoe and trotted towards the old woman.
"Coming, coming, what are you shouting for? It's not dark yet?"
"Why don't you learn your lesson? The mountain cats will come out soon and bite you to death…"
"…"
Amidst a flurry of shouting, the two soon disappeared from our sight.
Turning back.
Xiao Mei didn't speak, she just looked into the forest, her nose twitching constantly.
Old Mo frowned and said to me:
"Old Qin, what do you think?"
I stroked my chin and looked at the forest beside me:
"Old Mo, do you still remember.
The wild cats you encountered when you last visited our village?"
Hearing this, Old Mo's eyes widened:
"Are you saying, Corpse Cats?"
I nodded:
"It's possible, cats, corpse energy, when these combine.
It's possible it's the nine-lived corpse cat that escaped from our place back then, that cat old lady."
Although a long time had passed since this incident.
I remembered it very clearly. Auntie Fox had said that.
That corpse cat had nine lives, and was killed seven times by Auntie Fox, and once by Qing Dai.
Only the last life remained.
It's highly possible that thing hid here to recuperate.
Back then, it was also how we met Xiao Mei, and obtained Auntie Fox's Hundred Herb Pill.
After I finished speaking, Xiao Mei also became serious:
"If it's that corpse cat.
Then our three people's cultivation might not be enough."
I nodded.
If it was, as we guessed, that corpse cat.
Then the problem would be serious, it wouldn't be comparable to mere corpse spirits or monsters.
And we couldn't just rush in.
That nine-lived corpse cat back then, even though it was severely injured, almost killed me.
In the end, Qing Dai had to be called, and she killed one of its lives.
So much time has passed, that corpse cat should have recovered a lot of its cultivation.
If we encounter it, we might not fare well!
Thinking of this, the situation instantly escalated, and things might be much more serious than imagined…