Chapter 1 Out of Touch

Wei Yuan put the phone, which claimed to have signal even in the mountain gullies, back in his pocket.

At this time, the couple preparing to post selfies to their Moments, and the girl holding a laptop, also realized that the internet was down. The boy frowned and ran to argue with the village负责人(fù zé rén, person in charge).

The middle-aged man apologized repeatedly, "I'm really sorry, everyone. The rainstorm today was a bit too heavy and sudden, and some of the circuits broke. The place is too remote, so we'll fix it as soon as possible in the next couple of days."

"Of course, our place is considered a bit famous in Quan City. How could we rip off customers? No way, absolutely not..."

"Definitely a discount, 100%."

The girl carrying the laptop remained silent.

The driver, who was an auxiliary member of the Special Operations Team, pulled Wei Yuan aside, sweat beading on his forehead.

"Wei, something's wrong. This place doesn't seem like that village."

"The approximate location, and the buildings, everything is the same, but the people are different."

He paused, lowering his voice, "No signal, no internet, we, we might be in the wrong place."

Wei Yuan nodded slightly, looking around the village. There was obviously something wrong here, but he couldn't yet discern where the demonic or ghostly energy was. It seemed that whatever was lurking here wasn't a simple wandering spirit, it knew how to conceal its aura. The driver gritted his teeth and suggested that he risk going back the way they came to see the road.

If he could get out, he would find a place with signal and send a message.

The driver got into the van and sped off, but soon returned. The car was covered in rain. Wei Yuan knew from the way they came that this place was far from the city, in a remote location, but fortunately it had mountains and rivers, and beautiful scenery, so someone had invested in a rural sanatorium.

Now, the river had changed course and overflowed its banks, flooding the road.

The water wasn't deep, but the driver's face was pale. He just shook his head.

Wei Yuan looked at the tires and the front of the car. There were water marks on them. Obviously, the driver had tried to drive through the water, but had retreated. Now the water marks on the car and tires were difficult to remove. Wei Yuan reached out and touched them, feeling a burning sensation on his fingers. There was a trace of death energy remaining.

The resentment in the water marks was strong. Obviously, more than one person had died in the river.

The two men's expressions were grave. A man with a hunched back walked by the roadside, smiling.

"The river's flooded again? The road's flooded, isn't it?"

"You folks should stay here for a few more days. It's not easy to travel when the road's flooded."

…………………

Since they were here, they might as well stay.

Since the road was blocked and they couldn't contact the Special Operations Team, there was no point in being frightened.

Wei Yuan found a 民宿(mín sù, guesthouse) to stay in. This was a man-made scenic spot, and since it was a scenic spot, there was no shortage of hotels. The couple stayed in the most expensive and best hotel in the center of the village, and the driver, as an auxiliary member of the Special Operations Team, naturally stayed there too.

But Wei Yuan didn't expect that even the girl with the laptop would stay in this 民宿(mín sù, guesthouse).

And her room happened to be next to Wei Yuan's.

The owner gave them the keys. When the two opened the door, the girl just nodded to Wei Yuan, then lowered her head and went into the room, slamming the door shut and locking it. Wei Yuan shook his head and went into his room, closing the door. After thinking about it, he didn't put up any talismans.

He could handle any opponent that an evil-warding talisman could stop.

On the contrary, he rather hoped that some little ghost would come to his door.

The owner provided food and lodging, and the price wasn't high.

The food served in the evening was rather light.

Wei Yuan confirmed again and again that there was no ghostly energy before eating some fruit.

He didn't touch any of the meat or noodles.

This was experience he had gained from reading the Special Operations Team's books. When encountering strange events, the fruits were usually still fruits, but no one knew what the real form of the food and dishes were.

Even if it was just paranoia, it was still paranoia. It was always better to be careful.

The girl next to him, named Shen Jifeng, looked at Wei Yuan and followed suit, picking at some fruit.

There were actually other guests in the 民宿(mín sù, guesthouse), not just them. Apart from Wei Yuan and the others, the other travelers were eating happily and heartily. A boisterous fellow even asked Wei Yuan why he wasn't eating, saying that although the place was remote, the owner's cooking was quite good. Wei Yuan glanced at the smiling owner not far away and smiled.

"Losing weight."

After Wei Yuan went back, he found the food he had brought and made two packets of instant noodles.

Because he knew that this was related to a strange restaurant, he had brought some food.

Wei Yuan sat on the bed, took out his sword and laid it across his lap, a yellow talisman pressed on the scabbard, suppressing the evil energy in the sword. He circulated the Crouching Tiger Formula as always. He knew the principle that in cultivation, one must advance or retreat. His mind was at peace, his breathing relaxed.

The cultivation method couldn't be practiced for too long each day, otherwise it would damage the meridians. After Wei Yuan finished his practice, he closed his eyes and rested, his breathing gradually becoming longer. When he opened his eyes, he saw a house, but the surroundings were no longer the decorations of the 民宿(mín sù, guesthouse). He knew he had entered a dream again.

But this time the dream master was very weak. If he wanted to, he could easily wake up.

In this dream, there was a woman in yellow clothes, holding a boy and a girl, with a beautiful face, kneeling and bowing to Wei Yuan repeatedly, tears streaming down her face, begging for mercy.

"I have disturbed the General in this desperate situation, please forgive me, forgive me. There is a great disaster coming, and I have no way out. I live in the Luojiang River, and I have always lived and worked in peace and contentment, and I have never done anything to harm anyone. But now there is a disaster coming from the sky, and only the General in this village can save us."

"I only hope that you can lend a hand and save my family. I will remember your great kindness in my heart, and I will surely repay you by becoming a grass and tying a knot, I would never dare to deceive you."

After saying that, she begged again and again.

Wei Yuan knew that he was in a dream, and he was a little strange about the woman's identity.

After the woman begged again and again, the dream suddenly shattered.

Wei Yuan opened his eyes, feeling strange about the woman he saw in the dream. The windows were closed, but the curtains were slowly opening. It was already completely dark outside, and the whole village was quiet and silent. Wei Yuan couldn't sleep for a while. After a little meditation, he faintly heard strange sounds in the wind.

Ka-la, ka-la--

It sounded like someone was walking upstairs, and a little like the sound of steel balls colliding.

The sound quickly came to the aisle outside Wei Yuan's door, footsteps were light and silent, and the sound of conversation was even more impossible for normal people to hear, but it was clear to Wei Yuan, who was cultivated. Wei Yuan silently said 'here they come', stretched out his hand to hold the hilt of the long sword, and the Crouching Tiger Formula slowly circulated, further enhancing his perception.

There was only one person's footsteps, but there were many people's voices.

Wei Yuan counted, there were five in total.

The 'guest' outside walked to the first door, and he could hear him sniffing hard.

A voice asked, "How about this person?"

Another voice replied, "No, this person is a great philanthropist with connections."

"A philanthropist, how do you know?"

"Because this person spent a lot of money in a Taoist temple with 法力(fǎ lì, magic power) to buy a jade talisman."

The footsteps moved, and turned to the opposite side. A voice swallowed and said, "Then how about this fat guy? Thick skin and fat meat."

The voice just now replied, "No, no, this is a person with official status, it will cause trouble, no way."

There were a few sighs, and they went to another room. The voice of obstruction was faintly anxious, and repeatedly called out, "Ah, no, no, this one is even worse, this is where the famous big villain lives, isn't it just asking for trouble to go to him?!"

The other voices became annoyed and yelled, "This one won't do, that one won't do, we've been hungry for several days, it's rare for someone to come, are we going to continue to starve? If we don't have anything to eat today, we'll eat you!"

The leading voice thought for a long time, and looked at the last two houses, and said, "These two newcomers, neither good nor evil, neither blessed nor lucky, it's them two!"

Immediately there was the sound of swallowing saliva.

They muttered that the man's meat was more chewy, and the woman's body was softer, and pushed open Wei Yuan's door.

But as far as they could see, there was no one in front of them.

The ghost couldn't help but be stunned.

Just at that moment, a fierce sword light came from above, fierce and stern, and chopped down directly!

ps: The second type of demon is recorded in Yuan Mei's *Zi Bu Yu · Volume 9*.