Volume One, Chapter 49: Illness, Traps, and People

“Let’s go,” Luo Feng called out.

Gu Ya stood up to enter the house, and Luo Bin put down his bowl and chopsticks.

“Damn it, you should come with us. I’m afraid they won’t act by the rules,” Luo Feng said again.

“All right,” Gu Ya nodded.

The three of them left their temporary shelter.

As for the direction, Luo Bin didn’t say anything. He could only infer that beyond the detour was the village; this resting spot was on the village’s edge, so going further inward should still be within the village’s domain.

Luo Feng walked ahead a few steps, occasionally glancing at the nearby trees or crouching down to carefully examine the ground.

Here, the chirping of insects and birds filled the air. Though noisy, it carried a lively energy, making the place feel less dead and oppressive. After walking for about ten minutes, no houses came into sight.

“Dad, did we take the wrong way?” Luo Bin asked awkwardly.

Since the entire area was supposed to be the village, how could there be no houses for so long? They must have gone the wrong way.

“Shh…” Gu Ya raised a finger to silence him.

Luo Feng crouched more frequently, picking up dirt from the ground, scanning the surroundings more often.

Soon, he stopped at a spot where the path grew uneven, with many raised dirt ridges. Between two ridges lay a shallow ravine.

The ravine wasn’t too deep—one could step over it easily.

Luo Feng cut down a small tree about two fingers thick beside the path, stripped its branches, and used it to probe the ravine a few times.

After a moment’s thought, he said, “Follow me. Walk in the ravine, don’t walk on the ridges.”

Luo Bin pondered: traps? Were they aimed at humans or at hunting animals?

Luo Feng already stepped forward, and Luo Bin and Gu Ya followed.

They crossed about a dozen such ridges and finally reached a relatively flat area paved with many small stones—clearly man-made.

Along the edge stood many racks, some holding animal hides. The fur was matted, and on one stick perched a bleached, eerie sheep’s skull.

Though it wasn’t a human skull, the bare bone still gave an unsettling feeling.

“They must have killed many sheep…” Gu Ya said trembling.

“Yeah,” Luo Feng nodded.

Gu Ya seemed afraid—afraid of what? So many sheep killed, what was there to fear?

Luo Bin found it strange.

Luo Feng continued walking toward the center of the clearing. Suddenly, he quickened his pace and stopped, but Luo Bin saw nothing unusual.

Luo Feng crouched down and dug through a pile of stones on the ground, revealing an iron plate.

The plate was heavily rusted, edges covered in brownish-orange corrosion.

Grasping a ring on the plate, Luo Feng grunted and pulled hard.

With a muffled sound, the iron plate opened.

A strong, musty odor wafted into their nostrils.

The smell was intense… somehow familiar!

In Luo Bin’s mind flashed a quick image.

At the Mountain God Temple, Gu Yiren had led him into a similar place—the pedestal beneath the Mountain God statue!

Square holes, the same dimness. But the pedestal’s door opened directly inward, while this was a passageway.

“Since the village chief found the lamp oil, we haven’t lived in places like this; we’ve grown unaccustomed,” Luo Feng sighed softly.

More information flooded in.

Luo Bin suddenly understood.

Right, the lamp oil was brought out by the village chief, Zhong Zhicheng.

Before lamp oil, how did villagers survive? How did they avoid evil spirits?

The hidden dark stone beneath the Mountain God Temple, the underground tunnel in this clearing—all explained everything.

Luo Feng crawled into the passage.

Gu Ya followed, and Luo Bin stayed at the rear.

The passage was about ten meters deep. When Luo Bin emerged into a slightly wider space, light appeared.

Luo Feng was lighting a candle on a pitch-black wooden table.

Soft, even light filled the underground chamber.

Suddenly, Gu Ya screamed!

She grabbed Luo Feng’s shoulder, terrified, staring fixedly toward the right.

Luo Bin turned sharply and looked too—his scalp tingled.

Against the wall lay eight skeletons!

Their eye sockets were empty and dark, nasal bones sharp. There were adults and children.

Clothes covered most of the bones, but heads, necks, hands, and feet were exposed.

Gu Ya kept pounding her chest, trembling like a leaf.

“It’s nothing,” Luo Feng said, placing his hand on her shoulder and shielding her.

Sweat trickled down Luo Bin’s temple. His eyes were filled with horror as he whispered hoarsely, “So many dead…”

Luo Feng didn’t answer. For a moment, aside from Gu Ya’s heavy breathing, the chamber fell into an eerie silence.

Luo Feng stepped forward, crouched before the skeletons, and touched their clothes.

“They weren’t killed by evil spirits,” he said.

Luo Bin nodded silently. If they had died at the hands of evil spirits, their bodies wouldn’t be so intact. The clothes would have been torn off, the bones scattered.

“Was it something else that killed them?” Luo Bin asked.

“No, not really,” Luo Feng shook his head. “They were on guard; whatever it was, it couldn’t get in.”

Luo Bin was speechless.

Luo Feng then searched the chamber.

Soon, he found several bowls beside the bodies, scraped the bottom, revealing brown powder under his nails.

“Dad… we need to leave. They died of illness… oh God, don’t let us catch it too,” Gu Ya shivered.

Luo Bin’s heart tightened.

Died of illness?

Wasn’t that a bit too rash?

Maybe only the people in this chamber had died. Elsewhere, there might be other clues.

“The village of Guishan sits at the foot of the mountain and can gather Chinese herbs. This place is mostly shrubs; the grass is all eaten up. There’s no medicine here. They had even less medical care than us. The bones have weathered for many years; there’s no way it’s contagious,” Luo Feng comforted Gu Ya.

Luo Bin gleaned more information.

Lack of medical care?

That made sense. The ointments he used for his wounds, the Chinese herbs Zhang Yunling brought, even when he was beaten and Chen Xianxian asked if he wanted to see the shaman—it wasn’t going to a doctor.

He recalled how, in his past life, even with advanced medicine, many flu and viruses still swept through cities. If people here got a severe infectious disease and all died, it was understandable.

Still, Luo Bin felt uneasy.

In recent years, Guishan Village’s efforts to explore by drawing lots were futile—they had simply entered another village and walked onto an inescapable path.

If they hoped the villagers had left, it was wishful thinking.

In reality, they had left this world forever, not just escaped this place.

“Let’s go, Xiao Shan,” Luo Feng called.

He covered his mouth and nose and began heading out.

Gu Ya did the same.

Luo Bin snapped back to reality and followed suit.

They crawled out of the hole, back to the clearing. The sun came out, dazzlingly bright.

“No need to look anywhere else. We should hurry and make it back to the second shelter in time,” Luo Feng said hoarsely.

Luo Bin scanned the surroundings reluctantly but didn’t press further.

Regarding viral infection, he felt it shouldn’t be underestimated—after all, the underground chamber was a sealed, unventilated space. If it were contagious, who knew?

“Yeah, I told the village chief to keep drawing lots and send people with proper protection. That’ll be much safer,” Gu Ya said, finally relieved.

Luo Feng retraced their steps.

Soon, the family of three returned to the place full of dirt ridges.

Luo Feng’s face darkened.

Gu Ya grabbed his arm, visibly uneasy.

Luo Bin’s heart tightened further.

On one of the outermost dirt ridges lay a man, half his body fallen into the ravine, his legs tightly bound with barbed wire!

The barbed wire dug deep into his flesh.

The man trembled and wailed pitifully.

“Save me… please save me…”

His face bore patches of white and brown—vitiligo mixed with age spots.

His hair was completely white, not a single black strand left; he was a frail old man at the end of his days.

“Save me… it hurts so much…” the old man begged, eyes fixed on Luo Feng.

“Xiao Shan, you go ahead. Go on,” Luo Feng said to Luo Bin as if he hadn’t seen the man.

Luo Bin picked up a stick they had dropped earlier while crossing the dirt ridges.

“Don’t look…” Gu Ya whispered softly in his ear.

Luo Bin avoided looking at the old man.

Though the sunlight was strong, a chill ran down his spine.

Deep in the remote mountains, an old man trapped and crying for help?

Like a demon child tricking Tang Sanzang?

Anyone with half a brain would know something was wrong.

He stepped over the dirt ridge, walked in the ravine, and moved forward. Gu Ya and Luo Feng followed behind.

“Save me… please… my wife is sick, my son and daughter-in-law are waiting for me at home… I’m bleeding… save me…”

The old man’s gaze locked onto Luo Bin, pleading more desperately.

“Damn…” Luo Bin cursed silently, trying hard not to look.

Humans have a sixth sense—once someone stares at them, even if their back is turned, they sense something amiss and look back.

Here, they were almost face to face, just on a slant.

That intense gaze made Luo Bin’s skin crawl.

Once that feeling came, he felt no sympathy at all.

Though he didn’t look directly, his peripheral vision caught the old man’s eyes—cunning and constantly darting around.

He begged, but his craftiness shone through.

No one but a fool would believe such a trick.

In the blink of an eye, Luo Bin was about to step over the last dirt ridge.

Suddenly, from the bushes and behind trees on both sides, ten to twenty people appeared in a mass—men and women—all staring fixedly at him.

Luo Bin froze.

What the hell?! So many people?!

“Xiao Shan… if you see them, just pretend you don’t. Let’s go,” Gu Ya whispered into Luo Bin’s ear.

Sweat streamed down Luo Bin’s temple again.

He stepped onto the regular path, followed by Gu Ya.

Only then did Luo Bin realize Luo Feng was missing.

At this moment, only he and Gu Ya stood almost side by side.

“Hey, are you deaf? I told you to save him! He’s been calling for you! Can’t you see him?!”

The crowd stepped forward, blocking Luo Bin’s way.

“Damn it! So cruel! That’s an old man! He’s got a wife and children waiting for him! You just stand there and watch him die? Are you blind?” another person cried out in anguish.

All eyes were fixed on Luo Bin alone!

The pressure was overwhelming.

Not just pressure—the eerie, spine-chilling feeling was at its peak!

Every one of these people, no matter their expression, had wide, sharp eyes that darted cunningly—malice plain upon their faces!

“Kid, go save him! Or you won’t leave here!”

A man pushed through the crowd. He was a full head taller than Luo Bin, glaring down at him.

Gu Ya suddenly grabbed Luo Bin’s wrist and squeezed hard.

Luo Bin was drenched in sweat, hearing Gu Ya’s earlier words echo in his mind:

“If you see them, just pretend you don’t. Let’s go.”

He took a step, passing by the tall man. Gu Ya followed closely.

As they moved forward, the crowd surrounded them, not only blocking but staring, muttering incessantly.

Fear breeds fear, and this was utterly terrifying.