Chapter 34: The Mountain Demon

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Think about it: you are sleeping soundly in a silent, eerie old-growth forest when you suddenly feel thirsty. Half-awake, you go looking for some water—but the instant you open your eyes, you discover a huge, furry human face staring fixedly at you, utterly motionless.

...

I was nearly driven to the brink of collapse. Seeing such a thing without the slightest warning, I instinctively opened my mouth to scream.

At that moment, Qiyang, who had been lying beside me, suddenly kicked me. Then he pressed his body tightly against mine, and those hands of his—already almost shriveled—shot up and clamped firmly over my mouth.

“Don’t speak!” he whispered against my ear, his voice unbearably hoarse.

Strangely, all my panic vanished at once. I glanced sideways at him from the corner of my eye.

Moonlight streamed through the window and spilled across his face.

After who knew how long, I gently patted his withered hand, signaling that I would remain silent.

He slowly released me, then leaned close to my ear again and whispered, barely audibly, “Don’t say anything. That thing... is checking whether there are any living people in the room. As long as you keep quiet, you’ll be fine.”

I nodded and turned my gaze back toward the furry face pressed against the window.

How could something like this exist in the world?

Because the creature was plastered so tightly against the glass, I could not make out its features clearly. But from its outline, it was unmistakably a human face—one of enormous size.

When it smiled, its mouth kept opening and closing...

I swallowed and instinctively held my breath, staring at it without blinking.

After an unknown length of time, the face on the window slowly retreated and vanished completely...

Seeing this, I was just about to breathe a sigh of relief when Qiyang’s voice sounded beside my ear again.

“Don’t move!”

Before I could figure out what was happening, the furry face that had disappeared from the window suddenly reappeared, pressing itself against the glass once more.

My eyes widened.

Good grief...

Was this thing actually human or a ghost? It even knew how to double back and catch us off guard!

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Dahan, who had been standing beside me all this time, turned his head to look at it, but made no move.

The face’s mouth opened and closed repeatedly, as though it were checking whether anyone was inside the room. After who knew how long, once it had confirmed that the room was empty, it...

left again.

Even then, I still didn’t dare move a muscle. Damn it!

This thing was completely absurd. It looked like a human, but it was clearly not one.

Nearly half an hour passed before Qiyang finally let out a faint sigh of relief.

“Old Chen, it should be gone. Light the lamp.”

“Mm.” Master Old Chen’s voice came from the darkness.

Only then did I realize that Master Old Chen had not been asleep either.

As the kerosene lamp illuminated the room, I slowly sat up and saw that Master Old Chen was sitting on the bed, clutching a hunting rifle and staring fixedly at the window.

Qiyang struggled to rise. After the two men exchanged a glance, neither spoke for a moment.

The room was utterly silent. Master Old Chen tossed each of us a cigarette.

Qiyang’s hand had been badly injured. After two days of rest, it still looked as shriveled as before, but he was now capable of making simple movements.

The three of us sat facing one another, smoking. In the end, I could not hold back any longer and spoke first.

“Master Old Chen, what exactly was that thing?”

Old Chen turned to look at me. Beneath the dim, yellow lamplight, he spat out two words, one at a time:

“A mountain demon.”

My heart lurched.

A mountain demon?

Back when I was at the hunting grounds, a hunter from the mountains had once told me, “In the old forest, you would rather encounter wolves than a mountain demon.”

That hunter had spent many years traveling through the old forest. He said that mountain demons possessed human faces but the hearts of beasts.

In the old forest, they used every sort of trick to lure people into their grasp, then devoured them. He had even claimed that mountain demons could command tigers to do their bidding.

I vaguely remembered that when I first heard the story of mountain demons, I slept badly for several nights. Whenever darkness fell, I dreamed of a massive mountain demon riding atop a fierce tiger and chasing me relentlessly through the wilderness.

As time passed, I had nearly forgotten all about it.

And now... Master Old Chen was telling me that the thing outside had been a mountain demon.

My memories surged through my mind like a rising tide.

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“Old Chen, I feel like we can’t stay here any longer!” Qiyang suddenly said as he smoked.

But Old Chen merely raised his eyes and glanced at him before shaking his head.

“We can’t leave. With the weather as it is, heavy snow is probably not far off. If we leave this place, where would we go? Food, clothing, shelter—everything would become a problem.”

Qiyang looked at him and spoke softly.

“Leave the Great Khingan Mountains.”

Old Chen shook his head decisively.

“We can’t leave. Qiyang, there are things you don’t understand. Compared with the outside world, the Great Khingan Mountains are the safest place.”

“But this place has already been targeted by a mountain demon. If we stay here...”

Old Chen gave a cold laugh.

“Even being targeted by a mountain demon is safer than being outside.”

Qiyang froze.

He stared at Old Chen. “Damn it, Old Chen, what’s going on with you? You’re saying it’s safer to be targeted by a mountain demon than to be outside? What, have you committed some terrible crime? Are you planning to hide in the old forest forever?”

Old Chen flicked away his cigarette butt, picked up the gourd of liquor beside him, and took a long drink. Then he murmured, “If I had merely broken the law, that would be easy enough. My affairs are far more terrifying than that. Qiyang, there are some things you don’t need to know. Knowing too much will do you no good.”

Qiyang glanced thoughtfully at Old Chen but said nothing.

...

I knew that the most likely reason Old Chen refused to tell Qiyang was that he feared certain matters might affect him.

But then again, we were in the Great Khingan Mountains, where we had no choice but to live with our heads on the line. We truly had no idea when we might die here.

The sky was beginning to brighten, and all kinds of birds were calling outside the cabin.

Master Old Chen slung the hunting rifle over his back, while I carried the bow and arrows. Just as we opened the cabin door and prepared to leave, Master Old Chen stood with his back to Qiyang and said, “Qiyang, your arm has basically healed. The blizzard is coming soon. If you can, leave the Great Khingan Mountains as early as possible. This place... is about to become something else entirely.”

After saying that, Master Old Chen did not hesitate. He led me straight into the frost-covered old forest.

Our destination was—

The other group of hunters who were pursuing us.