Chapter Eight: The Strange Rabbit

At this very moment, before my eyes, the bizarre behavior of this plump rabbit felt like a heavy hammer pounding on my chest, making it hard to breathe, hard to comprehend. Suddenly, I saw the corner of the rabbit’s mouth twitch slightly, then, almost as if it were human, the corner of its mouth curled upward. It seemed to be smiling at me.

Flapping, flapping!

Seeing this scene, even though it was broad daylight, I hurriedly took a step back. An inexplicable chill rose from my back. Although Master Chen had already told me there was nothing supernatural in these old woods, witnessing such a strange sight still made it hard to accept.

A dead rabbit suddenly stiffly stood up, then looked at you like a person, even smiled at you.

Damn it...

It was at that moment that Master Chen’s voice abruptly rang out.

“Sanqi? What kind of hysterics are you having over there? Hurry up! Did you trap anything yet?”

I snapped back to reality. My body suddenly relaxed, and I turned my head, speaking urgently, “Master Chen... no... something strange has happened?”

The moment I said this, I saw Master Chen, who had been teasing Dahan, suddenly freeze one hand. He turned to look at me, furrowing his brow. “Strange? What strange thing?”

I swallowed hard again, then shakily raised my hand, blindly pointing at the spot where I had set the first trap. “The rabbit... the rabbit... it stood up!”

Master Chen’s expression suddenly grew exceptionally serious. Without saying a word, he stood up. Yet, as he walked over beside me and looked at the trap, his face showed no change; instead, he looked at me with confusion. “Sanqi? Are you seeing things again? What nonsense—rabbits standing up?”

I was stunned and looked back at the rabbit. To my shock, the rabbit that had just looked at me like a person and smiled had now returned to how it appeared when I first saw it—lying stiffly on the ground, completely lifeless.

My breath became frantic.

How... how was this possible? Just a moment ago... just a moment ago that rabbit was staring straight at me.

Master Chen also sensed something was off. After glancing at me, he muttered, “Stay right where you are! I’ll go check!”

“Okay... okay...” I was stunned for a moment, then nodded repeatedly.

After all, I was only sixteen back then, a young lad full of vigor, and though I had learned many skills from the old hunters, I was still afraid of ghosts and supernatural things.

I stood still, watching Master Chen walk over.

He first examined the trap, then picked up the rabbit from the ground and flipped it in his hands. After confirming there was no problem, he turned to me. “Sanqi? Are you sure you didn’t missee? This rabbit is dead cold through and through! The corpse is cold—how could it possibly stand up?”

I hurriedly replied, “Master Chen, I’m not joking! I really... really saw it...”

But before I could finish, Master Chen suddenly shot me a sharp glance.

I was taken aback, quickly realizing, so I shook my head and whispered, “Maybe... maybe I just misremembered.”

Master Chen’s expression softened a bit. He looked at me and said, “Hmm. Sanqi, I know you’re really upset about Dongjia’s death, but right now, what you need most is... to be strong!”

“Yeah, I know.”

Master Chen looked around, then said, “We can’t stay here! I have an idea of a place, but I’m not sure if it still exists.”

I was surprised. “Master Chen, you have a place in mind? Where?”

Master Chen began explaining as he packed up.

It turned out that in these old woods, hunters often built simple huts called “paired houses.”

These huts had doors without locks, only secured by a small wooden stick, so anyone passing by could enter. Inside, there were plenty of supplies—meat, rice, flour, wine, and so forth. Once inside, people could eat whatever they wanted, but absolutely must not touch the pelts or medicinal herbs stored there.

You see, aside from hunters like Master Chen who were hired by the landowner, other wild hunters ventured into the forest mainly to trade pelts and herbs for money. Those who entered these huts could eat and drink to their heart’s content but had to leave whatever they brought with them as a contribution to those who came after.

Thinking about it now, though the forest was full of wild beasts, the sense of humanity here was sometimes stronger than in the outside world. The paired houses could, in a way, be seen as a precursor to the concept of “sharing.”

Hearing this, I asked in surprise, “Master Chen, can we really eat and drink freely once inside these paired houses?”

He nodded, then shook his head again. “We’re going there mainly for shelter and food, then to figure out how to get out. Having a place to stay in these deep woods is already lucky. Otherwise, if we run into hungry beasts, just with our single shotgun, it won’t end well.”

“Understood!”

We packed up, and Master Chen handed me a bow, saying, “Take this bow! Keep it for self-defense! Also, get the wire ready; we’ll need to hunt once we’re inside the mountain.”

“Got it!”

As we left, I turned my head to look once more at the hut. Inside...

Lived an evil god.

Suddenly, I saw that Master Chen had tossed the rabbit's body at the wooden hut’s doorstep...

“Master Chen!?”

I called out instinctively.

But Master Chen said nothing. He gripped my arm tightly and said firmly, “Don’t look back! Keep moving!”

“Okay!” I was puzzled.

Using my peripheral vision, I glanced back and saw, to my horror...

The rabbit’s body was writhing again, as if alive, wriggling as it stood up...

Gritting its teeth.

I fixed my gaze on Master Chen’s back, following him without daring to look back again.

After walking for more than ten minutes in the forest, Master Chen suddenly stopped. I wasn’t prepared and bumped into him.

Immediately, I was about to ask what was wrong, but Master Chen clamped his hand over my mouth and muttered sternly, “Don’t speak! Sanqi!”

I had no idea what was happening.

But when I saw Master Chen’s eyes fixed intently on a small hill not far ahead...

Following his gaze, I saw several thumb-sized hornets buzzing around a flower.

Looking closer, my heart froze.

Those were killer bees.