Even hybrid monsters have their day

Chapter 138 Prelude to the Mission: The Mysterious Shadow in the Forest

The village has a total of more than 300 households, and they have lived a self-sufficient life here for hundreds of years.

With social progress, the overthrow of the imperial system, and the influx of foreign economic resources, the domestic economy developed rapidly. Even in semi-isolated villages like Qiluo Village, many people have ventured out to work elsewhere.

They either took what they had grown or raised to sell, and on the way back they would buy some daily necessities or rare items, or they simply started doing other business outside.

In short, of the original 300-plus households, only a little over 100 remain in the village. Moreover, most of them are widowed, orphaned, or childless, with very few young people, making it a veritable village of the elderly.

Jiang Lao Er is a long-time resident of Qiluo Village. His son went out to do business a couple of years ago and made some money. He often asks people to bring him some money, so although he lives alone, he is doing quite well.

Sure enough, he got drunk again outside before heading back, staggering along the road back to the village. By then, it was already dark, and the rugged mountain path was already difficult to walk on, but being drunk made it even more challenging.

He trudged into the village, his steps uneven, but after walking for a long time, he had only moved a tiny distance. To him, the mountain path seemed infinitely long, stretching into the distance.

He waved the flashlight in his hand and chuckled. Luckily, he had this thing; even if it got darker, he wouldn't be afraid. This flashlight was a novelty his son had brought back from another province for him during the Spring Festival. He was the only one in the whole village with one, so it was quite a rare find.

Thinking of this, he gripped the flashlight tighter in his hand, as if afraid someone would come out and snatch it from him.

With it, he was no longer afraid to walk at night. With a gentle press, the light shone as brightly as day.

Today, however, it seems a bit dim. The light isn't as bright as before. It flickers with his movements as he walks. Although patting it a few times makes it bright again, it dims again after a short while.

"You...you piece of junk, you've only had it for a few days. And you're already acting like a big shot, like I'm some kind of old man. If you don't...you don't let me...you finish this journey properly today, I'll go back and...I'll soak you in water...and see how...how arrogant you'll be then." After saying that, he hiccuped, then tapped the flashlight. The flashlight's dim light flickered, then struggled to light up again.

He stroked it like a precious treasure, muttering indistinctly, "That's more like it."

Staggering, he had already reached Broken Head Ridge.

Duan Tou Ling (Headless Ridge). The name itself tells you its origin. Legend has it that not long after the village was built, a headless female corpse was discovered here.

The local government sent people to investigate, but after several days they found nothing. In addition, the journey was long, so the matter was eventually dropped.

Later, rumors began to circulate in the village that some people saw a white figure flash by in the nearby grove of trees when they passed Duantou Ridge in the middle of the night. Gradually, the rumors multiplied and became more and more vivid.

Some say they heard a woman crying. Others say they saw a body emerge looking for a head. And some even more exaggeratedly say they were walking along when they kicked a stone, and upon closer inspection, they found a perfectly round head.

In short, if you walk here in the middle of the night, you're bound to encounter something.

As for whether Jiang Lao Er was afraid of these rumors, of course he was. Under normal circumstances, he certainly wouldn't dare to walk this path in the dark. But today he had drunk some wine. Whether the saying that alcohol can embolden people is true or not, it is certainly true that alcohol can make people confused.

Besides, he had passed by here twice before when he was drunk and hadn't seen anything strange, so even though the night was particularly dark and the shadows of the trees on both sides were particularly gloomy, he didn't think anything of it.

After crossing Duantou Ridge and walking a few more miles, you'll reach Qiluo Village. Jiang Lao Er couldn't help but feel happy, and he even started humming, "What Duantou Ridge, headless female corpse? Bah! I pass by here every day."

As he was muttering to himself, his foot suddenly kicked something, tripping him and causing him to stumble forward with a "thud," falling flat on his face. The flashlight in his hand rolled far away, its faint light flickering on the grass beside him.

Jiang Lao Er tried to get up, but his hand, reaching down, bumped into something round. He spat it out and grabbed it, throwing it aside. "Damn it! Who the hell put a ball in the road? It could have killed me!"

The ball rolled away and landed right next to the flashlight.

Jiang Lao Er stood up and looked around, searching for his flashlight. He quickly ran over, picked it up, and waved it in his hand, making the light brighter. "Luckily, my treasure isn't broken, or I would never let you get away with this!"

Just then, he felt something touch his feet and instinctively shone his flashlight down. He saw a pale face staring at him with innocent eyes, and long black hair scattered messily on the ground.

"My God!" Jiang Lao Er staggered back several steps, sobering up considerably. He shone his flashlight into the nearby woods and shouted bravely, "Who's scaring me? Let me tell you, I'm not afraid!"

A gust of wind blew by, and the trees on both sides rustled softly, as if mocking his cowardice. He felt a chill on his back, and when he turned around abruptly, he saw nothing but darkness behind him. Looking further ahead, he saw the guiding lamp at the village entrance emitting a faint light, seemingly beckoning those returning home at night.

Thinking that they would soon reach the village, he didn't know whether it was to deflate his spirits or to bolster his courage, but he didn't know where the courage came from, and he kicked the ball's rolling head into the grass.

"You dare try to scare me!"

Just as Jiang Lao Er turned to leave, a strange sound came from the bushes behind him.

He knew in his heart that he should ignore everything and rush home, but his body couldn't help turning backward. It has to be said that sometimes drinking too much can easily lead to behavioral disorders.

He shone his flashlight into the bushes behind him, but then it went out of service after flashing twice. No matter how much he patted it, it could only flicker and crackle.

The sounds from the bushes grew louder. Jiang Lao Er looked over in the dim light and saw a figure slowly emerge from the woods behind the bushes, holding something in its hand.

The flashlight beam flickered on the person, making them appear especially eerie. The person wore a loose white overcoat, obscuring their gender. They slowly moved the flashlight upwards, their voice trembling as they asked, "Who are you? Why are you scaring people here?"

But when the flashlight beam fell on the upper part of the figure, he couldn't say a word and froze completely, as if he had been petrified.

Where the light shone, the place where the person should have had a head was completely dark and empty.

Before he could even process what it was, he cried out in surprise, dropped the flashlight, and ran as fast as he could towards the village. (To be continued.)