Under the big tree at the village entrance, there was a pool of blood.

The carcasses of several small animals were carelessly discarded on the ground. They had all bled to death, and their blood was smeared on the stone benches, tables, and trees.

The scene was so bizarre that everyone present felt a chill run down their spines.

Just then, a wail rang out, "Father, you died so tragically!"

The contestants on the show felt a chill run down their spines. Had someone died?

Tang Zhen rushed over and found the family wailing over the corpse of an old man.

Having dealt with ghosts and monsters for many years, he could tell at a glance that the corpse was not fresh.

I couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief; at least no one was killed.

Li Wenhe walked out from inside the courtyard gate: "This is the old man of this family. He died three months ago."

As he spoke, he frowned. He had just mentioned last night that he was going to pay respects to the old man of this family, and now the old man's body had returned home today.

Tang Zhen was somewhat surprised, "Three months ago?"

But judging from the degree of decomposition, the body was no more than a week old.

He could only conclude that the low temperature in the mountains was the reason why the body was well preserved and less decomposed.

However, those who have already died should naturally be buried in the ground for peace, otherwise it is easy for things to change and turn into evil spirits.

Moreover, the old man's body was covered in blood, which looked like some kind of strange curse, indicating that the situation had probably worsened.

Thinking of this, Tang Zhen's heart sank.

Although the host was confused, this was a hot topic, and it might be related to their mission!

So he grabbed a villager who was watching, turned on his equipment, and prepared to conduct an interview, asking, "What happened to this old man? Why did this happen?"

The villager gave him a cold look, when suddenly a rotten vegetable leaf was thrown at him from the side.

"Get out! It's all people like you who have brought disaster to the village!"

"Yes, get out of here!"

"You are not welcome!"

The host was hit with several rotten vegetable leaves and was completely stunned. Why did he suddenly turn on her like that?

When Mingzhuo stepped outside, the crowd was in a state of high spirits. The villagers were thoroughly enraged by the program crew's attitude and were pushing and shoving each other, ready to fight.

The hospitality of last night has vanished, leaving only defensiveness and hostility.

A conflict seemed inevitable.

Gu Xu stepped forward at this moment and negotiated with the villagers on behalf of the production team.

When Mingzhuo saw that Lan Jing was also there, and that Gu Xu had calmed down the villagers' anger with just a few words, he felt relieved and turned to look at the corpse and the situation at the village entrance.

Qiao Song rushed to Ming Zhuo's side immediately after the incident, determined to cling to his coattails.

He Wangyao was truly speechless; how could this person be even more afraid of death than she was?

Tang Zhen and Li Wenhe walked over, their expressions grave. "Advisor Ruan, a lot of the program's equipment has also been smeared with blood!"

This was clearly a group of people targeted at them, but they had no idea when or who they had offended.

Mingzhuo sighed: "Yes, this is a big problem."

Tang Zhen's heart tightened immediately: "Could this curse be very powerful, and bring about something?"

Mingzhuo exclaimed, looking puzzled, "No, the person involved is only half-baked, so they can't curse anyone. The trouble I'm talking about is that everyone will probably have to live a life of hardship."

The villagers were clearly wary of something and were strongly determined to drive these outsiders out of the village.

If the supply points are gone, and we have to spend our days and nights in the deep mountains and forests, wouldn't that be a huge problem?

Gu Xu's negotiation results came out in no time. The villagers were unwilling to let them stay overnight, but they gave them time to leave.

The weather isn't great today; the clouds are thick, and the air is very humid, so it looks like it's going to rain.

The group had barely left the village when Lan Jing caught up with them.

"Mr. Gu, I'm sorry, the village chief is back. There are some taboos in the village, and I really can't persuade everyone otherwise." The young man scratched his head sheepishly.

Gu Xu: "It's okay, it's not your fault. My promise to you still stands."

Lan Jing was immediately filled with gratitude, realizing that the villagers had indeed acted unfairly in this matter.

Gu Xu paused, then changed the subject, "But didn't you say cremation is common here? Why is that old man's body still there?"

Lan Jing: "That's the problem. If they don't accept it, it means there's still resentment, which will bring disaster to the village."

This statement was strange. Mingzhuo wanted to ask more, but Lanjing waved her hand and said nothing.

If we continue, we'll be touching on some taboos.

However, he added, "If you don't go down the mountain, there's a forest ranger's residence ahead where you can stay overnight. There's some rice and flour there that you can use. At night... be alert, and watch out for things coming after you."

After explaining all this, he left without looking back.

He Wangyao, not understanding, asked, "What do you mean by 'be careful something comes looking for us'? Does it refer to the person targeting us, or to wild animals in the mountains?"

After he finished speaking, he glanced at the mountains and forests, and suddenly felt that the tranquil forests had become fraught with danger.

Gu Xu looked at Luo Wenxin moving through the mountains and forests: "He probably wasn't referring to wild animals."

Mingzhuo nodded in agreement: "Professor Luo has top-notch wilderness survival skills. He even used the mushrooms he picked yesterday as an extra meal last night. If there are any signs of wild animals, he will definitely be able to spot them."

With no wild animals around, everyone immediately felt relieved.

The client, Wang Chengzhu, seemed to sense something and suddenly ran westward.

Li Wenhe glanced at Mingzhuo, and the two knew that there was a cliff to the west.

A group of people chased after them and, sure enough, saw the cliff.

But now the edge of the cliff is full of people, those villagers.

The old man's body was also laid out on the edge of the cliff. The villagers looked solemn, as if they were holding some kind of ceremony, with paper money flying everywhere.

Everyone hid and didn't dare to show their faces, lest the hard-won easing of tensions turn into hostility again.

Mingzhuo watched with great interest as the villagers completed the ceremony. The village chief then recited a few lines of lyrics in a drawn-out tone, and the villagers pushed the corpse off the cliff.

He Wangyao's eyes widened: "This is cremation? I didn't see any fire."

Immediately afterwards, the village chief picked up a torch and threw it down, and flames instantly rose from the bottom of the cliff.

He Wangyao: "..."

They really were playing with fire!

The flickering flames shone on the villagers' faces. As the fire gradually died down, the village chief sang a few more lines, presumably to let the departed souls rest in peace, and then the ceremony ended.

The villagers left quickly, leaving only the traces of incense and paper money burned on the edge of the cliff.

Several contestants stepped forward and stood on the cliff, looking down.

The fire had gone out, and the mountain wind was quite strong, giving one a dizzying feeling as if they were about to fall.

Qiao Song quickly got down and moved away from the cliff.

Tang Zhen walked over and said, "Wang Chengzhu said he dreamed about this cliff. It seems there's something strange down there. We've discussed it and are going down to investigate."

A raindrop landed on his brow; the rain had already started.