Chapter 46: Everyone has their own strengths. I won’t tell anyone else about your fear of the dark…
The ancient forests of Shangshuang Mountain are home to a variety of spirits. While they clearly exist, they never reveal themselves to spiritualists. Both sides maintain a tacit understanding of peace, refraining from causing any interference.
But until yesterday, that peace was broken.
Ling disguised herself as Shi Can and wanted to take Lin Zhuyue to some unknown place, but fortunately Lin Zhuyue saw through her plan.
With this previous experience, Shi Can and Lin Zhuyue did not separate again.
After arriving at D7, they spent some time exploring the entire area, using their compasses. After confirming there were no unusual paranormal activity, they returned to their backpacks and, back to back, cast their fishing rods.
Lin Zhuyue originally thought that he would return empty-handed today as well.
But at noon, the float attached to her fishing rod began to move. Soon, a huge force was transmitted from the fishing rod, pulling Lin Zhuyue, who was eating snacks, almost toppling over.
Lin Zhuyue tried to steady herself: "Shican!"
Shi Can threw away his fishing rod, stood up quickly, and took the fishing rod from Lin Zhuyue's hand.
He struggled against the huge force coming from the fishing rod. After a moment, he took two steps back while pulling the rod, and lifted the rod upward with force. With his terrifying pulling force, he fished out the thing lurking underground.
It was a human-shaped creature, its body surface rotten and covered with long and short green and yellow hairs. A layer of ochre-colored particles hung on the hairy mycelium, which looked more like fungal spores than soil.
As soon as it was hooked to the ground, it immediately struggled to escape.
Ever since being frightened by the wildfire, running away and hiding have become its instincts.
Shi Can called out, “Partner, get started!”
Lin Zhuyue was ready long ago.
Tiny golden petals drifted in the mountain breeze, exploding like fireworks the moment they touched the ancient corpse. The golden, intense yang fire ignited the yin energy, burning fiercely and reducing the ancient corpse to a pitch-black, shrunken form.
The golden amber fire destroyed the magic that the corpse-drivers from Shangshuang Village had cast on the ancient corpse. After the blaze died down, the ancient corpse curled up on the ground, charred and motionless.
Shi Can took out a folded storage bag, unfolded it, put the ancient corpse in it, and zipped it up.
After collecting the ancient corpse that he had worked so hard to catch, he took off his gloves and threw them into the trash bag, then changed into a new pair.
“It feels much cleaner after burning it once.”
Shi Can took out an incense burner and placed it next to the bag containing the ancient corpse. He picked up a stick of incense, lit it, and inserted it into the incense burner. He said solemnly,
"Senior, I don't know the year you were born or died. But it's fate that we meet here. I'm willing to do my best to see you off. May you rest in peace."
As he spoke, something heavy that had been attached to the ancient corpse seemed to become lighter. It rose up in the mountain breeze and dissipated with the wind.
Lin Zhuyue asked doubtfully, "What just left?"
"It's resentment."
Shi Chan knelt beside the storage bag and said,
"Although their souls have long since departed, their bodies have been stolen years after their death and transformed into zombies. Unable to rest in peace, they will harbor resentment. If the resentment is too deep, these zombies will not only flee underground."
Lin Zhuyue asked: "Can it suck blood?"
Shi Can picked up the fishing rod again and nodded:
"Yeah, they suck the blood of people and animals, never satisfied, and won't leave until their blood is completely drained." "I'll keep fishing. Maybe I can catch another one before returning to camp. You take a break, and keep an eye on the incense burner. Don't start a fire. If you set fire to the mountain, our careers as spiritual masters will be over."
Lin Zhuyue watched carefully as the incense sticks in the incense burner burned out.
She unscrewed the mineral water bottle and drank a few sips, then ate some baked oatmeal and dried fruit, which was enough for her lunch. She picked up the fishing rod again and sat back to back with Shi Chan, trying to catch another dried corpse.
But until evening, no second ancient corpse was caught.
The two of them disassembled and folded their fishing rods, packed their luggage, and returned to the camp with the ancient corpse in its bag. On the way back, they passed a mountain stream.
The water in the mountain stream was shallow but clear, and at a glance one could see many small fish and shrimps. A black and white snake with rings quietly crawled over the rocks and into the stream.
"It's Brother Yinhuan..."
Shi Can was a little panicked and pulled Lin Zhuyue around the mountain stream.
"Let's go, stay away. We can't afford to offend you. Watch your step. There's more than just one poisonous snake in this place."
Lin Zhuyue stared at his feet nervously, looking three steps ahead, and said:
"Don't scare me on purpose. I'm afraid of snakes."
"Why would I scare you?"
Shi Can jumped off the rock, turned around and stretched out his hand to help Lin Zhuyue, whose movements were not as agile as his, and said,
"That mountain stream is one of the few water sources in the mountains. Most animals in the mountains live near water. Snakes, in search of food and survival, will actively head for water sources."
"Every night, in places like mountain streams, wars based on the food chain often unfold."
After landing, Lin Zhuyue took the initiative to walk ahead, holding the wooden stick, helping Shi Can, who had already shouldered most of the team's weight, to scout the way. She explored the route with extreme caution, so the two of them were a little slow in their return to camp.
"To be honest, I'm a little concerned..."
Lin Zhuyue dodged the short-tailed viper buried in the leaves and said,
"Snakes don't seem to have very good hearing. How do they find water?"
"They have a good sense of smell, can sense vibrations, and have thermal imaging. Not only them, but almost all creatures in the mountains have the ability to find water."
Shi Can walked behind Lin Zhuyue and said,
"Animals in nature often possess unique abilities. For example, many wild beasts possess a highly sensitive sense of smell, exceeding even that of humans. Many animals can also change color, becoming adept at camouflage..."
"Have you seen Animal World?"
“I’ve seen it, but I’ve forgotten a lot.”
Lin Zhuyue stopped exploring and folded her arms, saying,
"I have an idea now—just as you said, there are many things that only animals can do, but humans can't. So, is the search for ancient corpses the same?"
Shi Can stopped, lowered his head, looked into Lin Zhuyue's bright and lively eyes, and asked:
"What do you want to do? Tell me in detail."
"The ancient corpse that's so difficult for us to find might not be particularly difficult for other spirits in this mountain. There are many spirits and monsters in Shangshuang Mountain. They must have different abilities. Who knows, some of them might be very good at finding ancient corpses."
Lin Zhuyue raised his head and said,
"I've always felt that the Spiritual Master's Mansion's repeated searches weren't quite right. If I can't find something no matter how hard I try, why bother trying so hard on my own? Isn't it the right thing to do to ask someone more skilled in finding things to help?"
Shi Can raised his hand and pinched Lin Zhuyue's cheek, saying:
"You really dare to think so. If Master knew about this, he would definitely scold you. After all, the style of the Spiritual Master House has always been very rigid and conservative. Spiritual Masters are never allowed to contact mountain spirits in the mountains."
"but--"
Shi Can laughed and said:
"I hate the rigidity and conservatism of the Spiritual Master's Mansion the most. I like innovation and efficiency. I think your proposal is great. We can give it a try."
Shi Can reached out to Lin Zhuyue:
"But, it seems like the spirits in the mountains rarely interact with humans... What should I do? Try to capture one gently?"
Lin Zhuyue patted his palm, unfolded the map, and looked for the way back to area D6:
"Didn't someone approach me yesterday?"
Shi Chan withdrew his hand in frustration.
He held out his hand for Lin Zhuyue to hold, not for a high-five. …But a high-five would have been nice too.
The two people who were supposed to return to the camp changed their direction with strong flashlights. After walking for a while, they slid down a slope and took a shortcut back to the D6 area.
Lin Zhuyue took out the compass, holding a wooden stick in one hand and the compass in the other, and according to her memory of yesterday, she slowly walked along the road that had made her encounter a dilemma.
"Are you scared?"
Shi Can walked beside Lin Zhuyue and asked,
"It's already dark, and this forest looks pretty scary."
"Are you afraid?"
Lin Zhuyue paused for a moment and asked,
"Would you like to hold my hand and walk with me? Don't worry, I won't tell anyone that you're afraid of the dark."
Shi Can: “……?”
Although he hasn't hooked up with other girls, isn't his partner a little unusual? He doesn't play by the rules at all.
As they walked, they saw from a distance a figure dressed in black, standing under a tree with its back to them. The figure was very light, swaying in the wind, as if it would break into petals and be blown away by the wind at any moment.
Shi Chan asked, “Is it him?”
Lin Zhuyue nodded.
Although his appearance was different, Lin Zhuyue could feel that his aura was exactly the same as that of "Shi Can" from yesterday.
"Thank you for being willing to see me, Immortal."
Lin Zhuyue took a half step forward and said,
"I came back this time because I need the Immortal's help with something."
The figure slowly turned around. He was wearing a black Tang suit, his skin pale, and his soft, yet somewhat seductive face covered in a few tiny scales. His eyes were golden, emitting a glow even in the darkness, and his vertical pupils reflected the figures of Lin Zhuyue and Shi Can.
"It doesn't seem right to ask for help right out of the gate."
Shi Can pondered for a moment and said,
"How about this, first tell me what you were trying to do by disguising yourself as me and seducing my partner yesterday? If your request isn't excessive, we can satisfy it."
"We'll meet your demands first, and then you can help us, okay? I really don't want to spend the New Year in the mountains."
Ling made a request without hesitation:
"I hope you can restore peace to Shangshuang Mountain. It's been very noisy lately, with spiritual masters coming and going. My family and friends are feeling very uneasy."
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