Volume 1, Chapter 38: "Those who can move mountains will be hunted."

In Gui Mountain Village, even though corpses were terrifying, having seen them a few times provided a modicum of psychological defense. Yet, a corpse is still a corpse, and when one appeared right beneath his window, Luo Bin felt a chill settle deep into his bones.

Dawn had only just broken; the sun had yet to emerge, and the village was veiled in a thin, hazy mist.

The corpse rested against his window, arms dangling at its sides. Its chest had been hollowed out, with the heart, liver, spleen, lungs, and kidneys all removed. Its mouth was agape, the tongue torn out by the roots, though the face remained relatively intact, spared by the evil entity.

Luo Bin felt an oppressive weight in his chest. To think that while he was sleeping soundly yesterday, a villager was being brutally murdered right outside his window without him noticing a thing.

His first instinct was to wake Luo Feng and Gu Ya. Then, he stiffened. Taking a deep breath, he crouched down near the body. The smell of blood washed over him as he moved the corpse’s shoulder, revealing a wall splattered with gore.

Luo Bin scanned the base of the wall meticulously, searching for any message left by Xu Kaiguo.

There was too much blood—it was deeply unsettling. Luo Bin felt a surge of panic and couldn't help but glance around; he was far too close to the body, and if other villagers saw him, there was no telling what rumors might spread.

Suddenly, his gaze locked onto something. Tucked into a clump of grass matted with blood, Luo Bin pulled out a small piece of paper, the handwriting also stained by blood.

"Those who can influence the mountain will be hunted."

It was a scrawled sentence, the handwriting identical to the one on the window last night, and the same as the one from the first night.

Luo Bin took several steps back, his eyelids twitching uncontrollably, his heart hammering against his ribs as if it might leap out of his throat.

"Xiaoshan?" A voice suddenly sounded from behind.

Luo Bin jumped, clutching his palm tight. He turned around, his face full of fear, and stammered, "Dad... there’s a dead body!"

The presence of the corpse had made Luo Bin feel oppressed and miserable, but the note and its contents had overshadowed his other emotions. It was only Luo Feng’s sudden appearance that brought him back to reality.

Luo Feng’s face was as dark as water as he stared fixedly at the mutilated remains.

After a few seconds of silence, Luo Feng said in a hoarse voice, "Go call the village chief. He should be near the mortuary by now. Run quickly; you can catch him there and get the corpse cart."

Luo Bin took off at a sprint. After brushing past Luo Feng, he bolted toward the village path.

The village was exceptionally quiet at this hour, the air filled with the scent of grass, but Luo Bin’s nostrils were filled only with the smell of blood.

He could hear the sound of a gong, growing clearer. Luo Feng’s judgment was accurate; the village chief was walking briskly, striking his gong, and was just about to pass the mortuary.

"Village Chief!" Luo Bin shouted.

Zhong Zhicheng stopped and looked back, a trace of surprise in his eyes.

Luo Bin finished the last stretch of the road, bracing his hands on his thighs, gasping for air so heavily he couldn't even stand straight.

"Someone’s dead..."

Zhong Zhicheng’s expression suddenly stiffened.

"Dead... again?"

Luo Bin could tell that this was an instinctive outburst; the stutter in his tone made it clear that his emotions had been shaken. From this, Luo Bin caught a detail: the number of deaths in the last few days was too high. It did seem that way, didn't it?

In a place with rules and constraints, even if there was an evil entity, how could people not be aware of the danger? With a thousand people in the village, if they kept dying at this rate, it wouldn't take long for the village to be emptied.

"Where?" Zhong Zhicheng’s tone returned to a cold, steady state, his face tightening into a stern mask.

"At my house, behind my window," Luo Bin replied unnaturally.

Zhong Zhicheng’s brows furrowed as he stared intently at Luo Bin.

"I... I didn't hear anything... his tongue was pulled out..." Luo Bin said hoarsely.

"What if you had heard it? Could you have opened the window to save him, or gone outside? Not hearing it is for the best." After saying this, Zhong Zhicheng walked straight toward the gates of the mortuary.

A breeze made Luo Bin’s heart feel chaotic. Right... what if he had heard it? Save him? That would be a joke. Watch him be tortured to death? That was too...

Luo Bin had wanted to think that it would be psychologically traumatizing, but in reality... he felt perhaps it would be more of a relief?

Zhong Zhicheng was already pushing the corpse cart, and Luo Bin snapped out of his thoughts to follow him.

By now, a few villagers were moving about on the road. Seeing Zhong Zhicheng and Luo Bin, they cast glances their way; some lowered their heads and walked faster, while others followed from a distance.

"Village Chief, is Zhang Li alright? He hasn't been back to cause you trouble, has he?" Luo Bin asked tentatively.

Surely, Zhong Zhicheng must be preoccupied with the death; no matter how sharp his mind, there ought to be a slight lag, right?

"What trouble would he cause?" Zhong Zhicheng didn't even glance at Luo Bin, walking straight ahead. "If Zhu Qianqian’s departure had to do with Gu Yiren, then the village helped him. His emotions were too intense, but he is at least an educated man. Once he calms down and thinks it over, he will understand. That is how the village is—people must pay a price to become calm and clear-headed."

"Does that mean he didn't come to you?" Luo Bin asked again instinctively.

Suddenly, Zhong Zhicheng stopped. Luo Bin felt a chill in his heart, as Zhong Zhicheng’s gaze was now full of scrutiny and doubt.

Luo Bin realized he had miscalculated. Zhong Zhicheng hadn't lost his composure despite the situation at hand; he remained as sharp as ever and had already detected that Luo Bin was fishing for information.

"Do you think my arrangements for Gu Yiren were inappropriate?"

"You have good intentions, I can see that. But Luo Bin, don't overdo it. You did many bad things in the past, but you don't need to make up for them like this."

"When a person’s kindness becomes excessive, it turns into foolish sentimentality. Our village needs someone with your father's personality. He also hopes you will be that kind of person. Do you understand?" Zhong Zhicheng’s words weren't sharp, but they were... earnest? Like a lecture?

Did his series of actions lead him to believe that he was trying to make amends for past mistakes?

His heart was still racing. Luo Bin lowered his head slightly and responded, "I understand, Village Chief..."

Zhong Zhicheng said no more.

Before long, they arrived at the back corner of the courtyard. There were nearly thirty people following them by now.

Luo Feng was still there, and Gu Ya had appeared by his side at some point. When she saw Luo Bin, she waved vigorously. Luo Bin hurried over, and Gu Ya stroked his hair, pulling him into an embrace and patting his back as if to comfort him.

"Are you alright, Xiaoshan?" Gu Ya’s tone was filled with concern.

"I'm fine, Mom." Luo Bin was moved once again.

The process of clearing the body had a slight difference from before; this corpse was not as badly rotted and was relatively intact. Luo Feng stepped up to help, and between the two of them, they heaved the body onto the cart.

Zhong Zhicheng covered the corpse with a dirty cloth and looked around. "The number of deaths in the village has been high and frequent lately. Excluding the two outsiders, the Huoya Zhang family, Tang Ji, and now this Wu You—that’s six people in less than ten days. In the past six months, there haven't been this many incidents. Everyone must be on high alert! Do not become complacent!"

The surrounding villagers gathered closer, their expressions wary and uneasy, whispering to one another.

Luo Bin could hear from their scattered comments that it was indeed true—the number of people killed by the evil entity was too high, too abnormal.

Zhong Zhicheng pushed the cart away, and the crowd gradually dispersed. Luo Feng went to the courtyard to fetch water to scrub the wall. Gu Ya grabbed a long broom to sweep away the bloodstains from the wall and the grass, keeping her hand over her mouth to avoid the stench of blood.

Luo Bin’s mind was a mess; too many things had piled up. Just as he tried to clear his head of the death and focus on Xu Kaiguo’s message—and the fact that he still needed to find Zhang Li—a chill ran through him. His pupils contracted sharply as he stared at the corner of the wall beneath the window, goosebumps erupting across his skin.

"Dad... haven't you noticed... that something is wrong here?" As he spoke, Luo Bin rubbed his arms, feeling a numbness spreading through his body, a chill as if he had fallen into an icy cellar.