Chapter 113: Wild Hunt 4

There was some good news and some bad news.

The good news was that they had escaped the Uncanny Fog without a scratch. The bad news was that they—the poachers—had run straight into the village official.

After a moment of stunned silence, Third Bro came back to his senses. “Help…”

“Don’t worry, we’ll come down and get you right now!” Zhao Ling called out. Then she spun around and blocked her friends from rushing down the slope. “What are you jumping for? It’s such a steep incline—you think you can climb back up?”

The group exchanged awkward glances. One of the young men spoke up. “But they made steps, right? I saw it in the video. Saving people comes first!”

“Get back!” Zhao Ling snapped while dialing her phone. “Don’t cause more trouble. If you go down, you won’t get back up! Grab some ropes first and see if we can haul them up… I’ll call in the pros! Hello? Brother Chen?! Someone fell down the slope on the back mountain!”

That young man lay flat at the edge of the slope and shouted down. “Uncle, you guys still got any strength left? We’ll drag you up with ropes!”

Second Brother rubbed his head. “Yeah, we can manage.”

A rope came snaking down soon enough. Second Brother tied it securely around Old Five. Then five or six young men and women in their twenties pulled together, hauling Old Five up with ease. Third Bro and Second Brother followed right after, climbing up on their own.

Zhao Ling was still on the phone. “Yeah, yeah… Brother Chen, we’ve got them up already. They don’t look like they have any obvious injuries… Got it, come check them out yourself! Sure, we’ll wait!”

Third Bro had just sat down when he heard this and opened his mouth to refuse. But Zhao Ling shoved a bottle of water into his hands. “Uncle, take it easy! Don’t move a muscle. A fall like that could be serious! What if your organs ruptured? You’d drop dead the second you tried to leave! Just lie there nice and still. Brother Chen’s the shrine keeper up here in the mountains—he knows some medicine!”

“No need, really. We’re fine. The leaves down there cushioned us!” Old Five said quickly.

Zhao Ling wouldn’t hear it. “I say no, so no! Wait till Brother Chen checks you over and says you can go! Who’s taking responsibility if something happens?”

On one hand, Zhao Ling was terrified that if something really did happen to them, her conscience wouldn’t let her live it down. On the other, if these three uncles went home after this and keeled over, and their families came storming in accusing her of letting them die… oh man, she was screwed!

Besides, Brother Chen had only just started drawing tourists with his videos. If three people dropped dead right in front of everyone, Shangyang Village was done for too!

Zhao Ling shot her classmates a look and fired off a group message: “Keep them here and I’ll treat you all to wild mushrooms later.” Everyone saw it and piled on, holding the men down in a flurry of hands—shoving water at them, checking for injuries. Two kids per uncle. Unless Third Bro and his crew used some real force, they weren’t going anywhere.

What could they do? They were dazed and battered from the fall. They couldn’t just whip out the hunting rifle and start shooting people. They were poachers, not cold-blooded killers, and they weren’t ready to die yet!

Old Five tugged at Third Bro’s sleeve and whispered, “Not a bad idea. We could just head to the Mountain Lord Temple while we’re at it… Worst case, we don’t tell him. This trip’s been too damn weird. Time to pay our respects!”

Third Bro glanced back. The thick fog that had shrouded the woods was gone without a trace—he couldn’t say when it had lifted. From where he sat now, everything looked cool and refreshing, nothing like the horrifying nightmare they’d just escaped. His resolve wavered, and he nodded too.

Meanwhile, Chen Ji hung up the phone and turned to Black and White Impermanence. “Sorry about this, but we’ve got tourists in trouble. I need to go check on them.”

The guy who’d added him on WeChat could wait till midnight to sort out—or so Black Impermanence had stressed that deadline. He’d even dropped that it was half-past three in the morning, so anything before then wasn’t the real hour of death.

White Impermanence spoke up. “Want us to give you a lift?”

“No need to trouble yourselves.” Chen Ji locked his phone screen with a smile. “If you’re hungry, the kitchen’s stocked. Help yourselves.”

Chen Ji stepped outside, and the massive jet-black Yellow Weasel leaped lightly from the eaves like it weighed nothing. It dipped its head, scooped him up gently in its jaws, and tossed him onto its back before streaking off like lightning.

Black Impermanence let out a whistle. “Whoa, that’s badass. I want one!”

“Forget it.” White Impermanence took a sip of coconut water. The cool, sweet refreshment eased his features for a moment. “You’d be lucky to even touch it.”

A demon beast that had cultivated for centuries, only a notch below the Blue-Clothed Ghost Immortal—taming it as a mount would take its willing consent.

They were just Ghost Messengers from the Underworld. Chen Ji had held his post for over a century; Black Impermanence only three years. Without that official status, they might even steer clear.

Chen Ji had told Zhao Ling he was nearby, so arriving in ten minutes on Second Master Huang made sense—even cutting corners on the bends. He lingered in the woods a bit before emerging.

The moment Zhao Ling spotted Chen Ji, her heart settled. “Brother Chen, over here!”

Chen Ji strode over quickly. When he saw Second Brother, he couldn’t help raising an eyebrow. Those fierce eyes were unforgettable—and it had only been a few days. How could he forget?

Monkey and Hedgehog were still holed up at his place.

He pretended not to know them, crouching down to check them over. He squeezed their arms and legs while asking, “Any problems? Does it hurt here?”

He even went through the motions of taking their pulses one by one.

Second Brother and the others hadn’t taken any major injuries—just some scrapes here and there, nothing worth mentioning. Chen Ji spent a point to have the System Cat scan them, confirming no fractures or internal bleeding. Then he said, “Just to be safe, you should head to the hospital down the mountain for a proper check. My construction crew’s working nearby—I can hitch you down on the motorcycle?”

Second Brother looked up, meeting Chen Ji’s gaze. Chen Ji’s lips twitched in a teasing quirk. “If anything happens, we’re in deep shit. Can’t afford that responsibility.”

The implication was clear: He didn’t care what they were up to, but they couldn’t die here, and he wanted no part of it.

Chen Ji flicked his eyes toward Zhao Ling, who stood behind him chattering with her classmates.

Second Brother nodded. Chen Ji called everyone over to help the men up and escorted them to the Mountain Lord Temple.

They could hear the construction drills banging away even before reaching the temple—clang, clang, clang. For some reason, it put everyone at ease. Once they arrived, Chen Ji set Second Brother and the others up in a guest room to rest. He told the construction foreman what was up, then headed to the kitchen to whip up signature drinks and snacks for the young folks.

He knew his way around the kitchen. A little fruit jam blending turned the drinks into visual feasts, perfect for photos. For extra flair, he sprinkled on some pigback mushrooms someone had brought back. The tray drew gasps of delight the second he brought it out.

Everyone had been on edge earlier, but now that things had calmed, they finally got a good look at Chen Ji. He could look eerily chilling in his videos sometimes, but mostly he was heart-stoppingly handsome. They’d figured it was all filters. Up close, though, no one could look away.

Nothing about him stood out alone—any one feature was just okay. But put together? Indescribably striking.

Chen Ji spoke mildly. “Drinks and snacks on the house. Thanks for helping out with the rescue.”

Everyone insisted it was nothing. One bold soul leaned right in. “The videos aren’t scripted, are they? Like, for real?”

Chen Ji laughed. “No scripts, but they did pay a pretty penny…”

Laughter rippled through the group. Chen Ji chatted a bit longer, then grabbed Little Red and handed it over for them to play with before heading to the guest room. Second Brother and the others were still resting there. Chen Ji gave them a once-over and asked if anything hurt, satisfied only when they said no. Then he went back to his own tasks.

On his way out, he caught Hedgehog trying to dart inside and pinned her gently. “What’re you up to?”

He scooped her into his arms and walked off a ways. Looking up, he saw the monkey huddled in its nest, trembling.

Hedgehog’s face was hard to read, but Chen Ji somehow picked up a hint of resentment. He chuckled and tapped her head. “You’re still pregnant—take it easy. No revenge on my watch. Wait till you’re better, then do whatever.”

Hedgehog squeaked twice, and a female voice snapped from her: 【Mind your own business!】

“Whose business if not mine, here?” Chen Ji pinched her mouth shut. “No trouble on my premises.”

The moment Chen Ji left, Third Bro spoke up. “Let’s go.”

Their hunting rifle was still down at the base of the slope—they had to retrieve it. That was their guard dog and meal ticket. No way they were leaving it.

Old Five thumped his waist. “Alright, alright. We pay respects to the Mountain Lord first?”

Third Bro nodded. “Let’s move.”

Second Brother stayed quiet. Truth was, they didn’t come to these parts much—this was their first time visiting the Mountain Lord. They stepped outside, scanned around, and headed for the tallest temple building. After a few steps, Old Five suddenly pointed at a weasel lounging on the eaves. “Hey! Second Bro, Third Bro—check it out! Is that Second Master Huang?!”

Third Bro looked up. “Nah, Second Master Huang’s lighter-colored. That’s just plain brown.”

Not the target, so no interest in catching it. What was an ordinary weasel worth anyway? More hassle than it was good for.

As they walked, they scanned the Mountain Lord Temple grounds for signs of the animals from the videos. But aside from that weasel, they spotted nothing—no critters, not even a bird. Though there were a few obvious nests for cats and dogs under the eaves.

Before long, they reached the main hall. The doors stood wide open, lamps lit inside, but the air still felt thick with Yin Qi, eerie and foreboding. At the far end, the statue draped in purple silk loomed in the shadows like a chained beast, making the hair on their necks stand up.

Old Five swallowed hard. “We really going in?”

Third Bro was the first to step across the threshold. Spotting the sticks of incense fire laid out on the offering table, he drew nine of them, lit them up, and handed three to each of the others. Then he knelt on the prayer mat and bowed three times.

“Grandpa Mountain Lord, please bless us brothers on this trip—let everything go smoothly, keep us safe and sound, and help us all strike it rich…” Old Five murmured softly.

Second Brother shot him a sidelong glance before bowing as well, though his own silent prayer was different. If the Mountain Lord truly had a spirit, he hoped it would watch over his daughter and keep her healthy, protect his wife and bring her happiness, and ensure all was well with his family.

Third Bro kept his head bowed low. No one knew what he was praying for.

At that moment, a voice suddenly spoke up. “Gentlemen, would you like to draw a lot?”

The three of them turned their heads in unison. A young man was strolling in slowly. Catching their gaze, he offered them a faint smile. “I am the temple caretaker, Chen Ji.”