Chapter 16 : Looking For The Forest Ghost

This evening was even colder than usual, a whistling wind fell on the branches of the trees and hit the thatched roof until some debris came through the cracks. The faint light from the lamp had gone out because the fuel had run out and he hadn't refuelled. A slender figure in a heavy jumper lay under a blanket tossing and turning restlessly.

Or because he had been thinking too much since he came back from watching Mima's exorcism and he was having after-effects and he was thinking about the "forest ghosts." the villagers had encountered and he had a fever.

The sound of bullets and the trumpeting of the mice became quiet, further adding to the atmosphere of extraordinary loneliness. He clutched his hands tightly around the blanket and then mentally hypnotised himself to sleep but when he could have drifted off to sleep, he heard a sound from the basement. The young man's mind was fully awake, he tried to hear it again but the sound was silent... He tried to force his eyes shut, because he was afraid to open them at that moment. Suddenly, the long still wind blew through the window, making a creaking sound, like the footsteps of something slowly creeping up the hut.

He recited the charm over and over again, when he felt it coming closer and closer until a large black shadow crossed his head, the horrific images of ghosts from movies he had watched were now so clear in his mind, that it made Tian want to scream out loud.

"I know you're still awake."

The raspy voice and warm breath sprinkled in his ears made Tian decide not to take it anymore, he grabbed the only weapon at hand, then closed his ears and closed his eyes and threw the pillow at his target but he suspected the giant dead ghost was an old basketball player, so he could catch it very accurately.

Before the terrified man could open his mouth to curse, the light from the torch came on and the dark figure in the familiar camouflage uniform was seen, the dark, sharp face with a frown emanating a more frightening light than any gargoyle.

"Captain, oops, what are you doing here without a word?" said Tian, rubbing his chest to settle his frightened heart.

"I saw that all the lights were out at 11pm, not your style, so I was afraid something might happen." Phupha threw the pillow back at the volunteer teacher who was sitting cross-legged on the mattress with his mouth open but when I came up, I saw someone lying awake with his hands folded as if possessed by a ghost. reciting a charm.

"You're the one possessed by a ghost! Why do you come in the middle of the night, you're scaring people to death…"

Tian looks on anxiously.

Just a little more scraping, there could be trouble with the death of an officer in a handsome volunteer teacher's dormitory.

"The weapon was a pillow. What a terrible death--" Phupha shook his head until a murderous look swept over him.

"See that there's nothing to go back to, I have to get up at 5am tomorrow."

"What's the point of waking up early, even when you're teaching, you don't work that hard."

"Longtae invites me to the vegetable fields, and feels like he's going to teach me to teach tea."

Bianglae Khama's son he's back, so close in age probably will be close soon, "Don't take your brother around haha, Longtae is a good boy, good at his studies, always got a royal scholarship."

"What do you think of me as a person!"

The other man didn't answer but the way he rolled his eyes made Tian very angry. He stood up and immediately took his sturdy arm and dragged him to the door.

"You can go back, I'm going to bed."

"I know." The officer raised his hand to indicate his willingness to retreat but then turned abruptly and said, "Is your fever gone?"

"Yes."

"Prove it first…", the angular face dropped so fast, that it was too soon to realise what was happening and the thick lips were pressed into a soft kiss on the smooth forehead.

"Good night, teacher." The low whispers faded with the cold wind, leaving only the warmth of the touch spreading in the hearts of those who stood still.

Tian watched the visitor disappear into the darkness, slowly lifting his hand to touch his forehead, the skin of his pale cheeks sizzled to a pale pink, the warmth of the air in this refreshingly cold atmosphere made him dizzy.

Suspected that the fever was coming back.

The sky was beginning to lighten, all the chickens were competing with each other to make long crowing sounds along the road in Phabandao village, Longtae turned to look at the man who walked slowly alongside with his mouth open and yawns without stopping.

"Are you OK, Phii? Did you lose sleep last night?"

"Someone messed up when I was about to fall asleep--" replied Tian in a very sullen tone, it wasn't enough to mess up in the middle, he found something to make him lie awake even more!

"Who? Coming to wake you up in the middle of the night."

"Captain Phupha, came out in the dark, I thought the ghosts that had been exorcised during the day had come to haunt me."

Longtae's eyes widened in confusion as he listened, although he had heard from his father that the volunteer teacher was under the care of Captain Phupha, he did not think he would be so close to him.

"You are very close."

"Not really…", Tian replied pointing to the steps of the tea garden in front of him to divert attention, "Wow, someone's here before us."

Teenagers rush to pick up the pace to follow the slender man running down the steps in a T-shirt with warm jacket and warm trousers, the new volunteer teacher stops to stand among the lush tea trees, then stretches his arms out, inhaling the fresh air to fill his lungs.

It used to be seen from afar but when standing here, Tian saw how vast the terraced tea plantations were, stretching to the other side of the mountain.

The vanished Longtae returned with a woven basket and held it out to Tian, "Ready, Phii?"

He took it in confusion and then wrapped his arms around the basket, following the village chief's son, "Hey, no scissors to cut with?"

"By hand of course--" Longtae smiled at the disbelieving man, "It is easier and faster to use scissors but you can't choose the shoots you want and thus the quality of the tea is not up to standard."

Meaning that the tea here is of high quality.

"Most of this oolong tea came from China but ours is a Taiwanese variety, it has a soft aroma, good taste, so the middlemen compete for price and when the good stuff is taken and sold, the profit increases."

The poor villagers were still poor, because they didn't have enough knowledge to see through their cheating ways in time, Tian sighed deeply and even if he stood up against it, the school was burned to the ground. If everyone had risen up in protest, would the whole village not have been burned? He was still weighing it up in his mind.

Longtae took the new labourers down a different path without disturbing others and then began to teach, although he rarely stayed in his hometown, he had grown up on a tea plantation, so the best tea expertise was guaranteed to be no less.

"Phii look at the lush tips, when picking, let the few leaves that are slightly next to the shoots be like this, remember, always pick immediately, Phii, otherwise the leaves will go to waste."

Tian nodded and took action, his gesture was so silly that the older girls and maidens who were watching covered their mouths and laughed. Tian tried right and wrong until he dropped a lot of tea leaves until he knew the right weight for his hand and he began to feel a little funny.

The first rays of sunlight appeared on the horizon, brightening up the dark landscape. The volunteer teacher looks down and up to pick up the tea and put it in the woven basket on his back, about a third of the way up. The slender figure raises her arms, then twists them from side to side in a sore and tired manner.

"After only a few hours, my back hurts, how do you work like all day?"

Longtae stretches his body to the height of tea from above, smiling gently at the other's odd movement, "... I'm used to it. I'm used to it, we've been farming with labour since we were kids.

"

"Shout, no more studying now, what are the kids doing, do you know?"

"Most of them are probably helping around the house, feeding the pigs and chickens. In a few minutes, I'll come and help you dry the tea."

"Silly question, why waste time drying tea leaves? Can't we make hot water with fresh ones?"

It's not as if city folk know everything, so Tian isn't shy about asking questions that sound like this.

"The villagers replied knowledgeably, tea leaves will have this aroma if they are not heated, roasted and kneaded. "Does that mean that apart from drying the tea leaves in the sun, they then need to be roasted and kneaded?"

"Yes but these processes are the business of the factory."

Tian scratched his neck, something else seemed to be going through my mind "It weighs less when it's dried, why not sell it freshly cut?"

"Has Phii ever heard of the term 'processing to add value to a commodity'?" Longtae smiled, not bored by Tian's excessive questioning, "If we cut it fresh and sell it, it's as if we're selling it from cost as ordinary raw material. But if we dry it and waste a bit of time, then the people who come to buy from us can skip this step and go on to the next step of processing, we help them process it, which makes our goods more expensive."

People who have heard long academic explanations stand there speechless, he can't help but raise his hand, applauding in admiration, because he really deserves the Royal Scholarship. The volunteer teacher stepped closer, gave him a few pats on the thick shoulder and said.

"You must be a good assistant." and walked over to the shyly smiling girl collecting tea leaves, leaving the young Akha man looking on in confusion as usual.

It is already after nine o'clock, although the sun is not yet strong but the constant physical work forces Tian, who has a full jumper to take it off because of the heat. Longtae's long, thin arms were raised to wipe the sweat from his forehead, while he helped others spread the fresh tea leaves on the huge woven sieves that are placed in rows on his shoulders. Longtae said it took about four to six hours for the leaves to dry and then almost 16 hours to move slowly to the shady shore.

Every day is exhausting to get the money and you don't get more than a few hundred per kilo, like this, what kind of people can get rich?

Tian rubbed his stomach, which was beginning to growl in protest, he turned from side to side to ask Bianglae Khama's son to go back with him to find something to eat but then saw him talking to the villagers with a nervous expression.

"Is there something wrong?"

Longtae turned to the man who was whispering behind his back, he was hesitant to tell him but he said it anyway "Phii, don't say we're superstitious but an uncle came to tell me that in the neighbouring village, someone had met the forest ghosts again."

Tian didn't know how to comment on this, so he jokingly asked: "Why is it so crazy these days? Thought it was the same invisible body."

"Not really. I saw people saying that before they met it they smelled like hay floating on fire, after a while they started to see some sparks and some walking noises, the last person they met he had a head fever like the one yesterday, Dad told me he saw a scary face.

Tian's eyes were downcast, then he rolled back and forth as if he were thinking hard, his thin lips were tightly pressed but soon he looked up and met the younger man's eyes.

"Have you ever tried marijuana?"

"Ha--" Longtae exclaimed incomprehensibly, then added: "Never. The former marijuana plantations have been completely cleared for oolong tea plantations but the older generation may have smoked some."

Tian smiled, his eyes sparkle, so much so that it's creepy.

"I get it, let's go ghost hunting together, I think I know what it looks like."

The design of the new school building did not alter the specifications and structure of the original building much, the engineering students simply relied on adjusting the scope of the roof, making it more practical. For example, more zinc chains for shading and higher roof angles for air circulation.

With the cooperation of the military, the basic construction tools were ready and a few engineers in casual clothes and khaki green collared t-shirts helped to measure the length of the ground and determine where to place the wooden posts to ensure that the building would not be blown away by the strong winds on the cliff face.

Tian sat cross-legged in the shade of a large tree discussing construction information with Yod, who had come to help.

"Last time the building was finished in a few days, teacher. But this time the soldiers may not be able to help much, the work may take longer." The old man complained, a trace of fatigue on his tanned face, like a man with insomnia.

"Why are you so busy these days?" Even Captain Phupha has disappeared, not knowing if there is any danger, the volunteer teacher stared into the distance with worry.

"The agents smell something bad in the forest, so they have to set a new patrol route to get further in the forest.

"That's really tiring."

"It's okay, teacher. It is the duty of the army to protect the people and the country." Yod smiled gratefully at Tian, causing the man sitting next to him to smile in response and to feel proud too.

"You say it smells bad, is it about the ghosts and spirits that the villagers have been encountering in the forest lately?" asked Tian, pretending to be casual in order to test the waters.

"Do you know about this too?" The old soldier had a serious expression.

"It's a ghost thing, a man from this village saw it the other day, he was trembling and I went to see someone perform an exorcism." He laughed loudly, like it was funny until Yod's expression seemed to lighten.

"It doesn't matter, the villagers may be frightened themselves, what smells bad is that the border patrol police are seeking cooperation that there may be criminals hiding in the forest." Teacher, don't go looking for anything else and don't go deep into the forest," Yod urged the concerned volunteer teacher. "Because apart from the criminals who don't know exactly where they are, animals are everywhere."

Hearing this and secretly sweating profusely, Tian turned around and walked in the other direction and then came across the tall bodies of the Akha people in their traditional costumes carrying lunch boxes and bags full of who knows what.

"Longtae, this way!" He greeted him immediately and ran to help get the stuff.

Tian looked at the bag with the many woven bags and lunch boxes and water bottles and asked, "Did you bring it here to feed the whole army?"

"Dad told me to bring the rice to share with my soldier brother."

Longtae spread the flat over shoulders folding mat in the shade, then took food out and arranged it. There was roast pork, coleslaw, tinned fish and, as always, the obligatory vegetables in chilli sauce. Yod looked at the clock and decided to walk over and call the subordinates to rest, then Tian took the opportunity to turn and whisper to the teenagers.

"Let me ask, how did it go?"

The village chief's son said with a sad face, "We went seven or eight kilometres north to the waterfall, it's a dense forest where we don't normally go that far but this winter was drier and colder than ever, so we went deeper in to look for mushrooms and herbs."

Tian used Longtae to ask for details of the man who had been worshipped by the ghost, including all the people he had seen and threatened him not to tell his father again, Longtae felt overwhelmed, then he spoke up and said forbid it, guarding Tian as his father had entrusted him to care for him but Tian just didn't listen to him and went along with the story in a perfunctory way.

"When is the village headman going to town for the seminar?" Tian asked in order to reconfirm the plan.

"In a couple of days but Phii…" Longtae had a look on his face like he was swallowing bitter pills, "Call off the plan, if father and the captain find out, I'll get my head chopped off."

"And don't you want to know what the truth is?" Tian put his face close to the other man's, as if to threaten him but the young man shook his head and firmly refused.

"No. But I want to!" he shouted, so loudly that the poor victim's ears were shattered.

Longtae put his hands over his ears, bowed his head, felt like crying, he doesn't know how Captain Phupha can handle being near this creature, so wild!

They had agreed to spend the day exploring the deep woods of the area that had acquired its new name "Phamok", or "Ghost Mountain", as rumours had made the villagers very afraid of the place but for the sake of their bellies, they had to go into the area to find food. Longtae begged Uncle Hubc, a long-time hunter and forest finder to accompany him and finally succeeded.

Bianglae Khama got up and took a shower, ready to go into town at 3am, as the seminar would start with registration at 7am. At about 3.45am, the village chief of Phabandao was ready to go out, when he heard his father's footsteps coming down the stairs, his precious son, who was lying down waiting for the time, got up with a start, he quickly got up washed his face and brushed his teeth, in order to be completely awake and then rummaged through the cupboard to find his traditional clothes to lend to the volunteer teachers. The traditional costume is lent to the volunteer teacher.

The hut at the back of the village is illuminated by a flame from a steam lamp, indicating that the owner is also awake. When he heard his name gently called, Tian opened the door to welcome the visitor, who had prepared for him the Akko costume that Bianglae had given him, as his own jumper was a little too brightly coloured, fearing that the ghosts he was to catch today would not dare to appear at all, so he had asked Longtae to find a thick, long-sleeved hand-woven costume to replace it. so Longtae had to find a thick, long-sleeved hand-knitted costume for him to wear instead.

Longtae wrapped his good brother in a turban, a symbol of the Akha tribe and after a moment's silence, speaks.

"It's not too late to change your mind, Phii Tian."

Tian had been listening to this for three days with a bored look on his face, it had been planned, I had to go up there to prove it anyway.

"But the ghost may not come out today."

Tian shrugged his shoulders unconcerned, "Not today, I'll go up there until it comes out."

"And what if it's really a poltergeist? Phii is going to have a head fever too." Longtae laughed as he stroked his goosebumps, picking up the plastic bag with the white powder tied to his ear and handing it to him. "It's called chanting the magic lime powder, make sure the ghosts will disperse if you throw it at them immediately."

The young man took it with a cold breath of confusion and said, "Where did you get that?"

"From Yod, he said he was going to put it in the soil of his backyard garden." he said as he buried himself in his lime bag and torch in a woven bamboo basket he had borrowed from the villagers to make it realistic.

Longtae could not even speak when he heard the answer, he raised his hands to rub his face, calling on his inner strength... By merit, it's all karma!

"Let's go, Uncle Hube is probably already waiting by the waterfall."

The two men, illuminated by torchlight, walk along the path in the village, which is silent at this moment, for the villagers have not yet woken up. Even though the route between the village and the waterfall was not too steep or too rough, everything was dark around them, so much so that Tian tripped and nearly fell on the rocks, so much so that he had to be helped by the stronger teenager beside him.

"We don't usually walk in the dark like this, Phii, except when we're out hunting, because it's dangerous, we have to leave from four in the morning, because the rich forest is in the depths, making it take time to walk, we arrive at a place where the sky may be just light. where the sky may be just hazy and bright." Longtae explains the life of the hill tribesmen to Tian until they reach Phamok waterfall.

It is still dark, so no view of the falls can be seen, except for the sound of the water lapping down into the basin below. The winter seemed to be very dry, they did not have to search long for their appointments, as the light from the bamboo torches at the edge of the adjacent forest gave them a clear view.

Longtae chats with Uncle Hube, then looks back at him. Tian smiled at the seemingly affable old hunter, Uncle Hube does not speak Thai language, so communication is through the village headman's son, who took out a bottle of pungent oil and tells him to put it on his arms, feet and head to prevent leeches and to keep away the insects in the forest.

When all was done, Uncle Hube instructed the two young men to follow him, not too far apart, because they would get lost and then they walked in a line towards the forest, where there were narrow lanes for traffic even though the trees were thick.

Tian shines his torch into the darkness ahead, gulping saliva. The cold air and the whistling of the wind through the trees, scattered his imagination, so for confidence, he slowed his pace and followed Longtae behind him.

"Are you all right Phii? I've been there twice with my father, I remember it being at the end of the mountain." He points to a high mountain.

Tian knew his limits, so he said straight away, "If I walk and rest, I'd be fine." After that he grabs a bottle of water from the woven basket on his back and takes a sip to quench his thirst.

Deeper into the forest, Uncle Hube would periodically stop off to take shortcuts into the woods to collect herbs, giving Tian a chance to rest and catch his breath.

After resting for an unknown number of times, when it became necessary to go further, he came across a narrow path down a fairly steep valley, he stepped wrongly and nearly rolled on the ground several times and then decided to cling to the two Akas for support by holding on to a branch by the roadside.

When they reach the crossroads, novice ramblers like him can't see at all due to the tightly packed trees. Hube stops and turns around with a difficult look on his face as he consults Longtae and Tian comes back to look at the two men he is travelling with, because he has no idea what they are talking about. Longtae saw the puzzled look in Tian's eyes and spoke. "Uncle Hube wants to go to the right intersection to pick mushrooms but is afraid to take us there too risky, the tall man bends down and whispers, "That's the so-called ghost mountain."

"Is he afraid of ghosts, then, Uncle?"

"Yes. But one has to take risks, mushrooms only grow in the forest, they can't be raised in nurseries, especially this year with the drought, so they have to come deep into the forest like this to find some mushrooms, in order to find some that cost a lot in the market."

"Then tell uncle, what are you waiting for, there are three of us together, let's go!" With these words Tian turned to the old hunter with a clenched fist, cheering him on with his body language.

Not thinking about right or wrong, because the transformation is so deep in its way. As the day begins to dawn but the area is still very dark, because it is covered by tall and dense trees. Somewhere the hooting of the owls that peep at people echoes through the forest, the hot air from the soil and the shock of cool fresh air creating a thin layer of white mist all around.

The mushrooms, or maber mushrooms as they are called, grow on the remnants of logs or roots on the ground, which makes them hard to find, so the burning of the forest for mushrooms is one of the reasons for the haze that hangs over cities today.

Because the forest is so overgrown, the search for these mushrooms means that the crowded undergrowth has to be lifted to get to the ground and those who follow the old hunters volunteer to help. They spread out but not too far apart to look down along the thick, dry leaf-filled ground.

Longtae shines a torch along a large root, then grasps it in his hand and finds a cluster of white mushrooms in the soil, he calls Tian to look at the mushroom's features, then helps to dig it out with a stick.

A group of people searching for forest objects go deeper and deeper, Tian, who has been looking down at the mushrooms for a long time, looks up to wipe away the sweat, so much so that the mud stains the skin of his cheeks. He looked around in frustration until now, the cowering ghosts had not even come out to show him a shadow.

Or was it real? An unreligious man like him could not be touched. The cold wind suddenly blew across his back with a thin scent of burning grass, no distinct smell but it made the allergic child sneeze several times.

As Tian was pulling out the buried mushrooms, the rattling sound of something moving in the bushes in front of him caused him to pause and suddenly his eyes, accustomed to the darkness, saw the rapid movement through!

Tian's eyes widened, no time to think carefully, his mind was already running on command, turning just as he saw Longtae lurch forward in shock he did the same to follow.

"Tian, stop first!" The teenager shouted to the slim figure running deeper into the forest but the other man didn't care and only when the movement around his body had returned to calm did he stop himself.

"Damn! I don't know where it's disappeared to." Snarled the rascal beneath the volunteer teacher's skin through his teeth, a smooth, white face contorted by the pain that was now red. Even if a real ghost came to see what he was doing, he could hopefully run away without having to rely on a charm at all.

"It's probably just a snake or a small animal, Phii Tian…" Longtae urged after giving his opinion and said, "Let's go back to where we came from, it's too deep, I'm afraid Uncle Hube will get lost."

Tian stood panting and bowing, stretching to inhale his breath into his lungs but then when he smelt the very familiar burning smell growing stronger in the white noise, he was shocked to death and Longtae immediately helped to stroke his back with concern.

"How are you, Phii?"

"Do you, do you smell something?"

When he was a troublemaker, he had tried smoking and using various drugs, especially cannabis cigarettes, which are considered a very basic drug. But due to allergies and physical weakness, when ingesting harmful substances, the fine bronchial tubes would swell and almost suffocate.

Even if he wanted to die, he would never have done it this way, it was too much torture. Longtae looked up and inhaled the air to test it and replied, someone might have burned the forest for the mushrooms in this area.

"Yes." Tian was still not sure if he was right, "But we'd better not inhale it." He then forced the other man to follow after he had put his bandana around his nose and mouth.

They followed the footprints they had made on the dry leaves back to their original route, so that the leaves were all sparse but before they could even reach the place they had come from, they heard a loud and dismal scream echoing through the forest. Longtae and Tian turned to look at each other in unison, only to read in each other's frightened eyes what could only be guessed.

...

...Uncle Hube!

The two young men run at full speed, so fast that the leaves fly in all directions. When they reached their destination, the old hunter was no longer in his original position. At that moment Tian decides to throw away the woven basket he has been carrying in order to be more agile and picks up the lime bag that he has prepared, sure to take care of the dead forest ghosts: Dead ghost you better hope I do run into you!

"Get out the lime bag, go!" The curated cooing of Tian's instructions came through the woven cloth hanging from his mouth.

Longtae does as he is told and then chases Tian in the direction of the cries and screams. The overlapping figure of Hube fearlessly enters the overgrown bush where he was pricked by spikes and before Tian can see what the old man is running from, he signals for the taller man with the longer legs to run and turn to block the front.

When Hube saw someone intercepting, he panicked and closed his ears and eyes to back away but then runs into the body of a man with a cloth around him so that he stays but his eyes howl, at the same time he raised his wobbly hands in a salute, shaking, showing extreme fear, this is not normal!

Longtae wanted to lower the mask cloth speak but the teacher stops him by grabbing his wrist first, so he has to talk to Uncle Hube through the cloth around his face. Even if Tian doesn't understand, it is clear that Uncle Hube doesn't want to listen to anything, because he just kept on looking down to bow to the ground.

This is bad, Tian didn't think they had time to talk before the old hunter found the opportunity to lift the woven basket he was carrying and throw it hard into the two shadows, the big young man rushed in, just in time to catch the weight in the basket with the mushrooms but with a bit of a hobble.

Tian dove to help support the other, so not in time to stop Uncle Hube struggling to escape again "How are you!"

"I'm fine but Uncle Hube…"

"…Has disappeared!", he replied with a tight brow and immediately pulled down the cloth wrapped around his nose and rushed to pull it up." The smell of burning marijuana is very strong here, you mustn't take the cloth off, if you don't want to hallucinate uncle Hube."

"How does Phii know?" Longtae asked with curiosity this area used to be a cannabis plantation but he had never smoked it.

"I've tried it--" he told him with a smirk as he lowered his long, thin eyes, it wasn't that great when stuffed with cigarettes but if you could smoke it through a pipe, alas, the aroma on your tongue was truly amazing, so good you'd go to heaven in a trance.

Pops, this man is scarier than a real ghost!

Tian patted him hard on the broad shoulder, while staring at him and saying: "You don't have to look so frightened! I'm not smoking anymore."

The look of disbelief at the good son of the village headman but he didn't care, his slender hands gripped the bag of lime, as he turned to look around at the beginning of the light.

"The fake ghost Uncle Hube met must be around here."

But what if it's a real one?

"A real ghost probably doesn't need to be made out of marijuana hallucination, just for fun, damn it." Tian said sarcastically but then when he suddenly saw a man in white flying past the trees, he stopped.

"There it is!" He pointed in the direction he saw it and then he pulled Longtae by the collar and made him get up and run after it.

The ghost man must have been lurking for a long time but when he saw that they didn't look unconscious at all, he ran away, he probably didn't have time to think that they weren't addicted to weed and chased like cowboys.

The two young men followed the ghost through the jungle but as soon as they got close, the figure in white could turn and hide anywhere, as if he knew the paths of the forest by heart.

Tian felt exhausted, because his strength was decreasing. So he came up with a quick solution, he bent down and picked up a hand-sized rock and threw it. True to his former summer school team training in the USA, the stone hit the fake ghost in the back as if it had been arranged.

The ghost screamed as he fell, so it was an opportunity for a long-legged man like Longtae to lead the way and approach and just as he was about to catch the ghost, the ghost jumped out of the way just in time, so that only the man's white cloak was scratched.

Tian, following in pursuit, reaches just in time, tries to reach in and grab him but he suddenly the ghost turns and threw something at himself, Tian instinctively raises his hand to block it but his other hand is quick enough to throw the bag of lime at the skinny body in front of him.

The plastic bag shatters, so that the white dust powder is scattered. Tian closed his eyes and then automatically turned to avoid it and this made the fake ghost run away and escape them. He wiped the white lime dust off his eyelids and let go of the cloth around his nose.

"Almost got him, crikey!" said Tian, picking up a rubber face mask and looking at it and cursing angrily.

"What next, Phii Tian?" asked Longtae, panting.

"At least we'll know the ghosts the villagers encountered aren't real." The air he breathed in didn't smell like burning marijuana anymore, Tian could finally breathe properly... "But I'm confused as to what he's doing this for."

"He is probably an illegal worker hiding in the forest, probably not wanting anyone to see himself."

The volunteer teacher looked in the direction of the criminal's escape, then smiled a smile colder than the current temperature, the incantation of the magic lime had shown its magic, he chose to use lime powder instead of starch, as the coarse and heavy particles of lime would leave more visible traces.

"Now that we're here, before the traces are gone, we'd better hurry and follow him to see what's going on."

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