Chapter 1: A Holiday Back Home

On the eve of National Day break, inside the dorm of the Physics Department at Qinghui University…

While his roommates were busy gaming, Jiang Yan silently packed his luggage. For the holiday, he planned to visit his girlfriend's hometown.

"Oh, for heaven's sake, I'm done with this game!" Suddenly, Chen Xiao, one of his roommates, let out an angry roar. He looked like he was on the verge of smashing his phone in frustration, but ultimately held back.

He sighed helplessly, glanced at Jiang Yan, and muttered, "Man, having a girlfriend must be nice. Unlike me, wasting my entire youth fighting with these noobs online, all my college days going down the drain on games."

"Mm, you're absolutely right," Jiang Yan replied.

Wow, like a Garen's Mortal Reminder—totally silenced and defenseless.

Hey, I can make fun of myself, but you don't have to take it seriously!

Though Chen Xiao knew Jiang Yan could be a bit of a smart mouth, hearing that response still made his blood pressure spike. "Jiang Yan, you little rascal! Give you an inch, and you'll take a mile, huh? When did you get a girlfriend? And where's she from? What poor soul could have fallen for you?"

"About a month ago. She's from a village up in Lugang Mountain," Jiang Yan replied without missing a beat.

"Lugang Mountain?" Chen Xiao froze at the name, momentarily speechless.

"What? Is there something wrong with Lugang Mountain?" Jiang Yan asked, his eyes narrowing with suspicion.

"No… no problem at all." Chen Xiao forced a smile. "I just heard that there was a group of people who went hiking there once, then vanished. The local police searched for ages but never found a trace of them, not even a scrap of belongings, like they'd just disappeared into thin air."

Hearing this, Jiang Yan's expression shifted, and he fell into deep thought.

Seeing him space out, Chen Xiao taunted, "What, are you actually scared? We're physics majors, remember!"

"No, it's just… I've had this strange feeling of unease lately." Jiang Yan pressed a hand to his chest.

Ever since he learned he'd be meeting his girlfriend's parents, he hadn't been able to sleep well. At first, he thought it was just excitement, but now, thanks to Chen Xiao's story, he realized it was more like anxiety.

"If you're that unsettled, why not ask Qi Xiu to do a reading for you? He's freakishly accurate with those," Chen Xiao said, glancing at their classmate, Qi Xiu.

At the moment, Qi Xiu was munching on a chocolate stick while playing a game on his phone. Like Jiang Yan, he was typically calm and collected, but he had a quirky talent for doing divination with his eyes closed, mostly to predict outcomes in games.

Qi Xiu had overheard their conversation. Putting down his Redmi K70 with a resigned sigh, he said, "You kids are going to worry me to death."

With that, he closed his eyes, preparing for a reading while the others watched with nervous anticipation.

Suddenly, he snapped the chocolate stick between his teeth, his eyes flying open in alarm. "How could it be this hexagram?"

The two were startled and immediately asked him to explain.

Qi Xiu's brows knit tightly. His voice grew serious. "The reading is the 'Hexagram of Gu'—Wind, Thunder, Water, and Marsh trapped within the mountain. Long suppressed, it festers into corruption. The result is extremely ominous. Don't trust what you see."

Hearing this, Jiang Yan's frown deepened.

Noticing his unease, Qi Xiu sighed, pulling out a yellow talisman he'd worn for over ten years and pressing it into Jiang Yan's hand. "If you must go to Lugang Mountain, take this with you—it might help."

"Thank you," Jiang Yan replied, taking the talisman. For a moment, he felt a strange sense of peace settle over him, as if the anxiety had faded slightly.

________________________________________

The next day, he and his girlfriend, Zhang Tiantian, arrived at the bustling train station, bags in hand.

Amid the holiday crowd, they finally managed to get into the station, only to find themselves back in the plaza minutes later.

Their train to Lugang Mountain had been canceled due to a technical issue.

"See what kind of luck you have? I should've known not to let you buy the tickets." Zhang Tiantian clung to his arm, pouting with mild annoyance.

Jiang Yan could only sigh. He hadn't expected this kind of trouble either.

Lugang Mountain was in the neighboring province, and there was only one train there today; missing it meant they'd have to wait until tomorrow.

"Well, not much we can do. How about we go tomorrow?" he suggested with a shrug.

"Who says we can't go today?" Zhang Tiantian grinned smugly, waving her phone in front of him. "I just booked us a long-distance bus. It'll take eight hours, but we'll still get there."

"A bus?"

Truth be told, Jiang Yan had never been on a long-distance bus. If he missed a train home, he'd rather wait than opt for the bus—too exhausting. But since his girlfriend had already booked it, he couldn't exactly protest.

The two made their way to the bus station and quickly boarded the bus.

There were around twenty passengers in total, most of whom were wearing green T-shirts, clearly part of a tour group. Seven other passengers sat toward the back, standing out from the rest.

"Hey, bro, you headed to Lugang Mountain for an adventure too?" A blond young man across the aisle started chatting with Jiang Yan.

"Adventure? Are you guys streamers?" Jiang Yan glanced over at the group of four, noticing the camera gear they carried.

"Sharp eye, man! The four of us are ghost-hunting streamers. Our fans have been begging us to do a midnight exploration of Lugang Mountain." The blond man beamed.

"Ghost-hunting? You might want to be careful," Jiang Yan warned, recalling Qi Xiu's ominous reading.

"Haha! Come on, bro, you don't really believe there are ghosts in that backwater mountain, do you?" The blond guy laughed. "All those creepy stories online are made up by locals to attract tourists. Look at this tour group—they're here because of the hype. If there were actual ghosts, the government would've shut the place down ages ago."

Jiang Yan raised an eyebrow but said nothing. Maybe he was just overthinking it?

As the bus continued, he took stock of his fellow passengers. Eighteen were part of the tour group, laughing and chatting, while the four streamers discussed their plans. Only one person stood out—a strange figure sitting directly behind him, wearing a hat, mask, and sunglasses, giving off an unsettling vibe.

The person remained silent, seemingly asleep.

Jiang Yan sighed in relief. It seemed like an ordinary trip after all. His dorm mates had just been spooking him for nothing.

Soon enough, Zhang Tiantian fell asleep beside him, and Jiang Yan, feeling drowsy, soon drifted off as well.

________________________________________

When he awoke, it was dusk. The bus was cold and damp, the windows fogged up as dense mist swallowed the view outside. The bus had entered the mountains, where the only sight beyond the window was a blanket of white.

The blond guy called out to the driver, "Hey, with this fog, are you sure we can keep going?"

Other passengers murmured anxiously. The fog was so thick they could barely see the road, and it seemed dangerous to continue.

The driver, however, was unfazed. "Relax, I've driven this route for decades. We're perfectly fine!"

"I hope so…" The blond guy muttered, still uneasy.

Just then, the bus abruptly lost power, slowing down.

"What the heck! Didn't you say there was no problem?" the blond guy shouted, frustrated.

"Sorry, sorry! Probably just some carbon buildup. Just need to restart it. Don't worry, I'm a pro!" the driver reassured them.

The bus had been going uphill and quickly slowed to a halt.

Suddenly, darkness engulfed the interior, silence descending like a shroud.

The darkness only lasted a few seconds, ending as soon as the bus started up again, its lights flickering back on.

But the brief blackout had unnerved everyone, including Jiang Yan.

As he was regaining his composure, a chilling scream tore through the air.

Across the aisle, a female streamer clutched her mouth, cowering in horror.

The cause of her terror was unmistakable—the male streamer beside her was now a mangled corpse, his flesh shredded as if by countless wild beasts. His bloodied eyes stared straight at Jiang Yan, lifeless yet filled with an eerie intensity…