Chapter 72: Ghosts Hide People

Life and death hung by a thread. My body reacted in the blink of an eye, even faster than my consciousness.

Up and down, my hands clamped onto the wolf's fangs!

"Zhao Bin!"

I was knocked down by the giant wolf. This beast had incredible strength. No matter how I struggled, I couldn't shake it off.

Its sharp claws dug into my flesh. My chest, which hadn't fully healed, started bleeding again with its movements.

Stimulated by the scent of blood, the giant wolf became even more ferocious. Its mouth, full of sharp teeth, closed in on my neck, and its foul saliva dripped onto my wound.

"Bang!" A gunshot rang out. The bullet grazed the wolf's fur and embedded itself in a pine tree. Wood chips flew, accompanied by the faint smell of gunpowder.

The giant wolf's sly eyes darted around. Realizing it couldn't kill me, it didn't linger. It leapt high into the air and disappeared into the dense fog.

"Are you alright?" Zhao Bin, gripping his gun with both hands, hurried over.

Lying on the ground, I had narrowly escaped death. Although my clothes were soaked in blood, the wounds were superficial and hadn't damaged any muscles or bones.

"I'm fine, just flesh wounds." Leaning on a pine tree to stand up, I noticed my hands were numb and throbbing with pain. Looking down, I saw two bloody puncture marks in my palms.

"I'll take you down the mountain. Wild wolf saliva carries bacteria and could cause an infection," Zhao Bin said worriedly.

I stretched my hands out, testing my fingers. They could still bend and feel sensation. "Calm down. Old Wei was at the back of the group. If the wolf could pounce on me without a sound, it doesn't bode well for him."

Animals are savage creatures. If they want someone to disappear silently, they only use one method—snapping their neck in an instant.

"Old Wei!" Zhao Bin finally shouted into the thick fog, but only his echo replied.

"We'll retrace our steps. We should find blood traces or Old Wei's body along the way."

"Let's hope nothing happened to him."

I shook my head, letting out a cold laugh. "If we find neither his body nor blood traces, that might be the worst-case scenario."

Zhao Bin, puzzled, gripped his gun tighter. "What do you mean?"

"If someone disappears without leaving any trace, do you think a mere pack of wolves could do that?"

Still confused, Zhao Bin asked, "Do you mean Old Wei fell into Lu Xing's trap?"

I didn't answer directly. Instead, I looked towards the pine cemetery. "Have you ever heard this saying?"

"What saying?"

"If there's a wolf in the woods, it rests its paw on your shoulder. If there's a ghost in the mountain, it hides you away. From the moment we stepped into the mountains, we were already in Lu Xing's trap."

As we searched along the path, we didn't find any blood within a hundred meters. The only clue left behind was a tattered, makeshift map on the ground.

"What now?"

"We can't keep searching. If we do, we might get caught in it ourselves. Let's regroup with Tie Ningxiang first. Strength in numbers. Even if there's a ghost, it won't dare come close."

Determining our direction, we groped our way through the fog for another hour before finally finding Langtou Valley.

Surrounded by mountains on all sides, even at noon, sunlight could hardly reach this place.

The trees grew in grotesque shapes, some tall, some short.

The ground was strewn with jagged rocks, interlocking like wolf's teeth.

If you looked from a high vantage point, you'd see the entire valley resembling a wolf's open maw, which is how Langtou Valley got its name.

"Has communication been restored?"

"Not yet, but Captain Tie mentioned they were in the middle of Langtou Valley, near a small cabin built by a forest ranger."

After a brief exchange with Zhao Bin, the two of us entered this ominous place.

The chaotic stones obstructed our view, and the dense fog made it easy to lose sight of your companions after a single turn.

"Wait, don't go in yet." After walking a few dozen meters, I suddenly felt something was off and signaled Zhao Bin to stop.

"What did you notice?"

"Listen carefully. Can you hear wolves howling in there?" Ever since I started practicing the introductory techniques of Miaozhen Temple, my senses had grown sharper. Out here in the wild, I was as keen as a seasoned hunter.

Now taking me as his anchor, Zhao Bin stopped in his tracks and listened closely. Faint, distant wolf howls echoed from deeper within the valley.

"You can even hear that?"

"Just sharp ears." I picked up a rock and broke off a sharp edge. "Save your six bullets. Don't waste them."

"How do you know I only have six bullets left?" Zhao Bin's stance with the gun was far from proper, full of openings.

"Standard-issue Type 64 pistol holds seven rounds. You already fired one. Do the math."

Holding the sharp-edged rock, I walked ahead. Zhao Bin followed closely with his gun. "You're scarily calm no matter what. I think Captain Tie was right—you're born to be a cop."

"I'd rather marry a cop than be one," I replied.

"Whoa! Don't tell me you've got your eyes on Captain Tie too? She's your senior, you know!"

Zhao Bin's logic left me speechless. Having a rookie like him around made me feel even more vulnerable. "Shut up and focus."

As we ventured deeper into Langtou Valley, wolf howls kept echoing, but no wolves attacked us.

After rounding two bends and climbing the only hill, we finally saw the cabin.

"Captain Tie! We're here to assist!" Zhao Bin shouted from about ten meters away.

Someone inside the cabin flashed a strong flashlight in acknowledgment. Only then did Zhao Bin and I dare to approach.

Pushing open the rickety wooden door, the faint smell of blood hit our noses. "Who's injured?"

I quickly scanned the room. It was a dark-skinned officer, his left shoulder missing a chunk of flesh.

"Xing Xing!" Zhao Bin seemed to have a strong bond with the injured man. He didn't even holster his gun before rushing over.

"You're here, Zhao? Where's everyone else? What about Captain Wu?" Xing Xing's face twisted in pain, but he was a tough guy who didn't utter a single groan.

"Wu Meng took three others up the northern route. They haven't arrived yet, probably ran into trouble," I said, crouching to examine Xing Xing's wound. "Something's off. This doesn't look like a wolf bite. It's more like…"

"It's a human bite," Tie Ningxiang said, walking over with her pistol in hand.

"A human bite?"

"Let's not dwell on that for now. Why are you here with Zhao? Didn't I tell you to stay home?"

When Tie Ningxiang puts on her uniform, she becomes remarkably authoritative, especially in front of her subordinates, to maintain her authority as a team leader.

I understood her reasoning, but it didn't mean I'd tolerate her reckless behavior.

"Why am I here? Lu Xing is clearly out to kill you. Should I just stand by and watch you walk into a trap?" I pointed at the thick fog outside. "I warned you this was a trap, but you still charged in headfirst. Do you realize how many lives you've put at risk?"

"Watch your tone, kid. Don't talk to us like that," another officer with a hooked nose protested.

"Chen Feng, it's my fault. I admit it." Tie Ningxiang raised a hand to calm him down. "I underestimated Lu Xing's cunning and ruthlessness, which has put everyone in danger. I apologize to all of you."

"You didn't just underestimate him—you don't understand him at all. He's an extremely cruel and twisted person. Every murder he commits has a clear purpose," I said, looking at Tie Ningxiang's bowed head. While I felt bad for her, she couldn't shirk responsibility for the current situation.

"Purpose? What's the purpose behind his string of murders?"

Standing among the officers, I replied, "I can't say for sure yet. But he doesn't kill for entertainment or some perverse psychological satisfaction. It seems like a ritual—following a specific sequence to eliminate specific people."

I looked directly at Tie Ningxiang. "You're the sixth. Xiao Feng is the seventh. If you die, Lu Xing's ultimate goal will be achieved, and catching him in the future will be nearly impossible."

The room fell silent until I broke the tension. "What's the deal with Xing Xing's shoulder wound? It looks like it might get infected. Why haven't you sent him down the mountain?"

"It's not that we didn't want to—it's that we can't get out," Tie Ningxiang sighed. "When we entered the mountains, we brought along a cemetery caretaker from Pinewood Cemetery to guide us. He led us quickly to Qianlong Village, the place mentioned in the anonymous report."

"But shortly after we entered that desolate village, the caretaker vanished, and the officers with him were trapped in an abandoned well. Xing Xing got bitten while rescuing them."

"Then the fog rolled in, and we were chased by a pack of wolves, forcing us to retreat to Langtou Valley."

Frowning, I asked the question that had been bothering me since our journey. "What did that cemetery caretaker look like?"