Chapter 14: Relocating the Graves (2)

“Ladies and gentlemen! Up ahead is Stone Village! We’ll take a break at the midway rest stop. I can tell everyone’s quite tired,” the tour guide called out from the front, wearing a bright yellow vest and holding a megaphone.

Suddenly, disaster struck.

“Beep beep—!”

“Damn it! Can’t that idiot see?” came a furious shout.

Around a sharp bend on the winding mountain road, a pitch-black bus suddenly burst out of sight, crashing headlong into the moving coach with a thunderous bang.

The impact shattered most of the coach’s windows, sending shards of glass flying everywhere. Passengers sitting near the front were caught in the chaos.

Curses and cries of pain echoed in the air.

A black crow perched on a high branch cocked its head, its crimson eyes fixed intently on the stalled bus. With a hoarse screech, it flapped its wings and flew away.

“Caw—”

Jiang Shengsheng, instinctively held close by Xia Junyao, twitched her ear tips and peeked out from his shoulder, locking eyes with the crow.

“Bang!” The crow dived and struck the window decisively, feathers, blood, and flesh splattering before Jiang Shengsheng’s eyes.

Feeling the trembling body in his arms, Xia Junyao frowned and turned slightly, the bloody scene tightening his brow. He raised a hand to cover Jiang Shengsheng’s eyes. “Don’t be afraid, baby. I’m here.”

Despite their intimacy, Xia Junyao’s blood still boiled uncontrollably.

The warmth pressed against his skin, her heartbeat stirring a secret thrill that tingled along his spine.

In a quiet corner, Xia Junyao sighed with satisfaction, trembling with excitement.

As long as she leaned on him like this, he was her most loyal guardian—she must keep watching him forever...

“Ah! Someone’s dead!”

A sharp, piercing explosion echoed through the darkness, jolting Jiang Shengsheng’s pupils as she cautiously looked toward the source.

They saw the tour guide at the ticket gate riddled with shattered glass shards, blood pooling beneath his feet and still flowing.

The driver reached out a hand, his face unseen, his deep voice chilling in the night. “The engine’s dead. Either wait until morning for someone from Stone Village to pick you up, or walk on foot to the rest stop. What’ll it be?”

The shaken passengers’ fear gradually gave way to anger. “Are you kidding? We paid for this! Who’s going to walk through a pitch-black forest at midnight?!”

The driver remained silent, unmoved by the shouting and commotion.

Since the accident, the players exchanged glances and instinctively gathered together.

They crossed their arms, watching the farce unfold with cold eyes, silently weighing the two grim options the driver had offered.

The ponytailed girl glanced at Qi Yiqing, who seemed distracted, and whispered, “Is this the start of the story? Which will you choose?”

Qi Yiqing’s dark eyes flicked toward the conspicuous young couple. Smirking mischievously, he replied, “Why do you care what I pick? A player who’s cleared three stages should at least understand when the story begins, right?”

Surprised by his insolence, the girl flushed and scoffed before moving away to sit a little farther.

Qi Yiqing alone pondered the oddity of the girl held by the long-haired man—he had seen the crow deliberately strike the window.

Licking the sweet lollipop in his mouth, he shifted it, puffing out his left cheek into a round curve.

He narrowed his eyes and chuckled ambiguously.

Intriguing.

Perhaps his gaze was too intense to ignore. The long-haired man turned sharply with a cold expression, dark eyes filled with displeasure warning the onlooker.

Qi Yiqing raised his eyebrows and grinned, raising both hands in mock surrender.

He wasn’t the type to spy on other people’s girlfriends—why so defensive?

Most onboard chose to walk to the rest stop; they didn’t want to leave their fate to uncertainty.

A hesitant few shook their heads. “It’s too dark and too far. Let’s just wait here. Maybe a car will come before dawn.”

Seeing their resolve, the others exchanged looks and did not insist further.

The group disembarked.

No player was left alone; being isolated was almost a death sentence engraved deep in their bones.

The forest night grew cold. A chill wind blew, making Jiang Shengsheng shiver.

Her slender fingers were grasped tightly by a man’s knotted hand, interlacing their fingers, palms pressed together.

Qi Yiqing, walking behind them, curled his lips and bit down on his candy ball with his sharp tooth.

“Tsk, strawberry flavor’s too sweet. Next time I’ll pick something lighter.”

Less than half an hour after they left, a faint light flickered in the distance. The huddled passengers, warming themselves together, suddenly brightened and stood up.

They leaned out the windows, waving and shouting to a slowly approaching van. “We’re here!”

When the van drew near, the passengers belatedly sensed something was wrong.

A trembling voice pointed at a paper stuck to the window. “That’s... a hearse!”

The white paper rustled in the wind, its edges browned with age. On it was written in traditional characters: “Offered to the Mountain God, praying for favorable weather next year.”

A large wreath of red and white flowers was tied with bamboo poles atop the vehicle, causing a man’s legs to go weak, collapsing to the ground. His fingers suddenly brushed something hard.

He stiffly turned his head and stared in horror at a paper effigy pressed against his face.

“Ah!”

A piercing scream shattered the night, sending the forest walkers into terrified retreat. Their faces drained of color.

Some covered their mouths and sobbed, others scowled with anger. “Damn it! If something happens, I’m not going back! Who wants to save a bunch of fools?”

The previously hesitant ones shuddered with dread, swallowing the words on their lips and remaining silent.

The group pressed close, moving forward in the dark.

“Damn this remote mountain! No signal at all! Should’ve never come!”

The muscular leader cursed, shining his phone’s faint flashlight onto a muddy path ahead.

Unnoticed, thick fog crept in from both sides, severely restricting their vision, only the silhouettes of the person in front vaguely visible.

The group fell silent, a strange unease creeping into every heart.

Jiang Shengsheng carefully watched the ground, then suddenly noticed her boyfriend’s hand growing icy cold.

Cold sweat beaded on her temple. She tried to withdraw her hand quietly, but the man gripped it tightly.

“Where are you going, baby?” His voice was low and dark, but he neither turned nor lowered his head. Jiang Shengsheng’s fringe fluttered in the chilling wind as his voice whispered in her ear.

Her scalp tingled. She stiffly turned her head and looked down at her left shoulder.

No ghostly face appeared. She exhaled the breath she had been holding slowly.

“Hee hee hee, got you!”

Suddenly, a paper doll’s face loomed close before Jiang Shengsheng, causing her to recoil repeatedly. The man gripped her wrist firmly. She slipped, about to fall.

At that moment, a strong arm reached out from behind, steadying her waist and lifting her back to her feet.

Jiang Shengsheng, still shaken, swallowed the scream rising in her throat.

“I said, watch your step in the dark. Trying to fall on me for a free touch?”