Chapter 55: The Monster

Boom...!

A sudden, thunderous crash erupted outside the window, startling Zhang the Ghoul.

“What happened?” Xu Fengxiao cried out in alarm.

Zhang the Ghoul waved his hand, hurried to the windowsill, and peered outside. The parking lot below was ablaze with flames.

“This is bad!”

With those words, Zhang the Ghoul vaulted out the second-floor window. Three vehicles were inexplicably engulfed in fire. He rushed to fetch the fire extinguisher by the door and sprayed frantically at the blaze, but it was utterly futile—a drop in the ocean. At that moment, the rest of us came rushing downstairs. It took more than an hour of desperate effort before we finally managed to salvage our equipment from the burning cars.

“Thank heavens for your foresight, Third Brother, buying only fireproof cases,” said Kaleidoscope.

Zhang the Ghoul said nothing, casting a sidelong glance at the Dragon King. “How far are we from our destination?” he asked.

The Dragon King pondered. “By car, perhaps a little over an hour left.”

“We’ve clearly been sabotaged. Old Seven, you know this area well. The cars are finished; we’ll need another way to get there.”

The next morning, still bleary-eyed and half awake, I wandered downstairs to find everyone gathered in the second living room for breakfast. Zhang the Ghoul, however, was nowhere to be seen.

“Where’s Third Brother?” I asked.

“Who knows?” Everyone was whispering in low voices.

“Should we check upstairs? Maybe something happened?” I hesitated, turning to my master.

He waved dismissively. “How could anything happen to Third Brother?”

As he spoke, the sound of leather boots echoed down the stairs. Instantly, everyone fell silent, heads bowed.

Zhang the Ghoul resumed his seat at the head of the table. Glancing at the breakfast spread, he picked up his chopsticks and began to eat as if nothing had happened.

“Th-Third Brother, you... you certainly slept long enough today,” the Dragon King ventured carefully.

Zhang the Ghoul nodded, shooting him a sidelong glance. “What, does that bother you?”

The Dragon King flushed with embarrassment, hurriedly shaking his head.

Zhang the Ghoul’s gaze shifted to Fatty Lin, who sat opposite him looking terrified. “Fatty Lin, how are you holding up?”

Forcing a smile, Fatty Lin replied, “I’m fine, really.”

“I want a word with you. Come here,” Zhang the Ghoul said in a low voice.

Fatty Lin shivered, his face going pale, legs trembling so much he could barely stand.

“What, are you deaf?” Zhang the Ghoul said.

The Dragon King, sweating, shot Fatty Lin a meaningful look, urging him to go over.

Trembling, Fatty Lin shuffled toward Zhang the Ghoul, who twisted his neck with a mocking crackle. The sound alone nearly made Fatty Lin collapse to the floor.

Zhang the Ghoul leaned in, muttering two sentences into Fatty Lin’s ear. Fatty Lin froze, then nodded slightly.

Zhang the Ghoul gripped his shoulder with sudden force, causing Fatty Lin to drop to his knees in pain. “Did you get that?”

Struggling, Fatty Lin nodded. “I’ll take care of it right away.”

Waving him off, Zhang the Ghoul turned to the Dragon King. “Old Seven, have you thought about the alternative transport we discussed yesterday?”

“Third Brother, the mountain roads here are too rough. I still think driving is best. There’s a long stretch we’ll have to walk anyway, as vehicles can’t get through.”

Zhang the Ghoul nodded. “Finish your meal and get ready to depart.” With that, he returned to his breakfast.

The meal was awkward. Much was left uneaten. I looked around. “Mengya, pack this up. It’s much better than compressed biscuits.”

The crew gathered their gear, loading it into the two vans parked outside. I, Mengya, and the elders took the first van. Fatty Lin and eight men rode in the second.

Through the window, I saw Zhang the Ghoul standing outside, speaking with the “Internet Celebrity Face” from the previous night, her gaze full of undisguised affection.

“Something’s going on,” Mengya remarked sarcastically.

I was equally shocked. Wasn’t this guy supposed to be the poster child for misogyny? How had this woman managed to make him lose his composure?

After a brief conversation, Zhang the Ghoul waved her off and took the front passenger seat.

As the Dragon King had promised, the road was unbelievably bumpy, as if we were riding in a coal cart deep underground. I was nearly sick from the jostling. Clearly, the fat driver’s skills were no better than Mengya’s.

Screech!

The van suddenly braked hard, nearly throwing me into the seat in front.

“What’s going on?”

Zhang the Ghoul, who had been resting with his eyes closed, sprang out of the car.

The mountain road ahead was blocked by massive logs and stones, clearly placed there by human hands.

He spat in disgust and called back, “Everyone out.”

We exited the vehicles; there was no way to drive further.

“What now, Third Brother?” my master asked.

Lighting a cigarette and taking two puffs, Zhang the Ghoul pondered for a moment. “We’ll have to walk. Take your gear and park the cars by the roadside.”

“Alright.”

The Dragon King instructed the drivers to park; the crew began readying their equipment.

We climbed over the makeshift barricade of rocks and logs and trekked on foot along the mountain trail for about an hour. The forest grew denser, the trees clustering ever closer.

“Stick together—don’t get separated!” Zhang the Ghoul shouted back.

The primeval vegetation was thick and chaotic, with wild, uneven growth.

Flap-flap-flap...

Suddenly, the air was filled with the sound of beating wings as birds took flight.

Zhang the Ghoul paused, scanning the surroundings above and below in silence. Kaleidoscope shivered, but the others seemed unfazed.

“Th-Third Brother, did you hear that?” Kaleidoscope’s face was pale with fear.

Even the usually impassive face of Zhang the Ghoul creased into a frown. He nodded slightly.

“It’s just birds flapping, what’s so scary?” scoffed Iron Crutch Liu.

“Crutch, do you realize how big something has to be to make such a racket just by flapping its wings?” Kaleidoscope’s face was bloodless. “I thought I was hearing things!”

Iron Crutch Liu paled, shooting nervous glances at the Dragon King and Fatty Lin. “H-how big?”

“I’m afraid the wingspan is at least five meters!”

Everyone fell silent in terror. What kind of creature was this? Even a golden eagle—one of the largest birds—barely reaches two and a half meters. This thing’s wingspan was over five!

“Caw, caw, caw!”

Three cries, magnified as if through a loudspeaker, echoed from the distance, reminiscent of a raven.

“What on earth is that?” muttered Iron Crutch Liu.

We exchanged uneasy glances. No one knew what was waiting for us.

“Lin Yang, get out the compass and check our position, now!” Kaleidoscope said urgently.

Fatty Lin complied, but as he looked, he shuddered violently. The compass needle spun wildly, never pausing for a second.

“This is bad—really bad,” Kaleidoscope whispered in horror. “Do you know what that means?”

Before he could reveal the answer, there was a sudden “whoosh” ahead. An unknown object shot skyward and streaked toward us.

“Get under the branches!” Kaleidoscope bellowed, darting beneath a huge tree.

The chaos left me fumbling. Just as I panicked, Mengya yanked me to her side. “Get in here!” She pulled me into a crevice in the trunk of a towering ancient tree.

No sooner had we squeezed in than a fierce wind swept past outside, laced with what felt like raindrops, then vanished as quickly as it came.

“What just happened?” I whispered.

Mengya, bewildered, wiped cold sweat from her brow. “I have no idea.”

“Aaah!”

A wail of anguish erupted nearby.

“What’s going on?” Zhang the Ghoul leapt down from his perch. In the clearing, the fat driver was writhing on the ground, screaming in agony.

We all emerged from hiding, only to be struck by a horrifying scene. The “raindrops” from moments before were not water, but red, fresh blood.