“Crackle...”
“Crackle...”
In the dense forest, a sudden loud pop erupted from the campfire in the clearing. The group huddled together, their expressions dazed.
They had been in this standoff for several minutes, unable to reach a decision.
During the day, everyone had seen Chunsheng being carried off by the tiger.
Everyone thought he had already perished in the tiger's maw.
Constable Zhang had even sworn to the heavens that he would skin that tiger to avenge him, cut open its belly, and recover his body for a proper burial.
Who would have thought he would return alive?
They just didn't know if the person standing before them was truly Chunsheng or a chang ghost controlled by the tiger.
What about Constable Zhang?
He was also acting strangely.
He looked as if he had been fished out of a pool of blood. Droplets of blood trickled down from his lips and beard, hitting the ground and forming small crimson puddles at his feet.
He claimed he had gone out to hunt, encountered the fierce tiger, and narrowly escaped after a struggle, returning to warn the group.
But looking closely, aside from the bloodstains, Constable Zhang had no wounds at all.
The group grew even more suspicious.
They had seen the massive size of that tiger during the day. Forget one Constable Zhang; even ten of him wouldn't be a match for that beast.
Yet here he was, covered in blood but seemingly uninjured—
Could it be that Constable Zhang was the ghost?
“You... which one of you is the ghost?! Who is human?!”
“Chunsheng, how... how did you escape from the tiger?!”
“And Constable Zhang, why are you covered in blood?!”
The men were like birds startled by a bowstring, huddling together desperately as if that were the only way to feel safe.
“I am obviously a living person! Have you forgotten? You came to my house today and said there was a man eating tiger in the mountains and that we had to go hunt it.”
Chunsheng pointed at his injured leg and gave a bitter smile:
“I’ve been hunting with my father since I was small and learned a technique to hold my breath and play dead. Today, when that tiger snatched me, it started gnawing on the meat of my thigh against a rock. I was in such pain I broke out in a cold sweat, but I didn't make a sound.”
“The tiger thought I was dead. It gave me a couple of licks and then left me there. If I weren't a living person, how could this wound still be dripping blood!”
“That tiger has become a demon; it can command chang ghosts to clear its path!”
“Look, it's afraid of the fire you lit, so it's trying to trick you. It sent this ghost to deceive you—”
“Constable Zhang died long ago. Half his body was gnawed away, and he’s hanging naked from a tree. If you don't believe me, I’ll take you to see!”
Chunsheng's description was so vivid that chills ran down everyone's spines. It was as if they could already see Constable Zhang's mangled remains.
Subconsciously, the group moved further away from Constable Zhang.
“A bunch of blind fools! You can't even tell the difference between me and a chang ghost under that beast’s control?!”
“I just fought that tiger! The rabbit I caught was shredded by its iron claws, and rabbit blood got all over my head!”
Constable Zhang was so angry he raised his foot as if to kick someone:
“That tiger is truly cunning. Its leg was wounded by an arrow, and it's currently recovering in the forest. It’s just waiting to trap you all here in the mountains. Once dawn comes, it will catch and eat you one by one!”
“This Chunsheng is the ghost! If you don't believe me, have him come closer and see if he has a pulse!”
The group hesitated for a long time, their eyes darting back to Chunsheng.
Nan Yi, squeezed in the middle, looked back and forth between Chunsheng and Constable Zhang. A look of realization slowly dawned in his eyes.
But he didn't speak. He just lowered his gaze and glanced toward the other side of the forest, seemingly intentionally.
On one side, Chunsheng pleaded:
“This fellow isn't Constable Zhang at all! He’s a chang ghost scouting for the tiger!”
“The chang ghost comes first, and the tiger follows. Everyone, make a decision quickly! Follow me and leave now!”
“Otherwise, once that tiger catches up, not a single one of us will escape!”
On the other side, Constable Zhang cursed in frustration:
“Don't you understand yet?! The mountain paths are treacherous at night. If you follow him, you’ll either fall off a cliff and break your neck or end up hanging from a withered vine!”
“Pick up your weapons and carve out a path to survival! Follow me back down the mountain the way we came!”
The fire grew smaller and smaller, the embers on the verge of dying out. The group was torn.
Both stories sounded real, but they didn't dare believe either one.
In their dilemma, they heard a rustling sound from the distant bushes.
It approached rapidly, making a huge commotion. It sounded as if some large beast was closing in.
Could it be that the tiger had truly caught up?
Despair washed over the men's faces.
The heavens want us dead.
Under the immense psychological pressure, the remaining men gripped their long sabers with determination, prepared to fight the beast to the death.
Even if they died, they would land at least one blow!
“Rustle!”
The bushes suddenly burst open, and a shadow leaped out. To everyone's surprise, the newcomer wasn't a tiger, but a young woman.
She was dark, sturdy, and carried a slaughtering knife.
“It's the Nan family lady who knows how to catch ghosts!”
“It's Nan Yi's elder sister!”
“It's Big Sister Nan!”
The men cried out in unison. They were on the verge of tears, ready to rush forward and cling to her.
The joy of meeting an old friend in a foreign land or rain after a long drought couldn't compare to the excitement of seeing a living person at this moment.
Especially a living person who could catch demons and fight ghosts.
...
...
A protagonist's entrance always happens at the moment of maximum attention.
But the current situation in the clearing seemed a bit strange.
Nan Zhi plucked a leaf from her head and asked sincerely:
“What's... the situation here? Can someone explain?”
After entering the dungeon's range, she had charged forward blindly at full speed. Finally, she had burst through the endless thickets and jumped toward the man made light of the fire.
Fortunately, she had made it in time.
But as soon as she faced the group, the first thing she saw wasn't her own Brother Yi, but this bizarre triangular standoff.
A red faced burly man stood on one side, covered in blood.
A short hunter was huddled in the bushes, his flesh torn open.
A group of yamen officers were huddled together like shivering quails.
As soon as Nan Zhi appeared, all eyes fell on her.
The officers wept with joy, seeing her as their savior:
“Lady Zhi is here!”
“Come quickly! One of these two is a chang ghost kept by the tiger! He’s trying to trick us into becoming tiger food!”
“Lady Zhi! Quickly, see which one is the chang ghost!”
Even an officer who had a daughter several years older than Nan Zhi was calling her “Lady Zhi” with every breath.
“Chang ghost?”
After hearing the whole story, Nan Zhi walked into the center of the clearing.
She used the flickering firelight to carefully observe Nan Yi. Seeing that he was fine, she breathed a sigh of relief:
“Brother Yi, are you alright?”
“I'm fine. I knew all along that Big Sister would come.”
Nan Yi shook his head, a smile appearing on his pale face.
Nan Zhi’s gaze fell on the other two men.
On the donkey cart ride over, she had specifically looked up the Mountain Lord and chang ghosts.
Ancient lore spoke of chang ghosts as people who had been eaten by tigers.
Their physical bodies were consumed, leaving them incomplete and unable to reincarnate. Even their souls were enslaved by the tiger, turning into chang ghosts that specifically lured living people for the tiger to feast on.
The soul of a chang ghost was controlled by the tiger, suffering day and night without release. If they wanted to leave, there was only one way.
They had to lure another living person to become the tiger's new chang ghost. Only then could they be completely released.
According to the 《Notes from the Calloused Studio》, there was once an old man whose eldest son, eldest daughter in law, and wife were all eaten by a tiger.
One day, the old man's youngest son dreamed of his mother, who had been eaten by the tiger. She told him in the dream that a jar of gold was buried under a certain tree in a certain place, and told him to dig it up so he could support the old man in the future.
But in reality, the woman had already become a chang ghost. She only said that to trick her youngest son into becoming food for the tiger.
In other words, the eldest son died first, then lured his own wife to be eaten by the tiger so he could be released.
Then the daughter in law lured the mother in law so she could go to reincarnation.
In the end, the old woman chose to lure her youngest son to be eaten by the tiger to gain her own release.
It was somewhat similar to a water ghost seeking a substitute, but a chang ghost who served a tiger was far more detestable.
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