Chapter 312: The Hidden Prey

Far from the city, in freezing cold, who knew how dangerous it was during delivery.

“Where did she come from?”“She said she was from Wenze Village, but I don’t think so.”

Just then, Willow ran back and told everyone, “Come and see, I found something.”

He Lingchuan strode after her to Old Ding’s house. The man was a miner, single for almost thirty years, and lived in a mud-brick house. Inside, things were a mess; empty wine vessels, jars, and pots were everywhere, and the worst smell came from a feather quilt. Fortunately, the door was open, which had aired out some of the stale, accumulated odors.

However, Willow jumped onto Old Ding’s roof and began pulling away the thatch: “Look.”

The wind and snow in the northwest were always harsher than in Panlong City, so the roofs here were steeper, covered with thick bamboo tiles and thatch. They were woven and stacked layer upon layer, and now piled high with thick snow, resembling a person wearing a tall hat.

Just looking at the snow on these roofs, it seemed enough to collapse the houses.

Willow had already cleared a gap in the snow and thatch. Now she tore away more thatch, revealing what was inside, and everyone gasped in surprise.

A person was actually hidden inside.A frozen corpse.

Skinny pulled Village Chief Hu onto the roof, pointed at the dead man’s face emerging from the straw, and asked, “Is this the one surnamed Ding?”

The dead man’s eyes were still wide open. When Village Chief Hu met his gaze, he cried out, “It really is Old Ding, he… ugh!”

He glanced, inadvertently catching sight of Old Ding’s upper body, and couldn’t help but bend down and retch.

The deceased had been disemboweled; his heart, liver, spleen, stomach, and kidneys were gone, with only a few segments of intestines remaining, likely because the perpetrator disliked their taste.

The facts were now clear: Old Ding had been dragged onto the roof by the killer just a few yards from his house that night. No wonder there was only one set of footprints in the snow; the cannibalistic monster had originally been lurking on the roof and had not descended to the ground.

Suddenly, Willow added, “Ding died a slow, agonizing death. Looking at his throat, he must have been eaten alive.”

A circle of bruises marked Old Ding’s neck, and blood seeped from the corners of his mouth. The agony of his death was frozen on his face. The monster had held his neck to prevent him from screaming while it devoured him.

In other words, he had watched, wide-eyed, as the monster devoured him alive.

Village Chief Hu had just straightened up when he heard this, and he threw up again.

The weather was too cold, and Old Ding’s body quickly froze. Hidden within the thatch, it went unnoticed, which explained his “disappearance.”

He Lingchuan asked Willow, “How did you find him?”“There was a smell,” Willow said, sniffing. “My nose is sensitive.”

“This creature even bothers to bury its meals,” Xu Chun remarked to Village Chief Hu. “That morning, did you find any other strange footprints in the snow near your town?”

“Uh… I didn’t see any, and no one else reported anything,” Village Chief Hu hesitated. “Here, we often have grouse, spotted deer, and the like passing through.”

“So, Old Ding died after the pregnant woman left?”

“Oh, it was the other way around. Old Ding died, and the pregnant woman was so terrified she turned pale, packed her things, and left,” Village Chief Hu said with a bitter smile. “She was heavily pregnant and moved clumsily; how could we have imagined she was connected to the murder?”

“Where did the pregnant woman stay?”

Village Chief Hu led everyone to the last small house at the end of the street: “She stayed here for several days. I even had people bring her charcoal and food.”

The house was empty. The charcoal brazier had long since frosted over, and the thin quilt on the kang (heated bed) was stiff as iron. He Lingchuan entered and scanned the room. He didn’t seem to notice anything unusual, as the furnishings here were as simple as those in his own wooden house. But when he lifted the quilt on the kang, he found a bloodstain on the mattress.

“It looks like a claw print,” Willow said, holding up her own palm to compare. “It’s only half the size of my hand.”

The claw print was only half the size of a woman’s palm, and everyone exchanged bewildered glances. The gossipy old woman, who had secretly slipped in to watch, couldn’t help but blurt out, “Could it be a demon child?”

“You’re right,” another team member nodded. “It’s a ghost fetus.”

At those last two words, the old woman instantly felt a chill run through her. “C-could it be that the man-eating monster crawled out of her belly?”

The patrol guards were shocked. Panlong City had offered a bounty for the ‘River-Crossing Ghost Cub’ for quite some time now.

Frightened, the old woman mumbled, “I told you she was strange; every time I got near her, I felt uncomfortable.”

Village Chief Hu was about to speak again when Willow made a silencing gesture towards him, signaling for the old woman to continue. “Did she have a grudge against Old Ding?”

“Old Ding was a drunkard; he’d go crazy when he drank too much,” the old woman said. “On the third night the woman was in town, Old Ding went and pounded on her door, saying he wanted to be the godfather of her child. The woman didn’t dare open the door for anything, so he just threw up all over her doorstep. He didn’t say a word when he woke up the next day, and the village chief gave him a talking-to.”

“Oh, oh, I’ll tell you, I’ll tell you all something—” the old woman then remembered another detail. “A few days ago, Ah Zhen’s laying hen went missing, and the six-year-old child next door claimed this woman stole it. We all thought it was impossible, seeing her large belly, thinking she couldn’t bend that way. But now that I think about it, why wouldn’t it be possible? She was carrying a ghost fetus!”

Another patrol guard touched the corner of the table and suddenly said, “There are a few clumps of ashes here… probably incense ash.”

“She lit incense here. If she also stole a chicken, it might have been an offering to the gods,” Duan Xinyu said with a laugh. “It’s getting late; let’s hurry up the mountain. If we’re quick, we might still make it home for dinner.”

Immediately, the group took the mine map from the village chief, left the town, and set off towards the mine.

Meanwhile, Sand Leopard Shanze, still perched on a rock, told the patrol guards, “The evil creature in that mine also attacks monsters. No monsters are willing to go near it now, and I still have work to supervise, so I won’t accompany you inside.”

By this time, half a *li* of the mountain road had been cleared, but loose rocks occasionally slid down the slope. Carriages and horses still couldn’t pass, so everyone had to proceed on foot.

Obstacles made of snow and rock posed no challenge to these agile patrol guards, let alone Shanze.

Therefore, everyone quickly crossed the obstructed section and advanced towards the mine.

Three *li* further, they reached the mine entrance.

Its entrance was quite narrow, only as wide as a double door, hidden beneath the mountain cliff, covered by a few old pine trees.

Next to the mine entrance was a row of low houses. Miners didn’t sleep inside the tunnels; these houses were where they usually rested.

However, the bungalows were now empty, with some bloodstains on the ground.

He Lingchuan noticed a bloody claw print on a low wall, sunk an inch into the stone — the monster seemed to have only three toes.

“This thing has very sharp claws,” Duan Xinyu also observed. The bungalows were built from locally sourced stone, and this blue rock was quite hard. He drew his blade and scraped it against the wall, sending sparks flying. “Cut it off and see if it can be fashioned into a magical artifact, preferably a grappling hook.”

Seeing his relaxed demeanor, He Lingchuan warned him, “Don’t be careless. The later a River-Crossing Ghost Cub is born, the stronger its power.”

Panlong City had already captured and killed six ghost cubs, with only three remaining at large. According to Dong Rui, these last few were even more formidable.

Duan Xinyu looked at him and smiled, “You’re quite steady. No worries, I’ll go first.” He then turned and signaled to his teammates, “Let’s go, into the cave.”

What was wrong with this person? He Lingchuan sensed hostility.

Duan Xinyu’s deputy captain, Wang Xu, lingered a few steps behind and quietly told He Lingchuan, “I’m sorry, please don’t mind him. Our captain has been in a bad mood lately and snaps at everyone.”

His tone was very friendly, and He Lingchuan returned a smile: “It’s fine.”

Wang Xu offered a conciliatory smile, nodded, and jogged off.

Xu Chun also smiled and waved at He Lingchuan, ordering his own squad to enter the cave.

Menban rubbed his chin and said, “You’ve been making quite a name for yourself lately, no wonder that guy doesn’t like you.”

He Lingchuan still wore his 'Arena Champion No. 7' badge. Walking down the street, he attracted a lot of attention, especially from young girls who often lingered near him.

Where there is admiration, there is naturally envy and disdain.

He Lingchuan had his team make a few more preparations before following.

The three teams entered the cave, holding up bundles of glowing grass. This light was more stable than a torch and equally bright, often carried by patrol guards for missions.

The construction of the mine tunnels required a lot of labor; they were usually narrow and low. Tall people like He Lingchuan had to bend to move forward, and in some places, even had to stoop low.

He Lingchuan, however, was considering how they would fight in such narrow and low passages if they encountered an enemy.

They saw two mining carts along the way, both empty, but one had bloodstains on its handle.

They had seen two pools of blood along their path, confirmed to be human, yet they hadn’t found a single body.

Instead, everyone became more alert. Even the previously nonchalant Duan Xinyu now held two poisoned darts in his hand — in the Panlong Wasteland, careless warriors didn’t last long.

Fortunately, after walking for a short while, the path widened, as if they had entered a natural rock tunnel, and water began to seep from the surrounding rock walls.

Tunnels often had water seepage, sometimes even leading to underground lakes. No one paid much attention; they simply confirmed the water droplets were non-toxic and continued their advance.

Before long, Willow covered her nose and said, “This cave smells a bit.”

Xu Chun also said, “The intersection ahead isn’t even marked on the map.”

Ahead, a three-way intersection appeared. All paths looked identical in size and width, leading into pitch-black depths.

“Should we advance together, or each choose a path?”

Skinny immediately said, “Our opponents would most want us to split up and be defeated one by one. I think we shouldn’t let them have their way.”

He Lingchuan secretly shook his head. *Didn’t this fellow usually know how to read the room? Why was he useless at a crucial moment?*

Sure enough, Duan Xinyu pointed to the leftmost passage: “I’ll take the west path; you may choose as you please.”

Xu Chun frowned, “Do you really want to split up?”

“It wouldn’t be good if the enemy wiped us all out in one go,” Duan Xinyu said seriously. “Look how narrow this passage is; if all twenty-plus of us go down one path, how will we fight if we encounter an enemy?”

His words made sense. He Lingchuan raised his chin at his teammates, said no more to the others, and led the way into the central passage.

Xu Chun watched their team’s glow disappear at the end of the passage and shook his head, “Did he offend you?”

Duan Xinyu chuckled and led his team to the left.

He Lingchuan and his team walked deeper and deeper, and soon there was no sound from behind them.

Skinny whispered, “Why would Village Chief Hu give us a wrong map?”

The Chifeng Mine had been developed for some time, with many paths carved out inside. It was easy to get lost without experience, which was why a map had been drawn.