Chapter 51: Human or Ghost?
Old Grave Village was remote, so much so that it didn’t even have a proper paved road leading into it, let alone hotels or guesthouses. The village chief, Sun Tian, arranged for the archaeological team to stay in a three-story farmhouse. The owner had gone to work in the city, and with a single phone call, Sun Tian secured the place.
The first floor’s living room served as a meeting space, equipment room, and laboratory, as well as a resting area for their driver, Old Zhou. On the second floor, two bedrooms housed Guan Xingbang and Ma Yu. The third floor had three rooms: one for the three male students, one for the two female students, and surprisingly, Bai Xian was allotted a room of her own.
While the others were busy organizing equipment and tidying up their rooms, Bai Xian climbed to the rooftop. It was a flat, open space, and with a thought, she summoned the iron spear from her “Little Treasury.” After this mission, the treasury had finally grown to the size of a suitcase, able to hold the iron spear divided into four sections. Retrieving items still took a few moments, unsuitable for emergencies, but ideal for passing airport security.
After a brief warm-up, Bai Xian began practicing the “Six Harmonies Spear Technique” on the rooftop. Her movements weren’t fast, nor were they numerous, but with her terrifying physical prowess, each strike and stance was precise, possessing an effortless grace. She practiced for over an hour, her clothes soaked with sweat, yet she showed no sign of stopping. As she had resolved earlier, she would practice the spear for at least two hours every day.
Creak!
The wooden door to the rooftop opened. Gu Xiaohan, wearing pajamas and slippers, came out carrying freshly laundered clothes. Her damp hair revealed she had just showered. She paused, seeing Bai Xian poised with her spear, and, just as noticeably, not wearing any undergarments herself.
Both stood stunned for a moment. Bai Xian instinctively looked away.
“Little Bai, you’re on the rooftop! We knocked on your door earlier and thought you were asleep,” Gu Xiaohan recovered first, unconcerned by her own exposed state, and laughed as she greeted Bai Xian. She was not particularly beautiful—certainly not as lovely as Bai Xian—but her figure was full and voluptuous.
Bai Xian frowned, inwardly displeased by the “Little Bai” nickname. Damn Gao Sheng, who had altered her ID to make her five years younger, claiming she was nineteen, leaving her no way to protest.
“Is there something you need?” Bai Xian’s cheeks were still flushed from exercise, and her lips, pouting at the nickname, made her look alluring. Even Gu Xiaohan, though also a woman, couldn’t help but glance a few more times.
“We brought some barbecue ingredients for tonight, planning a gathering out in the yard with a bit of alcohol. Would you like to join?” As she spoke, Gu Xiaohan pulled up the clothesline and hung her washed clothes.
---
Some of the clothes clearly belonged to a man—probably her boyfriend, Meng Dejun.
“Is it okay if I just have cola?”
“Of course,” Gu Xiaohan paused, then smiled brightly. She hadn’t expected this cool-looking girl to be so well-behaved.
Bai Xian didn’t overthink it. She disliked alcohol, but who could resist barbecue?
Gu Xiaohan finished hanging up the clothes and picked up the empty bucket. “The guys are starting the fire now. Just come down when you’re ready…”
Ooo~ chitter-chitter~~~
Suddenly, a strange, hair-raising howl echoed from the bamboo grove behind the house. Immediately—
“Ah!” Gu Xiaohan shrieked, dropping the bucket with a loud clatter.
Bai Xian’s gaze sharpened, following Gu Xiaohan’s line of sight. At the edge of the rooftop, a bizarre, enormous face loomed, easily twice the size of an ordinary person’s. Its pupils reflected an eerie green glow in the moonlight, chillingly ghostly and strange. Hanging at the edge, it was impossible to tell if it was animal or specter, but Bai Xian was certain it wasn’t human.
No wonder Gu Xiaohan was so terrified—even Bai Xian’s heart raced at a glance.
“Playing tricks,” Bai Xian snorted coldly. She spun her spear and strode toward the apparition.
The monster hadn’t expected its fright tactic to fail; instead, Bai Xian advanced. After a brief hesitation, it flipped itself over and leapt off the three-story building, vanishing into the bamboo grove below.
Bai Xian followed without hesitation, gripping her spear in one hand and vaulting over the railing. Amid Gu Xiaohan’s second scream, Bai Xian plunged the ten meters from the rooftop.
“Wind, come!”
A whirlwind sprang up, her hair flying wildly as her descent slowed. With a thud, she landed safely. Her body was now strong enough after the third mission, and with the “Wind Seal” to cushion her fall, she could land safely from more than ten meters.
She found her direction and chased the creature into the bamboo grove.
No sooner had she entered than the strange howls echoed from all directions. Dozens of humanoid figures darted swiftly through the bamboo, undeterred by the dense stalks.
Ooo, ooo~ chitter~ chitter~
---
At that moment, something hurtled toward her.
Bai Xian flicked her spear, and with a crack, sparks flew—a stone. Soon, more stones rained down. She knocked them aside, then formed another “Wind Seal.”
A fierce wind descended into the bamboo grove, sweeping the stones back and striking the monsters, who howled in confusion. Some were hit and tumbled from the bamboo.
Finally, Bai Xian saw what the creatures were: monkeys, each more than half the height of a person. The ghastly face she’d seen on the rooftop was a wooden mask worn by one of the monkeys. That masked monkey was clearly larger than the others, standing at least one and a half meters tall—almost the size of a smaller woman.
Seemingly realizing they couldn’t win, the masked monkey hissed at Bai Xian, then led the troop deeper into the forest, soon vanishing from sight.
---
“Monkeys? You’re saying it was a bunch of monkeys that scared us?”
“To be precise, it was a monkey wearing a wooden mask,” Bai Xian explained in the farmhouse’s living room, where the entire archaeological team had gathered to hear her account.
“Are there monkey habitats in southern Sichuan?”
“Wait, I’ll call Chief Sun and ask.”
Guan Xingbang pulled out his phone—but saw “No Signal” on the screen. The others checked their phones; the reception here was terrible. It took them quite some time to finally get through to Sun Tian.
On the other end of the line:
“Yes, yes, we have a troop of monkeys around here. Sometimes, when there’s no water or food in the mountains, they come into the village begging for scraps… Masks? That’s strange. I’ve lived here for years and never seen that…”
“Don’t worry, they’re timid and have never hurt anyone…”
“Alright, see you tomorrow…”
After hanging up, the team all breathed a collective sigh of relief.
Only Bai Xian frowned.
She had clearly seen the monkey wearing the mask, and the creature gave her an uncanny feeling. The gaze behind the mask was not that of an ordinary animal; it was more like a person—one wearing a monkey’s face.