The Hidden Prey

Far from the city and in such bitter cold, giving birth would be perilous beyond words. "Where did she come from?" "She claimed to be from Wenze Township, but I don't buy it." Just then, Willow came running back and called out to the group, "Come take a look! I found something." He Lingchuan followed her with long strides toward Old Ding's home. The fellow was a miner who had lived alone for nearly thirty years in an adobe hut. The inside was a chaotic mess, littered with drinking vessels; jars and jugs were entirely empty, and foulest of all was a chicken-feather quilt. Fortunately, the door stood open, allowing the wind to blow away some of the filthy stench. Willow leaped onto the roof of Old Ding's house and began tearing aside the thatch. "Look here." The blizzards in the northwest were harsher than those in Panlong City, so the roofs here were steeper, thatched with thick layers of bamboo tiles and straw woven and stacked tier upon tier. Blanket-wrapped in heavy snow, they looked like tall hats perched atop people's heads. Just looking at the snow on these roofs made one wonder if it might crush the houses beneath it. Willow had already dug an opening through the white snow and thatch. Now she tore away even more thatch to reveal what lay within, drawing gasps of shock from everyone. There was actually a person hidden inside. A dead person, frozen stiff. Skinny hoisted Headman Hu straight up onto the roof with one hand, pointing at the dead face revealed in the straw. "Is this the one named Ding?" The dead man's eyes were still wide and staring. Meeting his gaze, Headman Hu cried out, "It really is Old Ding! He... *blech!*" His gaze flickered downward and accidentally caught Old Ding's upper torso, causing him to double over and dry-heave. The deceased had been disemboweled. His heart, liver, spleen, stomach, and kidneys were all gone, leaving behind only a few loops of intestines—presumably because the killer found their flavor foul. The truth was now clear: that night, Old Ding had barely stepped a few zhang from his door before the killer snatched him up onto the roof. No wonder there had only been that single line of footprints in the snow; the man-eating monster had perched on the roof all along without ever touching the ground. Willow suddenly added, "Ding's death was drawn out. Look at his throat—he was probably eaten alive." A dark ring of bruises encircled Old Ding's neck, blood seeped from the corners of his mouth, and the agony of his final moments was frozen on his face. The monster had pinned his throat while feasting, preventing him from crying out. In other words, he had watched with his own eyes as the monster tore into his flesh and devoured him alive. Headman Hu had just straightened his back when these words sent him retching again. The weather was so frigid that Old Ding's body had frozen rapidly. Concealed within the thatch, it went unnoticed, which was why he had been considered "missing." He Lingchuan asked Willow, "How did you find him?" "A scent," Willow said, twitching her nose. "My nose is sharp." "..." "This creature actually bothered to bury its meal," Xu Chun remarked, then turned to Headman Hu. "That morning, did you find any other strange tracks in the snow around town?" "Uh... I didn't see any, and no one else reported any either." Headman Hu hesitated. "Out here, capercaillies and spotted deer wander by all the time." "Old Ding died after the pregnant outsider left?" "Oh, the other way around. After Old Ding died, that pregnant woman turned pale as a ghost from fright, bundled up her belongings, and left." Headman Hu smiled bitterly. "She was heavily pregnant and clumsy on her feet. How could we ever have guessed she was connected to a murder?" "Where was she staying?" Headman Hu led them to the last small hut at the end of the street. "She stayed here for several days. I even arranged for people to bring her charcoal and meals." The room was empty. Frost had long since formed over the charcoal brazier, and the thin quilt on the kang was stiff as iron. He Lingchuan stepped inside and swept his gaze around, finding nothing unusual at first glance—the furnishings were as sparse as his own wood-grade house, after all. But when he lifted the quilt on the kang, he discovered a bloodstain on the mattress. "Looks like a paw print." Willow held her palm up against it. "It's only half the size of my hand." A claw print only half the size of a woman's palm made the group exchange glances. The gossiping old woman who had sneaked in to watch couldn't hold back. "Could it be a little demon?" "You got it," another patrolman nodded. "It's a ghost fetus." At those last two words, a chill ran through the old woman from head to toe. "C-Could it be that the man-eating monster crawled out of her belly?" The patrolmen nodded together. Panlong City had placed a bounty on ferry ghost whelps for quite some time now. Trembling with fear, the old woman muttered, "I knew something was off about her! Just standing near her gave me the creeps." Headman Hu opened his mouth to speak again, but Willow made a shushing gesture at him, letting the woman continue. "Did she have a grudge against Old Ding?" "Old Ding was a drunk who liked to throw tantrums when he had too much," the woman said. "On the woman's third night in town, Old Ding went pounding on her door—*bang, bang, bang*—shouting that he wanted to be the godfather to the child in her belly. The woman wouldn't dare open the door for dear life, so he threw up all over her doorstep. He kept quiet after sobering up the next day, though the headman gave him an earful. "Oh, oh! Let me tell you, let me tell you all—" The woman remembered something else. "A few days ago, Ah Zhen's egg-laying hen went missing, and the six-year-old kid next door swore this woman stole it. We all saw her huge belly and thought that was impossible—she couldn't even bend down! But thinking about it now, why couldn't she? She was carrying a ghost fetus!" Another patrolman touched the corner of the table and said, "There are a few pinches of hearth ash here... or maybe incense ash." "She burned incense here. If she really stole that hen, she might have performed a deity blood sacrifice," Duan Xinyu laughed. "It's getting late. Let's hurry up the mountain. If we make quick work of this, we can still get home in time for dinner." Taking the map of the mine tunnels from the headman, the group left the town and set out toward the mine. The sand leopard mountain spirit, still perched atop the rock, called down to the patrolmen, "The vile thing in those mine tunnels attacks beasts as well. None of the monsters are willing to go near it now. I have work to oversee, so I won't be accompanying you inside." By now, half a li of the mountain road had been cleared, though loose gravel still tumbled down the slopes from time to time. Carts and horses could not pass yet, so they had to proceed on foot. Obstacles formed of snow and rock were no barrier to these agile patrolmen, let alone the mountain spirit. Thus, they swiftly scaled the clogged section of the road and pressed on toward the mine. Three li further on, they arrived at the mine entrance. The entrance was quite narrow, only about the width of double doors, tucked beneath the mountain face and sheltered by several ancient pines. Beside the entrance stood a row of low cabins. Miners did not sleep in the tunnels, so these houses served as their living quarters. Now, however, the single-story dwellings were completely empty, with traces of blood spattered across the ground. He Lingchuan noticed a bloody claw print left on a low wall, sinking an inch deep into the stone—the creature appeared to have only three toes. "Its claws are sharp," Duan Xinyu noted, having spotted it as well. The cabins had been built with local materials, constructed from stone, and this slab of bluestone was particularly hard. He drew his blade and scratched across it, striking sparks. "If we hack those claws off, maybe we can forge them into a magic artifact—preferably a grappling cord." Seeing his relaxed demeanor, He Lingchuan cautioned, "Don't let your guard down. The later a ferry ghost whelp is born, the stronger it is." Panlong City had already hunted down and killed six ghost whelps, leaving only three still at large. According to Dong Rui, these remaining few were even more formidable. Duan Xinyu looked at him with a smirk. "Aren't you a cautious one? No worries, I'll take the lead for you." Turning around, he called to his squad, "Let's go, into the tunnels." What was wrong with this guy? He Lingchuan sensed hostility. However, Duan Xinyu's vice squad leader, Wang Xu, lingered back a few paces and whispered to He Lingchuan, "Sorry about that. Please don't take it to heart—our squad leader has been in a foul mood lately and snaps at everyone." His tone was exceedingly friendly, so He Lingchuan returned a smile. "No harm done." Wang Xu offered an apologetic grin, nodded, and trotted off after his team. Xu Chun also waved at He Lingchuan with a smile, ordering his squad to enter the cave. Door Plank rubbed his chin and muttered, "You've been in the limelight too much lately. No wonder that fellow doesn't like you." He Lingchuan had not yet shed his reputation as the Ring No. 7 champion; turning heads on the street was a regular occurrence, and young girls especially liked to crowd around him. Where there was admiration, jealousy and contempt naturally followed. He Lingchuan had his squad make a few more preparations before following them in. The three squads entered the mine, each holding high bundles of fluorescent grass. Its glow was steadier than torches and just as bright, making it a standard piece of equipment for patrolmen on missions. Excavating mine tunnels demanded immense labor, so they were typically narrow and low. A tall man like He Lingchuan had to stoop to advance, sometimes even crouching on his knees. What He Lingchuan was pondering was how anyone could fight effectively in such a cramped space if an enemy ambushed them. Along the way, they spotted two ore carts, both deserted; the handle of one was smeared with blood. As they ventured deeper, they came across two pools of blood, both confirmed to be human, yet they hadn't seen a single corpse. This only heightened everyone's vigilance. Even Duan Xinyu, previously so cavalier, now clasped two poisoned darts in his hand—in the Panlong Wasteland, careless warriors did not survive for long. Fortunately, before long the path widened, leading into what appeared to be a natural cavern tunnel, and water began seeping from the surrounding rock walls. Water seepage was common in subterranean passages, and subterranean lakes were sometimes encountered. The group didn't pay it much mind, confirming the droplets were non-toxic before moving on. Before long, Willow pinched her nose and said, "It stinks in here." Xu Chun also remarked, "The fork up ahead isn't marked on the map at all." A three-way fork appeared before them. Each branch looked identical in size and width, disappearing into pitch blackness. "Do we stick together, or pick separate paths?" Skinny chimed in immediately: "What the enemy wants most is for us to split up so they can pick us off one by one. I don't think we should play into their hands." He Lingchuan shook his head inwardly. *Isn't this fellow usually so good at reading people? Why does his sense fail him at the critical moment?* Sure enough, Duan Xinyu pointed toward the leftmost passage. "I'll take the west tunnel. Suit yourselves." Xu Chun frowned. "You really want to split up?" "It's no good if the enemy takes us all out in one swoop either," Duan Xinyu said solemnly. "Look how narrow this passage is. If all twenty-odd of us cram into one tunnel, how can we fight if we run into trouble?" The reasoning had merit. He Lingchuan gave a slight nod to his squad mates and, without exchanging words with the others, took the lead and stepped into the center tunnel. Watching the glow from their team fade down the passage, Xu Chun shook his head and asked, "Did he offend you?" Duan Xinyu chuckled dryly and led his squad to the left. ... He Lingchuan and his squad moved deeper and deeper. Soon, all sounds from behind vanished. Skinny whispered, "How could Headman Hu give us an inaccurate map?" The Chifeng mine tunnels had been worked for quite some time, branching into numerous routes where anyone who wasn't a veteran could easily get lost. That was why the map had been drafted in the first place.