Chapter 104: Yunshan Village

Secretary Chen’s complexion shifted the moment he heard the two men were about to leave. He hurried to block their path.

"The two of you are masters; you cannot stand by and watch us die, leaving our village to suffer in this catastrophe!"

Old Freak Huo had no choice but to offer some words of comfort.

"Secretary Chen, your task now is to return and stay put. No matter what happens, you must find a way to keep the villagers calm. You must wait for our return!"

Elder Chen’s legs turned to jelly with fear; how could he dare to agree to such a thing?

"If we don't go upstream to get to the bottom of this now, we will all just be waiting for death together in Shangwan Village!"

"This... this... very well then. Masters, you must return to save us!"

"Rest assured, I have every intention of returning. Your Shangwan Village has paid a heavy price for this job—I didn't even offer a discount."

"Er..."

The mountains were high and the roads treacherous, connected by a stream that seemed to lead to the Forgotten River. At Tiangou Ridge, thick fog clung to the landscape. The entire mountain peak faced north toward the south, and where the mountain path wound around, a hidden stone forest stood, casting a malevolent white tiger omen.

Old Freak Huo and Cui Yue trekked for miles, tracing the small river upstream for at least thirty miles of rugged mountain terrain. As they walked, Cui Yue felt increasingly uneasy. This place was rarely visited by humans; it looked as if no one had set foot here for ages. Why had he foolishly followed this Old Freak Huo into this mess? Most importantly, it seemed as if Old Freak Huo knew something but refused to speak plainly.

"Master Huo... we’ve been searching for a whole day now. How come we haven't seen a single trace?"

"Soon. It shouldn't be far now."

Old Freak Huo snapped his fingers and pointed ahead. Cui Yue had no choice but to keep going. Strangely enough, after crossing a ridge, a village truly appeared in the mountain hollow opposite them. It was so well-hidden within the forest that one would never have noticed it without looking closely.

"Let’s go! Into the village!"

Old Freak Huo snapped his fingers again, signaling Cui Yue to follow. Within the time it takes to smoke a pipe, they reached the village entrance. Cui Yue peered around; there wasn't a soul in sight. On a stone tablet at the entrance, the characters for "Yunshan" were barely legible, while the rest had been deliberately chiseled away with an iron tool.

The entire village was immersed in deathly silence. With mud walls, black tiles, and tightly shut doors, many of the houses were nothing more than crumbling ruins, as if they had been abandoned for a long time, devoid of any sign of life.

"This must be Yunshan Village," Cui Yue whispered. For some reason, ever since arriving here, his heart had been pounding with anxiety. Perhaps it was just his imagination.

"There is something strange about this place. Be careful," Old Freak Huo warned, his brow furrowed as he rubbed the rings on his fingers.

Cui Yue drew his small peach-wood sword from his robes and held it horizontally across his chest. Old Freak Huo glanced at the wooden sword but said nothing.

"Let's go in and take a look."

Beneath a broken wall, a pair of blood-red eyes stared intensely at the two figures at the village entrance. The creature curled its lips to reveal fangs, turned, and vanished back into the darkness.

Cui Yue and Old Freak Huo walked side by side along the village path, feeling unsettled. He couldn't shake the feeling that this abandoned village was eerie in a way he couldn't describe. It felt as if countless eyes were watching them, yet whenever he turned, there was nothing there.

"Don't scare yourself. The place has just been abandoned for a long time."

Hearing this, Cui Yue puffed out his chest, feigning composure. "I'm not scared, let whatever it is—"

Before he could finish, a black shadow lunged out from a half-broken door.

"Ah!"

"Hmph!"

A pair of blood-red eyes flashed by, moving with lightning speed directly toward Cui Yue, its massive, blood-stained maw opening to strike!

The attack was so sudden that despite Cui Yue’s heightened nerves, he was too slow to react and could only instinctively raise his sword to block.

*Bang! Bang!*

Two crisp thuds sounded as Old Freak Huo unleashed a pair of punches, striking the shadow heavily.

Cui Yue gasped in relief. He looked closely and saw a black-skinned wild boar, standing half the height of a man, glaring at them with blood-red eyes and hissing.

"It’s actually a wild boar!" Cui Yue shouted.

"What did you think it was?" Old Freak Huo asked calmly, his eyes locked on the beast.

The black boar sensed the immense danger coming from the man before it. Realizing he was not an easy target, it hesitated to charge, merely circling the two of them.

"Kid, do you realize that right now, you and I are both prey in this beast's eyes?"

"Is there any way to deal with it?" Cui Yue regretted not bringing a blade. His peach-wood sword was effective against ghosts, but it was useless against this thick-skinned boar.

"This boar is a stubborn creature. If you don't lay it out, you'll be the one lying on the ground."

Cui Yue cursed silently at the old man’s callousness. After circling for a while, the boar flared its tusks at them, let out a low grunt, and charged again.

"Watch out, it's coming!"

As the boar lunged, Cui Yue dodged to the side, thrusting his wooden sword toward the creature's belly. Though it caused no real damage, the pain made the boar twist its rear and slam its tusks toward Old Freak Huo.

"Well met!" Old Freak Huo shouted. He grabbed the tusks with both hands and heaved.

The several-hundred-pound boar was thrown with sheer force, slamming into a nearby mud wall.

The boar, dazed and reeling, struggled to its feet while scraping its hooves. Its eyes grew even redder, and it was now thoroughly enraged; the bristles on its back stood upright, and saliva dripped from its mouth. It roared and charged again, like a heavy bomb being hurled their way.

"Get out of the way!" Old Freak Huo shoved Cui Yue aside, blocking the beast's path himself.

The boar, uncaring of the consequences, lunged with its jaws wide open. Old Freak Huo pivoted, leapt, and landed squarely on the boar's back.

The beast possessed tremendous strength, bucking and thrashing, nearly throwing Old Freak Huo off. The old man showed no mercy, raining down iron-fisted blows upon the creature's head.

"Heavenly Lord above, grant me divine strength, imbue my body..."

Old Freak Huo muttered a secret incantation. The rings on his right hand glowed with a crimson light, and he struck with a blow of crushing, relentless force.

The boar let out a mournful howl as its skull shattered, blood spraying from its seven orifices. It twisted its head to bite, but Old Freak Huo was prepared; he vaulted away, landing ten feet back.

Having suffered such a heavy blow, the boar shrieked in agony. It was clearly dying, yet it refused to fall, stumbling forward with its head tilted for another dozen paces. Then, whether by sheer desperation or loss of balance, it leapt straight into the ancient well at the village entrance.

Cui Yue was stunned by Old Freak Huo’s prowess. He hadn't expected this disheveled man to be not only an expert at subduing demons but also a master hunter.

In the old days, there was Wu Song slaying the tiger; today, there is Old Freak Huo subduing the boar!