I Don't Agree to the Terms
Chapter 36: Entering the Mountains, Enveloped by Fog, Encountering the Bewitching Mountain Ghost

Chapter 36: Chapter 36: Entering the Mountains, Enveloped by Fog, Encountering the Bewitching Mountain Ghost

Heavenly Immortal, drunk and overflowing with imperial grace, released the three Rat-men into the mountains, allowing them to wander freely without attacking them. Gu Shanhai had included a recognition system in their previous transformation. Although rudimentary, capable of simply ignoring the three of them, it was sufficient.

Otherwise, how could Heavenly Immortal and Imperial Grace dare to do such a thing? They were aiming to take advantage of the confused situation. If not for the peculiar nature of Heavenly Immortal’s Summoning Skill, it wouldn’t have been so troublesome.

Once inside the mountain, they quickly followed the traces and found the villagers, and with the guidance of the villagers, they found the village head.

"You’re saying your boss is missing too?" The village head’s face turned ashen. This was a serious problem.

If it had been someone from their own village, it wouldn’t be a big deal if they couldn’t find them. But this person was the nephew of a big company’s CEO, someone who could invest a billion as easily as ten yuan. If they died in their backwater village, there would be no end to the trouble.

"We must find your company’s boss today; he must be somewhere in these mountains," the village head declared through gritted teeth.

"Village head, what exactly happened here? I brought such a great benefit to our Fengtai Village, and now there are people missing from the village," Heavenly Immortal hurried to ask, seizing the opportunity.

"It’s the mountain ghosts. The mountain ghosts came down to snatch people. We hold the Mountain God ceremony every year to seek the Mountain God’s blessing and protection from the attacks of the mountain ghosts. It shouldn’t have happened. It’s very likely because the mountain ghost took Tiezhu away last night that those beasts attacked the boss today," the village head said out of desperation. If he didn’t give a proper explanation now, the investment in the village would surely be in jeopardy.

"Why didn’t you mention this before?" Imperial Grace also asked.

At this moment, both of them assumed that Gu Shanhai had been attacked by a mountain ghost, unsure if he was dead or alive.

"It wasn’t appropriate to bring up such things; I was afraid it would affect the image of our Fengtai Village," the village head said resentfully, naturally choosing to share only the good news and none of the bad.

"Are you sure they were just taken?" Heavenly Immortal asked.

Although they were only temporary allies, he was still very concerned.

"They’ve just gone missing; surely they’ve just been taken," the village head insisted, unable to suggest that they might have been eaten—that would be asking for trouble.

"Could they be in the Mountain God Temple up in the mountains?" Imperial Grace suggested.

The village head was surprised to hear this: "Mountain God Temple? What temple on the mountain? Who told you that?"

"Without a Mountain God Temple, how do you pay tribute to the Mountain God?" Imperial Grace was also somewhat flabbergasted. Without a temple, how could they conduct the Mountain God ceremony?

"We offer tributes in the ancestral hall... Wait, have you been to the ancestral hall?" The village head’s expression shifted slightly; he knew of the sordid things buried beneath the ancestral hall’s deity’s seat.

"No, we weren’t in the mood for that. Right after the boss disappeared, we came straight to the mountains to find you," Imperial Grace answered discreetly before continuing, "You don’t mean the boss is in the ancestral hall, do you? In that case, we..."

"No, no, no, I was worried you might have touched something you shouldn’t in the ancestral hall. If you angered the Mountain God, that would be bad news. Without his protection, we’d all be taken by the mountain ghosts," the village head hastily explained, regretting his mention of the ancestral hall since the others clearly hadn’t considered that direction.

"Let’s not talk about this for now. Better to find the missing people, otherwise..." Heavenly Immortal hadn’t finished speaking when a piercing scream cut through the air.

"Oh no, I hope they didn’t come across wolves," Imperial Grace feigned fear.

The screams had to be from a villager, and both knew that it was most likely due to an encounter with Rat-men.

After entering the mountains, the three Rat-men dispersed into the woods, disappearing without a trace.

Having inherited some abilities from rats, the Rat-men certainly had their unique hunting skills.

Rats are omnivores, and now that they’ve grown as large as humans, plus Gu Shanhai’s special adjustments, they’ve become even more fearsome.

After all, these are from the blood technology developed by the Shugges Lord in the K-series universe; instincts like a penchant for slaughter are top-notch.

The village head’s complexion grew increasingly grim, but there was no time for hesitation; he could only lead the people toward the origin of the screams at a mad sprint.

Unfortunately, by the time they arrived, only bloodstains and drag marks remained. They cautiously followed the trail, though with little hope of rescuing anyone.

"Village chief, have the mountain ghosts come down the mountain again?" Qian Lao asked in fear, clearly having had a previous experience.

"Shut up, they might have been dragged off by wolves," the village head scolded harshly, obviously offended by Qian Lao’s suggestion.

Imperial Grace and Heavenly Immortal exchanged glances, certain that such incidents had occurred before.

But it was clear they wouldn’t get any further information from the village head, so they turned their attention to Qian Lao.

If they could use him as a lever, they might be able to learn more about the situation.

They needed to find a way to get him alone, though, because the village head’s rebuke indicated he didn’t want them to find out.

The other villagers seemed puzzled as well, suggesting only the older ones knew something.

"Don’t listen to Qian Lao’s nonsense. It’s impossible for the mountain ghosts to come down the mountain now," the village head contradicted himself, having just suggested that the disappearances might have been the work of mountain ghosts, yet now claiming they wouldn’t come down at that time.

Realizing his contradiction, he continued, "The boss and Tiezhu were taken not because the mountain ghosts descended, but because they can bewitch from afar, leading the bewitched to wander dazedly into the mountains."

Hearing his explanation, both Imperial Grace and Heavenly Immortal understood that bewilderment and descending the mountain represented two distinct threats—the former meant you could still be alive, whereas the latter was far more dangerous.

Moreover, by stressing the word "now," he indicated that certain conditions needed to be met for the mountain ghosts to come down.

"This mist, it’s the mountain ghosts ready to bewitch," the village head said anxiously, as though he had experienced it before.

"Village chief, we found Qian Mutou," a middle-aged man said fearfully: "Something gnawed on him until he was full of hollows, leaving a large hole in his face."

Upon hearing this, an eerie silence took hold of everyone present.

Wasn’t it said to be just bewilderment? Why was there a death?

Moreover, the word "gnawed" implied the perpetrator was definitely not human.

"Take me there," the village head insisted, drawing a shaky breath.

Imperial Grace and Heavenly Immortal exchanged a look, both harboring the same thought: Gu Shanhai, the player of the Evil Path, was truly bizarre. No wonder there were such strict limitations on his abilities, and the Rat-men’s prowess was something they had now indirectly witnessed.