I Don't Agree to the Terms
Chapter 37: The Atrocity Sixty Years Ago

Chapter 37: Chapter 37: The Atrocity Sixty Years Ago

While the village chief was away, Huang Enhaodang and Heavenly Immortal purposely did not follow him but instead turned back to ask Qian Lao about the mountain ghost.

Upon hearing their inquiry, Qian Lao’s expression faltered before growing slightly panicky.

"Why are you asking about this? Didn’t the village chief say there would be no issue?"

"Your son has gone missing, and so has the leader of our company. Do you think our chairman will let this matter rest without an explanation?" Huang Enhaodang said gravely.

This made Qian Lao realize something. Indeed, when someone’s nephew comes to invest, and then they disappear, wouldn’t he himself also not let it rest?

"This..." Hearing this, Qian Lao became even more conflicted.

"The village chief might be an official, but you don’t have that kind of protection," Heavenly Immortal drunkenly added.

The implication was that they might not do anything to the village chief, but as a common person, they could easily concoct something to make him suffer.

Upon hearing this, Qian Lao shivered, thinking yes, they could easily manipulate things behind the scenes with ten billion invested to restrict Fengtai Village.

The simplest method would be a blockade, preventing them from finding people to continue the rituals, which are secondary. If next year there’s no woman to become the Mountain God’s bride, the mountain ghost certainly won’t be suppressed.

Escape? One would also need to be able to escape.

Descendants of the Qian family, once they leave Fengtai Village, always end up in trouble.

"Over here," Qian Lao said, glancing around before muttering softly.

The two men exchanged glances, sensing that this matter was settled.

Thus, they followed him to hear what he had to say.

"That matter has been almost sixty years ago, I was just a child then," Qian Lao began to recount the events briefly.

Roughly, it was the year when the Mountain God’s ritual was not held on time, and at the stroke of midnight, the mountain ghost descended.

Many people died then, and because of this, Fengtai Village once again reverted to the poor state it is in now.

The way they died was peculiar, each being skinned and gruesomely hung from trees on the mountain, with their skins disappearing.

"What similarities did these dead people have, or was it just bad luck?" Huang Enhaodang asked.

"I’m not sure, I was young at the time and did not think of these things. I only know that nearly every household had someone die, with at least half the population of Fengtai Village perishing," Qian Lao, who was clueless about any commonalities or sheer bad luck, admitted.

Everyone avoided it afterward, and from that time the Mountain God’s ritual has always been held promptly.

"Was there anything about the mountain ghost causing confusion before that?" Heavenly Immortal drunkenly asked a crucial question, noting that as long as tomorrow’s Mountain God’s ritual is held on time, the mountain ghost won’t descend, but the urgency lies in the disarray caused by the mountain ghost.

"There were a few occurrences, but usually, those who got confused were mostly frozen to death or dragged away and eaten by wolves or other creatures in the mountains, not as terrifying as when the mountain ghost descends."

"And, having lived for so many years, I’ve only encountered it three times."

Qian Lao seemed to steadily calm down as he chatted, having many people around him providing some reassurance.

"Actually, it’s just about getting lost in the mountains on a foggy day and possibly falling into a pit where no one knows about it, and over time, dying there."

"As long as the venerable Mountain God is present, the mountain ghost can only resort to these minor misdeeds. It’s just that some people are not lucky enough, and that’s how they get caught."

While saying this, Qian Lao sighed heavily, his son likely being one of those caught in these circumstances.

Listening to this, Huang Enhaodang and Heavenly Immortal grew even more suspicious. According to Qian Lao’s account, those who died lost to the mountain ghost seemed more like premeditated murders or accidents that occurred in the mountains.

As for Qian Tiezhu’s situation, weren’t they well aware of it?

Thus, the more likely possibility was a deceit, but where did Gu Shanhai go?

"Did a red shadow go up the mountain just now?" Qian Lao abruptly questioned.

"???" x2

Huang Enhaodang and Heavenly Immortal were taken aback; they indeed hadn’t seen anything as they were deep in plotting.

"What did you see?" Heavenly Immortal quickly asked.

"No... nothing," Qian Lao stuttered, knowing that the only thing related to red in their village was the bride.

But this wasn’t something he could discuss with outsiders; they knew it was illegal to traffic people.

"Are you sure?" Huang Enhaodang asked aggressively, his expression and tone clearly indicating he knew something.

Otherwise, why be so evasive?

"Sure, sure. You go ahead, I have to find the village chief," Qian Lao’s fear resurfaced, knowing that the ’bride’ had been locked up with thick iron chains—it would take the entire village a significant amount of time to break it.

Under normal circumstances, the ’bride’ would definitely not be able to escape.

But the situation wasn’t normal now.

Thus, he hurried off toward the village chief, convinced that this year’s Mountain God’s ritual was definitely going to go awry.

No, given the way things were progressing, whether they could even make it to tomorrow’s Mountain God’s ritual was another matter.

Qian Lao quickly reached the village chief and whispered, "Chief, I think I saw the bride going up the mountain."

The village chief’s expression stiffened, wondering what was going on.

"It’s impossible, she absolutely can’t leave!" The chief’s denial would have been more convincing if it hadn’t been for his trembling voice.

"Really, I just saw a flash of red heading up the mountain, I definitely didn’t see it wrong, it was very striking," Qian Lao suggested quietly after responding, "Why don’t we withdraw people back to the village? The fog is getting thicker, and it’s almost reaching the point where we’ll lose sight."

Of course, he was scared now, and when scared, escaping was definitely the first response, only a few could face their fears head-on.

The village chief fell silent for a few seconds before saying, "Retreat, we won’t go back to our hometowns. Let’s pack up our belongings and leave Fengtai Village for the nearest town, and stay there for a few days."

Since they had decided to run, it was better to go further away. Staying in Fengtai Village and waiting for death was not an option.

"Will we be alright?" Qian Lao asked anxiously.

"Would staying here make us safe?" the village chief retorted, then continued, "Alright, I’m going to notify everyone to descend the mountain, we can’t stay here any longer."

When it came to his own and his family’s safety, the village chief was decidedly resolute.

As for investing and developing Fengtai Village? That would have to wait until they were sure of their survival. If they didn’t have a way to live, what would they care about Fengtai Village for?

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