“Oh, it’s all my fault back then,” sighed Liu Dashao. “I should have taken care of both sides, but instead, I only focused on Liangzi. As a result, this ghost became jealous. He has lived in this construction site his whole life, and we won’t be able to drive him away.” Liu Dashao sighed.
Su Yougui was so frightened he plopped down onto the ground: “I always liked bullying this guy the most. Now we’re doomed. This kid’s ghost will certainly come after me for revenge.” Hu Beikang stared blankly at Liu Dashao. The other forty-odd men also stared blankly at Liu Dashao. Just thinking about having to stay with a ghost every day made their skin crawl.
“Everyone, don’t be afraid. This ghost is our friend. We just need to treat him as our friend from now on, and he won’t harm us,” Liu Dashao said sincerely.
“Hey, you really know how to joke around. Can this really be a matter for jokes?” At this moment, one of the men spoke up from the group.
“Do you mean you don’t trust me at all?” Liu Dashao asked.
“We don’t trust you. You’re just a petty sorcerer. How would those ghosts listen to you? We will definitely lose our lives if we continue staying here. We want to resign, we don’t want to continue working,” the man shouted again.
Fortunately, the surrounding people didn’t pay attention.
“Our families are still waiting for us at home, our parents are waiting for us at home. How can we stay in a place where we might die at any moment? If we die, what will happen to our families? What will happen to our wives, children, and parents?” The man became emotional as he spoke, shouting loudly at the crowd.
“Yes, our wives and children, our parents! We don’t want to work anymore. We want to go home!” Another rough voice echoed.
More and more voices rose up, and almost everyone was filled with the same thought: this place is just too dangerous. We want to go home.
If this construction team were to disband, Fan Debiao would bear great responsibility.
Fan Debiao stood up and roared at the men, “What do you think you are? Damn it, I work my ass off to make life better for you, but when a little danger comes, you all want to run away. Don’t you know the saying ‘share happiness and endure hardship together’? Damn it, how could one ghost harm all of us? You’re just a bunch of cowards. Let me tell you, my younger brother is in the village below. If anyone dares to leave, none of you will leave alive.”
Fan Debiao’s words stunned the crowd, as he was clearly a man of the world, and such a small outburst was enough to intimidate them.
Indeed, those people stopped shouting, but they looked at Fan Debiao and asked, “Then where will we live and what will we eat?”
Fan Debiao’s tone then softened slightly: “Don’t worry, as long as I’m still alive, you won’t starve or freeze. Look, we’ve just saved all the food coupons and money from the team leader. It’s enough to last us a month. After a month, I guarantee that I’ll have solved all the accommodation and food problems. If I don’t, you can leave, and I’ll welcome you with both hands.”
“Yeah, I’m willing to follow Fan Debiao. Boss Fan treats us well, and the food he provides is much better than that of the previous foreman. Most importantly, whenever Boss Fan has something delicious, he shares it with the brothers. I’ve never eaten beef from childhood until now, and it was only last time that I tasted beef for the first time,” said Su Yougui. At this, the crowd finally calmed down, feeling that Su Yougui’s words made a lot of sense. They realized that before, they often didn’t know where their next meal would come from, but under Fan Debiao, had they ever gone to bed hungry? They had even unexpectedly tasted beef once. This kind of camaraderie…
“We’ll stay too, we’ll stay!” More and more people agreed to stay.
“Wu wu wu wu, wu wu wu wu!” A strange gust of wind blew through, mixed with sounds like ghostly wails, causing everyone to shiver and feel something was off.
“Don’t worry, it’s just the wind. The ghost won’t really harm us. Now everyone can sleep peacefully. I’ll keep watch for you tonight,” Liu Dashao told them.
With Liu Dashao keeping watch, everyone finally fell asleep peacefully. After everyone had closed their eyes, Liu Dashao’s snoring followed one after another. This guy had just made a casual promise earlier and now actually fell asleep.
The real accident happened the next morning.
The next morning, Su Yougui went out to urinate and saw someone urinating from a distance, so he walked over to see who was so disrespectful of the rules.
“Ah, it’s all my fault for not taking care of both sides back then. I should have looked after both, but I only cared for Liangzi, and this ghost got jealous. Now he’s decided to stay at this construction site for life, and we can’t drive him away,” Liu Dashao sighed.
Su Yougui was so scared that he plopped down on the ground: “I always liked to bully this guy the most. Now it’s over; his ghost is definitely going to come after me for revenge.” Hu Beikang also stared blankly at Liu Dashao. The other forty or so men were equally stunned. The thought of having to live with a ghost every day sent shivers down their spines.
“Don’t be afraid, everyone. This ghost is our friend. From now on, we’ll treat him as such, and he won’t harm us,” Liu Dashao said earnestly.
“Hey, you must be joking. How can you joke about something like this?” one of the men spoke up.
“Don’t you trust me?” Liu Dashao asked.
“No, we don’t. You’re just a small-time charlatan. Why would ghosts listen to you? If we stay here, we’ll surely die. We want to quit; we don’t want to work here anymore,” the man shouted again.
Fortunately, the others ignored him.
“Our families are waiting for us at home, our parents are waiting for us. How can we stay in such a dangerous place where we might die at any moment? If we die, what will happen to our families, our wives, and children?” the man became increasingly agitated as he shouted to the crowd.
“Yes, our wives, our children, our parents! We don’t want to work here anymore; we want to go home!” another rough voice chimed in.
More and more voices joined in, almost everyone filled with the same thought: this place is too dangerous; we want to go home.
If the construction team disbanded, Fan Debiao would bear a heavy responsibility.
Fan Debiao stood up and roared at the men: “What kind of men are you? I’ve been working my ass off to make your lives better, and what do you do? At the first sign of danger, you all want to run away. We’re supposed to share both fortune and hardship, don’t you know that? Damn it, one ghost against so many of us, how could he harm us? You’re all a bunch of cowards. Let me tell you, my men are in the village below. If anyone dares to leave, none of you will make it out alive.”
Fan Debiao’s words silenced the crowd. After all, he was a man who had seen the world, and such a small act of intimidation was enough to keep them in line.
Sure enough, the men stopped their clamoring and just looked at Fan Debiao, asking, “Then where will we live? What will we eat?”
Fan Debiao’s tone softened: “Don’t worry, as long as I’m alive, you won’t go hungry or cold. See, we’ve just saved up the food coupons and money from the team leader, enough to last us a month. After a month, I promise we’ll solve the accommodation and food issues. If we don’t, you can leave, and I’ll welcome it with open hands.”
“Well, I’m willing to follow Fan Debiao. Boss Fan has been good to us, and the food we get is much better than what we had with the previous foreman. Most importantly, Boss Fan always shares any good food with us. I’ve never eaten beef in my life until last time when I had it for the first time,” Su Yougui’s words finally calmed everyone down. They realized that what Su Yougui said made sense. Before, they often didn’t know where their next meal would come from, but with Fan Debiao, they never went hungry. They even got to eat beef once, which was a rare treat.
“We’ll stay too, we’ll stay!” More and more people agreed to remain.
“Whoo, whoo, whoo!” A strange gust of wind blew past, carrying with it ghostly wails. Everyone shivered, sensing something was wrong.
“Don’t worry, it’s just the wind. The ghost won’t really harm us. Now everyone can sleep peacefully. I’ll keep watch tonight,” Liu Dashao reassured the men.
With Liu Dashao on watch, everyone finally settled down to sleep. As they closed their eyes, Liu Dashao’s snoring soon followed. The man had just been talking casually, but now he was fast asleep.
The real trouble came the next morning.
The next morning, Su Yougui went out to relieve himself and saw someone standing in the distance doing the same. He walked over to see who it was.
But when he got closer, Su Yougui nearly had a heart attack. The person urinating had no face, no hair—just a smooth, round head. From a distance, it looked like a ball of pale yellow skin.
Su Yougui’s scream quickly drew a crowd. Everyone stared at the faceless man, murmuring among themselves.
“Who is this? He has no face, and he died while urinating.”
“Who knows? Last night, I saw this person standing here in a daze. Who knows who he is?”
“What are you all standing around for? Get back to work! Do you want to be out here tonight too?” Fan Debiao stood up. Since his office had burned down, he had been sleeping with the men.
But when he saw the faceless man, he too was startled. He took a step back and said, “Who the hell is this? Take a good look, all of you. Is anyone missing from our team?”
Everyone started counting, and finally, Liu Dashao noticed something: “Boss, something’s wrong. Where’s Hu Beikang?”
Fan Debiao trembled and shouted, “Hu Beikang, Hu Beikang, where the hell are you?”
Someone responded, “What’s up, boss? I went to take a dump. What’s wrong?”
Fan Debiao’s expression eased. He had been worried about Hu Beikang.
“Is anyone missing? Did you notice?” Liu Dashao asked curiously.
“Well, we have a lot of people here. No one’s missing,” they all said after checking.
“Indeed, no one’s missing,” Su Yougui stepped out from the crowd. “I just counted; no one’s missing.”
Fan Debiao finally breathed a sigh of relief. As long as no one was missing, this person must have come from outside. Let’s bury him.
Fan Debiao spoke up and ordered the men to take the faceless man to the back and bury him.
But as a few men approached to drag him away, the faceless man suddenly grabbed one of them and pulled him forward, then slammed his round head into the man.
The impact immediately shattered the man’s body into pieces, scattering debris seven or eight meters away. Everyone quickly backed off.
After the collision, the faceless man frantically crawled toward Mount Bodhisattva. This action left everyone puzzled: “What does this guy want? Why is he heading to Mount Bodhisattva?”
Fan Debiao calmly watched the fleeing man and said to Liu Dashao, “Master Liu, is this man trying to lead us to Mount Bodhisattva? This isn’t the first time he’s hinted at it.”
Liu Dashao seemed deep in thought, his gaze fixed ahead. After a while, he turned to Fan Debiao and said, “The Mountain God’s Egg, go check the Mountain God’s Egg.”
Fan Debiao led Liu Dashao and the others to the ruins of his office. The Mountain God’s Egg was still there, untouched. Fan Debiao ordered the men to clear the dust from the room, and after a while, they found half of the Mountain God’s Egg.
“Where’s the other half? It’s missing!” Liu Dashao shouted.
Fan Debiao was also stunned. He rushed into the room, searching everywhere, but found nothing.
“It seems that the faceless man is the Mountain God’s Egg,” Liu Dashao concluded.
“But how is that possible? The Mountain God’s Egg is just a piece of stone, but that was a living, breathing person,” Fan Debiao asked curiously.
“If I’m not mistaken, this must be the legendary ‘Golden Cicada Shedding Its Shell.’ You can compare it to a chick hatching from an egg. They both emerge from their shells to become a new form of life. I think there’s something strange about Mount Bodhisattva. We must go there and see what’s going on,” Liu Dashao decided. No matter what, they had to investigate.
“Alright then, Master Liu, pick a few people, and we’ll set off now,” Fan Debiao said.
“Just the same people as last time. They’re familiar with the place. Su Yougui, Hu Beikang, you and I. Let’s go now. Prepare your weapons. If we don’t return by nightfall, don’t come looking for us. Just light a big fire here, the smokier the better. Wait for us to return, got it?”
Liu Dashao instructed.
“Got it!” the crowd replied.
Liu Dashao nodded.
“Master Liu, why do we need to light a fire?” Fan Debiao asked curiously.
“In such a strange place, we’re bound to encounter ‘ghost walls.’ When that happens, we’ll follow the thick smoke to find our way back,” Liu Dashao explained calmly.
In this backward place, there were no advanced weapons. The most sophisticated tools were iron picks and a few torches. Liu Dashao also brought along some chicken blood and a black donkey hoof, just in case.
Fan Debiao carried a bunch of garlic. Liu Dashao looked at him curiously and asked, “Why are you carrying all that garlic?”
Fan Debiao smiled: “There’s a legend in my hometown that garlic can ward off evil. Whether it works or not, I’ll bring it just in case.”
Liu Dashao didn’t object. In reality, garlic doesn’t ward off evil; it can even attract demons. The belief that garlic repels evil comes from the fact that some low-level ghosts that confuse people can be deterred by the smell of garlic, which makes people feel more alert. But it doesn’t actually have any protective effect.
However, if carrying garlic made Fan Debiao feel more at ease, there was no harm in it. Liu Dashao didn’t stop him.
The four of them stumbled along, taking half an hour to reach Mount Bodhisattva. By then, the sky was bright, but the mountain was shrouded in a dark mist. The mist was eerie, as if a giant hand had enveloped the entire mountain.
Liu Dashao looked around. Ahead, a vast expanse of mist rolled toward them. Feeling the mist, Liu Dashao knew it was the lingering presence of restless spirits, gathering here with the mist to form a flowing, boundless sea.
Su Yougui’s scream immediately drew more and more people to gather around, all staring at this faceless person and discussing it noisily.
“Who is this guy? He has no face and even urinated to death.”
“Who knows? I vaguely saw this person standing here last night. Who knows who this person really is.”
“What are you all standing around for? Don’t you want to work? Do you want someone outside tonight?” At this moment, Fan Debiao also stood up. Since his office was burned down, he had been sleeping with these men.
But when he approached and saw the faceless person, he was still startled, exclaiming in shock and taking a step back, staring at the person and saying, “Who the hell is this guy? You all look, look at him, who is missing from our team?”
Everyone began to count each other, and finally Liu Dashao was the first to notice the problem: “Boss, something’s wrong. How come Hu Beikang is missing?”
Fan Debiao shivered all over and shouted loudly, “Hu Beikang! Hu Beikang! Where the hell did you go?”
Surprisingly, someone actually responded, “What’s up, boss? I went to take a dump. What’s wrong?”
Fan Debiao’s face relaxed a bit; he had just been really worried about Hu Beikang.
“Is anyone missing? Did you notice?” Liu Dashao asked curiously.
“Yeah, everyone’s here. No one’s missing,” the people replied after checking with each other.
“Yeah, not a single person is missing,” Su Yougui stepped out from the crowd, saying, “I just counted, and no one’s missing.”
Fan Debiao let out a heavy sigh of relief. Since no one was missing, this person might be someone from outside. We should sell him.
Fan Debiao spoke up and then ordered everyone to take the faceless person to the back and bury him.
However, just as a few people approached and tried to drag the faceless person to the back, to their surprise, this faceless fellow suddenly pulled one of the men forward with a single tug of his arm. At the same time, his smooth, round head slammed into him fiercely.
Upon impact, the man’s body immediately split into two halves, with pieces scattering and flying seven or eight meters away. Everyone hurriedly stepped back in panic.
After hitting the person, the faceless man crazily started crawling towards the direction of Mount Bodhisattva. This action left everyone on the scene puzzled: “What exactly is this guy trying to do? Why is he running towards Mount Bodhisattva?”
Fan Debiao also calmly watched the fleeing figure, then turned to Liu Dashao and said, “Master Liu, could this person be trying to tell us to head to Mount Bodhisattva? This isn’t the first time he’s given a hint.”
Liu Dashao was deep in thought, his gaze fixed ahead. After a while, he snapped out of his trance and said to Fan Debiao, “The egg of the mountain god—quick, go check the egg of the mountain god.”
Fan Debiao, together with Liu Dashao and others, went to the ruins of his former office. The egg of the mountain god had not been touched. Fan Debiao ordered the men to dig through the dust in the room, and after a long time, they finally found half of the egg of the mountain god from inside.
“Where’s the other half of the egg of the mountain god? Why is it missing?” shouted Liu Dashao.
Fan Debiao was also stunned. He rushed into the room searching everywhere, but finally came up empty-handed.
“It seems that this faceless person must be the egg of the mountain god,” Liu Dashao concluded.
“But how is that possible? The egg of the mountain god was just a bunch of stones, while this… this is a flesh-and-blood person,” Fan Debiao asked in confusion.
“If I’m not mistaken, this should be the legendary case of a cicada shedding its shell. You could also compare it to hatching a chick from an egg. Aren’t they both emerging from their shells into another form of life? I think something strange is going on at Mount Bodhisattva, and we must go there to see what odd things are hidden inside,” Liu Dashao made up his mind. This time, no matter what, he had to go and see for himself.
“Alright then, Master Liu. You pick a few people, and we’ll set out right away,” Fan Debiao said.
“Just take the same few people who went last time. They’re more familiar with the place. Su Yougui, Hu Beikang, you and I will go. Let’s set out now. Prepare your weapons. If we don’t return by tonight, don’t come looking for us. Just light a big fire here. The more smoke, the better. Keep it burning until we come back. Remember?” Liu Dashao instructed.
“Understood!” came the reply from the crowd.
Liu Dashao nodded in satisfaction.
“Master Liu, why do we need to light a fire?” Fan Debiao asked curiously.
“In such a strange place, we’re sure to encounter ghost walls. At that time, we can find our way back following the thick smoke,” Liu Dashao said calmly.
In such a backward place, there were no advanced weapons, the most advanced being pickaxes and a few torches. Liu Dashao also brought the remaining chicken blood, and although the donkey hoof wasn’t used, he wore it on his body.
Fan Debiao carried a large bunch of garlic. Liu Dashao looked at it curiously and asked, “Why are you carrying all this garlic?”
Fan Debiao smiled, “In our hometown’s legend, garlic is believed to ward off evil spirits. Whether it works or not, I’ll just bring it along for peace of mind.”
Liu Dashao didn’t object. Garlic actually doesn’t ward off evil spirits at all; in fact, it might even attract demons. The reason garlic is said to ward off evil is because some low-level ghosts that confuse people’s minds can be repelled by the smell of garlic. When people smell garlic, they become more alert and spirited, but it has no real effect in driving away evil spirits.
However, since carrying garlic could give Fan Debiao some peace of mind, there was no harm in letting him bring it along, and Liu Dashao didn’t stop him.
The four of them stumbled along, and it took half an hour to reach Mount Bodhisattva. By then, it was already daylight, but inside Mount Bodhisattva, a layer of dark fog was shrouding everything. This fog was very strange, as if a giant hand had wrapped around the entire mountain.
Liu Dashao looked around. Ahead, a vast array of spectral weapons was rolling towards them. Feeling the presence of these weapons, Liu Dashao knew they were the lingering spirits that refused to disperse. The gathering of these spirits’ negative energy, mixed with the fog, had formed a flowing, vast ocean of darkness.
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