Evil Spirits Carrying A Coffin

Chapter Eight: Arrival at Duantou Ridge

Nothing happened that night. Dawn broke quickly in the mountains. I yawned and saw Hammer and the others slowly emerging from their tents. When they noticed me watching, they paused for a moment before walking directly toward me.

"Young master, haven't you rested yet?" Hammer asked, concern in his voice.

Shaking my head, Lu Yifa also stepped out at the same time, looking at us. He paused, and then a small grin appeared on his face.

"Hehe, to be honest, were you scared yesterday?" he teased.

Looking at Uncle Hammer's smirking face, I couldn’t help but roll my eyes. I really didn’t know how my second grandfather had raised him these past few years—he'd become more and more unserious.

"Alright, that's enough. Let’s go eat," I said, trying to shift the focus.

Hammer threw his arm around my shoulder as he led me toward where several of the men had already started heating up a pot of liquor. We all gathered and began to eat.

After taking a few bites, my stomach finally felt better. We waited a while, and soon everyone finished eating and cleaned up. Then, my second grandfather led the group forward, deeper into the forest.

This area in Yunnan was undeveloped, and its connection to ominous local legends—stories of people disappearing—kept everyone away, leaving it as a pristine, untouched wilderness.

Pushing aside the thorns blocking the way, I looked ahead, unsure how much farther we had to go. Along the way, I had encountered all sorts of snakes, insects, and birds. They were all there, witnessing it all firsthand. If it weren't for the fact that several men were armed, the journey would have been much more difficult.

Earlier, we had encountered a pack of wolves. Hammer and his team hunted down several of them with guns before the rest fled in terror. At that point, survival was the only thing that mattered—who would care about the country when their lives were at risk?

After walking for a long time, we finally came to a place that resembled a mountain stream, with towering ancient trees growing all around. If my second grandfather hadn’t pointed it out, I would never have noticed the gap between the two mountain ranges.

The gap appeared narrow from a distance, but once we got closer, it was clear it was wide enough for two or three people to pass side by side.

Seeing this, my second grandfather smiled with satisfaction. Back then, he had led the Zhou family and their men here to search for something. He never expected that after so many years, he would return.

"Second Master, look," one of the men said suddenly, pointing to a can-like object found in the nearby bushes. He picked it up and noticed the date on it—it was from just a few days ago.

"It seems the person Hammer has been investigating is indeed here," my second grandfather remarked.

"Come on, be careful. It’s dangerous in here," he added as a reminder. The men raised their guns, slowly aiming as they ventured through the gap.

The ground inside the gap was all dirt, and it was uncomfortable to walk on. There was a strange cotton-like substance in the soil, likely due to the area's geology.

Beyond the gap lay a primeval jungle, even more lush than the one we had passed through. But it was eerily quiet, as if something was off.

After hammering through a patch of vines, I discovered broken walls and ruins, suggesting that there had once been a building here. Curious, I moved closer to investigate, but found nothing. The area was covered in moss, and there was no useful information to be found.

"Second Grandfather, why is this place called Duantouling?" I asked, as the name suddenly popped into my head. Who had named this place? Could it have been my second grandfather himself when he came here all those years ago?

"That's a long story," my second grandfather said after a pause, before recounting the origin of Duantou Ridge.

In the ancient county annals of Luoping County, Yunnan Province, there was a legend of a secluded ethnic group living deep in the mountains. This group worshipped heads, and the heads of all the dead were cut off and offered as sacrifices. Outsiders who entered the area were seen as strange, and their heads would be cut off and displayed as warnings.

Later, the government sent troops to suppress them, but they never anticipated that the leader of this tribe could control a strange creature resembling a head. Most of the soldiers were drained of life, dried out. The few survivors returned to the local residents and shared the tale. From that point on, the place was called Broken Head Ridge. Whether the government had ever really sent troops was unclear, as it was only a legend.

Just as we were about to continue our journey, we heard a rustling sound from the bushes beside us. Several monkey-like creatures appeared in our field of vision. It was those troublesome monkeys again.

"Damn it, it's this thing again?" Hammer cursed loudly but didn’t dare to move carelessly. The demon monkeys had speed and strength far beyond ordinary creatures, but they could only attack if we made the first move.

Just then, Second Grandfather waved his hand, and the men immediately understood. Led by Hammer, they raised their machine guns and opened fire on the group of mischievous monkeys. Despite their usual fearlessness, the monkeys scattered when they saw the guns. After a few moments, they were thrown back by the force of the bullets.

These monstrous monkeys were not ordinary creatures. It was said that they had gnawed on the dead for years, consuming evil energy. Over time, they transformed into these ghastly creatures with red, glowing eyes. Their claws carried venom that could kill.

As we continued onward, it became clear that there was something truly sinister within Broken Head Ridge. After several more gunshots, all the charging monkeys lay motionless on the ground, barely breathing.

"Let’s go. We don’t have time to waste here," Second Grandfather said, urging us forward.

He led the group through the vines and into the ancient building. Inside, I discovered that, while the area was full of plants, many of the buildings were partially obscured, covered in moss and largely unrecognizable.

These buildings were simple in structure, and some looked quite strange. It seemed that they had never been used, and their purpose was unclear.