"Alas, it was all my fault for not taking care of both sides. I should have managed them simultaneously, but I only focused on Liangzi. As a result, this ghost became jealous. He has lived on this construction site his entire life; we can’t drive him away," sighed Young Master Liu.

Su Yougui also slumped to the ground in terror: "I usually love bullying this guy. Now it’s over. Isn't this kid's ghost going to come back for revenge?" Hu Beikang stared blankly at Young Master Liu. The other forty-odd laborers also looked at Young Master Liu in stunned silence. The thought of having to spend every day alongside a ghost made their blood run cold.

"Everyone, don't be afraid. This ghost is our friend. From now on, let’s treat him as a friend; he won't harm us," Young Master Liu said sincerely.

"Hey, you really know how to joke. Is this the kind of thing you joke about?" At this moment, one of the laborers spoke up.

"Do you not even trust me?" Young Master Liu asked.

"We don't trust you. You're just a petty charlatan. Why would those ghosts listen to you? If we stay here, we'll surely lose our lives. We demand to resign; we are not continuing this work," the laborer shouted again, loudly.

Fortunately, the surrounding people ignored him.

"Our families are waiting for us at home; our parents are waiting for us at home! How can we stay in a place where we could die at any moment? If we die, what about our families? What about our wives, children, and parents?" The man became agitated as he spoke, shouting out to the crowd below him.

"That’s right, our wives and children, our parents! We’re quitting, we want to go home!" another gruff voice chimed in.

More and more voices rose, each mind filled with the same thought: this place was far too dangerous; they needed to go home.

If this construction team disbanded, Fan Debiao would bear significant blame.

Fan Debiao stood up and roared at the laborers: "What kind of men are you? I work my tail off so you can live well, and what do you do? The moment there’s a bit of danger, you all want to run away. Don't you know what it means to share fortune and endure hardship together? Damn it, it's one ghost against so many of us; how could he possibly harm us? What a bunch of cowards. Let me tell you, my younger brother is in the mountain village just below us. If any of you dare to leave, none of you will walk out alive."

Fan Debiao’s words stunned everyone into silence. After all, Fan Debiao was a man who had seen the world; this small show of force was enough to intimidate them.

Indeed, the men stopped shouting nonsense and merely looked at Fan Debiao, asking, "Then where will we live and what will we eat from now on?"

Fan Debiao's tone softened slightly: "Don't worry. As long as I draw breath, none of you will starve or freeze. See? The ration coupons and money we just took from the team headquarters are all saved up; it’s enough for us to eat for a whole month. After a month, I guarantee your accommodation and living expenses will be completely sorted out. If I can’t solve it, you can leave then, and I’ll welcome it with open arms."

"En, I'm willing to stay with Fan Debiao. Boss Fan treats us very well, and the food he gives us is much better than what the last foreman provided. Most importantly, Boss Fan shares any good food he gets with his brothers. Since I was a child, I’d never eaten beef until the last time I had it," when Su Yougui said this, everyone's minds finally settled completely. They felt that what Su Yougui said made perfect sense. Before, they were always worried about the next meal, but following Fan Debiao, when had they ever gone hungry? They even unexpectedly got to eat beef once—this kind of brotherhood...

"We're staying too! We’re staying too!" More and more people agreed to remain.

"Woo-woo-woo-woo, woo-woo-woo-woo!" A strange, fierce wind swept through, carrying sounds like ghostly wails. Everyone shivered, sensing something was wrong.

"Don't worry, this is just the sound of the wind. The ghost won't truly hurt us. Everyone sleep soundly now; I'll stand watch tonight," Young Master Liu told the men.

With Young Master Liu keeping watch, everyone finally fell into a peaceful sleep. As soon as everyone closed their eyes, Young Master Liu's snoring immediately followed. He had just said that casually, and now he was already asleep.

The real incident occurred the next morning.

The next morning, Su Yougui went out to relieve himself and saw a figure standing some distance away, urinating. He walked over to see who was being so inconsiderate of the rules.

But when he got close, Su Yougui nearly had his gall scared out of him, because the person urinating before him had no face and no hair; his head was nothing but a smooth, round sphere. With skin the color of pale yellow, from a distance, he looked exactly like a rubber ball.

Su Yougui’s scream immediately attracted more and more people to gather around. Everyone stared at this faceless man, murmuring amongst themselves.

"Who is this? He has no facial features, and he died while urinating."

"Who knows? I vaguely saw this person standing here last night; who knows who he is."

"What are you all standing around for? Get back to work! Do you want someone else out there tonight?" Fan Debiao also stood up. Ever since his office burned down, he had been sleeping with the laborers.

But when he walked over and saw the man without any facial features, he still jumped in fright. "Oh my god!" He took a step back, looking at the figure and shouting, "Who the hell is this man? Look! All of you, look! Which one of us is missing from our group?"

The men quickly counted each other, and finally, Young Master Liu was the first to notice the issue: "Boss, something's wrong. Where is Hu Beikang?"

Fan Debiao’s body trembled, and he roared: "Hu Beikang! Hu Beikang! Where the hell are you, kid?"

When he shouted, someone actually responded: "What is it, Boss? I went to take a dump, what's wrong?"

Fan Debiao’s expression eased. He had genuinely felt a pang of anxiety for Hu Beikang just now.

"Is anyone missing? Did you notice?" Young Master Liu asked curiously.

"En, we aren't missing anyone here. No one is gone," the men reported after checking each other.

"En, indeed, no one is missing," Su Yougui stepped out from the crowd. "I just counted, and we aren't short of anyone."

Fan Debiao finally let out a heavy sigh of relief. It was good that no one was missing; this person might be an outsider who wandered in. "Let's sell him off," Fan Debiao said, ordering the men to drag the faceless man to the back and bury him.

However, as a few men stepped forward to drag the person away, they never expected that the faceless fellow could yank the arm of the man behind him, pulling him forward. Simultaneously, his smooth head slammed forward.

With that collision, the body of the man who was struck instantly shattered into two halves, fragments scattering and flying seven or eight meters away. Everyone hastily retreated.

After striking that person, the faceless man began crawling frantically toward Mount Pusa. This action left everyone present utterly perplexed: "What in the world is this guy trying to do? Why is he heading toward Mount Pusa?"

Fan Debiao watched the man scrambling away with a calm expression. He looked at Young Master Liu and said, "Master Liu, is this person trying to tell us to take a trip to Mount Pusa? This isn't the first time he's hinted at it."

Young Master Liu looked thoughtful, his gaze fixed ahead. After a long pause, he snapped back to reality and said to Fan Debiao, "Where is the Mountain God Egg? Go check on the Mountain God Egg quickly."

Fan Debiao led Young Master Liu and the others to the ruins of his former office. The Mountain God Egg hadn't been moved at all. Fan Debiao ordered everyone to clear away the dust from the room, and after a long search, they found half of the Mountain God Egg inside.

"Where is the other half of the Mountain God Egg? Why isn't it here?" Young Master Liu shouted.

Fan Debiao was also stunned. He rushed into the room and searched everywhere, ultimately finding nothing.

"It seems that faceless person is the Mountain God Egg," Young Master Liu concluded.

"But how is that possible? The Mountain God Egg is just a piece of rock, but that thing is 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 also compare it to hatching a chick from an egg. Don't they both emerge from a shell into a different form of life? I think there’s something strange about Mount Pusa; we must go there and see. We need to see what miraculous things are inside," Young Master Liu made up his mind; this time, he absolutely had to investigate.

"En, alright then, Master Liu. Pick a few men, and we'll set off immediately," Fan Debiao said.

"Just the same group as last time; they are more familiar with the place: Su Yougui, Hu Beikang, and you, along with me. We are leaving now. You prepare weapons. If we don't return by nightfall, don't come looking for us. Just light a huge bonfire right here; the more smoke, the better. Keep it going until we get back. Remember?" Young Master Liu instructed.

"Understood!" came the reply from the crowd.

Young Master Liu nodded then.

"Master Liu, why light a fire?" Fan Debiao asked curiously.

"In such a bizarre place, we are bound to run into the Ghost Wall. We can use this thick smoke to find our way back then," Young Master Liu said calmly.

In this backward place, they had no advanced weaponry; the most advanced tools were pickaxes. They also had a few torches. Young Master Liu also took the remaining chicken blood with him, and although he hadn't needed the black donkey hooves, he wore them too.

Fan Debiao carried a large bunch of garlic. Young Master Liu looked at it curiously and asked, "What are you carrying all this garlic for?"

Fan Debiao smiled: "In my hometown, there's a legend that garlic repels evil. Whether it works or not, I’m bringing it along."

Young Master Liu did not object. Garlic actually doesn't repel evil at all; rather, it can attract malevolent spirits. The reason it’s said to ward off evil is that for some low-level, mind-deceiving spirits, having garlic on one’s person makes people feel more energetic just by smelling it, but it has no exorcising effect.

However, since Fan Debiao carried it, it gave him some peace of mind, which was understandable. Young Master Liu didn't intervene.

The four of them stumbled along; the half-hour journey took them to Mount Pusa. By then, dawn had fully broken, but Mount Pusa was shrouded in a layer of gloomy mist. This mist was extremely strange, resembling a giant hand enveloping the entire mountain.

Young Master Liu looked all around. Ahead, vast waves of qi were rolling continuously toward his direction. Sensing that surge of energy, Young Master Liu knew it was the lingering presence of malevolent spirits, and the accumulating Yin energy, mixed with the mist, had formed a vast, flowing ocean.