Seeing the lion’s look of extreme caution, a chill crept up my spine again, as if something in the mist were watching our every move.

I couldn’t help leaning closer to Old Li, asking, “Have you been here before?”

Old Li nodded, placing the chain tethering the lion into my hand, and said, “Technician Luo, I’ve been here, and the lion has been here too. Remember, no matter what happens, don’t stray too far from the lion.”

Seeing Old Li’s unnaturally pale face, my unease grew. There were all sorts of legends about ghosts and spirits in the communication station; I used to listen to them as amusing anecdotes to pass the time. Now, I was caught in the middle of one such story, and I certainly couldn't laugh anymore.

After another few minutes of silent walking, the concrete steps finally ended—there, in the mountain’s shadow, a small two-story building stood isolated. Most of the concrete wall surrounding it had already collapsed. Thus, we easily climbed over into the small compound. Standing below, looking up at the pitch-black windows and the tightly shut, rusted iron door, the words “hair-raisingly terrifying” suddenly sprang into my mind!

…Old Li’s condition kept deteriorating, suggesting he held some dark memory of this place. Moreover, without searching, he immediately leaped through a window. The lion’s behavior was also highly abnormal; upon arrival here, it clung to Old Li’s heels, never leaving his side. It wasn't acting as if it were protecting Old Li, but rather as if it needed Old Li to protect it.

Tibetan Mastiffs are known for their immense courage. Experiments have shown they are among the few dog breeds bold enough to confront lions or tigers directly, and they are also the most fiercely loyal to their masters among these fighting breeds.

Yet, the lion now was like this. Everything solidified my suspicion—Old Li must have experienced something extraordinary here.

I truly couldn't imagine what horrifying things they must have encountered if they had truly been here, just as I suspected. Thinking of this, my already growing sense of unease intensified further. I didn't even have the courage to enter this abandoned communication station. If Old Li hadn’t called me several times, I would have preferred to spend the night outside, even if it meant freezing to death.

Although it was a decommissioned station, entering, one could still sense the lingering presence of the military. Whether it was the concrete walls or the room layouts, they bore a strong resemblance—about seventy to eighty percent similar—to the place where I had lived for half a year. However, due to long abandonment, a pervasive atmosphere of decay clung to all the surfaces.

Section Chief Wang and the others grew quieter and quieter. After following us into the building, they casually found spots to lie down and promptly fell asleep. Only Old Li was busy; not only did he take out their blankets to cover them, but he also went to the back of the room to fetch some firewood and started a small fire.

Old Li seemed to have forgotten that it was only a little past six in the evening, and the sky was still bright outside. It wasn't yet the time to light a fire; starting one so early felt wrong.

Before long, snores erupted from Section Chief Wang and the others. Remembering last night’s events, my scalp tingled the moment I saw them sleeping, terrified they might relapse into madness. Thankfully, Old Li pulled out some medicinal herbs he had saved and tossed them into the fire. As the smoke slowly rose, the faint herbal scent began to spread, and my heart settled slightly. Old Li crouched by the flames, and as the firelight flickered, his complexion seemed to improve, no longer as ghastly as it had been during the day.

Looking at his face, I suddenly had a feeling that tonight, he would reveal something—something I had never known before. Sure enough, shortly after we finished eating, Old Li sighed deeply, then wrapped his arms around the lion’s neck and murmured softly, “Technician Luo, this place… it’s a haunted house! A real haunted house.”

Even though I thought I was mentally prepared, seeing Old Li’s face shifting under the firelight made my stomach lurch. I had no choice but to silently accept what he said. Old Li occasionally prodded the fire with a stick while gently stroking the lion’s furry head, seemingly lost in memory.

Only after the herbs had burned away did Old Li close his eyes slightly and whisper, “That was five years ago.”

Hearing him begin to speak, I put down my ration bar and watched him quietly. Old Li seemed to recall something terrifying, and a bead of cold sweat traced its way down his temple.

“That was the second year after I was promoted to First Sergeant, and this station had only been established for four years. I remember clearly, one day we received notice from headquarters that several Japanese travelers had gone missing near our post.” Old Li steadied himself at this point, lit a cigarette, took a deep drag, and continued, “We sent six men to search for those missing Japanese, and we walked all the way here.”

The smoke he exhaled drifted into the air, and the tense atmosphere slowly built. I became increasingly uneasy. To ease the mood, I tried to force a light smile and asked, “It wasn’t just you who came back, was it?”

Old Li shook his head. “It wasn’t that horrific; we all returned, but… he sighed, “I don’t know how to explain that incident, Technician Luo. I’ve seen ghosts—no, not ghosts. Master Banqin said they aren’t ghosts.”

I couldn’t help giving a wry smile. When had a 'Master Banqin' suddenly appeared? However, seeing Old Li’s solemn expression, I cautioned myself: if I wanted to get back safely, it was best to listen quietly. Whatever he was about to say must be related to the strange things we were experiencing.

Perhaps my wry smile had provoked him, as Old Li’s expression turned despondent again. It was the first time I had ever seen the usually composed and experienced Old Li look so dejected. He lowered his head and continued, “Master Banqin warned me never to return to this place. But, ah, Technician Luo, you wouldn’t believe it, I often dream about this place these past few years, really.”

I knew Old Li slept poorly; in recent months, I often saw him smoking outside alone at night, but I never imagined it was for this reason. What exactly had happened to him here back then that could scare a tough man like him awake in his dreams?

“I saw those Japanese—no, I can’t call them Japanese anymore. They… I don’t know if they were even human anymore!” Old Li said, his face contorted in terror.

I was about to say, "They weren't human to begin with," but before I could speak, Old Li pointed a finger at the iron door. “We sealed that door. At that time, they were right outside.”

Following his gaze, a sudden chill ran through me. Now that he mentioned it, looking closely, the door was indeed strange; it was covered in dense, inexplicable impact marks.

Although the iron doors of the military back then weren’t as advanced as modern security doors, they were still made of three-millimeter-thick iron. For those creatures to leave so many marks—it showed how terrifying the situation must have been!

Old Li paused, composing himself, and then said, “The six of us were inside this room. When those Japanese saw us, they rushed toward the door like madmen, as if they wanted to eat us alive. Seeing that things were going wrong, we quickly locked the main door shut… They couldn't get in, so they started attacking the outside. Technician Luo, they truly weren’t human! They eat people! They were eating people right outside this door!”

Hearing Old Li say those Japanese were eating people, I was instantly reminded of Section Chief Wang and the others. Did that mean they had also intended to devour me last night? Thinking of this, I couldn't stop trembling. Though I was considered relatively brave, the thought of nearly being gnawed alive made me uncontrollably fearful.

Seeing me nervously watching Section Chief Wang and the others, Old Li seemed to read my mind. He pulled out more densely packed herbs and threw them into the fire. Only after the smoke rose again did he speak softly, “(Section Chief) Wang and the others aren't like that. At least they still have human forms now. Master Banqin told us that the ones with human forms could be controlled by burning this herb. But those Japanese back then no longer resembled humans at all.”

Smelling the herb’s peculiar scent, I relaxed slightly, but Old Li’s expression turned much worse. Smoking his cigarette, he used a trembling hand to stir the fire. “Technician Luo, they had no faces. Those Japanese had lost their entire faces—only a mouth remained!”

Faceless ghosts were indeed a staple of Japanese folklore. I never imagined those comrades had ended up looking like that in Tibet. I felt a mixture of shock and fear, yet also a strange sense of schadenfreude, and for a moment, I was speechless. Old Li fell silent too. After a while, I looked up at him and asked, “Then how did you escape?”

Old Li’s expression darkened. After a moment, he tossed his cigarette butt into the fire and sighed, “Master Banqin saved us, and the lion’s mother. Those two saved us!”

Listening to Old Li recount the story of five years ago in his low voice, even though he had escaped unharmed, I felt my blood run cold, every hair standing on end, not daring to breathe.

It turned out that five years ago, Old Li and the five others were ordered into the mountains to search for the five missing Japanese friends. If it had been any other mission, they could have completed it diligently. However, these men were already quite familiar with World War II history, so having them search for "Japanese friends" made them eager to cut corners.

Among Old Li's group, only one veteran had ever been into the mountains, and he knew about the abandoned concrete building there. So, they discussed it and decided to rest in the concrete structure for a few days before reporting back, satisfying their superiors' orders.

Leaving the base, Old Li and his team walked for a day and a half through the mountains and reached this location without incident. What they never expected was that someone had already been to the concrete building—it was those very Japanese! However, they seemed to have stayed there for a day before disappearing somewhere else.