"Are people living here?" I glanced at the barren path beneath my feet and turned back to ask Xie Yuting.

Xie Yuting frowned as well, remarking, "According to the case files, this place should have been abandoned for about three hundred years. Even if some devotees were reluctant to leave, they couldn't possibly have survived here this long. Moreover, it’s remote wilderness, teeming with wild beasts. How did they survive? What did they eat?"

Carrying these doubts, we followed the path forward and surprisingly spotted, at the end of the trail, a small hut nestled amidst luxuriant trees.

This hut was also an old-fashioned tatami structure, unadorned in its design.

The path beneath our feet led directly to the courtyard in front of the hut. Though small, the courtyard was swept clean, spotless.

Everyone present found this hut strange.

However, since there was a dwelling, and it was being maintained, it meant someone truly resided here. It didn't look like the functional buildings inhabited by staff, so none of us were overly cautious, and the group proceeded into the small yard before the house together.

"Hello! Is anyone home?" Xie Yuting called out from the center of the courtyard. Though his voice wasn't loud, anyone inside would surely hear.

Seeing no reaction from the hut, Xie Yuting tried again, calling out in Japanese.

But after waiting a few seconds, there was still no sound of anyone answering the door.

Xie Yuting frowned and said, "They must not be home. Let's go."

While finding a house in the forest was odd, it could simply be the dwelling of some mountain hermit. If the occupants weren't present, we certainly couldn't trespass. This house wasn't a particularly crucial clue for us anyway.

Just as our group turned to leave, two strange sounds, reminiscent of a pig’s grunt, suddenly emanated from inside the hut.

"This..." Xie Yuting hesitated upon hearing the noise and looked toward us.

"They must just have a pig in the house. Nothing worth seeing, let's hurry up and leave," said Da Xiong impatiently.

"Baa..."

Immediately after he spoke, another sound came from inside, like a sheep's bleat, yet not quite a sheep's bleat.

"It seems this family not only keeps pigs but also sheep, they're just not answering," I added.

It was then that Gu Tianle, who had remained silent until now, snorted and spoke, "That's not a pig, nor is it a sheep. Someone is toying with us."

He finished speaking and pointed toward a peculiar recess under the hut’s eaves, saying, "The person is hiding up there."

We looked where he indicated and saw that the hut was indeed strange. Though small, it had two layers of roofing—the upper layer smaller than the lower one—both constructed of wood, with a gap between them. This intermediate space appeared hollow but was covered by wooden planks perforated with many small holes. Through the holes in that partition, we thought we saw a shadow move.

"This is... Aotian Temple," I blurted out.

"What Black Field Temple? I've only heard of Dao Ming Temple," Da Xiong muttered distractedly.

I shook my head and explained, "This thing isn't a person. It's a yokai that specifically lurks in the eaves. When people pass underneath, it extends long, sharp claws to sever their heads."

"Legend says this yokai is the vengeful ghost of a monk wrongly accused in the temple who committed suicide. It lures people closer using various animal sounds, and then, when they are caught off guard knocking at the door, it cuts off their heads and eats the marrow."

Everyone was somewhat startled by my explanation.

Xie Yuting frowned and said, "That's true, I've heard tales of such a yokai, but those are just legends. How could an entity like an Aotian Temple monster actually exist in this world?"

Nie Chuan stroked his chin and countered, "Lord Ting, you shouldn't be so absolute. For instance, how do you explain the singing we heard last night? Did a child specifically venture into the wilderness in the middle of the night just to perform the Yellow River Cantata for us?"

Xie Yuting was momentarily silenced by his argument. He glanced again at the recess in the eaves and conceded, "Fine. If there truly is a yokai, we'll capture it and see."

He then exchanged a look with Gu Tianle, signaling him to knock on the door.

Gu Tianle drew a small knife from his waist without hesitation, simply nodded, and walked toward the door.

At that moment, Xie Yuting told us, "Let’s find a place to hide temporarily. With so many of us here, the monster might be too shy to come out."

Feeling a little worried about whether Gu Tianle could handle it alone, I watched him closely. Xie Yuting patted my shoulder, signaling me not to fret.

So, the rest of us left the courtyard and found cover behind some large trees, secretly glancing toward the yard. In reality, this was self-deception; any monster with even a sliver of intelligence would know what we were doing the moment it saw us hide. We were gambling on the yokai being stupid enough not to understand our conversation.

Seeing that we had moved away, Gu Tianle finally stepped toward the door. To deceive the creature, he didn't even glance up; he walked straight to the door and raised his hand to knock.

I swallowed hard, watching the activity in the yard tensely from the bushes. Xie Yuting, meanwhile, quietly drew his Bimo knife, ready for anything.

Gu Tianle knocked a few times; predictably, no one answered. He then stood at the door, looking around casually, feigning a lack of defense.

At this point, we all held our breath, waiting.

After about five seconds, the recess on the roof actually shifted. Then, an incredibly long, black, grotesque hand slowly emerged from beneath the lifted section. Its movement was so slow that if you weren't paying close attention, you might mistake it for a large snake slithering from the roof.

I watched the black hand, its sharp, long nails twitching slightly, and got goosebumps. The hand moved from the roof, slowly creeping toward Gu Tianle's back, gradually closing the distance to just a few inches.

Just then, Brother Guanxi stood up, intending to rush forward and stop the monstrous hand, but Xie Yuting quickly pulled him back. Holding the hilt of his knife, Xie Yuting said, "Wait. Don't you know what Boss’s skills are?"

I struggled to swallow, watching the claws come so close to touching Gu Tianle’s hair.

At that moment, Gu Tianle seemed to sense the danger. He stopped looking around and stood stock-still. In my mind, the image flashed of that black hand driving its nail and finger deep into Gu Tianle’s neck, then violently yanking, tearing his head from his body.

And just then, Gu Tianle moved with lightning speed, snatching the black hand.

The monstrous hand trembled and thrashed violently, its sharp fingertips clawing wildly. Gu Tianle, looking utterly composed, moved with the agility of a monkey, dodging the chaotic swipe of the claws. Using leverage, he hauled his entire body upward, then thrust his legs diagonally upward, twisting his body upside down in a scissor-kick pose, clinging to the monstrous arm.

At this maneuver, the creature on the roof let out a shriek; escape was now impossible. Seeing the monster trapped and unable to advance or retreat, Xie Yuting gave the command, and we all charged forward. As we ran, we heard the monster issuing strange, wailing cries, desperately trying to pull its arm upward, yet it remained stuck fast.

Xie Yuting reached the eaves, held his knife blade between his teeth, and then sprang up, gripping the eave edge, instantly reaching the roof. He took the knife in his hand, gave it a flourish, and prepared to stab directly into the recess, intending to kill the monster instantly.

Unexpectedly, at that moment, another black, grotesque hand shot out from the gap beneath the partition, lunging toward Xie Yuting. Seeing the fierce attack, Xie Yuting hastily brandished his knife to block.

With two sharp clangs, the monster, relying only on that single hand, managed to push Xie Yuting staggering several steps backward.

Seeing Xie Yuting repelled while the rest of us were scrambling onto the roof, the monster let out an excruciatingly tragic roar. The hand Gu Tianle was holding suddenly went slack—it had severed its own limb to escape.

Then, a series of cracking noises erupted from within the partition, followed by the sound of a heavy object crashing into the woods behind the hut. We all knew the monster had fled out the other side and rushed around to give chase.

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