"Are you saying the thing that climbed into the wall was a big black bear?" Number 2 asked me in a low voice.

I nodded and said, "Enough talk. Get ready, the old man is coming!"

Number 2 nodded, retrieved his crossbow, and aimed precisely at the gap in the door.

Just then, I heard a clattering sound from behind the main door—it sounded like Li Xiaoquan was opening it.

He asked as he worked, "Who is it, so late... If you don't speak up, I won't open the door!"

I replied, "We are passing PLA soldiers, here to deal with the Yuanmou Man. No one is staying here tonight, so we just need a place to stay for one night!"

I thought my voice sounded quite righteous; he should believe me. Although I wasn't actually PLA, I was indeed here to help. Ordinary people generally trust the military, and the matter of the Yuanmou Man is a real issue.

Hearing it was the PLA, the old man's tone instantly changed, and he said cheerfully, "It's the PLA! Hurry in, hurry in, it's cold outside!"

Saying that, he sped up his movements, undoing the chains.

Seeing the door about to open, I looked at Number 2, signaling him to proceed according to the tactic we had discussed.

The moment the door opened, I would tackle the old man, and then Number 2 would shoot the black bear behind him with the crossbow.

The signal was barely given when the door flew open. Because Old Man Li heard it was the PLA, he completely let down his guard and yanked the door wide.

This was exactly what I wanted. I didn't hesitate; I launched myself forward in a flying tackle and pinned the old man to the ground.

The old man didn't know what had happened, letting out a muffled "Huo" from his throat.

Simultaneously, I heard a strange, harsh cry ("Waa-ya!") from the black bear behind him, and it actually bolted, taking off on all fours.

The black bear scrambled into the room using all four limbs, but Number 2 never fired his crossbow.

I grew anxious, quickly asking, "What the hell! It got away, why didn't you shoot!"

When I turned to look at Number 2, there was a clear hint of anger on his face as he said, "You bastard! Dare to lie to me! That wasn't any black bear; it was clearly a living person!"

I froze for a moment and said, "No way. I distinctly saw a hairy figure, and its nose was awfully long! Its build was massive, like a mountain."

At that moment, Old Man Li, pinned beneath me, cried out, "Ouch! Comrades from the PLA, what are you doing? My old back can't take this kind of roughhousing."

Only then did I realize the old man was still under me. I quickly scrambled up and helped Old Man Li to his feet.

While patting the dust off him, I asked, "Uncle, that person who looked like a black bear just now was...?"

Old Man Li sighed and replied, "You mean Dazhu? That's my son. He had a slight defect in his head from birth, and he's terribly shy around strangers. Don't let his massive body fool you; he’s actually very timid."

I rubbed the back of my head and said, "I'm truly sorry. Maybe my head was spinning just now, so I misjudged. My apologies."

The old man smiled and said, "It’s fine. Many people get a fright the first time they see Dazhu, so don't worry about it."

Number 2 pouted and said, "Let's go, go apologize to the fellow."

I nodded, filled with deep apologies, and followed Old Man Li towards the main hall.

However, when we reached the entrance to the main hall, Ah Gui jumped down from Number 2's shoulder and chirped twice at us.

I asked it, "What's wrong?"

Number 2 turned to look at Ah Gui, seeming to exchange glances with it. After a moment, he told me, "He's a little scared. Let's not force him."

I nodded, and Number 2 and I walked into the main hall.

As soon as we entered, we saw Dazhu squatting behind the door, clutching his head and mumbling something.

Seeing us enter, he looked up with eyes full of panic, quickly scrambled to a spot further away from us, squatted down again, and started tugging at his hair.

I finally saw the man's face clearly. Although he had a long face, his complexion was frighteningly pale, his brow ridges were prominent, his small eyes looked vacant, he was worlds apart from a black bear.

Even though this man looked a bit dull and ugly, he was definitely a normal human being.

So I said, "Oh, my vision must have been blurry. Sorry again, Uncle Li."

Li Xiaoquan waved his hand and said, "It's nothing, nothing. You are civil servants; protecting the people is your duty. By the way, how did you know my surname was Li?"

We were instructed from above to find Li Xiaoquan because he supposedly had connections with the Messenger. However, we certainly couldn't state that reason directly.

So I thought for a moment and said, "Oh, right, we heard your son went missing, so we came specifically to investigate. Uncle Li, how many sons do you have?"

Old Man Li pointed to Dazhu in the corner and said, "There, I only have this one son. This boy did go missing a few days ago, but he ran back on his own yesterday. If that hadn't happened, I, Old Man Li, would have prepared to hang myself."

I looked at Dazhu and said, "Oh, did he say where he went?"

Old Man Li thought for a moment and replied, "He seemed to say he was in a cave, and he babbled something about seeing many toads."

"Toads? What kind of toads?" I asked.

"I don't know. It's so dry here; we get less than ten rainfalls a year. Where would there be any toads? There is a small river on the other side of the mountain, where there are toads, but certainly not in a cave," Old Man Li said helplessly.

"Toads... hehe... toads... I have toads on me..." Seeing us chatting with his father, Dazhu seemed to feel we weren't bad people, so he stood up and muttered nonsensically to himself.

I looked at his body—broad-shouldered and sturdy, over 1.9 meters tall, a real brute of a man. This physique, combined with his listless small eyes, looked very bizarre, much like Frankenstein's monster from American TV shows.

Another similarity to Frankenstein's monster was his head—I don't know who shaved it, but it was patchy, bald in spots, looking like a soccer ball.

Dazhu glanced at us with his dull eyes, then deliberately acted as if he were bypassing us, slowly shuffling along the wall until he reached the doorway, and then strode out.

Old Man Li shouted after him, "Dazhu, where are you going? Don't wander too far; the man-eating Yuanmou Man is outside."

After shouting, Old Man Li laughed heartily and said to us, "I still don't know what official business you two PLA comrades are here for. With the Yuanmou Man situation causing such a stir, do you have any way to solve it? My courtyard here, alone in this sparse woods, makes me uneasy at night!"

I said, "We are here to investigate this very matter. Uncle Li, how much do you know about those Yuanmou Men? Have you seen one of them?"

Old Man Li pondered and replied, "I'm not sure if you could call it seeing one, maybe I only saw a head."

"Saw a head? What do you mean?" Number 2 asked urgently.

Old Man Li explained, "A head just popped up from the well behind the old shack. Ah, that time nearly scared me to death! That thing was probably stuck in the well, which is why it couldn't fully emerge, but just a glimpse, and I bolted. I still feel a chill thinking about it."

I frowned and asked, "You mean that thing tried to climb out of the well but got stuck at the opening? And then you ran away, right? Where is that old shack? Can you take us to see that well?"

Old Man Li shook his head and said, "No point in looking now. After I told the villagers about it, that well was sealed up."

I insisted, "We still want to go and see it, and what exactly that thing looked like?"

Old Man Li thought for a moment and described, "Very ugly, very dark, with eyes like empty holes, the eyeballs were pale, long, messy hair, and its neck was long. The skin was somewhat like burnt coal."

I nodded, looked at Number 2, and thought to myself: this is what the Messenger looks like. The one Yang Zhifeng killed earlier looked similar. Could it be that what Old Man Li saw was the true form of that SSS-class Messenger?

Then Old Man Li continued, "If you want to look, you can, but that place is too desolate, eerily ghostly. It’s better to go during the day."

I nodded. "Alright then, we'll go tomorrow during the day. Tonight, we'll just have to stay..."

Before I could finish, Ah Gui suddenly let out a miserable screech from the courtyard.

We both rushed out almost reflexively, but the monkey's scream had vanished.

Dazhu was squatting in the center of the yard, grinning foolishly at us. Seeing his vacant eyes, I felt a prickle of disgust; something felt terribly wrong.

Moreover, at this moment, Dazhu was sticking out a black tongue while grinning weirdly at us, and that thing looked like an earthworm, writhing around—it was sickeningly vile.

Upon closer inspection, my heart sank: that wasn't a tongue at all; it was Ah Gui's tail.

Unexpectedly, Ah Gui had been swallowed whole by Dazhu in one gulp.

Seeing that Ah Gui was in danger, Number 2 stopped holding back. He lunged forward, kicking Dazhu over onto the ground, then pinned his chest with his body, clamped one hand around Dazhu's throat to prevent him from swallowing, and used the other to wrench open Dazhu's jaw.

I saw the veins bulging on Number 2’s arm as he squeezed Dazhu's jawbone until it creaked loudly. But despite the pain, the man refused to release his grip, staring at Number 2 with eyes as lifeless as a dead fish.

"Spit it out! Or I'll kill you! You idiot!" Number 2 roared in anger.

But Dazhu actually laughed, his face turning bright red from the strain, yet he wouldn't let go.

Fortunately, Old Man Li intervened and shouted, "Dazhu! Let go, or you won't get any meat tomorrow!"

Only upon hearing this did Dazhu finally open his mouth.

Number 2 kept his grip on Dazhu's jaw to immobilize him. I took the opportunity to grab Ah Gui's tail and yanked it free from his mouth.

Ah Gui immediately started screeching when it was out, covered in a disgusting, sticky slime.