Chapter 74: Hands in the Thick Fog

The mountain forest was gloomy and desolate. The temperature here was several degrees lower than in the city, and the air drawn into our lungs carried an icy chill.

"Can you reach Tie Ningxiang?"

"It looks like they ran into some trouble in Langtou Gully, but Captain Tie said we shouldn't worry. She can handle it herself."

I habitually fished out a cigarette and clamped it between my lips. "If communications aren't cut off, the situation hasn't reached the worst-case scenario yet."

I was just about to light it when another police officer in our group stopped me. "No open flames in the forest. Are you here to help, or just to cause trouble?"

The man speaking was Wu Meng, the deputy captain of the criminal investigation division. He was leading this second reinforcement group.

He had a point, so I naturally complied. But looking at these backup officers, I didn't feel confident at all.

Trying to hunt down Lu Xing in these vast mountains was like finding a needle in a haystack. It was simply too difficult.

Pulling out my phone, I called Blind Liu again just to be safe. "Old Liu, leave your fortune-telling stall for now. Bring Bai Qi and get to Pine Forest Cemetery. It's an emergency, so hurry up."

Leaving two officers at the base of the mountain to stand guard, I followed the remaining seven detectives of the second reinforcement group into the mountains.

"We'll split into two teams," Wu Meng ordered. "Zhao Bin, Old Wei, and Captain Tie's underclassman—you three go reinforce Langtou Gully. I'll take the rest up the mountain from the north side."

"That's not a good idea. I think we should all move together and regroup with Tie Ningxiang first." I wasn't deliberately trying to antagonize Wu Meng. The situation in the mountains was complicated, and since the four of them weren't familiar with the paths, accidents were bound to happen.

"Do as I say. If you have objections, keep them to yourself." Wu Meng didn't respect anyone in the bureau other than Tie Ningxiang, so he completely ignored my advice.

In the past, I would have gladly watched him suffer a bit, but this time was different. Lu Xing already had five lives on his hands; the man was extremely dangerous.

"The north side is the mountain's yin slope, which hasn't seen the sun in ages," I warned. "Even though it's a shortcut up, I'm afraid you might run into some nasty things."

"What things? Wolves? Snakes? Bears? If you're scared, you can head back. We're hunting a fugitive, not going on a spring hike." Wu Meng and his three subordinates left, leading the two police dogs. Once they were far away, the officer named Old Wei nudged my arm. "Don't take it to heart. Wu Meng's words might be a bit harsh, but he's a good guy."

Old Wei was in his forties and due to retire in a few years. "It's exactly because heading up the north face is dangerous that he took the lead. Letting the three of us act as reinforcements is his way of looking out for us."

"I get the logic, but now isn't the time to act tough." With a sigh, I headed up the mountain from the south face with Zhao Bin and Old Wei, making our way toward Langtou Gully two kilometers away.

Through the dense forest and deep valleys, the path grew increasingly difficult to traverse. After walking for about half an hour, a thick fog rolled in across the mountains, blurring everything beyond a dozen meters.

"Stay close. Don't get lost." Old Wei walked in front with a map, but Zhao Bin, who was bringing up the rear, suddenly stopped.

"What's wrong?"

His fair face was completely drained of color as he fiddled with his police radio. "The signal is cut off. We've lost contact with Captain Tie's team."

"No signal?" Losing communication deep in the mountains was incredibly dangerous. Old Wei came to a halt as well.

"Don't panic. It might just be the fog. We should be able to reconnect once it clears." At this point, I could only hope for the best.

"So what do we do now..."

I stared at the mountain path that was growing narrower by the minute. "We keep moving. We have to find her today."

Tie Ningxiang was Lu Xing's target, so he would definitely focus on her. Meanwhile, the group heading up the north face had taken the yin path; they would likely have a hard enough time protecting themselves. Right now, the three of us were the only ones who could help her.

"You don't need to be too anxious. When Captain Tie set out, she had the graveyard keeper from Pine Forest Cemetery with her. He knows the surrounding environment better than we do," Old Wei offered in consolation.

I shook my head. "But have you considered another possibility?"

"What possibility?"

"What if that graveyard keeper is an accomplice?"

I was always suspicious of the world. This was probably an occupational hazard left over from becoming an Underworld Live Show Streamer.

"That's impossible, right?"

"In any case, we need to speed up and prepare to fight on our own." This manhunt was exceedingly difficult. Usually, when hunting fugitives in the wild, the police would mobilize the locals. But ever since Pine Forest Cemetery was built, the residents for miles around had been relocated. The cemetery administration's excuse at the time was that the living shouldn't compete with the dead for living space.

Without locals to guide us and with our communication devices malfunctioning, if all this was planned out by Lu Xing in advance, then the man was truly terrifying.

We walked for another half an hour, but the fog didn't dissipate. Instead, it grew even thicker. The three of us trekked through the dense forest with immense difficulty.

Beneath our feet lay a thick layer of rotting pine needles, and visibility in every direction was reduced to just a few meters. I kept my eyes glued to Old Wei's back, terrified that he might vanish from my sight in the blink of an eye.

"Are we there yet? Logically, a two-kilometer walk shouldn't take this long." Walking through a deep mountain forest in heavy fog, our only reliance was a simple map. Unless one was an experienced hunter, getting lost was an absolute certainty.

Old Wei carved a five-pointed star into the bark of a tree with a small knife, then turned back with a bitter smile. "The map is completely useless, but our general direction of travel should be correct."

"The yin energy and humidity are getting heavier. We're currently heading toward the yin side of the mountain." Wu Meng had taken the only two police dogs; relying solely on a map made getting lost inevitable.

I beckoned to Old Wei and Zhao Bin. "Give me a boost, you two. I'm going to climb up and take a look from the treetops."

I selected the thickest tree I could find and scrambled up. I peered around, but the surroundings were still just a vast expanse of white fog.

"Forget the map. Let's head to the mountain peak to confirm our direction first." Compared to the mighty power of nature, humans were so insignificant. The three of us expended a tremendous amount of effort before finally reaching the peak. Looking down, we realized we had veered off our original route over half an hour ago.

"I was checking the map the whole time, and we were walking in a straight line..." Old Wei stood at the back of the group, holding the map as he re-determined our bearings. "Alright, we definitely won't stray off course this time."

"It's not that simple. This heavy fog didn't come earlier or later, but exactly when the police entered the mountains. It's not normal. It's way too unnatural." A bad premonition crept over me. I couldn't shake the feeling that something was hiding in the thick fog, and that we were already being watched.

"Old Wei, Zhao Bin, we need to move and regroup with Tie Ningxiang right now. If we drag this out, I'm afraid all three of us will get trapped here." Unwilling to delay for even a minute, I turned and headed down the mountain. "Let's stay close. If anyone runs into danger, shout immediately."

Opposite to our formation on the way up, Zhao Bin took the lead going down, with Old Wei bringing up the rear.

Plunging headfirst into the thick fog, the three of us remained utterly silent, our hearts heavy.

When we reached about halfway down the mountain, I suddenly felt someone place both hands on my shoulders from behind. "Old Wei?"

Old Wei was getting on in years. Trekking up and down the mountain with us for so long had probably exhausted him.

At first, I didn't pay it much mind. But as I kept walking, I realized the weight on my shoulders was growing heavier and heavier. 'What's wrong with him? Is he feeling unwell?'

I slowed my pace and reached a hand up to my shoulder. "Old Wei, you alright?"

The sensation transmitted to my fingertips wasn't smooth skin, but rather prickly fur.

"This is..." Turning my head to look at the things resting on my shoulders, my eyes went wide as saucers. They weren't human hands at all—they were clearly the paws of an animal!

"A wolf shoulder tap!" When I was very young, I had heard mountain folk say that people walking at night would sometimes get their shoulders tapped by wild wolves. These beasts were incredibly clever, pretending to be human. The moment you turned your head, they would immediately bite through your neck.

Long ago, Pine Forest Cemetery had been a mass grave. Back then, it was all earth burials. Starving wild wolves would dig up freshly buried corpses to eat, so these beasts were tainted with yin energy. They were extremely wicked.

'If a wild wolf is tapping my shoulder from behind, does that mean Old Wei has already been killed?' Not daring to turn around, I watched Zhao Bin's figure drift further and further away, on the verge of disappearing into the thick fog entirely. I knew the wild wolf on my back was about to lose its patience.

'What do I do?' I didn't have any knives on me. If I called for help, the wild wolf would likely snap my throat in an instant.

Right now, I could only rely on myself. I tried my best to steady my racing heartbeat and walked toward a relatively thick pine tree.

I slowly approached it. The exact moment my left shoulder brushed against the bark, I violently jerked my head out of the way and yanked both hands toward my right shoulder!

With the left side of my body pressed tightly against the tree, the wild wolf would definitely go for a bite from the right.

A foul, bloody stench assaulted my nose. In the corner of my eye, I saw a mouth full of jagged fangs rapidly closing in!