In the mountain forest, Chen Chuan climbed the mountain alone, a machete in hand. He carried the Snow Monarch Blade and a bulging pack on his back.

It was nearly July, a season when the mountains teemed with poisonous snakes and insects. However, he was thoroughly prepared. He had brought plenty of insect repellent, applied a protective ointment, and wore a snag-proof overshirt, essentially giving himself full-body protection.

’Even though my Second Self can take the damage, I should still protect myself as much as possible. After all, the Second Self needs to be saved for the most critical moments.’

The mountain paths had not been traveled for many years and were long since overgrown and indistinct.

Fortunately, after walking for over half an hour, he discovered the remnants of a mountain path paved with stone steps. Judging by its style, it was a relic from an older era, likely from the same period as the Mountain God Temple. This simplified his search. Whenever he encountered thorny bushes, he hacked them away with his machete, clearing a path that would also ease his descent later.

The mountain wasn’t high, only five or six hundred meters, though some of its slopes were quite steep. This posed no obstacle to him. Once he found the path, he ascended in one go, his breathing remaining steady the entire time.

Despite it being June or July, the mountain forest was cool and shady. Now that he had reached the summit, the temperature dropped by an unnatural amount, making it feel as though winter had returned.

Yet he did not feel cold. On the contrary, he found it rather comfortable.

At last, he saw the Mountain God Temple. In front of it stood two stone lantern pedestals carved into the shape of ghost heads with bulging eyes and sharp chins. Long since eroded by wind and rain, their sharp edges were worn smooth, and one could only faintly discern their original ferocious appearance.

In front of the Mountain God Temple was a main gate. The walls on either side had collapsed, leaving only half of the front wall standing. All sorts of plants and green vines grew amidst the scattered rubble and broken tiles.

Past the gate, an open space appeared, along with a winding path leading upward. From here, he could already see the eaves of the temple above.

However, upon reaching this point, the chirping of insects and songs of birds that had filled the mountain air completely vanished. Everything fell deathly silent, leaving only the sound of the occasional gust of wind.

Once there, he took out his water cup for a drink, then continued up the path. A short while later, he arrived before the Divine Temple. Its two large doors had long ago collapsed and decayed. After stepping over the threshold, he saw that the Mountain God Temple’s interior wasn’t very large—only about a hundred square meters. It was filled with dust and rubble, with broken beams lying across the floor. Most of the roof had caved in, leaving only the area around the offering altar with any sort of cover.

He moved closer, only to find the pedestal where the god’s statue was supposed to be enshrined was completely bare. There was nothing on it.

He showed no surprise.

’According to the information I have, this weird tale’s roaming area has expanded to several nearby mountains. To make it appear in the temple, an offering is required.’

He set down the pack he was carrying and first took out a bamboo basket. Inside was a large white goose, which he had rendered unconscious beforehand. He then took out an Incense Burner, a thick cushion, and a tin of old tea leaves.

Some of these items had come from Cheng Zitong, while others he’d had Ren Shu collect from various people based on descriptions in the case file.

He had gone to great lengths to resolve this weird tale; he had never prepared so thoroughly for any before.

First, he took some leaves from the old tea tin, poured them into a clear glass tumbler he had brought, and steeped them with hot water from his thermos. He did not drink the tea, however, instead setting it aside.

Next, he lit the Incense Burner. Once its fragrance filled the main hall, he picked up the bamboo basket, walked to the offering table, and sacrificed the large white goose right there on the altar.

He then returned to his spot, sat down cross-legged, and laid his blade across his lap.

’Judging from past incidents, this kind of weird tale requires offerings and repeatedly demands them. This suggests its activity is linked to those offerings, much like the Flying Head Monster. It’s highly likely I can use the same method to wear it down and eliminate it.’

’However, that’s just a hypothesis. This weird tale is rather complex and difficult to investigate thoroughly beforehand, so it’s hard to say what it truly is. My plan this time is to handle it if I can. If not, I’ll retreat and figure out another way with Cheng Zitong later. There’s no need to be reckless.’

He waited patiently, but his surroundings remained still. Not one to waste time, he focused on his breathing, silently guiding the growth of his Mutated Organization and occasionally adding fresh incense to the Incense Burner.

Outside, the sky gradually darkened. He lit a few torches and stuck them in the ground around him before returning to his spot to sit. 𝒻𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝘯𝘰𝑣ℯ𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝘮

After a long while, he thought he heard a chewing sound. Startled, he looked up and saw that the large white goose on the altar had vanished.

The sound wasn’t coming from the altar, but from behind him.

His eyes flickered. With a slight push from his legs, keeping his upper body perfectly still, he slowly rose and turned around. The moment he did, the chewing sound vanished. Outside the temple entrance, a dark, indistinct mass had appeared.

He picked up a flashlight, grabbed his Snow Monarch Blade, and walked outside. At the entrance, he shone the light on the shape and saw a statue with a hunched body that hadn’t been there before. It currently had its back to him.

But calling it a god’s statue felt wrong; a ghost’s statue would be more fitting. The sculpture’s fingers nearly touched the ground. Its upper body was massive while its lower half was thin and long, and it was posed as if squatting.

He slowly circled around to the front. When he got a clear look, his expression froze.

He suddenly realized—this was a statue of a headless Mountain Ghost!

His thoughts raced. ’I didn’t know about this. It means my previous hypothesis for dealing with this weird tale is completely wrong. I’ll have to scrap the whole plan and start over.’

’Typically, when dealing with a weird tale that was once whole but is now incomplete, the correct solution is to find the missing part.’

’In that case, the Mountain Ghost isn’t after offerings at all. It’s trying to find its lost head! There’s no other way to resolve this.’

That wasn’t something he could find on short notice, so he immediately decided to retreat. He didn’t even bother gathering his things from the temple, backing away without a moment’s hesitation.

But he had only taken a few steps back when there was a stir behind him. Simultaneously, a ripple-like distortion appeared on his Second Self. He paused.

He looked up and saw that the Mountain Ghost statue was actually moving, shedding flakes of paint and plaster with a rustling sound.

After a moment’s thought, he stood his ground.

’It’d be simple enough to just leave,’ he thought. ’But if the Mountain Ghost isn’t satisfied with this offering, it might go after the nearby villagers. Even if the villagers have experience dealing with it, I can’t just let it be. That’s not the right thing to do.’

He gazed at the Mountain Ghost statue and tightened his grip on the Snow Monarch Blade. ’If I can’t leave for now, then I won’t.’

The Mountain Ghost statue had now straightened up, standing somewhere between two and three meters tall. Facing Chen Chuan, it bounded toward him in a single, straight leap.

Chen Chuan sidestepped, and the statue slammed into the ground with a THUD, shedding another cloud of dust that filled the air.

But after missing its first strike, it paused for a beat before immediately launching a second attack, and then a third...

Chen Chuan dodged again and again. ’The statue’s speed isn’t too outrageous,’ he thought, feeling more confident. ’I can easily keep this up.’

But he could only manage this because of who he was. The primary threat from weird tales wasn’t a straightforward physical attack, but an intangible, invisible assault.

Indeed, his Second Self was already showing signs of intense etherealization, and the Mutated Organization inside him was being heavily stimulated—an effect on par with fighting a late-stage Flying Head. He had no choice but to keep dodging, using the briefest of pauses to regulate himself with his breathing.

As he dodged, however, he realized the assault on his Second Self was intensifying at an alarming rate. He had hoped to hold out until dawn, since these weird tales typically didn’t manifest in daylight. But at this pace, his Second Self would likely dissipate long before morning came.

’In that case, I have to find a solution now.’

After another dodge, he retreated back into the temple. As he entered the incense-filled air, the ethereal assault on him weakened slightly.

He picked up the machete and waited. A moment later, the statue leaped down from overhead. He dodged aside and struck it with the machete, shattering a large chunk of its body.

But the etherealization effect on him instantly intensified, and within a few breaths, the damage he’d inflicted on the statue repaired itself, as if the attack had never happened.

He immediately deduced, ’Any contact, even through an object, intensifies the assault. Brute force won’t destroy it or even slow it down.’

He racked his brain. ’Where in the world is this thing’s head?’

’I wonder if the Flying Head Sect is responsible,’ he mused. ’There was a time when they went around knocking the heads off of all the local deity statues. If that’s what happened here, the head has probably been destroyed. There would be no way to find it, making this a dead end.’

But at that moment, he suddenly recalled a detail from the Three Mountains Legend. It said the Mountain Ghost "eats with its stomach, chewing as if it were candy."

’That’s it! "Eats with its stomach"!’

A possibility struck him. He stared intently at the statue’s abdomen. ’Could it be...?’

His mind raced. He decided to take a risk.

After dodging another attack, he grabbed his thermos and drained the remaining water. Then, taking a deep breath, he mobilized the Mutated Organization within his body.

At the same time, he picked up the cup of tea. It no longer contained tea leaves, but was now filled with writhing black worms. He waited for the statue to make another leap and land, then splashed the entire contents of the cup onto the Mountain Ghost statue.

The moment they made contact, the worms began to burrow into the statue’s body, corroding small holes into its surface. The Mountain Ghost’s movements slowed.

This was his chance. Chen Chuan seized the momentary opening, planted his feet, and charged forward, plunging his hand straight into the statue’s abdomen. The sensation was like punching through a sheet of tough leather.

The moment he made contact, the etherealization of his Second Self intensified dramatically, flickering unstably as if it were about to disperse completely.

He remained unfazed, reaching deep inside and feeling around. His hand clamped onto something. With a fierce glint in his eyes, he yanked hard and pulled out a head with a green face and sharp tusks. It was not made of plaster, but was a real, shriveled head!

"So it really was in here!"

’The head wasn’t stolen; it was inside the Mountain Ghost’s stomach all along!’

Without further hesitation, and seeing the statue was about to recover, he slammed the head onto the jagged stump of its neck and held it down with all his might. The statue immediately began to shudder and thrash violently. After some time, it finally grew still.

Chen Chuan watched as thin trickles of blood began to seep from the break in the statue’s neck, slowly flowing downward. A moment later, he heard a cracking sound. Fissures spiderwebbed across the statue’s entire body. It began to crumble, piece by piece, until it finally disintegrated into a pile of dust on the ground.

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