The King of Curses

Chapter 82: Horror in the Forest
"What, what's going on..."

Looking at the empty big tree, and then at the old lady who was following behind him with her back to him, Song Yutang's eyes moved between the two and he felt that something was wrong.

There was clearly a distance of more than ten meters between them, and there were iron chains blocking them; but in the blink of an eye, she had crossed all the obstacles...

Isn’t this... a bit strange?
The surrounding forest suddenly became quiet.

The "old man" did not make those tiny mumbling sounds again, but the silence at this moment made her feel even more creepy.

At this time, Song Yutang was still an ordinary person who was ignorant of another world, but people's ability to seek benefits and avoid harm and to detect abnormalities is innate.

Without saying a word, she turned and ran.

And just as she took a step forward——

The rustling sound coming from behind suddenly became louder.

Something... is rushing towards me!
She only felt a gust of fishy and cold wind blowing from behind her head, and her hair stood on end and goose bumps appeared on her back.

At the critical moment, Song Yutang showed a reaction ability beyond ordinary people. She jumped forward with a flexible and agile posture and rolled on the ground.

There was a dull sound behind me, the same strange sound I had heard before.

If she turned her head at this moment, she would find that the figure who had just turned his back to her jumped towards her from a few meters away as if there were springs under his feet;

"She" supported herself on the ground with her hands, her skinny body hunched, and a "gulp" sound came out of her mouth. Under her messy and dry white hair, she had an inhuman face with a hideous look; her mouth was bulging, and her buck teeth were exposed.

That was not an old lady at all, but a wild beast with bared teeth like a monkey!
Of course, at this moment Song Yutang couldn't dare to look back. After rolling up, she continued to run forward without hesitation.

While running, I could hear "something" chasing me from behind. The sound of feet stepping on fallen leaves was approaching rapidly, as if I was being chased by a hungry wild beast. The strange roar that was not like that of a human made me even more panicked.

The strangest thing was that Song Yutang felt that the "thing" behind him... seemed to be flying, and the sound went up and down, shuttling back and forth between the trees and the ground.

Is it a human or a ghost?!

She didn't know the answer, the only thing she could do was to run.

……

The sky... darkens so quickly.

The sunlight was clearly visible just now, but after a while, it could no longer be seen in the deep forest a little further away, leaving only a dark shadow.

The footsteps behind her refused to let her go, so the girl could only continue running upwards.

As he ran, Song Yutang soon discovered another anomaly, that is, the road under his feet was too long.

She just wanted to pick up some firewood and relax, so she didn't go deep into the forest; it took less than ten minutes from where she camped to the entrance of the forest.

But no matter how she ran, she could not see the direction of the entrance, let alone the scenery at the top of the mountain.

Is there something wrong with my sense of time? It feels like a long time has passed, but in fact it has only been a few minutes?

Song Yutang's breathing gradually became heavy, and her head felt dizzy. She just mechanically moved her arms and legs, not daring to stop for a moment. A bitter taste gradually emerged on the tip of her tongue.

There were no stars or moon above her head, and the mountain road ahead was submerged in darkness and seemed endless, making her completely lose her sense of direction.

It was like being in a maze made up of tall trees that blocked out the sun. Song Yutang wondered if he would ever get out.

All that was left in my ears was the thumping of my heart and the intense breathing. What was worse was that even in this situation, the sound of the monster behind me was still chasing me.

What on earth was going on? What the hell was that thing behind her?

Song Yutang had no time to think.

In the blink of an eye, the world turned upside down, and I felt like I was no longer in this world...

Just then, she saw several bright beams of light shooting straight out from the forest ahead, swaying and flickering in the distance.

“See it!”

"Hurry up and catch it! Hurry up and catch it!"

"Don't let it escape!"

Song Yutang heard people shouting, footsteps coming from the front, and shadows between the trees. A beam of light swept across her eyes, causing her to close them subconsciously.

"boom!"

It seemed like something suddenly exploded from behind, and Song Yutang was reminded of the firecrackers he played with when he was a child, but the power was completely different.

She was startled and almost fell down. She staggered and held onto the tree in front of her to maintain her balance. Song Yutang turned around abruptly and looked back.

A hunched, thin, gray-haired shadow - that was the monster that had been following her closely. But now it fell to the ground, its hands and feet trembling, crawling forward, emitting a shrill wail, and a faint smoke dissipated from the ground not far away from it.

At first, the sky was dim and Song Yutang really misjudged the person. The impression she had before she escaped made her think that person was a white-haired old man...

But this is not the case.

She calmed down, looked closely, and found that it was actually a monkey.

Its arms and legs were curled up, its head had a tuft of messy white hair, its mouth was protruding, and it had obvious buck teeth. Compared with its peers, its hair growth was quite strange, a layer of light fluff, and it was actually wearing clothes, which was simply a manifestation of the phrase "a monkey in a human costume".

Coupled with her hunched and skinny body, from a distance you would really think she was an old lady.

No wonder. No wonder when she was running away just now, she always felt that something was chasing her up and down. It was the natural ability of monkeys to climb and jump between the trees.

"What the hell is this? There are monkeys on this mountain?"

The girl held onto a tall tree nearby, trying to calm herself down and think while steadying her breathing.

After the excitement brought by the rapid secretion of adrenaline, her muscles were sore due to the stress caused by excessive exercise.

The monkey crawled forward a few more steps. Its pupils were blood red as it stared at Song Yutang with human-like viciousness and cruelty.

She unconsciously took a step back, and when she was about to gain some distance, several men rushed out from the woods.

Some of them held hunting rifles, some held hatchets, and some held sledgehammers, and they surrounded the monkey.

"boom!"

The iron cattail was raised and then dropped, smashing hard on the white-haired monkey's head. This time the force was so strong that it directly made a dent in the skull.

The monkey let out a shrill roar, but what followed was a rain of iron bars and hatchets falling on it, "bang, bang, bang". Blood and flesh flew everywhere, and the scene was horrific.

The monkey soon stopped calling.

Song Yutang held her breath. Even though she knew that the monkey was the wild beast that had chased her just now, the cruel scene before her still shocked her so much that she was speechless.

"This lady, everything is fine now."

She heard someone say to her.

Song Yutang raised her head and saw a man walking among the crowd.

He was wearing a Zhongshan suit, a soft hat on his head, and holding a shotgun in his hand.

The bright flashlight shone from behind, illuminating the other person's pale face. He looked to be in his fifties or sixties, with wrinkles all over his face, and when he grinned, his crooked and yellowed teeth were exposed.

"It's okay now."

He repeated it again.

Song Yutang didn't say anything, but looked at the other person warily.

The way this man was dressed made her feel like he had traveled through time from forty or fifty years ago.

"It's all right now, miss."

The man took a step closer to her.

"It's getting late, let's go to our village."

"...Village?"

Song Yutang's voice was a little hoarse.

She remembered that there was a village nearby, it seemed to be called... "Shigou Village"?
"Yes, come to our village, we will entertain you. There are wild animals in this forest, and it is too dangerous for a little girl like you to go alone."

As he spoke, the "bang bang bang" sounds behind him stopped. The white-haired monkey had been smashed into a paste. The men finally stopped their actions and cast their eyes over here.

The faces, young and old, all showed the girl a kind smile. "Come to our village."

"We will protect you."

In Song Yutang's eyes, each of their expressions seemed to be rendered on a piece of paper; even the curves of their mouths were exactly the same, which made people feel creepy.

She didn't answer, but just took half a step back.

"Miss, aren't you coming with us?"

The leading man approached her.

Song Yutang looked at his face, and the weird feeling in her heart could not be shaken off.

The chill on my back did not disappear after the monkey was killed. Instead, it became more and more intense.

What's so weird about it?
No, now is not the time to think about that...

What should I do? Call the police?

The man in front of him took another step closer.

Song Yutang no longer hesitated, turned around and ran away again, leaving the villagers behind.

……

The group did not catch up.

After her figure disappeared into the woods, the leading villager's face became strange.

His smile was stiff, as if embedded in his face with plaster; his pupils were dark yellow, with a turbid luster like that of a dead person.

The men behind him, like him, exuded water vapor and a faint stench.

"Can not be done."

"No."

"She will be eaten by the mountain god..."

*
Song Yutang didn't realize that he had escaped two disasters in a short period of time.

She continued running towards the camp as she had originally planned, but after a while, she stopped.

Looking around, the girl was sure that there was no one else in the forest. As far as she could see, the sky had already darkened completely, with only the faint sound of the wind.

"...something's wrong."

Still haven't found the entrance.

When she came, there was clearly only one way out of the forest, and the journey along that road was definitely not so long.

Song Yutang was certain that he was either lost, or... he was caught up in a situation that was even stranger and more dangerous than being lost.

If we continue like this, it will just be a waste of time.

She had to find another way to save herself and conserve her energy until she found a way out.

Luckily, I always had my backpack with me.

Song Yutang opened the bag, took out the drinking water and took a sip to relieve the dryness in her throat. Then she took out the compass and squinted her eyes to look at the direction.

The compass needle was spinning like crazy.

"..."

Song Yutang pursed her lips, then took out her cell phone and tried to dial "110" to call the police for help.

I don’t know if I should say it was expected, but the cell phone signal showed “out of service area”.

Obviously, I didn't have this problem when I came here...

Song Yutang leaned weakly against the tree trunk behind him and looked up at the night sky.

It was a starless and moonless night, and the sky was covered with dark clouds, as if it would rain at any moment.

Thinking back to what had just happened, she felt like she had fallen into a nightmare.

The speed at which the sky darkened was unusual, and what happened afterwards caught her off guard.

This is the kind of opening that only horror stories I've read before have.

The exhaustion in her body surged up from all directions. She couldn't think of a way out for a moment. Song Yutang's eyelashes trembled slightly and gradually closed...

She didn't know how much time had passed when she suddenly woke up from her drowsiness, her body seemed to be soaked in the coldness of dew.

"No... I'll catch a cold if I fall asleep in a place like this."

She has knowledge of wilderness survival and knows that the most dangerous thing outdoors at night is hypothermia.

Even if you can't find a campsite, find a safe, windproof place.

Song Yutang stood up shakily, holding her backpack.

She still didn't understand what had happened, but now was not the time to feel sorry for herself. She tried to cheer herself up and find a way to escape from the forest.

……

After walking a few steps forward, she suddenly saw a light in the distance.

It seems to be... the vehicle's high beam?
Did he come from the top of the mountain? Could he get out soon?
A glimmer of hope rose in Song Yutang's heart, and he walked quickly in that direction.

At least, I can actually meet someone this time. I hope it’s not those weird villagers…

Then, she actually saw a car.

"No way……"

She was still in the endless forest and did not see any way out.

The car in front of us was stuck directly between two trees. Anyone could see that a car accident had occurred here.

The windshield was shattered, and branches were wedged between the door and the window. A faint smoke filled the night, and the broken rearview mirror fell to the ground with a click.

Song Yutang hesitated for a moment, but still walked towards the car.

“Is there anyone there?”

She looked inside through the car window and saw a person in the driver's seat, slumped over the steering wheel, and it was unclear whether he was alive or dead.

"Are you... still alive?"

Song Yutang was sure that he heard breathing sounds.

Although it was very faint, the driver... seemed to be still alive.

At this time, calling the police or dialing "120" is useless.

Although he had not found a way out yet, Song Yutang still decided to rescue the other person.

……

After struggling to break the tree and struggling for a while, the girl finally managed to get the person out of the driver's seat.

It was a female driver, with long hair covering her face and blood all over her face.

Just as Song Yutang was about to drag her to a safe place and try to take some emergency rescue measures, the faint rise and fall of the female driver's chest gradually stopped.

She paused for a moment, leaning forward to listen to the woman's heartbeat.

…has stopped.

This was the first time she saw someone die in front of her, so easily and fragilely.

Song Yutang stared blankly at the body that was gradually getting colder. For a moment, all the fear, uneasiness and confusion she had experienced that night came flooding back to her.

Her nose felt sore and she couldn't help but cry.

(End of this chapter)