Chapter 231: The Mountain Guardian

　　The faces on the tree trunk, rough and distorted, stared intently at Lu Fei and his two companions in the darkness.

　　The eyes, black and lifeless, resembled dark, empty voids.

　　The small black dog retreated into the backpack, and Lu Fei picked up the torch, shining it forward.

　　As the dim, yellow light approached, those eerie eyes closed.

　　Lu Fei discovered that these faces were actually tree burls of various sizes, with the surfaces of the burls forming human-like features.

　　These burls could move, open their eyes, and even extend thin vines, which was truly inconceivable.

　　"What kind of strange tree is this?"

　　But there's no time for that now, saving lives is the priority.

　　This makeshift torch won't last long.

　　"Brother Shoushan, where are you exactly?"

　　Lu Fei had Jing Jian use the torch to light up the burls, he raised his head, lifting the torch, and looked up into the tree.

　　In the lush, dark canopy, there were faint shadows of people moving slightly.

　　Those figures looked very strange, as if their feet were up and their heads down.

　　"I'm here!"

　　A voice came from among the shadows.

　　Lu Fei raised the torch higher, almost startled.

　　Just above him, less than two meters away, there were mummified, dried-up heads appearing and disappearing.

　　The expressions on those severed heads, either terrified or desperate, hung from the big tree like dried meat in the wind.

　　"I'm over here!"

　　One of the heads moved.

　　Lu Fei moved the torch closer and saw the face of a man, his skin was bluish-purple. The man's eyes were bloodshot, it was unclear how long he had been hanging there.

　　"Friend, I'm entangled. If you roast me with the torch, those things will let me go," yelled the man anxiously.

　　"Alright, just bear with it."

　　Steadying his nerves, Lu Fei tiptoed and raised the torch as high as possible to roast the man hanging upside down from the tree.

　　The branches of the big tree swayed.

　　In the rustling sounds, thin vines retracted from the man's body. He swung for a moment, then fell to the ground with a thud.

　　"Big Brother Shoushan, are you alright?"

　　Lu Fei quickly squatted down to check on his condition.

　　"First, get out!" He clutched his head in pain and struggled to shout.

　　"Huzi, help!"

　　Lu Fei handed the torch to Jing Jian, gestured to Huzi, and together they supported the man up.

　　Jing Jian held the torch with both hands, covering them.

　　They quickly carried the man away from the strange big tree.

　　"We should be safe now!"

　　After walking a distance, the torches were all extinguished, and the big tree was no longer visible, so they stopped. 

　　The little black dog poked its head out of the backpack.

　　Lu Fei and Huzi helped the man lean against a large rock to rest.

　　The man was probably in his thirties or forties, dirty all over, with many tears in his clothes, and his face and hands were covered with bruises and abrasions, looking extremely disheveled.

　　His eyes, red from bloodshot, looked even more frightening.

　　"Brother Shoushan, are you okay?"

　　"Y-Yeah, I'm alright, thanks to you, I survived."

　　The man took a few deep breaths and gradually recovered from his dizziness. He showed a grateful smile to the three of them.

　　"You're a mountain guard; you should be very familiar with the conditions in the mountains. How did you end up being trapped there?"

　　Lu Fei took out a bottle of water, unscrewed it, and handed it to him, still harboring a hint of suspicion in his eyes.

　　Huzi and Jing Jian crouched nearby, both their hands resting on their respective weapons, either intentionally or unintentionally.

　　"Thank you!"

　　The man took the water, gulped down half of the bottle, and exhaled a long, heavy breath before beginning to explain with a bitter smile.

　　"I'm ashamed to admit it! I've been guarding the mountain for less than a month."

　　"My name is Zhao Fengchun, and my ancestors have all been mountain guards. My father used to guard the mountain, but now his health is failing, so he asked me to come back from the outside to take over his position."

　　"Normally, I don't need to patrol this far. Today, I came in deeper because I was looking for a medicinal herb for my father. I didn't expect to run into that pesky thing!"

　　As he spoke, he grimaced and pulled up his pant leg.

　　On his pale calf were circles of purplish-red marks.

　　If it had been any later, his legs might have been ruined.

　　"Brother Zhao, you're pretty badly hurt," Lu Fei said, taking out a first-aid kit. He disinfected the wounds on his body and then applied some golden sore medicine.

　　"Thank you so much! You are truly good people. It's my good fortune to meet you today!" The bloodshot in Zhao Fengchun's eyes faded a bit as he wiped away tears, moved.

　　Tiger curiously asked, "Brother, what exactly is that tree? How does it have a human face and can shoot out vines?"

　　"It's called Ghost Vine. It's been in the mountains since I was a child. It likes to hang outsiders and their belongings on the tree. Over time, the tree gets covered with all sorts of things..."

　　Zhao Fengchun paused, realizing something, and apologetically clasped his hands towards the three people.

　　"I'm sorry, I didn't explain clearly before because I was afraid you would be scared."

　　"In this deep mountain, I originally thought I was done for. It's such a relief to finally meet someone, I was really afraid you wouldn't save me."

　　"I'm not a bad person. You can ask around in the nearby villages once we get down the mountain; they all know that our Zhao family are the mountain guardians."

　　He was very anxious, fearing that the three of them might misunderstand him.

　　"It's alright, Brother Zhao, it's understandable," Lu Fei smiled and waved his hand, "We came up the mountain to collect herbs and got lost. Can you tell us about the situation in the mountain?"

　　"Of course no problem. Once my leg is better and I can walk, I'll lead you down the mountain!" Zhao Fengchun was very happy to see that Lu Fei wasn't blaming him.

　　"Spending the night in the mountains is not safe. It's okay near the mountain edge, but the deeper you go, the more strange things there are! Did you encounter a Tusha when you got lost?"

　　"What is a Tusha?"

　　Lu Fei and the other two opened their eyes wide.

　　"They are the people who died in the mountains long ago, their bodies rotting in the soil, and over time they turn into malevolent spirits. They like to grab people's feet, making them lose their way, just like them, unable to leave the mountain."

　　"It seems that what we encountered before was a soil spirit." Lu Fei nodded.

　　Hu Zi and Jing Jian also had a sudden realization.

　　"No wonder that thing turned into a human hand after being dug up! It must have been transformed from a dead person!"

　　"But don't be too scared; these things can be dealt with. The ghost vines fear fire, and soil spirits are most afraid of dog feces. As long as you apply some dog feces to the soles of your shoes before entering the mountains, you won't easily get lost." Zhao Fengchun said again.

　　"I was out collecting herbs in the afternoon when I accidentally got tangled up by the ghost vines. I didn't have a chance to light a torch, and that's how I got stuck in the tree."

　　"Dog feces?" Hu Zi couldn't help but laugh, looking at the black puppy, "Little Dengxi, I didn't expect your poop to be useful! Keep it up, our not getting lost depends on you!"

　　The black puppy wiggled its bottom and barked twice, as if saying no problem, and looked quite proud.

　　"Your little dog is pretty smart, but it's too small! Even old Taoist's large hunting dogs might not dare to enter the depths of this mountain, let alone this little one."

　　Zhao Fengchun spoke sincerely.

　　"When I can walk, I'll take you out of the mountains!"