Chapter 240: The Headless Statue

　　Thunder and lightning suddenly raged in the mountains.

　　Lu Fei and Jing Jian hurriedly ran into the dilapidated temple.

　　Two white candles were lit in the temple.

　　Under the flickering, dim candlelight, two women in black dresses stared at them in shock, their eyes wide open.

　　Four pairs of eyes, big eyes staring at small ones.

　　Before Lu Fei and Jing Jian could make out the situation in the temple, they saw them first.

　　From their figures, they were the women who had previously worshiped at the temple.

　　"Are you here to take shelter from the rain too?"

　　After a moment, Lu Fei put on a friendly smile.

　　"Who are you?"

　　The woman in the lead looked very wary and asked coldly.

　　"Don't worry, we're not bad people! We came up the mountain to camp, got lost somehow, and then it started raining. We saw the light here and rushed over to take shelter."

　　Lu Fei said as he took off his hat, revealing a young and handsome face, and patted the rainwater off his body with a look of bad luck.

　　As for Jing Jian, he was drenched like a drowned rat.

　　The mountain wind blew in through the broken windows, causing the two to shiver from the cold. They quickly found a spot out of the wind, sat down, and rubbed their icy hands together.

　　The woman in the black dress had been carefully observing them all along.

　　Unaware, Lu Fei looked up with a simple and honest smile and asked, "You don't look like you're here for camping. Are you locals?"

　　The woman leading the group appeared to be in her thirties, her body completely covered from head to toe by a black dress, even her neck was concealed, and her hair was pinned at the back of her head with a uniquely styled silver hairpin.

　　She still retained some charm, but her expression was very cold, and her high cheekbones indicated that she was not someone to be trifled with.

　　The other woman, wearing the same black dress, stayed behind her, her long black hair draped over her face, obscuring both her age and features.

　　"Hmm."

　　The leading woman responded vaguely, seeing that Lu Fei and his companion were dressed in windbreakers and carrying backpacks, she relaxed a bit of her suspicion.

　　Then, she continued with her actions, starting a fire using broken wooden materials from the ruined temple.

　　"It started raining so heavily all of a sudden, I wonder when it will stop. Ah Jian, let's start a fire too."

　　Lu Fei, seeing that she had no other intentions, also relaxed a bit, glancing at the heavy rain outside, his brows furrowing.

　　In such weather, not having a fire would be unbearable.

　　He and Jing Jian also followed the woman in the black dress, gathering some wood and starting a small fire to dry their wet clothes.

　　"What do we do next?" Jing Jian asked, frowning.

　　The mountains were fraught with danger, and now with this strange heavy rain, could they still find the coffin fungus?

　　"What can we do? We have to wait for the rain to stop before we can go down the mountain. Let's take it one step at a time." Lu Fei sighed loudly on purpose, trying to make the two women understand that they meant no harm.

　　The woman didn't say anything more, silently warming herself by the fire.

　　In the firelight, her face was half-lit and half-shadowed, who knew what she was thinking.

　　Lu Fei began to examine the dilapidated temple.

　　The temple was not large, and everything was in a state of disrepair. There was an altar table inside, covered with dust, and a rusty incense burner with a single stick of incense inserted in it.

　　It must have been placed there by the woman in the black dress.

　　Behind the table stood a tall stone statue of a deity.

　　The deity sat cross-legged, with its hands resting flat on its knees. The carving was rough.

　　Lu Fei couldn't tell which deity it was because the statue's neck was empty.

　　The head was missing!

　　This headless statue had no sense of dignity or solemnity; instead, in the dim, flickering candlelight, it appeared exceptionally eerie and sinister.

　　Lu Fei felt somewhat uneasy, with the lightning-struck jujube wood stick close at hand, ready for any eventuality.

　　Jing Jian's complexion wasn't good either, as he tried his best to remain calm.

　　The rain was pouring down with a splashing sound.

　　Outside, the wind and rain filled the sky, with lightning occasionally streaking across the darkness, and the rumbling of thunder echoed from overhead.

　　Large sheets of rain were blown into the dilapidated temple by the wind, bringing waves of coldness.

　　The woman in the black dress looked up toward the door and suddenly said, "Close the door, it's not safe."

　　"Why is it not safe?"

　　Lu Fei looked at the woman, his expression instantly one of confusion and surprise.

　　"Nothing, there are many wild beasts in the mountains," the woman replied indifferently.

　　"That's true."

　　Lu Fei felt that she was hiding something, but he didn't press further. He got up and, braving the heavy rain, closed the temple door.

　　The sound of the wind and rain immediately became much quieter.

　　There was a fire burning in the temple, like a small refuge from the storm.

　　But that grim headless statue sat quietly in the shadows, as if watching over the guests in the temple, making it hard for anyone to relax.

　　None of the four people in the temple spoke.

　　The atmosphere was eerily quiet.

　　In fact, Lu Fei could tell that the woman still had her suspicions about them.

　　However, it didn't matter. As long as everyone minded their own business, they could coexist peacefully.

　　He just wanted to collect some coffin mushrooms and didn't want to stir up any unnecessary trouble.

　　After a while, the woman in the black dress suddenly sighed softly.

　　"This rain won't stop anytime soon. We'll probably have to spend the night here."

　　As she spoke, she looked at Lu Fei, and her usually cold face finally showed a hint of emotion.

　　"Young man, it's not safe in the mountains. You need to be extra careful when you sleep."

　　"What? How is it unsafe in the mountains? Could beasts run into the temple?"

　　Lu Fei was very surprised by why the woman was suddenly being so kind, but he kept his composure and put on an innocent and foolish expression.

　　Jing Jian also looked at the woman curiously.

　　"You city folks don't know the terror of the mountains. In the deep and old forests, there are all kinds of strange things..."

　　The woman hesitated but then lowered her voice and kindly said, "When you sleep later, cover your face with your clothes."

　　"Sister, I'm a coward, please don't scare me! Why do we need to cover our faces while sleeping?" Lu Fei was both shocked and frightened.

　　"Why call me sister, am I that old?" The corners of the woman's eyes twitched, but she still said, "Don't ask so many questions. This is the rule in the mountains. Just do as I say; I'm doing this for your own good."

　　"No matter what sounds you hear later, ignore them and just sleep with your head covered."

　　"Of course, you can choose not to believe me."

　　"When the time comes and you lose your life to become a ghost, don't blame me for not warning you."

　　After saying that, she took out a jacket from her bundle, covered her face with it, and leaned against the wall to sleep.

　　The woman behind her did the same.

　　Lu Fei and Jing Jian looked at each other.

　　This woman definitely has ill intentions.

　　Because only the dead would cover their heads with cloth!

　　"Should we listen to her?" Jing Jian asked Lu Fei with his lips.

　　"Let's play along and see what tricks she has up her sleeve."

　　Lu Fei deliberately raised his voice: "We are lucky today to have met a local. The older sister kindly warned us, and we should take her advice."

　　"That's true, as the saying goes, those who do not listen to the elderly will suffer the consequences."

　　Jing Jian cooperated with him.

　　After they finished speaking, they covered their faces with their clothes.

　　Their vision darkened, and they could only see the faint light of the fire.

　　Lu Fei put his hand in his robe, feeling the thunderstruck jujube wood stick.

　　In a short while, he emitted a soft snoring sound.

　　As the wind and rain intensified,

　　time ticked by, second by second.

　　The fire gradually dimmed, and in the quiet, dilapidated temple, a faint rustling sound suddenly arose.

　　"What was that?"

　　Lu Fei instantly tensed up.

　　The voice was very unpleasant and grating.

　　It sounded like nails scratching on stone.