"Ka--"
The mountain road was a bit bumpy, and Jiang Chuyan's forehead hit the car window, which suddenly pulled him back to reality from his trance.
Jiang Chuyan suddenly opened his eyes, only to be greeted by the still eerie, lush green of Xishan Mountain. The car continued its winding path, and the surrounding scenery remained virtually identical to what Jiang Chuyan had seen before falling asleep, as if it hadn't changed at all.
Jiang Chuyan's nerves tensed up for a moment, but he soon remembered that the distance from the city to Longzhao Village was not short. It took them several hours to drive here, and it was impossible for them to teleport back now.
"How long until we get to the city?"
Jiang Chuyan rubbed his neck, slowly sat up straight, and asked.
"Well, there are still more than two hours."
He Yuan stared at the road and replied. Jiang Chuyan glanced at the dashboard and realized that the boy next to him had already increased his speed as much as possible in such poor road conditions.
Jiang Chuyan breathed a sigh of relief without leaving any trace.
But at this moment, he suddenly felt something fall out of his pocket.
Jiang Chuyan picked up the thing casually, and was slightly startled by the plush touch from his fingertips.
What fell out of his pocket was the plush chick he brought back from Luolong Cave.
After seeing the old, faded chicken, the originally hazy dream suddenly became extremely clear. Jiang Chuyan opened his eyes wide and stared at the plush chicken doll.
His heart was suddenly in turmoil.
What on earth was that dream just now? It was an experience from his childhood...but why did he have no recollection of it?
This was clearly his first time in Longzhu Village...
Jiang Chuyan thought in a panic.
But the dream was so real, as if he had really experienced it all himself.
Jiang Chuyan pressed his fingertips on the fluffy body of the chicken doll, and unconsciously stroked it several times.
That strange yet familiar touch once again caused a layer of vague and chaotic ripples to appear in Jiang Chuyan's sea of memories.
"Aren't you scared here alone? I get scared when I'm alone, but my mom told me to be a brave child, so I try not to cry."
"It's okay, you'll have me from now on... Hahaha, you're so nice. I've decided. You're my best friend!"
["Yeah, yeah, I'll come play with you every day from now on!"]
["Come on, pinky promise—"]
"We'll make a promise and stick to it for a hundred years!"
…
"Hmm…"
Jiang Chuyan's brows suddenly furrowed, and the moment those inexplicable voices emerged, a sharp headache came over him.
He groaned and leaned towards the car window subconsciously.
It wasn't until his attention was diverted by the pain and he stopped thinking about the past that he felt a little better.
And at this moment, a pale face suddenly flashed past the corner of his eye.
Jiang Chuyan, who was originally just staring out the window in a daze, suddenly opened his eyes wide.
Wait, what was that just now?
Jiang Chuyan stared at the shadows of the trees on both sides of the mountain path in shock and doubt.
Things that were not noticed before soon become obvious under careful observation.
Ah, those are white faces one after another.
Swollen, smooth, and with empty eyes.
They were hidden among the dense shadows of the trees, their pure black eyes fixed on the off-road vehicles speeding past on the mountain road.
Jiang Chuyan's blood turned cold.
It was a water monkey—he was definitely not mistaken.
That was the water monkey that kept chasing him in the dark in the so-called "hallucination".
Jiang Chuyan clenched his teeth tightly, his heart beating so fast that he felt like his ribs were about to be broken.
He was completely panicked.
"He Yuan, did you see that?"
Jiang Chuyan called out weakly, his eyes fixed on the car window.
The wind blew through the lush bushes and big trees, causing them to sway slightly.
"What?"
He Yuan's voice came from Jiang Chuyan's side, and the boy looked very confused.
"Water monkeys, there are a lot of water monkeys in those trees, they, they are chasing us."
Jiang Chuyan's voice was trembling.
"Look carefully on both sides of the road. They're really there. I'm not mistaken... You can find them if you look carefully. They just look like humans, but you can tell at a glance that only the skin of those things is human..."
Jiang Chuyan tried hard to organize his words, but his mind was completely frozen in fear.
"First words——"
He Yuan suddenly called out to him.
"Please check your seat belt to see if it is fastened properly?"
Jiang Chuyan slowly turned his head and saw He Yuan's tense face. He couldn't help but tighten his seat belt, and a wave of despair surged in his heart.
Maybe He Yuan didn't see anything.
Maybe, I'm really crazy...
Suddenly, someone in the back seat made a low sound.
"How did you find out?"
Jiang Chuyan turned his head suddenly when he heard this, and happened to see Xu Yuanzhou in the back seat, staring at him straight.
However, the whites of his former childhood sweetheart's eyes were now filled with blood red.
The boy reflected in Jiang Chuyan's pupils is now just a large mass of deformed flesh and blood.
Of the three people originally sitting in the back seat, only Xu Yuanzhou is left.
No, it should be said that he was the only one from the very beginning.
Jiang Chuyan stared at Xu Yuanzhou in horror. The latter's body became flat and his skin looked more like a loose piece of clothing.
At this moment, two other twisted human figures emerged from the loose skin.
One of them was somewhat similar to Xu Yuanzhou, while the other shadow was just a bloody mess of flesh.
They stretched out their hands, and their cold fingers rested directly on the back of Jiang Chuyan's chair.
"How did you find out?"
It looked at Jiang Chuyan and asked again.
Is that really Xu Yuanzhou?
Or maybe, without him even noticing, Xu Yuanzhou had already been swallowed by the water monkey?
In this brief moment, Jiang Chuyan remembered the fearful warning of Budacuocuo when he arrived at Longzhao Village: water monkeys will suck the bodies of living people, then put on the skins of the victims, blend in with their former friends and pretend to be them.
...Then, the water monkey will use this skin to eat more living people.
Until everyone has completely become its food.
Jiang Chuyan let out a scream.
He had no time to think about whether this was reality or another illusion. Extreme fear made him pick up his backpack and smash it hard into "Xu Yuanzhou"'s face.
"Xu Yuanzhou" leaned back for a moment and let out a long hiss.
Its body bounced up, preparing to attack Jiang Chuyan again.
"Sit tight!"
He Yuan let out a loud shout.
Jiang Chuyan felt as if his body was thrown out uncontrollably, and then he was suddenly pulled back to his seat by the seat belt - the speeding car suddenly braked and stopped abruptly, the tires skidded on the wet mountain road, and the whole car suddenly flew out at an angle.
"Xu Yuanzhou" also flew up.
He Yuan remained calm and quickly opened the rear door with the remote control.
The strange and evil creature rolled out through the wide-open car door due to inertia.
Immediately afterwards, the engine of the off-road vehicle made a deafening roar, and after a serpentine burst, the whole car rushed out, leaving the multi-limbed monster behind.
Jiang Chuyan sat limply in the seat, his chest aching from the seat belt, and even his ribs protested sharply when he breathed.
Everything happened so fast.
It's too thrilling.
For a few seconds, Jiang Chuyan's mind went blank and he didn't even know what to say. He stared at the dashboard, where the speed had reached an almost terrifying number.
And his heart was still beating wildly.
"That thing is the water monkey?"
After a while, He Yuan stared at the rearview mirror and asked again.
"Is this what you saw last night?"
"...almost."
Jiang Chuyan hesitated for a moment, then nodded.
"Huh, no wonder you were so scared." He Yuan muttered, sounding like he was talking to himself. "Fuck, that's too scary."
"Um."
Jiang Chuyan simply responded.
"It's scary."
"...So, even those sitting in the back seat of a car should wear seat belts."
Then, Jiang Chuyan heard He Yuan speak to him in a forced and calm voice.
While speaking, the boy was still holding the steering wheel tightly, and even his joints began to turn white.
When Jiang Chuyan looked at He Yuan, she could clearly see beads of sweat dripping down the boy's forehead.
…
It was at this moment that Jiang Chuyan suddenly laughed inexplicably.
"Yeah, it deserves it for not wearing a seatbelt."
Jiang Chuyan responded.
After going through all that, Jiang Chuyan could be sure of one thing: he was not crazy.
Water monkeys exist.
So do monsters.
And he was no longer alone... although his companions were also frightened and nervous and were sweating profusely.
Then Jiang Chuyan covered her face and burst into tears uncontrollably.
"grass--"
He cursed.
"Fuck the water monkey, fuck the Dragon Swamp Village—"
The young man who was cold and elegant in school started swearing like crazy.
Neither he nor He Yuan mentioned the most terrifying incident.
If the person sitting in the car was Shui Houzi... then where did Liu Tianyu, Bai Ke and Xu Yuanzhou, who were supposed to be in the car, go?
*
Jiang Chuyan quickly got the answer to this question.
*
More than ten minutes later, the car, which was speeding at a dangerous and life-threatening speed, suddenly slowed down.
"How...how is this possible?"
He Yuan stared ahead with an unprecedented look of horror on his face.
"how--"
Jiang Chuyan was about to ask, but he fell silent before he could finish his words.
He didn't need to ask, because the answer that made He Yuan panic to such an extent appeared directly in front of him.
At the end of the road is a familiar village.
That is... Longzhu Village.
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The Mountain from Which There Is No Escape