The backyard is filled with a pungent smell of oily smoke. The cooks and helpers are busy with the work at hand, cooking vegetables and making soup, picking vegetables and chopping meat, washing pots and dishes, fetching water and chopping firewood, those voices intertwined and making Liu Chu irritate.

The hut is on the inside, two people were squatting in the pit holding their energy and exerting their strength, “Hmm.” The curtain suddenly lifted, and they were shocked. Seeing the person coming, they had no chance to be ashamed, so they greeted with the posture of sticking their buttocks , “Chief Liu.”

Liu Chu quickly scanned, “Have you seen Young Master Song?”

Those two shook their heads in unison.

Liu Chu put down the curtain, he looked at the back door of the restaurant which was not far from the hut, walking takes only twenty or thirty steps and running, a blink of an eye.

Si Mao from behind chased him over, he panted and said “Boss, I’ve already asked the comrades at the back door and the lobby, and they all said they didn’t see Young Master Song.”

Liu Chu frowned.

Si Mao wiped the sweat from his forehead with one hand, “Blame me, if I hadn’t talked to the girl from my hometown, and went to the lavatory together with Young Master Song, this incident wouldn’t have happened.”

Liu Chu asked in a deep voice, “Did you watch him go to the lavatory?”

Si Mao shakes his head, “At that time, she was fetching water from the well and I helped her pull the rope with my back facing the hut.”

Liu Chu asked, “Did your fellow villager see Young Master Song?”

“No, she was talking to me.”

Si Mao was still panting, “The backyard is only this big. The few rooms on the east side are the residences of the restaurant staff. I searched them, and I didn’t miss out the other two rooms for storing sundries either. But I didn’t see Young Master Song.”

His face was full of confusion, “Boss, there is only one door from the backyard to the lobby. Young master Song has neither gone out nor returned. Where can he go? Did he go under the ground?”

Liu Chu said, “Call Boss Dai over here.”

Si Mao went to the third floor from the first floor to find, then went back to the backyard and said, “I didn’t find Boss Dai. I asked around and nobody knew.”

Liu Chu was restraining something, “Then called the steward!”

Si Mao hurried to bring the man.

Liu Chu asked, “Is there any basement in the restaurant? Wine cellar?”

The steward said, “No.”

Liu Chu asked again, “Where’s Boss Dai?”

Steward smiled, with a frown on his face, “Chief Liu, I’m just in charge of chores. How can I know the boss’s whereabouts?”

Liu Chu pursed his thin lips, “Go find it.”

As soon as Si Mao took a step, he heard a voice behind him, “Call everyone, listen clearly, it’s everyone.”

He turned his head, and when he saw the face of the boss, he swallowed, his back felt cold.

Since when did the boss and Young Master Song become so close?

It seems that when the bandits entered the town, Young Master Song accidentally injured the boss’s leg. He moved into the inn to eat and live with the boss to take care of the boss.

Since then, the boss has talked about Young Master Song and said a sentence or two from time to time, just like his comrades talk about their wife.

When Si Mao led his comrades around the restaurant, Liu Chu was in the Song Mansion.

When Song Yuan Shi heard this, she turned her withered hand and pushed the teacup to the ground. It blossomed with a bang, and the fragments were scattered everywhere, “Chief Liu, what did you tell me at the beginning?”

She clenched her cane tightly and hit the ground vigorously, “You said, you guarantee your life!”

Liu Chu said calmly, “Old Madam, the most urgent thing right now is to find Young Master Song and wait for him to come back safely. Liu’s life, if the Old Madam wants it, you can take it. “

Song Yuan Shi moved her rosary beads and opened and closed her mouth slightly. She was chanting scriptures, and it was difficult for people to hear what she was chanting.

Liu Chu’s palm holding the knife was wet with sweat, and his forehead twitched, “Old Madam, Young Master Song’s whereabouts are unknown now, and his life and death…are also unknown. If you wait for the Buddha to come to rescue, it will be too late.”

Song Yuan Shi’s closed eyes opened, and a stern look appeared on her wrinkled face. She grabbed the rosary tightly and called the housekeeper.

Soon, all the servants of the Song Mansion were mobilized, as well as the head instructor and staff who guarded the ancestral hall.

All of a sudden, there were so many people in the town, running in and out of various shops and asking passers-by, and within a short time, everyone knew that something had happened again.

This time it is the eldest son of the Song family, the lifeblood of the old lady.

After hearing the news, the branches of the Song family all went to the mansion, pretending to be worried and anxious, and they were all stopped by the housekeeper outside the meditation room.

When Head Master Zhao came over, all the people outside the meditation room had left. He seemed to have picked the right time and didn’t want to meet those people.

Across the door, Song Yuan Shi was kneeling inside and chanting scriptures.

Head Master Zhao stood outside the door, and comforted her , “Don’t worry too much, Ah Wang is not a child, maybe he felt that the restaurant was boring and went out to relax and lost his way.”

There is no movement from inside.

Head Master Zhao paced back and forth with his hands behind his back, ” He should be back before noon.”

There was still no response.

Head Master Zhao called to his student, “You go back.”

The scholar was a little slow to react, he raised his head, obviously absent-minded, “Teacher, are you calling me?”

Head Master Zhao shook his head and sighed, “What is wrong with both?”

After noon, still no one was found.

The Song Mansion was shrouded in a depressive atmosphere, and the servants walked and did things lightly, not daring to show their emotions.

Father Ye came here once, but he didn’t see Song Yuan Shi Shi’s face either. His attitude was impeccable, and he said a few innocuous words outside the meditation room, and left after a short stay.

Everyone in the Ye family was ashamed. They are desperately looking for the eldest lady, and couldn’t spare any manpower to help.

In the afternoon, the people in the town heard the shocking news. It turned out that it was not only Young Master Song who was missing, but also Boss Dai of the restaurant.

They both were captured by the demon.

Certainly!

People started to panic, the demon was still in the town and didn’t go away. Last time they mistook Boss Zhang for a demon, they got it wrong.

What about this time? Whose skin will the demon change into?

Someone saw Boss Zhang’s old mother. She was walking around the streets and alleys as usual. Today, she not only talked non-stop, but also laughed.

Creepy.

The timid children cried in fright.

The child’s mother cursed, “Crazy old woman, what are you doing scaring the child? Why don’t you just die!”

The old woman kept walking and chattering non-stop.

There were riots, scolding, and yelling on the street. Panic spread invisibly. They were afraid because they didn’t know anything.

Trust is a thing that can be strong, or it can be broken at single touch.

Once something endangers a person’s life, self-preservation is the only choice people will make, and it is also instinct.

Unknowingly, the sun is gradually setting to the west, and the night has revealed its beautiful figure.

The people in the town were caught off guard, and they resisted strongly, refusing the coming of the dark night full of unknown danger.

But the sky still darkened.

Liu Chu searched for a whole day. He searched from house to house, including the wells in the town, Earthworm River, Zhizhu Ridge, Yueshan Mountain, even lavatories, cellars, ditches, and valleys. He searched everywhere he could.

Didn’t see a living person, didn’t see a dead corpse.

Si Mao held two sesame cakes, “Boss, here.”

Liu Chu sat at the base of the wall and didn’t answer.

Si Mao said, “Young Master Song has been studying abroad for so many years, and he knows a lot of things. He will definitely be fine.”

The other officers agreed, “Yes, yes!”

Liu Chu threw the knife on the ground and scratched his scalp with both hands. The official uniform on his body was dirty and smelled bad, and sweat dripped down his neck.

His disheveled and chaotic appearance lacked his usual composure at all.

Seeing the man on the ground running forward with knives, Si Mao almost choked on the cake in his mouth, swallowed it and shouted, “Boss, it’s so late, where are you going?”

Man has run away.

All the police officers were exhausted. They didn’t touch the ground all day, and their legs were sore and tired. They really don’t know how the boss got the energy to run.

Everyone gnawed on the cake and drank water, taking time to discuss.

“Young Master Song is gone, Boss seems to be in a hurry?”

“No it seems like, It is!”

“Boss is that way, just like… just like losing the woman at home.”

“Unlikely. My wife went out one day and didn’t come back after dark, so I wandered around the door instead of looking all over the street like a lunatic.”

“Didn’t you see, just now we met with the Song family and the group from the ancestral hall, and there is no news about Young Master Song. The boss has such an expression that he is about to cry.”

Si Mao wiped his face, ai, why did he feel that once Young Master Song was lost, the boss’s life is almost gone.

Yueshan at night is quieter than during the day.

Liu Chu didn’t take a torch, but only took advantage of the hazy moonlight to go up the mountain. He came once in the afternoon, but there was no clue, and he came again at night.

As soon as he stopped, Liu Chu felt suffocated, feeling sorry for the young man. He has no idea what the situation is on the other side. Whether injured? okay? crying out of fear?

He can’t rest.

The mountains are covered with dead leaves. Snakes, insects, rats and ants hide under the leaves. Those who sleep are sleeping, and those who are hungry are ready to start looking for food.

The sound of footsteps approaching frightened a hare under the tree. It swished into the grass, shivering with its small head shivering under a wide leaf.

Liu Chu heard the noise and knew it was a rabbit, so he ignored it.

He searched in the mountains for a long time, but to no avail.

“Where did you go?”

Liu Chu slammed his fist on the tree. After a while, he stood among the falling leaves and said, “Song Wang, don’t scare me…”

The leaves fell to the ground one by two and three, making a slight sound.

Late at night.

To the west of Yueshan, there is a cave, hidden in the depths of the complex and criss-crossed trees, even if people pass by it several times, they will not push aside the densely entangled vines to look inside.

There is a pit in the cave, and ordinary people cannot go up from it with bare hands.

Huang Dan woke up in the pit, he was a little dazed, turned his head and saw a blurry silhouette, couldn’t see the face clearly, only smelled the perfume and knew it was Boss Dai.

Boss Dai’s voice is very soft but it sounded a little weird in the dark pit, “Young Master Song, you’re awake.”

Huang Dan hummed, but didn’t say much.

He couldn’t judge at the moment whether Boss Dai, who appeared in this place at the same time as himself, was a human or a demon.

Boss Dai patted her chest, still in shock, and said, “I’m almost scared to death.”

“Young Master Song, you don’t know. When I opened my eyes, I found that I was not in a restaurant, but in such a ghostly place where I couldn’t see my fingers. I thought I was tied up by bandits.”

Huang Dan didn’t speak.

Boss Dai paused for a moment and said, “Young Master Song, you are not doubting me, are you?”

She sighed softly, “I’m also in the similar situation as you. I haven’t figured out what’s going on yet, but I just woke up a little earlier than you.”

Huang Dan still didn’t speak.

“Young Master Song, if you doubt me, then I will be really sad.”

Boss Dai sighed, “I’m trapped here, hungry and thirsty, there’s no need to treat myself like this, is there?”

Huang Dan didn’t answer, and asked in his heart, “Mr. System, can you get me a matchbook?”

System said yes, 5 points are required.

Huang Dan immediately said that he want, “Deduct it directly from the fly cabinet.”

System said, “Mr. Huang, 5 points have been deducted. Your current property has 235 points and 7 chrysanthemum spirits.”

“OK.”

Huang Dan reached into his bosom and took out the matchbook that Mr. System gave him. A bunch of orange flames sprang up. Through the jumping flames, he could clearly see the woman’s face, which was dirty in several places but not injured.

Boss Dai was overjoyed, “Young Master Song, you brought a matchbook.”

Huang Dan said, “Boss Dai, do you have any dry firewood around, we need to light the fire.”

Boss Dai hurriedly said, “Yeah.”

After a while, a small fire was set up, and the whole picture of the pit was displayed in front of Huang Dan and Boss Dai.

The pit can hold more than a dozen people, and there are paw prints on the walls on all sides. It is huge and deep, and it makes one’s scalp tingle just looking at it.

This is like a cave of demons.

Although Boss Dai owns a big restaurant, she is a woman after all. When she saw those paw prints, she was naturally frightened. With her arms folded on her chest, she leaned towards Huang Dan.

Huang Dan backed off.

Boss Dai moved closer to him again, “Young Master Song, you say, are we going to die?”

Huang Dan said, “I don’t know.”

Boss Dai looked nervous, “The demon captured us here to eat, right?”

The woman’s voice was softer, as if she was whispering, the tone also seemed to be telling a ghost story, with a terrifying effect.

Huang Dan said, “It’s possible.”

For a while, both of them fell silent.

Except for demons, there is nothing that can carry a living person from one place to another without anyone noticing it.

The paw prints in this pit are not something that can be clawed out.

The fire suddenly went out.

Then there was a scream, and there was a softness in front of Huang Dan’s body. He vigorously pushed the woman who was in his arms away, “Boss Dai, please respect yourself.”

Boss Dai seemed frightened, “Young Master Song, I’m sorry, I was frightened.”

She asked in the dark, her breath was a little disordered, “Why did the fire go out? Is that demon coming?”

Huang Dan said , “It’s windy.”

Boss Dai questioned, saying that there is no wind, it must be the work of a demon.

The voice in his ear was noisy, Huang Dan said, “Boss Dai, everyone should know that we are missing, and will find us.”

“Impossible.”

Boss Dai shook her head, “I’ve lived in the town for nearly twenty years, and I’ve never heard of such a pit nearby.”

Huang Dan fell silent.

He went to light the fire again, but it couldn’t light any more.

The firewood that was still burning just now was all wet, and all the smoke that had drifted away was gone. This phenomenon was too weird, except for demons, it is the work of ghosts.

The pit was dead silent.

At this time, the neck seems to have been pinched by a big hand, it is difficult to breathe, and he will die at any time.

Boss Dai’s words were full of regret, “The restaurant has reopened, and there were many people. I drank a lot of wine, and my head was a little dizzy, so I went to lie down in the room for a while, who would have thought…”

She said desperately, “Young Master Song, I am afraid this is more ominous than ominous.”.”

Huang Dan asked something else, “You woke up before me, why didn’t you call me?”

“Called.”

Boss Dai said, “Young Master Song, I’ve been shouting for you all the time till my voice became hoarse. You were not waking up at all. I was scared, and my heart started pounding.”

Huang Dan couldn’t see the woman’s face clearly.

Many thoughts ran through his mind, and he sighed, “It hasn’t been two months since I came back, there have been many cases in the town, and a demon has also appeared. If I had known earlier, I would have lived abroad.”

Boss Dai expressed her sentiment, saying, “I can’t think about yesterday’s events today. If I’d known, I wouldn’t have gone to the room alone.”

The pit fell into dead silence again.

The breath of death approached quietly, lingering between Huang Dan and Boss Dai.

The sound of the woman sobbing softly was terrifying.

Huang Dan said, “Boss Dai, about to die anyway, let’s talk for a while, and when we get to the yellow river in the underworld, we can make a companion and go together.”

Boss Dai stopped sobbing, “What does Young Master Song want to tell me?”

Huang Dan said, “Why do you spray so much perfume on your body?”

Boss Dai said, “Perfume, a friend of mine brought it back to me from abroad. I like the smell very much. It smells good and I feel good. So spray some more.”

Huang Dan asked, “I heard that on the day Boss Zhang had an accident, someone saw you in the attic.”

After a brief silence, Boss Dai’s voice sounded, “Yes, I was there. My legs were weak, and if it wasn’t for the railings to hold me, I would have fallen.”

She showed lingering fear, “It’s the first time I’ve seen those people who are usually peaceful and kind go crazy, stare and beat Boss Zhang to death, like a devil.”

“People thought he was a demon and beat him to death to believe he was human.”

Huang Dan lowered his eyes, “How could there be a skeleton in Boss Zhang’s room that night?”

“Young Master Song, I’ll tell you the truth.”

Boss Dai said, “There was only one chef on duty in the entire restaurant that night. After the accident, I asked him, and he said he didn’t know what was going on.”

“I’m also bewildered. Who has the ability to escape the eyes of the police and bring the bones and heads into the restaurant, moreover, there are so many rooms in the restaurant, but he chooses Boss Zhang’s room. Thinking about it, It’s what demon’s do.”

“I just can’t figure out why the demon would do that.”

She said, “I’m about to die. I don’t know who the bones and head belong to. Tell me, Young Master Song, is it useless for me to be the boss?”

Huang Dan didn’t make a sound.

Boss Dai suddenly said, “There is something I told Chief Liu about.”

Huang Dan asked, “About what?”

Boss Dai said, “That night, I saw your grandma in the corridor.”

She quickly explained, “Young Master Song, I don’t mean anything else. I’m just stating the facts.”

Huang Dan fell into deep thought.

“A few days ago, the cook died suddenly at home, for no apparent reason.”

Boss Dai sighed, “Young Master Song, don’t look at the size of my restaurant, but in the end, there was not much money in my pocket. Now that accidents happen one after another, I don’t know how this business will decline, and whether it will continue. “

She smiled wryly, “You also know that the men in the town want to eat me, and the women want to skin me. Even if I can’t get along, I still have to pretend to be good.”

Huang Dan pursed his lips. This woman was worried about the business of the restaurant, so she lost her mind and didn’t remember things?

“The couplet that the teacher gave you this time is very good.”

“It’s pretty good,” Boss Dai said, “He said he had sent it before. I thought about it later. On the day the restaurant opened, Teacher Zhao had just moved to the town. He didn’t teach in a private school and was unknown, so I didn’t invite him.”

Huang Dan froze then he pinched his fingers. Head Master Zhao was lying? Or this woman is lying to him.

It can’t be that the memories of both of them are confused.

Boss Dai said, “Okay, Young Master Song, it’s time for me to ask you, what are foreign girls like?”

Huang Dan said, “It’s about the same as the ones in the town.”

Boss Dai said, “No way, I think that Miss Ye who came back from overseas is different from us. Her short skirt, coat, nail polish, small bag on her shoulders, and her cigarettes, lighters, etc. Those are not available in the county.”

Huang Dan said, “Boss Dai seems to be very concerned about Ye Lan.”

Boss Dai seemed to relax a lot, “Everyone has a love for beauty. It’s not just you men who like to look at beauties, women also like to look at them.”

Huang Dan agrees, women like to look at handsome guys, and he will take another look too.

Boss Dai asked, “I think you have a good relationship with Chief Liu, what kind of girl does he like?”

Huang Dan said, “I don’t know about that.”

Boss Dai looked very curious, “Chief Liu has never dated someone, so he doesn’t know what it’s like to be with a woman. How about you, Young Master Song?”

Huang Dan said, “I don’t know either.”

“That little maid of yours is not your tongfang girl?”

Boss Dai was surprised, and then smiled, “I didn’t expect Young Master Song to be a baby.”

Huang Dan, “……”

Boss Dai said, “Young Master Song, look, we are going to die soon, you have lived for more than 20 years, and you haven’t tasted a woman yet. It is a pity to go away like this, Jiejie will let you taste it.”

As she spoke, she began to unbutton the cheongsam, exposing the sleeve-length neck.

Huang Dan said, “No need.”

Boss Dai’s eyes were sad, “You think Jiejie is dirty.”

Huang Dan said, “I can’t.”

There was a silence in the pit, and then Boss Dai’s pitiful voice, “I really can’t tell…it’s a pity…”

Huang Dan twitched the corner of his mouth.

He sorted out what he got from Boss Dai’s mouth one by one, all to be determined, the most urgent thing is how to get out of here.

When there was a fire before, Huang Dan noticed that the paw prints on all sides were so deep that his hands could dig in, so he decided to try, otherwise, even if the demon didn’t move, he would starve to death.

The reality is crueler than the dream, and Huang Dan just fell off the ground not far away.

Boss Dai asked with concern, “Young Master Song, are you okay?”

Huang Dan’s butt fell, and the most painful part was the tailbone. He kept inhaling, his eyes blurred with tears, and he couldn’t speak because of the pain. He touched his back to make sure the tailbone wasn’t broken.

After the pain was relieved, Huang Dan crawled again, the light was dim, and he had to touch it with his hands.

He suddenly touched a soft thing on the earth wall, and his heart rose to his throat.

Probably because she didn’t hear the sound of the dirt falling, Boss Dai knew that Huang Dan had stopped, so she called out, “Young Master Song?”

Huang Dan swallowed his saliva, it turned out that what he touched was not a woman’s hand, but a root of a plant.

He fell about fifteen or six times, then Huang Dan passed out. When he regained consciousness, he was still in the pit, and neither the rescuer nor the demon came.

Boss Dai’s voice sounded from the left, “Young Master Song, you scared me to death.”

Huang Dan struggled to sit up, “How long have I been unconscious?”

Boss Dai said she doesn’t know.

The sun was not visible in the pit, and it was not clear whether it was night or day outside.

“Young Master Song, I’m so hungry. If we don’t go out, we will starve to death here.”

Boss Dai’s voice was weak, “Do you think that demon is watching us in secret, deliberately not showing up, waiting to see us slowly starve to death?”

Huang Dan’s bones ached all over his body, and the physiological tears brought about by the pain couldn’t be stopped at all, but he didn’t cry out.

Boss Dai didn’t seem to know that Huang Dan was crying, and was still talking about being very hungry, thirsty, and dying.

Huang Dan buried his head in his arms, gritted his teeth and endured.

Don’t know how long it took before his pain subsided a little bit.

The more times he fell, the more experience he gained. Huang Dan finally climbed to the top of the pit. He thought the light in the pit was dark because it was covered by trees, but he didn’t expect the pit to be in a cave.

There was the sound of dripping water, the sound was extremely eerie and weird, as if some huge beast was lying in a corner, waiting for the prey to come and tear it to pieces.

Huang Dan lit the matchbook, the fire came on and went off again, he lit it a few times, and took a rough look at the environment in the cave.

After resting on the ground enough, Huang Dan went to find vines and threw them into the pit.

A woman’s voice came faintly from the pit, “Young Master Song, I’ve caught it!”

Huang Dan grabbed the vines, gritted his teeth, and the veins on the back of his hands protruded. The woman in the pit was obviously very thin, why is she so heavy? He felt that he was pulling not one person, but two people.

The vine slipped out of the palm of his hand, and Huang Dan was thrown to the mouth of the pit by that force, his ribs hit him hard, his whole body trembled from the pain, his teeth chattered, and his mouth smelled bloody.

Boss Dai’s startled voice came from the pit, “Young Master Song?”

Huang Dan didn’t answer. He grabbed the grass and vines and got up, crying bitterly, “Mr. System, I’m in too much pain.”

System, “Sorry, Mr. Huang, I asked my leader, but no product that can numb pain nerves has been developed yet.”

[Mr. Huang, your guardian sent you a cup of “Nutrition Solution” commemorating the 1982 year, please accept it, and you will be able to replenish energy immediately. “]

When Huang Dan received it, he felt that he was irrigated by something, his physical strength recovered, and his body didn’t hurt so much. He cried and said, “Thank you, Mr. System.”

System, “No need to thank.”

There was a cry from the pit. Boss Dai panicked, thinking that Huang Dan had left her in the pit alone, and she burst into tears.

Huang Dan lifted the hem of the gown, bit it open with his teeth, tore off two rags and wrapped them around his sweaty hands. It was not so slippery anymore. He grabbed the vine, took a few deep breaths, took a step back, and stabilized his figure , “Boss Dai, I’ll pull you.”

The vine trembled, and the weight from the other end had already passed up.

Sweat dripped from Huang Dan’s forehead and hit his eyelashes. He blinked and wanted to give up for a moment.

That thought was forcibly crushed by Huang Dan, he stepped back, let out a strong growl in his throat, and pulled her up with all his strength.

Boss Dai grabbed Huang Dan’s hand and tried her best to climb up.

Both were gasping for breath, unable to make other sounds for a while.

The muscles of Huang Dan’s whole body were trembling at a painful frequency, and his heart was pounding against his ribs, bouncing wildly.

Boss Dai wiped the sweat from her forehead, expressing gratitude between the lines, “Thank you, Young Master Song, I really thought you didn’t care about me and left.”

Huang Dan pulled off the cloth strip in his hand, without saying much, “Let’s go.”

Boss Dai got up and followed behind.

The inside of the cave is damp, and the rocks under the feet are covered with moss, which is very slippery, and you can fall if you don’t pay attention.

Huang Dan’s sleeve was held by Boss Dai. When he took a step, he was restrained, as if someone was pulling him, “Boss Dai, can you walk by yourself?”

Boss Dai panted, “Young Master Song, I’m sorry, my shoes are not easy to walk in.”

Huang Dan, “……” Let’s save some energy.