What happened afterward, Tang Xiao could no longer remember clearly.
He only recalled something cold and slender coiling around his limbs, constantly trying to burrow inside. There was also a humanoid figure holding him tightly, their mouth opening and closing as if speaking…
“Tang Xiao? Tang Xiao? Wake up!”
A loud voice by his ear forcibly dragged Tang Xiao out of his dream. The young man jolted awake, fear still lingering in his eyes. Seeing two bodyguards leaning in close, he nearly jumped out of his skin.
Fortunately, the two men quickly stepped back, avoiding a head-on collision. One of the bodyguards asked in confusion, “Did you have a nightmare last night? You look terrible.”
A nightmare? It seemed so.
But Tang Xiao couldn't recall the details anymore. He only remembered a gloomy, twisted, and strangely vivid dream. In his mind, the image of golden, vertical pupils—like a snake's, inhuman—still lingered.
“What time is it now?” Tang Xiao asked hoarsely.
“Seven in the morning. Didn't you say last night that you wanted to head out early to collect samples?” the bodyguard replied.
“Ah… then let's wash up and get ready to leave.” Tang Xiao rubbed his temples, thinking it was probably just the unfamiliar environment that had made his sleep restless.
Luckily, they were only staying for a day or two—he could endure it.
Li Bohao, who had shared the same room with them last night, was nowhere to be seen. When Tang Xiao stepped out to wash up, he found Li Bohao already sitting in the small common area outside, chatting with Li Po while waiting for breakfast.
The food provided by the middle-aged man was simple, and the group barely managed a few bites before putting their chopsticks down. Li Bohao said, “We're planning to investigate the local customs today. Want to join us?”
“No, I'm here on assignment,” Tang Xiao shook his head and turned to the middle-aged man. “Is it okay to go up the mountain today?”
“There’s some morning fog, but it doesn't seem too dense—you should be fine.” The man nodded. Since he had been paid, he was responsible for their lodging, meals, and also acted as a guide. However, he was alone, so he hesitated as he looked at Li Bohao's group.
“It's fine, take Tang Xiao up the mountain,” Li Bohao said. “The terrain there is more complicated. We'll just explore the village.”
“Alright… but be careful. You can look around, but whatever you do, don't go near the temple of the Taizu God at the back. And especially—do not offend the Taisu God.” The middle-aged man warned them repeatedly, and Li Bohao and the others nodded in agreement. Yet, for some reason, looking at their expressions, Tang Xiao had a feeling they were definitely going to cause trouble.
Even though they'd only known each other for a short time, he was oddly certain of it.
…Or maybe it was just the horror movies he'd watched or the stereotypes he had about their professions.
Tang Xiao didn’t concern himself with others' interests. He didn’t believe in ghosts or spirits—no matter how dangerous this village was, it could only be due to wild animals in the mountains or the villagers themselves.
Soon, the two groups split up. Li Bohao and his group went off to gather material, while Tang Xiao, accompanied by the two bodyguards, followed the middle-aged man up the mountain.
The fog wasn’t obvious on the ground, but as soon as they entered the forest, it thickened significantly. Tang Xiao wasn’t sure if it was a good idea to continue in these conditions, but he had no choice but to stick close to the guide. The two bodyguards also stayed right by his side.
“Uncle Cheng, are you sure those mutated plants came from this mountain?”
“Absolutely. You can rest easy—they're here. It's just a bit off the main path. I first saw them when I got lost collecting herbs,” the man, Uncle Cheng, spoke enthusiastically. “Everyone says it’s the traces left by the Taisu God and refuses to touch them, but I took some to sell in the city—and they actually sold!”
Again with the Taisu God?
Tang Xiao frowned as he glanced around, signaling the bodyguards to record their surroundings on their phones—not for sightseeing, but to send back for analysis. The lab had examined the samples of mutated flora and fauna and found structural genetic variations. Normally, mutations of this magnitude suggest environmental issues—disease, soil contamination, or water pollution. But so far, they hadn’t found any evidence of such problems along the way.
Had they been deceived? Were the specimens not actually from here?
And… For some reason, after entering the mountain, Tang Xiao felt unwell.
Just like yesterday, he had the unsettling feeling of being watched. At first, he thought it was just the villagers' prying eyes. But now, in the depths of the forest—where there should be no one—the sensation had only intensified. The gazes felt more numerous, more intrusive, and more sinister.
Logically, he knew this was probably just his imagination. But his body reacted before his mind could reason it away.
Goosebumps rose on his skin. His fingers, hanging by his sides, trembled slightly. It felt like he was being stalked by a predator hidden in the forest. Instinctively, he slowed his steps and moved closer to the bodyguard behind him, seeking a sense of security.
Yet, strangely, the moment he did so, those unseen gazes seemed to grow even more frenzied.
A brief lapse in focus— Tang Xiao suddenly realized that Uncle Cheng, who had been leading the way, was gone.
The fog had thickened further, reducing visibility to only two or three meters. Tang Xiao's face paled. He immediately alerted the bodyguards. The two men, who hadn’t expected this turn of events, quickly called out Uncle Cheng’s name.
Their voices carried far through the silent mountain path, even echoing back. But the echoes sounded… strange. Upon closer listening, the returning voices didn’t quite sound like their own.
After only a few calls with no response, they dared not shout anymore. One of the bodyguards, a buzz-cut man, cursed under his breath, “What the hell? Could he have led us here just to scam some outsiders?”
“Calm down,” the other bodyguard said, crouching down to examine the ground. “Think, could this be the area where you said those mutated plants were found? Boss?”
Tang Xiao snapped out of his thoughts. Only then did he realize—somewhere along the way, the surrounding flora had changed. Some of the plants had taken on a dark hue, exactly like the specimens they had studied in the lab.
Strange. Was his attention span really that bad? Had this place looked like this before?
Tang Xiao felt a little dazed. He pressed his forehead and shook his head, wondering if it was just because he hadn't slept well last night, making his memory unreliable.
“Boss? Can we collect these samples?”
“Yes. Give me the instruments in your backpacks, and please keep watch for me.” Tang Xiao snapped out of his daze and started assigning tasks. No matter what, finding the samples was what mattered. The sooner they finished, the sooner they could leave.
The two bodyguards had no objections. They also wanted to leave this eerie place as soon as possible and wished the task could be completed even faster.
While collecting the samples, Tang Xiao was completely focused, just as he would be in the laboratory. No matter how big the disturbance outside, it wouldn’t break his concentration—unless it directly affected the equipment in his hands.
Because of that, he failed to notice that, at some point, one of the bodyguards behind him had disappeared.
He also didn’t notice that the remaining bodyguard was standing still in an odd posture, motionless for a long time.
After collecting the last bit of soil sample, Tang Xiao let out a breath of relief, stepping out of his deep focus. Only then did he realize that his legs had gone numb from squatting too long. When he moved, they prickled like being stabbed with needles. He awkwardly pressed his hand against the ground to push himself up, but his shoulder and chest brushed against something.
Cold. Smooth. Like human skin. His neck tingled, as if strands of hair had brushed against it.
Tang Xiao froze, maintaining his bent-over position, too afraid to move. His gaze shifted downward—toward his feet, toward the space behind him—where a pair of shoes stood, pressed tightly against his heels. Who knew how long that person had been standing behind him?
He could picture it. He had been bending over, collecting samples. And that person had been standing there, watching him for just as long.
What he had just brushed against—was their lowered face.
His heartbeat pounded in his chest like a rapid drumbeat. His breath came in quick, uneven bursts. Without thinking, he lunged forward. Luckily, the area he had been sampling was a small slope. Tang Xiao's mind went completely blank—there was no time to think, only the instinct to flee, to escape that person’s gaze.
The sensation of weightlessness hit his feet as he tumbled down the slope.
Pain. His skin scraped against jagged stones, burning with pain.
His forehead struck something hard. A sharp ringing filled his skull. He lost all sense of direction, unsure of where he was or how much time had passed. A voice, sometimes near, sometimes far, echoed around him.
“Boss? Boss! Are you alright?”
The blurry double vision in front of him slowly merged back into one. After a long moment, he finally recognized the man crouching in front of him—one of the bodyguards his professor had hired. The younger one. A plain-looking guy… right?
The handsome, dark-skinned bodyguard frowned down at him, extending a finger. “Can you tell me how many fingers this is?”
His dangling hair shimmered silver-white in the mist.
That color… Where had he seen it before?
“...1?”
“Alright,” the man sighed in relief, bending down to help him up. “You scared me just now. Why did you suddenly lunge forward? Did your leg go numb? You should’ve said something.”
Yeah… why had he fallen?
Tang Xiao pressed a hand to his forehead, his memory seeming to have a gap—no matter how he tried, he couldn’t connect the pieces. But the lingering numbness in his legs was still there. He made a vague sound of agreement, going along with the man's assumption. “The other guy?” he asked.
“Dunno. He went to look for Uncle Cheng but never came back. Maybe he got lost too.”
The man sighed helplessly. “But it's fine. While you were collecting samples, I took a look around and got a rough sense of the way back. We’re unfamiliar with this area, and the fog’s getting thicker. If we stay too long, we’ll have real trouble. We should head back down—maybe they’re already waiting for us at the base.”
“Mm.” Maybe it was the fall, but Tang Xiao's whole body ached too much to think straight. Most of his weight leaned against the bodyguard, and he accepted his judgment.
The dark-skinned man lowered his gaze slightly, his voice turning even gentler. “Then let's go.”
His arm tightened around Tang Xiao’s waist, his palm pressing firmly against the thin fabric of his clothes, gripping in sync with the movement of his muscles—holding him almost in an embrace. Tang Xiao, drowsy from the lingering effects of his fall, didn’t notice…
That as they walked, the once-normal plants around them had started turning black at the tips.
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