Chapter 157: Tragic, truly tragic!

At the foot of Jiming Mountain, the villagers of Xihe, awakened by gunshots, gathered with torches under the leadership of the team leader, Zhang Tieniu, to investigate.

Before they could get close, a chilling wail struck them—a ghostly howl that froze everyone in place.

“That crying... it’s terrifying. No one dares to go forward.”

“Team Leader, could it be... ghosts?” someone whispered.

Zhang Tieniu, sweating coldly but summoning his courage, pressed onward. “Ghosts, my foot! Didn’t you hear the gunshots? It has to be people!”

Encouraged by his words, the villagers tentatively followed. But the closer they got to the mountain’s base, the louder and more pitiful the cries became—more chilling than anyone could bear.

Eventually, even Zhang Tieniu's legs grew weak, and he halted. “Let’s come back tomorrow. With guns, it’s too dangerous for us now.”

The villagers, already unwilling to proceed, eagerly agreed. Just as they turned to leave, hurried footsteps echoed down the mountain path. Three figures tumbled down, one carrying something heavy.

“Ahhhh! Ghosts!”

The villagers were startled, mistaking them for mountain spirits, and fled in panic.

But the three living beings, illuminated by torches, were too precious to ignore. The villagers screamed and chased after them, desperate for survival.

The pursued, hearing the ghostly howls and smelling the foul stench behind them, became more convinced that they were being chased by spirits—and they ran faster.

Thus unfolded a surreal scene: a crowd brandishing torches sprinted ahead, followed by three screaming figures in wild pursuit.

When they finally reached the village, the villagers were gasping for breath, and the three pursuers collapsed in exhaustion.

Ma Guifen fainted outright, still clutching her father’s tombstone.

Once inside the village, reason slowly returned. Wang Youcai and the others were too tired to continue, and fear lessened.

Finally, they pushed the team leader forward to investigate.

Zhang Tieniu approached with trembling legs and a shaking torch.

On the ground lay three figures, covered in black grime, their forms unrecognizable and emitting a horrid stench.

But the bleeding wounds revealed they were human, not ghosts.

Seeing this, the villagers dared to draw nearer.

A closer look showed two men and a woman.

The two men were dumbstruck, collapsed on the ground with twisted limbs and bleeding wounds, seemingly numb to pain, muttering endlessly about ghosts.

The woman lay unconscious, her lower body pinned by a tombstone, her clothes torn to rags, blood seeping from various wounds.

Relieved that they were human, Zhang Tieniu suppressed his disgust and led the villagers in checking for weapons—none were found.

He called for help to carry them back to the team headquarters for treatment; without immediate care, they would bleed out before morning.

As they washed the three, cold towels seemed to trigger bad memories, causing them to scream about ghosts and thrash wildly, spilling water everywhere.

Zhang Tieniu had no choice but to hastily bandage their wounds and assign someone to watch over them.

By then, dawn was near.

The three remained terrified and injured, and soon developed fevers, slipping into unconsciousness.

Seeing this, Zhang Tieniu breathed easier. Fearing they might die in the village, he quickly hitched a cart before sunrise and rushed the three to the commune hospital.

The grumpy old gatekeeper was roused and nearly cursed at the foul smell, but stopped when he saw Wang Youcai’s flushed face.

“Director! I’ll get help right away!”

The three were admitted for emergency treatment.

The doctor marveled at how they had managed to run so far with such severe fractures and bruises.

Once all were heavily bandaged like mummies, the doctor reported to the deputy director: good news and bad news.

Good news: the director’s family wouldn’t die—they had survived.

Bad news: Wang and his son’s fractures were severe enough to risk permanent disability, and all three were mentally unstable—likely insane.

The cause of madness, considering Zhang Tieniu’s report, was probably shock-induced.

The deputy director, overwhelmed by the sight of the three lined up in the ward, was reminded by a subordinate to seek out Director Ma at the county Revolutionary Committee.

He quickly rode to the county.

“What?! What did you say?” In the county office, Ma Yinglong glared at sweating deputy director Feng Jinbao.

“Director Ma, truly, Wang’s family is still hospitalized at the commune. The doctors say they’re out of danger physically, but mentally... they’re terrified to the point of madness.”

Ma Yinglong took a deep breath and closed his eyes. “You’re saying they were brought in by the people of Xihe Village?”

Feng Jinbao nodded dumbfoundedly.

The worst fears were confirmed.

Ma Yinglong paced irritably, knowing full well why that scoundrel Wang Youcai had gone to Jiming Mountain.

As for why they had gone mad—Ma Yinglong had a bad feeling.

He flung open his office door, shouting orders to his trusted aides, and rushed downstairs.

Still confused, Feng Jinbao was only able to follow after his secretary’s prompt.

Seven or eight of them, lightly equipped, sped to the commune by bicycle.

Strangely, Ma Yinglong did not visit his sister and nephew at the hospital. Instead, he found Zhang Tieniu, who had yet to leave, and questioned him thoroughly about that night’s events.

The more he heard, the darker Ma Yinglong’s expression became.

Ignoring the late hour, he insisted on leading a group back up Jiming Mountain.

At the foot, he left most behind and ascended with three aides.

An hour later, furious and out of breath, Ma Yinglong descended and sped to the commune hospital.

By then, the hospital was empty except for Wang’s family, all staying in a single room.

Ironically, since its establishment, the commune hospital’s most frequent patient had been Wang Defa, and now his parents had joined him.

When Ma Yinglong saw his sister’s condition, he gasped sharply.

His accumulated rage was halved in an instant.

It was tragic—too tragic.

Though anxious to learn the full story from the three, they had just undergone surgery and were heavily sedated, sleeping deeply.

Helpless, Ma Yinglong resolved to wait until morning to question them.