"Who's there?" I yelled in surprise, gripping my machete and charging towards the old man. Several meters of dense forest separated us, and I had to cut a path through the undergrowth.
As I chopped away at the branches blocking my path, I saw the old man turn and leave. He hobbled away, leaning on a cane. I could only watch as he disappeared into the fog, unable to catch up.
But just before he vanished, he turned back and gave me a sinister smile.
I didn't believe he was a ghost, especially not as a member of the Cold Case Squad. We had encountered numerous bizarre cases, and many turned out to be the work of people pretending to be supernatural.
From what I could tell, the old man was a cripple, quite old. He couldn't have moved very quickly, so I resumed chopping my way through the trees to catch him.
"Stop! Don't move! I'm a police officer..." I shouted as I hacked through the branches.
When I reached the spot where the old man had been, all I found was a set of bones on the ground.
For a moment, I wondered if I had imagined the old man and had actually seen this skeleton.
Could there really be a "White Bone Spirit" here? I absurdly thought of the demons from Journey to the West.
But those were just fleeting thoughts. I quickly regained my composure and started examining the area around the skeleton.
The skeleton leaned against a pine tree, still intact, with a yellow talisman on its forehead.
Inspecting the ground around the skeleton, I finally smiled. This was the first significant discovery since we entered the mountains. It was clear that besides us, there was someone else in the Lotus Village.
The old man I saw was indeed a cripple. This was evident from the uneven footprints in the soil, with one deeper than the other. A cripple would leave such prints, placing most of his weight on his good leg. And the holes around the footprints were clearly made by his cane.
"Sir, I'm a police officer. I have something important to ask you. Please wait for me..." I called out loudly, looking around.
The forest remained silent, with no response.
Just as I was about to follow the footprints, I realized something odd. Despite the dense forest, there were no signs of recent passage. The old man's footprints only circled the skeleton for three or four meters. Beyond that, there were no tracks.
It was as if the old man had vanished into thin air.
"Xiao Lin, are you there yet? Do you want us to spend the night here?" Zhang Yihan's angry voice suddenly came through the walkie-talkie.
"Senior Sister, I'm on my way, almost there," I quickly replied, then turned back and headed towards the valley.
It was nearly 5 PM, and I knew I wouldn't make it back before dark. But I couldn't leave Zhang Yihan and the others behind.
By the time I reached the valley, it was 7 PM. The fog thickened as I descended, slowing my pace.
Standing on the stone path, I found myself surrounded by thick fog, which seemed to swirl around me like dancing ghosts.
In broad daylight, such a scene might look like a paradise, but at that moment, it made my heart race. The fog made me feel as though something sinister was lurking within.
Fortunately, we had prepared well, bringing flashlights. Otherwise, I might have been trapped here.
Thanks to the stone path in the Lotus Village, I managed to find my way, even though the fog reduced visibility to less than thirty centimeters. I had to crouch, using my flashlight to follow the path.
I had to be cautious because I remembered that the stone path bordered a vast swamp. Falling into it would be disastrous. Given the years of abandonment, who knew how deep the swamp had become?
As I crouched, feeling my way forward, I heard a series of crisp "tap-tap" sounds behind me, like a woman in high heels walking towards me.
The temperature had dropped quickly, and my clothes were damp from the fog. The sound sent chills down my spine.
Despite my fear, I didn't believe in ghosts. I listened closely and realized the sound wasn't quite like high heels. It resembled the tapping of a cane.
Yes, the frequency and intervals were too slow for high heels. It must be the old man's cane.
"Tap, tap, tap..." The sound grew closer until it stopped right next to me. But I saw nothing, as if the person were invisible. Sweat began to bead on my forehead.
After the cane stopped, everything fell eerily silent. I could hear my own breathing and even my heartbeat pounding in my ears.
"Sir, is that you?" I asked, trying to muster my courage.
There was no response.
Determined to uncover the truth, I decided to take a few steps forward to see if the old man was trying to scare me.
As I moved, the "tap-tap" sound suddenly came from behind again. Turning around, I saw nothing but swirling fog. The sound gradually faded away.
Unable to stay calm, I resumed crouching and following the path.
Thankfully, after a short while, I reached a side path leading to the wooden house. I remembered this must be the way to the house where Zhang Yihan and Captain Zhao were waiting.
Feeling a bit more secure, I noticed that the words I had written earlier were missing.
Turning back to check, I was horrified to see that the words weren't missing; they had turned blood red. The letters appeared to be oozing blood, a chilling sight.
Swallowing hard, I hurried along the side path, eager to reach Zhang Yihan and Captain Zhao.
With no swamp to worry about, I moved quickly along the path.
"Senior Sister, Senior Sister..." I called out as I entered the overgrown courtyard, remembering it was relatively spacious. I rushed through the grass towards the wooden house.
Stumbling over something, I fell face-first into the grass.
Turning around and shining my flashlight, I saw what looked like a person lying there, who had tripped me.
The figure wore black clothes, barely visible in the dense fog. Feeling an eerie calm, I moved the flashlight slowly over the face.
The light revealed an elderly woman with white hair and a wrinkled face. Her eyes bulged from their sockets, and her tongue hung out past her chin...
The sight made me scream in terror.
Backing away, I fell to the ground, screaming as I scrambled back. My legs were so weak I couldn't stand.
After retreating a few steps, I felt a tap on my shoulder.