Chapter 22 - 22 22 Curse

22: Chapter 22 Curse 22: Chapter 22 Curse The hunched figure appeared much shorter than the body that had hung the day before, but the face was indeed the one that had its tongue stuffed back into the mouth, whose ashen complexion now looked no different from that of a living person. There was a heartbeat, breathing, he was alive. The rope used for hanging had been discarded to one side, and the lock on the wooden door was broken. Even Xu Huo found it hard to believe; he had checked yesterday, the person was definitely dead, yet he seemed to have resurrected overnight on his own. The Woodcutter paid them no mind, turning his head back to continue chopping wood. “Is he a human or a ghost?” Abel raised the Cross high. “He’s human, I guess, he has a shadow,” Wan Zhikang said hesitantly. “I tell you, he’s last night’s Beheading Demon. Damn it, still daring to play ghostly tricks!” Zhang Xiong clenched his fist, ready to rush over, but Huang Junjie frowned and stopped him, assessing the Woodcutter with his gaze. The rich second generation let out a cold chuckle, picked up a piece of firewood to weigh it, and signaled Liu Yuanyuan with a glance. The two walked towards the Woodcutter, who was turned away from them. “Old brother, how long have you lived here?” All of a sudden, Xu Huo interrupted, cutting off what the two were about to say to the Woodcutter. The Woodcutter turned to see him offering a cigarette, hesitated for a moment before accepting it, and used Xu Huo’s lighter to light it. He sat on a tree stump, took a couple of puffs, and finally said, “For quite a few years now, been here since the villa was built.” “The villa looks pretty old, and no one lives here now. Isn’t it boring living here alone? Haven’t you thought about going out for a stroll?” Xu Huo sat down beside him. “Why go out? Never went anywhere with my family before, and now I’m so sick I’m near death; don’t have the strength for it.” Xu Huo glanced at his neck, “Medical technology is so advanced these days, terminal illnesses can be cured.” The Woodcutter pointed to a new grave not far away, “My daughter tried, still she died. The whole family is buried here, I’ll be buried here sooner or later too.” “It’s most important for a family to be all together,” Xu Huo nodded, “I’ll be staying here for a few days, if you die, I’ll bury you.” The Woodcutter looked at him expressionlessly, and after a couple of seconds, he continued, “You lot must be here for an adventure too, I advise you to leave quickly.” “Old man, do you know the legends about this villa?” Xia Guo came over, “I heard there is a Beheading Demon here, aren’t you scared?” “What’s there to fear when one is about to die,” the Woodcutter shook his head, “You young people are the ones with big guts, daring to do anything for a thrill. I’m telling you, this villa is cursed, anyone who comes seeking the Beheading Demon is bound to die.” “I remember some youngsters came here not long ago, in the end, their bodies were taken away by the crematorium.” Two “gulp” sounds of swallowing saliva were heard at the scene, Xia Guo pressed on, “Doesn’t anyone care? Why were they directly taken to the crematorium?” The Woodcutter’s eyelids drooped, “Couldn’t find the heads, where else would they go if not the crematorium.” “Seeing as you’ve lived here long enough, you must know quite a few rumors about the Beheading Demon, tell us about it,” Xu Huo waved Yuan Yao over, and stuffed the half-pack of cigarettes he had hidden on him into the Woodcutter’s hands. The Woodcutter reluctantly accepted it, seemingly oblivious to the players’ wary gazes, and slowly began to recount the rumors regarding the Beheading Demon. Fifty years ago, before this place was developed, there were still some residents. At that time, the mountain had already been purchased by the previous owner of the villa, who wanted to build a leisure resort. The few households refused to leave and conflicts arose with the woodcutters, and somehow, one of them ended up running into an axe, getting their head and neck chopped off together. After the compensation was settled, the suspended construction project resumed, but strange occurrences began happening frequently. Workers, architects, cooks, and drivers who delivered food, in total, over ten people claimed to have seen a headless figure carrying an axe around the site. The former boss hired an expert to perform a ritual. A lot of money was spent to erect a stone sculpture to suppress evil, but on the day the ritual was finished, a worker died. Coincidentally, it was one of the workers who had quarreled with the deceased. The body was found slumped over a tree stump, the head mysteriously gone. Then came the second and third victims, all dying in the same way, bodies left behind while heads vanished without a trace. During the search, officials once saw a dark figure putting a rotten head onto its shoulder amidst the thick fog. The shadow flickered and then disappeared; only a few heads were ever found. Rumors of the mansions curse by the Beheading Demon spread like wildfire. The investigation fizzled out. The expert brought in by the former boss said the killer would continue killing until it found the right head, which implied dissatisfaction with the other heads. In desperation, the boss crafted a mask. By placing this headless and faceless statue, the killings surprisingly ceased. Later, the former boss went bankrupt and sold the resort to the current boss. When the new boss was rebuilding the resort, he accidentally broke the head off the Beheading Demon sculpture. Not long after, a resort guest died in the hot spring, the pool filled with blood, but the head was missing. After learning about the past events, the new boss tried to find the statue’s head but could never locate it. Since then, deaths occurred sporadically within the resort, first guests, then exorcists and detectives investigating the truth, as well as police officers. Thus, rumors arose that anyone entering the resort would be cursed by the Beheading Demon. The matter caused a huge uproar, and no one dared to come here. Even the staff quit their jobs, which led the boss to shut down the resort altogether. What he didn’t anticipate was that this would attract some thrill-seekers unafraid of death. “Have you ever seen those bodies?” Xu Huo asked, touching his neck, “Were they really headless?” The Woodcutter stared at him darkly, “Not only were they headless, but some were missing parts of their bodies too.” “That’s terrifying!” Du Lanlan said, hugging her arms, then turned to Huang Junjie, “You’re so lucky.” The players wholeheartedly agreed. With this story, the missing background for the Beheading Demon Copy in the game introduction was essentially filled in. Since the incident began fifty years ago, it proved that the chances of it being man-made were extremely slim; there must be supernatural forces at play. Besides, considering the Woodcutter’s age, he would have been very young fifty years ago. Even if he lived in the resort all this time, he couldn’t possibly be the Beheading Demon. On the contrary, his inexplicable resurrection confirmed the presence of supernatural forces. If it was unrelated to the Beheading Demon, then there was no need to kill him specifically. Exchanging glances, the players decided to leave. “I saw you hanged yesterday,” Xu Huo suddenly said. Sёarᴄh the nôvelFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. The players, including the Woodcutter, turned to stare at him at the same time. Xu Huo snuffed out his cigarette with a smile, “Aren’t you curious about how you ended up locked in the cabin?” “How did someone who was clearly dead come back to life? How did you do it?” The players present admired his boldness and also looked curiously at the Woodcutter, perhaps the NPC’s resurrection was key to combating the Beheading Demon! The Woodcutter suddenly became enraged, “Nonsense, what dead man coming back to life! Now I know why I was locked in the room while sleeping soundly. It was you bastards, get the hell out of here!” “Take it easy, man,” Xu Huo stood up, lounging back, “It’s not worth it if you die from anger.” The Woodcutter raised his axe, “Get out!”