Chapter 21: Flying Axe

"Clang... clang... clang..."

The intermittent thudding drifted from within the fog, sounding infinitely amplified in this deep, primeval forest, piercing clearly into their ears.

"The cabin door was latched," Xu Huo said.

The cabin used an old-fashioned latch lock. After the players carried the corpse inside, they had conveniently secured the lock upon exiting—out of respect for the deceased, this was done to prevent wild animals from scavenging the body, but now, someone was pounding on the door.

"G-g-ghost?" Yuan Yao could barely get his words out.

"Would a ghost bother pounding on a door?" Xu Huo circled around to the entrance. Just as he pulled the door open, a "crash" sounded from the inside, accompanied by Zhang Xiong's roar.

Several players had already come out upon hearing the noise. They rushed to the outside of Zhang Xiong's room, and the wealthy heir leading the group kicked the door open without a word.

The lights were on in the room, and the floor was instantly visible, covered in shattered glass. Huang Junjie was leaning against the wall, drenched in sweat, pressing his left hand hard against his right shoulder. Blood flowed continuously through his fingers, already pooling into a small puddle on the floor.

Zhang Xiong was supporting him, pouring self-healing agent into his mouth!

"What happened!" Wang Wei squeezed past Xu Huo to rush forward and help. Huang Junjie freed a hand and said, his face deathly pale, "It's the Beheader!"

Everyone's expression changed.

"You were attacked by the Beheader?" Xu Huo asked. "Did you see a person?"

Huang Junjie shook his head. "I had just finished inspecting the outer perimeter wall. Just as I was about to return to my room, I was attacked by an axe flying in from outside the courtyard. Luckily, I dodged quickly, otherwise my head would have been sliced off. By the time I turned to look, I only saw a black shadow running past the courtyard wall."

Xu Huo looked toward the courtyard. The villa was filled with open-air hot springs; the courtyard and the rooms were separated only by floor-to-ceiling windows, and the perimeter was enclosed by walls made of greenery, at least a head taller than a person. Even if Huang Junjie had only seen a silhouette, the Beheader's height must have been at least two meters.

"Are you joking!" the wealthy heir said. "The outer wall is two meters high, how could you possibly see a person?"

"At least two meters, three or four," Huang Junjie added. "I saw him clearly; he was wearing a black mask."

"Could your eyes have played tricks on you?" Du Lanlan suggested. "It's pitch black out there, after all."

"It couldn't be a mistake." Huang Junjie was very lucid.

"Where's the axe?" Xu Huo scanned the floor for marks left by a sharp blade. "If the attacker used an axe, the axe should have landed in the courtyard."

"That's what puzzles me. The axe flew out on its own," Huang Junjie said, as if it had been sucked away.

Flew out on its own?

"It's true, I saw it with my own eyes," Zhang Xiong hurriedly added.

"How is that possible!" Yuan Yao cried out. "Are you saying there's a killer nearly two and a half meters tall wandering the villa with a flying axe?"

Xu Huo shifted his gaze from the courtyard wall back to the mess on the floor. This method was a bit too crude and simple, deviating slightly from the game's description.

"It might not even be a person..." Wang Wei looked up. "This is a game world; it wouldn't be strange to have ghosts or monsters!"

"We didn't enter a ghost dungeon, did we?" Xia Guo rubbed her arms. "And that pounding sound earlier—it definitely came from the cabin. But we checked earlier, and there was no one near there. If it's not a ghost, could it be a corpse reanimating?"

The foreign guy, Abel, gripped the cross hanging around his neck. "This is my first time entering a dungeon. Is this how game dungeons are?"

"Who the hell knows!" the middle-aged, bald Wan Zhikang snapped irritably. "It's the first time for all of us!"

The game prompts hadn't mentioned any hauntings, so they were all convinced the "Beheader" was a murderer hiding in the villa—that their opponent was human.

If it's a human, they can deal with it. How do you deal with a ghost?

"What pounding sound?" Zhang Xiong asked.

Du Lanlan immediately explained. The reason they had come out so quickly was actually because of that sound; they had already intended to come out and check.

"It seems to have stopped now." She cast a hopeful glance toward Huang Junjie.

"It might have been a wild beast, like a wild boar," Huang Junjie said, lacking energy.

"I think you're all just scaring yourselves." Liu Yuanyuan applied lipstick while looking into a small mirror. "Ghosts and monsters... maybe the Beheader is just trying to scare people. As for the height, with high heels and lifts, I could get close to two meters. It's pitch black outside, and you couldn't see if there were wires on the axe."

With that explanation, it seemed quite plausible.

"Should we go out and look?" Yuan Yao looked at Xu Huo.

"It's too dark, and there's no lighting in the villa. Let's wait until tomorrow during the day," Xu Huo said.

"Right." The wealthy heir gave him an appreciative look. "What's the use of just standing here making a racket? Tomorrow, we'll turn this villa upside down. I don't believe we won't find this Beheader."

Having said that, he walked off with Liu Yuanyuan in his arms. The other players looked at one another, not daring to go out, and instead returned to their respective rooms.

"Come to our room tonight," Xu Huo suggested. "What if the Beheader makes a return trip?"

"Makes sense!" Zhang Xiong hurriedly helped Huang Junjie up, and Yuan Yao went over to assist as well.

The four moved into a single room. Xu Huo gave the bed to Huang Junjie and curled up on a small sofa.

"Thank you all," Huang Junjie said sincerely.

Xu Huo nodded with a smile and fell asleep on the sofa.

They passed the night in peace. Near dawn the next day, he was awakened by a "crack-crack" sound. He sat up and walked into the courtyard, looking toward the source of the noise.

By coincidence, it was from the direction of the cabin again.

"What is that sound?" Huang Junjie was also awake. "Is this what you heard yesterday?"

"No." Xu Huo wiped his face and walked toward the main hall.

Wan Zhikang and Abel were already in the hall. Abel was clutching his cross, muttering, "Amitabha, Hallelujah, Amen..."

"Your foreign gods can't manage the ghosts in my country." The wealthy heir had also come out, listening intently. "This doesn't sound like the sound of someone pounding on a door."

"It's the sound of chopping wood," Xu Huo said. "There are axes among the woodcutting tools at the cabin."

"Would the Beheader really come out to chop wood in broad daylight instead of hiding?" Liu Yuanyuan asked.

"We'll know once we go look," Wang Wei said.

After Du Lanlan and Xia Guo emerged, the group left their quarters and headed toward the small cabin.

The sky had not yet fully brightened, or rather, under such heavy fog, the light could only reach this level. The group bypassed the small path by the main gate and walked through the woods. From a distance, they saw a figure standing before a log, holding an axe high and splitting a round piece of firewood in two.

"That person's clothes look a bit familiar..." Du Lanlan said, trembling.

As if hearing them, the figure turned around. It was the very person who had hanged himself in front of them yesterday!