Chapter 31: Surprise Attack

The group rummaged through the lobby, searching every possible corner, yet they remained completely clueless.

"Where on earth could it be?" Yuan Yao punched the wall. "This dump is so small. I've even checked the ornaments, and there’s absolutely no mechanism or secret passage."

It was true. The building was shaped like a square, and the central courtyard took up a fair amount of space. Compared to anywhere else, this was the easiest place to hide something, but the four walls—aside from the ornaments behind the counter—had nothing on them. Not even a picture hung there, and the walls sounded solid when knocked, making a secret room impossible.

"This ornament isn't right." Huang Junjie moved behind the counter and pressed firmly on a protruding circular piece of solid wood. With a sharp "click," the wood popped open to reveal a small space about a couple of square meters. On the floor was a trapdoor, which, when pulled back, revealed a flight of stairs leading underground.

"So it was a pressure-activated door. I wasted all that time picking at the decorations," Yuan Yao said, his face flushing with embarrassment.

Huang Junjie turned to Xu Huo and asked, "Shall we go down and take a look?"

The three of them descended into the tunnel one after another. No sooner had the wooden door above been pulled shut than the rich kid and Liu Yuanyuan emerged from the side.

"I knew it. Huang Junjie and that kid surnamed Xu were whispering about something; they must have figured something out," the rich kid muttered. A moment later, he pushed the wooden door open.

After the two of them left, Abel also emerged from the side and followed them into the tunnel.

A few minutes later, Zhang Xiong and his two companions returned from the wooden hut. Finding that everyone who should have been there was gone, they began smashing things in a fit of rage.

"There seems to be a sound behind this!" Wang Wei pressed his ear against the wooden ornament.

Zhang Xiong rushed over and kicked it. The circular door popped open, and he jumped inside first, shouting excitedly, "No wonder we couldn't find the Headhunting Demon anywhere; it was hiding in here! Killing the Headhunting Demon might even earn us a prize. Let's go!"

Another three people squeezed in.

***

The tunnel was more spacious than imagined, enough for two people to walk side-by-side. Furthermore, the stone steps branched off into three separate paths.

Xu Huo and his group chose one, but after walking for a while, they found no trace of the college student. Instead, they discovered that the paths branched off even further, with one small tunnel exit hidden beneath a rock by the hot spring in the room to the left.

"It seems the Headhunting Demon uses these tunnels to move around," Huang Junjie said. "Jia Xuyang had so much food with him—he must have hidden in here. Did he really commit yesterday's crime?"

"Let's find him first," Xu Huo replied. He quickly turned back into the tunnel, but just as he landed, he heard the sound of a sharp blade hacking into the stone wall.

Following the sound, they rounded a corner and collided straight into Abel.

"Why are you here?" Huang Junjie drew his knife.

"Don't misunderstand!" Abel waved his hands hastily. "I followed Miss Liu and the others down. I didn't know these tunnels were connected; I got lost and only came this way after hearing the noise."

Xu Huo ignored him and entered the next tunnel. When his flashlight beam hit the opposite side, he first saw a tall, dark shadow flash past, followed immediately by the college student’s body slumped against the wall, his head already severed.

"There’s blood here." Abel looked at the ground in the peripheral light. Two distinct trails of blood led off into another direction.

"Follow him!" Huang Junjie took the lead.

The group followed the bloodstains around two corners before their feet unexpectedly struck something. In the darkness, a spherical object rolled forward.

Huang Junjie’s hair stood on end.

It wasn't just him; Yuan Yao had kicked something too. "N-no way..."

The flashlight beam hit the floor, revealing three human heads scattered about, some with dried blood and others fresh. Because of the kick, one of the heads had hit the wall, leaving a bloody smear.

Staring at the heads, Xu Huo frowned and asked, "When you came down just now, did Wang Wei and the others return..."

Before he could finish, he felt someone approach from behind. Before he could react, his throat was constricted by a thin wire, and he was lifted off the ground!

Abel, who had been about to answer, turned around and hadn't even opened his mouth when he saw the flashlight drop. Xu Huo was suspended in mid-air, being dragged backward by a tall, dark figure!

Abel tore the crucifix from his necklace and flung it, but it was deflected by an axe. Huang Junjie picked up the flashlight and illuminated the entire tunnel.

"He has no feet!" Yuan Yao, who had been about to roll a head on the floor to make the Headhunting Demon slip, looked down and saw that the space beneath the black cloak was empty!

As he was about to be dragged out of the tunnel, Xu Huo suddenly lifted his legs, kicked off the wall, and slammed his head backward into the Headhunting Demon’s mask!

The plastic mask clattered to the ground, and Xu Huo broke free from the demon's grip. He wiped the blood from his neck and turned to face the Headhunting Demon—only a torso floating in mid-air remained.

Huang Junjie and the others rushed over, staring at the black-cloaked figure holding the sharp axe. Their scalps went numb!

"No head, no feet... the Headhunting Demon really isn't human!"

"God, Heavens, there really are ghosts!"

"What do we do?"

The four of them stood in a standoff with the demon. Suddenly, the fallen mask flew back into the demon's hand and was placed back on its face. Just as the demon raised its hand, Xu Huo pulled out a dagger and threw it!

As metal clashed and sparked, flying off in different directions, a lit lighter soared through the tunnel. Xu Huo ignited a second one in his hand:

"Burn!"

The lighter struck the black cloak and slid to the ground without even a spark catching!

"Watch this!" Abel shoved Xu Huo aside. A massive crucifix appeared out of thin air in his hands. With his arm muscles bulging, he hurled the cross at the demon!

The cross slammed into the axe, pushing the cloak back a distance and pinning it to the ground!

It worked!

The other three brightened up and were about to rush forward when the heavy, massive cross suddenly turned into foam. It lost all its weight, and the Headhunting Demon easily floated away into another tunnel!

The four of them hesitated for a split second before giving chase, but by the time they reached the junction, the black cloak was nowhere to be seen. At the same time, light from a fire approached from the other side.

"It's you guys!" Zhang Xiong retreated in a panic. "I saw Jia Xuyang's body. Did you do this?"

"No!" Abel said. "We were also attacked by the Headhunting Demon and are currently tracking him!"

The chasing party grew from four to five, then six, then nine, as they wandered through the tunnels, yet they never saw a trace of the Headhunting Demon again.

"I think we should stop looking," Huang Junjie said, panting. "That thing is elusive, and the tunnels are so dark. We don't even know how many there are. Searching like this is useless."

"Let's take the bodies up first." Xu Huo didn't intend to keep searching either; it was a pure waste of time.

The group carried Jia Xuyang’s body and the two other heads back to the surface. Placing the three together, they at least managed to piece together a whole body.

"Poor Jia died so miserably." Wang Wei looked at Jia Xuyang’s body, unable to bear the sight. He added, "You guys were too careless. You knew the Headhunting Demon wasn't easy to deal with; even if you found its trail, you should have waited for everyone to gather before acting."