The Curse

The hunched figure looked much smaller than the body that had hung there yesterday, but it was definitely the same face, the one with its tongue stuffed back into its mouth. Its bluish complexion had returned to normal.

He had a heartbeat and was breathing. He was alive.

The noose still lay off to one side, and the lock on the wooden door was broken.

Even Xu Huo found it hard to believe. He had checked yesterday, and the man had definitely been dead. Yet after one night, he had come back to life.

The Woodcutter acted as if they weren't there and turned back to chopping wood.

"Is he a person or a ghost?" Abel raised the Cross high.

"I think he's a person. He has a shadow," Wan Zhikang said hesitantly.

"I bet he's the Head Chopper Demon from last night. Damn it, he's still trying to scare us!" Zhang Xiong clenched his fists and was about to charge over, but Huang Junjie frowned and stopped him, studying the Woodcutter.

The rich kid sneered, picked up a piece of firewood and weighed it in his hand, then gave Liu Yuanyuan a look. The two of them walked toward the Woodcutter, who had his back to them.

"Hey, old-timer, how long have you lived here?" Xu Huo suddenly came out from the side, interrupting them as they tried to talk to the Woodcutter.

The Woodcutter turned around. When Xu Huo offered him a cigarette, he hesitated, then took it and used Xu Huo's lighter to light it. He sat on a tree stump and took a couple of puffs before answering. "Many years. I've been here since the Mountain Villa was built."

"The Mountain Villa looks pretty old, and no one lives here now. It must be dull living here all alone. Have you ever thought about going out and seeing the world?" Xu Huo sat beside him.

"What would I go out for? I never went anywhere, even when I was with my family. Now I'm sick and about to die. I don't have the strength."

Xu Huo glanced at his neck. "Medical technology is advanced these days. Even terminal illnesses can be cured."

The Woodcutter pointed at a new grave not far away. "My daughter went for treatment. She still died. My whole family is buried here. Sooner or later, I'll be buried here too."

"The whole family together—that's what matters most." Xu Huo nodded. "I'll be staying here for a few days. If you die, I'll bury you."

The Woodcutter stared at him expressionlessly. Two seconds later, he continued, "You're here to explore, too, aren't you? I'd advise you to leave as soon as you can."

"Old-timer, do you know the stories about the Mountain Villa?" Xia Guo came over. "I heard there's a Head Chopper Demon here. Aren't you afraid?"

"What's there to fear when you're about to die?" The Woodcutter shook his head. "You young people are the ones with guts. You'll do anything for a thrill. I'm telling you, this Mountain Villa is cursed. Anyone who comes looking for the Head Chopper Demon will die."

"I remember a few young people came here not long ago. In the end, the crematorium took their bodies away."

Two people gulped audibly. Xia Guo pressed him for more. "Didn't anyone investigate? Why did they go straight to the crematorium?"

The Woodcutter's eyelids drooped. "They couldn't find the heads. Where else were they supposed to go?"

"You've lived here long enough that you must know plenty of stories about the Head Chopper Demon. Tell us some," Xu Huo said, beckoning Yuan Yao over and handing the Woodcutter the half-pack of cigarettes he had been hiding.

The Woodcutter reluctantly accepted it. Seemingly oblivious to the Players' wary looks, he slowly began telling them the stories about the Head Chopper Demon.

Before this place was developed, fifty years ago, a few families lived here. By then, the previous owner of the Mountain Villa had already bought the mountain and planned to build a resort. The families refused to leave, and got into a conflict with the workers who had come to cut down trees. Somehow, one of them fell onto an axe, and his head and neck were chopped off together.

After they settled the compensation, work on the project, which had been put on hold for a while, resumed. But then strange things began happening. More than ten people involved in the construction supposedly saw a headless figure carrying an axe nearby. They included workers, the Designer, the woman who cooked for them, and the driver who delivered the food.

The previous owner hired an expert to perform a ritual and spent a fortune erecting a Stone Carving to guard the mountain. But on the very day the ritual was completed, a worker died—the very same worker who had gotten into a conflict with the dead man. His body was found slumped over a tree stump, with his head nowhere to be found.

Then a second and a third person died the same way: their bodies were left behind, while their heads vanished mysteriously. When the authorities searched the mountain for the missing heads, they saw a shadow carrying an axe and placing a rotten head on its shoulders. But the mountain was shrouded in mist, and the shadow vanished in an instant. In the end, they recovered only a few heads. Rumors that the Mountain Villa had been cursed by the Head Chopper Demon spread far and wide.

The investigation eventually went nowhere. The expert hired by the previous owner said the dead man was killing people because he was still searching for a head, which meant he wasn't satisfied with any of the others. The previous owner had a sudden inspiration and had a Mask carved for the statue. Once the headless, faceless statue was put in place, the incidents actually stopped.

Later, the previous owner's business failed, and he sold the Mountain Villa to its current owner.

While renovating the Mountain Villa, the new owner accidentally knocked the Head Chopper Demon Statue's head off. Not long afterward, a guest died in the hot spring. The pool was filled with blood, but the guest's head was missing.

After learning what had happened, the new owner went looking for the statue's head, but couldn't find it. From then on, people died in the Mountain Villa from time to time. First it was guests, then experts who came to exorcise the place, detectives investigating the truth, and police officers.

Rumors spread that anyone who entered the Mountain Villa would be cursed by the Head Chopper Demon. The story caused a huge stir, and no one dared come here anymore. Even the staff quit, so the owner simply shut down the Mountain Villa. He hadn't expected that doing so would only attract thrill-seekers who weren't afraid of dying.

"Did you see those bodies?" Xu Huo rubbed his neck. "Were their heads really gone?"

The Woodcutter stared at him darkly. "Not only were their heads gone, but some of them were missing parts of their bodies, too."

"That's terrifying!" Du Lanlan hugged herself, then turned to Huang Junjie. "You were really lucky."

The Players all agreed.

With this story, the missing background for the Head Chopper Demon Dungeon from the game introduction was now filled in. Since it had all started fifty years ago, it was highly unlikely that a person was behind it. Some supernatural force had to be involved.

As for the Woodcutter, he looked old, but he had only been a few years old fifty years ago. Even if he had lived in the Mountain Villa all that time, he couldn't be the Head Chopper Demon.

On the contrary, his inexplicable return from the dead was proof of supernatural forces.

If he had nothing to do with the Head Chopper Demon, there was no need to kill him.

The Players exchanged looks and decided to head back.

"I saw you hang yourself yesterday," Xu Huo said suddenly.

The Players, including the Woodcutter, all turned to stare at him.

Xu Huo grinned and put out his cigarette. "Aren't you curious how you ended up locked inside the Wooden Cabin?"

"How did you come back to life when you were clearly dead?"

The Players admired his nerve, but they were also watching the Woodcutter with curiosity. Maybe an NPC coming back to life was the key to dealing with the Head Chopper Demon!

The Woodcutter suddenly flew into a rage. "What nonsense! What do you mean, coming back from the dead? I was sleeping just fine. How did I end up locked in that cabin? It was you bastards! Get out, now!"

"Don't get so worked up, you're sick," Xu Huo said, standing up and speaking lazily. "It'd be a shame to work yourself to death."

The Woodcutter raised his axe. "Get out!"