Chapter 25 A fox is hired, something strange happens in the mountains!
Fire...
At this time, no one will come to the mountain again.
What's more, what happened to the village's funeral procession just now means that no one in the village will come to the mountains again in a short time.
So where did this firelight come from?
Could it be someone from somewhere else? Poacher?
It's really possible.
Zhang Hao hid his figure, squinted his eyes to see more clearly, and watched with breathless concentration.
If they are really poachers, they can be said to be the enemies of the walkers.
Because these poachers have been very hateful since ancient times. They kill wild animals wantonly just to satisfy their own desires. They do not care about the balance of the mountains and forests, and leave things that do not belong in the mountains in the mountains.
In fact, just destroying the environment is enough to make them become mountain walkers and enemies of the mountains.
In a sense, mountain walkers can also be called "mountain guards", so they must not sit idly by and ignore this situation.
He watched quietly without making any sound, for fear of disturbing the "owner" of the fire.
But at this moment.
He finally saw clearly the "owner" of that beam of fire.
Within the scope of the bright light, a short, furry creature with two pointed ears erect, resembling a "human cub that had just learned to walk upright" appeared.
And the thing's back was bulging, as if it was carrying something, and above it was the extremely bright fire in the darkness!
In an instant, Zhang Hao's hair stood on end, and all the hairs on his body stood up.
Furry, short, with two pointed ears, and can stand up...
That's definitely not a human being!
Zhang Hao's pupils shrank and he looked again.
This time he saw clearly, it was a fox, a fox standing upright with both feet on the ground!
And the fox was really carrying something on his back. It was something like a human backpack. It was bulging and contained something unknown.
The horror in Zhang Hao's heart never faded away, and he swallowed his saliva.
To say that seeing foxes on this mountain is a normal thing. This mountain is undeveloped and has always been rich in wild animals. When he was a child, he often heard howling wolves.
But in this pitch-black night in the forest, I saw a fox standing and walking with something on his back, and he was also carrying a torch!
This is so scary!
However, before he could think too much, his pupils dilated again.
That...that's not just one fox, but a total of six foxes!
The six foxes stood on the ground with both feet and walked upright. They each carried their luggage and walked forward along with the fox in the front who carried the torch.
This "Fox" team is not moving very fast, it can be said to be slow.
At this moment, Zhang Hao saw something again.
The bags carried by the foxes all have red paper with no words on them!
In the forest, which is dark and opaque, there is such a "fox" team, carrying backpacks with red paper without words on them.
It directly fills up this feeling of horror!
Zhang Hao didn't dare to take a breath, he suppressed the idea of getting up and running, and kept squatting in place.
When the situation is not clear, the best way is to do nothing, do nothing, and just wait quietly.
Of course, the premise of all this is that the "Fox" team did not discover his existence.
Time passed by, and Zhang Hao watched helplessly as the "fox" team gradually moved away, and the firelight gradually disappeared behind the dark dense forest.
He finally breathed a sigh of relief, and then ran outside without caring about anything.
The scene just now was too terrifying and too unbelievable for him.
Sure enough... what was said in [Illustrated Record of Mountain Walking Travel] is correct. The appearance of mountain spirits is a sign of great disaster, and something big is going to happen in the mountains.
Not long after helping the funeral procession out of trouble, he encountered this strange scene. Isn't this a bad omen or what?
Fortunately, the "Fox" team didn't find him. If they had found him, there's no telling how things would develop.
Zhang Hao ran all the way, following the path in his memory all the way down the mountain without looking back.
We ran all the way to the foot of the mountain, the bright moonlight was shining on the earth, there were stars in the sky, and the endless stars hung above the dome.
Seeing the light coming from the houses in the village, his hanging heart finally let go.
Huh, uh, uh...
Zhang Hao panted heavily, his forehead already covered with sweat.
It wasn't until this moment that he looked back.
The mountain was still dark, shrouded in endless darkness, silent, as if it was always like this, and seemed to reveal some weirdness at all times.
Zhang Hao sat slumped on the dirt, easing his slightly rapid breathing and recalling the scene that just happened in his mind.
Phew~
A breeze blew by, and he shivered. The confusion in his eyes immediately disappeared, and the thoughts in his mind returned to normal.
Only then did he remember to take out the "Mountain Travel Notes" and take a look.
It is impossible for him to be the only one to encounter such a strange scene. I believe that among all the hikers of the past generations, some of them must have encountered it. As long as there are hikers who encounter it, they will definitely leave corresponding records.
While taking a deep breath, he used the moonlight to flip through the ancient book in his hand.
Soon, Zhang Hao found the page he wanted to see.
[Occasionally encountering a fox getting married in the mountains, strange things happening in the mountains...]
It was exactly what Zhang Hao had seen before, a story similar to a folk tale recorded in the "Mountain Travel Notes", about a fox getting married.
This was not the focus of what Zhang Hao wanted to see. What caught his attention were the few sentences left by the unknown generation of hikers at the end of the "story" on this page.
[The fox offers a job before getting married. The six foxes carry bags and put red letters on them. When night falls, fire is seen in the mountains...]
Taking a deep breath, Zhang Hao looked at the records in the ancient books and felt a headache.
Isn't this what the hell...is the situation I encountered?
The prelude to the fox's marriage is the fox's betrothal gift.
Recalling that scene again, Zhang Hao still felt horrified.
After all, the fox is an animal, but it can walk upright like a human, carry a bag with a scarlet letter on it, and even give a betrothal gift before getting married like a human.
Just thinking about it made Zhang Hao feel like the uncanny valley effect was hovering above his head.
But fortunately, nothing happened, and there will be no sequelae after seeing it, so there is no need to do anything to get rid of the bad luck.
There is no corresponding record in ancient books.
But this incident still lingered in his mind, lingering.
No, wait until you get home and do some research on what this fox marriage is all about.
If something happens later, it’s best to take precautions in time.
Zhang Hao stood up, patted the dirt on his body, and walked along the road into the village.
Since today is the day of the funeral, people in the village did not go out at night and stayed in their own homes.
Along the way, Zhang Hao didn't meet anyone.
Soon, he stood in front of his house. First, he faced the mountain and bowed three times. Then, he chopped his feet on the ground three times and spat three times.
After that, he raised his feet, pushed open the door, and stepped onto the threshold.
"I'm back!" Zhang Hao shouted to the courtyard.
(End of chapter)