Samuel was completely baffled by his own questions and answers.

What the heck is this guy doing?

At this moment, the two of them reached a bend in the mountain path. Once they rounded this mountain, the temple would no longer be in sight.

Samuel glanced back again and again, and finally, unwilling to give up, shook his fist: “I’ll be back!”

David Carter consoled him, “As long as the green hills remain, there will always be firewood to burn. Little Master, as long as you get in touch with fellow experts, you can come back anytime.”

“But for now, don’t linger. We need to hurry. I don’t like the look of this weather.”

Samuel replied nonchalantly, “Blessings from the Supreme Celestial Lord, Mr. Carter, that’s not very professional of you. As the old saying goes, good news doesn’t travel—wait, that’s not right. It’s ‘Don’t go out in the morning glow, but travel far in the evening glow.’ You saw how beautiful the sunset was yesterday.”

David Carter said, “But the morning glow today was beautiful too.”

Samuel let out a cold laugh and started explaining the difference between the morning and evening glow. David Carter listened patiently as he rambled on.

When he finally finished, David Carter pointed north and said, “Little Master, I don’t understand what you’re saying. All I know is that the dark clouds are coming.”

Samuel quickly cut through the woods to the clearing and looked up.

The sky to the north was gloomy, with leaden black clouds rolling southward.

He was dumbfounded.

Why the hell didn’t you say so earlier!

The two of them started running in a panic.

Don’t be fooled by David Carter’s chubby appearance—he actually ran pretty fast on the mountain path, while Samuel, a young man, was left panting as he tried to keep up.

But the dark clouds swept across the sky even faster.

A wild mountain wind blew in from the north, thunder rumbled overhead, and raindrops began to pour down in a torrential downpour.

At this point, Samuel simply stopped running.

He couldn’t run anymore!

David Carter had dashed more than ten meters ahead, but when he looked back and saw Samuel lagging behind, he shivered his way back, his fat jiggling:

“Little Master, why did you stop running?”

Samuel tried to catch his breath and said calmly, “Blessings from the Supreme Celestial Lord, Mr. Carter, you may not know this, but according to fluid dynamics, you actually get wetter running in the rain than walking.”

David Carter looked at him as if he’d seen a ghost.

So Samuel realized that this world probably didn’t have the concept of fluid dynamics yet, so he changed his explanation:

“You know these mountain paths better than I do. You should know that we won’t find any shelter from the rain in a short time. So what’s the difference between walking and running? It’s just a matter of becoming a drenched chicken sooner or later.”

“The mountain path is already rugged, and now it’s slippery from the rain. If you’re not careful, you could slip and fall down the mountain—that could be fatal. So it’s better to just enjoy a quiet walk in the rain and watch your step to avoid getting hurt.”

This time, David Carter understood.

He thought for a moment, then bowed respectfully: “Little Master, your words are wise. I am enlightened.”

The rain poured down, and the two of them walked carefully along the mountain path.

Once he caught his breath, Samuel couldn’t help but pick up the pace.

Rain in the mountains is very cold.

David Carter fell behind and asked, “Little Master, why are you running again?”

Samuel was embarrassed and didn’t know how to answer. He looked ahead, and through the curtain of rain, he actually saw some scattered houses.

He was overjoyed and said, “Because I see houses up ahead! Come on, let’s hurry and take shelter from the rain.”

He ran a few steps forward, but didn’t hear David Carter’s footsteps.

So he turned around in confusion and saw David Carter frozen in place.

Rain poured down on his head, but he stood there motionless, ignoring it all.

A sense of foreboding rose in Samuel’s heart.

He asked, “Mr. Carter, why aren’t you moving?”

David Carter didn’t answer. Instead, he slowly backed away.

Samuel walked over.

This time, he didn’t need to ask again—David Carter was already trembling as he spoke: “Little Master, from the foot of the mountain to the Four-Eyed Temple, there isn’t a single village along this whole mountain path!”

“If you see a village on this path, it can only be one thing…”

Samuel’s heart sank: “The Beheading Village!”

The three words hit David Carter like three bullets, making his plump body shiver three times in a row.

Samuel continued, “You’re out of sacrificial meat, aren’t you?”

David Carter replied in despair, “Even if I had it, it wouldn’t help, Little Master. This is just our fate!”

“Even with sacrificial meat, you’d need to burn incense and paper, pray and beg. Only then would the Beheading Village let you go. But look at this heavy rain—how can we burn incense and paper?”

“This is Heaven itself cutting off our escape!”

Samuel looked grave, worried for David Carter’s future.

As for his own, he wasn’t too concerned. The Beheading Village only harmed the living. If he couldn’t beat the ghosts in the village, he could always join them.

Surviving isn’t shameful.

He was already clutching the silver coins for the well crank tightly in his hand.

Ready to use them at a moment’s notice!

He said, “It’s no use turning back now, is it?”

David Carter gave a bitter smile: “Ghosts bully the weak and fear the strong. If the ghosts of the Beheading Village know we’re scared, our end will be even worse.”

“They’ll do everything they can to torment us—until we’re scared to death!”