After the Special Human Bureau detected this, they immediately contacted the Monster Bureau, preparing to gather forces and move to the scene.

Not to mention the potential fallout the expanding miasma could cause to the nearby villages, the unconfirmed presence of a flock of Gu Diaos alone was enough to raise alarms in the Special Human Bureaus and the Monster Bureau.

The evil reputation of these man-eating magic beasts was impossible to ignore.

“I will call Jiang Lan right away.”

Ying Qiao hung up and called Jiang Lan right away. But all his phone calls went unanswered.

So he had to call Uncle Zhou to get more information. His call was instantly picked up, and when he mentioned Jiang Lan’s name, Zhou Shu sighed.

He told Ying Qiao that Xiao Xiaoyu and Zhang Tianxing had lost contact with them this afternoon. They also couldn’t reach the village secretary.

They had assumed that this was because of a poor phone signal, or they were simply swamped with work. But they remained out of touch until the evening. They began to get really worried.

But Xue Meng and Jiang Lan were both adults, and they were in a remote village where the phone signal periodically went down for a whole night. So after they called the Police, considering they had only gone missing for a few hours, the Police didn’t think this case was an emergency requiring immediate action.

Xiao Xiaoyu and Zhang Tianxing had no choice but to report the situation to Chief Cheng and Uncle Zhou while preparing to leave for the Three Water Village at dawn.

Ying Qiao hung up the phone with a grim look. He called Cheng Hua again, telling him.” I will come to you right away, first send me the location of this Three Water Village.”

Before he left the flat, it occurred to him that there were two cubs in his care. Pausing in the doorway, he again returned to the bedroom.

These two brothers were preparing to sleep.

Jiao Tu had put on his pajamas, and Suan Ni was covered by his blanket.

Pausing for a second, Ying Qiao decided against telling them Jiang Lan had gone missing.” There is an emergency I need to take care of. You two stay here and don’t leave. There will be someone here in the morning, you can ask him to bring you anything you want.” 

Jiao Tu and Suan Ni nodded in unison.

“And don’t play games all day long.”

Ying Qiao added and left in a hurry.

****

The infant crying sound turned more desperate and high-pitched, mingled with the sound of wings beating against the air. Xue Meng could even smell the vague scents of blood in the air.

His heart was racing fast, worrying that Jiang Lan was hurt. Swallowing hard, he cautiously felt his way to the window, trying to get a glimpse of the situation outside.

But it was pitch black outside. Staring hard, his eyes slowly adapt to the darkness outside. Under the glow of those red eyes, he could see that thing.

It was a strange giant bird with wings generating a gale so strong that eyes could barely open under its blow.

But at that moment, this strange bird was pinned down by an even bigger black monster, and it looked like this bird couldn’t shake free of this black monster.

Xue Meng saw this black monster ripped off this bird’s head with blood gushing out and splattering on the window. An indescribable smell assaulted his senses, and he averted his eyes from this terrible sight, trying to find Jiang Lan.

But he couldn’t see Jiang Lan everywhere. Instead, he saw Jiang Lan’s white t-shirt in a corner.

That white t-shirt was very conspicuous in the all-encompassing darkness. With an incredulous look, Xue Meng stared at this for a few seconds before he was sure he didn’t see it wrong.

Jiang Lan’s clothing was discarded in a corner while he went missing.

An immense sense of panic overtook him. He even disregarded the danger posed by those strange creatures and called with a trembling voice.” Jiang Lan…..”

His faint voice carried very far in the silent night, but no one responded to it.

Xue Meng was on the verge of crying and slowly squatted down with his face covered in his hands.

After a while, he took out his phone and turned on the voice recording, then he proceeded to describe everything he went through today to the phone. At the end of the voice recording, he left a will and ended the recording. After this was done, he turned off the phone and hid it in the corner of the room.

Wiping off his tears, he grabbed his knife and rose to his feet. He was now ready to seek out Secretary Huang.

He was prepared to die tonight, but he decided to take that man with him before his death.

Opening the door with determination, Xue Meng suddenly paused in the doorway. Up ahead, Jiang Lan squatted on the ground while wiping his face with a tissue.

Now the black monster and the strange birds were all gone, and the only things remaining from that battle were some scattered feathers and a strong smell of blood.

Hearing the sound coming from behind, Jiang Lan turned to smile at Xue Meng.” It’s all over, we are fine now.”

Jiang Lan’s face was always a little pale. Contrasted with the dark night, his face now looked even paler, like a dead person’s face.

Xue Meng noticed a little blood at the corner of his mouth. In alarm, he took a few steps back and took out his knife. He tried to speak calmly.” What did you do to Jiang Lan?”

Out of the corner of his eyes, Xue Meng saw that the white t-shirt was gone now. Most probably, the creature before him was going to wear it to pretend to be Jiang Lan.

Xue Meng thought bitterly that his colleague had gone without even leaving a trace. His hatred towards Secretary Huang grew very intense for putting them in a situation like this.

“You can’t fool me. Do you want to eat more people?” He pointed to Secretary Huang’s house and said.” There are more people there. How about we make a deal? I will help you drive those people out in exchange for you eating me the last.”

With bloodshot eyes, Xue Meng still tried to maintain calm despite his trembling hands.

He was obviously scared.

Jiang Lan.?????

He checked his body again to make sure he had indeed returned to his human form. Then he looked at Xue Meng, who appeared to be ready for his last moment on earth. With a puzzled look, he said.” Put down your knife, I am Jiang Lan.”

Xue Meng didn’t believe him.” I weigh barely one hundred and thirty pounds. You won’t get enough meat from me. The people hiding in that house are much fatter than me.”

He talked more smoothly.” You eat them first, then you can eat me.”

Jiang Lan………

Then a thought struck him. Jiang Lan asked him.” Have you seen something here?”

Xue Meng reacted fast despite his racing heart.” I haven’t seen anything!”

Jiang Lan……

This reaction must mean he had seen his monster form.

Scratching his face, Jiang Lan lowered his voice and tried to explain with a little guilt.” Did you just see a big, powerful, black, horned……” He wanted to say animal but felt this word was not appropriate here. Then he switched to a word Xue Meng could understand.”…..Monster?”

Xue Meng was on his guard, not understanding why this creature chose to reveal his true identity.

“That monster is me.” Jiang Lan confessed.” I am not a human, sorry for frightening you.”

Xue Meng.?????

He looked at Jiang Lan doubtfully, but he lowered his knife a little.” Can you prove it? I need evidence.”

Pausing for a second, Jiang Lan said reluctantly.” How about I change back to my monster form to show you?”

Xue Meng…..

Recalling the scene where the black monster ripped off the bird head, he had no wish to relive that horror again.

“…..no need.”

“Then you trust me?” Jiang Lan asked him.

Xue Meng didn’t know how to answer him.” First, let’s find the Secretary Huang who caused all this.”

Now, he had an intense hatred for Secretary Huang. They went here to help lift this village out of poverty, but this old man tried to trick them into becoming bird food. Now his only thought was to drag him out for a sound beating.

Coincidentally, Jiang Lan wanted to get Secretary Huang to explain those Gu Diaos. Hearing this, he agreed, and the two of them went to look for Secretary Huang.

Xue Meng took the lead with a vengeful look while keeping a distance from Jiang Lan.

Jiang Lan thought Xue Meng must fear him after this revelation and felt disappointed.

In the darkness, they came to Secretary Huang’s room. Xue Meng kicked open the door and found the switch to turn on the light. But the light was very dim and kept blinking, like the scene in a horror movie.

But at least they could see the whole room.

Huang Youtian was hiding behind a closet, shrinking into a pile of giant grey feathers. Xue Meng recognized these feathers. They belonged to those strange birds with red eyes.

“You are trying to feed us to those birds.” Xue Meng kicked him and grabbed his throat with savagery not seen before.

Huang Youtian obviously didn’t expect them to be still alive. While struggling in horror, he was also afraid the sound they made would attract those strange birds. He pled in a whisper.” Don’t hit me, don’t make noises. We will attract those things here.”

“I will feed you to those birds.” Xue Meng punched his face twice violently and dragged his collar, planning to get him outside. 

Jiang Lan stopped him quickly.” First ask him what happened to this village.”

Hearing this, Xue Meng froze and looked at him. After a while, he tentatively pinched his arm, and suddenly he burst into shouts.” Oh, my god, it’s really you.”

He was almost moved to tears. He gave Jiang Lan a big hug and punched his back.” I thought you were eaten by those creatures…….”

With great efforts, Jiang Lan freed himself from his hug.” I have already told you I am Jiang Lan.”

Xue Meng rubbed his bloodshot eyes and mumbled.” I thought those strange creatures had turned into you to try to deceive me, so I pretended I believed…….”

Jiang Lan: …..

What a clever boy!

After confirming Jiang Lan was indeed alive, Xue Meng acted as if he had finally found the person he could rely on. His gloomy silence was gone, replaced by his constant talking.” We can tie this old son of bitch and put him in the three-wheeled vehicle parked in the backyard. Then we drive to the nearest Police station.” 

Then he got worried.” But the Police might not believe our story….”

Jiang Lan said.” Listen to me now.”

Xue Meng instantly shut up. With a fawning face, he waited for Jiang Lan.

“This black mist is very strange. With this mist here, we won’t be able to leave here.” Jiang Lan pointed to the black sky. Xue Meng looked up and realized that the sky was now completely blocked by a black and expanding mist.

Involuntarily he moved closer to Jiang Lan.

Jiang Lan squatted down and patted Secretary Huang’s face with something he casually picked up from the ground.” What happened to the village? Where did those black mist and strange birds come from?”

Secretary Huang’s eyes were evasive.” I…I don’t know….”

Jiang Lan’s face turned grim, and his five fingers turned into claws. Flashing his sharp teeth in the mouth, he threatened.” Talk now or I will swallow you whole.”

Secretary Huang saw that his hands had turned into claws so sharp that a mere touch left a deep cut on his skin.

Now he didn’t doubt that this man was prepared to carry out his threat.

“I…I am not very clear…. Those things have been here for many years now. We don’t have a choice. They are over there in the burial ground. You will see them there….”

Jiang Lan thought he was right about that burial ground.

“There are more of them in the burial ground?” Jiang Lan asked.

Secretary Huang paused and wanted to say no. But under Jiang Lan’s glare, he decided to tell the truth.” Yes, there are more….”

Jiang Lan was satisfied with this answer and looked happy. Picking him up, he asked Xue Meng to find a rope.” Let’s check out the burial ground after tying him up.”

Xue Meng found a rope, tied Secretary Huang, and dropped him on the empty slot in front of his house where some feathers and traces of blood remained. Secretary Huang rolled on the ground and begged for mercy.

Jiang Lan looked at him coldly and said to Xue Meng.” I will go to the burial ground. Do you want to come or stay here?”

Xue Meng didn’t hesitate.” I will come with you.”

He didn’t feel safe without Jiang Lan around.

On his face, there was only trust left. The fear and suspicion completely vanished.

Jiang Lan smiled.” Let’s go.”

They left Secretary Huang alone and strode to the burial ground.