Chapter 3: The Celestial Dog Devours the Moon

"Why are you doing this? I’ll give you the money when we get down the mountain." Turning around and seeing their fierce expressions, Zhang Xiaolan felt a surge of fear.

"Miss Zhang, it would be better for you to cooperate. Otherwise, we’ll just take it by force, and things won’t go so easily then."

The two men had noticed her coming alone into the mountains with them and saw her carrying cash and a wallet full of bank cards. Clearly, she was well off. After a quick exchange, greed overtook them.

"Hurry up! If you don’t cooperate, we’ll just push you off this cliff," the porter threatened, his tone even more vicious, trying to frighten her into submission.

"I came up here with you. If only you two return, aren’t you afraid the villagers will get suspicious and call the police?" Zhang Xiaolan countered, playing her own game of wits. She realized her own recklessness had led her into this predicament.

"Hmph! The terrain here is treacherous and the paths are rough. We can just say you slipped and fell to your death. Ha! I advise you to be sensible and cooperate." The guide’s words chilled her to the bone; even such a lie would be easy enough for others to believe.

"If I do what you want, I doubt you’ll let me go anyway." Zhang Xiaolan slowly backed away, quietly reaching for her backpack, ready to bolt at any moment. It was dangerous, but perhaps she could seize a chance to escape.

"Enough talk! Hand over the money and cards!" The porter, losing patience, shouted abruptly.

In the stillness of the mountain forest, his shout seemed to awaken something. Far off, the mournful howls of wolves echoed, chilling and haunting. Birds took flight in startled flocks, as if a scene from a horror film.

"Wolves? How could there be wolves here?" the porter exclaimed in fright. He’d not heard of wolves in these parts for years, assuming they had long since vanished.

Seeing the guide and porter startled by the wolves’ howls and the sudden flurry of birds, Zhang Xiaolan seized her chance. She grabbed her backpack and sprinted up the mountain with all her might. The two men blocked the way down, so her only option was to flee upward, hoping to find a place to hide.

"Stop right there! Think you can run? After her!" The guide was the first to spot her dash uphill, quickly calling the porter to give chase. The porter, momentarily forgetting his fear of wolves, scrambled after her.

"Stop chasing me! Leave me alone!" Zhang Xiaolan cried out as she ran, her pursuers relentless behind her.

Panic-stricken, she clawed her way up the slope, scrambling on hands and feet, grabbing rocks and hurling them behind her in desperate defense. The guide and porter dodged as best they could.

"You’re not getting away. Cooperate and you won’t have to suffer," one of the men called after her, surprised by the strength and speed this woman had summoned—she was as quick as a startled hare, and maddeningly difficult to catch. Their frustration only grew.

"Don’t come after me! You think I don’t know? Even if I give you what you want, you’ll never let me live!" Zhang Xiaolan shouted back, flinging more stones over her shoulder, not knowing if any found their mark.

The night was treacherous. The moon, once bright overhead, seemed to vanish, plunging everything into darkness. Groping their way up the mountain, they were met by more eerie, drawn-out wolf howls, each cry more haunting than the last, now joined by others in a chorus of dread.

"Something’s not right tonight. Why are there so many wolves?" The porter shivered, fear worming into his heart, as if their own evil intentions had summoned suspicion and doom.

"Don’t stop—keep after her. If she hides, we’ll never find her again." The guide urged him on, but a brief pause had already cost them. When they looked up, Zhang Xiaolan was gone.

The wind on the mountain was cold and biting, especially strange for August. Though she’d been running, Zhang Xiaolan felt the chill gnawing at her. She dared not call out anymore, for fear of betraying her hiding place.

Earlier, in the dim moonlight, she’d glimpsed the ancient tomb of a prince. Now she hurried to its far side and crouched low, hoping the tomb’s modest stonework would conceal her.

Her breath came in heavy gasps, warmth flooding her body now that she was still. Yet a burning sensation was growing in her chest.

A wolf’s howl split the night, long and agonized. Zhang Xiaolan jumped, peering into the distance. Only then did she notice—the moon was half-devoured. The round, bright orb was now a mere crescent, not hidden behind cloud but...

"An eclipse..." she whispered. But her attention was soon pulled away—voices drew near. The men had reached the summit.

"Where the hell did she go?" The guide cursed. In the darkness, neither had brought a flashlight, so they squinted into the gloom, searching for her.

"The tomb is right here... All these wolves and that damn birdsong, it’s creepy. Let’s just go back," the porter urged, his courage failing amidst the howls, the tomb, and the ominous night.

"Quiet! Listen—did you hear something?" The guide halted, blocking the porter with an outstretched arm, straining to catch a sound.

"There’s nothing—just those wolves and some weird birds. Look, even the moon’s gone." The porter clung to the guide’s sleeve, almost paralyzed with fright.

Suddenly, Zhang Xiaolan leapt from behind the tomb with a piercing scream. Something had darted from a gap in the tomb chamber, brushing past her feet and startling her into a shriek. The guide’s head snapped up.

"So you’re here! Hand it over, or I’ll take it by force." The guide’s voice was vicious, his fear overridden by greed and bravado, a protective charm dangling at his chest.

"Even if I gave it to you, you’d never let me go. Take one more step and I’ll jump—I’d rather die than let you have anything!"

Her words were fierce, though inside she was trembling. She had so much left to live for: youth yet to be squandered, a family she couldn’t abandon, a career she loved. She could not let go of any of it.

"Go on, then—jump! I don’t believe you have the guts." The guide sneered, inching closer as he spoke.

"Don’t come any closer! Come one step more and I’ll jump!" Zhang Xiaolan warned, her nerves fraying, inching backward with every move he made.

"Look at the moon! And those wolves... It’s a bad omen, like the celestial hound devouring the moon. We should just go!" The porter’s superstitions surfaced, and the combination of wolves and the eclipse filled him with dread.

"Shut up! Have you forgotten our gambling debts? If we don’t get something out of her, we’re finished anyway." The guide refused to give up now that their prize was within reach. He was about to grab her when suddenly a cold wind blew, chilling them to the bone.

Another wolf howl, and the light faded even more. The porter, terrified, crouched down, holding his head and shivering as he muttered to himself. Zhang Xiaolan herself felt a strange discomfort, a burning sensation intensifying in her chest. Glancing down, she saw the seal-pendant at her neck begin to float, as if gravity had released it. Stunned, she stared at the unearthly sight.

"Useless fool! Out of the way—let me handle this." The guide, ignoring the eerie happenings, lunged toward her. Seeing him come, Zhang Xiaolan panicked, forgetting she stood at the edge of the cliff. She stepped back, her foot slipping into empty air.

A scream tore from her throat as she struggled to regain her balance, but it was too late—she was already tumbling backwards over the precipice, face up, falling into the abyss below.