Chapter 047: The Call for Help

Wu Liangjin’s therapy shop was even more rundown than Yang Tianshu had described. One corner of the old house’s roof had already collapsed, and the beams leaned at odd angles. The mud-plastered outer walls, weathered by the passage of years, were etched with deep, wrinkled grooves.

Even from a distance, the three of them could smell a pungent, overpowering stench. Wu Miaoran, who was in the lead, couldn’t help but gag, regretting that she hadn’t brought a mask.

Standing outside, they saw above the entrance a sign painted with five large, red characters: “Wu Family Therapy House.” The calligraphy was reminiscent of clerical script, but the paint hadn’t fully dried before the sign was hung, so crimson droplets had run down the wood, making each character appear to be bleeding.

Wu Miaoran signaled Duan Xiaoyu to bring the camera closer, pointed at the signboard, and introduced, “Standing before Master Wu’s establishment, I can’t help but recall a text we read in school—‘Ode to the Humble Room’: ‘This is but a humble dwelling, yet virtue fills it with fragrance.’ But if we’re comparing sheer dilapidation, I doubt even Liu Mengde could match Master Wu’s abode.”

“Liu Yuxi would leave in tears after seeing this,” Li Tianque interjected.

“He’d probably go home, tear up his own ‘Ode to the Humble Room,’ and spare high-schoolers from memorizing one more classic,” added Duan Xiaoyu.

“You two, enough. If you’re so talented, why aren’t you masters yourselves? Let’s check the time—it’s 10:36 a.m. We don’t have Master Wu’s contact information, so there’s been no appointment. We don’t even know if he’s home. Let’s knock and see.”

With that, Wu Miaoran knocked at the door. The wood was so damp that the thud it produced was dull and muffled, as if striking a rotting stump covered in mushrooms.

She knocked for quite a while with no response. Li Tianque rapped on the window and called, “Master Wu, are you home?”

The house remained silent.

Just then, Duan Xiaoyu noticed a slip of paper stuck to a corner of the windowsill inside. Walking up to it, he saw written on it: “Out on a therapy call. For matters, please phone: 139xxxxxxxx.”

He focused the camera on the note. Wu Miaoran, standing beside him, said, “Looks like we’re out of luck—Master Wu isn’t home. Judging by the note, he’s out on a house call. But we can try phoning him; maybe he hasn’t gone far.”

She dialed the number on the note. The camera zoomed in, focusing on Wu Miaoran’s phone screen as it played an anti-fraud PSA video. The three watched the public service announcement in its entirety, but there was no answer from the other end.

Just as they were about to give up, the phone unexpectedly connected.

None of them had anticipated this.

Though they acted oblivious on camera for effect, all three knew the landslide had happened not long ago. Wu Liangjin couldn’t have gone up the mountain at this hour—if he hadn’t gone just now, he must have been there before the landslide. If he’d been up there early on, he’d likely still be trapped and unable to answer the phone. Even if he had escaped, his phone should have run out of battery by now.

Once the call connected, Wu Miaoran cautiously asked, “Hello? Is this Master Wu?”

A harsh burst of static hissed through the receiver, followed by a sequence of indistinct, abrasive scraping sounds. The noise was jarring, like a nail clipper scraping across an old vinyl record, enough to make one’s skin crawl.

“Hello? Master Wu?” Wu Miaoran pressed again.

After nearly a minute, a piercing scream erupted from the other end—a man’s voice, but so shrill it was sharper than any woman’s cry for help.

“Help… help me… I’m in the mountains… help…”

“In the mountains? What’s going on? Did you go up there? Where are you trapped?” Wu Miaoran asked urgently.

“Help me… help me…”

Wu Liangjin’s voice abruptly ceased, leaving only the chaotic, grating static.

Wu Miaoran turned to the camera, flustered. “Dear viewers, I didn’t expect something like this to happen. As you may have seen in the news, there was a recent landslide at Woshan Ridge, and the village we’re in today, Sanniangmiao, is nearby. If Master Wu is trapped in the mountains, he could be in real danger right now.”

She looked at Duan Xiaoyu. “Xiaoyu, what should we do now?”

“We should go check it out. We’re already here; we can’t just ignore this. Even if we can’t help, we can at least relay the information to rescue personnel,” Duan Xiaoyu replied.

Wu Miaoran faced the camera again and said, “I sincerely apologize—none of us expected this. My followers know I don’t do scripted content; what happened today caught us by surprise. But now that we’re here, we’ll head into the mountains and report our findings to the search and rescue teams. I’ll keep you updated in the next video. For now, we’re heading out.”

After she turned off the camera, Li Tianque, standing at the door, asked, “So, what do we do? Go straight up the mountain, or check inside first?”

“No need to go inside. Besides, we’re not the police—we can’t just break in,” said Duan Xiaoyu.

“Right, let’s head up the mountain. No need to film deliberately—just hang the cameras, and later we can edit out anything involving bugs,” Wu Miaoran said.

“Alright, let’s go,” Duan Xiaoyu agreed, helping the others put on wearable cameras.

Soon, the three arrived at the foot of the mountain, where a crowd had gathered: local officials, families of the missing, and personnel from forestry, hospitals, and the police. But those guarding the entrance were not police—they were a squad from the Armed Police Special Forces.

As they approached, a young officer quickly strode over and blocked their way, barking, “Comrades, the area ahead is sealed off—no one is allowed up the mountain!”

The officer was young, well-built, and brimming with energy. Coupled with his crisp uniform, he was the kind of man sure to make any young woman’s heart flutter.

Wu Miaoran, a notorious flirt, was instantly smitten. She hurried forward, smiling sweetly, “Officer, my family is missing. We want to search for them—please let us go up!”

“Our team is conducting rescue operations. Please be patient. The path is dangerous—cooperate with us, please,” he replied. Though he didn’t say it outright, he was surely thinking that Wu Miaoran’s playful demeanor was hardly that of someone with a missing relative.

She giggled, “Well, if we can’t go up now, can I add you on WeChat? Then you can tell me when we’re allowed.”

The officer’s brow furrowed, his tone growing even more severe. “Comrades, please cooperate and leave now. This area is dangerous! If you continue to make trouble, we’ll be forced to take action.”

Wu Miaoran pouted, giving him a pitiful look. “Come on, just let me through—I’ll give you some candy!” She actually reached into her bag for a lollipop.

Unable to watch any longer, Duan Xiaoyu stepped forward, produced a black-and-gold card, and handed it to the officer. “Sir, Director Lu should have notified you. We’re the investigators assigned to this case.”

The officer scrutinized the card, looked the trio over, and hesitated. After a moment, he looked them up and down again, and though he seemed to accept the card, his attitude remained unchanged. “You three are Director Lu’s investigators? Fine—come with me.”

Wu Miaoran stuck her tongue out at the officer and followed behind Duan Xiaoyu and Li Tianque into the restricted zone.

It was not yet noon. The thick fog over Gashi Mountain hadn’t fully cleared. Though the outline of the mountain was visible through the haze, most of it was still shrouded, its features obscured.

Staring at the mist-veiled silhouette, Li Tianque felt a strange vertigo—a suffocating, inexplicable discomfort.

The officer led them to the end of the cordoned-off area, where a main trail ascended the mountain. He pointed to two sturdy soldiers at his side. “These are the squad’s senior sergeants, Li Yongqian and Hou Tiecheng. They’ll escort you to the landslide site. The path hasn’t been fully cleared, and experts warn there may be further danger—so be careful. If anything happens, use the radio to contact us.”

Wu Miaoran beamed, “Handsome officer, we can go on our own. Those two look big and clumsy—bringing them along would just slow us down. If you’re worried about our safety, why not come with us yourself?”

“No. It’s dangerous up there—they must go with you,” the officer replied firmly.

“Don’t worry, we’re professionally trained. We’ll manage. Let them stay here—we appreciate your concern,” Duan Xiaoyu added quickly.

Li Tianque said nothing. He thought the two sergeants looked perfectly reliable, and their help would only make things easier. But he also understood that Wu Miaoran and Duan Xiaoyu wanted to avoid outsiders witnessing anything strange, especially if they encountered the nuclear insects.

After a bit of back-and-forth, they failed to convince the stubborn officer. And so, accompanied by the two sergeants, the three of them set off into the depths of the mountains…