TGCFNM -Chapter 98 It Really Eats People

Chu Ling cast a glance around. Sure enough, aside from themselves, the locals all looked tense and secretive, keeping their heads low and their fists clenched tightly, as if trying to draw from their scant strength to bolster their courage.

Chu Ling found a place to sit. “So, has anyone actually told me what kind of place this Jade Bamboo Grove really is?”

Zheng Ying’s face was pale as he pointed at the river. “You just asked, why aren’t there any ferries on this river?”

Chu Ling nodded.

Zheng Ying gave a bitter laugh. “That’s because no one dares to travel this river. Even to get to Xiaoyu Village, you have to take a detour. It’s all because there’s a Jade Bamboo Grove across the river.”

From Zheng Ying’s explanation, Chu Ling and the others finally understood why these people were so afraid of the grove.

According to Zheng Ying, the Jade Bamboo Grove really does… eat people.

The story goes back more than a decade. At that time, there were still ferries on this river, though not many, mostly going to Xiaoyu Village.

Some townspeople from Changzhou would also take boats across to the Jade Bamboo Grove to cut bamboo. The bamboo there was a vibrant green with a natural fragrance, and when made into mats, it was very popular with the locals.

But everything changed one day.

It had been an ordinary day. A mat shop had sent a few workers to the Jade Bamboo Grove by boat. But after a day or two, they hadn’t returned. At first, the shop owner’s wife assumed they were just taking their time to gather more bamboo, so she didn’t worry.

A few days later, when the workers still hadn’t returned, she sent people to call them back.

When they were found, the workers were dead.

Bamboo shoots had pierced through their bodies, sprouting tips in the sunlight, while below lay the gruesome corpses of the shop owner and the workers.

A group of people retrieved the bodies and gave them a proper burial. The shop owner’s wife couldn’t accept it, so she spent all her wealth to have every bamboo in that grove cut down.

Dozens went, and none returned. When found, the scene was always the same.

From then on, no one dared to enter the Jade Bamboo Grove again.

After hearing this, Chu Ling looked at Zheng Ying’s pale face and asked, “You never thought it might not be the bamboo that eats people, but that someone was killing them?”

“Master, the grove isn’t very big, and guards have been stationed there before. And you can only get there by boat from the Sanli River…” Zheng Ying covered his face in pain. “Master, this time, the odds really aren’t in our favor.”

Chu Ling wasn’t convinced.

This kind of bamboo-piercing punishment was recorded in ancient texts. The first time she learned about it, she got goosebumps all over—but according to experiments, it can indeed penetrate a human body.

There is, however, one prerequisite: the person must be immobilized, trapped on the ground, completely unable to resist.

So someone had to injure them first, and then leave them in the bamboo grove.

It’s just unfortunate that this happened over a decade ago. Without an autopsy, there’s no way to confirm the true cause of death.

“M-Master, we’ve arrived!” the boatman called out fearfully, his body shaking like a sieve.

Chu Ling told him to pull up to the shore, then said, “Stay by the riverbank. Don’t go near the bamboo grove, and you’ll be fine.”

The boatman exhaled in relief, already planning to stay on the boat.

Chu Ling stepped into the shallow water and mud, striding forward. Ahead, a little girl anxiously pointed at the bamboo grove, gesturing wildly, then waved her finger back and forth.

Chu Ling narrowed her eyes. If the missing weren’t just one person, then she needed to move faster. She quickened her pace.

“Master! Master!” Wan Sanjin shouted. “You’re walking too fast!”

Chu Ling looked back to see Wan Sanjin pacing three meters behind her, shouting and straining forward with all his strength, yet not making any progress.

Chu Ling’s expression changed.

“It seems to be a Maze Formation,” Bai Su said, scanning uncertainly, then after pinpointing several directions, she counted on her fingers, “This person’s cultivation isn’t low.”

“Aunt Su, so I’m the only one unaffected?” Chu Ling asked, looking at Bai Su.

Bai Su nodded. “Do you remember when your head was injured and I made you dig out and take that medicine?”

Chu Ling nodded.

Bai Su placed her hands on her waist and said, “That medicine—don’t even think in terms of a thousand gold pieces, it would be hard to get even for ten thousand—and you took one pill a day. It was made from many precious ingredients, and even included top-grade poisonous herbs. It was likely intended to make you immune to all toxins.”

Chu Ling suddenly understood. “So the so-called Maze Formation… the ‘drugged’ effect in this bamboo forest was set up by someone using medicine?”

Bai Su shook her head. “It’s not just medicine. There’s also a formation. A formation works by using the terrain, arranging the Five Elements and Eight Trigrams, exploiting optical illusions, and adding conspicuous objects like these trees and stones to confuse anyone who enters.”

Chu Ling glanced at a huge rock on the left. She had indeed seen it immediately, and noticed the winding path beside it.

But just now, her attention had been entirely on the little girl, so she had overlooked the rock.

Chu Ling turned and started walking back. “Aunt Su, how do we break the formation?”

“Either you understand the Five Elements and Eight Trigrams, or you’re immune to all toxins like you, or you simply destroy it with brute force,” Bai Su replied.

Chu Ling felt a little regretful. “Xiao Hua isn’t here.” Then she decided to use her own method.

She grabbed Wan Sanjin’s flailing arm. With Wan Sanjin looking shocked, she said firmly, “There’s a formation in this bamboo forest. Everyone hold hands, follow me, and don’t let go.”

Then Chu Ling let the little girl continue leading the way, guiding the group further in.

Among the strong men Zheng Ying had brought along, one was surprised and said, “This bamboo forest is so big?”

“You’ve been here before?” Chu Ling asked casually.

The man replied, “Yes, I’ve been here. I was just a kid then, following along to watch the commotion, saw them moving corpses… I even saw a ghost, a shadow passing by, but nobody believed me.”

Chu Ling understood: it probably wasn’t a ghost—it was the killer.

The group reached the end of the bamboo forest, where a winding stone path appeared. The surface was clean, with hardly any weeds—it was clearly just cleared.

“This is no longer a formation area,” Bai Su reminded.

Chu Ling released her grip. “It’s safe from here on.”

The little girl pulled Chu Ling’s sleeve and led her through a wooden fence ahead.

Chu Ling pushed open the fence and stepped inside. Wan Sanjin, Zheng Ying, and the others followed, nervously taking in their surroundings.

Wan Sanjin let out a soft “huh,” remarking, “It feels like someone’s secluded dwelling, hidden at the end of this bamboo forest.”

“So anyone who intruded here and disturbed him… none survived,” Chu Ling said, looking at the little girl in front of her, bruised and battered, pointing repeatedly at one of the houses, nervously crying out.

“Father!”

Suddenly, a young boy’s voice called out from inside the bamboo house. Zheng Ying immediately responded, “A-Zhao? A-Zhao? A-Zhao!”

“Father! Father! My father has come to save us, my father is here!” the boy inside shouted excitedly.

Zheng Ying quickly ran up the bamboo steps toward the house.

Chu Ling immediately ordered, “Teams of two, search the area thoroughly. Look for any suspicious people, and stay alert.”

“Yes, Master.”