Episode Summary
The group escapes the cave after discovering the sound-making corpse beetles and hallucinating a ghost attack. They learn from an innkeeper that their destination, Shending Mountain, is notoriously dangerous. After forcing a confession from their deceitful guide, they find an abandoned military-style camp deep in the woods.
Spoiler Alert
Cave Creatures and Mountain Mysteries
Alright, let's get into what happened. The crew finally drags themselves onto dry land, but they're still stuck in a cave. Their boat is gone. On the ground, they find a giant corpse beetle that the black-clothed man fished out of the water. Pan Zi immediately wants to kill it. The mysterious man stops him, thinking the unconscious bug could be useful.
The Beetle and the Bells
Suddenly, that piercing sound from before is back. Everyone's head feels like it's about to split open. Pan Zi ignores the quiet guy and stomps on the beetle. The sound instantly stops.
It was coming from the beetle all along. Wu Xie takes a closer look at the crushed bug. He finds a centipede inside it. The centipede has tiny bells tied to it, and the beetle has a larger bell full of its own smaller bells. It seems the two creatures had a symbiotic thing going on. The beetle would grab prey, and the centipede would crawl out to eat. Wu Xie figures someone must have designed this as a trap to keep people away from whatever is deeper in the cave.
With the way back blocked, Third Uncle says they have no choice but to push forward. They inflate a rubber dinghy and start paddling. Third Uncle ties the dead beetle to the front of the boat. The idea is to mask their human scent.
A River of the Dead
The black-clothed man takes the lead at the front of the dinghy. Pan Zi paddles in the back. As they go deeper, a disgusting stench hits them. The man in black tells everyone to stay alert. The dinghy rounds a corner, and they see it. A massive pile of rotting corpses, with corpse beetles crawling all over them. It's a mountain of bodies, some fresh and some just twisted white bones.
Then they spot a figure standing in the distance. It has long, black, wet-looking hair and is wearing a white robe. It's just standing there, completely still. The black-clothed man whispers that it's just a ghost trick. He cuts his own wrist and lets his blood drip into the river. The corpse beetles swim close, but then they quickly scatter. His blood repels them.
He tells everyone to close their eyes and puts out the torches. The boat moves forward in the dark. Wu Xie can't handle the suspense. He peeks. The moment he looks, the white figure flies straight at him and pulls him into the water.
Wu Xie starts screaming. Pan Zi shakes him, and he wakes up. He's safe in the dinghy, and they're outside the cave under a clear sky. It was all a hallucination.
The Mountain and Its Secrets
The group finds an inn to rest. The owner is a charismatic older woman. She tells them about the local legends. She says Shending Mountain has a complex and treacherous terrain. Many explorers have gone in and never come out. Third Uncle shows her a photograph of someone he's looking for. The owner recognizes the person. She says they ate at her inn before going into the mountain, but she never saw them again.
The Innkeeper's Clue
Later that night, Third Uncle corners the innkeeper alone. He knows she's in league with the local guides. He tells her he won't cause any trouble if she gives them some advice for the mountain. As she goes back to her room, she gives him a cryptic message: "Jia Mountain Gen Hexagram, follow the compass."
A Liar's Confession
The next morning, the group starts their trek up the mountain. They run into the same guide who tricked them on the first day. The guide sees he's been caught and confesses everything. He admits the boatman never died. The bloody body they saw in the net was a fake. The female corpse was also a prop. It was all a setup to scare them off.
Third Uncle and the others grab the guide and force him to lead them to Shending Mountain. He keeps complaining that the place is cursed and looks for any chance to escape. Da Kui keeps a close eye on him. They enter a forest thick with a strange mist. In the distance, they find a campsite full of abandoned tents and military gear, including a signal transmitter. But there isn't a single person in sight.
