The huntsman was so terrified he almost lost his soul; he was convinced that he had encountered some evil spirits and had been haunted, which led him to believe he saw the wooden house and even went in to rest. He was so scared he lost his senses, and stumbled away in panic. 𝙧𝙚𝙚𝔀𝒆𝓫𝓷𝙤𝓿𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝙤𝓶

It’s unclear how he found his way home, but by the time he returned, he was utterly frightened and it took him a long time to calm down.

When he told the story, it certainly startled quite a few people.

However, shocked or not, most people just found his story bizarrely scary. As for believing it, they didn’t particularly buy it. Seeing the young huntsman was deeply frightened, they didn’t argue back. Most people privately thought he was just exhausted, hungry, and drenched like a wet dog by the rain, which made him ill and caused him to have a hysterical episode.

After all, these people had not lived here for very long, and this area had been deserted, how could there be houses or even a two-story building!

But this incident was indeed extraordinarily strange, where there are skeptics, there are people who will be curious.

So after a while, two teenage boys from the town finally became intrigued, agreeing to venture out, armed with food and water based on the huntsman’s tale.

They were merely curious, eager for some adventure and fun, not really expecting to find the legendary little wooden house; but walking a while, as dusk set in, they indeed saw the outline of a wooden house from afar.

One of them went simply for amusement, not expecting anything real. When he saw a small wooden house standing in the distance, he was startled, instantly wanting to retreat, fearing the risk of encountering evil spirits and possibly sacrificing his life for mere curiosity.

Yet the other had a bolder spirit, not only refusing to return with his companion but also teasing about encountering a captivating female ghost, claiming it would be a stroke of luck.

Neither could convince the other, so they decided to split up and go their separate ways.

The timid one returned home, tossing and turning all night, somewhat regretting his previous cowardice and lack of camaraderie. Early the next morning, gutted by guilt, he went to find his companion’s family to apologize.

Upon inquiry, he was told that his companion had not returned all night.

The timid one became nervous and dared not inform anyone, but retraced their steps alone. An hour’s walk later, he was shocked to find his companion unconscious beside a puddle.

He hurried over to try waking his companion, but no matter what he did, he couldn’t arouse him. Finally, he fetched water from the puddle and splashed it on him to wake him.

His companion woke in terror, stammering about how he had ventured into the wooden house and saw earthly paradise-like scenes, yet suddenly, paradise turned into an underworld with demons dancing wildly, terrifying him immensely. He wanted to escape but found himself paralyzed and unable to move, as if pinned to the spot.

The two made their way back, the bold one appeared to have been scared witless, and he fell ill once home, needing time and talismanic water to recover his spirits.

As the story spread, people in town began to believe a bit more in the mystical little wooden house.

Rumors soon spread, splitting opinions into two.

Some townsfolk believed there might be some celestial beings residing in that eerie valley – whether heavenly or earthly – pursuing peace and cultivation until they were rudely interrupted, hence the illusion served as minor warning and rebuke, urging them to leave these beings undisturbed.

Others held a less optimistic view, convinced there were evil spirits haunting the valley, genuinely aimed to ensnare people then harm them. Otherwise, why torment people with horrific visions?

Or perhaps, who’s to say those so-called illusions... aren’t real?!

Of course, a minority thought perhaps there was nothing supernatural about it, neither spirits nor evil beings, just that the valley was damp, and the heat brought forth miasma. The miasma is toxic, and inhaling it leads to seeing things that aren’t there.

This minority view was the most despised among the plethora of guesses, almost nobody accepted it.

For even if there were indeed miasma, could everyone be seeing the same illusion of a little wooden house after inhaling it?

The townsfolk grew restless, yet still, no one dared to explore further, so the matter was shelved.

After a month or two of lull, without incident, just as the town nearly forgot about it, another person went up the mountain to gather wild vegetables and somehow lost his way. When found, he was just like those two unfortunate ones before.

This unnerved the townsfolk, fearing if even without seeking the cursed wooden house, one might become a victim of being haunted. What else could it be if not evil spirits?

So they sought out the Daoist who had drawn talismans for them, requesting him to step in and rid the town of evil.

Perhaps drawn by generous compensation, the Daoist didn’t refuse but agreed, setting a date and with some exorcism materials, took a dozen robust men from the town to search for the wooden house in the direction previously explored by the three people...

"Did they then vanquish the evil spirits?" Zhu Yu asked with a face full of curiosity, impatiently seeking the answer.

The innkeeper chuckled bitterly, waving his hand, "Vanquish what! If any evil spirits were vanquished, you wouldn’t see so many people drinking talismanic water here today!

That year, the Daoist and the dozen robust men who went with him were also haunted, found scattered across the mountainside, clothes stripped in places, some even had their hair shaved.

Even the Daoist had his Taoist robe turned into strips of cloth!"

"My goodness, wouldn’t that have scared these people to death?!" Zhu Yu exclaimed.