When Liang Yu and I reached the campsite, four others were already waiting for us. Two tents had been pitched and a fire pit was neatly arranged, topped with a cast-iron grill. Pots, pans, and utensils were laid out around it, as if by invisible hands.
“You made it!” Lin Qiang called out, grinning as he helped us drag our own tent out of the trunk. The rest of our group, Zhou Mei, Guo Ran, and Chao Fei were unpacking supplies behind him. They weren’t just Liang Yu’s friends; they were the core members of the Wilderness Roamers’ Guild, a group obsessed with “getting off the grid.”
Their big dream: find the most remote spots possible and live off-grid for days, no internet, no power, no distractions.
This was my very first trip with them. I’d never been into this kind of adventure, but Liang Yu had spent weeks convincing me.
“This place is called Pine Song Ridge clear water, ancient woods, the real deal,” he’d said. “No phones, no notifications, just us. Isn’t that the dream?”
I’d been skeptical, but now I had to admit the scenery was incredible. The clearing was tucked between age-old pines, the ground soft and mossy, and a wild, foaming river roared behind us. Even a novice could tell this spot was special.
“Time to hand ‘em over,” Lin Qiang announced, holding out a drawstring bag.
I hesitated as I watched the others, without protest, drop their phones into the bag.
“We have to give up our phones?” I asked.
Lin Qiang winked. “Of course. Otherwise, why bother leaving the city just to scroll through videos?”
I hesitated. “But what if something happens? What if we need help?”
Chao Fei laughed. “What could possibly go wrong? There’s not another soul for miles. You worried about serial killers?”
Liang Yu, always the peacemaker, gave me a reassuring nod and tossed his phone in the bag, nudging me to do the same.
“We’ve done this seven times,” he said. “Never had even close to a problem.”
Lin Qiang patted the side of his backpack. “I’ve got a satellite phone,” he offered. “Way better than reception out here.”
With everyone watching, I dropped my phone into the bag. Lin Qiang sealed it with a satisfied smile, then placed the whole kit in a lockbox bolted to the foot of his tent.
That night, we feasted under the stars grilled meats, crisp vegetables, ice-cold beers, the earthy scent of campfire mingling with pine and moss. All I could hear was the rush of the river and the wind whispering through the trees. For the first time, I felt myself relax.
Then, out of nowhere, Zhou Mei leaned in over her can of beer, her eyes suddenly serious.
“Hey, anyone ever tell you the story of Xiong Waipo growing up?”
We fell silent. Even the fire seemed to hush.
“They say deep in forests just like this,” Zhou Mei went on in a low voice, “there lives a monster, a bear that can take the form of a human, usually an old woman, sometimes a lost child so it can lure people away, especially kids, and.....”
Her voice dropped even lower. “......eat them. There’s this legend about two sisters walking home.....”
She paused, letting the silence settle over us, leaving us to imagine what might have happened next.
So Xiong Waipo lured the two sisters home,” Zhou Mei went on, her voice barely above a whisper. “She put the younger sister in bed with her, while the older sister slept on the other side of the room. In the middle of the night, the older girl woke up and felt something warm and sticky beneath her. She asked, ‘Xiong Waipo, why is the bed wet?’ Xiong Waipo said, "Your little sister wet herself, don’t worry."
Zhou Mei paused, letting the crackle of the fire fill the silence. Her eyes gleamed in the flickering glow, making her normally cheerful face suddenly unfamiliar.
“The older sister reached down,” she continued, dropping her voice even lower, “her hand sinking into something thick and wet. When she lifted her fingers, they were dripping red. The room reeked of blood. Terrified, she heard an eerie crunching sound from the other side of the bed. ‘What’s that noise?’ she whispered. Xiong Waipo just said, ‘I’m only eating some peanuts.’ But when the older sister peeked across the darkness, all she saw was Xiong Waipo gnawing on her sister’s fingers.....”
The firelight danced over our faces, casting flickering shadows across the pines above our heads. Zhou Mei’s story made every little forest noise seem amplified. I hadn’t realized how much tension had settled in my shoulders until I felt a sudden stinging in my palms. I’d curled my hands into fists so tightly my nails left half-moon indents behind.
Then, just as Zhou Mei was about to continue, a sharp snap cut through the darkness behind us, so close it set every nerve in my body alight.
Snap...... Crunch.
A branch breaking underfoot, not by accident, but deliberately, as if something heavy was prowling just beyond the fire’s reach.
Several girls shrieked and clutched each other, their laughter dissolving into real, clutching fear. Then, just as suddenly, a burly figure emerged from the trees Shen Jun, the most muscular guy in our group, his broad shoulders throwing a shadow that swallowed half our circle.
“Damn it, you guys nearly gave me a heart attack” Shen Jun said, clutching his chest. He had the kind of solid build that usually relaxed the rest of us like nothing could go wrong when he was around. Tonight, though, I felt unsure.
Zhou Mei, still shaken, glared at him. “What are you doing sneaking up like that? You scared us half to death.”
“I was just taking a leak in the woods,” Shen Jun said, baffled. “What’s with everyone? It’s just a story, isn’t it?”
Once our heartbeats settled a little, I noticed a few muttered comments about Shen Jun’s bravery or recklessness for wandering off alone in the dark. But Zhou Mei’s mood was ruined, and the image of Xiong Waipo munching on fingers lingered stubbornly in my head.
Shen Jun squatted down and grabbed a chunk of roasted meat from the grill. “So, what were you talking about before you all tried to lose it?”
I poked at the embers with a stick, watching sparks spiral upward. “Zhou Mei was telling a story about Xiong Waipo.”
Shen Jun barked a laugh. “Oh, that old legend? Yeah, I’ve heard it. Big black bears in the mountains learn to talk, pretend to be your grandma, and lure you home for dinner literally.” He shrugged, stretching his ham-sized arms. “There are loads of versions, though. Some say the bear prefers to eat people alive, slowly. Makes it last longer.”
I swallowed hard, fingers tightening around my cup. Liang Yu, sensing my discomfort, shot Shen Jun a warning look. “Enough.”
Shen Jun grinned sheepishly at me and flexed his biceps. “Don’t worry. Bears hate fire, and there are plenty of us here. If a real bear shows up, I’ll chase it off. Maybe get you a fur coat out of the deal.”
Most of the group laughed, but I couldn’t join in. Maybe I’d let my imagination take over, but I thought I caught a whiff of something foul rotting meat and damp fur, faint but unmistakable on the breeze.
I glanced at Shen Jun. “Did you, uh..... leave something behind in the woods?”
He frowned. “What? No. I wasn’t over there that long.”
But the smell persisted, vanishing for a moment, then drifting back into the circle, thin and insistent, pressing down on the evening like a warning I couldn’t ignore.
In the darkness beyond the fire, something rustled the underbrush. Everyone heard it this time.
All our laughter died.
For a long moment, the only sound was the sizzling of fat dropping onto the coals.
What the hell is that smell? Everyone clearly noticed it, too, their noses wrinkled as they tried to joke about it.
Shen Jun’s face flushed and he sputtered, “Hey, don’t look at me.No way that was me”
He sniffed the air, confused. “It wasn’t here a minute ago...... Maybe it’s some animal’s business. If it’s still bad in the morning, we’ll just pick up and move.”
The group teased him a bit more, but as exhaustion took over, we put out the fire and ducked into our tents.
I couldn’t sleep. Lying on my back, I kept replaying the stories, both Zhou Mei’s and Shen Jun’s my head. Every little noise from outside set my nerves on edge. Somewhere between the howling wind and the sighing river, I heard it again
Crack....crack...
Footsteps crunching through dead leaves. Something or someone was circling our tents.
I tried waking Liang Yu, shaking his shoulder, but he was dead to the world, snoring softly. I didn’t dare breathe, curling up in the corner and shivering, only half sure if the stench was fading or just getting stronger in my imagination.
Eventually, terror and fatigue won, and I drifted off.
Chapter 01
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