Players, Please Board the Train-Chapter 22: Curse

The hunched figure appeared much shorter than yesterday's hanging corpse, but the face was unmistakably the same one with the tongue stuffed back into its mouth - the once-bluish complexion now looked completely normal.
He had a pulse and was breathing - definitely alive.
The hanging rope lay discarded nearby, and the lock on the wooden door was broken.
Even Xu Huo found it hard to believe. He had personally confirmed the man's death yesterday, yet here he was revived after one night.
The woodchopper ignored them completely, turning back to continue splitting logs.
"Is he human or ghost?" Abel raised his crucifix high.
"Must be human - he's got a shadow," Wan Zhikang said hesitantly.
"I say he's the Headhunter Demon from last night, damn it! Still putting on this charade!" Zhang Xiong clenched his fists and moved to charge forward, but Huang Junjie stopped him with a frown, studying the woodchopper carefully.
The Rich Kid sneered, picked up a piece of firewood to test its weight, then exchanged a look with Liu Yuanyuan as they approached the woodchopper's back.
"Old timer, how long have you lived here?" Xu Huo suddenly cut in from the side, intercepting them as he addressed the woodchopper.
The man turned and accepted the offered cigarette after some hesitation. Lighting it with Xu Huo's lighter, he sat on a tree stump and took two puffs before answering: "Many years. Since the mountain villa was built."
"The villa looks quite old," Xu Huo sat down beside him. "With no one living there now, doesn't it get lonely staying here alone? Ever thought of leaving?"
"What for? Never left even when my family was alive. Now that I'm sick and dying, no strength for that."
Xu Huo glanced at his neck. "Medical technology's advanced these days - even terminal illnesses can be cured."
The woodchopper pointed at a fresh grave nearby. "My daughter tried that. Still died. Whole family's buried here. I'll join them soon enough."
"Keeping the family together is what matters," Xu Huo nodded. "I'll be staying a few days. If you die during that time, I'll bury you."
The woodchopper stared at him expressionlessly for two seconds before continuing: "You're here for adventure too, aren't you? Best leave quickly."
"Old sir, do you know the legends about this villa?" Xia Guo moved closer. "They say there's a Headhunter Demon here. Aren't you afraid?"
"Nothing frightens a dying man." The woodchopper shook his head. "It's you reckless youngsters who take risks for thrills. This villa is cursed - everyone who comes seeking the Headhunter Demon dies."
"Some young folks came not long ago. In the end, the crematorium collected their bodies."
Audible gulps sounded in the group. Xia Guo pressed: "No investigation? Just straight to cremation?"
The woodchopper's eyelids drooped. "Couldn't find their heads. Where else would they go?"
"You've lived here long enough to know the Headhunter Demon stories, right? Tell us some." Xu Huo beckoned Yuan Yao over and handed the woodchopper his half-empty cigarette pack.
Reluctantly accepting it, the woodchopper ignored the players' wary gazes and slowly recounted the legends:
Fifty years ago before development, several families lived here. The mountain had already been bought by the villa's previous owner to build a resort. When those families refused to leave, conflicts arose with the logging workers. Somehow during one altercation, a man fell onto an axe - his head and neck severed clean off.
After compensation was settled, the stalled project resumed. But strange occurrences followed - over a dozen people involved, from workers and designers to cooks and delivery drivers, edly saw a headless figure carrying an axe haunting the area.
The former owner hired a mystic to perform rituals, spending heavily to erect a stone statue as protection. Yet on the very day of the ceremony, one worker died - coincidentally one who'd quarreled with the original victim. The body was found on a tree stump, head mysteriously missing.
Then came the second and third victims - same method, bodies left behind, heads vanished. During the official search, investigators edly saw a dark figure placing rotting heads onto its shoulders before disappearing into the mountain fog. Only a few heads were ever recovered. Rumors of the villa's Headhunter Demon curse spread.
With the investigation inconclusive, the mystic suggested the spirit kept killing because it couldn't find a satisfactory replacement head. In desperation, the owner had a faceless mask carved for the statue - and the killings actually stopped.
Later when the owner went bankrupt, he sold the villa to the current proprietor.
During renovations, the new owner accidentally broke the statue's head. Soon after, a tourist died in the hot springs - blood filling the pool, head missing.
Learning the history, the new owner searched desperately for the statue's head but never found it. From then on, deaths occurred sporadically - first guests, then exorcists and investigators who came searching for truth.
Thus spread the legend that all who entered the villa were cursed by the Headhunter Demon. As rumors grew, visitors stopped coming, staff resigned, and the owner finally closed the villa - only to attract thrill-seekers undaunted by death.
"Did you see those bodies yourself?" Xu Huo touched his own neck. "Truly headless?"
The woodchopper glared darkly. "Not just headless - some missing body parts too."
"How horrifying!" Du Lanlan hugged her arms, telling Huang Junjie: "You're so lucky."
The players shared knowing looks.
This story filled in the missing background about the Headhunter Demon dungeon from the game introduction. Since the events began fifty years ago, human involvement seemed unlikely - supernatural forces must be at play.
As for the woodchopper - though elderly, he'd have been just a child fifty years ago. Even living here all his life, he couldn't be the Headhunter Demon.
His inexplicable resurrection actually proved supernatural existence.
If unrelated to the demon, killing him became unnecessary.
The players exchanged glances, preparing to leave.
"I saw you hanged yesterday," Xu Huo suddenly added.
Everyone - including the woodchopper - turned to stare.
Xu Huo grinned as he stubbed out his cigarette. "Aren't you curious how you got locked in that shack?"
"A dead man coming back to life - how'd you manage that?"
The players simultaneously admired his boldness while watching the woodchopper intently - perhaps this NPC's resurrection held the key to defeating the Headhunter Demon!
"Lies!" the woodchopper suddenly roared. "No dead man returning! So it was you scoundrels who locked me in while I slept! Get out!"
"Easy there, patient man," Xu Huo stood lazily. "No point dying from anger."
The woodchopper raised his axe. "GET OUT!"