"Aren't we looking for someone? It's not appropriate to waste time in a place like this."
At night, several people lit a small candle and sat in a circle around the table. Shi Wuqi spread his hands, frowned and complained.
The child's mother stayed with them for dinner and told them what happened in this mountain village. It is very fertile and peaceful here, and people's lives go smoothly. Until recently, people began to disappear. Those who disappeared were all young and middle-aged men, the laborers of the family, and food for several families became a problem.
I thought I had gone far in the mountains and would be back in a few days. Some relatives and friends sent people to look for him, but some never came back. One day, someone discovered an unrecognizable corpse in the woods. When we rushed over, there were some animals gnawing on us.
"Are there wolves or tigers in the mountains?"
"It's hard to say. The tooth mark looked like that of a tiger, but it was much finer. A few people held fire and approached it, and the beast ran away. It didn't look like a big beast."
"Forget about subduing demons. This sounds like something a beast would do. Why don't we just find more people? It's not our turn to take action, right?"
"Young master, you don't know something. The mountains have always been very peaceful, and all the heroes in our village are strong and capable of fighting. We feel that it is not necessarily caused by some animal, but that it is most likely caused by something even unclean. My family went down the mountain with a few people to look for help. It’s been three or four days and they haven’t come back yet. I’m really worried..."
"In other words, those bite marks are not necessarily the cause of death." Mu Wan pondered for a moment, "Is the body still there?"
"They have been buried a long time ago. Oh, it's really scary. My throat and intestines have been cut open, and there are scratches all over my body..."
The child didn't know whether he heard about his father or was frightened by his mother's description, so he started crying at the dinner table. She quickly picked up the child and rocked and coaxed it. This was what they had said to the woman at the dinner table.
Shan Hai didn't promise that she would find out anything, he only said that he would try his best. After all, he was not sure what the source of the problem was.
The next day, he and Aluan followed the woman to visit the homes of those who were in trouble. Shi Wuqi and Mu Wan patrolled the surrounding mountains and forests to see if there was anything suspicious.
Although the woman did say hello to the mountain people, Mu Wan felt that the eyes of those people looking at them were still full of inexplicable feelings. It can't be said to be hostile, nor can it be said to be friendly, but it is indeed full of rejection of outsiders.
Furthermore, she didn’t really want to go with the Hundred Skeleton Master. She still had a grudge against the man. Walking in this long and narrow village, the two of them hardly spoke.
"This village... I don't like it very much." Shi Wuqi suddenly said.
"Really?" she responded.
"Those people, especially the men, don't look kind. Some of them have blood on their hands and have killed people."
Mu Wan turned her head and glanced at him. She didn't pay much attention to his expression through Miss Qi's face. She wasn't sure whether Shi Wuqi was trying to scare her or if it was true. She originally thought he was talking nonsense, but when she thought about it carefully, those people did have fierce looks in their eyes, and they carried a hostility that she couldn't even explain.
I thought I had left the village, but I didn't expect there was a house in the low-lying area. Compared with the bricks and tiles in the village, it is only covered with dilapidated fur grass, and even the walls are made of adobe. It looks abandoned for a long time. Not far from the door is a winding stream.
"Are the three of you foreigners?"
A sweet voice came from behind.
Both of them turned their heads and stared at the speaker. They had not heard the footsteps before, perhaps because they were muffled by the sound of water. It was a pretty girl with round eyes. Her hair is long, but the sides of her head are a little curled up. I don't know how she cut her hair.
"Yes."
Mu Wan nodded slightly. She took a second look and thought the girl was very beautiful. She was sixteen or seventeen years old and had a pleasing appearance. That clean face is like a flower, growing on a lifeless ruins with a bit of life.
And strangely charming.
...It's really weird. No matter what, this is not a face worthy of a mountain village like this.
"Those three, do you want to come and sit at home? It's right there. Although it looks a bit shabby... I only have some crude tea at home, but it's still okay to have a rest."
"Girl, you... don't look like a local either." Mu Wan said.
"Why do you keep a straight face? Don't scare people."
Shi Wuqi scolded her like this, and a wave of displeasure surged into her heart.
Why can't a dog man even move when he sees a beautiful girl? I hope Mr. Shi can learn more from Taoist Master Lin in terms of being upright.
"Oh, I just got married a year ago... It's been several days and my husband hasn't come back yet. I'm alone, even during the day. I feel very nervous. You guys haven't had lunch yet. I really don't want to come to my humble house to rest. For a moment?"
The girl blinked, with a pleading tone in her voice that would make anyone sway. But Mu Wan remained unmoved. She tugged at the hem of Shi Wuqi's clothes in a warning voice and whispered:
"It's not our job to go door to door. Did you forget or something?"
"How come you don't know what's good and what's wrong? The little girl asked you politely, why are you so rude?"
"Who are you saying doesn't know what's good? Well, sitting there as long as you like has nothing to do with me."
The girl saw the bad atmosphere and wanted to smooth things over in embarrassment. Unexpectedly, Mu Wan waved his sleeves, turned around and left.
"Leave her alone."
When she heard this, she walked faster.
The terrain near the entire mountain village is relatively flat, with dense trees. It took her a long time to go around the village alone. It wasn't dark yet, so she planned to go deeper into the forest to have a look. She was hungry, suffocating in her heart, and felt irritated after walking on the mountain road for so long without finding anything.
I was so irritated that I had to give Shi a beating to relieve his anger.
Mu Wan looked at the sky to the west. The mountain blocked most of the light. A little warm light overflowed from the top of the mountain, but it had no warmth. A few returning birds occasionally flew across the sky, and the rustling of rabbits could be faintly heard in the grass. Throughout the whole day, she did not find any beasts or monsters. She didn't want to have any problems, but she also wanted to solve them quickly.
A gust of wind came from deep in the forest.
This wind is different, very cold, like holding an ice cube and scratching it on the skin. She clearly noticed that there was a strong evil spirit in the wind. She was even somewhat familiar with it.
She grasped the handle of the umbrella tightly and walked farther along with the wind.
Someone was standing there in a clearing in the forest. A flash of bright red breaks into the field of vision, like an unburned bonfire at dusk.
The road between enemies is narrow.
"It's you?!"
The man didn't look back, as if he knew she was behind him.
"It's you again. I have other things to do and don't want to argue with you."
The delicate and soft voice was indeed very familiar, and the black hair made the red clothes particularly eye-catching. It was getting dark, and the monster walked toward the woods without looking back.
"stop!"
Mu Wan rushed forward and took out his umbrella, and the sword energy from the umbrella slashed forward like a flying blade. Several slender trees fell down in front of the monster, blocking his way. But the sword energy clearly penetrated his body, but he was unscathed.
"Where is Mr. Yingyue?" She pointed at him with an umbrella in one hand and asked sternly.
He stopped.
"...You woman don't know what is good and what is bad."
Hearing these familiar words, Mu Wan felt his temples jump.
"You are the one who knows no good!"
She stabbed the umbrella straight at her, but he held it firmly with one hand, and the tip of the umbrella didn't even tremble. He turned over and raised his hand, and golden-red lines jumped up from the sleeves to the palm of his hand like a burst of light. Mu Wan's pupils shrank suddenly, knowing that he was going to set fire but couldn't open the umbrella - the umbrella was tightly grasped by him. She didn't know how he was so strong, so she had to let go of the umbrella temporarily and jump behind him in the air.
When it gets dark, the fire burns brightly here.
She dodged the fire, and when she turned around, she didn't know when he had jumped onto the burning branch. He opened the umbrella and looked at it carefully.
"I felt something was wrong at first, but as expected, there are treasures under this umbrella."
"Again!"
"Repay it as you say, it's such a big honor."
"Who are you!"
"What does it have to do with you?"
He spoke every word.
Suddenly, a white shadow rushed over and sped away from him.
The umbrella is missing. Also disappearing at the same time was half of his arm.
Above the scorching fire, black-red liquid splashed out and poured onto the ground. The flames seemed to be nourished and jumped higher, entangling him with the shadow of the tree, which was extremely strange.
Tengu returned to Mu Wan, let go, and let the umbrella fall into her hand. That half of the slender hand was swallowed by it.
She glanced at the blood on the umbrella with disgust and looked up at the person in the firelight. He didn't seem to feel any pain, but his face was very ugly. Under the strange light, the shadows on his face showed an indescribable weirdness.
He raised his broken arm, and the blood stopped spilling. Another kind of pattern spreads up, beyond the scope of the limbs, and re-outlines the outline of an arm. Immediately afterwards, those light patterns like muscles and blood vessels burned for a moment, and a burst of pure black smoke filled the air. Soon, a complete hand was restored by him.
He recovered too quickly, which is beyond what ordinary monsters can do.
His voice turned cold.
"Don't say I didn't warn you...if you still refuse to get out of here even though I let you live, don't blame me for being rude now."
He raised his arms, and a circle of fire ignited around them, trapping them here. Mu Wan wanted to ride on the Tengu and escape from this prison first, but his intention had long been seen through. The flames surrounding them shot up into the sky, forming a wall of fire that curved inward, making it clear that he was not ready to let them go. The tengu bared its teeth at him, but did not dare to step forward rashly due to its instinctive fear of the flames.
Mu Wan was about to open his umbrella and rush out forcefully. But the blood stains on the umbrella handle were glowing like hot lava. Although the umbrella would not be burned, she could not open it.
"There are three hundred disciples of the Snow Inkstone Sect, if one gets lost..."
His eyes were as red as blood.
