It is not an exaggeration to say that everything is depressed. In fact, before they actually saw any buildings, there was already a hazy miasma filling the air. She Zishu stretched out her hand and stretched out a few red flowers from the hem of her sleeves. A lot of the miasma around her was absorbed. But you can't stay too far away from her, as the scope of what she can purify is ultimately limited.
The grass on the ground is no longer fresh, but it is not withered and yellow, but has a color close to rust. Yin Huan squatted down and tried to pull out a piece of grass. It was still very soft and had not lost any moisture. However, what came out of the section was a strange brown color, and there was also a smell of plant decay. Although the vegetation is luxuriant and the flowers have not yet faded, there is not a single flower in sight. Perhaps those unknown things curled up on the side, as if they had lost all moisture and color, were once called flowers.
All the trees may still be alive because they are tall, but their leaves are gone. Dry dead branches and leaves can also be found on the ground. The gloomy air here is very strong, coupled with the desolate and depressed scene, one can't help but wonder whether winter has entered early. But approaching the village, it is not difficult to find that no one has repaired these houses. No one cares about the leaking roofs or broken windows. The wild growth has swallowed up a small part of each building. If left alone, it is believed that it will be completely covered in less than two years. But even those vibrant plants don't have anything healthily green about them. Like some overwhelmed old people carrying their seriously ill grandson.
Moreover...the villagers here are dressed too coolly.
It would be easier to say that this was a completely silent village of death, with every villager in the same condition as waiting to die at home. Occasionally there are still living people walking on the streets. What these people have in common is... disheveled. Are those fabrics really clothes? It was probably a thin piece of fabric in the middle of summer. It was hung casually on the body, and it was no longer possible to tell what the original style was. The main functions of clothing are protection from cold and appearance, but in this late summer and early autumn season, neither of these functions apply to them. These pedestrians had empty eyes and were muttering something in their mouths. They bumped into them as if they hadn't seen them when they passed by.
"It's so strange," She Zishu said, "This place is different from the villages I have seen."
"There are not a few villages that have been harmed by evil spirits." Chenxing said, "They are like mold spots on fruits. When they completely spread, the situation is out of control. At present... few people have noticed the mold."
"This place... smells really bad."
Both Ling Huan and Yin Huan covered their noses and frowned. Chenxing can also smell those unpleasant smells, but she has always smelled more foul-smelling things, and she can still accept it at this level.
She said: "That's natural. Looking at these... the living conditions of the walking dead, it's not difficult to imagine that the huts, dog sheds, chicken coops, pigs, cattle and sheep pens, the swill in the kitchen... there is no place like someone is handling it. These days It’s hard to imagine when it piles up.”
She Zishu didn't seem to find the smell unacceptable, but now that they had said so, more flowers stuck out of her clothes. A faint scent diffuses from the stamens, very light, very light, like lily, but not exactly like it. It is Manzhushahua's own fragrance. But even though it is only so bland, when the odor invades a small area not covered by miasma, it can be completely neutralized and no smell can be smelled anymore.
When the four of them walked on the desolate street and passed those houses, they occasionally heard playful laughter.
Ling Huan turned his head away in embarrassment. He really didn't know what was wrong with this place. Passing by another house, the door was open and there seemed to be someone inside. Chenxing walked straight in, followed closely by She Zishu. The two girls from the Ye family were really at a loss what to do. However, they couldn't stay too far away from Li Shu, so they hurriedly followed him.
The ground was full of dust, and no one had cleaned it for several days. Every step you stepped on made a hole. Many flies were hovering in the air. The stench in the room is even worse. There is probably only one door left for ventilation, but its effect is limited after all. Walking inside, the table was piled high with bowls and chopsticks, and there were many stinky leftovers inside. It seems that at least the owner here knows how to get some food to prevent himself from starving to death easily. There were more flies here, and they were black and black, like the black mist covering the table. When someone approached, they flew into the sky en masse, frightening Ling Huan's heart to tighten. Yin Huan immediately covered her to prevent those dirty things from getting close.
After the flies dispersed, swarms of tender white maggots were wriggling freely among the dishes, making them very happy.
Ling Huan was really about to vomit.
Yin Huan was also disgusted, but she forced herself not to look. She blocked her sister's view, turned her head away, and followed the other two people inside. When people left, the flies landed on the table again and scrambled for position. The faint odor is enough to make people feel uncomfortable. I wonder how disgusting the original smell would be without the floral fragrance of Bianhua. The constant buzzing of swarms of flies also gives outsiders a headache.
A hoarse murmur came from the bedroom, sounding like an old man.
"Madam, madam...hehe..."
Chenxing cut off the door curtain with a ring-shou knife, but the people in the room turned a blind eye. On the greasy couch was a piece of paper as tall as one person, and no one could see clearly what was drawn on it. But the source of the voice was not an old man, he looked like a young man. His hair is still black, but it has fallen out a lot, and his head is very mottled. His eyes were sunken, he had not had a good rest for several days, and his figure was as thin as a dehydrated corpse. But he is indeed alive, still working on the painting and cuddling.
"Madam, why are you unhappy?" The young man suddenly jumped up, but in the end he only raised half of his body like a corpse. His legs have lost their strength due to lack of exercise for too long. I am afraid that a round trip from the kitchen or the latrine is the limit. He reached out and stroked the painting anxiously, carefully smoothing out some wrinkles.
"Okay, now you don't frown anymore...it doesn't matter, the lady looks good whether she's happy or not, hee hee..."
When he stepped aside, several people finally saw clearly that it was a picture of a beauty. I couldn't see clearly whose hand it came from, but it was covered by the dirty corner of the quilt. But the source of the picture may not be important, what is important is...
Why is he so virtuous?
She Zishu moved closer and wanted to reach out to take a look at the painting, but Chen Xing grabbed his wrist.
"Don't piss him off."
"..."
The person who could barely be seen to be a young man, like the passers-by outside, turned a blind eye to the visits of several people, as if they didn't exist. That's right, it's better not to disturb him rashly. Who knows what drastic things these abnormal villagers will do.
When they left the house, even the air outside seemed particularly fresh.
Ling Huan finally dared to express that incredible feeling.
"How could someone call a piece of paper... a ma'am?"
"Perhaps in his eyes, he is a perfect lover." Chenxing said lightly, "Who knows."
"There are too many flies."
In response to Ling Huan's emotion, Yin Huan nodded in agreement.
Chenxing said: "Such scraps are not enough to breed so many flies."
"Eh? Then..."
"Don't you know?" She Zishu said, "I immediately noticed that there were human corpses in the other bedrooms. There were probably three or four bodies at least. One of them was a child."
Ling Hu took a breath of air and covered her mouth in surprise. Yin Huan also felt uncomfortable for a while, and was thankful that they didn't go elsewhere.
They had not walked a few steps when there was a jingling sound from another house next to them, as if someone had tripped over a table or cabinet. The door of this house was locked, and several people could only run to the window. The window was open, and they saw a scantily clad, skinny woman climbing up from the ground in embarrassment, her steps staggering. Sure enough, she tripped over the leg of the table, and the items on it fell to the floor. She just stepped on the debris with her bare feet, and blood soon spread, making her look painful.
"Doesn't she feel anything?"
"I'm afraid not." Chenxing said, "Compared to feelings, all she has left is 'feelings'."
"This, this can be considered..."
She ran out of the room again, and after struggling for a while, she dragged someone in. The man was in ragged clothes and looked skinnier than her, but it took her a lot of effort. When she pulled the man halfway, the man suddenly "broken".
They were shocked. But the woman seemed not to feel anything and easily dragged half of her body to the table. The man was actually highly decomposed, with only half a set of dead bones and black rotten flesh wrapped in his thin clothes. Putting the half body on the chair, the woman picked up the bowl and spoon on the ground, stuffed the food in the bowl into the mouth of the corpse bit by bit.
The corpse cannot chew or swallow, and the sticky food will only overflow from its ulcerated mouth and slowly flow down.
The woman was completely unaware and still stuffed it into her mouth regardless, muttering something in her mouth. Her voice was so low that even if the windows were open, several people couldn't hear her clearly. If she wanted to get any closer, it would be unacceptable both emotionally and from the smell.
However, her expression is extremely gentle and her movements are extremely affectionate. There was not much food left after she had spilled it once and she fed it all quickly without realizing any change in the quantity. She sat next to the body and cuddled with it, not caring. Thinking about it carefully, could the dried gray marks on the woman's skin be...
Corpse fluid, right?
"It's hard to imagine," Chenxing walked away after seeing enough, saying as he walked, "Xia Tian, how can she still live if the body is left to rot to that extent. At a certain stage, the body will swell... and then it may explode. There weren't any bugs on the corpse. She might have dealt with it. But in her eyes, she probably wasn't picking out maggots."
"do not talk!"
Ling Huan quickly ran to the side and vomited while holding on to the tree. The stench of the village filled her nostrils, and She Zishu followed her to stop her from vomiting so violently. Yin Huan tried his best to help her carry it along her back, thinking to herself that if her sister was not here, she might be the one who vomited. Only when Ling Huan is by her side can she remember that she is a sister and needs to be stronger and more reliable. Such thoughts can support her in many bad circumstances.
"Take your time and vomit." Chenxing said calmly, "You won't like drinking the water and food here. There are no additional supplies."
Yin Huan sighed sadly. Originally, she could accept Chenxing's never-changing harshness, but if she treated Ling Huan like this, it would still make her feel a little mean, but if it was to herself, it wouldn't matter.
Ling Huan finally calmed down a bit. She straightened up, looked at the empty and barren grass in the distance, and tried to calm her breathing.
Suddenly, she froze.
"What is that?" She saw a bright color, "Is it a flower?"
