"Who?" Heizi, who had been shaking all night, took out his gun.
"The patriarch wants to see you." Peony's voice came from outside the door.
"What should I do?" Heizi turned to look at me and asked softly.
"Go and have a look first, be careful." I thought about it and decided to go and have a look.
If he really wanted to harm us, he would have done it at night.
"We have very few outsiders here. I kept you here yesterday because it was getting late. Now you should leave quickly." As soon as we met, the clan leader drove us away, which was a little different from what I thought.
"Patriarch, I only have one thing to ask for." I clasped my fists and waited for the patriarch's response.
"Tell me about it. I will try my best to help you if I can." The clan leader stood up and walked out.
Only then did I see his appearance clearly. I thought he was an old man, but now he looks like he is only in his fifties.
"Do you know where this place is?" I quickly took the map Qiu Sheng gave us and handed it to Heizi.
The clan leader took the map and looked at it for a few times, and his expression immediately changed.
"Peony said you are hunters. I don't think it's that simple, right?" the clan leader said and began to look at the swords on our backs.
In order to hide it from others, we have put the exaggerated scabbard in the store. The scabbard used now looks no different from an ordinary hunting knife.
"Chief, what do you mean by this?" I smiled awkwardly and tried to avoid the topic.
"Aren't you curious why there is no one in this village?" the patriarch asked with a smile.
"Where have everyone gone?" Heizi successfully took the bait.
"This place you are going to is not an easy place. If your friends lose contact here, it will be in danger." The patriarch brought the topic back.
"Patriarch, to be honest, we are Taoists. What happened in the village?" It seems now that if I don't be honest, the patriarch will not tell the truth to me.
Hearing what I said, excitement flashed across the patriarch's face.
"Gu corpses came to the village the day before yesterday, killing and injuring several people. In the end, the hunters in the village lured them away, and they probably won't survive..." The Gu corpses mentioned by the clan leader should be the ones we killed.
"I asked the remaining people to take refuge in another village. If you want to find someone, the patriarch of that village may be able to help you." The patriarch smiled and returned the map to me.
"Why don't you leave?" Heizi can always get to the core of the problem.
"If I leave, our village will be gone..." The patriarch smiled bitterly and looked at the empty bamboo buildings around him.
"That child has no parents. I adopted him. Peony is my daughter." This time, the patriarch explained directly without waiting for us to ask.
"Do you know where those Gu corpses came from?" I didn't say that we had killed those Gu corpses, I deliberately kept an eye out.
"It should be outside the country. The place you want to go is also on the border." The clan leader frowned and looked at us.
"Thank you, where is the other village?" I clasped my fists again.
"If you can't find it, I'll ask Mudan to take you there." The clan leader smiled and waved his hand.
"Okay, okay." Heizi couldn't help but get excited.
"Haha, young man..." The patriarch smiled and returned to the house. This attitude made me a little confused.
Heizi and I had to wait at the entrance of the village. They had already said what they had said, so we couldn't ask any more questions.
But after waiting for a long time, the peony didn't appear. When we were about to leave, the peony came.
The seemingly weak Peony completely changed her appearance at this moment. She had a big bow on her back and a long knife in her hand, which made her look a bit like a hunter.
"Let's go." Peony seemed to be in a bad mood.
"What's wrong with her?" Heizi, a fool, looked at me.
"She must be in a bad mood when her father is left alone with a little boy." I explained angrily.
The path Peony took us on was basically not on the map. The original plan was to reach the destination today, but now it seems impossible.
Because our destination is in the north, now we have been walking eastward for almost a day.
Peony took us to a place halfway up the mountain, where there was actually a cave. Following Peony through the cave, I was surprised by what I saw.
Unexpectedly, there is a cave in this place. In front of you is a sinkhole with lush vegetation. This is simply a paradise. The other village mentioned by the patriarch is naturally here.
Some people excitedly came over to ask questions when they saw Peony. These people should be people from their villages who came to seek refuge.
"Peony..." A beauty who was as good as Peony suddenly appeared.
It's just that this beauty's complexion is not as dark as Peony, but is very fair.
And judging by her clothing, this beauty must be from this village.
Mudan took the beautiful woman to one side and started talking, and the two of them turned to look at me and Heizi from time to time.
People around us also gathered around one after another, which made Heizi and I very uneasy. We had to put awkward smiles on our faces and nod frequently to say hello to the people around us.
"Begonia will take you to see the clan leader." Fortunately, Peony appeared in time.
"Begonia..." Heizi smiled stupidly and muttered her name silently.
"Hey..." I said, pulling Heizi on and giving him a roll of eyes.
After following Peony through the crowd and arriving in front of Haitang, Heizi stared straight at them. I didn't dare to look around, for fear that I wouldn't be able to go back.
This sinkhole is very big, and some crops are even planted there. The residents' houses are not much different from those in Peony and others. It is estimated that this kind of building form is to isolate the ground moisture.
The patriarch's home looked a little more grand. I turned around and looked, but fortunately no one from the village followed.
Haitang went upstairs and knocked on the door, while Peony and us stood quietly downstairs.
After Haitang entered the house, it took a while before she showed her head with a smile and waved to us.
Mudan raised her feet and went upstairs, and Heizi and I had no choice but to follow her.
What I didn't expect was that the patriarch was actually a woman, and her age couldn't be discerned, probably because she was so good-looking.
"Clan leader..." Mudan stepped forward to say hello.
"Sit down." The clan leader greeted with a smile.
People were sitting on the floor, and Heizi and I also knew that when in the country, we do as the Romans do.
"We haven't had outsiders come here for a long time." The clan leader took the lead in opening the topic.
"Chief, we are here to find someone. Our brother is missing." I answered with a smile.
"I know, Haitang told me, but the place you are going to is not accessible to humans." The patriarch put away his smile, and his words made me shudder.
"Clan leader, please clarify." I stood up with my fists clasped, keeping my posture very low.
"That's a ghost market there." The clan leader opened his mouth without any ink.
"This..." Heizi obviously didn't know and turned to look at me.
I raised my hand to signal Heizi to calm down, frowned and sat down again.
"If you have the courage, I can help you get in, but you also have to do me a favor. I heard that you are from the Taoist family?" The patriarch's smile was so beautiful that I almost forgot about the ghost market.
"I just don't know if we can help." I smiled bitterly and lowered my head.
"You should have encountered those Gu corpses, right?" The patriarch's keen eyes seemed to see through everything.
"How do you know?" Heizi, the idiot, said excitedly.
"I guessed it...hehehe..." the clan leader said while covering his mouth with a smile, and Heizi actually blushed.
"What are those Gu corpses?" There's no point in hiding it now, so it's better to ask clearly.
"There is a witchcraft and sorcery from abroad. If we kill his corpse, he will definitely come to take revenge. If you can help us survive this disaster, I will help you enter the ghost market." The patriarch did not go around the bush with me and directly Make your words clear.
I was troubled when I heard this. Qiu Sheng's men have been out of contact for many days. If they are really trapped in the ghost city now, I will pretend that they are still alive.
But the longer this takes, the more dangerous they become. But with the things we bring now, it is basically impossible to enter this ghost market quietly.
If you go in directly, it will definitely be a dead end.
"Stay here first, you guys can think about it." Seeing that I was in trouble, the clan leader spoke directly.
"Mom, I'll take them to where they live." When Haitang opened her mouth, my eyes almost fell out.
This patriarch looks so young, Haitang is actually her daughter.
However, the accommodation arranged for us here is quite good, and food and drink are provided for us, but I have no appetite at all now.
On the other hand, Kuroko ate heartlessly and happily.
"Xiaotian, what on earth is this ghost market?" Heizi was chewing something, slurring his words.
"To put it simply, it's a market run by ghosts." I said and sighed.
