Free Web NovelChapter 398: Chapter 342: Zhuwang Village
Yang Xiao and Sui Chengguo were both stunned, especially the man himself, Yang Xiao. He wasn’t a reckless person, and shouldn’t have made such a basic mistake, but he never expected that the branch covered in green leaves and buds would be so fragile.
Looking through the broken part, Yang Xiao was shocked to discover that the inside of the branch had long since withered away; the crooked tree that seemed to be lush and leafy was actually dead!
With no time to think further, the villager in the yard had already put down the firewood in his hands and was walking towards them with a puzzled face.
It seemed that the other party hadn’t discovered them yet, but once he came closer, the two of them would have nowhere to hide. If they were found out, the outcome would be unpredictable.
Yang Xiao and Sui Chengguo didn’t have any options and could only watch as the villager approached step by step. With a fierce expression on his face, Sui Chengguo decided to take a gamble, "Stay put, I’ll draw them away!"
It was a desperate measure. To survive, someone had to make a sacrifice; otherwise, they would both die. Sui Chengguo decided to take the leap first, before the villager noticed the two of them in the tree. He would jump down and run back. As long as he was fast enough, he might throw them off.
Meanwhile, Yang Xiao would continue to hide in the tree. Thinking like a normal person, if you saw someone jump from a tree, it’s unlikely you would continue searching it. Yang Xiao could keep hiding until the villagers relaxed, and then he would find a chance to leave on his own.
Of course, once the villagers in the temple were alerted, the person remaining in the tree was essentially gambling with their life. If discovered, there would be no chance of escape.
In any case, whether it was the one jumping from the tree or the one staying, both faced great risks. However, Sui Chengguo was physically fitter than Yang Xiao, so it made more sense for him to play the role of the escapee.
meters, 15 meters, 10 meters... The villager was getting closer and closer. Sui Chengguo let go, preparing to jump down, when the next second, a "plop" sounded in the yard. A stone, thrown from who knows where, landed at the villager’s feet, hitting the stone slabs in the yard and making a noise.
Startled, the villager jumped on the spot, "There’s someone on the wall!" The other villagers in the yard, as if they had discovered something, suddenly started to shout. Yang Xiao and Sui Chengguo saw a head pop up from the other side of the courtyard wall and then disappear abruptly.
"There’s a thief! A thief has entered the house!" Someone yelled, the gate was opened, and a line of villagers, holding lanterns and sticks, chased out.
With this interruption, no one paid attention to the tree where Yang Xiao and Sui Chengguo were hiding, and the two miraculously survived.
Watching the villagers chase away, Sui Chengguo couldn’t help but feel anxious, "It must be one of ours; they must have known we were in the tree. Throwing the stone was to distract the villagers for us."
Yang Xiao was much more anxious than Sui Chengguo. He knew that the person taking such risks had to be Tong Han; seeing that he hadn’t returned for so long, she must have worried that something had happened to him, which is why she came out to look for him.
She probably encountered villagers sneaking around, just like what had happened to Sui Chengguo. Out of curiosity, Tong Han followed them and during her surveillance, she discovered him and Sui Chengguo. Seeing that they were in trouble, she took action to provide relief.
Seven or eight people had chased out, and now there were still quite a few villagers in the yard. Yang Xiao was eager to help but didn’t dare act rashly, only praying inwardly that Tong Han could escape their pursuit. He had confidence in Tong Han’s skills, but after all, this was the Du Family’s territory.
But soon, hope was shattered. The villagers who went to chase someone were returning from the distance, and they were escorting someone with them.
Sui Chengguo had good eyesight. Surveying from his high vantage point, he saw the person clearly and involuntarily gasped, "Damn, it’s Cheng Cha!"
"Her?"
As the group entered the yard, Yang Xiao also saw clearly. At that moment, Cheng Cha was trussed up; her arms were bound behind her back, with multiple scrapes on her face and body.
Seeing the person brought back, Patriarch Du also came out of the misty temple. The villagers escorting Cheng Cha pushed down on her shoulders, making her kneel in front of the Patriarch. Perhaps knowing she was facing certain death that day, Cheng Cha knelt on the ground, her head hung low, silent.
Since they were quite far away, Yang Xiao and Sui Chengguo couldn’t make out what Patriarch Du and the others asked, but in no time, Patriarch Du personally untied Cheng Cha, then helped her up from the ground. Even so, Cheng Cha remained silent.
At that moment, a villager brought a stone to Patriarch Du. After understanding the whole story, Patriarch Du called over the villager who had almost discovered Yang Xiao and Sui Chengguo’s hiding place. A bad feeling welled up inside Yang Xiao, and following a few sentences, that villager suddenly turned around and pointed towards the crooked tree they were hiding in. Yang Xiao knew trouble had arrived.
Patriarch Du led a few people towards the tree. Just as Sui Chengguo was about to jump down, he was stopped by Yang Xiao, "You stay, I’ll go."
As Yang Xiao leaped down from the tree, the surrounding villagers immediately erupted into chaos. He jumped from the crooked tree to the courtyard wall, then grabbed the edge of the wall and landed in the courtyard, standing straight before him was Patriarch Du. Yang Xiao smiled, extended his hand towards Cheng Cha who had been caught, "Patriarch Du, what is the meaning of this?"
"He was sneaking around like a thief. He must be a thief!" a villager who had led the chase for Cheng Cha shouted excitedly, clutching a thick wooden stick in his hand.
"You must have searched him after capturing him. Did you find anything?" Yang Xiao retorted.
Seeing that the villagers remained silent, Yang Xiao knew he had guessed correctly. Navigating a place as forbidden as a woman’s chamber, he doubted Cheng Cha would dare to take anything.
But Patriarch Du was even more shrewd than Yang Xiao had thought. He waved his hand, signaling someone to climb the tree and take a look. This move made it impossible for Sui Chengguo to continue hiding. As soon as he showed himself, trying to imitate Yang Xiao, he jumped into the courtyard, which immediately caused another stir among the villagers.
Originally, Sui Chengguo had planned to take the initiative, to control Patriarch Du by surprise and seize a chance for themselves. But gazing into the deep, profound eyes of Patriarch Du, Sui Chengguo hesitated, fearing to make a move. He felt that if a fight were to ensue, he might not be a match for the old fellow, not to mention that the onlooking villagers were not to be underestimated.
Weighing the pros and cons, Sui Chengguo didn’t act rashly and decided to wait for an opportune moment. At that moment, Patriarch Du shook his head and slowly exhaled, "I know why you have come. You suspect that Du Family Village has a conspiracy, and you can’t understand what so many of us are doing here tonight."
Yang Xiao didn’t speak, as the situation was self-evident.
"Fine. If you really want to know, then I’ll let you know." The Du Family Patriarch turned around, hands behind his back, and walked toward the temple hall. "Come with me."
At this, the villagers panicked, and several robust men quickly blocked Patriarch Du’s path, "Patriarch, this shouldn’t be done. That’s our..."
Before they could finish speaking, they were sharply rebuked by Patriarch Du, "Move aside. How long do we expect to keep this secret? 10 years, 20 years, or 100 years? Look at yourselves now. Aren’t you tired of living this half-human, half-ghost existence?"
Chastened by the Patriarch’s scolding, the few men blocking the way silently retreated, their faces a complex mix of extreme unwillingness and helplessness. Meanwhile, some villagers began to sob quietly among themselves.
Pushing open the doors of the hall, they were greeted by a misty haze and a pungent smell of herbs. Several white cloths hung there, blocking the view.
The Patriarch walked over and yanked down the white cloth, revealing a large wooden barrel. Inside, a man was soaking, only his head visible above the water, his eyes vacant, mouth slightly open in a sick, drug-induced rapture, oblivious to their arrival.
The water in the barrel was very murky, presenting a strange brown color, with bits of herbal residue occasionally churning to the surface. The barrel was raised on strip-shaped stones with a fire burning in between the stones. It was with these pieces of wood they were heating the water.
"You... you’re performing a medicinal bath?" Sui Chengguo frowned, overwhelmed by the pungent herbal smell in the room.
Village Chief Du simply ignored him. He walked up behind the man in the barrel who appeared lost in a blissful stupor and suddenly reached out, grabbing the man’s hair. "Don’t be afraid," he admonished.
With that reassurance, Village Chief Du pulled with ease, lifting the man out of the water. The next second, Yang Xiao and the others shuddered involuntarily as they saw the man’s rotting body, riddled with holes as if devoured by insects, gaps so large that even the internal organs and bones within could be seen.
Even with psychological preparation, the extreme gruesomeness was beyond Cheng Cha’s comprehension, leaving Yang Xiao and the others momentarily speechless. fɾeeweɓnѳveɭ.com
With a "thud," Village Chief Du let go, and the man fell back into the water. The hall featured at least seven or eight compartments separated by white cloths, each containing a wooden barrel with a rotting villager inside. This place was not Du Family Village—it was an Extinct Village!
Slowly unpeeling his own clothes, Yang Xiao and the others saw that Village Chief Du’s body was wrapped in white cloth, resembling a mummy. As he unraveled the bindings, a foul smell assaulted their senses, and black herbal sediments fell out. What was finally revealed was a severely decayed corpse, its tattered chest cavity exposing a blackened heart that had long ceased beating.
At this moment, Yang Xiao finally understood. It was no wonder the villagers had developed a habit of chewing on herbal medicine—to suppress the stench of their decaying bodies.
Village Chief Du slowly straightened his clothes and glanced at the surrounding white cloths with an increasingly sorrowful expression, "In order to slow down the decay, we have no other choice but this method. These herbs both slow the rot and masks that deadly stench."
"So what exactly are you now, human or ghost?" After a long silence, Sui Chengguo finally posed the key question.
At this question, Village Chief Du lifted his head, his eyes full of turbidity as he looked at the three men, also revealing bewilderment, "I don’t know. Ever since that person cursed us, we, the people of Du Family Village, have been like this for a long time."
