Huangtu Village.
Located in the most barren and backward wilderness, it is accompanied by harsh environments and ferocious beasts all day long.
A wooden wall several meters high surrounded the entire village, with some wooden thorns randomly stuck on it. This was their only protection against foreign enemies.
After crossing the wooden wall, we arrived inside the mountain village.
The mountain village is not big, with only dozens of households visible at a glance, and probably less than a hundred people in total.
At the entrance of the mountain village, there is a winding path outward.
But even the nearest Cloud City is hundreds of miles away.
Therefore, most people in the entire mountain village may have never left this place in their entire lives.
After all, once you leave the protection of the village and face those ferocious beasts and inhuman horse bandits alone, it is basically impossible to survive.
The only communication with the outside world is the caravan that comes every few months.
And today.
On that dusty path, a crisp sound of horse hooves suddenly sounded.
The old village chief, who was squatting at the entrance of the village and smoking a cigarette, opened his cloudy eyes with some confusion and looked over in search of the sound.
I don't know who will visit such a small place so late.
Is it a caravan?
But that's not right. The caravan just came here last month. Logically speaking, it shouldn't come so quickly.
Under his gaze, he saw a group of men riding tall horses, pulling a luxurious carriage, slowly appearing from the end of the road.
"Brother Zhang, look, there's another village ahead!"
Listening to the voices of the boys behind him, Zhang Mu also raised his head and looked over. There was no joy in his eyes, but a trace of depression flashed through his eyes.
It turned out that after receiving the mission from Ling Yun, he took a few cronies without stopping and set off at dawn.
As a result, during the day, I came across several villages, but none of them were the place I wanted to find.
I just hope I don't make another mistake this time, otherwise, judging from the weather, I'll probably have to do it tomorrow.
"Let's go over and ask."
"Whether it's right or wrong this time, I'll stay here for one night and continue searching tomorrow."
After saying that, he shook the reins in his hands and took the lead to walk up.
Hearing this, the younger brother behind him couldn't help but reveal a hint of joy on his face.
They were very tired after this journey, and now they could finally take a rest.
But when a few people arrived at the village gate, they saw a group of people holding sickles, wooden hoes and other tools, looking at them warily.
"Xu~"
Looking at the battle in front of them, Zhang Mu and the others looked at each other, their expressions not changing much.
Then he got off his horse, patted the dust on his body, and walked over.
"Who is in charge here?"
At Zhang Mu's signal, a younger brother also shouted arrogantly.
At this time, among the villagers opposite, the old village chief stood up tremblingly and looked at them up and down.
When they saw the weapons on their waists, a trace of nervousness flashed across their wrinkled faces.
"Sir, the old man is the village chief here."
"I wonder what the adults are doing for their visit this time?"
Just as the young man was about to speak, Zhang Mu interrupted him with a wave of his hand, walked forward and said with cupped hands.
"Don't be afraid, old man. We are not the best horse bandits. We are here just to find someone."
"Excuse me, father-in-law, is this Huangtu Village?"
I don't know if it was his gentle tone or whether he really meant no harm. The old village chief's expression was obviously much more relaxed.
"Sir, this place is Huangtu Village."
"I don't know who this lord is trying to find."
Zhang Mu heard this, his face suddenly showed a hint of joy, this time he finally found the place!
He couldn't wait to take a few steps forward, "My father-in-law, is there a family named Ling here?"
"Your surname is Ling?" The old village chief's expression changed slightly, and then he furrowed his brows and said nothing for a long time, as if he couldn't remember.
At this moment, a milky voice suddenly emerged from behind the crowd.
"Grandpa Village Chief, are they talking about Uncle Ling's family?"
As soon as these words came out, the old village chief's expression couldn't help but change, and he looked back with some annoyance.
The person speaking was a little girl with a runny nose who looked to be no more than seven or eight years old, and she was holding a homemade slingshot in her hand.
At this time, under the angry eyes of the old village chief, he suddenly showed fear and did not dare to speak anymore.
Um?
Zhang Mu also noticed something was wrong and looked at the old village chief with narrowed eyes.
This old guy seems to be hiding something?
His current tone was not as kind as before.
"Village chief, right? It's getting late now, could you let us stay here for the night?"
Although the tone was inquiring, Zhang Mu obviously had no intention of discussing it with him, and walked straight into the village in a swagger.
The boys next to him looked at each other and followed suit with a sneer.
The villagers nearby were still planning to block him, but seeing the shining blades at their waists, they decisively gave way to him.
At this time, Zhang Mu came to the little girl who just spoke, squatted down, touched her head, and asked with a smile.
"Kid, what's your name?"
But under the gaze of the old village chief, the little girl seemed a little afraid, her eyes wandering and she did not dare to answer.
Upon seeing this, a young man behind him pulled out the sword from his waist and looked at the old village chief and others with fierce eyes.
"Old guy, don't be so shameless, get out of here!"
The old village chief and others turned pale and did not dare to say anything, so they could only retreat far away.
Zhang Mu's expression remained unchanged, as if he didn't see the scene behind him.
Just in front of the little girl, he took out a handful of candies from his pocket, opened one and put it in his mouth, and an exaggerated expression appeared on his face.
"Wow! That's so sweet!"
Seeing the little girl drooling, Zhang Mu's face suddenly showed a smile of success.
"How's it going? Do you want to eat?"
"If you want to eat, take uncle to Uncle Ling's house you just mentioned."
"Then these are all yours!"
After all, he is just a child, how can he withstand such temptation.
Staring at the handful of candies, he swallowed and nodded fiercely.
The old village chief on the side looked at this scene. Although his face was a little ugly, he did not dare to speak to stop it.
He just turned to look at a villager next to him, gave a few instructions in a low voice, and then stared at the backs of Zhang Mu and others, with a dark look in his eyes.
On the other side, Zhang Mu, who was unaware of this, was walking towards the interior of the village under the leadership of the little girl.
But along the way, Zhang Mu vaguely noticed something strange, but he couldn't tell exactly what it was.
"How come there are so few people in this damn place?"
At this time, the complaint from the boy next to him suddenly reminded him.
Although it was close to sunset, it was still some time before nightfall.
But in Huangtu Village, basically every household is now closed.
Except for the villagers who were at the door just now, no one else was seen.
Moreover, no smoke was seen rising from the house, as if the entire village was not at home!