Clear Spring Village
With a flap of its wings, Zhuge Xiang sat on the back of the Phoenix Winged Black Tiger and flew towards Clear Spring Village. Beside him, Wu Zhao still followed without leaving. Xiao Yue, perched on Zhuge Xiang's shoulder, seemed to sense the faint anger emanating from Zhuge Xiang's heart. It was no longer as lively as before, closing its eyes to rest and wait for the battle that would follow.
Wu Zhao, seeing Zhuge Xiang's gloomy expression, hesitated to speak. Having learned about the tomb raiders from the Moluo City, Zhuge Xiang couldn't wait to set off. Originally, according to the information from the Asura Sect, in this situation, several Asura Warship should be sent over first to confirm the situation.
Clear Spring Village is a small mountain village located near Moluo City, with a population of only thirty to fifty households. Although it is not far from Moluo City, only about a hundred or eighty li away, it is located in the mountains and has inconvenient transportation, so it is relatively remote. If it were not for the need to communicate with the outside world and exchange goods, almost no one would know that there is a small mountain village deep in the mountains.
With the speed of the Phoenix Winged Black Tiger, the journey of a mere hundred or eighty li was naturally completed quickly. From the high vantage point, one could see a valley deep in the mountains with dozens of households, terraced fields, the sounds of chickens crowing and dogs barking—a truly idyllic scene.
However, looking down at Clear Spring Village from his vantage point, Zhuge Xiang sensed that something was amiss, but he couldn't quite put his finger on what it was.
"Zhuge Xiang, don't you think there's something wrong with Clear Spring Village?" Just as Zhuge Xiang was frowning and looking down at Clear Spring Village, Wu Zhao suddenly spoke up, his eyes filled with thought.
"Oh? You noticed it too?" Zhuge Xiang asked after hearing Wu Zhao's words. If it were just him who had this feeling, it could be said to be an illusion, but since even Wu Zhao felt the same way, there was clearly something really wrong.
"These people carry a Baleful Qi," the Phoenix Winged Black Tiger under Zhuge Xiang suddenly spoke up. As a killing-type Fairy, the Phoenix Winged Black Tiger was naturally very sensitive to Baleful Qi.
"There's still some Corpse Qi, though very faint, but it's definitely not wrong..." Xiao Yue, who had been resting on Zhuge Xiang's shoulder, spoke up, her jewel-like eyes fixed on the people coming and going in Clear Spring Village. "If it were just a few people alone, I might not be able to detect it. But when these people are all gathered together, the Corpse Qi is much stronger."
"Regardless, let's go down and take a look first." From Phoenix Winged Black Tiger and Xiao Yue's words, Zhuge Xiang was even more certain that something was wrong with Clear Spring Village, but he couldn't quite put his finger on what was wrong. So, Zhuge Xiang and the others landed in a secluded grove of trees not far from Clear Spring Village and walked into the Clear Spring Village on foot.
"Young master, where are you from?" Soon after entering Clear Spring Village, a farmer of about thirty years old looked Zhuge Xiang up and down and asked.
"Oh, my wife and I went on a picnic and got lost, that's how we ended up here," Zhuge Xiang said with a smile after hearing the farmer's words.
As he spoke, Zhuge Xiang's gaze fell on the man. His Data Eye ability did not reveal anything unusual, and the information displayed indicated that the man was just an ordinary person.
"Oh, so you got lost. See that mountain path over there? Just Zhuge Xiang it, and you'll be out in about half an hour," the farmer said warmly, pointing out the road out of Zhuge Xiang village.
"Thank you very much, Big Brother," Zhuge Xiang said, then continued, "I've been lost on this mountain road all night and I'm parched. Could I have a couple of bowls of water to drink?"
"Alright, you two come with me home, my house is just ahead," the farmer said warmly. Zhuge Xiang naturally didn't refuse and followed the man to his home.
"Er Gouzi, where are these two from?" The man's elderly parents were sunbathing in the Courtyard. They pointed at Zhuge Xiang and Wu Zhao and asked the man.
"Father, Mother, they are from outside the village. They got lost and are asking for a drink of water," the man explained. He then told Zhuge Xiang and his companion to wait outside while he took two bowls from inside the house and drew water from the well nearby.
While the man was drawing water from the well, Zhuge Xiang gave Xiao Yue a wink. Xiao Yue jumped off Zhuge Xiang's shoulder without warning and sneaked into the man's house when no one was looking.
"Big Brother, don't you have any spare water at home?" Zhuge Xiang asked curiously, watching the man draw water from the well. "Usually, every household has a water bucket. It's just two bowls of drinking water; can't you just scoop it from the bucket?"
Zhuge Xiang was simply asking out of curiosity, and of course, also to divert attention from Xiao Yue. However, the expressions of the man and his elderly parents all changed. Although they quickly calmed down, Zhuge Xiang still clearly noticed it.
"Oh, we've just run out of water in our buckets," the man said to Zhuge Xiang, trying to remain calm after quickly regaining his composure.
"Something's not right." Zhuge Xiang and Wu Zhao exchanged a subtle glance, both able to understand the meaning conveyed in each other's eyes.
After accepting the two bowls of water from the man, Zhuge Xiang and Wu Zhao drank them without batting an eye. Then, barking like little dogs, they ran happily over to Zhuge Xiang. The man and his family didn't think much of a pet dog. After Human Dao left.
"So? Did you find anything?" After they left, Zhuge Xiang asked Xiao Yue in a secluded spot.
"This is a big problem..." Xiao Yue's tone was grave, clearly indicating that the situation was serious. She said, "The family's kitchen was covered in Spider and dust, there wasn't a drop of water in the bucket, and there was no Food at all."
"No Food!?" Upon hearing Xiao Yue's words, a flash of inspiration struck Zhuge Xiang. He looked up and surveyed the area. Zhuge Xiang and Wu Zhao exchanged a glance and finally understood why they felt something was amiss with Clear Spring Village.
I arrived here very early this morning; judging by the time, it should be breakfast time now, right? But in the entire village, with dozens of households, not a single wisp of smoke rises from their chimneys? Could it be that the people in this village don't eat breakfast?
"Although there was no Food, guess what I saw in their house?" At the same time, Xiao Yue spoke up, saying, "In their bedroom, I smelled a pungent, strong stench of blood. There was a large, sealed bucket of fresh blood in their house."
"Feeds on blood?" Xiao Yue's words reflexively brought to Zhuge Xiang's mind a certain creature— Zombie! Only Zombie feed on blood?
However, Zhuge Xiang immediately shook his head. No, they weren't Zombie. He could tell from their contact that although they carried the Corpse Qi, they were not like Zombie, who were just mindless walking corpses. Moreover, the information displayed by his Data Eye indicated that they were humans, not Zombie.
"Regardless, this village is truly bizarre and very strange. We must investigate it thoroughly." Although we don't know the specifics of these villagers, what we do know so far—that they feed on blood and don't eat grains—shows that something is wrong with Clear Spring Village.
In Clear Spring Village, a man slowly walked into the village chief's house, his expression a mixture of trepidation and respect. The room was pitch black, blocking out all sunlight, and only a dark figure could be vaguely seen sitting inside.
"Er Gouzi, a stranger entered the village today. Did you bring him? Why did you keep it a secret?" the black shadow said, his hoarse voice sounding somewhat eerie.
"Yes, sir, those two people were just lost. They asked for two bowls of water at my house and left quickly, so..." The man who walked in looked at the figure in front of him with trepidation and said. If Zhuge Xiang were here, he would recognize that this man was the farmer who had given him two bowls of water earlier that day.
"So what!? So you just kept it a secret?" Before Er Gouzi could finish speaking, the dark figure suddenly interrupted him with a rough voice, "Wasn't the task I assigned you clear enough? Don't forget who killed your whole family, and don't forget who gave you a second life..."
A shadowy figure waved one hand, and a black mirror suddenly appeared in the pitch-black room. The figures in the mirror were Zhuge Xiang and Wu Zhao. Zhuge Xiang in the mirror was listening to the information that Xiao Yue had gathered.
"That puppy? It can actually talk?" Looking at Xiao Yue in the mirror, Er Gouzi's eyes widened in astonishment. He had some recollection of this dog before, but he hadn't paid much attention to it. He never expected that this puppy could actually talk.
"It can speak? It seems it has reached the level of Fairy? But judging from this Demonic Qi, it has only just entered the Fairy level." The shadowy figure's eyes were clearly fixed on Xiao Yue. After a moment of contemplation, it said, "Just a little puppy that has just entered the Fairy level. I'm leaving it to you. These restless elements must not be allowed to live."
"Don't worry, sir," the shadowy figure said as if it were speaking out of thin air. However, a figure actually stepped out of the room and answered the question. After speaking, the figure pushed open the door and walked out.
In Clear Spring Village, Zhuge Xiang and Wu Zhao hid in the shadows and observed for a full half day. Even at lunchtime, they did not see any smoke rising from the chimneys. Moreover, Zhuge Xiang discovered something unusual: in this village of dozens of households, there was not a single baby in sight.
A village without babies, a village that feeds on blood? Everything about it is eerie. Zhuge Xiang's intuition tells him that there's a shocking secret here... (To be continued...)