Mountain Village

"Yan Qing, Yan Ding, twin swords!" A married couple flashed the Longswords in their hands.

"Chi Defeng, staff technique."

"Feng Yu, crutch!" An Old Woman tapped the crutch in her hand.

Chen Fei glanced at the Old Woman, his nose twitching slightly. A faintly sweet, fishy scent drifted at the tip of his nose, there and gone. It was the smell of deadly Poison.

"Chen Mu, Bow Technique!" Chen Fei patted the Longbow on his back.

"Good. It's getting late. Let's go. From here to Xingfen City, if all goes well, we should arrive in about five days."

Qian Jijiang nodded and took the lead forward, while the others followed one after another.

They were all martial artists. Whether in stamina or Movement Technique, they were far faster than ordinary people. Though they could not compare with horses, their speed was definitely not slow.

Chen Fei looked back at Pingyin County. Because they were several li away, Chen Fei could only see some vague outlines now.

He had stayed in this county town for several months, going from a Handyman who could not even afford meat to someone who now possessed skills. Chen Fei could not help feeling somewhat emotional.

Chen Fei lowered his head and glanced at the mark on his arm. The farther he got from Pingyin County, the less active the mark became.

Earlier, Chen Fei had still been a little worried that this mark might draw over some powerful Weird. Now it seemed this mark had purely added a negative status to Chen Fei.

If an ordinary person had been hit with this kind of mark, they would probably have already been sucked dry by now. Chen Fei had improved quickly, and instead suppressed the mark.

Of course, there was another possibility. Compared with the enormous piece of food that was Pingyin County, a tiny grain of millet like Chen Fei simply could not attract the attention of that Greater Specter.

After running without stopping for more than two hours, everyone finally stopped for a brief rest.

"There's no one here now. Hurry up and split the money." In the Dense Forest, Chi Defeng looked at Qian Jijiang, his face full of excitement.

"What's the rush? It's not like I won't give it to you."

Qian Jijiang looked at Chi Defeng and could not help laughing and cursing, "You old thing, you're actually willing to leave Pingyin County too. I thought you were going to die of old age here."

"There's something strange over by Pingyin Mountain. I don't quite dare stay anymore."

Chi Defeng took the several hundred taels of silver Qian Jijiang handed over, shook his head, and said, "Especially these last few days. I've constantly been unable to sleep or eat in peace. Something big is probably really going to happen in Pingyin County."

Qian Jijiang's expression stirred slightly. He still believed the words of this old friend. No wonder the other man had kept urging him to lead a group out of Pingyin County.

"When we reach Xingfen City, will you keep going?" Qian Jijiang asked.

"We'll see when the time comes. Let's get there first," Chi Defeng thought for a moment, then shook his head and said.

Several dozen meters away, Chen Fei came back from relieving himself and saw Chi Defeng and Qian Jijiang muttering together over there. His teeth could not help feeling a little sour.

Although he did not know what they were discussing, money definitely had to be involved.

Chen Fei had already suspected the two knew each other, because at the time, Chi Defeng had paid far too readily. How was that something a money-grubber would do?

However, Chen Fei did not feel distressed over that money. Compared with leaving Pingyin County, that little bit of money simply did not count for anything. With the Pill Refining Art in his grasp, if Chen Fei wanted to earn that sum, it was only a matter of a few furnaces of pills.

Everyone rested for a short while, then began hurrying on again.

At first, there were still main roads to take, but the farther they went, the more blurred the boundaries of the road became. Clearly, it had been too long since merchant caravans had come and gone, and many roads were already covered by wild grass.

Everyone pressed on in fits and starts, but they did not encounter anything. They merely ran into Refugees several times along the way, but everyone avoided them from afar.

"There should be a ruined temple nearby. We can rest inside it tonight."

Qian Jijiang glanced around, identifying the direction. In his early years, Qian Jijiang had been someone from an escort agency and had traveled north and south. He had only retired in the last few years.

He had thought he could enjoy his old age in peace in Pingyin County, but after running into so many incidents, he had no choice but to come out again.

Qian Jijiang led the others around in several circles and finally found that ruined temple.

Seeing the ruined temple, Chen Fei's heart tightened slightly. The previous two times he had run into specters had both been in places like this. But if there was somewhere to shelter from the wind and rain and rest, it was impossible not to go.

The ruined temple was very old, and the inside was even more messy. Clearly, quite a few people had been here recently.

They set up a fire and boiled water. Several people sat around together, silently eating the dry rations in their hands. Chen Fei watched the surroundings vigilantly, but did not find anything abnormal.

He sensed the mark on his arm as well, and there was nothing strange about it.

This Bone-Attached Gangrene was now being treated by Chen Fei as a Weird detector, and most of the time, it was effective. This made Chen Fei wonder if, once his inner strength became powerful in the future, he should continue to keep a bit of the mark on his body.

The night passed safely without incident. They did not encounter anything strange. Chen Fei let out a breath of relief in his heart. It seemed that although the outside was not peaceful, it was not as if Weird would be encountered everywhere.

In the blink of an eye, three days quickly passed.

Compared with the freshness when they had first set off, everyone now looked travel-worn. Along the way, the few of them also began to grow familiar with each other. And the smoothness of the journey also made everyone's hearts settle quite a bit.

Qian Jijiang's ability to recognize roads was very strong, and Chen Fei felt somewhat glad he had followed this group. Otherwise, if Chen Fei had gone on the road alone, leaving aside everything else, just figuring out which route to take would have left him completely blind.

By the time he used up the food in his Space Grid, Chen Fei would probably still be going in circles out in the wilderness.

"We'll have to spend the night in the forest tonight. Everyone quicken your steps. It'll be dark soon."

Qian Jijiang glanced at the sky and urged them. The others did not speak and unconsciously quickened their pace. Everyone was very obedient toward Qian Jijiang's orders.

"There are lights ahead."

Under the night curtain, Yan Qing pointed ahead in surprise. Everyone raised their heads, and sure enough, they saw faint lights flickering in the distance.

"There's a village nearby?" Chi Defeng turned to look at Qian Jijiang.

"I don't remember."

Qian Jijiang frowned slightly. He had not come out in many years, and he only remembered some general things. It was impossible for him to remember everything clearly.

"Should we go to the village and ask to stay the night?"

Old Woman Feng Yu asked in a low voice. A village was undoubtedly much safer than the wilds. If they had a choice, of course they would go into the village.

The others looked at Qian Jijiang, letting him decide.

"No. With war and chaos everywhere outside, it's strange for a village to suddenly appear here. We'll go around it."

Qian Jijiang shook his head decisively, and the others did not object.

The group traced an arc and continued hurrying forward, their speed unconsciously becoming a little faster. It was as if, deep in their subconscious, they wanted to keep far away from that village.

"There are lights up ahead."

Under the night sky, Yan Qing pointed ahead. Everyone raised their heads and saw lights flickering in the distance.

"There's a village nearby?" Chi Defeng turned to look at Qian Jijiang.

"I don't remember." Qian Jijiang frowned slightly.

"Should we go to the village and ask to stay the night?" Old Woman Feng Yu asked in a low voice.

Chen Fei had been listening in silence, when the Heart Cleansing Art suddenly began circulating on its own. Chen Fei's mind abruptly cleared, and his expression changed drastically.

This conversation, this scene—hadn't it just happened a moment ago? Why were they saying it all over again? And that village—hadn't they gone around it already?

Good grief, was this collective amnesia?

Chen Fei looked around. At some point, wisps of white fog had begun to spread through their surroundings, visibility becoming extremely low. Instead, the village in the distance grew increasingly clear.