The Locust

The darkness outside the window was about to fade, and the strange sounds in the mountain forest gradually quieted.

Xu Yuan was deeply wary of everything in the village.

Under Fate Gazing, the villagers' "fates" were bizarrely misshapen—not like human "fates" at all!

Even the Old Mountain Runner's level was indistinct, which meant he was far beyond Xu Yuan's level, so far that Xu Yuan could no longer see it.

The villagers might not be human, but they weren't evil spirits either.

At the very least, they were "people" different from those outside the mountains. For one thing, Xu Yuan had never seen a single villager in town, as if they were forbidden from ever leaving Ghost Witch Mountain.

Supplies like ironware and salt could only be brought in from outside the mountains.

Xu Yuan had originally planned to use Wangxiang Village to shake off Wu Haishan and the others, but he'd wasted another day in the village, delaying his plans. That was bad news!

Whether it was Master Qiao or Saint Aunt, a single day was plenty of time for them to catch up.

Xu Yuan shook his head to himself. Once day broke, he'd have to carefully plan how to escape.

"What a pity," Xu Yuan thought regretfully. "I had too little time to prepare, and I don't have anything worthwhile. Otherwise, I could hire the Old Mountain Runner to escort me."

There were no chickens in the village. Once the sky was fully light, the villagers all went out to tend to their "fields."

Xu Yuan said goodbye to Jiao Erbo, slung the large bundle of yesterday's finds over his back, and left the village.

Among the mountain goods he'd gathered yesterday, there were still plenty unsuitable for Bait/Food, so Xu Yuan took them all with him.

He had to at least carry them out of the village. Otherwise, the invisible hatchet hanging over his head would come down.

The young people had gone to the fields, and Xu Yuan had left the village. Only when the sun was already high did the idle old men and women gather slowly beneath the enormous dead tree.

Their daily routine: meet beneath the tree.

And trade news about everyone's families.

In this, villages in the mountains were no different from those outside.

Zhang San's Dad had snagged a prime spot that day: half a broken millstone.

He squatted on it, repeatedly filling and emptying his pipe, then filling it again, as if he could never get it right.

Only when everyone had gathered did he scrape a match Xu Yuan had given him. With a hiss, it caught. He took a satisfied drag, blew out a smoke ring, and said, "Now that's handy."

Everyone looked envious, though in their hearts they were grumbling: What are you showing off for?

Still, they truly coveted the matches. They were expensive to bring into the mountains, and ordinary families couldn't bring themselves to trade for a whole box.

Xu Yuan walked about five li out of the village with half a sack of mountain goods on his back. By the roadside, he dug a hole and buried the sack.

A large tree stood beside the road, with a Hanged Ghost dangling from one of its branches, staring at Xu Yuan with bulging eyes and lolling tongue.

The spot was easy to remember and recognize.

After burying the sack, Xu Yuan hauled over a large rock and set it on top.

The sack held mountain goods that Xu Yuan couldn't turn into Bait/Food for the time being.

He didn't recognize more than half the things inside.

But Xu Yuan guessed there had to be plenty of good stuff in there!

I can't take it with me this time. I'll need to travel light from here on, but I can't let it go to waste. I'll leave it here and come back for it later.

The merchants made fortunes on their mountain expeditions precisely because they dealt in things ordinary people couldn't recognize.

After burying the sack, Xu Yuan carefully studied the surroundings and memorized the features of the terrain before setting off again.

At some point, the Old Mountain Runner had appeared on the great tree, crouching on the branch where the Hanged Ghost dangled.

He still wore the feather-covered cloak. The feathers that had been cut off yesterday had already grown back.

The Hanged Ghost said, "That's a child who knows how to value things."

The Old Mountain Runner nodded. "Remember to let me know when he comes back for them."

"You mean..."

The Old Mountain Runner cut him off. "We'll have to watch him a little longer."

Mountain folk couldn't stand to see things wasted. If Xu Yuan had casually thrown those mountain goods away, he'd already be dead.

The mountain trail twisted and turned along the foot of the slopes, winding past two peaks before slipping through a narrow pass.

When Xu Yuan emerged from the pass, a strange rock shaped like a bear's head jutted out from the hillside to his left.

Xu Yuan had been on his guard the whole time. Even the rocks in these mountains could "change shape."

Fortunately, this one was quiet. Xu Yuan hurried past it, then glanced back. The rock hadn't moved at all, and only then did he breathe a sigh of relief.

He turned and continued onward. To bypass Qihetan Town, reach the main road, and then make his way back to the county seat, he still had to walk another fifty or sixty li of mountain trails.

And who knew what kind of eerie things he might encounter along the way?

Xu Yuan drew a deep breath and strode forward... Then he suddenly heard the sound of sawing wood coming from the grass beside him.

His expression immediately turned grave. He neither listened nor looked, keeping his eyes ahead as he hurried past.

In Ghost Witch Mountain, never give in to "curiosity" and go take a look—that was to step onto the Yellow Springs Road of your own accord!

The sawing sound wasn't very loud, and the wild grass beside the road grew thick. This kind of grass couldn't be found outside the mountains. It stood taller than a person, with long, broad, slightly curled leaves edged with dark red serrations.

Rabbits were one thing; even a wild boar or tiger could hide inside without being seen.

Xu Yuan wasn't curious, but after taking two steps forward, he saw it anyway.

A gap half a zhang wide had opened in the grass. Something had cut the wild plants into fragments the size of copper coins, scattering them across the ground.

A corpse lay on its back atop the shredded grass.

Several locusts, each over three feet long, were crouched on the corpse, using their powerful hind legs to saw chunks of flesh from it!

Their hind legs bristled with sharp serrations—a natural butcher's saw!

The sawing sound Xu Yuan had heard was their hind legs cutting through bone.

They fed the chunks they'd cut off into their mouths. The locusts were covered in blood and bits of flesh, which left them feeling sticky and uncomfortable. Every so often, they'd spread their wings and shudder, flinging blood and flesh everywhere.

Not far from the corpse, a wicker basket lay on its side, its various wares spilled out.

It had been another merchant. Too bad he'd met with disaster before reaching the village.

There were no fatal wounds on the corpse. These strange creatures preferred fresh, living prey. They had chased the poor merchant, sawing chunks of flesh from him again and again until he'd lost too much blood and collapsed here...

Xu Yuan tensed all over and walked past, eyes fixed straight ahead, moving as lightly and quietly as he could.

But even the faint air currents he stirred up put the locusts on alert. They stopped at once. Two whip-like antennae on their enormous heads pointed toward Xu Yuan, and their huge, shell-like eyes fixed on him coldly!

Xu Yuan took off running.

Flap, flap—

The enormous locusts beat their wings and flew after him.

The fastest one reached Xu Yuan in the blink of an eye and swooped down. Its sharp forelegs, like iron claws, lunged for his head. If they caught him, they'd slice his head clean off his neck.

Xu Yuan jerked his head up. Whoosh—

A fierce burst of Inner Fire shot out, instantly turning the locust into a huge fireball. It let out a strange shriek and crashed into the grass beside the road.

The other locusts kept chasing. Xu Yuan drew in Inner Fire, then, with a thought, spat out a pill.

The pill was only the size of his thumb, but he'd obtained it last night by using the various ores the villagers had traded as Bait/Food.

It was heavier and more tightly condensed than the one he'd refined earlier after consuming gold and silver.

Whoosh—

The pill shot like lightning through a locust's head.