Some time later, Qu Xuanqing had followed the group out of Yorikof Town and taken a dirt road that looked rarely traveled into the woods west of town.
The Silent Hills west of town were, as their name suggested, shrouded in a lifeless silence.
The twisted branches of towering old trees obscured the already gloomy sky, casting vast, unsettling shadows.
Thick layers of damp, rotting leaves blanketed the ground. They felt soft underfoot, swallowing almost every sound of footsteps.
The air was heavy with the smell of earth and humus, along with a faint, sweetish odor like sulfur mixed with blood. It was just like the lingering stench after the chaotic rain in town, only stronger and more primal.
One of the deacons accompanying them told Qu Xuanqing that this path had been made by merchants long ago. When the town was first established, many people had made a living by going into the woods to gather mushrooms, herbs, and the like.
The townsfolk had been unfamiliar with the surrounding area back then, and merchants often spent a day or two in the woods before emerging with their goods. Though the work was hard and poorly paid, food and medicine were both tied to the Harvest Mother Goddess. In an age when everyone regarded the Harvest Mother Goddess as their sole faith, the merchants had held a respectable status.
But as strange incidents grew more frequent, venturing into the woods became increasingly dangerous. At the same time, transportation improved, and some necessities like food and medicine could be brought in from other towns. Business became even harder for local merchants.
Gradually, the merchants disappeared, and few people ventured into these woods anymore.
Only this road remained, occasionally used by travelers—if they weren't afraid of being attacked by whatever strange things