"Drifters?" the fair-skinned man asked quietly, looking confused.
The old man looked at him in surprise. "What? Isn't that what you all call them, masters? Those... those corpses floating on the water?"
After one of his companions glared hard at him, the fair-skinned man fell silent. Jiang Cheng guessed he was probably a newcomer who had only taken part in one mission at most. Otherwise, he wouldn't have made such a rookie mistake.
The man leading them also explained, "Masters, there's a river not far from our village, and... oh, I really don't know how to explain it. A few days ago, several more drifters appeared. They were all people from our village."
"If you know something strange is going on, you should stay away from the river," a short, stocky Middle-aged man replied cautiously.
"Oh, you make it sound so easy. Do you think we don't know that? But... but it's no use!" The man grew agitated and slapped his thigh hard, his expression turning fierce. "Those who drowned never went near the river. Everyone in our village stays far away from it, but it doesn't matter. People still die. They're fine one moment, tucked in bed before blowing out the candle at night. Then they wake up... and they're gone! How are we supposed to guard against that? A few days later, we find them in the river, floating on the water!"
"Could they have been killed first and then thrown into the river?"
"No! Absolutely not!" the man insisted. "Masters, someone in our village saw with their own eyes as the corpse floated up from the riverbed. It was still covered in mud and sand!"
"That's right. We can all confirm it: the bodies floated up from the riverbed. There's no doubt about that!" The old man