Small Village

Chapter 50: The Small Village

Upon approaching, the group realized the village was much larger than they had imagined.

The seven members of the Mist Gathering trailed behind, maintaining a slight distance from the six people walking in front.

Li Mu stopped in his tracks, scanned the group, and said:

"Two things. First, this is a survival mission; the ghost is unsolvable unless, like Qi Nian, one discovers the hidden rules. Second, it possesses at least two or more supernatural abilities."

Everyone nodded, taking Li Mu's words to heart.

"I chatted with them earlier. The woman holding the dog is He Miao, the driver is Tian Dawei, and the old gentleman is Chen Qingshan. Among the remaining three, the man who found the village is Sun Liang, and the last man and woman are a married couple, Cheng Zhipeng and Tong Li. All six are from Gui City, and the long-distance bus we were on was also headed to Gui City."

The woman speaking was Lin Yan. Her appearance was quite ordinary, but her eyes were remarkably sharp.

This was indeed the case; Lin Yan was in her thirties, and having started in sales, she was well-versed in the art of communication.

Being able to learn everyone's names and backgrounds in such a short time was her specialty.

At this moment, the six people walking in front suddenly became chaotic.

"Woof! Woof! Woof!"

The Corgi that He Miao had been holding suddenly jumped from her arms and began barking fiercely at the village.

"Doudou! What are you doing, Doudou!"

He Miao hurried to grab it, but the dog acted as if it had gone mad; it wouldn't budge, and when He Miao tried to pick it up, it nearly turned to bite her.

The fur on its neck and tail stood on end, its claws dug into the ground, and it bared its teeth, barking wildly at the village.

Tian Dawei and the others simply thought the dog had gone crazy, but Bai Yanliang and his companions noticed that while the dog barked, its limbs were trembling uncontrollably.

It was afraid.

What did it see?

A gust of wind suddenly swept through the village, which was shrouded in faint mountain mist. It wailed and whimpered, sounding as if someone were crying.

The trees covering the mountain rustled loudly, their intertwined branches looking like reaching arms in the shadows, lunging toward the thirteen people outside the village.

Tian Dawei and his group didn't know, but Li Mu and the others were very clear: there was a ghost here.

And it was an... unsolvable, terrifying, malicious spirit.

The shrill barking of the dog echoed through the mountain forest, and before long, movement stirred within the village. It seemed they had finally heard the noise.

Under everyone's gaze, an old man whose face looked like a cracked walnut emerged, supported by a young woman.

"Who are you..."

His voice was as aged as his appearance—feeble and trembling, as if he might stop breathing at any second.

"Are you the village chief? We're just passing through; our bus broke down, so we're here to rest for a bit." Tian Dawei's tone was always grating.

Sure enough, while the old village chief didn't react to this, another man's voice rang out.

"Why should we let you rest? Get lost!"

"Damn it, who said that!" Tian Dawei's eyes widened, the fat on his face quivering. He must have been a man with a history before becoming a long-distance driver.

"It was me! What are you going to do about it!"

A sturdy young man stepped out, his brows furrowed, glaring at Tian Dawei without a hint of fear.

"Cough... cough cough... Xiao Bin, don't be impulsive." The old village chief, supported by the young woman, suffered a fit of violent coughing, his voice growing even weaker.

He let his aged eyes sweep back and forth over the group and said, "There is no main road to the village, and cars cannot enter. Since you have already found your way here, come in..."

"Village Chief!" the young man called Xiao Bin shouted, "These people are suspicious! Let them leave!"

Bai Yanliang suddenly turned his head and glanced at Xiao Bin.

Yu Sheng was still being carried on his back; seeing Bai Yanliang's action, she also glanced at Xiao Bin, looking thoughtful.

"Nonsense!" The old village chief glared at him angrily. "It's getting dark; where do you expect them to go?"

Xiao Bin opened his mouth, but ultimately said nothing more. He merely scanned the crowd, lingering with a fierce glare at Tian Dawei.

"Everyone... please follow me." Supported by the young woman, the old village chief led the way into the village. "My surname is Yan, and I am the chief of this Snow-Accumulated Village. Our village... hasn't had visitors in a long time..."

Chief Yan's words made the visitors from the Mist Gathering tense up.

This statement... was deeply unsettling.

At that moment, the young woman supporting him suddenly said, "Grandfather, the Homecoming Festival is the day after tomorrow. If we take in so many outsiders..."

Homecoming Festival?

The young woman's words caught their attention.

The day after tomorrow... wasn't that the final day of the survival mission?

Was this a coincidence?

"Stop yapping. Who the hell wants to stay here any longer than they have to? The day after tomorrow... I'm leaving tomorrow!"

Huang Yourong glanced at Tian Dawei; he already felt that a bright, glaring word "Death" was written over the man's head.

"Is that so?" The young woman cast a strange look at Tian Dawei. "Then I hope you... can get out alive."

This eerie remark made everyone's heart tighten.

But at that moment, something even more bizarre appeared before their eyes.

After entering the village, they realized there wasn't a single cat or dog to be found, not even chickens or ducks. In their place were strange cages covered in black cloth, chained to the doorways of every household.

"What is this? Do you raise lions in your village?"

As he spoke, Tian Dawei carelessly reached out to pull the black cloth off a cage by the roadside.

"Don't touch that!" This was the voice of Xiao Bin.

But... his warning came a step too late.

"AAAHHH!!!!"

"Fuck! Let go!"

Tian Dawei's eyes were wide with agony; his finger was being clamped down by a bizarre woman, the pain instantly drenching him in cold sweat!

Seeing this, the others rushed forward to help, and Tian Dawei kicked wildly at the woman inside the cage, but that disheveled, terrifying creature refused to let go!

"AAAHHH!!!"

Tian Dawei suddenly let out an even more miserable shriek, stumbling back as the others pulled him away, clutching his hand in shock and agony.

The woman had actually bitten his finger clean off!

He Miao turned deathly pale, her scream dying in her throat.

"Damn it, I told you not to pull it!" Xiao Bin cursed angrily, grabbing a handful of wood ash from somewhere and sprinkling it onto Tian Dawei's severed finger, causing the stout driver to howl in pain once more.

Yet, Bai Yanliang and the others didn't even glance at the idiot.

Their eyes were scanning the houses one by one.

Every single one... every house had an iron cage covered in black cloth in front of it.

Could it be... that every cage held a woman like that, capable of biting people?

"I beg you all... do not speak of this."

The old village chief's voice was filled with bitterness as he looked at the group, bowing tremblingly with his hands cupped in a gesture of supplication.