As a relatively poor district, the closer one got to the edge of town, the more crushed scraps of hide, grass leaves, excrement, and all sorts of unidentifiable strange objects were churned together by passing carts and pedestrians. Even in daylight, the sight of it was nauseating.
And now, when they could barely see anything, the stench that splashed up with every step only became even more "heart-stirring."
Sometimes, not being able to see was even more frightening than seeing clearly.
They could only force themselves not to think about what exactly they were stepping on.
They hurried onward. After ducking past a low wooden house and vaulting through shrubbery that resembled a wooden fence, Du Qifeng suddenly twitched his ear and turned his head. The other two behind him reacted almost identically.
In the distance—had there just been a dog bark?
Without question, in a town like this, aside from raising livestock such as pigs and cattle, it was nothing unusual for townsfolk to keep dogs as guards.
But in the depths of such a dark night, those creatures, which still retained some wildness, would usually sense danger and huddle inside their homes, not daring to make a sound.
Yet the distant barking did not stop after a moment. Instead, as it gradually became clearer, the source of those successive barks seemed to be constantly drawing closer in their direction.
After exchanging brief glances, the three deliberately stopped at a corner and stood silently in position, making sure they could watch one another's backs and guard against an ambush.
Very soon, the rising and falling barks drew nearer and nearer. It sounded as if packs of wild dogs were barking wildly at one another, as though something was chasing them—or as though they were chasing something.
The strange reaction