After a moment of silence, the group headed down the slope. Only when they drew closer did they notice the clear signs of burning. Charred wood littered the ground, and the slightest breeze stirred up a haze of black ash.
Mo Xie surveyed their surroundings and spoke.
"There isn't a single body nearby. This doesn't look like the work of the undead. But the ruined houses show signs of burning, so people most likely did this. Who knows what happened here?"
Surprise flashed through Mo Fan's eyes. He could hardly believe people had done this, and he began worrying about Zhang Xiaohou's safety. He hurriedly asked,
"Brother, what should we do now? Could something really have happened to Monkey?"
Mo Xie shook his head and answered firmly.
"Don't worry. Don't overthink it. For now, we can only go to the next village. If that village is like this too, we'll be in serious trouble."
He pointed at the burned timber and offered his assessment.
"Judging by the burn marks and how badly the wood was burned, Yangyang Village was probably destroyed today. That means the culprits can't be too far away. We need to hurry to the next village."
"All right, understood. There's no time to lose. Let's get moving."
Shorty nodded and offered Muscular Man a few words of comfort. Muscular Man was still fairly levelheaded, and once he calmed down, he continued guiding everyone.
However, he then gave them some bad news. Hua Village was about two days away, or a day and a half even if they hurried, but their supply of gray garlic would not last the entire journey.
Asharuiya's delicate brows drew together. She glanced at Shorty and proposed a solution.
"How about this? Let's hold off on using gray garlic during the second half