"Watch out."
Qian Wanyu gently pushed the other woman's shoulder, moving her away. A long arrow shot between them and embedded itself in the wall of a village house.
Dongfang Minghui got quite a fright. She had thought Living Dead had appeared in the village.
"Seventh Sister."
Qian Wanyu easily pulled the arrow out of the wall. It had not sunk very deep. The arrowhead was crudely made and rather blunt, while the shaft was merely a thick tree branch. At that speed and with that little force, it could not possibly kill anyone.
There were still living people in this village.
The same thought arose in Dongfang Minghui's and Qian Wanyu's minds.
"Come on. Let's look inside."
The door was unlocked. With a gentle push, it swung open, but the filth and disorder inside exceeded their expectations. The simple furnishings had all been swept onto the floor. Even the only table had had its legs broken and lay scattered in pieces. The entire room looked as though someone had searched it before they arrived.
They carefully sensed their surroundings. There was no one inside.
They moved on to the next house. Along the way, little traps, arrows, and slingshots kept springing up. Qian Wanyu handled them with ease, tossing the pellets, spears, and arrowheads aside. "Looks like a bunch of children," she said helplessly.
These were the kinds of traps eight- or nine-year-olds could make.
"But where did all the adults in the village go?"
They searched five or six houses in succession. All were empty, without a single person inside. Dongfang Minghui felt the situation was worse than they had anticipated. Qian Wanyu stood nearby, looking at the weeds growing thick outside the villagers' homes. No one seemed to have tended them for a long time.
"Someone's there."