Clouds of suspicion

"Are you worried something might happen to that village?" Yao Lao seemed to have noticed the doubts weighing on Xiao Yan's mind and asked.

"Yes." Xiao Yan nodded, his expression unusually grave.

Yao Lao clearly thought far too highly of his disciple. He assumed Xiao Yan was worried about the village's safety, but Xiao Yan was actually wondering whether he should loot the corpses once he went in. After all, even if those things had all mutated, they ought to have left some belongings behind. Still, that would be a little disgusting...

"Forget it. I'll take things one step at a time." Xiao Yan put away the Xuan Heavy Ruler. He had never anticipated this turn of events. Although he was not particularly afraid of those creatures, their numbers could prove troublesome. Besides, there was most likely a mastermind behind them. If the situation truly spiraled out of control, he would have no choice but to retreat first.

In his eyes, however, there really was nothing that could frighten him, not even if Hun Dai'er from his previous life appeared.

Just then, Xiao Yan suddenly sensed an unfamiliar presence emerging nearby. His hand instinctively settled on the handle of the Xuan Heavy Ruler, and his eyes swiftly swept his surroundings. "What little rat is hiding there? Get out here!"

After Xiao Yan's shout rang out, a rustling came from the woods behind him. He immediately turned around and saw a silver-haired boy about his own age emerging from the trees with a slightly awkward look. The boy was exceptionally handsome, and although his skin was fair, he looked perfectly healthy. Dressed entirely in white, he had a somewhat otherworldly air.

Judging by appearances alone, the silver-haired boy seemed utterly harmless. Yet it was precisely that lack of menace that stirred intense wariness in Xiao Yan's heart. His experiences in his previous life had taught him to maintain a measure of vigilance even around people close to him, such as Yao Lao and Xiao Zhan. But at the sight of this silver-haired boy, an inexplicable sense of warmth had actually welled up inside him.

Xiao Yan was certain he had never met this boy, either in his previous life or his current one. Yet for some reason, he felt that the person before him was someone deeply familiar, someone he should never have forgotten through lifetime after lifetime. He stared intently at the silver-haired boy, his body immediately tensing, and asked, "Who are you?"

"Don't get the wrong idea. I'm not an enemy." The silver-haired boy hurriedly waved his hands. "Just like you, I'm here to investigate these Corpse Demons."

"Investigate the Corpse Demons..." Xiao Yan murmured. It seemed the creatures he regarded as zombies were called Corpse Demons in the Chu Yun Empire. Still, he did not relax and continued, "How do you know I'm here to investigate them?"

"Isn't it obvious? These Corpse Demons are running rampant for a hundred miles around here. Unless they were investigating where they came from, who would be foolish enough to come anywhere near this place?" The silver-haired boy shrugged. "Still, you've certainly got guts, coming here at such a young age. Your courage is commendable."

"You're not much older yourself." Xiao Yan glanced at him. Judging by his appearance alone, the silver-haired boy seemed no older than twelve.

"I'm different from you. I'm..." The silver-haired boy had barely opened his mouth before he realized something and hastily cut himself off. "Anyway, my actual age is much greater than yours."

"Has anyone else come to investigate besides you?" Xiao Yan realized that the silver-haired boy was not as easy to draw information out of as Xiao Yi Xian. Although he was curious about the boy's true age, he did not pursue the matter and instead changed the subject.

"Yes. Seven or eight groups have come so far, but most never made it out. Of the two teams that did, one turned into Corpse Demons not long after returning." The silver-haired boy sighed. "Luckily, the remaining team brought an antidote. Otherwise, they might have followed in the footsteps of the earlier groups."

"An antidote?" Xiao Yan could not help being surprised. He had just been arguing with Yao Lao over whether to capture a Corpse Demon to research an antidote, only to discover that someone had already developed one.

"Yes. Some of us developed an antidote that can neutralize this corpse poison, but you have to take it within fifteen minutes of being poisoned. Otherwise, you'll still turn into a Corpse Demon." As he spoke, the silver-haired boy took a small jade bottle from inside his robes and tossed it to Xiao Yan. "One look at you tells me you didn't bring any antidote. You can have this. Be careful when you use it, and don't let them catch you."

Xiao Yan caught the jade bottle and raised his eyebrows slightly at the pills inside. This fellow... seems a little too nice to me. Although he had met quite a few young people with similar dispositions before, the problem was that this was the Chu Yun Empire. People here should not have been as kind as the boy before him. Unless... he's trying to use me?

At that thought, the corners of Xiao Yan's mouth lifted slightly. In that case, I might as well make good use of him too.

If the silver-haired boy intended to exploit him in the first place, Xiao Yan would feel no guilt whatsoever about using him in return. If the boy had no such intention and simply wanted to befriend him, that would prove he was a naive sweetheart. And if he was that naive, he deserved to be used.

Thus, Xiao Yan put on a deeply moved expression and said, "Thank you so much, big brother."

Xiao Yan had done this sort of thing countless times in his previous life. By his estimation, if he traveled back now, his acting skills would certainly win him a little golden statuette.

"It's nothing. My family often taught me to help whenever I could while away from home." The silver-haired boy patted Xiao Yan's shoulder and said without betraying anything, "I think it's a little dangerous for you to be out here alone. Why don't you come with me? If we travel together, we can watch each other's backs."

"Really? Then thank you, big brother." Xiao Yan accepted the silver-haired boy's offer without hesitation. With his young age, harmless appearance, and superb acting skills, he could easily make the other boy lower his guard.

In his view, the silver-haired boy was certainly not as gentle as he appeared. His reason for bringing Xiao Yan along was not kindness, either. He probably wanted Xiao Yan to scout the way, and if danger arose, he could make Xiao Yan stay behind to cover his retreat.

Yet this seemingly harmless child was a demon through and through. While others were still considering how to exploit Xiao Yan, Xiao Yan had already decided where to bury this fellow's corpse.

"My name is Yun Dai. If you don't mind, you can call me Brother Yun." The silver-haired boy smiled gently. "What's your name, little brother?"

"My name is... Mo Yanxiao," Xiao Yan said slowly. In this unfamiliar place, he naturally would not use his real name, even if no one in the Chu Yun Empire knew the name "Xiao Yan" at all.