Chapter 420 - Chapter 421: Chapter 390: Mountain Village_1 (1/2)

Chapter 421: Chapter 390: Mountain Village_1

Walking amidst the mountain paths, Xu Mu found his wooden right leg rather inconvenient. Turning around, he entered a nearby forest and selected a large, dark brown tree.

He held up his right hand, his fingers sharp as knives and his nails popped out like razor blades. Seemingly as soft as tofu under his hands, the formidable tree was swiftly partitioned into various parts, later reassembled into an ingeniously constructed prosthetic limb.

Xu Mu attached it to his leg, wrapped it in the animal skin that Yue had given him, and then took a few steps.

“Aside from being a bit fragile, there doesn’t seem to be any major issues!”

Wary of drawing unnecessary attention and troubles, Xu Mu decided against crafting a prosthetic arm.

After cleaning up and packing his things, Xu Mu continued down the mountain. However, crafting the prosthetic limb had caused a significant delay, and coupled with his lack of direction, by the time he reached the village at the foot of the mountain, night had already fallen. The food that Yue had given him had been long consumed.

Xu Mu thought of asking for directions in the village, perhaps in exchange for some food.

Upon entering the village, he found it to be incredibly impoverished—the majority of houses were made of thatched roofs, the fences constructed of muddled mud and traces of damage were everywhere, as if something had smashed into them with immense force.

Only a few houses in the center of the village were neat and made of brick and tile, yet, their walls were also marked by signs of damage.

Knock, knock!

“Is anyone home?”

After entering the village, Xu Mu knocked on the door of the nearest house and called out.

Subtle movements could be heard from within the house, yet no one responded.

Xu Mu tried several more houses, meeting with the same situation each time.

“If a stranger knocked on my door in the middle of the night, I probably wouldn’t open it either.”

Xu Mu laughed at himself, prepared to give up and find somewhere outside the village to spend the night. As he was wondering if he could get clear directions the following day and leave, a door to a house he hadn’t knocked on pushed open, and a woman in her thirties peeked out.

“Where did you come from? What do you want?”

The woman’s face was sallow, and she was simply dressed, the typical appearance of a farm woman. Only, her eyes were ringed with dark circles, indicating a lack of proper sleep.

“I’m an outsider who got lost while hunting in the mountains. I wanted to ask for directions.” Xu Mu said, standing still and laughing.

The woman squinted, appraising Xu Mu up and down. Seeing that Xu Mu only had one arm and was a teenager of just fourteen or fifteen years old, her expression visibly relaxed.

She opened her mouth, “From the entrance of our village, just continue heading south for about twenty to thirty miles and you’ll find Three-New-Town!”

“Thanks, big sister!”

“Big sister? Ha-ha! You’re a quite interesting kiddo!”

The woman couldn’t help but cover her mouth and chuckle.

“Hehe!”

Xu Mu smiled, unabe to mind her teasing comment, and turned around to head out of the village.

The woman froze for a moment before hurrying out of her courtyard and chased after him, stopping right in front of him.

“You can’t be thinking of going to town now, right?” the woman asked in surprise.

“Yes, that’s correct! Is there a problem?” Xu Mu asked in confusion.

“Didn’t your parents tell you not to travel at night?”

The woman looked incredulously at him.

“Thanks for your concern, big sister! I’m not scared!”

Xu Mu smiled and made to walk past her. While he had only just arrived in this world, he had some confidence in his own abilities.

The woman quickly reached out and grabbed onto his clothes.

“You really do have a lot of guts for a young lad! Wait until you encounter something evil and it’ll be too late for regrets! Oh well, you do look pitiful! Come and stay at my place!”

Ignorning Xu Mu’s protests, the woman pulled him towards her house.

“Well… alright then!”

Xu Mu initially wanted to decline, but after thinking about it, he decided to take her up on her offer. After all, it would be better to play it safe as a newcomer. Besides, he wasn’t in any hurry.

As the woman led him into her courtyard, she quickly shut the door, as if she was fearing something.

Looking around, Xu Mu noticed that the woman’s house only consisted of a long thatched hut and a smaller room. The courtyard was littered with straw from rice grains and a small vegetable garden had been set up. Hanging on the wall were chili peppers, garlic, and other similar produce.