525 The Strange Village (2/2)
The village was extraordinarily quiet at night. Not a single lamp was lit. The only source of light was the dull yellow moon hanging high up in the sky.
The group could hear the sound of the river clearly. The village was deadly silent, it did not look like someone lived here.
”You guys… remove everything you shouldn't be bringing with you before entering the village, that includes any trace of blood on you...” said an aged voice from the guard tower at the entrance of the village.
The guard tower was manned every night, as a safety precaution.
”Old man, we're soldiers from Lintong headquarters. We were ambushed by the Undead along the way here. We've already got casualties and injured with us. Please let us enter the village, so we can attend to our comrades,” said Shi Shaoju to the old man guarding the village.
”Which is why I say, throw away everything you shouldn't be bringing in. It will bring bad luck and disaster to our village,” insisted the old man.
The group looked at one another. They had no choice but to comply.
”That thing too.”
”It's the only communication device for us to contact the headquarters. It's specially designed, it won't attract the attention of demon beasts,” said Qin Hu.
”No way; otherwise, you won't be entering the village.”
”Just follow his instructions. There's a reason they are able to live among the Undead for so many years...” said Shi Shaoju.
The group immediately removed all their communication devices. The old man simply set the pile on fire, leaving the group with dull looks on their faces. Now that they had lost their communication devices, no one would know if the entire squad was wiped out in the end...
It seemed like the scouting squad was told to come to this village too. If their communication devices were destroyed too, it would be a miracle if they did not go missing!
”Alright, come in. The journey here looked tough, judging from your looks and injuries. Clean yourself up at the river...oh, try not to go upstream, we still want to drink the water,” said the old man.
The old man brought the group of eight to the back of the village.
The village was not huge, possibly smaller than a villa owned by a wealthy person. It only took them ten minutes to reach the back of the village.
The village was quiet, and they had yet to see anyone apart from the old man. They began to feel uneasy.
”The whole area is occupied by the Undead, yet the village is located right in the center of it. On top of that, I haven't seen anything alive in this place. Is this actually a ghost town? It makes sense that the Undead are not interested in the dead...” whispered Wang Tong to Zhang Xiaohou.
”Enough, the villagers are most likely asleep. This place has no television, no phones, no Internet, what can they possibly do apart from sleeping?” said Zhang Xiaohou.
”Oh, you're right about that. By the way, the old man has just burned my Kidney Six too. I should have sent my missus a message before entering the village, so she won't think that I'm dead here...what a pity.”
{TL Note: Kidney Six here is referring to the iPhone Six. The reason why it's kidney, well, there are actual cases in China where people sold one of their kidneys just to buy a new iPhone, and it has somehow turned into a meme.}
Zhang Xiaohou rolled his eyes, not wanting to waste his time talking to Wang Tong. He proceeded to study the village.
Speaking of which, Sunny Goat Village looked just like a normal village with a primitive lifestyle. However, he did discover a strange sight; each of the wooden huts was decorated with a stalk of Dog's Paw.
Dog's Paw was its common name, its real name was the Ash Plum Flower.
Zhang Xiaohou had only learned about the Ash Plum Flower after he came to the Ancient Capital. For some reason, he felt like he had seen the Ash Plum Flower before.