Chapter 5 (2/2)

Dewy green leaves and branches in her maiden home

Married out, thereafter, wilted, yellow and wan

Time and again the waters submerge

Resurfacing, gleaming with tears

Listening to the song made everyone feel uncomfortable all over. They moved away from the old man, trying to create more of a distance between him and themselves. Xiao Tangqiu frowned slightly, and noticed that Luo Mansu and the quiet group of three seemed to be contemplating something. Their gazes were lowered, keeping their thoughts to themselves.

The old man finished singing his song, bowing his head as he snickered. “We’re here.”

Everyone looked up and saw that the fishing village was indeed close up ahead despite being a distance away just a second ago. Suppressing the horror in their hearts, they carefully got down from the boat.

From a distance, this fishing village didn’t seem to be different from other regular fishing villages but as soon as they got closer, a strange dissonance seemed to be present everywhere they looked. The houses in the fishing village were all low, narrow and dilapidated, completely unlike a regular house that could shield off the wind and rain. There were a few people out on the streets, but they had a dull and lifeless look in their eyes. The wooden expression on their faces were devoid of any emotion. Just by looking at them, it was obvious they weren’t normal. On top of that, they weren’t able to walk very far given their sluggish movements.

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A few girls were bunched up together, frightened to the point of shaking, yet, Luo Mansu’s expression remained completely calm, apparently used to this situation.

It was right then, a voice that sounded very old called out.

“Are you the university students who are here to do a study? Welcome to Yunjia Village. I’m the village chief; I’ll take you to your accommodations. Please follow me.”

Out of nowhere, this old man had suddenly materialized in front of them, just like a ghost, scaring everyone out of their wits. But very quickly, they breathed out a sigh of relief. Regardless, this old man looked much more normal compared to the other villagers. At least from appearance alone, he didn’t seem very different from themselves.

“You’re the village chief?” Luo Mansu rubbed his chin, “Alright then, take us to our accommodations.”

Without giving them another glance, the village chief turned to go; his movement was neither fast nor slow, but at least it wasn’t like those other villagers who moved at a zombie-like pace.

“Let’s follow him. Once we get to where we’re staying, we can go separately.” Luo Mansu dismissed their doubts, “This village chief should be an NPC, so he wouldn’t take the initiative to attack us under normal circumstances. Since we’ll be here for three days, we’ll definitely need a place to stay.”

Xiao Tangqiu raised his eyebrow, “Under normal circumstances?”

Luo Mansu flashed Xiao Tangqiu a smile, but didn’t answer his question. Tang Mianmian couldn’t help but ask, “What if we don’t follow him?”

“You can choose to stay on the shore during these three days. It’s up to you.” Luo Mansu shrugged his shoulders, “Or you could look for those villagers and ask if they’ll take you in?” Luo Mansu then turned to follow the village chief who was up ahead.

Tang Mianmian glanced at those villagers who resembled walking corpses and immediately pulled Xiao Tangqiu to keep up with the village chief.

They followed the village chief, walking around for what seemed like half the village, before he stopped in front of a house.

“This is it.”

They looked at the house, sizing it up; although this house was a little run-down, it looked like it could still withstand the wind and rain. A few of them sighed in relief.

The village chief was about to leave after completing his task, but was stopped by Luo Mansu, who pointed towards a building in the center of the village, “Wait a minute, can you tell me what that is?”

Xiao Tangqiu, along with the others, turned to look in that direction. It was an old-fashioned, nostalgically charming building of ancient Chinese design. It stood in the middle of the village, looking thoroughly out of place against the backdrop of this decrepit village.

Almost instantly, the village chief’s expression changed; his lips promptly shut tight, unwilling to say anything else.

“Hey, you……” Luo Mansu pressed on, but the village chief turned and left without answering.

His footsteps were brisk, and although he seemed to be walking, his pace was incredibly unnatural. In the blink of an eye, he disappeared from everyone’s sight.