Chapter 270
Chapter 270
Since Zhao Xu had visited Daling Village several times and knew its layout and surroundings fairly well, we had him lead the way.
For safety, of course, Old Cao and I guarded him on either side.
Yuan Fei and Ni Yang brought up the rear, while Big Bull’s group of four and the bodyguards in black moved in between.
We held our torches aloft. A thin mist permeated the village.
It created an air of unfathomable mystery.
Whenever we passed a village house, several people would split off to inspect it.
To give each cultivator in the group practical experience and prepare us for the possibility of larger groups of corpse-fiends attacking later, we used a different combination of people every time.
Sometimes it was Roundy, Old Cao, and me.
Sometimes it was Yuan Fei, Ni Yang, and me.
Sometimes Old Cao led Big Bull and the others…
In short, we wanted everyone to experience fighting these strange corpse-fiends face-to-face first.
Unfortunately, every house along the way was empty.
We entered each one with the utmost caution, only to find not even the shadow of a ghost inside!
Nothing resembled the first house beyond the gateway, where we had encountered two corpse-fiends immediately after entering the village.
Yuan Fei joked that the damned things must be afraid of us and therefore dared not appear.
But worry stirred in my heart…
Old Cao also pointed out that Daling Village had nearly a hundred residents. Even if only half had transformed into corpse-fiends, they would already be an enormous problem!
If they were neither in their own homes nor roaming throughout the village, they must be gathered in one place, which likely meant even greater trouble awaited us.
Roundy immediately grumbled in displeasure,
“Old Man Cao, stop tempting fate, will you? If a huge crowd of corpse-fiends really is gathered somewhere, this magnificent bird will never forgive you. From now on, I’ll fly over and crap on your bed after you fall asleep every night.”
Old Cao: “…”
I snatched that fat wretch from my shoulder and cradled it in my arms, vigorously kneading and mauling it as I scolded,
“You stupid bird. You spend every day talking nonsense.”
“Let go of me, Kid Wu! If you keep this up and ruin Big Brother’s hairstyle, I’ll never forgive you!”
Fortunately, aside from Ni Yang and the bodyguards, everyone had long since grown accustomed to Roundy’s vulgar, obnoxious mouth. No one looked particularly surprised.
We continued following Zhao Xu, moving forward and exploring the village…
Then we discovered the situation beginning to change!
As we gradually approached the center of Daling Village, the mist thickened. Strange sights also began appearing on the village houses concealed within it.
The surface of every house was covered in peculiar things that crisscrossed in every direction. They resembled both thick plant roots and vines.
These strange growths wrapped around the houses like octopus tentacles, creating an unnerving sight in the mist.
Yuan Fei said quietly,
“This damned place grows stranger and stranger. I’ve traveled far and wide for years, yet even I have no idea what any of this is… Brother Cao, have you ever seen such bizarre plants?”
Old Cao shook his head.
Just then, a thought flashed through my mind.
“Old Cao, Uncle Yuan, don’t you think these things wrapped around the houses resemble the mold filaments inside those two corpse-fiends? They’re just enlarged.”
Oh?
At my words, they shone their high-powered flashlights on the nearest house and studied it for a while.
Yuan Fei slapped his thigh.
“Hey, you’re right! But their auras seem somewhat different.”
Old Cao also said gravely,
“Staring at the gray mold filaments on the corpse-fiends inexplicably made me irritable. These thick plant roots wrapped around the houses don’t produce that feeling. Perhaps they share the same source but serve different purposes?”
I nodded, agreeing with Old Cao’s speculation.
During our journey, we had discussed how discovering the nature of the mold parasitizing the corpse-fiends might reveal the secret and truth behind Daling Village’s disappearance, and expose the mastermind and conspiracy behind it.
Suddenly, Zhao Xu cried out and pointed somewhere ahead.
“Huh? That’s strange! What is that? I don’t remember seeing it before.”
Hm?
We all froze at his words, then aimed our flashlights in the direction he indicated and looked.
Through the hazy fog, a gigantic, misshapen object towered a short distance ahead.
It resembled a thick pillar or a bare tree and stood roughly six or seven meters tall. Its diameter was also about six or seven meters, giving it extremely strange proportions.
But a short distance still separated us, and the fog prevented our high-powered flashlights from revealing it clearly. We needed to move closer.
Zhao Xu explained that he was so astonished because the area ahead had once been the center of Daling Village.
Seven or eight years earlier, Wang Wenguang had wanted to make it more convenient for the villagers to dry grain, pickled vegetables, cured meats, and the like, while also giving them a place to chat and relax during the farming off-season. He had specially built a large cement yard in the center of Daling Village, though the villagers simply called it the “big yard.”
Wang Wenguang had assigned his company secretary and Zhao Xu to handle the project. The secretary coordinated with the contractor, while Zhao Xu oversaw the quality.
At the time, the market economy had only recently begun developing, and regulations and standards in every industry remained loose. Shoddy construction projects were everywhere!
With an underworld boss like Zhao Xu watching them, the builders did not dare cut corners…
“The center of Daling Village is just ahead. There should be an open cement yard four or five hundred square meters in area. There couldn’t possibly have been a gigantic pillar-shaped object like this. What the hell is it?”
Zhao Xu stared in confusion and murmured to himself.
Ni Yang patted his shoulder.
“Brother Zhao, there’s no need to guess. The answer is right in front of us. We’ll know once we go look, won’t we? Of course, the truth is probably there too, which means the danger will be considerable. We should prepare ourselves for a fight to the death before approaching.”
Then he looked at the cultivators among us.
“What does everyone think?”
“Naturally! It’s time for the truth to be revealed, and probably time for the real, brutal fighting to begin.”
Old Cao, Yuan Fei, and the others nodded in agreement.
We stopped there temporarily to inspect our ritual implements and equipment and rest briefly. Then, in our best condition, we advanced toward the strange pillar ahead…
As we drew nearer, I sensed a sinister aura spreading around us. At the same time, a powerful stench of rot filled my nose.
Even Old Cao beside me frowned.
“What a piercing stench of death… It smells as though at least dozens of corpses were left baking beneath the blazing sun. I’ve carried coffins for years, yet even I’ve rarely smelled such a concentrated odor.”
The moment he finished speaking, retching sounded nearby.
Two or three of the bodyguards in black could no longer endure it and began vomiting off to one side.
I hurriedly moved farther away. If their vomit accidentally splashed onto me, I could hardly lose my temper under the circumstances.
“Fortunately, we prepared masks before setting out. Everyone, put one on!”
Zhao Xu issued the order.
As for us cultivators, we probably did not need them. Even those of us who did not earn our living specifically from the dead still dealt frequently with dead people, corpses, demons, ghosts, and monsters. We were used to foul smells.
“Give me one too! I need to put one on.”
Ni Yang could not bear it and hurriedly asked Zhao Xu for a mask.
After all, he had always moved through the city’s banquets for high officials and wealthy elites and had not experienced many situations like this.
At last, we drew close enough to the strange “pillar” to see its true appearance.
It really was… a tree!
A strange, enormous tree.
Its entire body was dark gray, and its trunk was incomparably thick.
It was a shocking sight at first glance.
But two other aspects left us even more horrified and dumbfounded…