Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales
Translated by XephiZ
Edited by Aelryinth
“Use this to cleanse the poison away, but without a Healer, it’s not possible for his legs to recover,” the old man sitting on a wooden stool and smoking a cigar told them.
Wang Tong handed him an automatic lighter and a Chunghwa cigar, but the old man shook his head. The villagers were neither stubborn nor behind in technology, but they had to rely on the traditional lifestyle to maintain the serenity of the village.
The old man told the group that there was no empty hut for them. They had no choice but to stay in a shed for the night.
They were all soldiers who had endured tough training, hence the shed was very comfortable as long as they didn’t have to worry about the Undead.
“We’ll talk in the day. Just a reminder, don’t simply run off anywhere, especially leaving the village. I’ll tell the chief that you’re here…” the old man said, before leaving the group.
The soldiers laid down on the slightly damp ground of the shed. They were too worn out to chat with one another. They spread out their clothes on the ground and went to sleep.
Most of them had gotten used to witnessing blood and death. It was a close call tonight, but it did not stop them from falling asleep.
Everyone fell asleep without appointing anyone to stand guard.
Zhang Xiaohou woke up a few times throughout the night because of the cold. The first time he woke up, the moon was still high up in the sky. The second time, the moon was slightly slanted. The third time, his surroundings were in complete darkness, so quiet that it was kind of scary, yet his fatigue immediately dragged him back into a deep sleep.
When his eyes next sprang open, it was already daytime.
—
“Come over here you son of a bitch, who told you to wash your feet in the upstream, I’ll skin you alive!”
“Going to do the laundry? Let me tag along, my husband is lazy, but somehow he’s very active at changing his clothes.”
The beating of a gong woke the group up. As they opened their eyes, they could see kids running around, women busy with their chores and old folks taking a stroll around the village…
The village was deadly quiet last night, but it was rather lively in the day, just like an ordinary village.
When everyone woke up, some of the kids with runny noses gathered around the shed and observed the soldiers like they were foreigners.
“You’re all awake, head to the village hall. The chief wants to see you,” The old man who was standing guard last night seemed fairly energetic still. He brought the group to eat breakfast before going to the village hall.
The hall was not big. It had a small front yard, with a huge pond filled with clear water. The bottom of the pond had lots of pebbles. If one were to take a closer look, they would discover red letters engraved on the surface of the pebbles, which looked like names.
“In our village, either the youngsters or old folks, those who are leaving would write their names on the pebbles and throw them into the pond. It prevents them from turning into those things outside,” explained the old man indifferently.
They arrived at the village hall after they crossed the yard.
A few old men sat on the wooden chairs with carefree looks. None of them seem afraid, despite living among the Undead.
A middle-aged man was seated in the leading position. His forehead was filled with wrinkles. He looked rather old, even with his smile. Even his good skincare was unable to hide his age.
“I’m the chief of this village. You can call me Fang Gu,” said the man who called himself Fang Gu.
“Our chief is impressive, he’s a Magician,” complimented the old man who had stood guard.
“I’m nothing compared to the experts from the army,” replied Fang Gu with a smile, sounding quite humble.
“Experts? One dead and one severely injured before they arrived,” blurted out the old man.
Fang Gu gave the old man a stare. The old man was aware that he had said something unpleasant to the ears. He immediately excused himself, most likely heading home to take a rest.
“Sorry about that; the old man is just being talkative. It’s been dull lately, as the Undead appear even before the sky turns completely dark. The creatures are extremely savage, too. You must be very careful no matter what mission you’re on.” Fang Gu advised in a friendly manner.
“Thanks for the reminder. The truth is, we’re here to rescue a scouting squad. We’re told to report back if we found any news, if you happen to know something…” said the captain Qin Hu.
“Oh, them… they came to the village before, and left after giving us some warnings. They did not stay for long. They must have headed for the other villages,” answered Fang Gu immediately, remembering the squad.
“Were they fine when they came here?” asked Shi Shaoju.
“Yeah, there were nine of them, none of them were missing.”
“They must have gotten rid of their communication devices when they came into your village. We lost contact with them around this area, please tell us if you know where they went,” said Qin Hu.
“You can’t bring your communication devices into the village, it’s the same for the other villages, too. As for where they went…it should be Hua Village in the west. I heard someone mention it,” said the chief.
“Oh, thanks.”
After the conversation with the chief came to an end, a balding old man sitting beside him spoke up slowly, “Since you’re here, just let you know that we don’t want the army to send another squad to look for you here too…by the way, it will take at least two days to reach Hua Village from here,”
“We’re Magicians.”
“That applies to Magicians,” emphasized the balding old man.
Qin Hu and Shi Shaoju frowned immediately. It meant that they had no choice but to spend a night in the wild if they decided to go to Hua Village!
Initially, they thought they would not have any problem staying a night in the wild, but after what happened last night, they had no intention of taking that risk.
“Chief, the Undead have been restless lately, we probably won’t stand any chance against them, but we have to complete the mission entrusted to us. Please tell us the trick to avoid the Undead… it’s clear that your village is safe in the Land of the Undead, and I even heard rumors about villagers journeying in the wild safely at night. I believe you must have some special trick passed down for generations…” asked Shi Shaoju sternly.
“No, it’s the secret of our village. We can’t tell outsiders,” the old man declined instantly.
“Besides, even if we told you the trick, you can’t use it, anyway. You have to think of some other way,” said another old man.
Fang Gu seemed eager to help, but he was wearing a helpful look too.
After a while, he suddenly spoke, ” We can’t tell you the village’s secret, but there’s another way you can try… the only thing is, if anything goes wrong, you’ll end up being surrounded by the walking corpses.”
