Chapter 47: The Rusty Machete
I immediately carried Jing Jing on my back. Although she was now in a half human, half zombie state, she didn"t have a zombie"s features yet. As her body was still soft, it was comfortable and easy to carry around.
Li Mazi had volunteered for this, saying that he would carry her.
But who knew if he would seize the opportunity to take advantage of her? No matter what, she was still a student. Therefore, I didn"t agree with him.
The other girls also knew that it was serious this time, so they didn"t protest. Instead, they immediately led the way.
We"d expected for the girls to bring us into the village. However, we walked past it and came to a piece of wasteland behind the village. Then, they pointed at some bushes nearby. "We found the red fruit in that bush…"
The man wearing the k.u.mamon t-s.h.i.+rt nodded, then asked them to stay put. Next, he asked me to walk with him to explore the surroundings.
I understood that there was something wrong inside that gra.s.sy area. Immediately, I grabbed the Sirius Whip as I followed the man in the k.u.mamon t-s.h.i.+rt. Carefully, we entered the wasteland covered in tall gra.s.s.
Li Mazi didn"t go with us as he wanted to stay and protect the girls.
The man wearing the k.u.mamon t-s.h.i.+rt didn"t force him and said that he could do whatever he wanted.
The wild gra.s.s here was extremely lush, but it was a common sight in the countryside. The deeper we walked, the greener and lusher the gra.s.s was.
The man wearing the k.u.mamon t-s.h.i.+rt said to me, "It"s possible for a place like this to gather a lot of toxic animals like venomous snakes or frogs. You must be careful. If you get bitten, the consequences will be even worse than Jing Jing"s."
I nodded and suddenly recalled last night"s encounter. I asked, "Jing Jing has blisters on her feet. Is it because she was bitten by something?"
The man wearing the k.u.mamon t-s.h.i.+rt hesitated for a while, his twinkling eyes glancing at me. "Did you touch the blisters on her feet?"
I immediately replied, "Don"t worry, I didn"t."
The man wearing the k.u.mamon t-s.h.i.+rt sighed with relief. "Good."
We walked with difficulty through the area of tall gra.s.s, but we didn"t encounter any poisonous snakes or animals.
Then, more bushes and trees that were as tall as an adult appeared. I realized that Li Mazi and the others probably couldn"t see us now.
I checked the area, but I didn"t find any red fruit. I started to feel disappointed, thinking that there might have only been one Fruit of Life and Death, and Jing Jing had eaten it.
While my mind was wandering, the man wearing the k.u.mamon t-s.h.i.+rt waved at me, signaling for me to stop.
Then, he crouched down, bring his ear close to the ground.
I did the same, but couldn"t hear anything.
The man wearing the k.u.mamon t-s.h.i.+rt picked up a handful of soil, smearing it between his fingers and smelling it. Then, his face turned dark and uncertain. I was scared. "What did you just find?"
The man answered, "Move, hurry."
Then, as he accelerated, I followed him closely. My subconsciousness told me that he must"ve found something.
Indeed, after several steps, we found the red fruit!
The fruits had a red hue, making them look as if they were soaked in fresh blood. They were growing from a bush, and there were dozens of them.
I studied the red Fruit of Life and Death. They didn"t look much different from the size and shape of a nectarine.
The fruits had a black dot in the middle, which made them resemble a human eye.
I didn"t know if it was because of nerves, but I felt like there were many eyes currently gazing at me, giving me fear.
"Are those Fruits of Life and Death?" I asked, puzzled.
The man wearing the k.u.mamon t-s.h.i.+rt nodded. He then bent over and picked up a handful of the tree"s roots, trying to pull it up. Following the root, he continued to dig further.
It was out of my expectations as he finally grabbed a rusty machete from underneath the roots of the tree. Seeing the machete, the man"s eyes heated, showing his excitement.
He handed me the machete, then picked several Fruits of Life and Death before urging me to leave.
I turned and walked away, but I could feel that the man wearing the k.u.mamon t-s.h.i.+rt wasn"t following me.
Looking back, I found the man drawing his eight-faced sword and cutting his finger with an unchanging expression. Then, he dropped the blood from his finger onto the muddy ground.
Startled, I hurriedly asked what he"d just done.
The man in the k.u.mamon t-s.h.i.+rt didn"t answer me. Without saying anything more, he brought me back to where Li Mazi and the girls were waiting.
Since we"d met the girls, I had this constant doubt. Those girls had come to Fengmen Village to explore. However, why did they randomly come to this wasteland? This place had tall gra.s.s and bushes, and it was home to snakes and rats. Weren"t they afraid of these animals?
While leaving, I had the feeling that someone or something was following me.
But, when I turned around, I found nothing.
No matter what, from beginning to end, the rattling footsteps behind us didn"t cease!
When we halted, the rattling noise also stopped. When we sped up, the noise would keep up. I tried several different things to increase the distance between us, yet there were no exceptions.
I asked the man in the k.u.mamon t-s.h.i.+rt what that sound could be, but he just waved his hand and told me not to worry about it.
We traveled through the gra.s.sy area at a breakneck pace, and when we"d cleared it, I was breathless.
I then found the girls watching us with frightened expressions.
Glancing at Jing Jing, I noticed that her complexion was strangely red. It looked like all of her blood had rushed to her face.
I was startled, and asked the man in the k.u.mamon t-s.h.i.+rt, "What should we do now?"
He looked panicked. Grabbing his sword and sweeping his eyes around the place, he urged, "Move. Leave this place."
Seeing his anxious and frightened expression, I couldn"t calm down. I shouldered Jing Jing and led the team back to the cottage.
As soon as we were back and I"d placed Jing Jing on the ground, the man in the k.u.mamon t-s.h.i.+rt asked me and Li Mazi to close all the windows of the Honorarium Hall.
Then, we had to stay by the windows and pay attention to what was happening outside.
If we heard anything approaching, we had to tell him immediately.
The man wearing the k.u.mamon t-s.h.i.+rt hurried to scratch off the rust on the machete, the metallic sound making gooseb.u.mps rise on my skin.
Scared by the tense atmosphere, the girls didn"t even dare to breath. They just opened their eyes wide and watched the man in the k.u.mamon t-s.h.i.+rt.
After he"d scrubbed the machete clean, he called the girls to come closer. Once they"d approached, he asked them to pick up the rust and stuff the substance into Jing Jing"s seven orifices.
The girl wearing heavy makeup asked worriedly, "Won"t we suffocate her to death if we do this?"
The man in the k.u.mamon t-s.h.i.+rt nodded. "Possibly, but if you don"t do this, she"ll die immediately."
The girls were panic-stricken, so they quickly followed the man"s order. Carefully, they stuffed the rust into Jing Jing"s mouth, nostrils, ears, a.n.u.s, and her private part.
After they were done, the man in the k.u.mamon t-s.h.i.+rt walked to the door, taking a deep breath.
At this moment, my heart was filled with doubt, so I lowered my voice and asked him, "What are you worried about?"