Chapter 525: The Strange Village
Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales
Translated by XephiZ
Edited by Aelryinth
“Idiot, don’t go!” w.a.n.g Tong yelled at Zhang Xiaohou.
However, Zhang Xiaohou had already stepped on the emergency brake and turned around to save Jia Xi.
The Battlemaga struggled to break free. The Corpse General had shattered her ice chains to pieces. As the ice was still scattering in the air, the Corpse General dashed toward the Battlemaga like a runaway car.
Jia Xi uttered a prayer. When she saw Zhang Xiaohou turning around to save her, she barely showed a change of expression. As she reached out her hand for Zhang Xiaohou to pull her away, the enormous creature withdrew its tongue and dragged her through the air, right toward its murderous mouth!
The Corpse General bit down greedily, as if it were munching on a juicy fruit, bright red liquid sprayed through the air.
A few drops of the blood landed on Zhang Xiaohou’s face. His eyes widened as his face filled with disbelief.
“Run, you idiot!”
w.a.n.g Tong’s voice entered Zhang Xiaohou’s ears. As he collected his thoughts, he saw the Corpse General’s bloodshot eyes fixed on him.
“Sor…sorry,” mumbled Zhang Xiaohou softly as he summoned a gust of wind under his feet, carrying him into the distance like an arrow being fired.
Zhang Xiaohou was extremely fast. The Hatchet Corpse General had no chance of catching him. Meanwhile, the Zombies flanking him from other directions were unable to predict his path. Before the walking corpses could totally surround him, Zhang Xiaohou had already broken through with Wind Track and caught up to the team.
—
“Wipe it off,” s.h.i.+ Shaoju handed a handkerchief to Zhang Xiaohou.
Zhang Xiaohou did not receive it. He wiped his face with his sleeves. The fresh blood of Jia Xi was all over them; Zhang Xiaohou had never even had the chance to talk to her.
“I thought you’d already gotten used to this, based on your outstanding performance. I a.s.sumed you would abandon those that are impossible to save. It was very likely that you would pay with your life by turning around there. The squads here are different from the squads from other places. You should abandon those who are trapped by the Undead. Turn around, and you’ll put the entire squad in danger!” the captain Qin Hu came over and glanced down at Zhang Xiaohou, who was taking his rest on the ground.
Zhang Xiaohou remained silent. He was indeed a ‘transfer student’ from the south to the middle region, the Ancient Capital…
“Don’t do something stupid like that next time, and don’t disobey the orders given to you,” said Qin Hu.
Zhang Xiaohou was still silent, still not reconciled to the death of his comrade… If he could have acted quicker, he might have had a chance of saving her before she was dragged away by the Corpse General.
“There’s no sign of the Undead nearby. Sunny Goat Village is just ahead, I can see their fences…” said w.a.n.g Tong.
“Alright, let’s head to the village at once.”
—
Sunny Goat Village was only a few kilometers away from the Qinling Mountains, located in the foothills of the infamous mountain range.
The village was not big, constructed along a river flowing down from the mountain. The structures were basically made of wood. It felt like the squad had gone back in time the moment they set foot into the village. There was no sign of Magic Technology that had been developed in the past century. No streetlights, no electrical wires, even the mobile reception here was close to zero.
“Demon beasts are quite sensitive toward our technology. Perhaps the village has banned it so they won’t attract the demon beasts and Undead here,” the observant s.h.i.+ Shaoju quickly conjectured as they entered the village.
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 s.h.i.+ 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 s.h.i.+ 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 w.a.n.g 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 w.a.n.g 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.