Chapter 71 [VIP]

Knowing that Jiang Zhuochen didn't want to wait too long, Xu Xing took him to a village at the foot of a mountain after finishing his business trip and arranging his work.

The dark green mountain stood there all alone, presenting an unnatural curve.

A few wisps of mist always float on the mountainside, refusing to dissipate even at midday. Occasionally, they gather silently, blurry yet extremely oppressive, making even the villages at the foot of the mountain eerily quiet.

The wheels rolled over the last stretch of rough dirt road and came to a stop at the entrance of a village shrouded in the shadow of a solitary, dark green mountain.

After Xu Xing parked the car, Jiang Zhuochen jumped out first, took a deep breath, and felt the air filled with the stuffy smell of earth and some indescribable, decaying plant-like odor.

He looked around, his brow furrowing deeper and deeper. It was so quiet; not even the crowing of roosters or the barking of dogs could be heard, only the mournful sound of the wind whistling through the dilapidated eaves.

"This place...something's not right," Jiang Zhuochen murmured, his spiritual energy instinctively beginning to circulate slowly within him as he prepared for battle.

Xu Xing walked to his side, his gaze calmly sweeping over the tightly closed mud houses, finally settling on the dark green mountain. It was lifeless, devoid of any sign of life.

"careful."

The two walked along the only main road in the village. The road was a dirt road, full of potholes, and the houses on both sides were low, with peeling paint, some even half-collapsed. They walked for a long time without seeing a single person.

Finally, having no other choice, he walked to a wooden door that looked fairly intact and knocked on it.

Is anyone there?

Jiang Zhuochen tried calling out, but his voice echoed in the empty village, sounding particularly abrupt, and he received no response.

After waiting for a while, just as Jiang Zhuochen thought no one was in the room and was about to leave, a slow and rhythmic 'click' sound came from inside the door, as if someone was mechanically repeating a certain action.

He waited patiently for a while longer, and finally the hinges made a teeth-grinding scraping sound as the wooden door was slowly pulled open from the inside, leaving a narrow crack.

An elderly man with gray hair and a sallow complexion appeared behind the crack in the door. His eyes were vacant and unfocused, his face expressionless, and one hand was still in the motion of peeling peanuts.

"What is it?" The old man's voice was dry and hoarse, without any intonation, as if it were just a programmed speech.

The moment the door opened, a chill even colder than the outside air rushed out, causing Jiang Zhuochen to involuntarily shrink his neck.

He forced a kind smile: "Sir, we're just passing by and wanted to ask why there's no one on the street here?"

"Back to work," the old man replied, his voice still flat, before closing the door.

"Wait!" Jiang Zhuochen quickly reached out to stop the door. "Old man, we got lost in the mountains and have been hungry all day. Could you let us in to rest for a while?"

The old man stopped closing the door, glanced at Jiang Zhuochen with his empty eyes, then slowly turned to Xu Xing behind him. After a few seconds of pause, he spoke in a flat tone: "Just follow this road down, and you'll get out."

After saying that, he tried to close the door again with force.

Jiang Zhuochen's eyes narrowed; it seemed that gentle persuasion wouldn't work. He secretly increased the pressure on his hands, slowly pushing the door open.

The old man seemed to have no intention of resisting; he just stood there blankly. He didn't show any anger or fear when the door was forcibly broken down. He simply repeated the sentence in a flat tone: "Get out."

"Be careful." Xu Xing stepped forward, gently grasped Jiang Zhuochen's wrist, and pulled him back a little, while he himself stood in front of him, scrutinizing the old man with sharp eyes.

Jiang Zhuochen squeezed his hand, then seized the opportunity to slip into the house. The room was dimly lit, simply furnished, and filled with a musty smell and a faint, eerie atmosphere.

The old man ignored them, turned back to the table, and continued to peel the few remaining peanuts on the table with a stiff posture, as if nothing had happened.

Jiang Zhuochen glanced around the room; there was no one else besides the old man. He sat down opposite the old man, then suddenly reached out and snatched the few freshly peeled peanuts from in front of him.

The old man's hands were empty, and his movements came to an abrupt halt. He slowly raised his head, speaking slowly and deliberately, with an air of indifference that kept strangers at bay: "Don't disturb me."

Seeing the strange behavior, Jiang Zhuochen no longer hesitated. He quietly gathered a wisp of spiritual energy at his fingertips and flicked it towards the old man's brow with lightning speed.

The moment the spiritual energy probed in, Jiang Zhuochen's expression changed.

The old man's consciousness was empty, his three souls and seven spirits nowhere to be seen, only a very faint life force and some kind of external control mark maintained the activity of this body!

“Aphasia,” Jiang Zhuochen murmured to Xu Xing.

He immediately took out a bright yellow talisman from his bag and gave Xu Xing a wink.

Xu Xing understood, stepped forward, and seemingly casually pressed down on the old man's shoulder, but in reality, he used force to firmly restrain the old man, making him unable to move.

Jiang Zhuochen patted the talisman on the old man's forehead and made a hand seal. "Soul, return!"

The talisman flickered with a faint light before dimming. The old man's body trembled slightly, and a faint look of confusion briefly flashed in his eyes before he became listless again.

The attempt to summon the spirit failed.

Under Xu Xing's probing gaze, Jiang Zhuochen tilted his head innocently and said without any shame, "My cultivation level is not high enough."

"..." Xu Xing smiled, his tone unusually calm: "It's alright, then let's think of other ways."

There was no point in staying here for the time being, so they decided to go and check on the situation of the other villagers.

The two left the house and knocked on several more doors. Whether they were middle-aged men, women, or children, everyone was listless, slow-moving, and gave irrelevant answers. The entire village seemed to have become a puppet village controlled by an invisible hand.

"It seems this is not an isolated incident; the entire village has been affected."

After continuous exploration and casting spells, Jiang Zhuochen leaned wearily against the earthen wall, even subconsciously grabbing Xu Xing's arm for support and nuzzling him with his head. "Maybe it was that damned ghost we're looking for who did it."

Xu Xing let him lean against him, smoothed his disheveled hair, and asked, "Want to rest for a while?"

"Hmm..." Jiang Zhuochen rested his chin on his shoulder and hummed a sound.

"If you're tired, go back." Xu Xing turned his head and brushed against his earlobe. "We'll come again tomorrow."

Jiang Zhuochen was somewhat tempted. He looked at the setting sun on the horizon, slowly sinking below the horizon; it was indeed getting late. Just as he decided to go back, the last rays of sunlight dyed the sky a poignant orange-red.

As the last rays of sunlight were about to be swallowed by the darkness, a fine, unsettling rustling sound emanated from every corner of the village, as if countless feet were rubbing against the gravel road.

The two looked down in the direction of the sound and saw that the once deserted street was now filled with countless figures.

The disoriented villagers, carrying various farm tools, moved with stiff but uniform steps, converging on their location from all directions!

Their eyes were lifeless, but their actions were purposeful, methodically surrounding the two outsiders.

"Let's go!" Xu Xing made a quick decision, grabbed Jiang Zhuochen's wrist, and retreated to a relatively open space at the end of the village, backed by a mountain wall.

However, the entire village became an inescapable network of informants. No matter where they hid, the villagers could always find them accurately and would swarm back like a tide.

These people are oblivious to pain, and even when knocked down, they will get up again and charge forward fearlessly. You can't kill them, and their physical defenses alone won't last long.

"There's no other way." Jiang Zhuochen gritted his teeth, pulled out another talisman, quickly drew a complex rune, infused it with spiritual power, and slammed it onto the ground.

A pale golden light curtain rapidly expanded in front of him, and soon the barrier took shape, trapping the villagers.

The villagers at the forefront crashed into the light screen and were thrown back by a force, unable to advance even half a step. More villagers surrounded it, futilely ramming against the barrier, producing dull 'bang' sounds.

Feeling his spiritual energy almost completely drained, Jiang Zhuochen grimaced and muttered to his master in his sea of ​​consciousness, "If I can't beat that damned guy, Master, you have to help me..."

These words sounded like a coquettish remark, yet also carried a hint of dependence, causing the flame of the longevity lamp to sway a little more.

Just as he was catching his breath, pondering whether to forcefully restore his spiritual power and break out, or to find another way, a rustling sound suddenly came from the woods beside him, and a small, thin figure suddenly darted out!

She was a little girl, about eleven or twelve years old, dressed in rags, her face dirty, her big eyes filled with fear and tears.

She rushed to the barrier, looking at the numb, bewildered villagers outside, and pleaded in a tearful voice, "Please! Let my parents go! They won't hurt anyone! Please!"

Jiang Zhuochen and Xu Xing exchanged a glance, both seeing surprise in each other's eyes. This girl... is she conscious?

"Mom and Dad?" Jiang Zhuochen removed the partial barrier facing the little girl, allowing her to approach, but his vigilance remained. "You mean, among these people outside, are your parents?"

The little girl nodded vigorously, tears streaming down her face: "Yes! They're not bad people, let them go."

Jiang Zhuochen glanced at the villagers who were like walking corpses, then looked at the little girl in front of him who was crying her eyes out, and a lot of doubts arose in his heart.

The little girl walked timidly toward them, tugged at Jiang Zhuochen's sleeve, and gestured for them to follow her.

When they got home, the little girl brought them two bowls of water. "I'm sorry, the conditions in the village are not good."

"It's nothing," Jiang Zhuochen shook his head.

The little girl gripped the rim of the porcelain bowl and whispered in defense of the villagers: "They're just a little different from others... Maybe it's because the village is too remote, and they don't see anyone else, so they act this way."

Xu Xing casually placed the bowl aside and glanced indifferently at the little girl. "Have you always lived here? Do you know why the villagers have become like this?"

The girl shook her head, her eyes filled with confusion: "I don't know... I was sold to the mountains two years ago and ran away here when no one was looking. Although they look strange to me, they haven't hurt me and have been taking care of me. I've long considered them my family."

Jiang Zhuochen and Xu Xing exchanged a glance.

He tried to walk towards the couple the girl had just brought back, the parents she had mentioned. As soon as he came into their view, the two of them stretched out stiff arms and grabbed at him, making meaningless hoarse noises.

Jiang Zhuochen quickly retreated, getting out of their sight, and the two returned to their original state.

“Look at them now…” Jiang Zhuochen stepped back to Xu Xing’s side and said to the little girl.

"Maybe he's afraid of strangers," the girl guessed. "But I haven't seen any other outsiders either; I was just saying that casually."

The girl closed the door and led them to another room. "You'll have to make do for the night. By morning, they...they'll quiet down, and I'll take you away from here tomorrow."