Chapter 176: A Dramatic Change Overnight
Seeing her turn to leave, Jingwu immediately called out to the person in front of him, "Wait, shopkeeper, this bell..."
The female shopkeeper turned around and glanced at her, showing her the shrunken bell in her hand: "Want one?"
A hint of surprise flashed in Jingwu's eyes. He subconsciously wanted to nod, but then he suddenly realized that something was wrong with what he said, so he looked up at the person in front of him.
Sure enough, the shopkeeper spoke again the next second.
"Even if I wanted it, you wouldn't give it to me. This is something I got with great difficulty."
As soon as she finished speaking, she turned her head away and walked away, swaying her slender waist.
Jingwu twitched her lips violently, feeling utterly helpless. She turned her head and saw that the person next to her had the same expression.
It's easy to imagine how helpless this female shopkeeper must have been.
Jingwu watched her figure walk further and further away until she disappeared from sight before he looked away.
She looked at the zombies on the ground, walked over, squatted down, and disdainfully examined their features.
The zombie lay stiffly on the ground, its eyes wide open, its hair disheveled, and its clothes tattered and torn, though one could vaguely make out that they were a pair of tight-fitting clothes and trousers.
Although such clothing existed in this dynasty, it was not fashionable. She remembered that historical records had mentioned that the emperors of previous dynasties were from ethnic minorities, and their people wore narrow-sleeved shirts and long trousers.
Therefore, this kind of clothing was very popular in the previous dynasty.
The clothes on these zombies were filthy and tattered, but you could still vaguely make out their style; they were all narrow-sleeved shirts and long trousers.
Suddenly, the story the boy had just told flashed through Jingwu's mind. In that story, no one survived in Xiangyun Town, and they all eventually disappeared from public view.
These zombies, mostly white-faced, have nearly a hundred years of cultivation.
The previous dynasty had only been gone for a little over a hundred years, so it seems that these zombies must be the people who died in Xiangyun Town.
"Awu, look." Yue Huai pulled a tattered token off a zombie.
He walked over to the girl and pointed to the inscription on the damaged token.
"This is... the script of the previous dynasty?" Jingwu leaned closer to take a closer look. He noticed that the two large characters engraved on the token looked somewhat familiar, yet they were different from the characters he knew. He then made a guess and spoke up.
“Yes, I’ve seen ancient relics from the previous dynasty in the palace’s library before, and the characters are indeed like this.” Yue Huai pointed to the two characters and said, “This is the Li family’s inscription, which should be the token of a high-ranking family at that time. I think these people should be the group of people who died in Xiangyun Town back then. They died unjustly and have resentment in their hearts. If someone deliberately manipulates them, they can easily become zombies.”
Jingwu nodded thoughtfully: "That's what I think too. I'm still wondering about that Miao woman. Is she dead now, or is she still active somewhere?"
As she spoke, she looked again in the direction where the female shopkeeper had disappeared.
Yue Huai followed her gaze and understood what she meant: "She is indeed very suspicious."
Jingwu looked up at the person in front of him, and was about to agree when he heard a voice coming from the table.
“She’s not.” Xiaoqing spoke weakly, jumping up and down as she looked at the person in front of her, her tone somewhat helpless: “She possesses divinity, though it’s very well concealed, I still sensed it. Besides, if she were the Miao woman you’re guessing, why would she have specifically brought the bell to save you?”
Upon hearing this, Jingwu suddenly realized the truth.
Xiaoqing is right. They were all so focused on finding out the origin of the zombies on the ground that they forgot the most important point.
If the female shopkeeper was truly a woman from the Miao Kingdom, why would she go to the trouble of sending the bell over to help herself and Yue Huai?
Xiaoqing watched her master deep in thought, then said, "Master, you don't need to investigate her identity. Since she doesn't want you to know, she won't let you know. You will find out in the future."
Jingwu found her words rather strange.
Why would Xiaoqing say that? Could it be that she knows the female shopkeeper's true identity?
She opened her mouth, about to speak, when she heard Xiaoqing make another sound.
"Master, you will know when the time is right. Asking me now is useless; I definitely won't tell you."
As soon as she finished speaking, Xiaoqing lay back down with a snap and didn't make a sound again.
Jingwu and Yue Huai watched her move, clearly somewhat used to it, but their facial muscles still twitched.
The two looked at the zombies lying all over the room and suddenly felt a headache coming on.
Jingwu turned his head to look at the sky outside the window and saw that there was already some light on the horizon. He sighed deeply, "Another day has passed."
Yue Huai nodded and sat down in a chair: "There's still some time before dawn, why don't you go to bed and catch up on some sleep? We'll go out and take a look together later."
Jingwu glanced at the makeshift bed on the ground, where several zombies lay, and a hint of disgust flashed in his eyes.
"And what about you?"
Although Yue Huai felt tired, he still stubbornly said, "I'm not tired, you go to sleep first."
Hearing this, Jingwu didn't refuse anymore. He took off his shoes, got into bed, covered himself with the blanket, and prepared to sleep.
She was thinking that she should get some sleep as soon as possible, and if there was still time, she could let the boy come up and sleep for a while.
Thinking this, I fell asleep in no time.
When I woke up again, it was already bright outside.
Jingwu yawned and sat up, rubbing his temples.
She looked up and saw the boy asleep on the table.
She twisted her stiff neck, got out of bed, and was about to call the boy to bed when she realized something was wrong.
The once clean and tidy house has now changed drastically. The cabinet in the corner has long been rotten and covered with dust, broken porcelain is scattered on the floor, and the carpet is covered with a thick layer of dust.
The table where the boy was lying was also covered with a layer of cobwebs, and even the spaces between the table legs were covered with spider webs.
The moment Jingwu looked down, she saw the dust that had settled on the hem of her skirt.
She turned her head and saw it instantly. The bed was covered in cobwebs and dust, and her little face immediately scrunched up.
So dirty!
Jingwu's eyes widened as he watched the house suddenly become covered in cobwebs and dust, as if it had been uninhabited and uncleaned for a long time.
She frowned deeply and nudged the boy who was fast asleep on the table.
"Yue Huai, wake up."
Yue Huai was a light sleeper, and when he was pushed like that, he immediately woke up. When he opened his eyes and saw his surroundings, his eyes widened instantly.
"This is……"
"I don't know either, I woke up and this is what happened to me." Jingwu patted the dust off her skirt with disgust, feeling uncomfortable all over.
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