Tie Zhu and the others looked at me without answering my question. They simply took off a piece of clothing and handed it to me: "Take off all your clothes, pants, and shoes, which are covered in blood. Throw away your shoes too. Come with us."
After saying that, they turned their backs.
Without hesitation, I took out a lighter from my pocket, quickly took off my clothes, wiped the blood off my body, and then set the clothes on fire.
As for the axe, I cut off a piece of cloth from my body and picked it up. Then, after watching the clothes burn completely, I left the cave with them.
When they reached the river in the mountains, they threw the axe and cloth into the water.
After doing all that, they took me further into the mountains until they found a cave. They then covered the area around the cave with a basket of mud that was covered with some kind of excrement.
That's when they answered my question.
You've all heard of "one pig, two bears, three tigers," right?
The one who spoke was the oldest, Tiezhu, and I nodded.
Tie Zhu said, "My grandmother told me about this."
“Our area is full of hunters, what we commonly call mountain people. Mountain people live off the mountains, but we also have things we are afraid of, such as wild boars, bears, and tigers in the mountains.”
"If you encounter these things, you'll have to fight them to the death. Tigers are a given, you know that. Bears can learn from people and are very vengeful, so almost no one messes with them. Wild boars may be stupid, but who knows what kind of wild boars live in the deep mountains?"
"Therefore, none of us dare to hunt wild boars."
"But we are mountain people after all. That happened when I was five years old. That year, it snowed heavily, very heavily..."
Tie Zhu seemed to be lost in memories as he spoke.
"The snow was so heavy that it was almost impossible to get into the mountains. Although we mountain people would store food, the snow came far too early that year. It started snowing heavily in September and kept falling until all the food we had stored at home was gone."
"But this damn snow just wouldn't stop. Seeing that the heavy snow wouldn't stop, everyone couldn't sit still anymore. After all, the elderly and children at home were waiting to eat, so they made a plan and went into the mountains."
"It was this trip into the mountains that completely changed the entire village! They brought that thing into the village!"
At this point, Tiezhu suddenly became somewhat incoherent. I patted him on the back and said, "Don't rush, speak slowly."
Tie Zhu glanced at me, slowly calmed down, and continued.
“The men who went into the mountains found a litter of piglets. Normally, no one would eat them, but that year the snow was too heavy, and two of the men who went into the mountains died. It was too cold in the mountains, and the prey had all hibernated and no one knew where they were hiding. So the men had no choice but to bring the piglets into the village.”
"There are eleven piglets in total, each weighing over fifty kilograms. We also have rice, some pickled vegetables, and salted vegetables at home. If everyone is frugal, we can manage for a while."
"The strange thing happened around that time. About three or four days later, the men who went into the mountains started acting very strangely. They left the village despite the heavy snow. When they came back, the snow had stopped, but they brought back several women with them."
"Beautiful women in the city."
“From that day on, the children in the village died one by one. The women were still the same, but they were actually dead. The wild boars in the mountains ate all their flesh, leaving only their skin.”
“From that time on, the village gradually stopped allowing people to eat pork, but they ate mutton.”
"Lamb! Especially newborn lambs! Their skin is so delicate and their meat so tender!"
As he spoke, Tie Zhu's eyes fell on the two children, and he began to tremble uncontrollably. He grabbed Bai Wei, his eyes bloodshot, and his sallow face devoid of color: "Those good-looking people are not human. You must never believe what they say!"
"What about my parents?" Bai Wei asked, pulling on Tie Zhu's arm.
Tie Zhu's lips curled into a strange smile: "Your parents?"
Bai Wei realized something, and sure enough, Tie Zhu's next words sent chills down her spine: "Your parents died long ago!"
Bai Wei felt as if she had fallen into an ice cave. Thinking of the two people who had been so good to her, her breath caught in her throat.
I shook my head, gripped Tiezhu's hand tightly, and demanded, "Tell me, my parents kidnapped a woman last night, do you know who that woman is?"
"..." Tie Zhu looked confused.
Wang Lijiao stared at me, her face deathly pale: "Snake woman, it's a snake woman. Their bodies are trapped inside human skin, making them very stiff. Over time, the skin will dry out. You need to have sex with a snake woman to restore the skin's vitality!"
I stared wide-eyed.
This is absolutely ridiculous!
Suddenly, I remembered something and grabbed Wang Lijiao: "Why did you lead me here?"
Wang Lijiao swallowed hard, her face pale. "There aren't many people like you left in the village. Could you help us get some food?"
Tiezhu and the other three children stared at me expectantly: "Yes! Food! We need food! Only with food can we leave this village alive!"
"..." I stared at them silently. They still wanted to escape?
That was impossible, but I still agreed to give them food.
I said, "I'll bring it to you tomorrow."
After saying that, I left, but I didn't actually leave.
Since they were able to find me, how easy would it be for them to get food?
I don't believe they're anything good, but I roughly know what they are.
And at least they didn't all lie to me.
I have a pretty good idea who the system is.
However, their identity remains to be determined.
When I returned to the village, it was already dark, and the moon was very round. From afar, I saw my father sitting at the door smoking his pipe. When he saw me come back, he gave me a deep look.
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