However, neither Jiang Yuan nor Ning Yanlan spoke to anyone; they simply followed closely behind the old woman.
The old woman, leaning on a cane, stopped in front of a very simple mud-brick house, almost traversing the entire village.
The old woman spoke, her voice still chilling, "You can stay here tonight, and you'll find your way out as soon as it's light in the morning!"
"So where do you live?" After looking at the other people in the village, Ning Yanlan was no longer as afraid of the old woman in front of her as she had been at the beginning.
"Remember, don't come out at night if there's any noise! Don't answer if someone calls your names!" The old woman didn't answer Ning Yanlan's question, but continued talking to herself.
"Is there any strange noise here?" Jiang Yuan felt that the person in front of him must know why this place was so eerie, but the old man just wouldn't say.
"Alright, get some rest!" The old woman left, leaning on her cane.
"What a strange village, what strange people!" Ning Yanlan murmured, watching the departing figure.
"Yanlan, do you remember what Zhu Penghai and the others said?" Jiang Yuan's expression changed, as if he suddenly remembered something.
"What's going on?" Ning Yanlan hadn't reacted yet; perhaps the strange people from earlier had made her a little slow to catch her breath.
"It's Tieling..."
Just as Jiang Yuan was about to continue, a sudden gust of cold wind blew by, and he felt a chill on the back of his neck. "Come on, let's go inside and talk!"
The door to the mud-brick house was unlocked, and the two pushed it open and came in. Inside, a candle was already lit, its faint yellow light barely illuminating a small part of the space.
"Jiang Yuan, you mean?" Ning Yanlan had been lost in thought since entering the room, but suddenly realized what was going on.
"Shh!" Jiang Yuan went outside and closed the door. "It seems like someone is watching us. We'll communicate using our spirit rings!"
"You mean this is Tieling Village?"
The two hid in the only bedroom in the mud-brick house, and Ning Yanlan asked the question that had been on her mind in surprise.
Jiang Yuan said uncertainly, "We came across this only village after coming down from Tieling Mountain, and Qian Kai had mentioned before that there was only one village here, which is Tieling Village!"
“But didn’t they say everyone in Tieling Village is dead?” Ning Yanlan asked in surprise.
"Do you think there's any difference between those people outside and those who are dead?" Jiang Yuan said calmly.
"Hoo!" Ning Yanlan took a deep breath, frowning as she pondered, "Do you think we might be hallucinating?"
"Impossible! You and I both have insight skills. If it were an illusion, it definitely wouldn't be able to hide it from us!" Jiang Yuan immediately refuted this point.
"But there are no ghosts in this world!" Ning Yanlan said in a panic.
She didn't believe it either, but the facts before her made her hesitate.
"How about this, we'll just stay here for the night, like that old man suggested, and leave immediately tomorrow morning!" Jiang Yuan suggested. "Don't worry, the old man who guided us was a real person!"
After hearing this, Ning Yanlan glanced at the wooden bed in the bedroom, then took out brand new sheets and blankets. "Let's use new things. If this really is a ghost village, I won't feel nauseous sleeping here!"
"Okay, okay, whatever you say!" Jiang Yuan took the initiative to pick up the bedding and start making it up.
"Come!"
Ning Yanlan opened a compressed biscuit and fed it to Jiang Yuan, muttering, "I wonder if Xiao Xin has eaten. Those are all rough men, how could they take care of Xiao Xin!"
"Don't worry, Xiang Yeyun is here too, he won't let Xiaoxin suffer. Besides, this is a good opportunity for her to become independent. What if Xiaoxin becomes more sensible after these two days?" Jiang Yuan comforted her.
"I hope so!" Ning Yanlan could only suppress her worries. After Jiang Yuan made the bed, she took off her backpack and threw it down, which slammed onto the headboard with a thud.
A hint of panic appeared on Ning Yanlan's face. "Oh no, I forgot to put two eggs in there!"
Ning Yanlan, who had lost her bag, immediately opened her backpack. She breathed a sigh of relief when she saw the two eggs were intact. She said with lingering fear, "I was so scared! I thought the eggs were going to break!"
"These eggs are all separated from the black-horned pig, so they look useless. How about we eat them tonight? One can be made into egg drop soup, and the other into a boiled egg." Jiang Yuan knew that this stuff was very nutritious, and eating it would replenish his body.
"Are you a devil? They are two lives, how could you think of eating them!" Ning Yanlan hid her backpack behind her back, afraid that Jiang Yuan would come over and turn the eggs into food.
"You're so clumsy, if you don't eat it sooner or later you'll just drop it, and then it'll be a waste!" Jiang Yuan said helplessly.
"No!" Ning Yanlan frowned as she thought.
"Then I'll only eat one. You can choose egg drop soup, boiled egg, or grilled egg, it's fine with you!" Jiang Yuan immediately changed his mind.
"This?" Ning Yanlan hesitated for a moment. In fact, she was also very curious about the taste of this egg.
After a fierce internal struggle, Ning Yanlan finally said weakly, "Then, shall we just have one?"
"I'll eat one today, and the other for breakfast!" Jiang Yuan revealed a devilish smile. How could the Chinese people not carry forward the tradition that all living beings are edible?
"I want egg drop soup, I haven't had it in ages!"
Ning Yanlan put her bag in front of her, and the protective mother who had just been cursing Jiang Yuan as a devil suddenly became a queen of "true fragrance".
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