Chu Yunxiao glanced at the guard with a cryptic look in his eyes, then tightened his grip on Liu Anran's hand.
The guard smiled and said kindly, "Occasionally, passersby come to stay for the night."
Liu Anran feigned curiosity and asked, "Uncle, will passing travelers cause you trouble?"
"Some guests complain about the poor conditions here, so we don't serve them and let them leave on their own," the guard said.
The village was built on a hillside. Chu Yunxiao and his group walked along a narrow path that was only about two meters wide, and it took them about twenty minutes to reach the village.
The village was desolate and quiet, with about thirty households, and only a few chimneys were emitting smoke.
Liu Anran's brows were furrowed; the village was unusually quiet.
"Uncle, where is everyone?"
"The world is unsafe, and all the young people have taken their children to the base in Beijing. We're getting old and don't want to leave our hometown, so we've chosen to stay," the guard said.
"Aren't you afraid of zombies, mutated plants, and mutated animals?" Liu Anran asked doubtfully.
"There are few people here, not many zombies, and we haven't seen the mutated plants and animals you mentioned either," the guard replied.
Liu Anran passed by a house with a courtyard wall about half a person's height and a tightly closed gate. There was no one in the yard, not even a chicken or duck. There were no sounds or voices coming from inside the house, but smoke was billowing from the chimney.
Liu Anran's eyes flickered, and she walked forward without making a sound. When she passed a house, she smelled a faint smell of blood coming from inside, and her eyes narrowed slightly.
"Uncle, this house seems to be uninhabited, and it's a single-story building. Can we stay here?"
The guard said apologetically, "I can't just let you stay at someone else's house without my permission."
"Oh! Then forget it," Liu Anran said regretfully.
Suddenly, a loud "thump!" came from inside the house, as if something heavy had fallen to the ground. Everyone stopped and looked into the house.
"Woof woof..." Blackie barked loudly at the house.
"Blackie, don't yell like that," Liu Anran said to Blackie.
Blackie glanced at Liu Anran, then barked at the house again. Yunlong smacked Blackie in displeasure, and it reluctantly shut its mouth, but its eyes remained fixed on the house.
Seeing that Heipi was behaving strangely, Yunlong looked at the house and asked, "Mom, is someone in the house?"
Liu Anran saw that the main door of the house was tightly closed. After the first sound, there was no further unusual activity, and she didn't know if anyone was inside.
The guard chuckled kindly, "This is the Jin family's house. They've all left, so there's no way anyone's here. The sound just now was probably a mouse, or maybe something that wasn't put away properly and fell to the ground."
Yunlong, still shaken by the memory of the mutated rats, asked, "Could it be a mutated rat?"
The guard said, "Don't be afraid, no mutated rats have ever appeared in our village."
Yunlong patted his chest in relief. It was best if there were no mutated rats; he hated mutated rats the most.
Chu Yunxiao and his group arrived at the guard uncle's house. His house was a two-story bungalow with a large yard. A large pile of firewood was stacked against the wall, and a tarpaulin covered the pile.
Lin Qinghuan stood in the courtyard, and a strong smell of blood hit her nose, making her gag.
Chu Yunxiao gently patted Liu Anran's back and asked anxiously, "Anran, why did you suddenly vomit?"
A middle-aged woman came out of the house and looked at Liu Anran, who was bent over and dry heaving, and said, "Your wife is experiencing morning sickness, which is a normal reaction."
Liu Anran slowly straightened up, leaned against Chu Yunxiao, looked at the middle-aged woman, and forced a smile to greet her, "Hello, Auntie!"
"Yes! Come in and sit down!" the auntie said.
Chu Yunxiao helped Liu Anran into the house, where the smell of blood was even stronger.
Liu Anran sat down on the sofa, and Chu Yunxiao took out a water bottle from his backpack, unscrewed the cap, and handed the water bottle to Liu Anran.
Liu Anran took a couple of sips, handed the water bottle to Yunlong, and leaned back on the sofa to rest with her eyes closed.
"Please sit down, I'll go cook." The aunt said, pulling the guard uncle away from the main room.
Liu Anran rested her head on Chu Yunxiao's shoulder and whispered in a voice barely above a mosquito's buzz, "Ever since I got pregnant, my sense of smell has become particularly sensitive. I was vomiting because of the smell of blood."
“Yes! I smelled it too, and I also noticed that the wall at the entrance of the main room was wiped clean,” Chu Yunxiao said.
Liu Anran instructed Yunlong, "Yunlong, you must not wander off and must not leave your father's and mother's sight."
Liu Anran did not believe that Jiang Cheng would protect Yunlong in a dangerous situation. Apart from Chu Yunxiao, she did not trust anyone else to ensure Yunlong's safety.
Seeing Liu Anran's serious expression, Yunlong quickly nodded and said, "I understand, Mom."
Liu Anran rubbed her forehead, feeling a headache coming on. Why did she always encounter so many unpleasant things?
Seeing that Liu Anran's face was pale and she was in a bad mood, Chu Yunxiao said, "Anran, you are pregnant now, you can't think too much."
Liu Anran knew that pregnant women needed to have a good mindset, but she couldn't control herself.
Seeing that Liu Anran was in a somewhat irritable mood, Chu Yunxiao regretted staying in the village to rest.
The guard brought a round table and placed it in the center of the main room. The aunt brought a pot of porridge and placed it on the round table, and then brought bowls and chopsticks, inviting Chu Yunxiao and the others to sit down and eat.
Liu Anran refused, saying, "I'm not feeling well, I've been vomiting, and I can't eat, so I won't eat."
The guard brought over a large bowl of meat and placed it on the table. He smiled and said to Liu Anran, "This is wild boar meat. My fellow villagers and I caught it on the mountain. You're lucky to have encountered it, so I'll cook a bowl for you to try."
Jiang Cheng looked at the fragrant meat, swallowed hard, and said happily, "Thank you, Uncle. I trust Auntie."
Yunlong stood up, ready to go eat, when Liu Anran subtly tugged at him.
Yunlong looked at Liu Anran with confusion. Liu Anran smiled and said, "Yunlong, you haven't eaten meat in a long time, not even lard. You can't eat meat, or you'll get diarrhea. Just drink a bowl of porridge."
Yunlong looked at the thin porridge, so thick it was almost reflective, and curled his lip in disgust before sitting back down.
"Eating meat will give me diarrhea, and I don't like porridge either, so I won't eat rice."
Chu Yunxiao took a bread out of his backpack and handed it to Yunlong, who tore open the packaging and started eating.
The guards looked at each other and then gestured for Chu Yunxiao and Jiang Cheng to sit down.
The aunt ladled out porridge for everyone and then urged them to eat meat.
Jiang Cheng unceremoniously picked up a piece of meat and stuffed it into his mouth, while a dark glint flashed in Chu Yunxiao's eyes.
Liu Anran's lips twitched as she watched the guards eating meat heartily, and then saw Jiang Cheng wolfing down several pieces of meat without any hesitation.
This idiot! Food is scarce right now, and meat is extremely rare. Who would be willing to cook a big bowl of meat for a stranger?
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