Chapter 291 The Strange Village
As the sun sets, the colorful clouds on the horizon paint half the sky red.
Before Jiang Ruzhen and the other two could appreciate the beautiful scenery, they anxiously appeared at the entrance of the village, but the bustling scene they had imagined did not materialize.
All the houses in the village were closed off. If it weren't for the black smoke billowing from the chimneys of every house, Jiang Ruzhen would have thought it was an abandoned village.
The three walked quietly on the dirt road. Jiang Ruzhen was very sensitive; she could feel that there were eyes watching their every move from behind every window.
Jin Sheng and Xiao He frowned simultaneously. Having spent years navigating various strange events, they both sensed the eeriness of this village.
They exchanged a glance, and Xiao He gave them a reminder.
"Junior sister, be careful. There's something wrong with this village."
Jiang Ruzhen nodded. They walked for a while longer and saw a unique, very sturdy earthen house by the roadside.
Jin Sheng stepped forward and knocked on the door, asking in fluent South Vietnamese if anyone was inside.
Jiang Ruzhen raised an eyebrow and looked at Xiao He, who leaned close to her ear and whispered something.
"It's nothing, I also speak the Southern Vietnamese language. I came here with my third senior brother before. When we fight with others, knowing a few languages is a piece of cake for us."
Jiang Ruzhen nodded knowingly, then suddenly felt a little embarrassed.
It seems that all the senior brothers in the Ninth Bureau have hidden, unknown abilities, but she knows the least about them.
Xiao He seemed to see through her thoughts and said in a low voice.
"It's alright, you're our junior sister, how old are you? The youngest of us senior brothers are decades older than you, you can learn slowly in the future."
"Yes, thank you, Eighth Senior Brother." Xiao He's words truly comforted Jiang Ruzhen.
Just then, the door in front of them was opened, and a small head peeked out, looking at them, these strangers, with eyes full of wariness and curiosity.
"Who are you?" the child asked in the South Vietnamese language.
"Little friend, we're just passing through. It's getting late, so we'd like to ask if we can stay the night in the village. Is that alright?"
The child was about seven or eight years old, wearing only a long gown and barefoot.
His skin was tanned dark, which made his large eyes appear very white, and his teeth were also very white.
He looked malnourished, skin and bones, but his round eyes darted around, making him look very shrewd.
"Wait here, I'll go back and ask Grandpa."
The little boy slammed the door shut and ran back inside.
Jiang Ruzhen and the others had no choice but to wait outside the door.
At this moment, Jin Sheng looked up and around, feeling as if the village was shrouded in an invisible black mist.
"Eighth Junior Brother, contact Third Senior Brother and see if he's nearby. I have a feeling something's off about this place."
Upon hearing Jin Sheng's words, Xiao He's expression immediately turned serious. He pinched out a yellow talisman with his fingers and muttered incantations.
Jiang Ruzhen stared at his actions with curiosity. She saw that after Xiao He finished chanting the incantation, the yellow talisman in his hand spontaneously combusted without fire and quickly burned into a wisp of smoke that drifted away.
"Eighth Senior Brother, what is this?"
“These are communication talismans between us, fellow disciples,” Xiao He replied.
"Huh? Is there really such a magical thing in this world? Can I see it?" Jiang Ruzhen asked curiously.
Xiao He blushed. "Only the eldest and second senior brothers know how to make this. After the eldest senior brother lost his cultivation, the second and third senior brothers have been running around seeking medicine for him all year round."
I only have that one left.
Jiang Ruzhen let out a disappointed "oh," then turned to look at Jin Sheng, who also shrugged helplessly.
"I'm sorry, junior sister. I used mine a long time ago. Besides, people use phones to communicate these days, so we rarely use these things. I didn't ask my senior brothers for more."
Alright, Jiang Ruzhen nodded, deciding that she must ask her third senior brother for a sound transmission talisman when she saw him this time.
With a creak, the courtyard gate opened again.
This time, an old man in his seventies came out. He was dark-skinned and thin, with only a few sparse hairs on his head.
He was also wearing a long gown and shorts, and on his feet were a pair of worn-out plastic slippers whose color was indistinguishable.
His cloudy old eyes swept over Jiang Ruzhen and the other two, finally settling on the fair-skinned and beautiful Jiang Ruzhen for a long time.
Jiang Ruzhen clearly sensed the fleeting look of amazement and lewdness in his eyes, and felt as disgusted as if she had swallowed a cockroach.
"Distinguished guests, where are you from?"
When the old man opened his mouth, he revealed a mouthful of large, yellow, gap-toothed teeth.
Jin Sheng replied, “We came from the capital and wanted to see if there was any business to be done along the border. We were in a hurry to get on our way and didn’t want to miss a hotel, so we’d like to stay in a village for the night.”
Upon hearing this, the old man's eyes darted around a few times before he opened the door and invited them in.
"Then you can stay at my house for one night. I am the village chief here. You can just call me Uncle Chen."
"Okay, thank you for your help."
Jin Sheng and Xiao He, working together seamlessly, shielded Jiang Ruzhen in the middle as they entered the village chief's house.
As soon as they entered the house, they saw a small table on the floor of the main room, indicating that the family was having dinner.
Jiang Ruzhen glanced around and saw that the table was full of coarse grains.
A few sweet potatoes, a few pieces of potato, and a big bowl of dark, unidentifiable vegetable porridge.
There are also other people in the family; roughly speaking, there are about a dozen people.
There was an old woman whose gaze was shifty as she looked at them; she was probably the village chief's wife.
There were also two middle-aged couples, several young men in their twenties, and five or six children.
They range from infants held in one's arms to children as young as twelve or thirteen.
What they all had in common was that they were dark and dirty, and some of the children had two long strands of yellow snot hanging from their noses, twitching as they sniffled.
Some children even put their thumbs in their mouths and suck on them vigorously, probably because they are not getting enough to eat.
Only four or five adults could sit at a table, while the rest of the women and children had to sit on the floor, eating the dry, charred potatoes in their hands.
The women all kept their heads down, not daring to look at them, while the children's eyes were filled with malice.
Just then, several greedy and lewd gazes shot over from beside the table. Jiang Ruzhen keenly noticed them and glared back fiercely.
Three young men in their early twenties were stunned when they saw her "angry" look in her eyes.
He stared at her, so engrossed that he didn't even notice the porridge dripping from his mouth.
Old Chen was so angry when he saw his grandsons acting like this that he kicked each of them and cursed them in their southern Vietnamese language.
Jiang Ruzhen didn't know what he was cursing, but the young men looked away and went to eat quietly.
Uncle Chen then looked at the three of them with a smile, examining their clothes from head to toe. Although the style of their clothes was very ordinary, the material looked quite expensive.
I knew they probably wouldn't be used to the food in the village, but out of politeness I still asked if they would eat it.
Jiang Ruzhen and the other two quickly shook their heads.
"Wife, tidy up the west room for the guests. Tonight, let the children squeeze into the two rooms next door," Old Chen instructed.
The old woman kneeling in the corner immediately responded, and without even raising her head, she led her two daughters-in-law to the west room to tidy up.
Throughout the entire process, the women were very compliant and didn't even dare to look in their direction.
"You've come at the perfect time. Tomorrow morning is my daughter's wedding day. If you stay, you can join her for the banquet."
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