Seeing how fast that old man was running, I suddenly remembered the game I used to play, LOL.
There's a character who's also lame, but he runs incredibly fast, especially when he activates Sprint; most heroes simply can't catch him.
But that character, at least, did walk with a limp, only with a relatively high frequency of steps.
The old man was so agile that the three of us couldn't keep up with him; he didn't look lame at all!
We soon discovered that we had arrived at the old locust tree at the east end of the village.
The old man rushed into the room that had been pointed out to us during the day.
Immediately, the three of us—Luo Tianhe, myself, and I—stopped sprinting and couldn't help but look at each other in bewilderment.
According to Wang Fugui, anyone who goes into the house under the locust tree will either die or go insane. Do we really want to go in?
But thinking about Wang Fugui's strange behavior just now, insisting on picking up the scalding hot human flesh soup and pouring it into my mouth, I didn't quite trust what that guy said.
Soon, those walking corpses would catch up, so we gritted our teeth, steeled our hearts, and squeezed into the stone house.
This stone house is even more dilapidated than we imagined.
The wooden door was crooked and rotten, covered with wormholes of all sizes. It not only let in drafts, but I also suspected that it could be blown over by a gust of wind.
Can they really hold off those villagers?
The room was extremely simple, with only a dilapidated wooden bed and a cabinet with peeling paint, which was engraved with various patterns, but they were already blurred and indistinct.
Seeing us come in, the old man turned around and closed the seemingly defenseless wooden door.
Strangely, once the door was closed, the seemingly omnipresent chill and sense of being watched were immediately shut out by most of it!
Although the house was simple and dilapidated, it gave us a rare sense of security.
Without a doubt, Luo Tianhe and I all breathed a long sigh of relief.
The old man sneered as he looked at the three of us, still shaken and injured.
"Old man, I thought you guys were really capable because you didn't want to live here and dared to live outside. But it turns out you're just three rookies."
Hearing the old man's sneer, I scratched my head awkwardly.
Although he spoke very harshly, the other party had just saved us, so I couldn't say anything and could only give an awkward smile.
Luo Tianhe and Li Huai didn't care at all; they already considered themselves novices.
"Thank you so much for saving my life, senior."
Seeing that the atmosphere was a bit awkward, I bowed and tried to change the subject.
Seeing that I was so nice, the old man nodded slightly but didn't say anything more.
"Senior, what exactly is going on? Why are this village and its inhabitants so strange?"
I couldn't help but ask.
The old man squinted his eyes and glanced at us.
"Aren't you just tourists who wandered into this place by mistake? Why do you know so much? Just drive away as soon as it gets light tomorrow, nothing will happen."
"Haha, you've found out! Actually, we're here to investigate the secrets of this village."
This old man is really disrespectful. Even if he could tell we weren't here for sightseeing, there was no need to point it out like that.
No wonder he lives a reclusive life; the whole village dislikes him.
"Heh, you admit it? I noticed something was off about the three of you during the day. Your car was full of things to ward off evil spirits. What tourist would bring those kinds of things?"
"Besides, Blackwater Village isn't a place you can just find by getting lost."
The old man spoke in a mysterious manner.
The old man spoke bluntly, like a needle piercing through our barely maintained facade of composure.
He has clearly seen through our intentions.
Luo Tianhe's face turned pale, while Li Huai subconsciously touched the somewhat dim talisman at his waist.
I took a deep breath, knowing that there was no point in continuing to pretend, and that the old man clearly knew a lot. We needed to gain his trust and find a way to get him to help us.
"Senior, you have keen insight. We actually came here to investigate the secrets of Blackwater Village. We concealed much during the day because..."
The old man waved his hand, interrupting me.
“I know that the most taboo thing in the world is to reveal your secrets to others. But the secrets of Blackwater Village are not for you to get involved in. You have seen the dangers involved.”
Hearing him say that, I also had a moment of wanting to back out, but when I thought of Bai Yang, my expression immediately became firm.
"Senior, to be honest, a friend of mine was murdered by someone in the village. I need to find him before I can leave this place. Please forgive me."
Hearing me say that, the old man nodded slightly.
"Alright, you guys are quite cautious. It's good that you don't trust those villagers. There aren't many trustworthy people in the village anyway."
At this point, the old man walked to the broken wooden bed and sat down, and the bed immediately groaned under the weight.
"You must have stayed at Wang Fugui's house during the day, right? You'd be lucky if one out of ten things he said to you was true. Ha, he's not the same Wang Fugui at all!"
Hearing him say that, I immediately felt my body stiffen; there seemed to be some other meaning hidden in the old man's words.
Just then, Li Huai, who had been listening for a while, couldn't help but interject.
"Grandpa, what happened to those villagers? And you, how could you...?"
Why didn't I become like that?
The old man picked up the conversation and then gave a rather smug smile.
"Do you really think I've wasted half my life? Let me tell you, I've eaten more rice than you've eaten salt."
"Yes, yes, you're awesome!"
Seeing the old man's appearance, I casually flattered him. The old man smacked his lips, as if he hadn't spoken to a normal person in a long time.
Hearing me say that, a smile involuntarily appeared on my face.
"Actually, it was also due to a bit of luck. This stone house can withstand those things. Before, when my cultivation was still shallow, I always hid in this house, which is why I didn't turn into that."
"As for those villagers, they are not entirely the living dead. During the day, they are in a daze, retaining some of their old habits, and look just like normal people. But at night, they become walking corpses driven by that thing."
At this point, a complex emotion flashed across the old man's face, clearly showing that he still had feelings for these villagers.
Otherwise, with his abilities, leaving this place wouldn't have been difficult, but he has stayed in the village all this time.
What is that thing?
Luo Tianhe keenly sensed the key point in the old man's words and couldn't help but ask anxiously.
The old man shook his head, remaining cryptic:
"This is not something you need to know. Remember, after dark, never trust anyone in the village, and never eat anything from the village, especially meat!"
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