Hidden beneath Garbage Valley, the village radiated an eerie, dismal atmosphere as if the world had forgotten it, a gathering place for lonely ghosts and wandering spirits.
Beneath the large white lanterns hung at the entrances, the ubiquity of paper money and dishes placed at doorsteps to honor the dead all suggested that this village did not welcome the living.
The squeaking sound arose, something like a rat scurried over the eaves at great speed, slipping into those inverted black pipes.
Moments later, a villager dressed as a butcher emerged from the neighboring old house, covered in bloodstains and grease. His head trembled involuntarily, his spine was askew, and one leg, terminating in a cheap prosthetic, had been amputated.
Perceiving the butcher's approach, Cao and the other two immediately lowered their heads, avoiding eye contact, but Gao Ming brazenly scrutinized the butcher as if trying to discern some clue from him.
