Translator: Cinder Translations
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Without caring for the hateful gaze following him Jiang Cheng kept moving; Chen Xiaomeng grew increasingly irritated with Jiang Cheng's face and wished she could strangle him immediately.
Anping Town was not large, and the inn was situated at the center of the town. It didn't take long before they reached the outskirts, where an old man leaned against a fence, smoking a dry cigarette.
The old man appeared to live in poverty, with worn clothes patched over multiple times. His trousers were caked with mud, and his slightly open eyes looked cloudy, possibly indicating blindness. The fenced area behind him was dirty and disorganized, likely once used to house pigs or donkeys. Now, it was filled with disheveled straw mixed with muddy water, giving off an unpleasant smell when the wind blew.
Pei Qian observed the old man from a distance before naturally walking up to him, hands behind his back. Chen Xiaomeng considered following, but was stopped by Zhou Rong.
Pei Qian leaned against the fence, and soon, the two old men, of similar age, began conversing. After a while, the old man became animated, gesturing at the fence as if explaining something to Pei Qian.
Ten minutes later, Pei Qian bid farewell and left. The simple old man stopped him and shakily pulled out a crumpled homemade cigarette from his patched pocket, offering it to Pei Qian.
Pei Qian politely declined, but the old man insisted, and after a moment, Pei Qian accepted the cigarette and thanked him before rejoining his group.
"Old Man Pei," Zhou Rong asked while walking, "Do you have any clues about that woman?"
Pei Qian nodded, placing the hard-earned cigarette in his mouth without lighting it, seemingly savoring the taste of the era. "That woman is not from the town, she's from a nearby village." He continued, "She came about half a month ago, saying her husband had gone missing. She brought several portraits and has been searching everywhere. She looked somewhat mad, and the people here have seen her."
Jiang Zhongyi, hunched over, lowered his voice to ask, "Did her husband go missing in the town?"
Pei Qian shook his head, "No, it happened in their village."
The quiet Ben Fu frowned and asked, "If he went missing in the village, why come to the town to look for him?"
Ben Fu's question reflected the confusion of the others; it didn't make sense. Everyone turned to Pei Qian, who after a brief silence, stopped walking and looked in one direction.
Following his gaze, they saw a winding dirt road, possibly muddy from last night's rain. In the distance, mountains loomed, with dense forests at their base. The sky was turning dark, and yet there were no birds returning to their nests, no sounds of insects or animals—only an eerie silence, as if the place were lifeless.
The longer they looked, the more strange it felt.
Zhou Rong seemed to realize something, casting Pei Qian a peculiar look. He asked, "That village... is it in the mountains?"
Pei Qian nodded and rasped, "The person who spoke to me warned me not to get involved with that woman, not to sympathize with her. Whatever we do, we should finish it quickly and leave. Don't meddle."
Yu Man pursed her lips and suddenly asked, "Why?"
"Because that village," Pei Qian turned and fixed her with a long gaze before slowly speaking, "he said... the matters in that village are not something people should interfere with."
A chill ran through everyone. The mission had finally arrived.
As the sky darkened, the sunset seemed to fall faster than expected. Before they could return to the inn, it was already half dark. In this unfamiliar world, the darkness felt ominous, as if linked to death. They quickened their pace, and the streets, which had seemed familiar earlier, now felt foreign.
The buildings stood hidden in the murky darkness, like ghosts waiting to pounce.
The nightlife in this era was not as vibrant as in modern times, especially in such a remote town. As soon as night fell, people usually went to bed.
The lack of nighttime entertainment also led to a higher birth rate.
Of course, only Jiang Cheng was concerned about the country's problems. The rest of the group was focused on reaching their destination.
Fortunately, the Anping Inn was a prominent building in town. Red lanterns hung at all four corners, making it stand out in the dark.
As they approached the inn, they were surprised to find that not only was the door still open, but there were also several people standing outside—about eight or nine in total.
The owner they had seen earlier was standing at the door, his face flushed, holding a wooden stick and arguing with another group of people. The argument, mixed with dialect, echoed in the quiet night.
As the group got closer, one of the people in the argument noticed them and approached, followed by others who quickly crowded around.
"You must be the experts here to help us!" A man, roughly 60 years old, was helped forward by others. He seemed to be in charge of the group. "I am... I am Liu, the village head of Xiao Shijian Village."
The man calling himself Liu, the village head, seemed extremely excited when he saw them, grabbing Zhou Rong's hand and not letting go, as if he had found his saviors. He trembled with emotion, nearly crying.
The others around him also began to weep.
Zhou Rong remained calm. He neither agreed nor denied, simply responding, "Liu Village Head, hello. What's going on here?"
A tall, burly man nearby, excited, said, "We heard you arrived in Anping Town, so the village head brought us to meet you!"
The man was at least 2 meters tall, towering over Jiang Cheng by half a head, with dark skin and a muscular build that made him look like a guardian in the night. The red lanterns illuminated his muscles, casting sharp shadows.
The frailest among them, Jiang Zhongyi, swallowed nervously, suspecting the man could crush him with his muscles.
Through further conversation, they confirmed that Xiao Shijian Village was the same village mentioned by the old man with the cigarette, located in the mountains behind them. They were invited to help with some task in the village.
With the mission location now confirmed, it was time to move forward.
They agreed with the village head to meet at the inn the next morning and then head to Xiao Shijian Village.
(End of the Chapter)
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