Chapter 16 Mulberry Leaf Village? Fat Rat Village?

As they approached the base of the city gate, it was still Zhao Xiong on guard duty.

Seeing the two approaching from afar, his face immediately broke into a smile, and he greeted them boisterously. However, as they drew closer and he saw their attire, his smile vanished instantly.

"Brother Chen, is this… a mission?"

Zhao Xiong's gaze swept over the two, and seeing Liu Ziming's woebegone expression, he understood seven or eight tenths of the situation.

"You are heading out the South Gate; could it be that you are going to… Sangye Village?"

Chen Mu nodded. Zhao Xiong's expression changed instantly; he glanced left and right before pulling the two aside and lowering his voice.

"Brother, listen to my advice: you cannot go to that place!"

"It is an order from Lord Xu; I have no choice but to go."

Chen Mu's tone was indifferent.

Zhao Xiong's expression grew complex. He stared at Chen Mu's face for a few seconds before suddenly sighing.

"Fine. Since you are determined to go, your elder brother will give you something."

He instructed the two to rest for a moment while he turned and left. A short while later, he returned carrying an oilcloth bundle, which he opened cautiously.

Inside was a pair of gloves, but they were unlike any common style.

They were entirely black-brown, the surface covered in coarse, stiff short fur. The palms had thick, fleshy pads, the five fingers were thick and short, and the fingertips bore curved, sharp claws.

They didn't look like human hands; instead, they looked like…

"Bear paws?" Liu Ziming blurted out.

Zhao Xiong nodded.

"I skinned this from a black bear that had become a spirit, and had a tanner make it into this pair of gloves. Ordinary swords and blades can hardly damage them, and they can slightly increase one's strength."

"The most crucial part is that this black bear lived in the deep mountains and ancient forests and had long since gained spiritual awareness; it has a restraining effect on some sinister and evil things."

"The place you are going to is incredibly sinister. Carrying this might not guarantee your safety, but it will at least be of some use."

As he spoke, he handed the gloves over.

Chen Mu did not take them, but simply looked at Zhao Xiong with a calm gaze.

"Brother Zhao, why are you helping me?"

They were neither kin nor friends, having only met once, yet he was generously gifting a treasure.

Where in this world is there any kindness without reason? It was likely either treachery or theft.

Zhao Xiong grinned, "Heh heh, didn't I say? That day at Peony Pavilion, we men were having a good time. It's just that I don't want to see you die…"

Chen Mu quickly waved his hand, taking a deep look at Zhao Xiong.

Since the other party was being glib and intentionally hiding something, he couldn't be bothered to ask further.

However, he still took the gloves and said indifferently, "Many thanks."

"Why so polite! Coming back alive and treating me to a drink is what really matters!"

Zhao Xiong laughed heartily.

Chen Mu didn't respond, simply turning and striding out of the city gate.

Liu Ziming hurriedly followed, but after walking a few steps, he turned back to glance at Zhao Xiong.

That man was still under the city gate, waving at them repeatedly.

Liu Ziming felt a warmth in his heart. He caught up to Chen Mu and, after they had walked quite a distance, asked in a low voice, "Peony Pavilion? Brother, you look so dashing; I really never imagined you had such hobbies! To be honest, the way you helped me just now—did you take a liking to me?! Brother, let me lay my cards on the table first: I don't have any penchant for the love of the Dragon! Of course, that's assuming you don't use force…"

Chen Mu was stunned for a moment, but quickly reacted.

He had truly wasted his efforts; how could he have saved such a person!

Several hours later.

The two traveled all the way and finally arrived at Sangye Village.

Looking around, Sangye Village was far more eerie than it had been described.

Entering the village, it wasn't that the environment was particularly bloody or terrifying, but rather an unsettling silence.

There wasn't a single person to be seen in the entire village, and the earthen houses on both sides of the road were, without exception, tightly shut.

The iron locks had rusted to a dark red, as if they hadn't been opened for years. Chen Mu shook a gate and looked at the keyhole.

It was rusted shut; even with a key, it wouldn't open.

"This… does anyone really still live here?"

Liu Ziming unconsciously lowered his voice, taking every step with caution, fearing he might disturb some sleeping monster.

Chen Mu didn't respond, his gaze sweeping over the roadside.

Withered yellow mulberry leaves were scattered on the ground. A large, fat black rat darted out from a corner, dragging something and making a faint sound.

The fat rat wasn't afraid upon seeing people; instead, it stopped and stared straight at them.

Chen Mu frowned, seeing it clearly.

What the rat was holding in its mouth was actually half of a dark red bone!

Liu Ziming also looked over at the sound, his face turning pale. His stomach churned, and he covered his mouth, about to vomit.

The rat, however, didn't care at all. Dragging the bone and wiggling its fat buttocks, it scurried into a rat hole in the corner. Immediately after, the sound of dense gnawing erupted all around them.

The sound was like maggots on a bone, making one's hair stand on end and their whole body turn cold.

"They… they are gnawing…"

Liu Ziming could no longer hold it back; he immediately leaned against a wall and retched violently, vomiting up nothing but sour bile.

Chen Mu stood still, observing the surroundings.

Since his marrow-cleansing and body-refining, his six senses were far beyond those of an ordinary person, and at this moment, he could hear everything clearly.

The sound of gnawing didn't just come from the corners and the ground, but even from within those tightly shut doors.

The two walked all the way to the end of the village, and what they saw and heard was almost identical.

Tightly shut doors, a deathly silent atmosphere, and rats darting past occasionally.

Finally, near the edge of the village, they saw a house with an open courtyard gate.

The courtyard was dilapidated, the earthen walls had collapsed, and an old dog lay on the ground, so thin it was just skin and bones.

Seeing someone enter, it merely raised its head, staring fixedly with a pair of cloudy dog eyes, neither moving nor barking.

But that gaze didn't look like it was looking at people; it was more like it was looking at two corpses.

Liu Ziming's hair stood on end, and he unconsciously shrank back behind Chen Mu.

Chen Mu took two steps forward and walked in. The old dog continued to stare at them, its throat making a rattling sound.

It seemed like a warning, and also like a mournful cry.

"Is anyone here?" Chen Mu asked aloud.

The door to the main room in the courtyard creaked open a crack, and a withered hand reached out, slowly fumbling along the doorframe.

"Who is it?"

Accompanying the hoarse voice, a hunched figure slowly shuffled out.

It was an old person, wearing a dust-stained coarse cloth jacket, their face etched with deep wrinkles.

Their eyes were completely cloudy, lacking pupils, foggy and white.

They were blind.