Chapter 372: Chapter 319: Demon
A bright red "Double Happiness" character was pasted on the head of the coffin, quivering non-stop at the corners where it hadn’t adhered well as the night wind blew.
"A joyous coffin?" This discovery also startled everyone else, and Cheng Cha immediately recognized the origin of this coffin.
The coffin was eerily quiet, as if devoid of any living thing. It looked ominously strange, and of course, no one dared to touch it. Sui Chengguo, who had picked up a tree branch on the way, stepped forward and gently poked the coffin with the branch, only to puncture it, revealing a small hole.
It was a paper coffin. Inside, a frame made of bamboo splints was woven, and several thick layers of paper were pasted on the outside. Looking closely, some parts of the paper coffin had already split open. Peering through the cracks, the coffin was empty—it was an empty coffin.
"Don’t move." Cheng Cha suddenly spoke up, "Look at your feet."
Guided by the moonlight towards their feet, the group saw numerous footprints around the paper coffin, both large and small, in disarray. Clearly, they were not made by them; they were from that team of coffin-carrying ghosts!
Yang Xiao was also baffled. What were those coffin-carrying ghosts doing with an empty paper coffin?
It seemed more like some sort of ritual, especially since this was a joyous coffin.
Suddenly, a piercing rooster crow broke his train of thought. Tracing the sound, the crowing surprisingly came from the silent village. Before people could recover from their surprise, more and more roosters started crowing. In a brief moment, Yang Xiao suddenly felt that the world had brightened considerably. The wispy moon above had disappeared, and the day... had broken.
The lifeless village gradually buzzed with activity, and slowly people began wandering the streets. Yang Xiao didn’t know how to describe the feeling this scene in front of him evoked; it was as if the entire village had suddenly come to life.
People emerged near the village’s stone walls, and they spotted Yang Xiao and his group from afar. They seemed excited, waving non-stop and running towards them.
Yang Xiao and his friends turned and ran because the approaching "people" resembled the ghostly figures from the previous night, walking directly on the surface of the river, performing a sort of water dance.
But they hadn’t run 100 meters when they were stopped by Tong Han and others who had come down from the mountain. Tong Han pointed across the river, "Stop running, those people are humans, not ghosts."
"Can your good people run on water?" Quan Doufeng was completely startled, his hair standing on end. He was about to push Tong Han away when Tong Han grabbed his wrist, took him down with a martial arts maneuver.
"Stop fighting, there’s a bridge in the river. It was dark at night, and we didn’t see it until we came down the mountain with you." Mi Shu explained.
By the time Quan Doufeng got up, the people from across the river had already crossed over, almost reaching the shore. At this moment, Yang Xiao turned his head and saw that under the feet of those people was a shadow.
This shadow was a bridge. It seemed that the risen waters had covered the bridge’s surface, and with poor visibility the previous night, they had mistaken people for ghosts.
Now, escaping was pointless, as this village was undoubtedly their intended destination, and contact with the villagers was inevitable.
Three villagers ran over to them, all looking like simple peasants. The leader had a dirty scarf wrapped around his neck and was very enthusiastic upon seeing Yang Xiao and his companions, "You folks must be refugees from the south, right?"
"Who are you?" Cheng Cha asked instead of answering.
The person opposite greeted them warmly and casually pointed across the river, "We’re from the village over there. Recently, we’ve heard about disasters in the south, and I’ve seen quite a few refugees like you. You must be starving. Come on, follow me back to the village for some hot food."
Having no other place to go at the moment, Yang Xiao looked at the clothes on everyone, all tattered, and it was no wonder the villagers mistook them for refugees. But then, this seemed to be their intended role in this mission.
Initially, Yang Xiao thought the villagers would lead them across a bridge underwater, but the villagers explained that the bridge was unstable. It was okay for locals to cross, but it might be dangerous for outsiders, so they went to the trouble of taking a long detour to the village entrance.
"Brother, what is the name of your village?" Yang Xiao hadn’t seen any signs along the way.
"Our village is called Du Family Village. Almost everyone here has the surname Du and belongs to the same clan." The leading villager seemed to be in a very good mood, with a cheerful expression on his face.
Du Family Village... But Yang Xiao saw "Extinct Village" written on the script box. Moreover, they were refugees, not wealthy landlords coming to spread cash. Why were these villagers so happy?
Yang Xiao glanced at Tong Han, and their eyes met, signaling that something was off with the villagers. More precisely, the whole village seemed off.
Seeing new faces entering the village, many villagers gathered around to spectate. Soon, Yang Xiao and his group were led like mascots to the front of a large mansion. Though it wasn’t as grand as the Feng Family Mansion, it was one of the biggest houses in this obscure village.
Before they even entered, the peasant who brought them shouted, "Patriarch, guests from the south have arrived!"
Hearing this made Yang Xiao even more uncomfortable. Considering their supposed status as merely refugees, being given food was already a grand gesture. But upon arrival at Du Family Village, they were treated like distinguished guests and even brought to the patriarch’s home.
Soon, a thin old man with gray hair, dressed neatly, came out. He was so frail a gust of wind could blow him over. Upon seeing Yang Xiao and the others, he immediately instructed his people to bring some food.
The food was far from lavish, just some rice mixed with grains and a few stones that hadn’t been removed properly, and vegetables were just some unidentifiable weeds and leaves. It was difficult for Yang Xiao and his modern companions to swallow, but they were too hungry to care.
As they ate, the Du Family Patriarch looked haggard and worried. After a moment, he sighed complicatedly, "I apologize for the modest hospitality. After this meal, it’s best that you leave. I’ll have someone provide some food for your journey. Remember, head north once you leave the village and don’t look back."
"Patriarch, we are all homeless people. Could we possibly stay in the village for a few days?" Cheng Cha set down his rustic ceramic bowl and tentatively added, "Don’t worry, we can work for you. No matter how tough or tiring, as long as we get some food."
"Yes, Patriarch, let’s keep them. Our village needs people too, and there are women among them. You know..."
Someone in the crowd agreed, but the next second, the Du Family Patriarch slammed his hand on the table, his face suddenly changed, and he turned and scolded loudly at the supportive villagers, "Our Du Family Village will shoulder its own troubles. Don’t involve innocent people. My daughter being entangled by a monster is just her misfortune, nobody else’s fault!"
