Chapter 16: Locust

Outside the window, darkness was fading, and the strange sounds of the mountains and forests gradually subsided.

Xu Yuan was deeply wary of everything in the village.

Under "Wang Ming," the villagers' "fates" were grotesquely misshapen—not like human "fates" at all!

And the old mountain-runner's level was indistinct, meaning his level was far beyond Xu Yuan's—so far he was invisible.

The villagers might not be human, but they weren't evil spirits either.

At the very least, they were "people" different from those beyond the mountains—never mind anything else, Xu Yuan had never seen a single villager in town, as if none of them could ever leave Ghost Wushan in their lives.

Iron goods, salt, and other supplies could only be imported from beyond the mountains.

Xu Yuan had originally planned to use Wangxiang Village to shake off Wu Haishan and the others, but he'd wasted another day in the village—his plan was delayed, and that was very bad!

Whether it was Jiao Master or Shenggu, this one day was more than enough time for them to catch up.

Xu Yuan silently shook his head; after dawn, he'd need to carefully plan how to escape.

"What a pity," Xu Yuan mused regretfully: "I had too little preparation time—nothing good to spare, or else I could've hired the old mountain-runner to escort me."

There were no chickens in the village; once daylight fully broke, the villagers all went out to tend to their "farmwork."

Xu Yuan bid farewell to Jiao Erbo, slung a large sack of yesterday's harvest on his back, and left the village.

Among yesterday's mountain goods, many items were unsuitable as bait, but Xu Yuan took them all.

At the very least, he had to carry them out of the village—otherwise, the invisible axe hanging above his head would fall.

With the young men gone to the fields and Xu Yuan departed from the village, the old men and women who had nothing to do only slowly gathered beneath the giant dead tree as the sun rose high.

Daily ritual: meet beneath the tree.

Exchange gossip and village news.

In this regard, the village inside the mountains was no different from those beyond.

Zhang Sanba had secured a good spot today: half a broken grindstone.

He squatted atop it, endlessly filling and emptying his pipe, as if he could never get it packed right.

Only when everyone had arrived did he strike a match Xu Yuan had given him—with a hiss—and draw a long, satisfying puff, exhaling a smoke ring: "So useful."

The others wore expressions of envy, but inwardly sneered: What's there to show off about?

Yet they were genuinely covetous—matches were expensive to bring into the mountains; ordinary families couldn't afford to trade for even one box.

…

Xu Yuan, carrying half a sack of mountain goods, walked about five li from the village, then dug a pit by the roadside and buried the sack.

Beside the road stood a large tree, upon which hung a hanged ghost, staring at Xu Yuan with bulging eyes and a lolling tongue.

This place was easy to remember and recognize.

After burying it, Xu Yuan placed a large stone on top.

The sack contained mountain goods Xu Yuan currently couldn't use as bait.

More than half the items inside, Xu Yuan didn't recognize.

But Xu Yuan suspected there were many valuable things inside!

I can't take them now, because I'll need to travel light from here on—but I won't waste them. I'll leave them here and come back later.

Those merchants who enter the mountains make a fortune precisely because of these things no ordinary person can identify.

After burying it, Xu Yuan carefully scanned the surroundings, reinforced his memory of the terrain's features, then departed.

On the large tree, the old mountain-runner had somehow taken position on the branch where the hanged ghost dangled.

He still wore his cloak made of feathers; the feathers severed yesterday had already regrown.

The hanged ghost said: "A child who knows how to value things."

The old mountain-runner nodded: "When he comes back for these, remember to notify me."

"You're thinking…"

The old mountain-runner cut him off: "Need more observation."

People of the mountains despise waste—if Xu Yuan had carelessly discarded these mountain goods, he'd already be dead.

…

The mountain trails twisted and turned, following the slope's base around two peaks, then emerging through a narrow pass.

As Xu Yuan stepped out of the pass, a strange rock jutted from the slope to his left, shaped like a bear's head.

Xu Yuan had always been cautious—these stones in the mountains could also "transform."

Fortunately, the rock remained silent; Xu Yuan slipped past quickly, glanced back, and saw it still motionless—only then did he exhale in relief.

He turned and continued forward, aiming to circle around Qihetai Town, return to the official road, and then reach the county seat—another fifty to sixty li of mountain path ahead.

And along the way, he couldn't predict what strange things he might encounter.

Xu Yuan took a deep breath and strode forward… then suddenly heard the sound of sawing wood from the side bushes.

Xu Yuan's expression instantly turned grim; he ignored it, looked straight ahead, and walked quickly past.

In Ghost Wushan, never be "curious" and investigate—that's voluntarily stepping onto the Yellow Springs Road!

The sawing sound was faint, and the roadside grass was extremely dense—grass unseen beyond the mountains, taller than a man, with long, broad leaves slightly curled, their edges lined with dark red serrations.

Not even rabbits could be seen inside, let alone wild boars or tigers.

Although Xu Yuan wasn't curious, after taking two steps forward, he couldn't help but see.

A half-zhang-wide gap had been cleared in the grass; the vegetation had been sliced into coin-sized fragments, scattered across the ground.

A corpse lay on its back amid the shredded grass.

Several locusts, over three feet long, clung to the corpse, using their powerful hind legs to saw off chunks of flesh!

The locusts' hind legs bore sharp serrations—natural saws for dismemberment!

The sound Xu Yuan had heard—the sawing of wood—was the sound of their legs cutting through bone.

The sawed-off corpse pieces were shoved into their mouths; several locusts were covered head to toe in fresh blood and minced flesh. Finding it sticky and uncomfortable, they periodically spread their insect wings to shake, flinging blood and minced flesh everywhere.

Not far from the corpse, a tilted, scattered carrying basket lay, its various goods spilled out.

He was also a merchant, but unfortunately met disaster before even reaching the village.

And there were no fatal wounds on the corpse. These strange creatures preferred fresh, lively food; they chased this poor merchant, constantly sawing off chunks of flesh and blood from him until he collapsed here from excessive blood loss...

Xu Yuan's entire body tensed; without glancing sideways, he walked over with light, careful steps.

Yet the slight air current he stirred still alerted those locusts. They suddenly froze, two whip-like antennae on their huge insect heads pointing toward Xu Yuan, their massive hard-shell insect eyes staring coldly at him!

Xu Yuan took off running.

Whoosh—

The huge locusts beat their wings and took flight, chasing after Xu Yuan.

The fastest one reached Xu Yuan's airspace in the blink of an eye, diving down fiercely. Its sharp short legs, like iron claws, grasped for Xu Yuan's head; if caught, his head would surely be severed directly from his neck.

Xu Yuan suddenly looked up, Hoo—

"Fu Zhong Huo" erupted violently. The locust instantly became a huge fireball, emitting a strange scream before crashing into the roadside grass.

The other locusts still pursued closely. Xu Yuan withdrew the "Fu Zhong Huo," shifted his mind, and spat out a pill.

The pill was only the size of a thumb tip, yet it was obtained by Xu Yuan last night after "feeding" on the various ores traded by the villagers.

It was heavier and more refined than the one Xu Yuan had condensed after eating gold and silver previously.

Whoosh—

The pill moved faster than lightning, piercing through the head of one locust.

(End of this chapter)