Chapter 16: Locust

The darkness outside the window 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 at all like human “fates”!

And the old mountain-runner’s level was indistinct, meaning his level was far beyond Xu Yuan’s—so far that Xu Yuan could no longer perceive it.

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 Witch Mountain in their lifetimes.

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

Xu Yuan had originally planned to use Wangxiang Village to escape Wu Haishan and the others, but he’d wasted another day in the village, delaying his plan—this was very bad!

Whether it was Elder Qiao or the Holy Maiden, a full 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 time to prepare—nothing good to offer. Otherwise, I could’ve hired the old mountain-runner to escort me.”

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

Xu Yuan bid farewell to Uncle Jiao, 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 idling in the village slowly gathered beneath the enormous dead tree.

Daily routine: meet under the tree.

Exchange gossip and village news.

In this regard, the mountain village was no different from villages beyond the mountains.

Today, Uncle Zhang San had secured a good spot: half a broken grindstone.

He squatted on it, constantly filling and emptying his pipe, as if he could never get it right.

Only when everyone had arrived did he strike a match Xu Yuan had given him, puffing contentedly, 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 carried half a sack of mountain goods, walked about five li from the village, and dug a pit by the roadside to bury it.

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

This place was easy to remember and recognize.

After burying the sack, 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 return later to retrieve them.

Those merchants who enter the mountains make a fortune precisely because of these things ordinary people can’t identify.

After burying it, Xu Yuan carefully scanned the surroundings, reinforced his memory of the terrain, then left.

On the large tree, the old mountain-runner had somehow perched atop the branch where the hanged corpse dangled.

He still wore his feather-stitched cloak; the feathers cut yesterday had already regrown.

The hanged corpse 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 mean to…”

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

Mountain people 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 bizarre rock jutted from the slope to his left, shaped like a bear’s head.

Xu Yuan had always been cautious—these mountain rocks could also “take form.”

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 detour around Qihetai Town, return to the official road, and then reach the county seat—another fifty to sixty li of mountain path lay ahead.

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

Xu Yuan took a deep breath and strode forward… when suddenly, a sound like sawing wood came from the grass to his side.

Xu Yuan’s expression instantly turned grim; he ignored it, looked straight ahead, and quickened his pace.

In Ghost Witch Mountain, never be “curious” and go 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 in it; even wild boars or tigers hiding within would be utterly invisible.

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 face-up among 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 was the locusts’ legs sawing through bone.

The severed flesh pieces were shoved into their mouths; the locusts became drenched in blood and shredded meat, finding it sticky and unpleasant, so they periodically flapped their wings, flinging blood and gore everywhere.

Near the corpse, a bamboo basket lay overturned, its contents spilled out.

Another merchant—unlucky, he never made it to the village.

And the corpse bore no fatal wound; these aberrations preferred fresh, lively food—they had chased this poor merchant, continuously sawing off chunks of flesh until he bled out and collapsed here…

Xu Yuan tensed all over, kept his gaze straight, and tiptoed past.

But the slight air current he disturbed alerted the locusts; they froze instantly, their massive heads turning, twin whip-like antennae pointing toward Xu Yuan, their huge, hardened eyes coldly locking onto him!

Xu Yuan bolted.

Whirr—

The giant locusts took flight, chasing after Xu Yuan.

The fastest one reached Xu Yuan’s head in a blink, lunging down—its sharp, short legs like iron claws, aiming for his skull; if caught, his head would be severed from his neck.

Xu Yuan snapped his head up—huh—

“Abdominal Fire” erupted violently; the locust instantly became a massive fireball, emitting a bizarre shriek before crashing into the roadside grass.

The other locusts still pursued; Xu Yuan extinguished his “Abdominal Fire,” thought of a thought, and spat out a pill.

The pill was no larger than a thumb’s tip, yet it was the result of Xu Yuan’s “baiting” of various ores traded by the villagers last night.

Heavier and more condensed than the one he’d previously forged after consuming gold and silver.

Shhh—

The pill shot like lightning, piercing through the head of one locust.

(End of Chapter)