Chapter 16: Farmstead

Xiao Liu Liehu looked at the evil creature that had fallen down.

"Their movement speed now is much slower than it was two months ago."

The temperature at noon had risen slightly, but autumn had already arrived, and the overall temperature had dropped significantly.

Wen Gu glanced at Xiao Liu: "Low temperatures restrict them too much. The winters in Beidi are very long and much colder; by then, it will be even simpler to hunt the evil creatures there."

Upon hearing this, Xiao Liu Liehu thought to himself that if he could reach Beidi safely, he should be able to use his archery skills to earn some military merit and secure a minor military official position.

The more he thought about it, the better it felt, and his homesickness vanished.

The four of them continued on their way.

They had formulated an itinerary and needed to reach their projected location before tonight.

The next choice was the farmstead of a wealthy gentleman.

This was one of several potential stopovers Wen Gu had selected, based on information provided by Xiao Liu's father, Liu Liehu.

Liu Liehu had said that this Gentleman Li was wealthy, owned vast fields, and had extensive connections. If that were true, he would certainly have received news in advance and left with his servants before things here turned chaotic.

Wen Gu looked ahead and could vaguely see the silhouettes of buildings.

"Is that it?"

"It should be!"

Xiao Liu Liehu identified the orientation, confirming that their direction of travel was correct.

His father had said that Gentleman Li's farmstead was to the northeast of such-and-such village, on the south side of such-and-such river.

If you told him left or right while traveling, he might not react immediately and would have to figure out whose left or right it was. But if you said east, west, south, or north, it was as if the skill were carved into his bones, and he could match it instantly.

"This is the right way."

Along the way, there was nothing but desolation, and it looked as though no living person had traveled this road for a long time.

They had only encountered two evil creatures. After killing them, Wen Gu observed their clothing.

One was dressed like a typical farming family, possibly a farmer attached to the farmstead.

The other, despite wearing a luxurious outer robe, had coarse cloth with patches underneath. It was possible they had picked up the clothes of a victimized wealthy family, subsequently contracted the Evil Plague, and turned into what they were now.

Apart from these two, they had not seen any other humanoid creatures.

Wen Gu felt slightly at ease.

It seemed that, just as he had guessed, that well-connected Gentleman Li had long since taken his people and left.

Approaching the farmstead, Xiao Liu Liehu even hunted a rabbit. He didn't dare to process it on the spot, deciding to wait until they were inside the farmstead, had boiled water, and lit a fire.

"My father used to deliver mountain goods to Gentleman Li. Although Gentleman Li has a bit of a temper, he doesn't beat people, doesn't withhold wages, and everyone says he's a decent person."

What everyone cares about is just these two points—having their lives and having money.

As for anything else, they don't care.

This Gentleman Li was a very capable man; the houses where the master lived in his farmstead were all built with a large amount of green brick. Xiao Liu felt it was a pity, as it was too far from their Ge Village, otherwise, he could have come here to move bricks.

A house with green bricks and large tiles was the house of Xiao Liu's dreams.

It was also the place where they would stay tonight.

Before entering Gentleman Li's large residence, they cautiously observed it for a moment.

The surroundings still didn't look like there was any living human activity; the footprints left by evil creatures were different from those left by normal people and were easy to distinguish.

There were some bloodstains on the ground, but they had been there for a long time.

However...

They stopped in their tracks.

Wen Gu's expression was serious: "Did you smell that?"

Xiao Liu was very surprised: "There's the smell of wine!"

The scent of wine brought by the wind was fresh.

Were there survivors in the farmstead?

But there were truly no signs of normal human activity here.

Wen Gu analyzed it in his heart. If there were survivors inside, perhaps there were not many of them, their combat strength was not high, and they were the type who had been hiding and never coming out.

Wen Gu said: "Let Matuan take a look."

Xiao Liu responded. He wore a leather bracer and waved it toward the sky.

After a while, the cry of a falcon came from above.

"No other people discovered," Xiao Liu said.

"Then let's go in," Wen Gu said in a low voice, "Everyone, don't scatter."

The large residence looked fine from a distance, but once close, one discovered that because no one had lived there for a long time, time seemed to have accelerated; even the houses with green bricks and large tiles appeared desolate and dilapidated.

They entered the courtyard and heard a faint sound.

Xiao Liu nocked an arrow and looked over.

"It's a cat."

It was a cat with a large frame but somewhat thin, possibly one that had been raised in the farmstead before. At this moment, it was huddled in a corner, arching its back, all its fur standing on end, hissing and growling at them.

This was a sign of extreme vigilance and unease at the arrival of the few of them.

No!

It wasn't directed at them!

"Watch out for the rafters!!"

Wen Gu warned sharply.

Xiao Liu reacted quickly; having already nocked his bow and remained vigilant, he turned in an instant and released an arrow at the figure that had flashed across the upper diagonal.

The figure on the rafters was brought down by the arrow.

Xiao Liu had already nocked his second Arrow, watching the figure that had fallen to the ground.

It was a child possessed by evil, having already lost the appearance that originally belonged to a human; being struck by one Arrow was not fatal, and it was as ferocious as a bloodthirsty beast, letting out a sharp shriek at them.

Xiao Liu slowly took a deep breath and loosened his fingers.

The Arrow left the string and flew off.

The sharp shriek stopped abruptly.

Xiao Liu blinked his somewhat moist eyes and looked toward another part of the room.

Wen Gu also silently observed the surroundings, finding no other threats, and that cat had also calmed down; only then did he look at the small evil creature on the ground.

Judging by the clothing, it should also have been a child from a farming family attached to the manor.

This world is simply one that turns people into ghosts.

Regardless of gender, age, poverty, or wealth, one might turn into this state at the slightest carelessness.

Wen Gu glanced at the Daoist Priest.

Qingyi Daozhang showed compassion on his face, took out a piece of paper inscribed with talismans, burned it, and chanted scriptures to deliver the soul.

The talisman paper burned, emitting smoke that drifted into the residence with the wind.

For the time being, no other movements were heard.

Next, first find the woodshed and Kitchen.

The layout here is similar to the layouts of those wealthy households in Town, making it easy to find.

The smell of alcohol they had smelled earlier was on the other side of the residence.

However, at this moment, Wen Gu and the others did not go over to investigate.

There is a water well on the Kitchen side.

Although the water in the well is not absolutely safe, it is much better compared to the obviously polluted wells and the water in the surrounding rivers.

Drawing water is also convenient, and it can avoid being ambushed.

Finding the Kitchen, the door there was ajar.

They did not go in immediately.

Wen Gu used a long stick to pry the window open a little, took a step back, raised his hand, and signaled: "Daoist Priest, please!"

The attire Qingyi Daozhang is wearing now is not that loose dharma robe used for showing off, but clothing convenient for moving about outside.

He took out a small rattan ball that had been processed, inside of which were small bundles of several types of plants used for fumigation; when lit, it could continuously emit smoke carrying the scent of Medicinal Herb without setting the rattan ball itself on fire.

He lifted his foot and took two mysterious steps, then leaped up and swung his arm to throw it.

The smoking rattan ball traced a sharp arc.

Pop!

It accurately entered through the window.

The smoke quickly dispersed inside.

No movement was heard inside.

While fumigating the Kitchen, they were observing the water well here.

There is a cover over the water well, and no bloodstains were seen around it; compared to those exposed wells, the probability of pollution is lower.

Besides, what they drink is all boiled water.

After another while, calculating that the time was about right, they opened the Kitchen doors and windows to ventilate it slightly.

It was still bright outside, and the layout inside the Kitchen could be seen clearly.

The Kitchen had several large stoves; it could be seen that there must have been several large Iron pots here originally.

Now, Iron pots have gradually appeared in many commoners' homes, but not every family in the Village can have one.

After the chaos started outside, the villagers of Ge Village went to Town to collect supplies and brought back several Iron pots they found to the Village.

Right now, most of the cookware in the Kitchen had been taken away; they found an Iron pot in the corner with a small chip on the edge.

Perhaps that is why it was abandoned by the owners.

Xiao Liu was very happy.

So what if it has a chip? It doesn't affect boiling water or cooking!

"Let's take this Iron pot with us when we leave."

They drew water to heat it up and scrubbed the pot to remove the rust; after washing it, they boiled water to process the rabbit they had just hunted.

It is not that these prey hunted outside cannot be eaten, but they must be properly processed.

After boiling several pots of water, they boiled water for drinking.

Liu Liehu focused on processing the rabbit and cut off some rabbit meat, intending to throw it to the cat in the residence.

He specifically explained to Wen Gu and the Daoist Priest that when they go into the mountains to hunt, if they receive help from animals in the mountains, whether direct or indirect, they will make a gesture of gratitude.

Although Wen Gu would have discovered the danger on the beams without that cat, it was helpful to Xiao Liu himself at the time.

The rabbit was hunted by Xiao Liu, but everyone is a teammate and everyone has a share of the supplies, which is why he specifically explained it.

Wen Gu and the Daoist Priest had no objections, and Tietou followed Wen Gu's wishes.

Xiao Liu then threw a small piece of meat over.

There were other scents on it; the vigilant cat lowered its ears and let out a low growl, but was then attracted by the scent, approached cautiously, and swiped its paws at the piece of rabbit meat on the ground with two quick taps.

Having tested that there was no threat, it grabbed it in its mouth and ran off, disappearing from sight.

The afterglow of the setting sun shone on the manor, and the surroundings were silent.

The four of them prepared dinner in the Kitchen while discussing staying at the manor for one more day tomorrow to search the place and see if there was anything they could use.

It would be even better if there were rice and grain.

Xiao Liu wanted to see if there were materials to make Arrows to make some spares for himself.

Previously in other Villages and Towns, it was very difficult to find finished Arrows; either there were none to begin with, or they had long since been scavenged by others, so he could only make more spares himself.

While they were chatting, they suddenly heard a clatter.

It sounded like a ceramic jar filled with water crashing onto the ground.

The four of them became alert in an instant.

Wen Gu thought of the smell of wine he had caught before entering the residence.

The sound was not far away.

It was not yet dark.

The four of them cautiously went over to check the situation.

Clop, clop, clop.

Sound by sound, it was like the movement of hooves stepping on the ground.

Behind the blue brick courtyard wall, a donkey's face appeared.

Literally.