Could it be that I am the cruel villain?
Chapter 151 - 115: Mysterious Village

Chapter 151: Chapter 115: Mysterious Village

Wow—

Wow—

The heavy sound of the wagon axle startled a flock of crows, which cried out pitifully, their wings flapping in terror, making the robust man driving the wagon shudder.

Through the moonlight, after seeing the crows take flight, he relaxed and couldn’t help but curse under his breath.

"Damn it, that scared the hell out of me. What’s going on today, my right eyelid keeps twitching..."

The robust man looked quite young, at most about twenty years old. It was also his first time going on a long-distance business trip with his uncles, while another older man in the wagon put down his smoking pipe.

He knocked it impatiently with a light tap, showing hardly any force.

"You useless thing, just a few birds can scare you like that, what did all that flesh grow for? Was the decade spent learning martial arts with your master in vain?"

Today seemed a bit too quiet.

"Uncle, I... I wasn’t scared, it’s just that this place is too quiet, and my right eyelid keeps twitching, I feel like this place has some bad omens..."

"Shut your mouth! Can’t you speak of something auspicious?"

He glared at him, although he said that, he too felt something wasn’t quite right; he continued chewing on the long pipe, puffed a couple of times, and then lifted the pipe to point at something in the distance.

Ahead was a somewhat old boundary stone with the big characters "Yi Village" written on it, above which hung a red lantern swaying gently in the breeze.

It was a lantern specifically left for visiting merchants by the village. However, today, this lantern seemed to reveal a hint of eeriness, and those chatting hadn’t noticed that the lantern appeared fresher than before—as if...

It was stained with blood.

"We are almost at Yi Village. We’ll rest here tonight; there are about 300 Li left to State City, and we should be there by noon the day after tomorrow. Sanwa, you’re on watch tonight."

"Eh? I’m on watch?"

He shivered.

This was his first time escorting goods on a long journey with his family; previous nights had been spent in the martial arts school, and they had stopped many times during the journey of a thousand Li. Though they had traveled by night before, none had made Sanwa as nervous as this time.

"What! You have complaints?"

Blowing on his beard, Sanwa replied obediently with an "Oh," but indeed, keeping night watch was a job for the young. The 300 Li distance was quite far for the wagons carrying the cargo, especially on the rugged mountain roads.

The drivers in the other two wagons immediately shouted out, urging their horses toward the village path.

Soon, they saw some dilapidated houses of Yi Village under the moonlight, and the uncultivated rice fields seemed a bit disorderly, as if untended.

No one seemed to be around, making Uncle feel a bit uneasy.

Although Yi Village was usually deserted at night, it was never this quiet; there were always some children playing around, and it was not too late yet—probably around nine in the evening.

"Something’s not right."

"Yi Village thrives on the businesses of us escorts and traders. It used to be bustling during our previous visits; what has happened today?"

"Let’s just ask the Shopkeeper later."

Having been in this business for over a decade and trained in martial arts, he was quite brave, riding through the deserted streets, and quickly arrived in front of an inn he remembered.

Sure enough, the dilapidated inn had two lanterns hung aloft, and through the windows, he could see the interior was brightly lit, reassuring him that it was all a scare of his own making.

"Sanwa, you and the others take the wagon to the backyard; I’ll go pay for the rooms. Let’s go."

Jumping down from the wagon with his smoking pipe, though aged, he was still agile; seeing that there were lights inside the inn, the younger members also relaxed quite a bit, thinking they had spooked themselves.

So, they pulled the wagon toward the backyard.

"Manager Zhao, Manager Zhao! It’s me, Lao Yang."

He knocked several times, but there seemed to be no response inside, which puzzled Lao Yang; however, with a push of his palm, he found that the front door was not locked.

He gently pushed it open.

"Cough, cough, cough..." A pungent smell hit him, he covered his nose and mouth, glanced around and found Manager Zhao looking bewildered as he wiped the utensils at the counter.

Under the candlelight, it seemed that there were other guests seated at the table, with a simple bonfire and an iron pot. The vividly red water in the pot was boiling, bubbling up with red froth, and several pairs of chopsticks stirring inside, with several large bones protruding.

"What on earth are you doing here, having hotpot late at night? That’s quite the mood, but this smell is too overwhelming. Did you just kill this sheep? Because it doesn’t look very fresh."

He blew several breaths forcefully and waved his hand through the reeking air.

There were also some residual stains on the floor, and it was unclear what had dampened it. Furthermore, he noticed several cut-open ribs on the table, which appeared to be sheep ribs, and a sheep spine that was still dripping blood.

The entrance of Lao Yang did not make them turn around; they just continued stirring the pot with their chopsticks.

"Are all of you new faces here, also doing business in State City?"

He casually greeted the other guests sitting at the table drinking tea. One of them turned his head stiffly to reveal a smile, but the smile was odd, as if someone was pulling at the corners of his mouth. Lao Yang, unconcerned, walked directly to the counter.

Looking at the young shopkeeper in front of him, whose gaze seemed a bit vacant, he waved his hand.

"What’s the matter, haven’t snapped out of it yet? It’s me, Lao Yang. I stayed here back in March, have you forgotten already?"

"...It’s you."

Staring blankly at Lao Yang for a while, it seemed like he was struggling to think of something, and the young and outwardly youthful Manager Zhao finally came to his senses, his expression dull and not quite natural, but after all, they weren’t closely acquainted.

"Hey, looks like you still remember me, Manager Zhao. Get me two rooms this time. I brought three juniors with me, two per room is about right. You’ve really worn me out lately."

Seeing a chair nearby, Lao Yang took the liberty to sit down, propped up his legs, and vigorously slapped his boots with his smoking pipe to knock off the dust.

It was then he noticed that not only inside the inn, but even the backyard seemed to emit a foul smell. Glancing again at the half-hanging sheep spine on the table, he always felt something was odd.

The sheep’s spine, it didn’t seem to grow like this.

"Did you folks in the village slaughter a sheep today? Was it ordered by them?"

He asked casually.

Manager Zhao, similarly stiff, took a ledger from under the counter, his face twitched a few times, then nodded blankly.

"Mm."

"What, the bones and sheep spine on the table are not to their liking, is that it?"

"Mm."

"Pity I arrived a bit late, otherwise I would have bought them. Winter is coming soon, and having some mutton really warms you up."

"Mm."

Lao Yang’s nose twitched a few times. Although the inn looked somewhat eerie and horrifying, with limbs scattered all over the table, he wasn’t scared. After all, in his village, they often slaughtered cows and sheep. With wintertime approaching, he also felt a bit hungry.

Thus, he approached the table of people voluntarily, although the nauseating smell in the air made him slightly uncomfortable. In this day and age, one couldn’t afford to be picky. Having something to eat was already good enough.

Watching several people stirring the pot with their chopsticks, Lao Yang casually asked.

"Manager Zhao, speaking of which, where is your wife? Last time I came, you said she was pregnant, even visited Demi Immortal who said it surely would be a healthy baby boy."

"Calculating the time, she must be due soon, or has the baby already been born?"

"But you really have a way, your wife is very pretty, though my wife was no less attractive in her youth. Come to think of it, in a few years, when my son finishes at the martial arts school, he’ll probably take over my courier business..."

While smoking his pipe and chatting, he looked back at Manager Zhao, who showed no reaction. His expression was confused. What was going on today? This kid used to be quite chatty. Why wasn’t he saying a word today?

But on a closer look, he saw that Manager Zhao, standing behind the counter, had already opened his mouth wide, his tongue forcefully sticking out, eyes wide as brass bells, and his throat vaguely uttering a few words.

"Son... wife..."

This scene frightened Lao Yang so much that he immediately stepped back several paces.

"You, you..."

Before he could finish speaking, the group gathered around the pot stirring with their chopsticks also started to make noise, their handling of the chopsticks growing more and more vigorous, and then with a strong effort.

Thud!

A head, cooked until the eyes and nose were unrecognizable and complete with hair, fell right in front of Lao Yang.

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