"Sister, are you looking for that really good-looking brother?" a kid asked in a hoarse whisper.
"That brother seemed to go that way just now," another kid tugged at Yaohua's sleeve and pointed to a small alley in the distance.
Master must have discovered some important clues. Yaohua thanked them and quickly ran towards the alley.
She rushed into the alley in a hurry but didn't notice that those kids quickly followed her.
The alley was empty, with the occasional echoing sound of knocking. Yaohua slowed down. "Master?"
She looked around but didn't see any trace of her master. "Master? Where are you?"
"Little girl, why are you alone here?"
A hoarse and trembling voice suddenly rang in her ear. Yaohua let out a cry and quickly took several steps back. When she saw it was a kind - faced old woman, she breathed a sigh of relief. "You scared me. Granny, have you seen a really, really good - looking brother pass by here?"
Good looks were her master's most prominent feature.
The old woman rolled her cloudy eyes. "The brother you're talking about, is he very tall and wearing white clothes?"
There were so many people like that. Yaohua wasn't sure if the old woman was talking about her master. She thought for a moment and asked, "Granny, how many people like that have you seen?"
"I've only seen one really good - looking one." The old woman walked forward with a cane. "Little girl, if you're looking for him, come with me."
This old woman was really strange. Why didn't she just say where her master had gone? Instead, she was being so round - about and asking her to follow. Wasn't this the same as those foreign people who wanted to abduct her?
When Yaohua was in the Phoenix Clan, she had encountered many strange people. She became a bit vigilant and didn't follow the old woman rashly.
She stood on tiptoe and looked ahead. She didn't know how long this alley was, and she didn't know what tricks this old woman was up to. She couldn't just follow this person blindly.
"Little girl, why aren't you coming?" Seeing that she didn't follow, the old woman slowly turned her hunched body, and her wrinkled face like an orange peel came closer.
Yaohua's heart skipped a beat. She had a bad feeling. She was just about to use her spiritual power, but either because she was too panicked or because she had used her spiritual power to conjure an umbrella earlier, she couldn't gather her spiritual power at all.
Out of the corner of her eye, she glanced at the way behind her and started running. But unexpectedly, she tripped over something. Her chin hit the ground, and she almost broke her teeth.
Who the hell just threw things on the ground!
The pain immediately brought tears to her eyes, and her umbrella fell far away.
The sound of the cane tapping on the ground was getting closer. Yaohua covered her chin and was about to sit up when a dirty hand reached out. "Sister, come with me quickly!"
It was the kid who had given her the fruit earlier!
Yaohua's heart sank. If the old woman was a bad person, could this kid be in good hands?
"Thank you." Yaohua got up with the kid's help. Seeing the old woman coming this way, her heart was pounding. "Let's go!"
The kid led her and ran in another direction. She didn't know how long they ran, but finally they managed to shake off the sound of the cane like a curse.
Yaohua put her hands on her knees, breathing heavily. "Thank you. What's your name?"
The dirty - faced kid showed a stiff smile. "My name is Shitou. Sister, are you tired? Come in with me and take a rest."
There was a house behind Shitou. Yaohua didn't suspect anything. "Thank you."
As soon as Shitou went in, he came out with a bowl. There was some water in the bowl, which looked extremely turbid.
"I'm not thirsty," Yaohua waved her hands repeatedly.
Under the Great Calamity of the End of the World, it was difficult for all living beings to survive. Although this water was turbid, it might be the life - saving water of this family. Yaohua wasn't at the point of drinking other people's life - saving water.
Shitou was very stubborn, just like his name. He stood in front of Yaohua, holding out the bowl, insisting that Yaohua drink the water.
Yaohua sighed and had to touch her lips to the water a little. "Okay, I've drunk it. Thank you."
This kid was really honest. He was willing to share his life - saving water.
...
However, this was Yaohua's last thought before she fell into a coma.
"Husband, in my opinion, we should braise half and steam the other half."
In a daze, Yaohua heard someone talking. The person's voice was extremely shrill, like a knife scraping on a stone slab.
"Drain the blood to make tofu. After drying it, we can eat it for many days. There's a lot of fat on the belly and butt. Use it for cooking. Dry the internal organs to make cured meat and stew the head."
In just a few words, it seemed that they had planned their rations for several days. They were quite well - planned and far - sighted.
Yaohua thought like this until she heard the sound of sharpening a knife.
The sound was fine and slow, as if it was right beside her. In a moment, the knife might be hanging over her neck.
Yaohua's hair stood on end, and she suddenly opened her eyes.
Suddenly, she met a pair of pitch - black eyes.
No, not pitch - black!
Yaohua's lips trembled, and she could hardly speak!
These eyes were clearly hollowed out!
As if to confirm her thought, the next moment, the kid tilted his head, and a few maggots tentatively crawled out of his eye sockets.
Yaohua held her breath with difficulty. "Shitou?"
"Sister, are you tired? I'll take you to the room to rest."
As his lips moved, a piece of rotten flesh at the corner of his mouth fell off.
He didn't seem to realize what was happening to himself. He turned around as usual and led Yaohua towards a side room.
Not hearing Yaohua's footsteps, he even turned back to motion for Yaohua to follow.
Yaohua tried and found that she still couldn't use her spiritual power. She had no choice but to follow slowly.
This place was really strange. Before finding her master, she'd better not act rashly.
"Sister, sleep well at night. Don't go out."
After Shitou gave this warning, he closed the door.
As soon as he left, Yaohua immediately walked over and tried to open the door. She found that the door seemed to be locked.
There was a cabinet in front of the window. She climbed onto it, trying to escape through the window. But unfortunately, the window was also locked.
Fortunately, there was a crack in the window through which she could see a millstone outside.
There was a dark figure beside the millstone, hunched over. It looked a bit familiar.
Yaohua opened her eyes wide, trying to see what it was. But the dark figure raised its head on its own initiative.
By now, it was already dark. The silvery moonlight shone on the earth, illuminating the face like an orange peel.
It was actually that old woman!
The old woman smiled at the window, and a few sparse teeth immediately fell to the ground.
Yaohua didn't dare to look anymore. She quickly turned around, stroking her chest with a lingering fear.
What on earth was this ghostly place? Why was it so strange?
Master, master, where on earth have you gone! Your obedient disciple urgently needs your help!
Yaohua was filled with doubts and wanted to cry but had no tears. Suddenly, someone knocked on the door loudly. The flimsy door trembled, and it seemed as if it was about to be smashed open the next moment.