Feng Yunshu was rudely shut out. She turned to Ziyuan beside her in a daze. "Ziyuan, do I look scary? Or is there something dirty on my face?"
Ziyuan looked at Feng Yunshu seriously and quickly shook her head. "No, miss. You're as beautiful as can be, and there's nothing dirty on your face!"
"Then it's strange. Why was that old woman so scared..."
Just as Feng Yunshu was puzzled, Xiaoling in her arms suddenly poked her head out and twitched her nose.
"Master, there's something wrong with this village!"
"Hmm? What's wrong?"
Just as Feng Yunshu finished speaking, a gust of wind blew, bringing with it a strong stench. Feng Yunshu's face immediately changed, and she almost vomited on the spot in disgust.
"What disgusting smell?!"
"Smell?" Ziyuan was confused by Feng Yunshu's reaction. She also sniffed the surrounding air. "Miss, what strange smell are you talking about? Why can't I smell it?"
"You can't smell it? A... stench."
Feng Yunshu and Ziyuan stared at each other, both seeing confusion on each other's faces.
"Master, the smell seems to be coming from that mountain..." Xiaoling pointed to the dense forest behind the village.
Feng Yunshu looked in the direction Xiaoling was pointing. It was getting late, and the light was dim. She could only vaguely see that the whole mountain was covered by a faint black mist. She couldn't tell if it was just the天色 or something else.
The smell was getting stronger. Feng Yunshu frowned. "Let's go and take a look."
After walking a few steps, the candles that were still lit on the roadside all went out. The doors and windows of the houses that were open just now were all slammed shut. The atmosphere in the whole village became even weirder.
Seeing the situation around her, Ziyuan felt a chill down her back. She silently followed Feng Yunshu closely. "Miss, this village is very strange. It's getting late now. How about... how about we go back to the mansion first? It's not too late to find out what's going on tomorrow."
"What, are you scared?"
Ziyuan nodded weakly. "I just feel very uncomfortable..."
"Don't worry. With your miss here, how could anything happen to you? Just follow me closely."
Feng Yunshu walked forward following the smell. Just then, a farmer who was about to close the doors and windows noticed them, stopped what he was doing, and poked his head out.
"Girls, you're not from our village, are you? What are you doing here so late at night! Hurry up and leave here!"
Finally, they met someone who took the initiative to talk to them. Feng Yunshu's face lit up. She took a few steps and ran to the door of the old man who was speaking.
"Uncle, we're here to look for someone. Is there a woman surnamed Yu in your village? She's about thirty - something years old..."
"Someone surnamed Yu? Most people in our village are surnamed Yu. When you talk about an old woman, there are quite a few women in their thirties in the village. How do I know who you're referring to? What's the name of the person you're looking for? Be more specific."
"This..."
"Ziyuan, do you still remember Nanny Yu's name?"
Ziyuan was also at a loss. She shook her head blankly. "Miss, don't ask Ziyuan. Ziyuan really doesn't know. There are probably few people in the mansion who know her real name."
"This..." Feng Yunshu was stumped for a moment.
The old man spoke again. "You should leave quickly at this time! If it gets any later, you might not be able to get back alive!"
After hearing what the old man said, Feng Yunshu was even more confused. "Uncle, why do you say that?"
The old man nervously looked around, sized up Feng Yunshu carefully, and said, "Girl, you're new here and don't know. There's been a big problem in our village!"
"What's the matter?"
"In our village, every night for the past few days, it's been in a complete mess. The chickens, ducks, cows, and sheep raised by every household have died miserably. There's always a strange hissing sound coming from the mountain. It's really terrifying!"
Saying this, the old man shivered.
"For this reason, our village specially invited a fortune - teller from nearby to take a look. He said that the mountain god of our village is angry! He said that we need a human sacrifice to appease the mountain god's anger."
"Human sacrifice?" Feng Yunshu was shocked. "What is a human sacrifice?"
"Human sacrifice... sending the children under ten years old in the village to the mountain to worship the mountain god..."
"What?!" Feng Yunshu stared wide - eyed. "You sent the children under ten years old in the village to the mountain? There are many jackals, tigers, and leopards on the mountain. Isn't that a death sentence for the children!"
"This..." Just as the old man was about to say something else, suddenly a shrill roar came from the mountain. The intermittent roars made people tremble with fear.
"Bad! The mountain god is angry again!"
The old man was so scared that he quickly retracted his head. Without saying a word, he slammed the doors and windows shut and ignored Feng Yunshu.
This time, Feng Yunshu heard clearly that there really was a strange sound on the mountain.
"Miss... Miss... Could it really be that the mountain god is angry! Let's leave here quickly! It's too... too scary!"
Ziyuan was so scared that her face turned pale. She quickly reached out and grabbed Feng Yunshu's sleeve, nervously looking around, afraid that she would be eaten by a monster the next second.
"Don't worry. I'll protect you."
Probably due to the instinctive reaction of a cultivator, in the face of such strange things, Feng Yunshu quickly entered a state of full alert. She tightened her grip on the short knife on her waist and became vigilant.
"Xiaoling, does this sound like that of a wild wolf or other wild animals?"
Xiaoling shook her head. "Definitely not, master. Xiaoling can immediately distinguish the sound of any wild animal, but this roar doesn't belong to any wild animal."
"Could it be that the so - called anger of the'mountain god' is caused by some monster?"
"It's possible... Master, how about we go back first? Tomorrow, we can find the third senior brother and go to the mountain together to see what's going on. After all, your spiritual power is limited now. Safety first!"
Feng Yunshu was also thinking the same way. At the moment, she only had a knife with her, as well as the previous demon - detecting mirror and some medicinal powder. If it was really a powerful monster, not only would she be in danger, but she would also implicate Ziyuan, which would be a sin.
"Okay, then let's go back first."
However, just as Feng Yunshu turned around and hadn't taken a step yet, suddenly a gust of cold wind blew, followed by a dense black mist. The black mist completely blocked her sight.
Feng Yunshu's first reaction was to hug Xiaoling tightly with one hand and reach out the other hand to pull Ziyuan. "Ziyuan, follow me closely!"
However, when she grabbed something, it was something prickly. It hurt so much that she couldn't help but retract her hand. "Ziyuan?!"
Feng Yunshu sensed something was wrong. She turned around and found that Ziyuan was no longer beside her. The place beside her was empty.
"Ziyuan!"
Gradually, the black mist dissipated. After Feng Yunshu regained her sight, she found that the environment around her was no longer in the village. She had actually arrived in the forest!
There were lush trees all around, and from time to time, there came the cries of crows, adding a bit of weirdness for no reason.
"Master, be careful!"
Xiaoling in her arms suddenly jumped up and pounced backward. Feng Yunshu suddenly turned her head and found that Xiaoling had bitten a long, furry antenna. This antenna grew out from the depths of the forest and seemed to be wriggling as if it had eyes.
Just now, this antenna seemed to be attacking her. Thanks to Xiaoling's timely discovery, she didn't get hit.