Chapter 19 A Murderous Situation in the Fog

After the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, the outline of the woods finally appeared vaguely before them.

Through the blood-red fog, the leafless branches looked hideous and terrifying, much like vengeful ghosts reaching out with their claws.

"This is the place."

Chen Mu stopped and looked around.

"Pick up some dry branches; we need to head back as soon as possible."

Liu Ziming nodded, his movements impossibly fast, and lowered his head to gather them.

Chen Mu didn't help; he stood rooted to the spot, his hand resting on his sword, his expression exceptionally vigilant.

It was quiet here too. Wind blew through the leaves, but there was no sound.

"Enough, enough, this is enough."

Liu Ziming stood up holding a bundle of dry branches, his voice urgent. "Let's go back quickly. I don't want to stay in this godforsaken place for even a second longer."

As he spoke, he turned to leave, but suddenly came to a halt.

Chen Mu had moved in front of him at some point, his back to him, and had drawn his sword.

"What is it?"

Liu Ziming hesitated for a moment, then immediately sensed something amiss.

Sound!

In this dead silence, there was suddenly sound!

It wasn't the sound of footsteps, nor was it the sound of gnawing; it was the sound of door hinges turning.

"Creeeak—"

The sound was sharp and piercing, as if coming from somewhere deep within the fog.

Immediately following were a second and a third sound, then countless creaking noises echoed, accompanied by the dull thud of heavy objects being dragged.

They came from all directions, seemingly from the countless sealed earthen houses they had seen during the day!

"The doors... are those doors... opening?"

Liu Ziming swallowed hard, his grip tightening on the firewood.

"Yes."

Chen Mu said nothing more, staring fixedly in the direction the sounds were coming from.

Hiding away and staying indoors during the day, yet every household standing wide open at night?

Such an inversion of Yin and Yang—the waters of Sangye Village must be very deep indeed!

The two of them tentatively walked back, approaching the source of the sound step by step.

Suddenly.

A light shone, and then a second, a third...

Countless lights ignited within the blood-red fog, floating in mid-air and gradually closing in on the two of them.

Amidst the thick fog, the two of them paused, stopping in their tracks.

Closer, getting closer!

Only then did Chen Mu realize what those glowing things actually were.

They were eyes!

Dense swarms of eyes!

Liu Ziming felt his scalp prickling with terror and let out a scream.

Those eyes, flickering with eerie light, turned in unison and instantly focused on the two of them!

It was the bloodthirsty gaze of a predator, sticky and repulsive.

"Chen Mu, Chen Mu!"

Liu Ziming's voice had lost its composure, and he retreated instinctively, stumbling and scattering the firewood in his hands all over the ground.

Chen Mu tightened his grip on the sword hilt again.

The next moment, those eyes began to Move rapidly toward the two of them, yet not a single sound of footsteps could be heard during the process.

The eyes seemed to float in mid-air, as swift as the wind.

"Run!"

Chen Mu shouted in a low voice, and the two of them turned and bolted.

But they hadn't run more than a few steps before they both stopped in unison.

More eerie points of light appeared in the fog ahead, and more eyes opened from the doors on both sides of the road, closing in.

With pursuit in front and interception behind, the two were instantly surrounded.

"What should we do?"

Liu Ziming's heart was pounding, his voice laced with panic.

Chen Mu held his sword horizontally across his chest and pointed to Liu Ziming's waist.

Only then did Liu Ziming snap out of it and hurriedly draw his blade.

With a sharp blade in hand, he felt a modicum of safety.

The two stood back-to-back, wielding their sharp weapons—one saber, one sword—gleaming coldly in the blood-red fog.

Those pairs of eyes, glowing with eerie light, were closing in ever closer.

Just then, a black shadow darted out from the fog, leaping high with astonishing speed, its sharp claws aiming straight for Liu Ziming.

"Get out of the way!"

Chen Mu roared, and his sword was already swinging upward.

"Heaven-Slaying Sword Drawing Technique!"

Liu Ziming only felt a flash of silver light; when he looked again, Chen Mu's sword tip was pointing downward, and the Move was already complete.

There were no flashy Moves, nor was there any piercing Sword Qi.

It was just as they say: the greatest sounds are silent, and the greatest forms are shapeless.

With that single, clean, and decisive strike, he had precisely slashed across the black shadow's neck.

Time seemed to freeze at that moment.

The black shadow's pouncing motion stiffened in mid-air, its eyes still staring fixedly at Liu Ziming.

The next moment, its head and neck parted ways.

Liu Ziming felt liquid splash onto his face.

Sticky and icy cold, it was nothing like what a living creature should have.

The headless corpse crashed down from mid-air, its limbs still twitching meaninglessly.

And the scream was released at the very moment the body hit the ground.

At the same time, all the eyes in the fog became brighter and more frenzied.

Roars came from all directions, and the movement speed of the pairs of eyes suddenly accelerated, though their bodies remained hidden within the blood-red fog.

They were not directed at the two men, but had turned toward the headless corpse on the ground.

"Crunch, crunch."

The sound of bones breaking was clearly audible, and red viscous fluid splattered everywhere.

Cannibalism!

Without the slightest emotion, without any hesitation, there was only a craving for flesh and blood!

A cold, mechanical voice rang out in Chen Mu's mind.

[Killed one walking corpse, plundered Martial Dao Lifespan: three years!]

A sharp light suddenly flashed in Chen Mu's eyes, and he calculated inwardly.

Although these monsters provided little Lifespan, their advantage lay in their numbers; all in all, he could plunder quite a bit.

It wouldn't be a wasted trip.

With this thought, he made up his mind. His wrist sank, and Sword Intent surged, pointing directly at those monsters. He vowed to carve a path of survival out of this blood-red fog and, incidentally, earn enough Lifespan.

However, before he could Move, his sleeve was tugged. Chen Mu looked back to see it was Liu Ziming.

"Chen Mu! Don't attack!"

"Don't... don't kill them. Look, they're wearing villagers' clothes!"

"They aren't monsters; they are the villagers of Sangye Village!"