Chapter 40 A Well-Deserved Response

By dusk, the smoke from cooking fires began to rise in the village.

Blind Li dragged his weary body and, with the help of a few villagers who were still relatively clear-headed, started a fire to cook.

Everyone pooled together some loose copper coins and sent someone to town to buy rice, flour, vegetables, and meat; this time, it was no longer raw rice and raw meat.

Door planks were taken down and set upon long benches, forming a simple wooden table.

This was normally the way bodies were laid out for funerals in the village, but no one cared about such taboos now; they just wanted to eat a hot meal as soon as possible.

Stir-fried meat with vegetables, steamed eggs, and white rice.

The dishes were overly simple, but in Sangye Village, having survived death, they were considered a rare delicacy.

The villagers insisted on having Chen Mu and Liu Ziming stay for dinner.

Blind Li took both of their hands, and for a moment, his old eyes welled with tears.

"Two Officers, the village doesn't have anything good left, but you both must stay for a meal."

"If it weren't for you, this Sangye Village would truly be finished."

The villagers quickly chimed in as well.

Chen Mu had intended to refuse, but unable to resist their heartfelt hospitality, he finally nodded.

And so, the villagers gathered around those few broken door planks and ate a meal that finally felt like a proper one.

Liu Ziming had been so hungry that his stomach was sticking to his ribs, so he didn't stand on ceremony; he picked up his bowl and shoveled the rice into his mouth, nearly choking.

Chen Mu, however, ate very slowly, observing the atmosphere at the table while he ate. After a long while, he spoke softly.

"Now that the monster infestation has been eliminated, the village has suffered a severe blow to its Origin Qi. What... are your plans for the future?"

This question was direct and also very realistic.

Having gone through this catastrophe, less than one in ten in Sangye Village had survived. Furthermore, they were on the verge of collapse from extreme mental torment. They could barely take care of themselves, let alone rebuild; how could it be easy?

The crowd looked at each other, and in the end, their gazes all fell upon Blind Li simultaneously.

After a while, a man spoke up hesitantly.

"Uncle Li, you are of high seniority in the village, and your experience is naturally greater than us young people. You've seen things, so we want to nominate you as village head to lead everyone in rebuilding our village."

Upon hearing this, Blind Li trembled all over, waving his hands repeatedly and shaking his head in refusal.

"I... I can't. I'm just a blind man. Besides, how could I have the face for this? This disaster..."

"Elder!"

Blind Li's voice was sharply cut off by Chen Mu. He was taken aback and didn't continue, his face filled with obvious self-reproach and guilt.

Chen Mu put down his bowl and chopsticks, his words resonating with weight.

"The monster infestation was fate; it was not something human effort could control."

"Sangye Village suffering such a calamity was a natural disaster, but also a man-made one."

"Those monster cats acted by borrowing the resentment in people's hearts. If we speak of who should be killed, the first to be killed should be those monsters. The second to be killed should be those who took advantage of the chaos to commit evil and act as accomplices!"

As Chen Mu spoke, he patted Blind Li on the shoulder.

"Right now, the village is in need of a backbone. You are familiar with the village's affairs and have the seniority. Do not decline; this task must be yours."

Liu Ziming also chimed in from the side: "That's right, Elder. If you really feel... then you should lead everyone to rebuild the village and make it prosperous again."

Several villagers also joined in, persuading him one after another.

"That's right, Uncle Li, please just agree."

"Exactly, among every household that survived, who hasn't received your kindness?"

"That's right, you helped everyone plenty when your eyes were still good. We are convinced by you being the village head!"

Blind Li's lips trembled as he listened, and tears welled up in his milky-white eye sockets again. After a long silence, he finally nodded.

He turned to the crowd, his voice still dry and hoarse.

"Fine... I, Blind Li, don't have much ability, but thanks to everyone's support, I will shamelessly take on this burden."

The crowd agreed in unison, and for a moment, the atmosphere became quite lively.

Once they had eaten and drunk their fill, the villagers, under Blind Li's direction, divided the work clearly: some cleaned up the aftermath, some cared for the seriously injured, and others formed night patrols, all in an orderly manner.

Liu Ziming leaned against the wall, his leg still aching, cold sweat dripping from his forehead. Seeing this scene, he actually managed a smile, nudged Chen Mu, and sighed repeatedly.

"Finally... it looks a bit like human life. Brother, following you, we really made it through this hurdle."

Chen Mu nodded. His gaze swept over the villagers who had gained a bit more Life Qi, and the heaviness in his heart lightened slightly. Turning to see Blind Li, a thought occurred to him, and he walked over to pull Blind Li aside.

"Elder, now that you are the village head, you must know that some things should be said, while others must be kept buried in your stomach."

"Regarding the monster infestation... these secrets, never mention them to anyone."

"This is not just for you, but for the entire village. Once word gets out, Sangye Village will never have peace again."

Blind Li nodded heavily and swore to the heavens.

"Officer, rest assured. I will take these matters to my grave."

Only then did Chen Mu feel at ease. The development of Sangye Village had not been cut off, and at the same time, he had fulfilled his promise to the Old Dog.

These young villagers would cherish the only remaining elder in their village, take care of his life, and see him through to his final days; this was the best ending Chen Mu could imagine.

After bidding farewell to the villagers, Chen Mu and Liu Ziming walked around the village perimeter once more.

Sangye Village in the night was surprisingly quiet, with only a few households still having faint lamplight burning.

Most of the villagers had already fallen asleep peacefully. After so many events, they were extremely exhausted and needed rest the most.

The two did not walk far before Liu Ziming finally couldn't hold on any longer; he plopped down onto a rock by the side of the road, rubbing his leg injury.

"Why not stay another night and return to Yunmeng City tomorrow?" Liu Ziming asked.

Chen Mu shook his head, standing at the village entrance, his gaze fixed on the pitch-black Mass Grave in the distance.

"We aren't going back yet; there are still some things to take care of."

Liu Ziming was puzzled. "What could be more important than returning to report on our mission?"

Chen Mu turned his head sharply, his eyes already carrying a chilling cold light.

"We must root out the problem completely."

Liu Ziming's heart skipped a beat, and he understood instantly.

The Cat-Faced Old Woman was dead, and the cat monsters were eliminated, but the cat monster's nest had not yet been found.

With things like this, if any hidden dangers were left behind, it could breed new monsters and evil spirits.

He stood up immediately. "I'm going with you!"

Chen Mu looked at his injured leg, hesitated for a moment, and then nodded.

Taking advantage of the night, the two hurried one after the other to the Mass Grave.

Although the monsters were no longer causing trouble, the eerie atmosphere of the Mass Grave had not diminished in the slightest.

The two had already searched this place once before. This time, Chen Mu's goal was clear: he went straight to the Death-Abandonment Kiln where the Cat-Faced Old Woman had once hidden.

During the day, in front of Blind Li, it was inconvenient for him to search thoroughly. Now, in the dead of night, it was the perfect time.

Chen Mu searched carefully in front of the kiln. On the ground, there were scattered withered bones and torn pieces of cloth; other than that, there seemed to be nothing.

He bent down to search in a circle and found nothing. Just then, Liu Ziming nudged him and pointed to a corner in the shade behind the kiln.

"Chen Mu, look here, the color of the soil is different from other places; it's slightly darker, as if... as if it had been deliberately trampled on."

Chen Mu quickly squatted down to take a closer look and indeed found some debris between the cracks in the soil. He picked it up and held it to the moonlight to see.

It was a few black cat hairs.