This group of eight people, including the little girl on horseback, looked at each other in bewilderment at this site.

It was clear to everyone that this village had been abandoned, and that the fire had just been made by a passerby.

“Ah! It’s yet another deserted village…”

“He’s alone, isn’t he afraid of walking down this way?”

“Maybe he has some companions inside.”

“It doesn’t look like there are any…”

Seeing that Ji Yuan was alone, the group of people held a brief discussion amongst themselves. One young, strong man leading the group spoke to the man with the salt and pepper beard beside him.

“Second uncle, I’ve looked around. There are no houses in good condition nearby. Only this mansion with the man inside is relatively intact, and there is a well in front of the house. Shall we go over and fight him…”

The person the young man called second uncle frowned, and looked in Ji Yuan’s direction. They were still about a dozen zhang away from the building. At this time, as the sky was growing dark in an eerie deserted village, the other party was looking at them without any fear in his gaze.

“I think we should find another place to rest. If they dare to travel alone and stay in such a deserted village, it would better for us to refrain from causing any trouble.”

Hearing the man’s words, the people nearby glanced at each other and had no objections. They led their horses to a place a little further away. After all, this village wasn’t all that small. Although it was abandoned, they should still be able to find a suitable place.

Ji Yuan stood at the door, opened the door a little wider, and looked at these people who didn’t seem to have any intention of coming over.

“Boom…”

The thunder sounded again. Ji Yuan looked up at the sky, breathed in the humidity permeating the air, and kept the words he was about to say to himself for the time being.

“Plip… plop… Shhhh…”

The rain came quickly. Although it was not a heavy downpour, it was definitely no drizzle.

“Oh no! Hurry, hurry, let’s get over there to get out of the rain! Go hide from the rain over there! You will catch a cold if you get wet!”

“Quick, run towards the fire!”

“Lead the horses, lead the horses.”

At this moment, the group was in a very awkward position. The houses along the village road were all dilapidated, and could not even accommodate two people, let alone their horses. Looking for a house in the rain was definitely a bad idea. Their only remaining option was to run towards the spacious mansion where Ji Yuan currently was.

The second uncle and the strong young man took the lead. Before they had even reached the mansion, they shouted to Ji Yuan.

“My friend, it’s raining heavily, could you please let us squeeze in here to take shelter?”

“Please, could you help us—!”

Ji Yuan showed his sincerity with a practical action: he quickly opened the door and responded loudly.

“Hurry up, please come in everyone. It’s only early spring now, and getting wet and falling ill out here in the wilderness would be bad.”

“Thank you, thank you, my friend!”

The second uncle ran, cupping his hands in a respectful gesture as he led the way. The rain was about to intensify, and everyone quickened their pace and hurried into the big house.

Once the last horse had been brought in, Ji Yuan, still standing at the entrance, closed the door again, leaving a gap open about the width of a fist to prevent these people from getting nervous or apprehensive.

Everyone inside jumped and moved around, patting themselves up and down, trying to shake off any water droplets before they seeped into their clothes.

After a short while, the group finally finished brushing themselves off. Outside, the rain was coming down heavily. The second uncle whom the little girl had called out to adjusted his clothes and approached Ji Yuan, still perched in the corner by the side door, and bowed.

“Thank you very much for your generous help, sir. My name is Han Ming, and these are all my juniors.”

Seeing Ji Yuan’s elegant attire, Han Ming tried his best to be polite. Ji Yuan looked at the man in his fifties and bowed in return.

“My surname is Ji. This house is deserted and has no owner, so anyone can rest here. My actions really cannot be regarded as helping you, so there’s no need to be so polite…”

At these words, Ji Yuan gestured to the firewood he had gathered previously in the corner.

“The firewood outside is probably wet, so you won’t be able to make use of it. Since you’ve all been caught in the rain, you can take some and start a fire in here to warm yourselves.”

Ji Yuan didn’t suggest anything like sharing the fire. Firstly, his fire was near the corner of the room by the side door, an area that was spacious enough for one or two people, but too crowded for more. Secondly, he had to at least show some caution towards strangers. This wasn’t just for show, but rather to reassure them.

Sure enough, when he heard Ji Yuan’s words, Han Ming didn’t refuse. After bowing again in thanks, he called for another person to help carry the firewood over, naturally taking the kindling from Ji Yuan’s fire.

Soon, another fire had been lit in the inner part of the mansion, and the group of people gathered around it to warm themselves.

Apart from giving them some initial help in lighting the fire and fetching the wood, Ji Yuan didn’t pay much attention to them afterwards, maintaining a comfortable distance. He sat alone in the corner by the door, roasting his biscuits and reading his book.

Ji Yuan’s demeanor made the group feel more at ease; he could clearly hear laughter and chatter starting up from the other side, proving that they had relaxed a lot.

However, Ji Yuan’s primary focus was not on them. After reading for a while, he would peer outside through the crack in the door, his gaze seemingly searching for something through the hazy curtain of rain in the darkness.

‘What is that strange smell, why has it gone away again? ’

Ji Yuan wondered, turning a page in his book. Another odor reached his nose, but this time it was the aroma of rations being roasted.

“Second Uncle, that great scholar is just a show-off. He must be a complete novice — I just took a peek at his book, and it’s completely blank, with no words on it, but he’s still siting there flipping through it…”

“Don’t speak nonsense, child.”

“It’s not nonsense…”

Although the voice was quiet, it naturally couldn’t escape Ji Yuan’s ears.

Ji Yuan pretended not to hear it, picked up the wooden stick stuck on the foot of the stool, removed the now-soft biscuit, tore off a piece, and began to chew.

“Sir, I see that you have been staring outside. What are you looking at?”

A voice called from the side. Ji Yuan turned to see Han Ming approaching, wearing a bamboo hat, as if he were about to head out.

“It’s nothing. This place is desolate, and I’m afraid of wild animals, so I’m just keeping an eye out.”

“Oh.”

Han Ming replied. He opened the door and walked out under the eaves. He picked up an iron bucket that had been placed outside. It was already full of rainwater.

Although there was a wells outside, using rainwater was more convenient in this case.

When Han Ming returned inside with the bucket, he subconsciously glanced at the book Ji Yuan had placed beside the stool. It was closed, so it was impossible for him to tell whether there were any words inside. The blue cover, where the title should have been written, was indeed blank.

As Han Ming was closing the door, holding the bucket, and was about to return to his campfire, Ji Yuan suddenly asked.

“Mr. Han, I have a question that I would like to ask you. Why has everything up to this point been abandoned?”

Han Ming gestured inside, handed the bucket to the man who had come over, then chatted with Ji Yuan at the door.

“Mr. Ji, you probably seldom go this way, right? In the early years of the war with Dazhen, all the men near Nanyuan Road were conscripted into the army. The population was predominantly women, and there was a decline in men everywhere. Later, the land was plagued with bandits for a time, and it was rumored that there were some evil creatures, so many people around Nanyuan Road went north. But surviving in this kind of world… ah!”

Han Ming uttered with emotion.

“This time, I received a message to pick someone up. After traveling down Nanyuan Road, the situation here does seem exaggeratedly bad. So, Mr. Ji, what brings you to a place like this? It’s very dangerous!”

Ji Yuan swallowed the biscuit he had been chewing and glanced outside.

“I am not from Zuyue. I went north with the intention of exploring.”

Not from Zuyue? Went north?

Han Ming was stunned and asked.

“Sir, could it be that you are from Dazhen?”

Ji Yuan smiled.

“Yes, I can indeed be regarded as someone from Dazhen.”

“Oh… so you are indeed from Dazhen, how rare. How is Dazhen? I heard that aside from the princes and nobility, most common families cannot afford enough to eat.”

Ji Yuan turned to look at Han Ming.

“Where did you hear that?”

“Uh, that’s what everyone says.”

Indeed, an indisputable answer. Ji Yuan thought about it for a while, then spoke.

“Dazhen is okay, it’s not that bad. Zuyue and Dazhen have a bad relationship, so it’s inevitable that…”

His voice suddenly stopped. Ji Yuan looked outside and sniffed the air again.

He didn’t smell anything, but he did hear some faint noises just now. Even with his hearing, they were too far away, and with the heavy rain interfering, it just sounded like a hallucination.

“Mr. Han, you should rest early tonight. It would be best not to casually go outside. I have some special skills, so I can dare to venture out alone. I don’t think this place is peaceful.”

“Well, thank you Mr. Ji for the warning.”

Seeing that Ji Yuan didn’t want to talk anymore, Han Ming went back to the fire.

The communication between people could sometimes be strange. Some people could sense sincerity even after just a few words. Clearly, Ji Yuan had left a very good impression on Han Ming.

. . .

About seven or eight li away from the deserted village, two groups of men were engaged in a fierce battle in the rainy night.

One side consisted of more than a dozen people dressed in a mix of formal attire and armor,1 while the other side wore straw raincoats, tattered helmets, and armor, wielding a variety of swords, spears, and halberds.

The clash of weapons and the sounds of screaming filled the air.

A rider wielding a lance rode back and forth around the perimeter, shouting.

“If you chop off a head, you will be rewarded with a whole roast leg of mutton. Kill two, and you’ll get an entire half a lamb. Brothers, don’t let them run away!”

“Go on!”

“Kill… for my mutton!”

“Kill…”

“Clang…”

“Clang…”

The weapons of the three to five bandits were blocked by long sticks, while another martial expert attacked with his palms.

“Hahaha… Come and take my life if you can! Haah!”

A warrior wearing a hood roared like thunder and struck out at a bandit.

“Bang…”

The man was sent flying seven or eight feet into the air and landed on the ground hard, struggling to stand.

“Catch the leader first!”

“Yes!”

Two men in armor coordinated to block the surrounding weapons, and rushed towards the rider in the distance. Several people immediately rushed out from the center to block their way.

One bandit was immediately caught by the warrior, who grabbed his clothes, and he became a human shield, swinging him to the side to block the incoming swords and axes. However, with too many attackers around him, the warrior could not advance any further.

“Ah…”

“Yue Rong—!”

“Hurry and help—!”

The shrill scream of the woman behind them was especially conspicuous amidst the noise and clamor. Hearing the sound, the other martial artists in their tactical attire gathered back with their companions.

The warriors banded together to fight and retreat. Everyone was panting heavily, many already wounded.

Surrounding them were a large number of bandits. There were around one or two hundred, many of which were on horseback.

“Fortunately, it is raining, making their bows and crossbows less effective. Otherwise, our situation would be much worse!”

One man spoke as he grabbed a bandit’s spear and hurled it at the distant leader on horseback. The leader dodged, evidently also skilled in martial arts.

“It’s not much better now though, haah!”

“Clang-clang…shwick…”

“Watch out to the left!”

“Bang…”

The fighting continued to one side.

On the other side, many injured bandits were dragged to the rear by their companions, bandaging each other and enduring the pain, but their attention remained focused on the inner reaches of their encirclement.

“These people are stubborn today!”

“Hmph, they can’t hold out for long.”

“Hehehe, those girls… we’ll have to make them feel better later!”

“Then they’ll have to be chopped to pieces…”

Many of the wounded bandits were still in the mood to talk.

One of the bandits had his arm twisted and his leg broken. He had just straightened his bones back and lay on the ground with a look of pain on his face.

“Ooh…ooh…ooh…”

A strange sound that sounded like a hoarse gasp came from the side. The injured bandit opened his eyes and turned his head to look to his left. Suddenly, he met a terrifying sight. A pair of eyes that seemed to be rotting, skin like a dead tree… Only the head was exposed, and its body seemed to be buried in the ground.

The bandit’s face suddenly turned pale.

“There… ah… aaah…”

Before the bandit’s terrified scream could erupt, a large mouth with sharp, dry, yellow, dirty teeth bit him on the neck…

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T/n: In case you were wondering why the NovelUpdates page has a “zombie” tag… now you know :3

1. The literal translation is “strong suits” so I guess the implication is fancy armor of the nobility