The three of them quickened their pace, heading towards Yunmeng Village, about a hundred li west of Qingxu Heaven.
In the afternoon, a small mountain village finally appeared ahead.
Lu Jixing carefully introduced to Su Luo, "Yunmeng Village isn't large, only a little over three hundred households. I've been here a few times on sect missions. There are no cultivators in the village, just farmers and artisans. It's always been peaceful..."
Before he could finish, he suddenly stopped, sniffing the air.
Li Tianjue and Su Luo also detected it: a faint stench drifted in the air, like that of dead cats and rats, coming from the village ahead.
A group of people were gathered at the village entrance, pointing and gesturing, doing something unknown.
The three exchanged glances and hurried towards them.
It was a group of Yunmeng Village villagers, men and women, young and old, gathered at the village entrance, their faces etched with fear. About seven or eight zhang ahead, two corpses lay on the ground, but no one dared to approach.
Seeing Su Luo and the other two arrive, and after clarifying their identities and intentions, a middle-aged man at the forefront became extremely excited, as if he had found a savior.
"It's Young Master Li from Qingxu Heaven, and two esteemed experts!"
"You've finally arrived! Something has happened in our village, many people have died, it's too tragic!"
"Now we can't go home, what should we do..."
The villagers all became agitated, crowding around Li Tianjue and the other two, chattering incessantly, creating a chaotic scene. It was only when the village chief, Liao Da'an, calmed them down that he explained everything.
It turned out that about a month ago, Yunmeng Village had started experiencing inexplicable incidents.
It began with a few local ruffians in the village who died overnight. They had no visible wounds, but their faces were contorted in terror, as if they had seen something terrifying before they died, scared to death.
Since these individuals extorted people daily, harassed young wives, and stole chickens and dogs, causing trouble for the villagers, no one complained even though their deaths were so strange. In fact, many were secretly happy to be rid of these nuisquinces.
But from that day on, something happened almost every day, and the situation escalated.
"We don't know the reason, but people keep dying inexplicably."
Liao Da'an's face was pale, his hands trembling slightly. "Villagers are either scared to death in their sleep, with bulging eyes, or they suddenly go mad and attack their own family members. One family of five was all chopped to death by the husband."
Some villagers who had witnessed the events quickly added details, further terrifying the others.
Liao Da'an said fearfully, "We haven't dared to enter the village for five days, because even ghosts have appeared! They are too terrifying. We don't know if those who didn't escape are alive or dead. Two days ago, we mobilized some people to check, but they never came back..."
The villagers had been lingering outside the village for days, afraid to enter but unwilling to abandon their trapped family members. Some had also lost their property and had nowhere else to go if they left Yunmeng Village, leaving them completely helpless.
Ghosts?
Su Luo had been traversing this world for nearly half a year and had never encountered such a situation. Could it be that Yunmeng Village's terrain was unusual?
Lu Jixing also frowned, "Such strangeness indicates a problem!"
Li Tianjue's expression remained unchanged as he asked, "Village Chief, before we arrived, did a young man, around my age, come to the village to help you resolve this matter?"
Liao Da'an immediately replied, "Yes, a rather handsome young man. He also said he was from Qingxu Heaven, but didn't mention his name. However, after he entered the village, he never came out again. I'm afraid he..." He sighed.
He shook his head regretfully, his heart heavy.
Su Luo's heart skipped a beat, and she looked at Li Tianjue, "Senior Brother, could it be..."
She couldn't imagine that her Second Senior Brother, with his considerable cultivation, would be trapped in such a small village.
Li Tianjue remained composed, shaking his head subtly, signaling Su Luo and the other to remain silent and not mention Chu Tianshu's identity, to avoid alarming the villagers.
"Everyone, please don't panic. We will go in and see if we can find the cause and rescue everyone."
"Yes, yes, thank you, Young Master Li!"
The villagers nodded and bowed, their gratitude overflowing.
The prestige of Qingxu Heaven and Li Tianjue's well-known reputation finally gave them a glimmer of hope. Village Chief Liao Da'an and the others watched the three enter the village, silently praying for them.
As Su Luo walked into the quiet mountain village, she soon saw some chilling scenes.
The bodies of some villagers lay by the roadside, in fields, or at their doorways... their faces contorted, eyes bulging, as if they had seen something terrifying in their final moments.
Some of the corpses had begun to decompose, emitting a foul stench that turned one's stomach.
At this moment, Lu Jixing took out a porcelain bottle and offered a pill to Su Luo. "Junior Sister," he said kindly, "this is a Mu Xiang Dan. Taking one will block the stench and prevent less severe corpse poison."
"Thank you, Third Senior Brother," Su Luo smiled. Just as she was about to take it, Li Tianjue spoke.
"Is this refined by you, Third Junior Brother?"
Lu Jixing nodded, a hint of pride in his voice. "Yes, I improved the previous formula and finally refined another batch. It should be successful. Senior Brother, would you like one too?"
Li Tianjue: "...No, thank you."
Su Luo's expression darkened.
So this pill was newly refined and its efficacy hadn't been tested yet?
Su Luo quickly used her Divine Eye to detect it: a low-grade Mu Xiang Dan, which could temporarily block the sense of smell, but after fifteen minutes of consumption, it would cause a rash all over the body and might lead to symptoms like internal heat and nosebleeds...
She looked at Lu Jixing with a mournful expression. Third Senior Brother, are you specifically targeting your Junior Sister?
Su Luo recalled the first time she met Lu Jixing.
Back then, Chu Tianshu had mocked his lack of skill. She had thought it was a joke, but now she realized it was true! It seemed that despite Lu Jixing's passion for refining pills and poisons, he hadn't mastered them yet.
Fortunately, she hadn't eaten it yet. She would have to be careful of Third Senior Brother's 'poisonous hands' in the future.
Just then, Li Tianjue sensed something and said in a low voice, "Someone is coming out."
Su Luo seized the opportunity to discard the Mu Xiang Dan and looked forward.
Not far ahead, a simple house built of mud and straw opened, and a person walked out.
He wore coarse linen clothes and patched pants, clearly a villager of Yunmeng Village. However, his movements were abnormal; his body was stiff, his limbs uncoordinated, and he walked with a wobbly gait.
If he hadn't been free of blood and decomposition, Su Luo would have thought he was a zombie from a movie in her past life.
Just as Lu Jixing was about to step forward to examine him, Su Luo stopped him. "Wait, Third Senior Brother."
The Divine Eye indicated that this person was Zhao San, a villager of Yunmeng Village, but he had lost one soul and two spirits, existing in a state of soul-loss. If he heard any movement, he might attack anyone he saw.
Lu Jixing, however, was not worried. "It's alright, I'll be careful."
He slowly walked forward, and Li Tianjue did not stop him, allowing him to approach the villager.