Immortal Cultivation and Life-Saving Guide

Chapter 307: Weaving a Web (Thanks to Duochuiyidianfeng for the reward!)

The three of them successfully escaped a disaster because they didn't know the value of the insect: once the zombie insect leaves its host, it will drill into the body of a living person. It is a powerful weapon to harm people secretly. Qin Feng's unintentional action actually saved the world from a scourge.

Wei Xi had no objection to this and took out some dry food to eat. After the meal, the three of them set out to explore the strange village.

Originally, Qin Feng wanted to keep the camp, but Lian Gou Xie was extremely reluctant and insisted on moving the camp, so he had no choice but to do as he wished.

After this delay, it was already daylight by the time we set out. Although the forest of Jiuai Mountain was still dark, there were always gaps in the layers of treetops, and the sunlight could penetrate through them, dispelling some of the gloom.

"It's strange," Lian Gouyue said as he arrived and cut off the hanging vines. "How come it hasn't rained since we came from Yudai City?"

"It's been so long without a drop of rain, and the forest is still so stuffy and damp. If it rains here, it'll be so humid! We might even get mushrooms on our faces!"

"Please don't let it rain," Qin Feng said with a bitter face. "It's uncomfortable enough now. Everything is slippery here. It's hard to even hold the knife handle... It's better to have snow. It will float lightly without getting on you. The wind will blow it away in no time!"

Trapped in the sticky green of the Nanjiang River, Qin Feng selectively forgot the northwest wind blowing in his face from the northern border.

Wei Xi, however, was not in such a relaxed mood. Jiuai Mountain had made her extremely suspicious. Everything she saw now looked like the giant spider from last night. The moment her eyes caught sight of a living thing, her mind automatically imagined it had eight spiky legs, tingling with her tense nerves.

When he arrived near the village, Wei Xi could still find traces of his escape yesterday. Without the obscuring fog, these traces that had not been dealt with in time were quite obvious.

"If you run two more steps to the side, something serious will happen," Lian Gouyue pointed at a tall tree with blackened bark. "I mentioned it in the book when I was helping Senior Sister Xie draw illustrations. If I remember correctly, this tree is called the Styrax, and it's extremely poisonous. People in Nanjiang will eradicate it if they see it!"

"Can such a tree have such great abilities?"

Lian Gouyu shook his head and said, "It's not just poisonous. The biggest harm this thing does is poison the land. Wherever there is a thorn tree, nothing else will grow. Within five years, the whole area will be barren. That's why it's eradicated."

Wei Xiyuan didn't know about this and sighed, "I originally thought there might be living people in the village, but now that no one is taking care of this thing, I'm afraid the village is full of bugs now..."

This idea was not very pleasant and made people feel heavy-hearted. They walked further into the village with high vigilance, fearing that they would be attacked by the insects that suddenly appeared.

The style of this village is similar to that of the Taobin tribe, except for the decorative totems; bamboo houses are scattered around the center, and there are abandoned fields behind them. It can be seen that no one has taken care of it for a long time.

Wei Xi touched the well rope and heard a "clang". It turned out that the rope was rotten and could not withstand the blow. It broke completely and the wooden barrel tied to it fell to the bottom of the well.

"The wells are all dry," Lian Goujie whispered, "I'm afraid there are really no survivors in this village..."

Wei Xi wiped her hands with a sweat towel and heard Qin Feng enter the bamboo building and ask her to come over.

"Look!" Qin Feng opened the box and turned sideways. "It's a man-made disaster!"

The craftsmanship of the wooden box was very crude, and it was not as good as the jewelry making skills of the Nanjiang people. There were burrs on the box body, and two pieces of cloth were hanging on it. Inside was the corpse of a child, with broken bones in the chest and dried black blood underneath.

"This is the blade," Qin Feng said with some reluctance, "One cut and the child will die."

Wei Xi gestured at the size of the box. The child who was killed was probably only seven years old. He must have been hiding in the box, but was discovered and eventually died.

"This place is hot and humid, so the bodies are better preserved in the boxes," Wei Xi said, reaching out to remove the cloth hanging from the burrs. "We didn't find any other bodies, so I'm afraid they've all rotted away."

The edges of the cloth were uneven. Wei Xi suspected the burrs had been scratched by the looters while they were robbing the property. Naturally, the child hidden in the box wouldn't have escaped. "What a deep hatred and vengeance! Even children aren't spared!" Lian Gou looked away. "Silly child, a box is the last place to hide people..."

Although the bamboo house was a mess, it was clear that a family had once lived there: a mosquito repellent herbal bag was tied to the headboard; under the window, an upside-down clay vase was lying, with withered mountain flowers half inside and half stuck to the ground; two spears leaned against the wall, their tips somewhat blunt, likely weapons awaiting maintenance...

All the valuables were taken away. There was a small wooden horse at Wei Xi's feet, and the attacker kicked the toy and made it fall backwards to the ground.

Wei Xi straightened the wooden horse and went upstairs.

The second floor was originally a storage room, but now there wasn't much left. Qin Feng, who had come up first, pointed at the hanging bamboo cages. "They're used to cultivate poisonous insects. There are no living ones left."

The people of Nanjiang are skilled in Gu, so it's not surprising that this family raises Gu worms. Gu worms are tools cultivated by humans, and without anyone to care for them, these strange-looking Gu worms probably won't live more than their owners.

"This is really strange," Lian Gouyue gently touched a nearby bamboo cage, "How could this family, who can control insects, be so brutally slaughtered?"

No one can answer this question at the moment. The three of them searched all the other bamboo houses and found signs of looting.

There were fifty-three bamboo buildings in the village, and assuming five people lived in each building, there should be less than three hundred people in the village. While not a large number, it was not a small number either. Excluding the elderly, the weak, women, and children, a few dozen young and strong men could have been enough to put up a fight, which showed the strength of the perpetrator.

"Could it be a cultivator taking action?" Qin Feng speculated, "Xiaoxi, you saw spiritual power last night... If it was a Jindan cultivator taking action, the people in this village might not be able to resist!"

"...No, no, no," Lian Gouyue shook his head like a rattle. "From the perspective of a thief, even stealing clothes is not something you can take seriously. Besides, look, every household's food has not been touched!"

Professional Lian Gou's expression was inscrutable. "There's no shortage of food. The loot is either lightweight or valuable, which suggests the perpetrators traveled light. And they're incredibly powerful... If I were to guess, someone must have mobilized the army!"

"Such a small tribe," Qin Feng didn't believe him and sneered, "Even if we robbed ten of them, it wouldn't be enough to support the entire march! I think there was a conflict between tribes, and the other tribes were involved!"

While the two were arguing, they found the last bamboo building. This bamboo building was more exquisite than the others, but its location was a bit remote and did not seem like the place where any important person lived.

As soon as he opened the door, Wei Xi realized he had made a mistake: the bamboo building was filled with cages used to raise poisonous insects; on the ground lay pottery jars of various sizes, all sealed with red cloth; on the two wooden shelves against the wall were bottles and jars, including a few white jade bottles...

"This is a nest of insects..."

This kind of configuration is definitely not the way other people just raise a few poisonous insects for fun. I guess the person living in this bamboo building is of high status.

More importantly, there were no signs of looting in this bamboo building, as if the tragedy outside had deliberately avoided this place.

With full of doubts in their hearts, Wei Xi and the other two walked to the second floor.

Unlike other bamboo houses, the second floor was used as the owner's rest area. There was a cool mat on the bed, covered with a mosquito net, and a desk facing the window, with several bamboo cages hanging in the shade.

There was a bamboo chair in front of the desk, with a white skeleton sitting on it. The big spider from last night was lying on the skeleton's left arm, spitting out long strands of silk from its mouth.

　I want to sleep after memorizing the notes...

　　
　
(End of this chapter)