The weak scholar in the end of ancient times

Chapter 15 Come on, Taoist Priest

As we moved away from Ge Village, the road conditions became unfamiliar and more difficult to travel on.

The surroundings are desolate.

Fortunately, the grass and trees are now withered, and the weeds that once invaded every piece of land have now lay down on the ground, revealing the country roads.

The wheelbarrow is very useful at this time, and can carry goods on these narrow and uneven grounds.

Without the help of the villagers, the person responsible for pushing the cart is now Wen Gu's cousin Tietou.

The unicycle is equipped with a bracket, so if he encounters danger, Tietou can throw the unicycle away and immediately join the battle.

However, in Wen Gu's opinion, there are still too few people.

If there are enough people, everyone can take turns pushing the bicycle a short distance.

In terms of transportation, Wen Gu still wants to upgrade it.

The roads we travel in the future may not all be country roads like this. It would be nice to have a two-wheeled vehicle. It can accommodate people and carry more goods.

The horse does not expect much.

Ordinary villagers cannot afford to keep horses.

In places where horses could be raised, when the world first became chaotic, the horses were already snatched away by various forces, big and small. Those that were not snatched away might be attacked by evil spirits and become food.

If you don't have a horse, an ox cart or a donkey cart will do. Donkeys are more common in villages and towns.

Even if many surrounding villages cannot afford to raise horses and cows, there are still people who can afford to raise donkeys and mules.

Because of their lower breeding costs and certain endurance, caravans in some remote areas use donkeys to transport goods.

Wen Gu wrote this down in his to-do list and kept an eye out along the way to see if he could find the donkey that had escaped the net.

Not far away, Wen Gu saw another cow skeleton.

Xiao Liu sighed, "When we came out half a year ago, we saw buffaloes soaking in the water. But back then, no one dared to touch the muddy water, so we had to give up. Since then, my dad and his friends have never seen a living buffalo since they came out again."

When burning the wasteland, you can see the cattle skeletons in the fields outside and know that many livestock outside will not escape the disaster.

Under the evil plague, poultry, livestock, birds, fish...these animals are all normal and have not shown any signs of being possessed by evil spirits.

Only humans are possessed by evil spirits.

When a person is possessed by evil spirits and becomes an evil creature, they will also attack animals. Those that fly or swim in the water are not so easy to be eaten, but poultry and livestock will suffer. In places where evil spirits are active, not even a chicken will be left.

However, evil creatures may miss some of their prey, so Wen Gu and his companions will go looking for any that they can find while they are on their way.

Xiao Liu is experienced and knows where the chances are higher.

“There are eggs!”

Xiao Liu saw his target again. He examined the eggshell, picked it up, shook it slightly to feel it, and then carefully placed it in a sack. This was their rations.

Since leaving the village, I have collected five eggs. In fact, I found several nests of eggs along the way, but they were left for too long and had all gone bad.

"These three should still be edible."

You can tell at first glance that these eggs are laid by domestic chicken breeds.

"There are no chickens around. They may have been eaten by evil creatures or wild beasts," said Xiao Liu.

"It also means there might be evil creatures or wild beasts nearby." Wen Gu said.

Half an hour later, I didn't encounter any evil creatures, but I saw a weasel standing up in the grass.

Now that normal human activities have decreased, some wild animals have become bolder.

The weasel stared at them for a long time. When they came closer, it jumped into the grass and quickly disappeared.

"The chicken might have been taken away by a weasel, and maybe even a few eggs in the nest have been taken away," said Xiao Liu.

Maybe it's as he said, or maybe it's something else.

The four continued forward, keeping a careful eye on their surroundings.

No one knew how many survivors there were in the area. It was possible there were none at all.

The roads they chose were all in areas with wider views, rather than wild forest paths with more trees.

If an evil creature or other large beast appears, it will be seen immediately. In addition, there is a sentry in the air.

The bleak autumn wind blew, bringing bursts of chill, but it was soon replaced by the warmth brought by the sun.

But this kind of warmth is reminding them to be more vigilant.

"There's a village ahead. Can we rest there at noon?"

Xiao Liu had never been here before, but he roughly knew that there was a village here.

The map drawn by Wen Gu also indicated that according to the travel plan, they could arrive before noon.

Soon, they came across the familiar thatched huts and mud walls. The nearby villages all had similar styles.

"My father and his men searched the village here last winter, but there wasn't much left."

The once bustling village is now desolate.

Not far away you can see scattered bones with teeth marks from wild animals on them.

In front of the dilapidated huts, plants grow wildly from the bones.

Xiao Liu has seen similar scenes several times, but every time he sees them, it shakes his heart.

Who can say that this is not their own tomorrow?

They did not check every house in the village carefully, but roughly observed whether there was any danger, and then found a house on the outskirts.

The house was bare, the wooden tables and benches having been removed. Hunter Liu and his companions had been here before and had taken them back to the village. Whatever they could no longer use was chopped up for firewood.

I smoked some herbs and found some dry wood and grass to start a fire.

Roast the chopsticks and bamboo clips you carry with you over fire to ward off evil spirits.

Of course, just use fire to burn it appropriately. It will burn if you roast it for too long, after all, it is made of wood.

Used tools and weapons are also burned with fire to sterilize and disinfect them.

Wen Gu took out a small bamboo tongs used for picking up food, toasted them briefly over the fire, then opened a small jar and took out the Bujie pills. These were the Taoist priest's snacks for those on the road.

Convenient indeed.

During the break, the atmosphere was a bit dull.

Wen Gu noticed that Xiao Liu was distracted, holding a wooden plaque in his hand. It was a pendant made of oak wood by Lao Liu and worn around Xiao Liu's neck before he left home.

The "柞" in Xiao Liu's name refers to the "柞" in oak.

Indeed, this young hunter was on his first long journey away from his family. He was too young, and now faced a special situation with an uncertain future. Add to that the dire state of the village he had just witnessed, and he inevitably missed home.

He still did what he was supposed to do well, but his spirit was far inferior to when he first left the village, and his nerves were always tense.

Wen Gu felt that some adjustments were needed.

At a time like this, words of comfort and encouragement were pale. After thinking for a moment, Wen Gu said, "Have you heard of the story of the weasel asking for a title?"

Hunter Liu's attention was immediately diverted, and he asked curiously:
"A weasel seeking a title? The kind that used to steal chickens from the village, the kind we saw on the road just now?"

Taoist Qingyi didn't show it on his face, but his ears were already perked up. He wanted to listen to the nonsense that the dog scholar had to say.

Review: "I heard it when I was studying abroad."

Taoist Priest Qingyi: “…” Here it comes again!
Wen Gu: "First of all, I want to make it clear that this is all hearsay, fabricated and fictitious, something from a storybook."

Hunter Xiao Liu: “Yeah!” I love listening to stories!

So, Wen Gu briefly told the story of the yellow-skinned man asking passers-by whether he looked like a human or a god, and also told several versions of the story that were passed down among the people.

Xiao Liu immediately thought of the weasel that stood up that he met on the road.

He stuttered, "Then...then which type are we? Did it speak then? How should we respond next time we encounter it?"

Under strong self-psychological suggestion, Xiao Liu suddenly felt that his memory of that time was vague and he was not sure whether he heard it at that time.

He asked the Taoist priest, "Is it true that the weasel asked for a title?"

Taoist Qingyi laughed in an unfathomable manner and said nothing.

Inner thought: I haven’t heard of that either! I’ll learn it!

Where did this dog scholar study? Can you share his route?
Wen Gu said: "It stood up just to observe alertly, not as it was written in the storybook."

Xiao Liu nodded: "Yeah!"

No one can guess what you are thinking in your heart.

After reading the story, I decided to tell less stories of this type in the future.

While chatting, they did not relax their attention to the outside world.

The walls of this house are slightly higher than others, but still not safe enough.

"Did Ma Tuaner go out to look for food?" Wen Gu asked.

"Yes. I've been watching all the way, and now I need to replenish my energy." Hunter Xiao Liu said, "Don't worry, I just set up..."

Clap!

There was a sound outside.

The people in the room fell silent instantly and became fully alert.

Looking out through the window.

A highly mutated evil creature climbed over the courtyard wall, touched the trap set by Xiao Liu, and made a noise to alert everyone in the house.

Xiao Liu aimed his bow at the broken window. However, there was something blocking the view. If he couldn't kill the enemy instantly, it would pose a great threat to the others.

Tietou stood in front of Wen Gu, holding a hatchet, with all his muscles tense.

Although he is not a smart person, he is still alive today because he can execute everything Wen Gu said. Now it is all conditioned reflex, which was formed when they were on the road.

Wen Gu also picked up a hatchet beside him and placed the blade on the flame to burn.

At the same time, he was observing the evil creature outside.

Being able to climb over the wall so easily, the body outside must have been deeply alienated, with tougher sebum and more agile movements.

This place is not suitable for fighting, avoid it if possible.

Wen Gu looked at Taoist Qingyi.

Come on! Taoist Priest!
Taoist Qingyi reacted quickly. He held a small incense burner in his palm and stretched it under the window. With his other hand, he fanned the smoke silently to get rid of it.

The evil creature outside moved closer to the window step by step. Its white eyes were lifeless, and its skin seemed to be drained of moisture and clung to its bones. Purple-brown markings almost covered its entire face. Its teeth were broken and uneven, and the teeth remaining in its mouth had become sharper due to the heterogeneity, making it look hideous and terrifying.

It sniffed the air and made a low, gurgling sound in its throat.

Gradually approaching the window.

It sniffed again, and its keen sense of smell captured the scent of food, but was soon stimulated by the smell of herbs and growled, shook its head, turned around, climbed over the wall and ran out.

Soon, some howling sounds were heard in the distance, as if two evil creatures were fighting.

Maybe it's for food, maybe it's for something else.

Just like wild animals, they may fight for territory, food, etc.

After the evil creature went away, the people in the house lost interest in chatting and quickly finished their lunch to recharge their energy.

A few chirping sounds were heard in the air. It was Ma Tuaner who had been foraging for food and had returned. He found a high spot, rested there, and was also alert to his surroundings.

The weather will become cloudy.

The clouds blocked the sun, and the autumn breeze brought even more coolness.

Wen Gu and his companions came out of the village and continued on their way.

Not long after walking, I encountered the evil creature again.

However, the view was wide at this time without any obstructions, so the hunter Xiao Liu shot an arrow through the target's brain.

If you can use one arrow, never waste the second one!

If you can retrieve an arrow you've shot, try to do so, but if it hits an evil object like this, you can't retrieve it. I don't dare take the risk.

Xiao Liu was worried.

When the iron arrowheads are used up, I can make arrows with other ones instead, but the killing power will not be as strong. I don't know how many arrows it will take to kill.

I feel worried when I review the old things.

The equipment and manpower cannot keep up with the demand.

(End of this chapter)