Mythology Returns! Starting with Folklore and Strange Tales

Having completely resolved the issue of the mass grave, Zhang Wei and An Yixi returned to the mountain path and walked forward by the still relatively bright moonlight.

The fact that a stable path could form in this desolate wilderness proves that people must frequently travel through this place, and the fact that people walk on it means that if you follow the path, you will eventually find a populated area.

This approach is similar to using the terrain and water flow to determine direction—simple and efficient.

Of course, the reason they did this was that they both had ways to protect themselves. Otherwise, it would be unwise for ordinary people to walk alone in the mountains at night. In fact, given this eerie silhouette, it would be best for ordinary people not to even leave their homes after dark!

As it turned out, their idea was correct.

Following the mountain road forward, we soon came across a village located at the foot of the mountain halfway up the mountain.

But as the two hurried down the mountain and got closer, they discovered that most of the village was abandoned. Through the open doors, they could see that the houses were empty, with only large pieces of furniture such as tables and chairs remaining.

There are hardly any small odds and ends left, let alone people!

But even in this completely abandoned village, wisps of smoke could be seen rising from the village center...

.......

Inside the ancestral hall in the center of the village.

Without the villagers' constant cleaning and worship, the once prosperous ancestral hall has long since become dilapidated. The soil layers on the four walls have peeled off in pieces, revealing the mud bricks and dense grass roots inside. The ancestral tablets are scattered on the offering table.

The large offering table was now missing four legs, with only a few straws covering the remaining surface. Lying on it was an old woman dressed in tattered hemp clothing, but who was plump and fair-skinned.

The old woman was plump and had a ruddy complexion, but she lay leisurely on the straw mat like a sick person, greedily taking a few breaths of fresh air. Then she looked towards the main entrance of the ancestral hall: "Da Niu, is the meat soup ready yet? Is your mother starving?"

As soon as he finished speaking, the man standing behind the ancestral hall gate, stirring the firewood pot with a wooden stick, subconsciously shivered. He slowly came to his senses, his sallow, withered face showing numbness and a struggling expression: "Mother... wait a little longer, wait a little longer, it'll be ready soon!"

"Hehe, hurry up, your mother and wife haven't eaten for two days, and our stomachs are burning!"

"good!"

The thin man, who looked as if he could be blown away by a gust of wind, turned back to the pot and numbly, mechanically stirred the broth in front of him, which was full of grass roots and tree bark, with only a few pieces of white meat floating in the water.

The aroma of the meat broth in the pot filled the ancestral hall.

A look of longing and enjoyment appeared on the old woman's face. As she greedily opened her mouth to breathe, two sharp teeth protruded from between her lips. Gradually, she became dissatisfied with lying on the straw mat and jumped up by pushing herself up with her hands on the ground.

However, just as she got up, the man shuffled over carrying a bowl of dark, sparsely meated grass root soup. He carefully blew on the bowl before handing it to the old woman: "The soup is ready, Mother, come and eat!"

Seeing the man suddenly turn around with the bowl in his hand, the old woman's expression softened with affection again: "Hehe, my son Da Niu is so good. He knows how to care for his mother. He's much better than all the other filial sons and grandsons in the village!"

As she spoke, the old woman's expression suddenly changed, and a hint of reluctance appeared on her plump face: "Da Niu, Da Niu, I'm scared. I'm afraid that if I eat this meat today, I won't have any meat to eat tomorrow. Why don't you put the meat back in the pot? I'll just have a sip of soup."

The man, whose face had remained expressionless throughout, turned deathly pale upon hearing those words.

He gently pried the old woman off him, forcing himself not to look down, tears welling in his cloudy eyes. "It's alright, there's always tomorrow. Mother, don't worry, eat well. As your son, I can't let you suffer, not anyone else!"

"Hehe, my son is the best!"

The man looked at his oversized clothes, opened his mouth, but before he could speak, he heard a thud outside the ancestral hall door, followed by someone asking:

"Hey, you two are eating?"

"This is a desolate place, far from any village or shop. Could I come in and have a couple of bowls of hot soup to warm myself up? Don't worry, we don't freeload; my brother and I will pay!"

Before the words were even finished, the dilapidated village ancestral hall door was pushed open, and the morning light shone in, breaking the darkness inside the room. Then, two young people with red lips, white teeth, delicate skin, and strange clothes crossed the threshold and entered the room.

It can push the door open on its own and cross the threshold.

Then it's neither a vengeful spirit nor a zombie.

living person?

His mind, which had been stiff for days, began to work at this moment, but before he could finish his sentence, "Don't..." he saw the gaze of the young man dressed in blue, who looked like a witch or shaman, fall on his mother.

"Disgusting thing!"

The next moment, a gust of wind blew by.

No one could see how he moved.

Just then, her mother, who was slurping the meat soup, suddenly changed her expression. She was about to get up and roar when a sharp fork was shoved into her mouth. Immediately afterward, a violent force through the fork head pinned her to the wall.

The previously fierce and vicious old woman had not yet recovered from the dizziness in her head and the burning sensation in her mouth. In her dazed eyes, she seemed to see the boy lightly leap onto the offering table, and then expressionlessly take out a cyan-gold mask from his bosom and slowly put it on his face.

The next moment, the mask seemed to take root and sprout on the boy's face as if it were alive. The original golden, four-eyed, slightly strange and ferocious mask was being dyed red and black at a speed visible to the naked eye.

Two sharp horns grow from the top of its head, its eyes bulge out, and its mouth is full of fangs.

Just looking at it, its ferocious appearance sends chills down your spine.

The old woman, who was being watched from the wall, was more able to sense the changes that were taking place.

Seeing the silent boy pull out a curved knife from his pocket, she truly panicked.

Unfortunately, before that, her mouth, full of sharp teeth, had already been pierced and embedded in the wall. The three-pronged fork, which acted like a nail, was like a red-hot coal, and in just a moment, it charred her mouth.

I tried to reach out and pull it off, but as soon as I did, my two hands, which had sprouted claws, were scalded and started smoking.

Enduring the pain, the old woman struggled desperately.

Hearing the screams, Zhang Wei glanced at the offering table and said to An Yixi, "That squeaking is annoying. Take the egg and let it die!"

After speaking, Zhang Wei turned to look at the man beside him who was standing with his mouth open and his hand outstretched, as if he wanted to go to the offering table to do something, but after hesitating, he helplessly let go and sighed.