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墨書 Inktalez
The boy was off catching grasshoppers.
Xiao Qiang helped the old man walk toward a stone that had been cleaned by the wind. The old man's cloudy eyes squinted slightly, and a cold glint shot out from the depths of his gaze. It made Xiao Qiang shiver unexpectedly.
"Old man, do you have something to say to me?" he asked.
The old man seemed not to understand. He just stared at Xiao Qiang with an eerie intensity, remaining silent. Xiao Qiang instinctively touched his face; seeing the old man still staring at him, he felt a bit displeased.
"Old man, you just said there was a disaster here. What did you mean?"
The old man shifted his gaze away from Xiao Qiang's face, looking toward the mountains. His vacant stare seemed somewhat lost, and after a long moment, he no longer looked at him, muttering to himself, "Life is like peeling an onion; the deeper you go, the harder it gets... what is meant to come will always come..."
Xiao Qiang studied the old man closely; his face displayed a strange complexity that was hard to articulate. Anyone who saw it would feel an inexplicable sense of fear rising from within.
Suddenly, a strange scent wafted through the air. Xiao Qiang sniffed and frowned, not having time to figure out what it was.
"Grandpa." The boy seemed to think it was about time and quickly ran over while calling out. He held a handful of colorful wildflowers and paused slightly when he noticed the old man's pants were damp. Pouting as if about to cry, he questioned Xiao Qiang, "Did you scare my grandpa?"
"Scare?" Xiao Qiang was puzzled and hurriedly shook his head. "No, I couldn't communicate with him."
"When my grandpa gets scared, he talks to himself and ends up wetting himself." The boy was eager to take the old man home to change clothes and didn't say much more to Xiao Qiang as he helped the old man leave.
The thought that the old man wet himself when scared lingered in Xiao Qiang's mind as he gazed at where the old man had been looking.
Behind them came the town lord, yawning as he walked along, appearing quite drowsy. He too was observing and said casually, "I was just chatting with Zhou Gong about beautiful women when I got startled awake by a caterpillar."
Xiao Qiang turned to look at him; indeed, this guy had many red bumps on his neck. It looked itchy as he kept scratching it, some areas even bleeding from being scratched raw.
"Let's go check out the town center." The purpose of going to the town was to stock up on supplies; if his predictions were correct, the night in town would be bloody. Hopefully, the townspeople would believe his warnings.
Upon hearing they were going to the town, the lord beamed with joy and said cheerfully, "Great! I'm hungry anyway."
Xiao Qiang could only shake his head in silence. This guy was tall; it seemed his appetite matched his size.
Huainan Town was two miles from the mountain village, with only one street leading into it. At the other end of the street lay desolation—a lonely road winding endlessly around the mountaintop. The houses lining both sides of the street were quite old. After wandering through the entire town, Xiao Qiang still couldn't find a shop where he could stock up on supplies.
Perhaps this small town had always existed in a state of peace and tranquility, so no one ever thought about making a profit from disaster. It was precisely this that made the town more likely to be on the brink of destruction.
As Xiao Qiang wearily prepared to return to the mountain village, three or five fierce-looking men suddenly emerged from somewhere. They wore denim jackets, their chests bare, deliberately showing off their bronzed skin and six-pack abs.
One of them held a baseball bat and approached him, swinging it as he said, "Kid, don't you understand the rules around here?"
"What rules?"
"We don't welcome strangers here." The man seemed to be the leader, casting a disdainful glance at Xiao Qiang before whistling—his companions rushed over, surrounding him completely.
"What do you want?"
"Big brother, he's asking what you want."
The man with the baseball bat grinned wickedly and said, "This is my territory; I make the rules. Guess what I feel like doing today?"
The city lord was still eating at a snack shop, and Xiao Qiang didn't want to cause trouble, especially since he had more important matters to attend to. So he suppressed his anger and replied, "I can't guess. If it comes to it, I'll just leave."
"Did he just say he would leave? Does that mean he agrees to crawl under your legs?" one of the guys sneered maliciously.
The man with the baseball bat laughed and said, "Great! I'm in the mood for some fun today." He spread his legs and mockingly told Xiao Qiang, "Come on, kid. Crawl under me, and I'll let you go."
Xiao Qiang was furious but gritted his teeth and told himself to endure it. On the surface, he forced a smile and said, "No offense, but I really have urgent business. I can't stay for this." With that, he tried to walk away.
Before he could turn around, a heavy hand slapped down on his shoulder. Xiao Qiang halted in his tracks, his body stiffening. He said slowly and clearly, "Don't push me."
"What did he say?" The man with the baseball bat feigned ignorance with a twisted smile on his lips.
"He said not to force him to act," one of the sycophants chimed in, prompting laughter filled with mockery from those around them. Just as their laughter faded, Xiao Qiang's body flickered; it seemed as if he hadn't moved at all. A dull thud echoed as one of his assailants fell to the ground.
The fallen man curled up in pain, unable to get up for a long time while emitting strange cries.
The man with the baseball bat still wore a smile on his face. Seeing his companion injured made him furious as he shouted, "Everyone get him! Drag him under me!"
Xiao Qiang was unafraid, moving with incredible speed to deal with these small-time thieves. However, he never expected that they would resort to violence, drawing knives hidden in their boots and lunging at him.
The sharp blade sliced through his sleeve and pierced his skin with a swift motion. Enraged by the pain, Xiao Qiang let out a furious roar and retaliated instinctively. In that moment, he was unaware of what was happening; as he screamed, he felt subtle changes occurring in his body and face, though he couldn't see what those changes were.
But those who were fighting him turned pale at the sight of him. They hurriedly retreated, whispering in fear, "What kind of monster is that?" The once arrogant bullies now fled faster than mice, leaving Xiao Qiang puzzled. He touched his face and muttered, "What does this mean?"
The city lord had yet to arrive. Xiao Qiang rolled up his torn sleeve and turned to look for him. A brawl had erupted on the street; how could this dead pig not know? Even if he did know, he might have hidden away! As he pondered this, he failed to notice people on both sides of the street pointing and discussing him.
The wound on his arm was slowly healing as he approached a small eatery. Oddly enough, the door was securely shut. Something was off! Just moments ago, the city lord had been inside feasting; how could it be closed now?
Xiao Qiang stepped forward and knocked forcefully on the door, calling out, "Boss, open up!"
"They're gone," came a deep voice from behind him. He turned to see a slender man with a narrow face and a prominent nose. His complexion was somewhat pale, and there was a hint of melancholy in his expression, making him appear even more delicate than a woman.
"They're gone? Where did they go?" Xiao Qiang asked.
"Left," the man replied cautiously, glancing around before handing Xiao Qiang a crumpled piece of paper and whispering, "Who told you to provoke them? Your companions have been taken."
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