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墨書 Inktalez
Chapter 132: Dance of the Living and the Dead
In the afternoon, the Old Shepherd finally led everyone back to his village, which was the Xiao Tian Village mentioned earlier.
This village was quite different from what most people imagined; it lacked a structured layout and street planning. Instead, it was situated on the backside of a hillside, where a row of Cave Dwellings had been carved into the mountainside. Each Cave Dwelling came with its own courtyard, and the earth that had been excavated was used to flatten the slope outside, creating a straight dirt path. The path was not wide enough for more than two carts to pass side by side, and there were no guardrails or steps—just the natural slope of the mountain, which was not steep but quite high. The livestock pens were located on this slope, and several households had built walls around their yards to create private orchards.
As Ming Junwei and his group entered the village with the Old Shepherd, they attracted many curious onlookers. Most of these people were local villagers, with a few outsiders mixed in. The Old Shepherd seemed to know everyone, chatting amiably with those he encountered along the way. Ming Junwei and his companions had no choice but to stop whenever he did, much like a flock of sheep.
Many villagers pointed and whispered in dialects they could not understand. Cao Liang and the other men were largely ignored; the villagers' attention was primarily focused on An Zheng, Su Lan, and others.
Chao Yifan felt somewhat annoyed and deliberately hoisted his Great Knife onto his shoulder, trying to use its gleaming blade to deter the lewd stares directed at him. However, the villagers completely disregarded this bald man; some even pointed at his Great Knife and chuckled. This hurt Chao Yifan's feelings—had his fearsome image always appeared as a joke to them? No one answered his unspoken question.
After exchanging pleasantries for a while, the Old Shepherd gestured toward his companions and said a few words. The villagers' faces lit up with understanding as they smiled and nodded at the group, chattering excitedly. When they saw that everyone looked confused and unresponsive, they could only smile awkwardly and move on.
Song Yao and several women walked behind them. As they passed by a mud courtyard, they inadvertently caught a glimpse inside and immediately changed their expressions in unison. The door of this household stood wide open; inside the yard, besides a flurry of chicks running around, there were several Zombies standing idly. What shocked the women even more was that alongside the Zombies and chicks, there were also a few small children playing and chasing each other!
The Zombies appeared to be immobilized somehow; they stood there swaying back and forth like fools, completely oblivious to the living beings passing by. If it weren't for their foul odor and decaying flesh, Song Yao and her friends might have mistaken them for simpletons from the village.
"Did you see that? Every household here has Zombies," Song Yao leaned closer to Ming Junwei and Cao Liang, lowering her voice to share her discovery.
"I saw it," Cao Liang nodded thoughtfully in response. "Qianqian noticed that there are quite a few in that livestock pen at the village entrance."
"This village is strange; maybe we should leave?" Luci said nervously. The way those villagers looked at them felt like they were viewing animals, sending chills down her spine. Coupled with the Zombies visible everywhere, it made everything feel even more eerie.
"Don't rush. Stay alert. If there really is a problem, leaving recklessly might cause trouble," Ming Junwei whispered to the anxious women, signaling them to be on guard. Xiaomi and Xiao Wei fell to the back of the group, with several women sandwiched in the middle. If anything happened, the brothers would use their remaining bullets to tear apart any living creature in sight.
As the group pondered what to do next, a sudden commotion erupted from the courtyard ahead. It sounded like several women were shouting angrily about something. Then, the tightly shut iron gate swung open, and three Zombies surged out, charging straight toward Old Shepherd!
"Damn it!" Chao Yifan's scalp tingled as he raised his Great Knife, ready to strike. Ming Junwei quickly grabbed Bald Kid, signaling everyone to step back and not act rashly.
Sure enough, before they could react, the villagers watching from a distance sprang into action.
Instead of rushing forward to kill the Zombies, they surrounded them like herding pigs, shouting loudly. Old Shepherd waved his hand for everyone to stop and walked over with a cigarette in his mouth, cursing under his breath. With a swift motion of his arm, he cracked his whip through the air with a sharp 'crack,' striking the leading Zombie!
The whip's sound was crisp as flesh and blood flew from the impact, but the Zombie didn't seem to care about the pain. It paused momentarily before howling and lunging forward again. Old Shepherd stood with his hands behind his back, exhaling smoke. He swung his whip again, this time hitting the Zombie's ankle. With a flick of his arm, he sent the Zombie tumbling backward with a loud thud.
The men surrounding the Zombie rushed in to pin it down. Someone pulled out a piece of rope from who knows where and quickly tied up the struggling Zombie like a Zongzi. The other two Zombies met a similar fate, taken down without even getting close to any living person before being mercilessly bound.
Ming Junwei and his group stood there dumbfounded, exchanging glances without being able to utter a single coherent word.
What on earth is happening?
Chao Yifan swallowed hard and stepped forward, pointing at the bound Zombie held by several Farmers. "What are you doing? They're already dead! They will kill you!"
The Farmers glanced at him with smirks but didn't respond as they dragged the twisted Zombie back into the courtyard. Three women ran out from inside; one of them had messy hair and was wearing autumn pants. Upon seeing the Farmers bringing in the bound Zombie, she burst into tears.
"Hey! You heartless killers! Why can't you just leave things alone?" Autumn Pants Woman exclaimed.
"Don't be angry, sister-in-law. We're just taking it back so it can be dealt with properly," one of the men reassured her.
Chao Yifan stood there like a fool, ignored by everyone as the villagers dispersed. Only three women who had rushed out from the courtyard remained, along with a few men who had helped capture the Zombie.
"Yi Fan, come back," Ming Junwei called out to him, signaling him not to meddle. An Zheng clicked his tongue and leaned closer, whispering, "Look at that woman."
The crowd was puzzled, following An Zheng's gaze to see a patch of blood seeping from the inner thigh of the Autumn Pants Woman.
"Has she been bitten?" Zeng Yadong furrowed her brows, her right hand instinctively resting on the hilt of her knife.
"Dong Dong," Su Lan pressed her hand down gently, shaking her head slightly.
The farmers were still discussing something when Old Shepherd stepped forward and shouted a few words jovially. The women wiped their tears, expressed their gratitude, and helped each other as they walked toward the gate with a few Zongzi Zombies.
"Damn it," Chao Yifan thought more about the situation and disregarded Ming Junwei's warning. He brandished his knife and shouted, "Stop!"
His voice carried an air of authority that made the women halt in their tracks. The Farmers also paused, while Old Shepherd smacked his lips and eyed him sideways without saying a word.
"What do you want?" asked another short-haired woman, sizing up Chao Yifan with an unfriendly expression. Fortunately, her accent wasn't too thick, and everyone could understand her words.
"What are you doing? Don't you realize these are all dead people?"
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