Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

There were around thirty people willing to leave the village, most of them young people.

Xie Sang let out a sigh when he saw that so many had decided to stay in the village.

Su Xiaoluo tried to convince them, yet they were only urged to leave sooner.

Left with no choice, those who had decided to leave packed their stuff and departed for the Ancient Capital.

Mo Fan was rather confused as they headed for the entrance. The people of the villages were supposed to be under the effect of Ash Garlic naturally. For example, while their group was involved in the intense battle, the muscular man was perfectly unharmed. None of the undead bothered to attack him.

If that were the case, wouldn't they be safe on their way to the Ancient Capital? Why did everyone seem so nervous, regardless whether they were leaving the village or not?

"I told you the village is cursed. You're going to die if you stay here, let's go," said the young man called Gouzi.

"Gouzi, enough with your bullshit," scolded Xie Sang.

"Leaving the village means abandoning the teaching of our ancestors. You won't even survive the night, you should just stay in the village. We are still protected by the God of the Well..." grumbled an old lady before the group left.

Many with traditional thinking decided to stay. As a result, the number of people leaving the village was reduced further.

Mo Fan was unable to make the correct call. He could not tell if staying at the village or going to the Ancient Capital was safer for the villagers. He had no right to decide for the villagers. All he knew was that he would help escort Su Xiaoluo's people back to the Ancient Capital, since she had saved his brother's life.

There were around thirty people in the group. To Mo Fan, Liu Ru, Fang Youmiao and Shorty, they were simply going back along the same route.

Meng'e and her two subordinates did not stay at Hua Village for long. They were not interested in escorting the villagers, hence they bid farewells to the group and left on their own.

As Meng'e left, Mo Fan was still curious about why the three had come to this chaotic land. What were they trying to find and achieve?...

------

The current season had a shorter daytime and a longer nighttime. On top of that, the cloudy weather further strengthened the presence of death.

The stronger the presence of death, the greater the number of undead that would appear. Without needing food, the undead could only rely on the presence of death to evolve further. It was the same with demon beasts who needed to become stronger.

The villagers were in good shape physically. The group made significant progress during the day.

It was safe during the day, hence everyone was rather relaxed during the journey. However, after three in the afternoon, an uneasy feeling began to loom over the group, which continued to grow stronger as time passed.

None of the villagers could tell if they were still under the protection of the God of the Well. They had no idea if Zhang Xiaohou's friend was reliable, either.

"Let's take this route. We don't have to pass by Sunny Goat Village," said Chief Xie Sang to Mo Fan.

"Is it quicker this way?" Mo Fan glanced at the map and saw that by taking a straight route, they would still pass by Sunny Goat Village.

"That route is passing through a pulsating terrain. It might look shorter on the map, but it's going to take a longer time. Trust me, I know this place better," replied the chief.

Mo Fan nodded and followed Chief Xie Sang's guidance.

---

The day gradually turned dark. The villagers obviously trusted Chief Xie Sang and Hong Jun more. They walking closer to the two. It would not be surprising if they ended up hugging them tightly.

Su Xiaoluo was surrounded by a few people, too. The girl was quite reputable in the village. Some of them subconsciously followed her around. Most importantly, the retarded man whom Su Xiaoluo had saved was incredibly strong. He had simply wiped out the zombies that had invaded the village with two Wind Spells!

"Liu Ru, look after the kids at the back," said Mo Fan.

Liu Ru nodded and said, "Take care of yourself."

"We'll check the situation out. We have Ash Garlic, and the villagers are under the protection of their god. If the undead doesn't attack us, we'll just walk past them."

"Acknowledged."

The route that the chief had selected was indeed a lot smoother.

As the night inevitably arrived, the starving cries of undead came from all directions.

"Err, Brother Mo Fan, if the undead does attack us, we won't be able to protect so many people," Shorty came up to Mo Fan and whispered.

Mo Fan was well aware of it too. He was merely hoping that the villagers were still protected by their god.

"It feels like… they are not focusing on us," Shorty glanced at the undead who had woken up the earliest.

"Mm," Mo Fan held his breath.

The group proceeded. Normally, the presence of such a large group would surely attract the undead, yet even when the group had traveled a kilometer, the undead still did not show any reactions. It clearly implied that both Ash Garlic and the protection were still effective.

When the villagers saw the undead were ignoring them like usual, they immediately let out a relieved sigh. Their pace became more relaxed. Otherwise, it felt like each of their steps was walking on nails.

"Strange... if we are still protected, why would the zombies invade our village?" Su Xiaoluo was utterly confused.

"This means those zombies were mutated. It feels like it's meaningless for us to move away from the village now," admitted Hong Jun.

Hong Jun would follow Su Xiaoluo wherever she went, as if the guy had completely forgotten that he had fled for his life on his own when they were in danger before. Su Xiaoluo never had a good impression of him, and now, his existence alone was annoying to her.

"That's enough. Either way, we'll be safe when we reach the Ancient Capital," Chief Xie Sang was determined to move away.

Mo Fan glanced at Chief Xie Sang. He somehow felt that the chief was hiding something. After all, the chief of a village would usually obey the rules of the village strictly...

------

The group was unharmed throughout the night. As everyone was relieved that the undead did not attack them during the night, they were even more confused about why their village was attacked.

The night did not pose any threat, and the clouds had cleared away the next day. After a brief rest, the group continued their journey to the Ancient Capital.

"Brother Mo Fan, what do you say?" Shorty nudged Mo Fan and whispered.

"How would I know, I'm not familiar with this place," Mo Fan glanced at Shorty, who seemed to have something to say. He raised his eyebrows and asked, "Have you noticed something?"

"Hehe, to be honest, I do know something, and it's from before I met Fang Youmiao..."