Volume 1, Chapter 53: It's Good to Be Back!

The scratching, grating sound was that of a wooden stretcher scraping against the ground, with a portion of sheepskin trailing behind. Stained with blood, the hide dragged a long, crimson trail across the concrete path.

From afar, the archway of Guishan Village came into view. They walked up to it and passed beneath its structure.

Despite how bizarre, grotesque, and terrifying the village was, it still stirred a distinct feeling within Luo Bin.

*We're finally back.*

*Being back... feels wonderful!*

Luo Feng was dragging the wooden stretcher, while Gu Ya carried all the bundles. Luo Bin’s right arm was suspended in a sling of gauze, and his left hand gripped a wooden staff, topped with a sheep’s skull. Attached to the horns was a matted, tangled fleece of sheepskin.

Just past noon, the village paths were sparsely populated, which Luo Bin initially thought nothing of.

"There are too few people about. Something's wrong. Did something happen in the village?" Luo Feng muttered under his breath.

A flicker of unease crossed Gu Ya’s eyes.

At that moment, the door of a nearby house was pushed open, and Old Kong with his round face hurried out. In the sunlight, the freckles on his face stood out sharply.

"Old Luo!" Old Kong cried out in pleasant surprise, hurrying onto the path and stopping right in front of Luo Feng.

Old Kong reached out and gave Luo Feng’s chest a thump. "I knew you wouldn't make it back on time, but I also knew you'd come back alive!"

"Hiss!" In the next second, Old Kong stared in shock at the sheep carcass on the stretcher, stammering, "A two-legged sheep? You killed a two-legged sheep?"

Only then did Old Kong’s gaze sweep over Gu Ya and Luo Bin. Lingering particularly on Luo Bin’s right arm, he drew a sharp breath.

"What major incident happened in the village?" Luo Feng did not answer Old Kong’s question, his pupils dark and steady.

"It's not exactly a major crisis, but it's no small matter either. The sorceress and the village chief wanted to execute Gu Yiren by tying her to the Mountain God Temple. But when they went to collect the body, she was gone. Someone in the village who trusted her must have rescued her. This morning..." Old Kong recounted the whole affair from beginning to end.

Luo Bin’s heart leaped, though he dared not let his expression show even a trace of it.

"You’re back just in time. It’s been quite a while, and since no one has come forward to surrender her, searching the village is inevitable. You know the houses here better than anyone—which ones have basements? Without that, finding her will be extremely difficult," Old Kong added.

*Basements...*

Luo Bin finally understood.

When lamp oil ran out, everyone relied on spaces similar to the narrow chamber beneath the Mountain God Temple to hide from evil spirits. With houses filling the entire village, there was no telling how many such hidden corners existed.

The difficulty of searching the village was astronomical.

Gu Ya looked extremely nervous, while Luo Feng wore a grim expression.

Luo Bin, on the other hand, felt a wave of relief. Regardless of who had taken her, at least Gu Yiren wasn't dead!

Since whoever took her trusted Gu Yiren, relatively speaking, she was safe for now.

"The pathfinding ran into trouble. Where is the village chief right now?" Luo Feng asked, steering the conversation away.

"At his house," Old Kong replied. "The village chief even issued a notice earlier, saying that person could come forward secretly to hand her over, and he wouldn't tell anyone else, keeping their secret safe."

Luo Bin’s heart skipped a beat.

He had to admit that Zhong Zhicheng's mind was exceptionally meticulous.

Things had already escalated to this point; even if the person was having doubts, they likely wouldn't dare show their face. Zhong Zhicheng's offer served as a way out—as long as the person handed her over, no one would ever know.

Because of this, another stone hung heavily in Luo Bin’s chest.

"Let's go," Luo Feng said simply, asking no further questions.

Old Kong helped drag the stretcher, allowing Luo Feng to breathe a sigh of relief.

After walking for a short while, they reached an intersection where Gu Ya softly said, "I'm going home to clean up. You and Xiaoshan go talk to him."

"Mn," Luo Feng nodded.

***

Gu Ya hurried away.

The village chief’s house was past the mortuary, a little further down the road.

His house wasn't right by the roadside; it, too, leaned against the foot of the mountain. A peach grove stood before the door, the branches laden with green peaches, filling the air with an astringent, fresh fragrance.

When the trio stopped at the courtyard gate, quite a few villagers followed behind, drawn by the prospect of a spectacle.

Some of their eyes held pleasant surprise as they discussed how Luo Feng had actually managed to catch a mountain sheep. In all these years, no one in the village had ever caught one.

Those people clearly had no idea how bizarre and terrifying the two-legged sheep were, just as Luo Bin had been before.

Then there was a tiny handful of people whose eyes held sheer horror, and they remained dead silent, not uttering a word.

Old Kong knocked on the door. When Zhong Zhicheng saw the scene outside, his expression shifted repeatedly.

Following that, Luo Feng and Old Kong carried the stretcher together into the courtyard.

Luo Bin entered last. Before his eyes, the courtyard was impeccably clean, and a pear tree was planted within it, equally heavy with fruit.

Zhong Zhicheng stopped beside the stretcher, staring at the sheep carcass, then raised his eyes to look at the sheep skull and sheepskin in Luo Bin’s hand.

Exhaling a breath of turbid air, Zhong Zhicheng said, "You're injured so badly. Have the sorceress look at that later."

"Xiaoshan is fine. The bleeding stopped, and the wound is scabbing over. Something happened in the village," Luo Feng cut straight to the point, opening the conversation immediately.

He told them everything: about the Qiang Village, about how paths beyond the fourth resting point would loop around, about how the number of two-legged sheep far exceeded their understanding... and even how the activity range of the two-legged sheep could change. He laid it all out completely.

Naturally, Luo Feng did not hide the fact that two-legged sheep could still delude human vision even after death.

Old Kong’s face turned pale with horror, and sweat poured continuously from his forehead.

Zhong Zhicheng’s expression shifted as well, beads of sweat the size of soybeans streaming down his face.

"The sheep's head and skin should be able to ward off the two-legged sheep, but I don't know if there are any other tricks to it. Maybe the sorceress should take a look. Village Chief, do you have any other questions? Once I finish answering them with you, I'll take Xiaoshan back to rest," Luo Feng said again.

"What you've said is already very clear." Zhong Zhicheng let out a long sigh. He squatted down and lifted the piece of hide covering the sheep's head.

He gripped the sheep's horns with both hands, and with a crisp snap, the horns and the skullcap came off.

"Even if it can delude human vision, how was such a hard skull pried open?" Zhong Zhicheng asked, his voice tinged with doubt.

"Xiaoshan aimed his knife at the sheep's head, and the sheep charged forward of its own accord, piercing his arm. With force like that, acting like both a knife and a crowbar, the skull naturally broke open. We just didn't pay attention at the time, and in the middle of the night, Xiaoshan removed the skullcap." Luo Feng’s explanation was something Luo Bin hadn't heard before, but upon reflection, it sounded plausible enough.

"Mn, Luo Shan, you did well. Your courage is especially commendable. But at the critical moment, why did your mind wander?" Zhong Zhicheng stood up, taking the wooden staff from Luo Bin’s hand with his other hand.

"In a blink... it turned into the appearance of my mother, and I instinctively looked at the resting point."

Since Gu Ya wasn't here, Luo Bin didn't deliberately conceal it.

Zhong Zhicheng was momentarily taken aback.

Old Kong gave a slight nod.

Luo Feng said nothing. Noticing his expression, Luo Bin suspected that perhaps he had already guessed it.

For a moment, the courtyard fell utterly silent.

Zhong Zhicheng’s brows furrowed tighter and tighter. After a long while, he spoke again: "You should go back. I need to think very carefully about this matter."

"Also, regarding Qiang Village and the wrong pathfinding route—do not tell a single soul. Old Kong, you stay here with me. Once word of this gets out, the entire village will panic. Do you understand?"

"Understood," Luo Feng nodded.

The two left the village chief's house.

More villagers had gathered outside the courtyard. Someone shouted, asking Luo Feng when the village chief would distribute the mutton to everyone.

Another person remarked that they didn't know whether Luo Feng had grown smarter or lost his spirit; whether he had found the path or not, dragging back a sheep supposedly settled the debt.

Of course, those who had remained silent earlier still kept their mouths shut.

Luo Feng ignored every single villager, and the two quickly crossed the village path and returned to their courtyard.

The kitchen door was open, and voices could be heard—familiarly, it was Zhang Yunling.

Luo Bin glanced over, and sure enough, Zhang Yunling was inside sorting medicinal herbs.

"His mother, come into the room for a moment," Luo Feng called out immediately.

Gu Ya wiped her hands on her apron and hurried out.

As soon as they stepped inside, Zhang Yunling trotted out and stopped right in front of Luo Bin.

Zhang Yunling’s delicate brows furrowed as she looked at Luo Bin’s injured right arm. "Xiaoshan, go to your room. Let me look at your wound."

"No... I'm fine now..." Luo Bin explained.

"Who said you're fine? Is there another doctor in the village? Or is the sorceress one?" Zhang Yunling frowned deeper.

Luo Bin was instantly rendered speechless.

The two of them walked into the room one after the other, and just as he was about to head toward the bed—

"Sit here. Your trousers are filthy. Change them later before getting on the bed, otherwise Aunt Gu will have to wash them. Xiaoshan, you're a big man now; you need to mind the details so Aunt Gu doesn't have to worry."

As she spoke, Zhang Yunling grabbed Luo Bin’s left arm and made him sit by the desk.

She squatted down and meticulously unwrapped the gauze on Luo Bin’s arm.

"This was treated far too carelessly. Neither Aunt Gu nor Uncle Luo know how to treat injuries. If it heals like this, it'll just be a gaping hole. Not only will it heal slowly, but it'll look hideous."

Zhang Yunling pressed her lips together and fished a cloth pouch out of her small bag. Opening it revealed various delicate surgical tools. She then pulled out a bottle filled with transparent liquid and poured some directly onto Luo Bin’s wound.

The agonizing pain forced a muffled grunt from Luo Bin!

"If it hurts, grab my arm," Zhang Yunling said with utmost earnestness.

How could Luo Bin possibly grab her arm? He simply gripped the armrests of the chair instead.

Soon, Zhang Yunling forcefully scraped all the old medicine out from inside Luo Bin’s right arm wound. The frictional pain made Luo Bin tremble.

After that, Zhang Yunling used a small blade to scrape away the necrotic flesh around the wound, and finally used a needle and thread to suture the skin, forcefully closing the bloody cavernous hole.

When she finished all of this, Zhang Yunling was drenched in sweat.

She gently blew two puffs of air over Luo Bin’s wound.

"I'm fine, it doesn't hurt," Luo Bin grinned, his smile uglier than crying.

Zhang Yunling was momentarily stunned. She raised a hand and gently wiped the sweat from Luo Bin’s forehead.

"Who would believe you when you say it doesn't hurt?"

"Xiaoshan, though... you're starting to look like a man. Flesh-scraping knives and bone-piercing pain, yet you managed to endure it all. Sometimes I wonder, are you still the same Xiaoshan?" Zhang Yunling’s eyes held a daze, along with a touch of curiosity.

Luo Bin was equally dazed, staring blankly at Zhang Yunling’s pretty face so close to his own. He couldn't say a word.

Looking across both his past and present lives, besides the two mothers, which other woman had ever treated him this kindly?

In the next instant, Zhang Yunling’s eyes met Luo Bin’s. Two red flushes instantly bloomed across her cheeks; she stood up abruptly and scurried out of the room.