Chapter 933: The Strange Village
Editor: Henyee Translations

Unexpectedly, one day, Du Zhaolin and Rong Shenning found themselves criticizing officials for being lax and incompetent.

Inside the county town, the streets were empty with only a few pedestrians passing by. Most of the shops were closed, and under the eaves hung tattered lanterns that swayed gently with the breeze, like the final years of an old man.

Du Zhaolin clenched the dice in his hand and nudged Rong Shenning, speaking nervously, “Shenning, something’s very off about this county town.”

A cold wind blew past, causing Rong Shenning to shrink his neck, “I feel it too. Let’s sell the bear quickly and leave.”

The eeriness of the town was unsettling.

Du Zhaolin, wary, looked around and nodded, “Let’s move quickly.”

They hastened their steps.

“There’s a tavern over there!” Rong Shenning pointed ahead. Before he could finish his sentence, he was disappointed to see the tavern was closed, the doorway piled with dried leaves that spun in the wind, utterly desolate.

They continued on, passing two more closed taverns until they finally found one that was open.

They hurried forward to inquire.

For the first time, Rong Shenning was this polite to someone, “Shopkeeper, we have a freshly killed bear, selling cheap. Would you like to buy it?”

The shopkeeper shooed them away like flies, “I see you’re here to cause trouble. I have no business here, and you come to sell a bear? Are you trying to mess with me?”

Had this happened in the capital, two spoiled young masters would have already ordered someone to smash the shop. Rong Shenning took a deep breath, suppressing the discomfort brought by the discrepancy, “We’re not here to cause trouble, we genuinely want to sell the bear. If you don’t believe us, you can take a look.”

The shopkeeper paused, then seemed to remember something, “Let me see then.”

Rong Shenning led the shopkeeper outside, “The bear is in the cart, shot dead with arrows, very intact.”

After seeing the black bear, the shopkeeper sighed regretfully, “If it were during my tavern’s peak times, buying a bear like this would be nothing, but now, I’m struggling even to feed myself.”

Du Zhaolin squeezed the dice, “Hearing what the shopkeeper said, the county town wasn’t always like this. What happened to it?”

The shopkeeper became frightened, “Don’t ask too much. It could bring you fatal trouble. You better leave quickly.”

Du Zhaolin, not satisfied, “Shopkeeper…”

“If you really want to sell the black bear, try Luo’s residence,” the shopkeeper suggested, directing them, “Go straight down this street, turn right, then left, and you’ll see Luo’s residence.”

Resigned, Du Zhaolin said to Rong Shenning, “Let’s try our luck there.”

The two exchanged glances, grabbed the cart, and followed the shopkeeper’s directions, successfully finding Luo’s residence.

Other residences had their doors tightly shut, looking uninhabited, except for Luo’s residence, which stood out with two large stone lions at the entrance and two guards standing watch, its gates wide open.

The gatekeeper approached as they pulled their cart over, “What are you here for?”

Rong Shenning confidently said, “We’re here to sell a black bear.”

The gatekeeper gave them a strange look, “Hold on a moment, I’ll notify the household.”

As Rong Shenning and Du Zhaolin waited, their unease grew, but having come this far, they decided to see if they could gather any information.

With that thought, Rong Shenning glanced inside the estate, and what he saw terrified him.

He quickly pulled Du Zhaolin aside, “The entire estate is planted with poppies.”

“No, really?” Du Zhaolin reflexively looked inside the estate, but Rong Shenning quickly turned his head back, “I saw it with my own eyes, there’s no mistake.”

Rong Shenning anxiously asked, “What should we do now?”

“Let’s get out of here…” This place was the territory of the Yun organization; if they didn’t leave, they might be in deep trouble.

Nervously, they turned the cart around to head back.

Just then, the butler came out from the residence, “Where are you going?”

Rong Shenning quickly made up an excuse, “We need to relieve ourselves.”

The butler smiled amiably, like a kidnapper luring children, “If you need a restroom, there’s one in the residence, feel free to use it.”

Du Zhaolin waved his hands, awkwardly smiling, “No need, we’ll just find a spot elsewhere, sorry to disturb.”

The butler remained unfazed, “Don’t be shy, you are our guests, please come in.” As he spoke, a group of men in black emerged from inside the residence.

Du Zhaolin and Rong Shenning clung together, Du Zhaolin nervously asked, “What does this mean, Butler?”

The butler still maintained his smile, now resembling a kindly next-door neighbor, “It means we’re inviting you gentlemen to come inside as guests.”

Throwing caution to the wind, Du Zhaolin spoke rapidly, “What guests? We’re here to sell a black bear, if you like it, take it for a good price; if not, we’ll look elsewhere for buyers.”

The butler looked slightly bewildered, as if he had misunderstood, “You’re really here to sell a black bear?”

Du Zhaolin responded, “What else?”

Rong Shenning lifted the cart’s curtain, “This is the black bear we killed, still warm. Do you want it?”

The butler relaxed, apparently having thought they were spies, “Fifty taels of silver, do you agree?”

Du Zhaolin quickly nodded, “Yes, that works, we just want to have a good meal.”

The butler had his servants bring the silver, “Young masters, here you are.”

Du Zhaolin eagerly accepted the silver, his heart pounding, “Thank you for your patronage, Butler.”

With a wave of his hand, the butler said, “No thanks needed. Men, move the black bear.”

“Yes.” The black bear was easily moved to the ground by the men in black, and shortly after, Rong Shenning and Du Zhaolin hurriedly left.

The butler watched them go, his expression grave and contemplative.

…

In the village.

Jiang Zhanglin and Yi Chuanchuan cautiously approached the entrance of the first village. The village was eerily quiet, with every household’s door shut as if deserted.

The two stood at the village entrance, looking around…

Yi Chuanchuan patted Jiang Zhanglin’s arm, peeking into the village, “Zhanglin, you’re smarter than I am. This village doesn’t seem uninhabited, yet there’s no one cooking even at noon. Don’t you find that strange?”

“There’s only one explanation for such a phenomenon,” Jiang Zhanglin stared at the village, “The villagers must have gone somewhere else.”

Yi Chuanchuan found it odd, “What could possibly require the entire village’s population to leave, not even leaving someone to watch the homes?”

Jiang Zhanglin shook his head, unable to guess, “Whatever it is, it must be something significant.”

As they were talking, a noise approached, and they quickly found a place to hide.

A group of villagers appeared in the distance, each carrying scythes and hoes, looking exhausted as if they had been laboring all morning.

Although they now knew what the villagers had been doing, the situation still felt off.

They knew even without having lived in the village that usually the elderly and children wouldn’t need to work, yet here, everyone had gone, leaving not even a dog behind. This was too strange.