Returning from the abyss

Chapter 122 The Cabin
"What can be seen so far is that the people in the entire mountain village can be said to be our enemies. It sounds like a lot, but it is actually not a lot in proportion."

"Proportion?"

"The cell we are in is the property of the nearby family. The number of people that can be held in such a cell is not too many, or too few. Even if we take the 12 people in our place as an average, it can be said that every family has Are so many people imprisoned?"

"If that's the case..."

"How many tourists from the distribution center came in this scene? Even if we are a little more modest, our combat power is higher than that of ordinary villagers who only work in agriculture. Even if you count the negative effects of this ceremony, people like Zhao Chenshuang It is not a problem for one to beat four or five ordinary people. Therefore, I think the combat effectiveness of these villagers is not ordinary."

"You said this just now, I'll accept the compliment and focus on it." Zhao Chenshuang said.

"If this is the case, where should we start our investigation? I am afraid that arresting a few villagers and interrogating them will not work. Then the two most likely possibilities are the records in the literature and the existence of friendly characters."

Cheng Wuling pushed aside a piece of grass, and under the cover of the woods, a thatched house that was built in a different way from the village appeared in the vision of the four people.

"It may also be the mastermind behind the scenes." Ning Yeyi reminded.

"True...but worth a try."

Cheng Wuling made a gesture to let Lu Ning and Ning Yeyi stay here, and she and Zhao Chenshuang walked to the door of the thatched cottage and knocked on the wooden door.

A moment later, a short old woman opened the door. Behind her, there was a little boy who peeked out and looked at the door. He looked less than ten years old.

"Hi, I'm sorry for disturbing you late at night. I wonder if I can take shelter with you for a while?"

The old woman looked at the two of them carefully, then let out a long sigh, and gave way to the door.

An oil lamp was lit in the house, and no trace of modernization could be seen. The beds made of two wooden boards were covered with straw and mattresses, and they were still a little messy, as if they had just woken up.

"Where did you escape from?"

The old woman sat on the only chair in the room, took out tweezers from the drawer and picked up the wick, making the room brighter.

"Sorry...we don't know where it is, we just ran out of a dungeon, and then there were people hunting us everywhere."

"Hehe..." The old lady smiled faintly, and hugged the little boy on her lap.

"Thank you very much for helping us."

"How's it going outside? What year is it now?" The old woman suddenly asked an irrelevant topic.

Cheng Wuling seemed to have thought about it a long time ago, and immediately replied:
"There are wars everywhere outside. Many people have left their homes, but they still can't find a safe place. We thought this could be a safe place to live, but we didn't expect it to be peaceful."

"You guys... stretch out your arms, let me see."

Cheng Wuling and Zhao Chenshuang looked at each other, and rolled up their sleeves to reveal the red spots on their hands.

The old woman burst into laughter when she saw it.

"I can't go! You can't go either!"

"why?"

"The ceremony has already been carried out, and rotten blood is already flowing in your body, how can you leave here again... Hehe, haha, just like me, just like me..."

The corner of the old man's eyes did not know whether it was from crying or laughing, and tears flowed out.

"Can you...can you explain it to me in detail? If it is not absolutely impossible, I will not give up."

"Won't give up? Hahaha, it's nice to be young, it's nice..."

The old lady stroked the little boy's back slowly, and soon the boy fell asleep.

"This mountain village is indeed a so-called longevity village. The people here live the longest... how old are you rumored to be?"

"two hundred."

"It's five hundred years old."

The old woman got up, put the little boy on the bed, and carefully tucked him in the quilt.

"I also came here for this reason back then, and then, like you, they performed that damned ritual unprepared."

"We saw two bodies."

"It's just a victim. The news here attracts many ignorant people to come in every year, and then they are used as 'clean blood' materials to perform the ceremony." The old woman sat back in her chair and said, "I don't know when it started. , this place is cursed, following the bloodline, the people here have obtained the curse of 'immortality'."

"Immortality doesn't mean immortality." Cheng Wuling noticed the accent in the old man's tone.

"That's right, people infected with the curse become stronger, and some can even use the power of blood to stimulate their own potential. If there is no external force, they can never die—this is the root of longevity."

"What's the price?" Zhao Chenshuang said suddenly, "Since it's called a curse, it shouldn't only have these benefits, right?"

"Yes... Immortality and immortality are two different things." The old man said gloomily, "It's called a curse because people here have a very short period of youth and adulthood—different from thirty to forty years in the outside world, only about ten years , people here will age quickly, and even their bodies will decay, but even so, their consciousness still exists, they are still alive, even if they become skeletons, they are still alive..."

Life is better than death, that's it.

"This curse is extended along with the family and genealogy. It cannot be cut off, and it is impossible to cut off. People here don't want to give up their lives. I don't know when, a ceremony was taken out by several patriarchs in the village. This ceremony was given to the village. One hope of the aging people is to use the "clean blood" from the outside world to neutralize the "rotten blood" on the body, which can not only restore youthful vitality, but even make the body stronger. Hehe, it sounds nice, but in fact it is Exchanging the 'blood' of the body - each ritual can exchange one-third of a person's 'blood', so you should still have two 'clean blood' flowing in your body."

"So we still have hope?"

"Hope? Another content of the curse is to keep the 'rotten blood' here forever. Once the person who bears the curse leaves this mountain, it will age into a pile of organs in a few seconds, and People like you will end up better, but one-third of the tissues, organs and blood in your body will immediately lose their functions."

The old woman showed a creepy smile.

"My companions also tried to escape, and then they all died miserably... So, give up, since there is no hope, don't even try to escape."

Cheng Wuling began to think, and Zhao Chenshuang took over the task of asking questions at this time.

"Then how did you survive?"

"I chose to be a member of the curse."

The old man grinned.

"I'm only 40 years old... I'm probably ten years older than you. But look at me, the curse will not allow more youth just because you just joined. If you don't become a member of the curse, Then after the three rituals, all the blood on the body will turn into 'rotten blood', and people will also age rapidly, but how can ordinary people have the ability to not die?"

"Although I probably know how you joined, please allow me to ask again, how did you become a member of the curse?"

"Did I just say it? Bloodline..."

The old man glanced at the boy on the bed.

"As long as you have children with people here, the curse will recognize your kinship with this place, and all the blood on your body will become 'rotten blood', it's that simple."

"The last question, is this method unisex."

"That's right, as long as the other party of the union is a cursed person, both men and women will be recognized by the curse. It seems that you are really thinking about this?"

Zhao Chenshuang smiled.

"Of course not."

"Oh? Haha, it seems that your will is quite firm now, haha, haha."

The old man laughed loudly, and the sad laughter lasted for a long time before stopping.

"For the sake of being in distress, I will keep you all for one night. Tomorrow, run away or stay with you."

"No, it's already causing trouble for us for so long, we will leave immediately." Cheng Wuling said suddenly, "Just don't mention that we came tonight."

The old man nodded, waved his hand wearily, and signaled them to leave.

The two walked out of the thatched hut.Lu Ning and Ning Yeyi also came out by the window at the back of the house.

"Did you hear that too?" Zhao Chenshuang crossed his arms and smiled smugly.

"Survival type...hehe." Ning Yeyi sneered.

"It's actually a killing scene for elimination, which is about the same as we expected." Lu Ning said, "We just need to figure out the process of the dirty blood ceremony and find someone to replace one-third of the 'rotten blood' on our body , you can leave here smoothly.”

"But it's not that simple." Cheng Wuling glanced at a house, "She probably doesn't know..."

"This place is connected to the outside world. Even if people here can't go out, there is still a channel to bring in things from the outside world. In addition, those few patriarchs must not be the ones who handed over the dirty blood ceremony to them. There are other existences above who are playing tricks." When Lu Ning said this, she sighed, "But I can't contact other companions now. It will take time to investigate these things. We still don't know the time and impact of the Red Moon Ceremony. There are too many mysteries, so we have to make a choice."

"In addition, avoid the villagers here, and don't provoke them even if it's a one-on-one opportunity. I suspect that the so-called 'blood' potential is not a force to deal with." Zhao Chenshuang pouted, "The boy just now Falling asleep quickly may be one of the abilities that is activated."

The four of them walked while talking, and soon left the woods where the thatched cottage was.

(End of this chapter)