Returning from the abyss

Chapter 130 Invitation

When I quietly returned to the woods near the mountain village, the sun had passed noon.

Lu Ning didn't intend to enter the mountain village. Even with weapons in hand, the people in the mountain village still pose a great threat to her, and crossbow arrows are not something she is good at. She can still be accurate within five meters, and farther away...

Having said that, does Mo Xiren really have something to look for here?
She's perfectly capable of sneaking in without alerting herself or the villagers—and considering the power she's shown, maybe assassinating a few villagers isn't a problem.If there is any reason why Lu Ning must be transferred, it is the place that Lu Ning must go to check but the villagers may not pay attention to?

Lu Ning observed the village from a distance around the top of the mountain, but would Mo Xiren really use her own ability to make a big commotion in the village?She didn't quite believe it herself.

Lies are the cloak of caution, and she dared to say that Mo Xiren didn't tell the truth until the end, and a person who wants to cover up the secret so far probably won't leave any flaws.

Lu Ning waited for more than an hour, but in the end there was no chaos in the village.But she came to the hunter's cabin not far from Mrs. Peng said earlier.

Four or five people were outside the house, skinning and disassembling some beasts.They are skilled in their movements, doing their daily work like ordinary hunters.However, the clothes on them are all very individual, as if they are all for highlighting their personal style rather than for hunting. They use animal skins, fabrics and metals to mix and match, and the traces of handwork are extremely obvious.

Lu Ning didn't want to get too close at all, but a person walking out of the room caught her attention.

This is a huntress, and what caught her attention was her clothing.

Top hat, black maple leaf-shaped cape, high collar, brown shirt and black trousers, with a gun holster on the left and right sides of the waist.

It's slightly different from Shu Xingruo's before, but the overall perception is surprisingly consistent.

--inherited.

These two words flashed through Lu Ning's mind.

The journal clearly shows that hunters are passing on certain skills to new companions, including signal gestures, and hunting techniques.And after forming such a teacher-student relationship, it is not difficult to understand the behavior of imitating.

On the hunter's side, there are also some secrets.

For example, they didn't dispatch the escapees immediately last night, such as the "third sister" that the fat man said seemed to have left for a long time, such as the hunter's hut scattered on the mountain but did not recover the props in it.

Lu Ning vaguely felt that she had found a breakthrough.

At this time, not far behind her came the sound of trampling on a dead branch.

Turning around suddenly, he saw two men.One was wearing an officer's uniform, with handsome eyebrows and a mustache, holding a shotgun in one hand and a pipe in the other.

Beside him is a young man full of shame. He is wearing light armor made of metal sheets, a two-handed sword on his back, and animal leather boots on his feet—it was this young man who stepped on the ground. branches.

"Amin, you are the youngest here, so let me take you to familiarize yourself with the environment in the mountains."

The officer man took a puff of his pipe slowly, staring at Lu in front of him as if nothing had happened.

"But you can't do this. The eyes and ears of wild beasts in the mountains are so sensitive that you can detect even the slightest noise you make. Dead branches and leaves, rocks and water puddles...Nature will provide them with a lot of cover to make hunting accidents happen. "

"Yes! Fifth brother!"

Seeing the young man Amin's expression of correcting himself as soon as he knew his mistake, the officer man nodded, and his eyes fell on Lu Ning.

"Outsiders? Why spy on our residence?"

"...People in the village said that hunters live here, so I came to have a look because I was curious." Lu Ning nodded to the officer and man, "Are you the hunters who live here temporarily?"

"It's not temporary..."

The officer man lit a wooden house in the distance with his pipe, and curled the corners of his mouth.

"We are hunters, and we live here. This is not a job title, but a title. Is this what the people in the village told you? It is indeed what they do. No matter how hard you ask, all you get is 'bloody,' Not gregarious', let you look at it from a distance. But now that I'm talking about it..."

The man's eyes rolled to the left and right.

"What about the villagers with you? They shouldn't let a blood bag like you run around."

Lu Ning tensed up instantly.

"Don't be nervous, little girl." The man took another drag on his cigarette and smiled to calm Lu Ning's emotions.

"you know……"

"We are hunters, with blood as companions for life, and our sensitivity to blood is unparalleled." The man knocked out the ash in the pipe on a nearby tree trunk, and replaced it with a new one.After completing this series of actions, he pointed at Lu Ning without lighting a cigarette.

"You can't hide the crossbow on your arm well, right? You're very smart, at least you thought of a way to escape from those guys, maybe you learned a little bit of the truth? It doesn't matter... For us, the interests of the village It doesn't matter at all, and you don't have to worry that I will hunt you here, otherwise you would already be lying in the basement waiting to perform the ritual."

"It sounds like you don't have a good relationship with the villagers?"

"It's just to use each other, it's not good or not." The officer man threw the shotgun into the young man's hand, coughed twice, and raised his hand to give a military salute to Lu Ning. "My name is Shi Xiaolang, the history of the past and the present, Xiao who lights up in the long night, Lang who empties the full moon. We never exchange names with our prey, because there is no need for that, but now I want to know your name."

"Lu Ning, the land of the sea, land and air, the condensation of water droplets." Lu Ning said dryly.

"I believe this is the first step for people to have a friendly conversation. Miss Lu, are you interested in visiting us now?" Shi Xiaolang made an invitation gesture.

The situation was so pressing that Lu Ning had no choice but to follow him and the young man back to the house.

At this time, it seems that most of the people have gone out to hunt, only seven or eight people stayed in the wooden house, a few were outside to pack their prey, and the rest were cooking in the house. They didn’t have any special reaction when they saw that Shi Xiaolang brought someone back. , Just said hello and continued to work on the matter at hand.

After entering the house, A Ming immediately ran to the back kitchen to help. Shi Xiaolang and Lu Ning sat down on both sides of a square table outside. Soon, the huntress in the pointed hat brought them a pot of hot tea. and two teacups.

"Please use."

Shi Xiaolang put the pipe on the window sill, picked up the teapot and poured a cup for each of them, then raised his hand as a signal.Lu Ning took the teacup and looked at the small hall slightly.

The area here is not very large, except for this table, there is only one big round table.But the whole living room was decorated in a very homely way, with some intact taxidermy hanging from the walls, interspersed with solid wooden shelves holding carved wood decorations and books.In the corners around the windows, some flowers and plants were planted in broken clay pots, and there were also decorations made of various mountain products, and there was no bloody smell at all.

"This is the hunter's home." Seeing her looking around, Shi Xiaolang said proudly, "Everything here is accumulated little by little by brothers and sisters, how is it? Isn't it very good?"

"I quite like the style."

Lu Ning did not flatter her, she had indeed longed for a building with this layout for a long time.

"However, let me understand your purpose first. I think you should be clear about many things."

"Yes, yes..." Shi Xiaolang put one hand on his forehead, and slightly tilted his head to look at Lu Ning, "One-third of the blood in your body has been replaced, which means that you fall into the Since you are here now, it means that you have at least one of courage, wisdom and luck, and this is what I need."

"What do you want...from me?"

"We have an agreement with the village, so I won't go into details. In short, we are restricted from snatching the 'blood bags' stored in the village. We can only passively accept their regular supply." Shi Xiaolang put down his hands and clasped them together. He took his own teacup and leaned forward slightly, "I think you should know about the blood ritual and the curse on us, right?"

"I know."

"Great, you are much smarter than I thought." Shi Xiaolang laughed.

"So you want me...to release the people caught by the village?"

"Release, this is the first step, and the second step is to escape. Only when the villagers can't catch them, they will beg us, and only in this way, we will get more blood. Originally, as a member of the same family, I am I don’t want to be so calculated, but who has increased the number of brothers and sisters in recent years, and many people have begun to age? If they can promise to give us more supplies, I will not discuss it with you... Looking at it this way, you are not Luckier?"

"You know I can't refuse that offer."

"That's right, this is what you are willing to do. As a reward, we can let you and one or two less important people go, how about that?"

Lu Ning really wanted to agree, but she would not believe the person in front of her, the reward was too slim.

"I want to know something, okay?"

"Good girl, you have to remember that although we have exchanged names, our predatory relationship still exists. You can ask, but be careful not to overdo it." Shi Xiaolang raised one hand, " How about five questions? Ask five questions under your own consideration, but if you ask beyond the limit, the conditions we just talked about will be cancelled, and you will become our spare blood bag, understand?"

This guy really can't believe it!

"First... how many hunters do you have here?"

Lu Ning opened his mouth calmly.

"It's a good idea to start with this. There are 21 hunters. There are 21 hunters living here now." Shi Xiaolang replied quickly.

"Second question, what is the reason for your discord with the villagers?"

"Because of our particularity, some special people can always be born in the blood of the curse. Their abilities are stronger, and in exchange for their youth time is shorter, and they consume more 'pure blood'. It is not necessary to deal with outsiders. With that kind of overpowering strength, these people have become a redundant burden. On the other hand, the exuberant vitality also makes us closer to 'predators' rather than 'breeders', so it can be said that we can't understand each other, But it hasn’t escalated to the point of contradiction.”

Lu Ning looked at Shi Xiaolang, he still had that incomprehensible smile on his face.

"Third, do you know the origin of the crossbow in my hand?"

"Your crossbow belongs to the fourth brother. He is no longer here, but he still left something on the mountain. It seems that you have found it. Don't worry, we will not take it back. You can use it later. Use it well in action."

"Fourth, besides the crossbow, I also found these things."

Lu Ning put two clay pots on the table.

(End of this chapter)