The night sky is sparse with stars, a full moon hangs high.

The car drove out of the small town, winding deeper into the wilderness.

On both sides, the rice in the fields hung low, heavy, as the harvest season approached. Ahead, hills rose and dipped, shrouded in a mysterious fog, lending an air of uncertainty.

Jiangnan is mountainous, with hills and peaks scattered everywhere, and many villages and towns are built along the mountains.

Chen Shouyi checked the time; it was only eight in the evening.

"When did you arrive?" Chen Shouyi suddenly asked.

"At five in the afternoon!" Jin Feiyan replied.

Only three hours had passed since then, so it should still be in time.

The car continued along a mountain path, going in a large loop, before heading into a mountain valley. A thin fog began to rise on the road.

He noticed that a village along the way had already been relocated, leaving it dark and empty.

"Is there fog during the day too?" Chen Shouyi asked.

"Yes, Mei Family Village is located ahead in the valley, where there's usually more fog, but it used to only appear in the morning and evening. Now, even at midday, it's foggy," said a local town chief, looking uneasy.

Chen Shouyi was surprised at this; it was summer, and the weather was scorching, reaching temperatures of up to forty degrees during the day. The blazing sun should dissipate even the densest fog, so in such conditions, an entire village shrouded in mist likely meant something far from ordinary.

This mission is going to be tricky! Chen Shouyi frowned slightly.

Soon, the truck arrived at the destination.

The area was already cordoned off, with about a battalion of soldiers stationed around, and a helicopter constantly circling in the sky.

Chen Shouyi and the others jumped off the truck and looked ahead.

In front of them, a village cloaked in dense fog loomed in and out of view in the distance.

Chen Shouyi keenly noticed that the soldiers stationed here weren't taking special precautions, indicating that the fog itself was harmless and just regular mist.

The local guide quickly approached upon hearing the news.

Chen Shouyi chatted with him briefly, trying to gather more detailed firsthand intelligence.

The other party answered every question thoroughly.

But not much was gained.

In fact, the army only arrived here at noon today for a mission, having sent a company of soldiers into the village since then, yet none had returned.

It was known only that there were still many people alive inside; occasionally, figures could be seen.

Moreover, the magnetic field was abnormal. Once entering the thick fog, compasses would spin chaotically.

Seeing this, Chen Shouyi stopped asking, opened his bow case, assembled his war bow, filled three quivers with sixty arrows each, and strapped them on his back.

He prepared to enter, and seeing Jin Feiyan wanted to follow, he turned and said, "You don't need to come; you won't be of help."

To him, even a big martial artist level person wouldn't make a difference, let alone a martial artist level person.

Jin Feiyan, who had no desire to enter the strange but dangerous village, was there merely for the mission. Hearing Chen Shouyi's remark as clear permission, she breathed a sigh of relief and cheerily said, "Then be careful!"

Chen Shouyi nodded slightly, stepped over the caution tape, and walked forward.

The distant thick fog churned, resembling countless sinister ghosts with claws extended, sending chills down his spine.

He pressed his sword and advanced, his senses quickly spreading out.

Frowning, he sharply realized his perception was greatly disturbed upon touching the fog; images trembled and jumped, becoming indistinct, as if battling against some force.

Fortunately, the interference wasn't strong enough to fully disrupt his perception.

Taking a deep breath, after a few steps, he found himself deeply ensconced in the mist.

The fog was as thick as milk, evidently unnatural.

Even with his vision, beyond five meters, everything was blurred and shadowy.

He slowly advanced along the village's paths, alert to his surroundings.

Several plastic bags rolled along the road, and perhaps it was an illusion, but countless whispering voices seemed to echo in his ears, like a devil's murmurs.

Bluffing tactics!

Chen Shouyi sneered.

Yet he heightened his alertness to the maximum.

After a while, buildings appeared on both sides.

"Have I entered the village?"

There was no light at all around, everything was dark, deathly quiet as if it were a ghost village.

A strong stench of blood and corpses permeated the air, signaling something ominous here.

Chen Shouyi moved towards a three-story house nearby, the iron gate on the wall was open, and the main door inside seemed ajar, a pitch-black void.

He stepped inside, the smell of carrion grew stronger, he gripped the hilt of his sword, and called out tentatively, "Is anyone there?"

"Is anyone there?"

Then he noticed a shadowy figure sitting in the living room, slightly moving, seemingly doing something?

Amidst the foggy darkness, this scene appeared incredibly eerie.

With heightened skills comes bravery, Chen Shouyi steadied his nerves, gripped his sword, and approached.

Discovering it was an elderly woman, her face etched with wrinkles, her body hunched, sitting at a table, gripping something with her hands, gnawing on it incessantly.

Upon closer inspection, even accustomed as he was to death and corpses, his heart skipped a beat.

Damn, it was an arm.

The arm was severely decayed, dripping with pus and blood, maggots crawling all over it, and the foul stench emanated from it.

The old woman was toothless, gnawing with her gums, mouth full of blood.

Chen Shouyi slowly drew his sword out, hesitated, and sheathed it again.

He could tell this old woman was still alive.

Her heart was beating, the chest was rising and falling.

A living person, albeit acting quite bizarrely.

"Grandma!"

"Grandma!" Chen Shouyi called out several times, testing the waters.

Seemingly hearing the call, she turned her head towards Chen Shouyi, her expression blank, eyes cloudy and hollowed, looking soulless, and after a while, she bowed her head and resumed gnawing on the arm.

Watching for a bit, Chen Shouyi left, reaching the iron gate outside, glancing back. Amidst the thick fog, he vaguely saw the old woman standing up, seemingly looking towards him.

"What the hell is this?"

He cursed under his breath, turned, and continued searching.

The path was silent, occasionally spotting patches of dark, rancid blood.

"Song Yingjie!"

"Song Yingjie!"

"Anyone alive, make a sound."

He shouted as he walked.

But no response came, only countless whispers filled his mind, with occasional jarring, sharp noises, stirring slight agitation in Chen Shouyi, amidst which a shadow appeared vaguely in the fog ahead.

Chen Shouyi felt a glimmer of hope, immediately chasing after it.

PS: There will be another chapter later, under revision.

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