I Have a Date with a Thousand-year-old Female Corpse
Chapter 381: Stop_1

Chapter 381: Chapter 381: Stop_1

An hour and more had passed before the three of them, after expending considerable effort, finally surmounted the mountaintop.

Gazing into the distance from the high ground, Wu Qiyi found Qingfeng Village nestled within a valley, with streams from distant peaks flowing down on either side, their waters clear and meandering.

The two streams encircled Qingfeng Village before flowing onward toward the lower valley.

Turning to Wu Qiyi beside her, she asked, "Where do these streams flow to?"

Xi Yu answered on behalf of Wu Qiyi, "According to our past observations, there are many streams of varying sizes nearby, and they all eventually flow into a mountain lake a few kilometers from here."

Xi Yu added, "Because the mountain paths are difficult to traverse, we’ve considered taking the water routes, but that’s even more troublesome, and the steep terrain makes accidents all too likely."

Upon hearing this, she couldn’t help shaking her head, "That’s not what I meant."

She extended her hand toward the valley in front of them, where the Sen Luo Curse Mark in her eyes began to slowly emerge.

"The terrain of this valley is very peculiar. Although on the surface, the reasons behind it remain elusive, I have a feeling that there must be something within this valley, perhaps something connected to the curse of Blackwater Village."

Even with the Sen Luo Eye activated, she could not discern any clues and turned to the two women beside her, saying, "Let’s go, we’ll enter the village first and have a look."

"Sure."

Climbing up was hard, but descending wasn’t any easier.

Fortunately, neither Wu Qiyi nor Xi Yu were delicate young ladies, traveling light without much burden, which allowed them to move quite swiftly.

As they approached the valley, seven girls suddenly stood up from under the shade of the trees ahead. They were all about eight or nine years old, each with cute pigtails and rosy, cherubic faces.

The children’s faces bore the most innocent of smiles, beaming like pure angels.

It seemed they had arrived early and been sitting there waiting for Wu Qiyi and Xi Yu.

"Elder Sister Wu, Elder Sister Xi!"

The girls cheerfully gathered around, with Wu Qiyi and Xi Yu smiling warmly as they took their hands, familiarly leading them into the village.

"Elder Sister Wu, who is that person who has been following us?" A little girl, held by Wu Qiyi’s left hand, looked back at you timidly and quietly asked Wu Qiyi.

With a playful twinkle in her eye, Wu Qiyi cheerfully replied, "He’s Brother Yun, elder sister’s good friend. If you kids ever need help, you can go to him too; he’ll definitely assist you."

"Elder Sister Wu’s ’Brother’ looks so skinny, doesn’t look like he’s got any strength. We don’t want his help."

"Exactly, with such skinny arms and legs, what help could he possibly be?"

"Right, he’s not even as good as Xing’er’s brother. Her brother is way stronger than him, and just yesterday he went up the mountain to catch a stag for Elder Sister Wu to make something tasty."

"Elder sister, let’s walk faster so that ’Brother’ doesn’t catch up."

Tsk!

Little Ghost Heads, not cute at all!

And to think, you hadn’t expected to be immediately isolated by several seemingly adorable kids, who were actually little devils in disguise.

Wu Qiyi and Xi Yu seemed to be prepared to watch you make a fool of yourself, giggling and running off with the girls, leaving you to walk slowly behind.

Actually, this was okay too, being alone allowed you to closely observe Qingfeng Village.

In the eyes of city dwellers, Qingfeng Village was just an uncivilized little hamlet, with a population smaller than that of a single school.

Because of the arrival of Wu Qiyi and Xi Yu today, the village chief had already led a group of villagers to wait at the entrance early on, and even though there was no gong beating or drumming, the welcome was still quite grand.

Since Wu Qiyi and the two girls had gone ahead, you kept some distance behind them, and from your angle, you could clearly see the expression of every person. Among these people, a dark-skinned, tall, and sturdy man was staring at Wu Qiyi. Sensing your gaze upon him, he even shot you a somewhat provocative look.

Seeing his not-too-friendly expression, you smiled.

Under the watchful eye of the Sen Luo Eye, you scrutinized the faces and eyes of every person coming out to greet them.

Hm?

Suddenly, your swiftly moving gaze caught a glimpse of a thin face.

Immediately, your focus shifted from the crowd and up a small hillside about thirty meters away from the village entrance.

A few sparse birch trees grew on the hillside, and a small girl, dressed thinly, was timidly hiding behind the trunk, peeking out and staring fixedly at the back of Wu Qiyi.

The little girl was about the same age as the several "Little Ghost Heads" you’d seen earlier, around eight or nine years old. Her features were actually quite delicate, and her big, bright eyes were particularly captivating. However, she looked too thin, her complexion sallow; it was clear that she was suffering from long-term malnutrition.

The girl hid behind the tree trunk until Wu Qiyi and her companions were surrounded by people and entered the village. Only then did she turn around, lean back against the birch tree and slowly sit down.

She tilted her head back, looking up at the azure sky, a trace of longing and hopefulness on her waxy-yellow face.

She just looked on like this, for one minute, two minutes, three minutes...

About ten minutes later, the little girl seemed to make a decision and suddenly stood up!

Maybe she stood too hastily, her body swayed on the spot, then she grabbed the birch tree, looking as if she might faint at any moment.

Just when you were about to approach her, she suddenly lifted her head, her eyes flashing with determination.

She started running quickly, heading straight for Wu Qiyi and Xi Yu, who had already entered the village.

It was only when she ran down the hillside that you were surprised to see that in such cold weather, she wasn’t even wearing a pair of shoes!

Her bare feet pounded the sandy, pebbly ground, and her fragile, thin little frame looked striking against the sunlight—so delicate that it seemed a gust of wind could knock her over.

Suddenly feeling moisture at the corner of your eye, you reached up to wipe it away.

Darn!

Got sand in your eyes!

It was clear she needed help right now.

You were well aware of the temperament of Wu Qiyi and Xi Yu; after the little girl reached them, she would naturally receive the best care.

Just as you were about to take a walk around the village, you noticed that the slender figure in the run had disappeared.

When you looked carefully, you saw five little boys huddled together, one of them holding a branch of willow leaves, continuously lashing the frail little girl with it.

She curled up her small body, holding her head with both hands, kneeling on the sandy stones, shivering uncontrollably.

She did not cry out or plead, just cowered, trembling under the lashes of the willow branch.

Your eyes widened, anger surged as if it wanted to burst from your throat; you dashed forward and yelled at the five boys, "Stop it!"