Chapter 161: The Lost Villager

The three entered the front yard, where the young cultivator in his early twenties picked three large fruits from the tree, washed them by the urn, and handed two to his companions. From the way the man addressed them, Zhou Qing understood they were three senior and junior disciples.

"Young brother, where are you from? Where are you fleeing to?"

"I haven't decided yet. The world is vast, and as a lost villager, I really don't know where I can go."

Feigning a sigh at the inquiry, Zhou Qing replied with these words, then asked in return, "I can see the three of you must be cultivators from a sect, possessing extraordinary abilities. May I ask where you are headed?"

"We're going to the Northern Gate—"

"Junior sister."

The young woman of Zhou Qing's age only got halfway before her senior brother stopped her. The cultivator around thirty years old smiled and said, "We're just wandering cultivators, with no set destination for this journey."

Though the girl's words about the Northern Gate were cut off, Zhou Qing had no doubt there was a mountain behind the name. He had grasped their purpose for the trip. Zhou Qing didn't know where the Northern Gate Mountain was; he had planned to ask along the way, but this war-torn era left the roads deserted.

Now that these three had appeared, they provided a clue. Since they were heading to the Northern Gate Mountain, he could simply follow them from a distance.

With this in mind, Zhou Qing smiled, nodded, picked another large fruit from the tree, washed it, and took a bite.

"I must continue my journey, so I won't linger. Farewell, honored immortals!"

With a smile, Zhou Qing swung his sleeve, placed one hand behind his back, and walked out onto the dirt road with the fruit in hand. Soon, his figure vanished at the village entrance.

After Zhou Qing left, the three siblings did not linger in the dilapidated yard. They merely rested for a moment, ate their fruit, and departed the abandoned village.

These three were cultivators from Mount Lao Sect within the borders of the Great Tang. The senior, around thirty, was known as Kong Ning; the chubby young man in his twenties was Kong Hai; the young woman was Kong Xue.

Mount Lao Sect was well-known in the Great Tang. The siblings' purpose was to travel to the Northern Gate Mountain, seeking two elders of their sect to deliver items and relay certain messages.

Over fifty years ago, a calamity of the undead struck the surrounds of Northern Gate Mountain. Sect cultivators from all over the Great Tang converged to quell the disaster, but the conflict ended in stalemate.

Eventually, both sides reached an accord: the hundred miles around Northern Gate Mountain would be reserved for the undead, forbidden to humans.

Beyond that boundary, various Tang sects erected formations around the mountain to prevent ignorant, mindless zombies from invading.

Thus, many cultivators were stationed near Northern Gate Mountain; for example, Mount Lao Sect had two elders guarding a formation at the forest's edge.

...

"Senior brother, how much longer until we reach Northern Gate Mountain?" During their journey, Kong Xue asked Kong Ning, who led the way.

"I told you, junior sister, just three more days." Kong Hai, the plump cultivator, glanced at his sister and whispered, "I told you not to come, but you wouldn't listen."

Though his voice was low, Kong Xue heard him clearly and was displeased. She rushed to Kong Ning's side, shaking his arm playfully.

"Senior brother, see, second brother is bullying me again. You must stand up for me."

"It's no wonder your second brother complains." Kong Ning tapped her forehead lightly and added, "You're grown now. I can't carry you like I did when you were little. You'll have to tough it out."

"Haha, senior brother's right. Junior sister, you'd better persevere," Kong Hai chimed in, his fat jiggling as he laughed like a four-hundred-pound man.

"Hmph~" Kong Xue snorted, hurried to Kong Hai's side, and pinched a piece of his fat with her sharp fingernails.

"Ah! Pain! It hurts!" Kong Hai cried, reaching to retaliate, but Kong Xue had already dashed back to Kong Ning.

The three siblings joked and bickered along the way, and before they realized it, night had fallen. They stopped at the foot of a mountain, built a campfire, clearly intending to spend the night there.

After the fire was lit, the siblings sat around it, ate, and chatted casually.

Kong Hai then opened the large bundle he'd carried, pulled out a sheet of oilcloth and several short bamboo poles, and assembled a small tent.

"My dear little sister, you've had a long day. Please rest," he said, then unfolded another oilcloth onto the ground, making a sleeping mat big enough for one.

"Senior brother, you rest first. I'll take the first watch; switch with me at midnight."

"Alright."

Kong Ning nodded, lay down on the mat, and slept. Kong Xue smiled at Kong Hai and slipped into the tent.

Now only Kong Hai remained by the fire, poking at it occasionally with a stick to pass the time.

The mountain foot was very quiet; occasional insect sounds came from the nearby woods, but Kong Hai paid them no mind.

High in an old tree nearby, a figure lay along a thick branch, gazing at the campfire below with a face full of melancholy.

As he watched, he unconsciously clutched a blood-red jade pendant, his gaze fixed on it as a figure appeared in his mind.

The jade evoked a painful memory, and as Zhou Qing stared absentmindedly at it, a noise came from the woods nearby.

Startled, Zhou Qing quickly put the jade away and looked toward the source of the sound. He saw two figures approaching his tree, passing beneath it and hiding in a row of trees not far from the mountain's foot.

From their hiding place, the pair watched the camp below. After a moment, one whispered, "You see, Qiangzi, that's the place. That woman is a real beauty. She must be inside that little tent."