novelraw Chapter 19: Post Station
Chapter 19: Post Station
Leaving the manor, the road they were on was actually quite close to the county town, but Wen Gu had no plans to go there.
The county town hadn't been included in their travel plans from the start.
Survivors from Ge Village had escaped from the county town, which had long since fallen. As the weather grew colder, the evil creatures, like wild beasts, sought shelter.
The fallen county town, therefore, served as an excellent "den" for them.
Of the residents who hadn't escaped the county town, it couldn't be said for sure, but most met one of two fates: either becoming food or transforming into evil creatures.
Nowadays, that county town had become a nest for monsters. In the words of the locals, the evil energy was too strong.
Knowing it was more dangerous there, Wen Gu had no intention of going. The county town would undoubtedly still have supplies, but unless there was a severe drop in temperature and they had sufficient armed forces, they wouldn't dare to search there.
Otherwise, it was best to steer clear from a distance.
On a particularly cold morning, from a high vantage point near the county town, they took a look from afar.
At this distance, the entire county town appeared as a blurry mass, and under the rising sun, it seemed shrouded in a layer of dust. The area was enveloped in a palpable sense of fear and despair, as if one could hear the laments and cries of its residents.Wen Gu and the others, being outsiders, didn't feel the impact as deeply. Little Liu, however, stared for a long while before resolutely following Wen Gu and the others forward without a second glance.
The once bustling county town, the place of past dreams, had become history. Let that vibrant county town remain in memory, not decaying into ruin and darkness like the town they had passed through.
They traveled for two more days, stopping and starting along the way. They had already left the area familiar to Liu the Hunter, and Wen Gu's previously drawn map of the region was no longer useful.
Little Liu had never been to the neighboring county before. He had only heard from his father that this county was less prosperous than their own and quite distant, with little presence otherwise.
Not knowing which roads were safer, or the conditions of the villages and towns here, they dared not visit each one. They could only choose their route based on the terrain and topography, opting for paths with better visibility and those suitable for their donkey cart.
Even if they couldn't find a place to rest, they would build a fire, scatter some herbs to ward off wild beasts and evil creatures, light incense, and take turns guarding while others rested in the donkey cart. The donkey cart moved slowly on the road, not due to the donkey's lack of effort, but because of the numerous obstacles on the path.
Human skeletons, the skeletal remains of draft animals, abandoned vehicles, or scattered debris all hindered their progress.
Wen Gu and the other three, wielding modified long-handled farming tools, cleared the lighter debris to the sides of the road.
For anything too heavy to move, they would avoid it if possible, or stop and clear it together if they couldn't bypass it. Of course, it wasn't all trouble; they occasionally found useful tools like knives and clubs.
In the dilapidated horse-drawn carriages left on the road, they could sometimes find food left behind by their owners, though most of it had spoiled due to the passage of time.
"What a shame, such a big bag of grain," Little Liu lamented.
The carriage's owner seemed to be from a well-off family. Wen Gu found a hidden compartment inside the carriage.
The pastries and other dried food were inedible, but there was a small jar. Upon opening it, Wen Gu's face lit up with joy.
"Honey! What a treasure!" High in calories and long-lasting, it was excellent emergency and travel food. Little Liu's mouth watered at the mention of honey.
A cup of honey water during a rest would instantly revitalize him!
Even though he hadn't tasted the honey yet, Little Liu felt invigorated while clearing obstacles. He would have been even happier if they could find suitable materials for making arrows.
In the few days since leaving home, his quiver had acquired some new arrows, which he had made along the way. In the manor's courtyards, they had collected metal scraps and other hard objects for arrowheads, and he could find materials for the shafts and fletching.
Due to limited conditions and his own limited craftsmanship, these new arrows were crudely made, but they were usable. Every day during their rests, he would take some time to make them.
Among the humanoid creatures they encountered on their journey, not all were evil. As they passed the outskirts of a village, they found a roadside tea stall that could serve as a place for them to rest.
It had been neglected for a long time, and it was impossible to expect it to shield them from the elements. Fortunately, the weather had been fair recently, and without rain, it could offer a slight windbreak and some cover.
At the same time they spotted the tea stall, they also saw a large tree nearby with a person hanging from it. The area was open with no other evil creatures in sight, so Wen Gu and the others went to take a closer look.
The person hanging from the tree, judging by their clothes and build, appeared to be a villager from a nearby settlement. They had been hanged recently.
To be precise, they had committed suicide by hanging. Wen Gu observed the person’s downward-hanging arms.
The half-forearm exposed by the sleeve bore a purplish-brown marking. People possessed by evil spirits would develop such markings on their bodies.
These markings would spread from the limbs to the entire body, and when their human consciousness was completely lost, it would accelerate their overall transformation into bloodthirsty, savage monsters.
Possession by evil spirits was generally divided into three stages: - A change in smell - Purple-brown markings appearing on the limbs - Full-body transformation into a monster.
When they were in Ge Village, Liu the Hunter and the others would isolate themselves in a herb-fumigated room for a night upon returning from excursions to determine if anyone had been possessed, starting from the first stage. Those affected would suddenly dislike the smell of those herbs.
If herb fumigation wasn't an option, they would look for the second stage of possession, checking if evil spots had appeared on the limbs. In the early stages of possession, they could still retain their consciousness but wouldn't see the markings on their arms.
The evil gu parasitic within them had already begun to influence their minds, making them believe these markings were normal and belonged to them, completely devoid of the thought, "I am turning into a monster." Those unwilling to become monsters, if told by others that evil spots were appearing on their arms, would choose whether to end their own lives.
In the early days of the chaos, some villagers in Ge Village who learned they were possessed chose to take their own lives. Such incidents were not uncommon.
Having seen such things often, the four remained relatively calm.
"There are still survivors in the nearby villages," Wen Gu said.
However, they had no intention of confirming this; the variables were too great. Preserving themselves was more important now.
After a quiet night at the tea stall, they set off again early the next morning. It was another day of tense travel.
Before sunset that afternoon, they spotted a small post station.
Compared to the drafty tea stall, the post station offered much better lodging conditions.
However, they still had to guard against potential dangers within. Outside the post station, there were old bloodstains, both human and from evil creatures, dating back to different times.
On the ground lay human bones and the carcasses of evil creatures. After observing the post station quietly from a distance for a moment, Wen Gu signaled to the Daoist Master: "Go ahead, time for the usual procedure."
Daoist Master Qingyi's expression was unreadable as he threw in a smoking bundle of rattan. Subsequently, a "cough, cough!" sound emanated from within the post station.
It was a human voice! The four instantly became alert. In these chaotic times, their enemies weren't just evil creatures.
Sometimes, living people were more terrifying than monsters. After a brief observation, Wen Gu called out: "Excuse us, it's late.
We'd like to request shelter for the night." As he spoke, Wen Gu carefully listened to the sounds within, trying to determine how many people were inside.
The person inside made no attempt to hide, immediately replying, "Come in, cough! Don't worry, cough, cough, cough, it's just me here." The person was clearly choked by the smoke, their words disjointed.
Wen Gu and the other three did not lower their guard. They waited a while longer, and only after the smoke inside had thinned did they enter the post station.
The post station wasn't large. Entering through the main door, they could see the situation in the hall at a glance.
A young man in his twenties was sitting casually on the floor, leaning against a table. He looked somewhat weak.
He was likely a tall and robust person, but now his cheeks were sunken, and he was extremely thin, yet there was a sturdy build characteristic of a martial artist. However, his forehead was slightly red, as if he had just been hit by something.
Wen Gu: "…" He continued to size up the man. This person might have held an official position in the past? An idea immediately formed in his mind.
In the current world, with food shortages, most people would be emaciated. However, compared to the gaunt villagers Wen Gu had seen in Ge Village, this man seemed excessively despondent.
There was a sense of self-abandonment and dejection about him, and the smell of alcohol emanated from him. A pot of wine lay beside him, and as Wen Gu entered, the man had been taking several gulps from the wine pot.
Quite a bit of wine had spilled onto the floor. The big donkey, smelling it, started to walk towards it, but was pulled away.
It brayed and became stubborn. Wen Gu asked Little Liu to find a pot of coarse wine from the post station to feed the donkey.
Earlier, when they were searching for wine in the manor, they had found only this type of coarse wine in the servants' quarters, some even murkier than what was at the post station. Wealthy families would drink clearer wine, which underwent an additional filtering process and was more expensive.
For example, the wine Steward Li had treasured, which the big donkey had drunk a lot of. As for those from less affluent backgrounds, they mostly drank coarse wine.
Of course, some well-off scholars also enjoyed drinking coarse wine when they felt poetic. Nowadays, at a small post station in a remote area, one couldn't expect high-quality wine; it was all coarse wine.
It was enough to appease the donkey. Once the donkey quieted down, Wen Gu, with his scholarly demeanor and a slight apology on his face, bowed elegantly to the man sitting on the ground: "Apologies for disturbing you."
The Daoist Master beside him secretly rolled his eyes. The young man sitting on the ground looked at the four of them, his eyes shifting slightly, then becoming sorrowful.
His voice was hoarse: "Please, make yourselves comfortable. But I advise you to stay away from me."
As he spoke, he lifted his sleeve and extended his arm towards Wen Gu and the others. The gazes of Wen Gu and the other three shifted to the man's exposed arm, then back to his face.
They looked at his arm again, then back at him. Their gazes flickered back and forth several times.
Tietou: Blank. Utterly blank.
He didn't know what to do and looked at Wen Gu. Little Liu: Hesitated to speak, then decided against it.
Seeing a living survivor made him happy, but he didn't understand what this man was trying to convey. What was wrong with his arm? Did he have a lot of body hair? However, he remembered his father's instruction to not speak rashly when out and to follow the boss's lead.
So, he also looked at Wen Gu. Wen Gu and the Daoist Master exchanged glances.
In those few moments, they had guessed various possibilities. Doubt, sympathy, admiration, melancholy.
The Daoist Master let out a soft chuckle, then, adopting a posture of an expert, sighed deeply. The human emotions in this chaotic world seemed to be encompassed in that one sigh.
Observing the reactions of Wen Gu and the other three, the young man's originally sorrowful and decadent expression seemed to gradually freeze. He realized something.
The air suddenly fell silent. (End of this chapter)