I scanned the courtyard and noticed that, except for Zhang Hongsheng, there wasn't a single male around.
I couldn't help but ask curiously, "Zhang Hongsheng, where are the others? Are they in other courtyards?"
Zhang Hongsheng's expression changed from a smile to a guarded one.
"What do you want to know that for?" he asked.
I thought it was a bit amusing.
If I had any ill intentions, those people would have been taken care of by the Big beard that morning.
I didn't know what Zhang Hongsheng was being cautious about, but I quickly explained, "No, no, I didn't mean anything by it. Just a casual question."
Zhang Hongsheng's mother, who was hanging clothes to dry, responded kindly, "They followed Brother Li out, and the others are probably sleeping or playing cards in the house. Those few don't take anything seriously all day. I'm not sure what to say about them."
Before I could respond, Aunt Zhang turned to Zhang Hongsheng and said, "Hongsheng, these two girls don't mean any harm. Don't always put on that stern face. People might think we're hiding something."
I felt a bit embarrassed and said, "Aunt Zhang, don't say that. I was the one who asked too many questions."
"I didn't think you were being rude, why did you say you were?" Aunt Zhang asked, drying her hands and smiling at me.
I was about to respond when a loud knocking sound came from the gate.
Everyone's expression changed, and Zhang Hongsheng quickly ran to the gate, asking sternly, "Who is it?"
"Me, Old Jiang. Open the gate! Something's happened!"
The urgent response from outside made it sound like something serious had occurred.
Shen Xue and I exchanged a confused glance.
When the gate was opened, a middle-aged man with a honest-looking face rushed in, his face filled with panic.
Before Zhang Hongsheng could even close the gate, he blurted out, "Branch Secretary, it's bad! Wang Waizui fell into a pit!"
The women who were doing laundry stopped what they were doing, stood up, and looked serious.
Aunt Zhang's face was also filled with panic as she asked, "What? Wang Waizui fell into a pit? What happened? How did he fall in without any reason?"
Old Jiang rubbed his hands together, his voice trembling, and his expression stiff as he stared at the ground.
It seemed like he was struggling to find the words.
After Aunt Zhang asked him several times, he finally spoke up, "One of those things came out again. Brother Li took us to catch it, and Wang Waizui was acting strange today, always spaced out. When we threw that thing into the pit, he lost his footing and fell in. You know what's in that pit... By the time we reacted and tried to pull him out, he had already been... bitten several times."
During this, I quickly glanced at Zhang Hongsheng and noticed a look of extreme impatience on his face.
However, the moment Aunt Zhang turned to look at him, his expression immediately returned to normal.
"Maybe we should go take a look, Hongsheng? It's not right for Wang Waizui to be left in that pit," Aunt Zhang suggested.
"Yes, yes, he can't stay in the pit," the women behind Aunt Zhang chimed in.
Shen Xue and I exchanged a confused glance.
We were completely lost.
What was going on?
Hadn't they just said Wang Waizui fell into the pit and got bitten?
That implied there was something in the pit that bit people.
In this world, it wasn't hard to guess what that might be.
If Wang Waizui had been bitten, he was likely doomed.
These people must have known that too.
So, what did they mean by saying Wang Waizui wasn't suited for the pit?
I signaled to Shen Xue, and we both decided it was time to leave.
We called over Rongrong, who was playing jump rope with the other kids, and pulled her back to our side.
It seemed we weren't suited to stay here any longer.
As expected, as soon as Shen Xue pulled Rongrong back, Zhang Hongsheng walked over with a stiff face and said, "You two, we have something going on here. Why don't you head back first? When we're done dealing with it, you can bring the kid over to play again."
I smiled at him. "Since you have something going on, we'll head back first. We'll come over another time."
Zhang Hongsheng nodded, opened the gate for us, and bid us farewell.
The three of us left the courtyard.
After turning a corner, I couldn't shake off the feeling that something was off.
I felt like there was something I needed to know.
I handed Rongrong over to Shen Xue. "Xiao Xue, you take Rongrong back first. I'll follow them and see what's going on."
Shen Xue was taken aback, and then she quickly realized what I meant.
She shook her head. "That's not a good idea. It's too dangerous for you to go alone. It's not our business."
I shook my head. "No, no, I have a bad feeling about this. I need to go check it out. These people don't seem normal, like they're hiding something. Don't worry, I'll be fine. I'll be right back."
Shen Xue wanted to say something more, but I cut her off with a wave of my hand.
"Forget it, forget it. If we wait any longer, they'll be too far away. I won't be in any danger. You two head back first."
Without waiting for Shen Xue's response, I quickly ducked back to the entrance of the alley, keeping a low profile.
I peeked out and saw Zhang Hongsheng leading a group of men armed with kitchen knives out of the gate.
Aunt Zhang was also with them.
Those men were probably the ones Aunt Zhang mentioned earlier, who were playing cards in the house and didn't take anything seriously.
They headed in the opposite direction of where I was, moving quickly, seemingly in a hurry.
I paused for a moment, calculated the distance between us, and determined the best tracking distance.
Then, I quickly followed them.
Zhang Hongsheng's group moved fast, and he kept looking back, as if he sensed something.
Each time, I held my breath and managed to dodge out of sight just in time.
Luckily, I was able to avoid being seen.
After a while, they turned onto a narrow dirt path lined with large fields on both sides.
The fields were much bigger than the ones we saw earlier.
The path was flat and open, except for a cluster of trees blocking the view at the far end.
Fortunately, there were occasional piles of firewood or tall trees along the path that I could use as cover to hide behind.
I followed them for a long time, and it seemed like we had already left the village.
I was hesitating about whether to continue following them when I saw a small cluster of trees in the distance.
The cluster wasn't very big, with only about 150-200 trees.
There were many people standing in the woods, and a few of them spotted Zhang Hongsheng's group approaching from afar.
They came out of the woods to greet them.
I hid behind a pile of firewood that was not too close to them and secretly observed the group.
I was glad that my eyesight was still good despite years of studying, and I could make out the people who came out to greet Zhang Hongsheng's group.
They seemed to be the same middle-aged men who were discussing something with Zhang Hongsheng that morning when he was deciding whether to let us stay.
The group didn't immediately return to the woods.
Instead, they stopped at the edge of the woods and gathered around, seemingly discussing something.
It was impossible for me to hear what they were saying, so I took the opportunity to carefully observe the situation inside the woods.
Although the woods were small, the dry grass and tree trunks obstructed my view.
After watching for a while, I didn't see anything except people moving around inside.
However, I noticed a person who didn't seem to be there in the morning.
He had a head full of white hair, which was quite noticeable even from a distance.
I stared at that person for a while.
He wasn't very tall and seemed to have a slight hunchback.
I couldn't make out his features clearly due to the distance.
However, it seemed like he held a high position among the group, as several people approached him with a slight bow, speaking to him with respect.
This gesture is often a sign of respect for the other person.
I guessed that he might be an elderly person in the village, which would explain his relatively high status.
I couldn't help but find it amusing.
What good is age or status?
When the walker come to devour you, will they spare you because of your age or position?
How could that be?
Even if your flesh is old and tough, they won't be picky.
It seems like this group of people hasn't fully grasped the current state of the world.
They're still bound by outdated notions of hierarchy and status.
But in the outside world, everything has changed.
What matters now is not these ancient, outdated things, but rather the ability to fight.
To deal with the walker, all you need is combat strength.
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