Chapter Eighty-Five: The Cottage in the Woods

Once the formation was broken, nothing like the earlier phenomenon occurred. The only change was that a few piles of white bones suddenly appeared on the ground. According to Xin Zi, they were the remains of people who had strayed into the woods by accident; they had merely been concealed by the illusion set within the formation, so no one had recognized them.

Because of that, Yue Yunsheng even solemnly bowed to the bones and said that many people from Yue Family Manor had once come here, so perhaps these were the remains of his own ancestors...

The mist gradually thinned as well, and the surroundings no longer carried that lifeless, oppressive feel. Now and then, a small animal darted out, bringing a little vitality to the place.

"By the way, Brother Xin," Yue Qi said as he fell back toward the rear, then hurried forward to ask, "if we break this formation, wouldn't the zombies be freed too?"

"When the formation was just broken, did you see any zombies?" Xin Zi asked, not seeming too concerned.

"No, but I thought I heard something. I figured they must be right around us," Yue Qi said after thinking for a moment.

"That makes sense. Then I suspect those zombies may also be trapped in a formation, just not the same one as ours. Perhaps the formation is near us somewhere, but because the core hasn't been broken, we can't see them. Even if they sensed us nearby, they probably still couldn't get out..." Xin Zi explained.

"So that's how it is..." Yue Qi nodded, but in his heart he admired the person who had laid all these formations even more. To seal off every direction around such a vast forest with illusion arrays—how much energy and effort would that require?

They continued along the path, and no one knew whether they were heading inward or outward. Even though the formation had been broken, for some reason Xin Zi's compass still wasn't of any use here.

"Where exactly are we going? With such a huge forest, are we really supposed to walk our way out of it?" Yue Yunsheng said with some dissatisfaction. They had walked the whole day, and night was almost upon them, yet they had found nothing and seemed no closer to leaving.

"Endure it a little longer, Yunsheng. Once the sun sets completely, we'll rest. There are no zombies here anyway, so there's nothing to fear..." Yue Qi hurriedly said. He could tell Xin Zi was beginning to be displeased with Yue Yunsheng. Even the girls hadn't complained, and this was a grown man... If discord arose in the team at a time like this, it would be dangerous indeed...

"It's nothing. I was only thinking about our purpose in walking this way. Was it simply to get out of the forest?" Hearing even Yue Qi speak up, Yue Yunsheng shook his head and replied.

"There's nothing for it. After we broke the formation, we saw this road and naturally followed it. Since it's already come to this, walking anywhere is still walking..." Yue Qi said with a wry smile.

"All right, but... huh?" Yue Yunsheng was about to say something more when he glanced ahead and suddenly let out a startled cry, as if he had spotted something.

"There—there seems to be firelight!" He fixed his gaze and suddenly grew excited. Yue Qi and the others looked over, and sure enough, faint glimmers of light could be seen in the east!

"What should we do? Go over there now?" Xin Zi frowned and asked. Judging by the direction of the road, it did not seem to lead there...

"Let's go," Yue Qi considered it briefly and said. "At worst, if we don't find anything, we can just come back."

Though that was easy to say, the thickets and brambles along the way were indeed difficult to get past. For the safety of the two girls, Yue Qi naturally took on the role of clearing the way. At times like this, the value of a magic treasure became clear: sword energy flashed, and all the thorny undergrowth ahead was cut clean away...

As they slowly drew closer to the firelight, the sky had already begun to darken. Yet Yue Qi could see clearly that there were several houses there. Though small, they had everything a sparrowhouse needed in miniature: farmland, a stream, all the most basic necessities were present!

"Could some hidden master live here? Wouldn't we be disturbing someone's peace by coming here?" Xin Zi clearly saw the scene as well and frowned.

"I don't think so. If the formations outside were set by someone living here, then they must have noticed when we broke them. And those zombies also entered the illusion, so the people living here would surely know what was happening outside..." Bai Lian thought it over and said.

"Whoever lives here, if so many from Yue Family Manor strayed in and not a single one made it back, and these people just stood by and did nothing, then they can hardly be called good people!" Yue Yunsheng said angrily. His feelings for Yue Family Manor were probably the deepest among them all. After all, Yue Qi had been away for several years, while Yunsheng had lived here all along.

"Very well. Let's go in and take a look first. If someone really does live here, we'll speak with them and see whether we can stay the night. We can decide what to do tomorrow..." Xin Zi ignored the hot-headed Yue Yunsheng beside him and instead addressed Yue Qi and Bai Lian.

"All right!" Yue Qi nodded, and the group walked forward together. Seeing himself ignored, Yunsheng scratched his head awkwardly, though his nature was not bad at all and he certainly harbored no ill intent...

But when they reached the vicinity of those houses, what they saw only made things even more shocking: every house standing there was burning, and at the outer edge a few zombies were still wandering about!

"Looks like this place has been tainted by zombies too!" Yue Qi sighed. "I think we should leave. It's not fit for living anymore..." What he said was not wrong. After all, no one knew whether the water or the soil here had been contaminated by the zombies. If they were to stay, and something went wrong, that would be troublesome...

"Wait!" Xin Zi suddenly said. "These are only ordinary zombies. Brother Yue, with what you've recovered so far, do you think you can handle them?"

"Of course," Yue Qi said confidently. "You mean for me to deal with those zombies?"

Xin Zi nodded and continued, "I want to see whether there are any survivors here. After all, a powerhouse capable of laying such formidable formations would not seem like someone so easily killed. And if we really do find survivors, we may very well be able to leave this forest soon!"

Yue Qi nodded and said no more. He immediately charged outward. Those few ordinary zombies were not yet worth worrying over. In a few swift strokes, he severed their heads, and they were dead beyond all recovery...

Bai Lian and the others came over. Yue Qi had been quite quick indeed, though it was impossible to tell how these houses had caught fire, and there was still no sign of the flames dying down...

"Let's look around and see if we can find anything. There's no need to go into these houses. I think there shouldn't be any living people left inside!" Xin Zi said. The others did not linger, instead splitting up to search for any possible clues.

Yue Qi went alone to the side of the largest house. By then it had been burned so badly that not a single intact spot remained. The roof beams had collapsed, and it looked as though it might fall apart at any moment...

"Ah..." Yue Qi sighed. Firelight illuminated his face, flickering in his eyes as if reflecting the flames of his own soul...

"Help..." Suddenly, Yue Qi heard a faint voice. It was not loud, as though coming from very far away...

"Am I hearing things?" Yue Qi rubbed his temples. Yet all around him there was only the crackling of burning wood; no cry for help could be heard.

"Help..." Then, just as Yue Qi was about to leave, the voice came again! This time he heard it clearly. It was coming from behind the large house!

He hurried over, but behind the building was only an open patch of ground, with nothing there. Yet above it, two zombies were still wandering about. Seeing Yue Qi appear, they immediately lunged at him.

Killing ordinary zombies was as easy as crushing an ant. Yue Qi did not even use any spell techniques, fearing that the voice might appear again and he would fail to hear it...

"Help..." The voice sounded once more. This time it was clearly louder, though also terribly weak, as if it might die at any moment...

"Underground!" Yue Qi was startled and hurriedly lay down on the ground, pressing his ear against it. Sure enough, faint cries for help came from below!

"But how do I get in?" Now it was Yue Qi's turn to be puzzled. There was no door here—how was he supposed to enter? Could it be...

He looked at the roaring inferno consuming the house, gritted his teeth, and suddenly charged straight inside! So all the survivors were beneath the ground!

Rushing into the fire, he could clearly see that everything inside had been burned to ashes. But on the floor there was a large hole, blocked by a table that had been charred beyond recognition. Even so, the flames had never reached into it...

Yue Qi kicked the table aside and leaped into the hole. To his surprise, after only a few steps he found an old man and a young girl inside!

Seeing Yue Qi arrive, the girl became very agitated and hurriedly said, "Please, save my grandfather! Grandfather can't hold on much longer!" So they were actually grandfather and granddaughter!

Yue Qi quickly ran over. The cellar was still in decent condition—at least the fire had not reached it—but the air was extremely thin, so thin that even Yue Qi felt somewhat unwell.

"Let's get outside first. It's too dangerous here!" Yue Qi looked at the old man. He seemed to be suffering from oxygen deprivation, but did not appear to be in immediate mortal danger. However, if this place really collapsed, the three of them might all be buried alive here!

The girl clearly did not know what to do, and could only nod tearfully. Without another word, Yue Qi hoisted the old man onto his back and rushed upward! The girl followed closely behind, her eyes fixed on the old man on Yue Qi's back, terrified that anything might happen to him...

The fire burned ever more fiercely, and black smoke seeped into every corner. Yue Qi himself was all right, but the old man on his back was clearly choked by it and kept coughing nonstop!

Another beam crashed down from the roof. Yue Qi dodged nimbly, and the girl behind him cried out in alarm, obviously frightened!

"Run! Don't look back!" Yue Qi roared at the girl behind him. Then he slashed with the treasured sword in his hand, smashing the window beside him to pieces!

"Jump out!" Yue Qi shouted again. Showing no concern for manners or the usual courtesy of letting the lady go first, he carried the old man and leaped outside. The girl stayed close behind, and also made it out safely...

Boom!

The instant the three of them emerged, the house finally collapsed. Sparks flew everywhere, and what remained on the ground was nothing but a heap of ruins...