Chapter 257: Bones Exposed in the Wilderness
Amidst the post station, the flames of the campfire burned brightly while the aroma of food wafted through the air.
Lu Heng, Xiao Ai, and Wuyou ate dinner as if they were at home.
The dining table was equipped with all the necessary utensils.
But in the end, the monsters and evildoers that Lu Heng mentioned didn't come knocking on the door.
This abandoned post station in the wilderness has remained desolate and empty for many years.
When Lu Heng first descended the mountain six years ago, scenes of traveling merchants on the street were commonplace, but now, such scenes are no longer seen.
After finishing his meal, the little boy sat by the door and eagerly stared at the dim night scene outside, as if anticipating the appearance of a fox demon coming to deliver a message on the road.
However, this scene never actually occurred.
Until dawn, when Xiao Ai and he finished tidying up the ashes from the fire pit inside the post station and prepared for departure, no one from the Green Hell Cave came to them.
There was a hint of disappointment on Shen Wuyou's face.
Standing at the door, once again looking at the lonely, dilapidated house standing in the wilderness, the little boy finally noticed the strange features of this cabin.
"Daddy, what kind of person would build a house in this wilderness where beasts roam?"
The little boy curiously asked, "Isn't he afraid of being attacked by wild beasts?"
The little boy, although knowing little about the outside world, also knew that this wilderness far from the cities was very dangerous.
Lu Heng explained, "This is a relay station, which is a temporary shelter for merchants and travelers traveling from south to north. In the wilderness, the journey is difficult and rocky, so for travelers like us, having such a dilapidated empty house to rest in at night is the best thing."
The little boy became even more curious, "But no one has lived in this house for many years... when we came in last night, the spider webs on the door were so thick."
Lu Heng sighed and said, "This expressway used to be very lively. It's just that in recent years, there have been no merchants traveling outside, and this relay station has gradually become deserted and abandoned."
Lu Heng's explanation made the little boy slightly stunned and somewhat understood, "Is it because of the demons in the Green Hell Cave?"
Lu Heng didn't speak, but it was obvious that he had agreed.
The group continued on their way, walking along the desolate expressway towards the east.
The further they went east and away from Hanyu Mountain, the more desolate the scenery that appeared in their sight.
The abandoned relay station standing by the side of the expressway had been uninhabited for many years.
The huge pack animal, with broken baggage wandering alone in the wilderness, had been separated from its owner for an unknown period of time. Its baggage still on its back, but the owner had long since disappeared. The pack animal, which had lost its destination, could only return to the wilderness and survive alone in the wild, reverting back to its former wild state, but its heavy baggage on its back was left unattended.
There were also piles of white bones crawling alongside the road... All of these bones had the same features, with baggage and clothing intact, and there were no cracks or injuries visible on the bones, but they had died inexplicably by the roadside.
Obviously, it was the devil who had acted, directly devouring the flesh and souls of these living people, instead of being killed by wild beasts on the roadside.
As for the wild beasts on the roadside...
Once upon a time, because of the frequent passing of merchants and travelers, many fierce beasts lurked on both sides of the expressway, ready to attack any solo travelers.
But nowadays, as the expressway has become desolate and there are no more merchants, those exotic beasts that used to lurk and wait for people alongside the expressway are nowhere to be seen.
The fierce beasts returned to the mountains to hunt other prey, giving up on the human expressway that would never bring them any food again.
Six years ago, when Lu Heng was descending the mountain, he walked on the road and could see more than ten different types of fierce and exotic beasts lurking in the bushes by the roadside every day.
However, after walking for two days and nights on the desolate expressway nowadays, not even one lurking exotic beast could be seen.
The only fierce beast encountered was just a passing tiger rushing from the wilderness, chasing a running wild horse across the expressway and disappearing into the forest on the other side of the expressway.
As for Lu Heng and others who passed by the mountain expressway, this tiger didn't even give them a glance, completely ignoring them, and probably didn't even notice the presence of living people on this desolate expressway.
The bleak and desolate scene now is felt as miserable by even a little boy who has never walked on the expressway before.
They continued to the east and, on the third night after walking ashore, entered the boundary of the city's milestone.
This city is named Zhaoguang. The huge milestone stands on top of the expressway, once representing the danger of the Wuzhu of the city, deterring ghosts and small monsters from approaching.
However, nowadays, the milestone is covered with dried black bloodstains, with fierce words "death" written, conveying provocative meanings.
On top of the boundary marker, a small hill was built with heads piled on top of each other.
Those heads stacked together, some already turned into white bones while some were just recently decayed. The stench came from far away, accompanied by the buzzing sounds of flies flying around.
Such a terrifying scene made Shen Wuyou turn pale and almost vomit.
Even Lu Heng's brows slightly furrowed.
Although the demons were rampant, no wizard even cared about such a trashed boundary marker in the city. It seemed that outside of Hanyu Mountain, at least near Zhaoguang City, the situation was already quite bad.
It was so bad that the wizards didn't even have the leisure to clean up the boundary marker.
Continuing to walk forward for about a dozen miles, they reached the first village within the boundary marker.
The village was located not far from the main road, and the post station was built outside the village.
It was evident that, being near the adjacent post station, this village used to be quite prosperous, with its buildings not appearing rundown or poor.
When the merchants coming from the south and north checked into the post station, they would definitely go to the village at night to have fun and spend money.
But now the post station was abandoned and the village was also dark and lifeless, with no lights visible at all.
Lu Heng said, "Let's go take a look at the village."
The roadside post station had long since collapsed, with weeds growing within the mud walls. Perhaps there had been a conflict here before, but no one had come to repair it afterwards, and now it was uninhabitable.
Fortunately, the village was not far from the main road, and the group walked slowly towards the desolate and silent black village under the cold moonlight.
The path into the village was also overgrown with weeds.
When Lu Heng and his companions passed by, even the frightened snakes in the grass by the road hurriedly fled, apparently indicating that no one had been here for a long time.
This village, like the collapsed post station, had probably been abandoned for many years.
In this way, walking on the road paved with blue stones, Lu Heng and his companions entered the village and saw the dilapidated archway at the entrance of the small village covered with dust.
Mingxi Village.
Behind the archway was a street that was also paved with blue stones. On both sides of the road, rows of houses stood tall, but there were no lights visible.
In the cool moonlight, these two rows of pitch-black houses stood side by side, making the path into the village appear as a black, gaping mouth, waiting to devour any living beings that entered.
Lu Heng smiled slightly and said, "Let's stay here tonight."
After speaking, he stepped into the dark street, guided only by the moonlight.
