Because...
What they really wanted wasn't these five jars, but...
The Qi Family Gang!
This was trouble.
Nan Yue scanned her surroundings; the anomalies from the previous days hadn't reappeared today.
The white figures blocking the path seemed to have vanished as well.
Nan Yue had a faint feeling that they were very close to Fish Fry Village.
The souls who had died unjustly were no longer able to warn them here.
The others felt it too, and everyone sharpened their focus, ready to handle any sudden developments.
Even the horsemen of the Qi Family Gang felt something was off.
At some point, the air had become significantly more humid.
It was damp, and every breath was filled with water vapor—thick and fishy.
It smelled like the inside of the goatskin bags.
Even the soil's moisture had increased; every step landed in sludge, splashing water.
The group traveled in silence, and as the sun began to dip in the west, they finally saw the village atop a hill.
In the evening, the humidity in the mountain forest grew even heavier, creating a mist visible to the naked eye.
The small village emerged from behind that mist.
"The village seems to be built on high ground. We should reach it before sunset."
Manager Wu surveyed it through the mist and turned his gaze to Zhu Xi Ning.
Zhu Xi Ning shook her head; it was too far to see anything clearly.
Manager Wu wasn't too disappointed. Regardless of what they saw, they had to go.
He was merely seeking some psychological comfort.
Headman Qi patted his chest and then his black horse.
"Let's go."
"Camel bells ring, hooves clatter loud, the bells chime with pride. Over ten thousand waters and a thousand mountains, business thrives with joy."
Headman Qi began to sing at the top of his lungs, and the others joined in, their voices carrying far into the distance.
This was to let the employer in Fish Fry Village know that the Qi Family Gang had arrived and was ready to deliver the goods.
But as they sang, their voices gradually grew quieter.
Because within the originally vigorous and bold singing, something else had been added.
It was a strange sound, like someone speaking with a mouthful of water, muttering and mumbling so that the words couldn't be heard clearly.
"Camel bells ring, hooves clatter loud, the bells chime with pride. Over ten thousand waters and a thousand mountains, business thrives with joy."
That voice was also singing the song.
And there was more than one such voice.
Those voices were following Headman Qi, singing their song along with them.
Eventually, even Headman Qi fell silent. Only the bird calls from deep within the rainforest remained, accompanied by that eerie singing that echoed without pause.
This mountain song was the standard for the Qi Family Gang. Usually, they would sing it once on the road to let other brothers passing by know it was the Qi Family Gang.
But generally, the song wouldn't be sung many times—three times was the limit.
Those things, however, knew nothing of human taboos. The singing looped repeatedly, turning the originally heroic lyrics into something eerie and skin-crawling.
"Head... Headman..."
One of the horsemen couldn't bear to listen anymore. The voices felt stranger the more he heard them, even causing illusions.
It was the same song they had just sung.
Just with a different tone.
It made one unconsciously wonder if their own voice had also become like that.
Neither human nor ghost.
It sounded entirely like someone without a tongue, speaking while submerged in water.
Headman Qi gave his whip a sharp crack. The black horse reared high, neighing loudly.
The horse's neigh broke through the eerie singing in the rainforest, and everything returned to silence.
"Son of a..."
Headman Qi puffed out his cheeks and patted his chest.
"What's there to be afraid of!"
"Move out!"
The horse gang picked up the pace and finally reached the village on the hilltop.
The village had no stone carvings or wooden signs, and there was no text identifying it as Fish Fry Village.
However, the map on the beggar's robe indeed led to this place.
The settlement wasn't large, likely housing fewer than a hundred people.
The village used the stilt house design common in Southern Yunnan, where the first floor was typically used for livestock and the second for living.
The structures were built from bamboo, which resisted moisture and kept the interior warm in winter and cool in summer—very practical.
But the buildings in Fish Fry Village were different from ordinary stilt houses.
The first floors didn't house livestock; instead, they were packed with large black jars covered in red cloth.
They were identical to the large jars on the Qi Family Gang's carriages.
The wooden carvings decorating the village were all images of fish.
They seemed to worship fish here.
In remote villages, all sorts of strange beliefs could exist. No one wanted to linger. Manager Wu rode forward and called out loudly.
"The Qi Family Gang has come to deliver goods as requested. We ask the village head to come out and sign a receipt. Please forgive the intrusion."
Manager Wu spoke very politely. Given the Qi Family Gang's reputation, such politeness usually wasn't necessary.
But with so many strange things happening on this trip, they couldn't afford not to be cautious.
Manager Wu called out twice in succession, but the village remained silent. No one appeared, a situation none of them had expected.
"Headman?"
Even though the goods were here, the job wasn't considered finished without a signed receipt.
Headman Qi was silent for a moment. "A-Nan, take a few people into the village to check it out."
Nan Yue's role was the Zhan You of the Qi Family Gang, the strongest fighter. Sending her indicated that Headman Qi also felt something was wrong.
Nan Yue picked a few of her own people, leaving behind the less combat-capable Jiang Yuhao and Yin Qian. She also called two horsemen, and together they dismounted and entered the settlement.
The humidity inside the village was also very heavy. Every breath drew in mist, making the nasal passages feel uncomfortable, as if they were about to choke on water.
The sun hadn't set yet, so they used the remaining light to carefully observe this mountain village.
The settlement looked as if it had existed for hundreds of years, with every structure bearing the marks of time.
It seemed like no new houses had been built in a long time, and some had fallen into complete disrepair with no one to fix them.
With such high humidity and moisture, bamboo structures would easily rot if left untended.
Nan Yue took a quick look around. She would have believed it if someone told her this was an abandoned, empty village.
"Is anyone there!"
"We're here to deliver goods!"
The horseman's voice echoed through the village, but otherwise, there wasn't a sound.
"Sss... this place is even creepier than the forest."
Chi Yu frowned. Zhu Xi Ning, meanwhile, was constantly observing the houses.
Strangely, the village gave her a sense of calm, as if there was no danger.
And the large jars on the first floors of the houses didn't give her the same intense feeling of threat as the ones on the carriages.
A village hidden deep in the rainforest was strange in every way.
Nan Yue drew her silver blade and exchanged a look with Gu Xiang Kai. The two of them climbed up a relatively new stilt house.
The bamboo door let out a grating sound. As it opened, the two of them saw the scene inside.
The room contained simple furniture and decorations. Everything here was made of bamboo. The tables were low, and several damp, moldy meditation mats lay on the floor.
Everything was overturned and messy.
No one had lived here for a long time; it was an empty house.
Gu Xiang Kai's nostrils flared. "There's a strange smell."
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