"Huh...huh..."

A young man carrying a basket of herbal medicines was leaning under a big tree, breathing heavily and looking around nervously.

"The big blond demon probably didn't catch up, right?"

The young man wiped the sweat off his face and clenched the sickle in his hand, which was both a weapon and a tool. Unfortunately, it did not give him any sense of security: facing ordinary jackals, tigers and leopards, he could still muster the courage to fight to the death. But

Facing the monster——

"Ouch!"

Boom, boom, boom,

The earth trembled and trees fell!

A five-meter-tall 'big demon' with blond hair and the appearance of a human girl was wandering in the forest not far away. The tall trees were pushed aside by her like weeds, and she made huge shoe prints with her feet, and occasionally raised her head to the sky and shouted.

Cute roar.

However, no matter how "well-behaved" the other person looks and sounds, coupled with her three-story-tall figure, she is definitely a nightmare for any normal person!

The medicine-gathering boy held the sickle tightly with one hand, put the other hand in front of him, and bit his arm fiercely, not only to prevent himself from making any noise to attract the attention of the big demon, but also to suppress the fear in his heart with pain.

Leave, must leave immediately!

He also had a sick sister to take care of, so he had to risk his life to collect medicine in the mountains and forests. He could not die here.

Half-crouching, the trembling boy stepped back in the opposite direction of the 'big blond demon'. Whether the other party didn't notice him, he finally quietly walked around to the other side of the hillside.

run!!

Out of the sight of the 'big demon', the young herb collector immediately ran wildly through the forest on his hands and knees. Especially when his eyes lit up and he saw a path that had been stepped on, his face became even more ecstatic.

If there is a road, it means there is a village!

If there is a village, there will be a ‘City God’ to protect you. As long as... you can reach that place...

The boy who was running wildly did not notice that there was a light mist lingering in the surrounding forest. Although the sky was still bright, it became a bit hazy when he was farther away.

When he turned around the mountain along the path, a figure in a white robe appeared behind him. The hood covered the upper half of his face, only revealing his smooth chin and red lips. Immediately afterwards, this figure looked like

The mysterious female person walked towards the direction where the boy was running, without any hurry or slowness.

"Huh...huh...huh..."

The boy who ran along the path and burned a stick of incense stopped again to take a breath, but this time:

"Sure enough, there is a village."

At the bottom of the mountain, there is a village in the middle of the field. It does not look big, with only a few dozen households. If it were on the Qianzhong Road next door, this size could be considered a county town, but on Jiangnan West Road, this village

It's just a village.

"I hope there will be a 'city god' in the village, preferably with military guards."

The city god slays evil spirits and does not invade, and the warriors slay demons and demons. It is with this sword and shield that ordinary people can survive safely.

The young man wiped his sweat again, lifted the basket of herbal medicines on his back to his shoulders, and walked on the winding dirt road towards the village below. But as he continued to approach, the young herb collector couldn't help but frown.

.

Something's wrong, why are these fields... so barren?

Passing through large expanses of cracked fields with sparse vegetation, it became chilly all around. The closer we got to the village, the more desolate we became: there were a few trees, which were also bare, like twitching palms reaching toward the sky. If you look closely, the trees

The skin has disappeared, and there are intermittent horizontal marks all over it.

?

There's something wrong with this village -

"Hello,"

"Who are you?"

Just when the boy's steps were getting slower and slower, and he was retreating in his heart, a villager with a slim face and a thin face walked out of a house with mud walls and thatch roof.

"Young man? He belongs to my family!"

"No, it's obviously mine. Come, follow me into the house!"

When the villagers saw the boy, they all rushed towards him with bright eyes. Just when the young herb-picking boy who was surrounded by people looked confused and frightened, and didn't know what to do, the village chief with a cane came out of the largest room.

Walking out of the wooden house.

"What are you arguing about? Go home!"

"Village chief, this boy..."

"It's getting late, let him stay at Zhang Laosan's house, and then we will draw lots to decide which house he will belong to."

??

"Village chief, I——"

Before the young man who collected herbs could say anything, the village chief waved his hand impatiently.

"It's gone, it's all gone. What are you doing here, drinking the northwest wind?"

The surrounding light began to dim, and the boy instinctively felt that it was not yet midnight, but when he looked up he could no longer see the sun, so he decided to rest here temporarily for the night.

As a villager with a yellow face and skinny muscles dispersed, the boy was dragged towards his home by two middle-aged men and women. He should be the 'Zhang Laosan' mentioned by the village chief. The boy who was confused about the situation looked around subconsciously, but

He only saw figures leaving with their backs to him, and a figure standing at the entrance of the village wearing a white robe.

?!

squeak,

Amidst the friction of the door shaft, the wooden door was pushed open.

Enthusiastic middle-aged men and women brought the young herb collector into their home, made him sit down, and began to entertain him.

This is a typical thatched house with mud walls, with wooden boards dividing it into two rooms. The smaller one is obviously the bedroom of a middle-aged couple, while the larger one is both a living room and a kitchen, with hoes, baskets and other farm tools leaning against the corner.

,besides--

A pony carved from wood, and a spinning top.

"Uncle, aunt, where are your children?"

Sitting on the wooden bed in the hall, when he saw the children's toys scattered on the ground, the young man couldn't help but ask. The middle-aged couple's faces darkened, and the man lowered his head and wiped his face.

"Died last year,"

"Insects, drought, then famine..."

"Ah, it shouldn't be? I have good weather and good harvest every year. How is this possible?"

The young man who picked medicine felt incredible. He had never heard of a famine anywhere since he was a child. Although there were cases of people starving to death, they were all homeless and beggars. Looking at the size of this village, there should be no reason to be without food.

···Wait a minute, the fields outside are so barren, is this the reason?

"Why don't you go to the county seat for help? The court will not ignore -"

"Stop talking and drink it while it's hot."

The middle-aged woman interrupted the boy and handed him the steaming bowl. The boy took it and was about to say thank you, but then he was stunned:

It’s not that there’s something in the bowl, it’s that there’s nothing in it!

Just plain boiled water,

this···

"Drink,"

Under the quiet gaze of the middle-aged couple, the young man holding the hot water but feeling inexplicably cold subconsciously put the bowl to his mouth.

'Can't drink.'

?

'If you drink the water here, you can't go back.'

??

A clear, sweet voice sounded in his ears, causing the young man to subconsciously raise his head and scan around, but he didn't see anyone, except for the couple staring at him.

"Drink, why don't you drink?!"

The gazes and urgings of the two couples made the boy's scalp tingle. The eyes seemed... like the wolf he had encountered while collecting medicine before! Greedy and cautious, they followed closely behind them, looking for an opportunity to take him with his leash.

The meat swallows the belly.

"I...I..."

The trembling young man holding the bowl was so frightened that he felt like urinating, and suddenly he had a flash of inspiration.

"I brought some dry food, just in time to drink and eat at the same time——"

With that said, the young man reached out and took out a piece of cooking cake wrapped in oil paper from the basket of herbs beside him. Before he could open it:

"Eat?!"
To be continued...