Chapter 38: The Frenzied Villagers

Beep, beep, beep… At that moment, the alarm clock in the room suddenly rang. Du Bin saw that it was already six o'clock, but the girl still hadn't woken up, so he sighed. Hu Guozheng, seeing that the room had quieted down, tried to find something to talk about: “Hardly anyone lives in a place like this. Could she be a villager here? That little girl said there are vampires, and the villagers are nowhere to be found. Could it be his doing?”

“We can't rule out that possibility. Miss Ye mentioned there are vampires in the area. It's very likely the villagers were attacked.”

“So it’s possible after all. Looks like my Azure Dragon Blade ought to come out and make a show.” Hu Guozheng rubbed his nose, then pulled out his blade and waved it around, as if provoking Du Bin, who had no weapon.

“With no cell signal, this can’t go on,” Du Bin said, glancing at his phone, the screen still showing ‘No Service’.

“So what should we do? At most, we can just head back along the road.”

“You make it sound so easy. It’s already getting dark, and that vampire is surely waiting for us out there. There’s no way we can leave now.”

“Uh…”

“Help… Help…”

A voice drifted from the room. The two, who had been trying to figure out what to do, immediately rushed in. Du Bin, feeling uneasy, grabbed an iron rod, ready to defend himself at any moment.

Hu Guozheng, on the other hand, paid no mind to danger. He fetched a glass of water, sat by the bed, and handed it to the girl. She slowly woke from her daze, and the first thing she saw was Hu Guozheng’s large, round, plump face looming over her. Terrified, she shrieked and sprang into the corner to hide.

Seeing her reaction, Hu Guozheng looked displeased, convinced it was his chubby face that had frightened her so badly.

“Don’t be afraid, we won’t hurt you,” Du Bin reassured her, noticing how frightened she was.

“That’s right, little miss, don’t be scared. Big brother will protect you. You can count on me!”

Hu Guozheng reached out, hoping to ease her fear, but she was still wary, so he gave up. “We’ll keep our distance, don’t worry!”

“Who are you…”

Hu Guozheng immediately tried to act cool. “We are the legendary heroes who save the world from peril. To prevent destruction, to protect peace, to defend—”

He got more and more worked up as he spoke. Du Bin, unable to put up with him, muttered under his breath, “For heaven’s sake, don’t tell anyone you know me.”

“I want to ask, why are you so scared? Did something happen?” Du Bin kept his guard up. The fact that not a single soul was in the village was strange enough—almost as if everyone had vanished in an instant.

“What should we call you? I’m Hu Guozheng,” he said.

“Zheng Shasha, just call me Shasha.”

Hu Guozheng repeated her name a few times, then grinned foolishly, “Shasha, hello.”

“Hello,” Zheng Shasha nodded slightly. Now that she’d seen someone else, her fear started to ease. She looked at Du Bin and asked, “And you? What’s your name?”

“I’m Du Bin. Can you tell us what happened to you just now? Maybe we can help.”

Zheng Shasha paused, then began to recount what she’d seen. “I’m not a villager here, I’m a traveler. I love to travel, so I go everywhere, but…”

“But what?” Du Bin noticed she didn’t have any travel gear on her, which made him suspicious.

Understanding his doubt, Zheng Shasha continued, “When I got to a nearby bridge, I heard a man screaming in agony.”

“See? I told you, what I heard earlier wasn’t my imagination. First a man screamed, then a woman’s voice—hers,” Hu Guozheng interjected. She nodded to confirm, leaving Du Bin reluctantly admitting that he’d doubted Hu Guozheng’s hearing.

“Then, all of a sudden, a thick fog rolled in for no reason. Through the mist, I saw many black shapes moving about. It scared me so much I wanted to run, but I stepped on a rotten wooden plank, and it gave way. I fell from the bridge into the river. I was in the water a long time before I made it ashore on a rocky bank, and lost all my belongings.”

She recounted everything breathlessly. She was just about to explain how she made it to the village and then fainted from exhaustion when Hu Guozheng’s mood soured again—he didn’t like that the last thing she saw before fainting was his fat face. Du Bin burst out laughing.

Hu Guozheng sulkily turned away to the door. After Du Bin stopped laughing, he continued his questions, but by then Hu Guozheng had stepped outside and found a group of people standing there, all motionless.

“Hey, people are back! Did the villagers all go up the mountain to dig sweet potatoes together?”

Seeing people, Hu Guozheng cheered up and thought he’d ask them where everyone had gone. He walked over and greeted them, “Hello, uncles, aunties, handsome guys, beautiful ladies. Sorry to bother you, but did you all go up the mountain together? Did you find any sweet potatoes? Could you share some with me?”

But they ignored him, and their demeanor was odd—each held a hoe or shovel, which they suddenly raised and swung at Hu Guozheng.

“Oh my god!”

Hu Guozheng was so scared he froze on the spot. Their faces twisted with malice. Snapping out of it, he fled back inside, slammed both doors shut, and shouted, “Old Du, get out here—these villagers have gone mad! They’re attacking people, and they look terrifying!”

Du Bin and Zheng Shasha hurried out to see what was happening. Hu Guozheng was visibly shaken. Looking out the window, they saw villagers banging on the glass. Du Bin said in astonishment, “Are they mistaking us for thieves? Why didn’t you explain?”

“Explain, my foot! They started swinging hoes the moment they saw me! If you want to explain, go do it yourself!”

“They’re seriously injured but still acting as if nothing’s wrong.” Zheng Shasha saw that many villagers were badly hurt—on some, white bone gleamed from gaping wounds.

Unable to break in, the villagers started hurling their tools through the windows. Night fell in an instant. Du Bin wanted to turn on the lights, but nothing happened.

Zheng Shasha’s legs gave out, and she collapsed onto the sofa. Hu Guozheng fetched his Azure Dragon Blade again. “Old Du, what do we do now?”

“How should I know? Has the whole village turned into vampires?”

“Vampires?” Zheng Shasha was stunned.

Several kilometers away, Ye Tang stood in the grass, munching a hamburger, her eyes fixed on the pitch-black village in the distance. An uneasy feeling suddenly welled up in her heart.

With no way to escape the building, and with an unarmed girl slowing them down, Hu Guozheng, though frightened, still tried to act brave and claimed he would protect her.