After being brushed off by Suo Tian, I didn't feel like talking to him anymore.
I slowed down and walked alongside Xu Shu, who was at the back of the group.
In the middle of our walk, Xu Shu seemed to remember something and asked Zhang Hongsheng, who was walking beside Suo Tian, "Why did that Old Bai suddenly decide to use a child as a sacrifice?"
Zhang Hongsheng's footsteps faltered, and he turned to Xu Shu.
"It's a ridiculous reason. He claims that my father won't rest in peace unless we send a blood relative to accompany him. If we don't, he'll become a vengeful spirit and come after our entire village."
The big bearded man snorted in derision. "That's an old cliche, but it's still amusing to hear. A vengeful spirit? I'd love to see that."
Xu Shu shook her head and sighed. "No one took care of him when he was sick, so it's no wonder those people are so gullible. They must really believe what Old Bai is saying."
I didn't join in on the conversation, finding it all rather ridiculous.
I didn't want to waste my time judging these people.
Seeing how Zhang's mother had broken down in tears, it's likely she had resigned herself to the idea of using Zhang Jiale as a sacrifice.
But whether her acceptance was driven by a desire to let her husband rest in peace or out of guilt, like Xu Shu suggested, I couldn't say.
We moved quickly, soon arriving at the gate of Zhang Hongsheng's house.
The courtyard was eerily quiet and dark.
Zhang Hongsheng signaled for us to follow him, and we went around to the other side of the courtyard.
There was a poplar tree outside the wall, and Zhang Hongsheng pointed to it, saying, "We'll climb over. If we knock on the door, they'll notice something's wrong."
Suo Tian looked him up and down before nodding in agreement.
The group with Suo Tian moved swiftly, scaling the wall with ease.
I was still struggling to climb the tree when I heard the sound of guns being cocked from inside.
My heart skipped a beat as I thought, "They wouldn't really plan to kill all the villagers, would they?"
I quickly retreated from the tree and whispered urgently to Xu Shu, who was waiting for me, "Xu Shu, hurry! Get in there and stop them! Those hotheads might really open fire and wipe out the entire village!"
Xu Shu looked surprised and asked, "They wouldn't do that, would they? Can't they just grab the kid and leave?"
"Why wouldn't they? I just heard the sound of guns being cocked. You need to go in there and see what's happening. They can't just kill everyone, there are innocent people among them," I said, trying to convey the urgency of the situation.
Xu Shu's expression turned worried, and she was about to climb the tree when she suddenly stopped and looked around.
"Can you be okay here by yourself?" she asked.
I waved my hand reassuringly. "Yeah, yeah, I'm fine. There haven't been many walkers around here in the past few days. I'll just wait by the gate for you guys to come out."
"Alright, be careful," Xu Shu said, nodding before using her strength to climb up the tree.
She jumped over the wall and gave me a quick glance before disappearing into the courtyard.
I stood there for a while, but the courtyard was now eerily quiet.
They must be assessing the situation.
As I mentioned earlier, the courtyard is actually three connected courtyards, which is typical of rural homes.
Given its size, it's unlikely I'd be able to hear any sounds coming from inside, even if something was happening.
I sighed and turned to head towards the gate to wait for them.
As I turned, I glanced at the tree and made a mental note to myself.
Once we're in a safe place, I need to start exercising and training myself.
I've been relying too much on my experience with walkers, and it's made me overconfident.
But now, I realize I've been underestimating my own limitations.
As I walked towards the gate, I realized that they had forgotten to give me a flashlight.
The darkness was almost palpable, but the snow-covered coal slag road provided a bit of visibility.
I could see the path ahead, albeit faintly.
I had assumed that there wouldn't be any walkers in the village, so I walked with relative confidence.
However, after just a few steps, I heard a few sharp, piercing sounds.
Before I could react, I saw a few twisted figures shambling towards me.
The gait was unmistakable - it was the walkers.
Only they would walk with such an unnatural, stiff posture.
My instincts kicked in as I saw the walkers shuffling towards me from the alleyway.
Luckily, I always carried my dagger with me, a habit formed from dealing with these undead creatures.
Since they hadn't noticed me yet, I remained silent and quickly retreated back to the path I had just come from.
What was going on? Why were there suddenly so many walkers?
The sound of gunfire echoed through the air, making me flinch.
I realized that the noises I had heard earlier were also gunshots.
Peeking out, I saw a small group of walkers pouring into the alleyway.
This wasn't good.
The gunfire grew more intense, and I gripped my dagger tightly.
I looked out again and saw that the number of walkers had increased to at least a dozen or two.
It was dark, and I was alone, which meant I wouldn't be able to handle them on my own.
The sound of rapid gunfire grew louder, and I knew I was in trouble.
A large horde of walkers must be nearby, which explained why the others were shooting.
They wouldn't risk attracting more walkers unless it was absolutely necessary.
I was in a tight spot, and I knew I had to think fast if I wanted to survive.
I was hesitant to shout for help due to the walkers at the entrance of the alleyway.
My hand, gripping the dagger, was drenched in cold sweat.
As I prepared to peek out again, the leading walkers had already reached the beginning of the path.
Due to my tension, I lost track of time and didn't expect them to move so quickly.
I was startled and took a step back instinctively.
The walkers, who had been walking straight towards me, stopped and turned their heads in my direction after hearing the crunching sound of my foot on the snow.
The ones behind them caught up, and as soon as they saw me, they let out a collective groan and began to shuffle towards me.
Although I had experience dealing with walkers, I knew I was outnumbered.
I retreated, counting the number of walkers and realizing I couldn't handle them alone.
I gritted my teeth and decided to fall back.
I glanced at the nearby courtyard wall, thinking that the gunfire would have alerted the people inside, and they would likely come to my aid.
With that thought, I turned around and started running in the opposite direction.
I knew the path, having walked it with Zhang Hongsheng earlier.
However, I didn't plan to head towards the forest; instead, I intended to take a detour through another alleyway to get back to our courtyard, where Yangyang and the others were waiting.
This was my old habit - when faced with danger, my first concern was always Yangyang.
Some might call it selfish or hypocritical, but the fact remained that blood was thicker than water.
He was my younger brother, my only pillar of support, and no one could replace him.
As I turned a corner into another alleyway and assessed the situation, a burst of intense gunfire erupted from the direction of Zhang Hongsheng's courtyard.
Despite the distance and the loud gunshots, I heard the big bearded man's angry shout: "What's going on?! Did all the guards die?!"
"Cover us! Cover us! Fall back, fall back!" he yelled.
"There are too many of them!" he bellowed.
I sighed, impressed by his ability to shout at any time.
I glanced back at the small group of walkers still following me and didn't dare hesitate.
I sprinted towards the exit of the alleyway, hoping to reach the path that would lead me back to our courtyard.
As I relied on my limited knowledge of the routes to navigate, I saw a few walkers appear at the exit.
I gripped my dagger tightly, preparing to fight my way through.
However, I soon realized that these walkers were just the vanguard of a larger group.
More walkers emerged, and I felt a sense of dread wash over me.
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