Chapter 257 Bones Exposed in the Wild

In the post house, the campfire is blazing and the food is fragrant.

Lu Heng, Xiaoai, and Wuyou ate dinner as if they were at home.

The dining table and cutlery are all available.

But in the end, the evil spirit Lu Heng mentioned didn't come to visit.

This inn, abandoned for many years in the wilderness, is still deserted and empty.

When Lu Hengchu came down the mountain six years ago, the scene of businessmen coming and going would no longer appear now.

After finishing his meal, the little boy sat by the door, eagerly looking at the dim night scene outside, as if expecting a fox demon to appear on the road to report the news.

But this scene never appeared.

Until the sky was bright and Xiao Ai took him to clean up the ashes of the fire in the post and prepare to go out, Qingming Cave didn't send anyone over.

There was a bit of disappointment on Shen Wuyou's face.

Standing at the door and looking at the dilapidated house standing alone in the wilderness in front of him again, the little boy finally noticed the strangeness of this house.

"Dad, what kind of person would build a house in a wilderness where wild beasts roam like this?"

The little boy asked curiously: "Isn't he afraid of wild beasts?"

Although the little boy knew little about the outside world, he also knew that this wilderness far away from the city was dangerous.

Lu Heng explained: "This is a post house, a temporary house built for merchants and travelers traveling from north to south. In the wilderness, it is rugged and difficult to travel. Travelers like us can have such a place when resting at night. A dilapidated, empty house 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 cobwebs on the door were so dense."

Lu Heng sighed and said: "This road used to be very lively. But in recent years, without the merchants walking around, this post has gradually become deserted and deserted."

Lu Heng's explanation made the little boy startled slightly, and he finally understood: "Is it because of the evil spirits in Qingming Cave..."

Lu Heng said nothing, but he obviously acquiesced.

The group continued on the road, heading east along the desolate galloping road.

The further east they go and the further away from Hanyu Mountain, the more desolate the scene appears in their field of vision.

The abandoned inn that stands beside Chidao has not been occupied by anyone for many years.

A huge beast of burden wanders alone in the wilderness carrying a broken luggage. It is unknown when it separated from its owner. The luggage on its back is still there, but the owner has long since disappeared. The beast of burden that has lost its purpose has no choice but to return to the wilderness, survive alone in the wilderness, and transform back into the beast it once was, but no one takes off the heavy bag on its back.

There are also piles of bones lying on the roadside... Those bones all have the same characteristics. The luggage and clothes are intact, and there is not even the slightest crack or injury on the bones, but they died inexplicably on the roadside.

It was obvious that the evil spirits took action and directly devoured the flesh and blood souls of these living people instead of dying from the mouths of wild beasts on the roadside.

As for the wild beasts on the roadside…

In the past, because of the large number of business travelers, there were many ferocious beasts lurking on both sides of the road, ready to attack lone travelers at any time.

But now that the Chi Road has become desolate and traders no longer exist, the strange beasts squatting and guarding the living people can no longer be seen on both sides of the Chi Road.

The ferocious beasts returned to the mountains to hunt other prey, abandoning the human race where food would never come to their door again.

Six years ago, when Lu Heng was going down the mountain, he could see dozens of ferocious beasts of different shapes lurking in the trees on the side of the road while walking on the road.

However, after walking for two days and two nights on the desolate road, I didn't see even a squatting strange beast.

The only ferocious beast I encountered was a passing tiger. The opponent rushed from the wilderness, chased a running wild horse across the galloping road, and disappeared into the forest on the other side of the galloping road.

As for Lu Heng and others who were passing by Chidao Mountain, the tiger didn't even look at them. He completely ignored them and may not even notice that there was another living person appearing on this desolate Chidao Mountain.

Today's desolate and bleak scene makes even a little boy who has never walked on the road feel desolate.

They continued eastward, and on the third night after walking ashore, they entered the boundary of the city.

This city is called Zhaoguang. The huge boundary monument stands on the Chidao. It once represented the danger of witchcraft in the city and deterred the demon Xiaoxiao from approaching.

However, now the boundary monument is covered with dried black blood, and the vicious word "death" is smeared on it, full of provocation.

On top of the boundary monument, a small Jingguan was built with human heads.

Some of the heads stacked on top of each other were already bones, while others were just rotten. The foul smell wafted far away, and flies buzzed and flew around.

Seeing such a terrifying sight, Shen Wuyou's face turned green and he almost vomited.

Even Lu Heng's brows wrinkled slightly.

No matter how rampant the demons are, no wizard even cares about the city's boundary monument being so damaged... It seems that the situation outside Hanyu Mountain... at least near Zhaoguang City is already very bad.

It was so bad that the wizards no longer had time to do such small things as cleaning the boundary monuments.

Continuing to move forward, about ten miles away, they saw the first village within the boundary marker.

The village is located not far from the edge of Chidao, and the post station is built outside the village.

It can be seen that because of its proximity to the adjoining post house, this village was once quite prosperous, and the buildings did not appear shabby or shabby.

When merchants traveling from north to south stay in the inn, they will definitely go to the village to have fun and spend money at night.

But now the post house is deserted, and the village is also dark and without any lights.

Lu Heng said: "Let's go to the village and have a look."

The post house on the roadside has long collapsed, and the mud walls are full of weeds. Perhaps there was a fight in the past, and no one came to repair it afterwards, so it is no longer possible to live in it.

Fortunately, the village is not far from the road. Stepping on the cold moonlight, a group of people slowly walked towards the desolate and silent dark village under the moon.

The path into the village is also full of weeds.

When Lu Heng and his friends walked by, there were even frightened snakes fleeing in the grass beside the road. Obviously, no one has been here for a long time.

This village, probably like the collapsed post house, has been abandoned for many years.

In this way, stepping on the road paved with bluestone slabs, Lu Heng and his friends walked into the village entrance and saw the mottled dusty archway at the entrance of the village.

Mingxi Village.

Behind the archway is a street paved with bluestone. On both sides of the road, two rows of houses stood in a solemn manner, but no lights were seen.

Under the cold moonlight, the two rows of dark houses stood side by side, making the path into the village look like a huge black mouth, waiting to swallow up all the living people who entered.

Lu Heng smiled slightly and said, "Let's stay here tonight."

After that, he stepped into the dark street in the moonlight.