Chapter 19 The Return

Infected by the blond man's emotions, Jiang Cheng and the others also became serious. Even Chen Ran, who was usually casual, unconsciously restrained himself.

"What happened a few days later?" Jiang Cheng asked calmly.

The blond man pursed his lips tightly, then took a hard gulp of wine. The serving woman, whether distracted or frightened by the blond man's expression, actually didn't step forward to refill his glass.

"A few days later, the person responsible for guarding the edge of the forest suddenly burst into my house, excitedly telling me that those people who had disappeared before... had returned."

"Returned?" Fatty's eyes widened.

Jiang Cheng glanced at Fatty, who immediately shut his mouth.

"That's right, they came back," the blond man paused, and continued, "In any case, this was a great thing for the town. The elderly once again had their children, the women once again had their husbands, and the children... once again had fathers."

"That night, we held a welcome feast for the returning heroes in the town. The town hadn't been this lively in a long time. Everyone brought out their best treasured wines, and the men agreed to drink until they dropped."

"While drinking, they recounted what happened after entering the forest..."

From here on, the blond man's memories began to become somewhat unclear. Perhaps it was his own problem, or perhaps the men who came out of the forest had skewed memories.

In short, according to the blond man, who was the town chief, the hunters encountered a rare rainstorm shortly after entering the forest, and the rainstorm triggered a flash flood.

At the time, they were in a low-lying area, with very little space to take shelter. The flash flood was fierce, and those who couldn't dodge in time were instantly swept away. After the flash flood subsided, they counted the number of people and found one person was missing.

That person was a very young hunter, but experienced, and was considered one of the leaders of the team.

The townspeople had deep feelings for each other, as they were brothers who had grown up together since childhood. Naturally, they couldn't abandon him, so even though they knew he was likely dead, they still followed the direction of the flash flood to look for him.

No, more accurately, they were looking for his body.

A person swept away by a flash flood had almost no chance of survival, especially in the deep mountains.

All they had to do was bring the body back for burial.

If possible.

At this point, they had given up looking for the people who had disappeared before, because based on the weather, they had likely encountered a similar disaster like a flash flood, and their chances of survival were very slim.

But what they didn't expect was that by following the direction of the flash flood, they actually arrived at a place they had never been before.

This place was already deep in the forest, and there, they discovered a giant stone disk.

The stone disk was pure white throughout, and strange lights floated on it.

Clearly, the stone disk should have been covered by soil before, but now it had been washed out due to the flash flood.

They were surprised to find that there were fruit trees growing near the stone disk, the fruits of which were incredibly sweet. A small stream meandered along the stone disk, and the water was so clear that you could even see the fish swimming back and forth below...

The men talked animatedly about how mysterious the stone disk was, leaving the townspeople stunned.

So much so that they forgot their original intention was to find people.

It's not surprising that they would be interested in that place. The sea was no longer like a mother to them, and it was becoming increasingly difficult to get food from the sea. The accidentally discovered mystical stone disk just happened to make up for the lack of supplies.

Especially since it was also a good source of water, perhaps migration was a good choice...

With almost no discussion, everyone unanimously decided that the next day the hunters would lead the way, and everyone would go to the forest to take a look.

That night, the blond man, as the town chief, drank too much wine because he was happy, so he was carried back home halfway through the banquet.

Lying in bed in a drunken stupor, he was vaguely woken up by someone patting him, a very forceful pat. The person seemed very anxious, constantly calling his name in a low voice.

But as soon as the blond man opened his eyes and looked at the person, his mind, which had been unclear due to drunkenness, instantly became clear. Not only clear, but even his hair stood on end.

The person squatting in front of him was disheveled and covered in mud, with only two bloodshot eyes staring straight at him. But even so, the blond man recognized him at a glance!

It was the young man who had been swept away by the flash flood!

But... wasn't he dead?

Could it be...?

Just as the blond man was trembling with fear and unable to speak, the young man who had been swept away by the flash flood spoke.

"Town chief," he said with a sob, "We encountered a flash flood, and everyone else in the team died except for me!"

"What?!"

...

Hearing this, Fatty's mood was probably similar to that of the town chief in the past. His heart was in his throat. If what the returning men outside said was true, then the young man in front of him was a ghost!

But what if what the young man said was true?

Then what... would the men at the banquet outside be?

However, Fatty's mind turned, and he immediately determined that what the young man who had sneaked into the blond man's room said should be the truth, and that he was the real person.

Otherwise... Fatty looked at the blond man's pale face, thinking he probably wouldn't have had the chance to tell himself this story today.

A faint chill rose from his heart. Those things outside were really evil, but what was even more terrifying was... the white stone disk that the blond man mentioned.

In Su Xiaoxiao's account, there was also a strange white stone disk.

At the same time, the stone disk was piled with bones.

Moreover... those bones could come alive and launch attacks on those who approached.

Presumably, the things that Su Xiaoxiao and her brother encountered were those men who had "returned" from the forest in the blond man's story.

What were they?

Ghosts?

Fatty thought about it, but it didn't seem like it. They didn't fit the image of ghosts in Fatty's mind. They were more like strange existences driven by some kind of instinct.

As if there was something deeper controlling them, but Fatty had no clue at the moment.

As for what happened after that night, the blond man didn't mention it, but you could feel from his eyes that a huge change had taken place in the town after that night.

Because his next sentence was, "I led the remaining men in the town..."

The remaining...

"Finally, we found that stone disk," the light of the torch reflected on the blond man's sharply chiseled face, making it flicker on and off. When he spoke again, his voice was as hoarse as if he had swallowed sand, "Near the stone disk was a barren wasteland, devoid of grass, and the dark red soil looked like it had been soaked in blood. On the stone disk..."

He paused, suddenly raised his head, his eyes red as if they were about to bleed, "Layer upon layer of the townspeople's corpses were piled up! Men, women, old, and young, everyone who had disappeared was here!"