That feeling was somewhat elusive to Yuan Muye.

But it also made Yuan Muye feel a trace of pressure spreading.

Withdrawing his gaze, the old man's voice still rang in Yuan Muye's ears, "Young man, what's wrong?"

At this time, Yuan Muye was still standing in place without moving. After hearing the old man call him, he came back to his senses and turned his gaze to the old man, "Okay, Grandpa."

Yuan Muye followed him and began to walk towards the village.

Actually, calling it a village was a stretch; the scattered houses gave the impression of being in the wilderness.

The houses ahead were also very old, made of wood and stone with thatched roofs, and each had a small yard in front.

The old man pushed the door open and Yuan Muye followed behind.

Upon entering, Yuan Muye saw some firewood in the yard.

Then he entered the house. There was a brazier burning inside, the flames almost extinguished, the remaining embers seemingly left to warm the house.

Yuan Muye glanced around. It seemed that the old man lived alone in this house.

Out of curiosity, he asked, "Grandpa, do you live alone?"

"Yes, I live alone," the old man replied leisurely.

"What about your children?"

Yuan Muye continued to ask.

"My children have all gone to live in the big cities. I stayed here in the mountains. The rest of the people in the village are all old folks. The young people have all gone to the city."

The old man's voice sounded very沧桑 (cāngsāng – weathered and worldly).

Young people did like to go to the city.

But in this world, you couldn't just go to the city if you wanted to. If you weren't careful, you might lose your life in the city, or even suffer a worse fate.

But Yuan Muye naturally didn't tell the old man about the situation in the city.

Listening to the old man now, it seemed he didn't know what the outside world was like.

Their children might have already lost their lives out there.

Thinking of this, Yuan Muye couldn't help but feel a little emotional.

"You haven't eaten yet, have you?"

The old man suddenly asked Yuan Muye.

Yuan Muye was slightly taken aback for a few seconds, and then said, "I haven't eaten yet indeed."

The old man held a bowl containing several eggs, as well as sweet potatoes and potatoes.

The food was indeed plain. Yuan Muye saw the bowl that the old man handed over and took an egg from it.

The old man said with a smile, "Young man, our place is poor and there's not much to eat. Just make do with it."

Yuan Muye agreed, "Grandpa, what are you saying? It's good enough that I have something to eat."

But out of caution, Yuan Muye didn't immediately eat the egg. On the contrary, he remained vigilant.

Seeing that Yuan Muye wasn't eating, the old man didn't urge him. Instead, he said to Yuan Muye, "Young man, you're the first young person to come back to our village in recent years. Can you tell me what the outside world is like?"

Yuan Muye didn't know how to answer.

After a while, Yuan Muye finally replied, "Okay."

Just as he was about to start talking, the old man suddenly said, "Young man, wait a moment. I'll go call them all over."

As he spoke, the old man got up, as happy as a child, and ran out.

Yuan Muye watched the old man's disappearing figure. After regaining his senses, he quickly checked the old man's house. The old man had a total of three rooms: the main room and two bedrooms.

The kitchen was in the yard.

Everything seemed normal, with nothing out of place.

But the more it was like this, the more uneasy Yuan Muye felt.

After about fifteen minutes, seven or eight people came from outside, men and women, but all of them were elderly.

After another ten minutes, ten more people came.

In total, there were about twenty people, the youngest of whom looked at least sixty years old.

So many elderly people suddenly appearing caught Yuan Muye off guard.

Especially when these old people's gazes fell on Yuan Muye, he vaguely felt his body getting cold, and he felt uneasy.

Their eyes seemed to be filled with anticipation.

Yuan Muye scanned the old people here, confirming that they were all normal, living people. His tense heart gradually relaxed a little.

The old man from before said to Yuan Muye, "Young man, these are all the people in our village. You can tell us about it now."

Yuan Muye nodded in agreement, and then began to speak.

Of course, Yuan Muye didn't talk about the cruelty outside. He only talked about the bright lights and bustling life, how young people lived and how they made money.

This lasted for almost half an hour.

These old men and women seemed to be tireless.

They all stared at Yuan Muye with wide eyes.

After Yuan Muye had been talking for about an hour, he couldn't take it anymore.

So he said, "Grandpas and grandmas, that's pretty much it. I think it's getting late, so you should all go back and rest early."

But the old men and women didn't seem to want to leave. Instead, they said to Yuan Muye, "Young man, tell us more. We're very interested in that thing you called a car, and that house that can sing."

Yuan Muye: "..."

After waiting for a while, Yuan Muye suddenly asked, "Grandpas and grandmas, haven't any of your children come back after they left?"

"No, those unfilial descendants went to live in the big cities. Why would they remember us old folks?"

One of the old men suddenly sighed.

"That's right, after they left, we didn't even get a phone call, as if they had disappeared from the world. Young man, is the outside world really like you said?"

"It must be like the young man said, otherwise why wouldn't our children come back after they left?"

Yuan Muye listened to the old men and women saying one thing after another.

Yuan Muye listened, and couldn't help but feel some ripples in his heart.

After waiting for three to five minutes, Yuan Muye was tired of talking and suddenly said, "You all sit here for a while. I'm going out to get some fresh air."

After saying that, Yuan Muye walked to the door. When he got outside and felt the cold wind blowing, Yuan Muye stretched lazily. But at this moment, he suddenly felt footsteps behind him.

Looking back, he saw twenty or so old men and women standing neatly behind him.

Seeing this scene, Yuan Muye instantly felt his scalp tingle.

These old men and women were standing behind Yuan Muye in a very strange posture.

Yuan Muye was stunned for a few seconds, and after making eye contact with them, he saw that they all had strange smiles on their faces.

The smiles made Yuan Muye feel uncomfortable all over. After a while, Yuan Muye suddenly asked, "Grandpas, grandmas, when did you come out?"