Liu Hai furrowed his brows, trying to make sense of the situation.
"But didn’t that man say it himself? They’re afraid of YaoGuais, which is why they wanted us to kill them. Isn’t it normal for ordinary people to fear YaoGuais?"
Lin Xiao nodded. Indeed, fear of YaoGuais was expected. However, that man hadn’t shown any fear at all. If anything, when they were discussing the extermination of YaoGuais, there was an undeniable glimmer of excitement in his eyes.
"You’re right, being afraid of YaoGuais is completely normal," Lin Xiao said, "But didn’t you notice? He wasn’t afraid."
"In fact, he seemed almost thrilled when talking about killing them."
Zhang Nu and Liu Hai exchanged glances, shaking their heads. They hadn’t sensed anything unusual.
Could it be that Lin Xiao had misread the situation? After all, he had an uncanny ability to detect things they often overlooked, but would an ordinary person really feel excited about slaughtering YaoGuais?
Given Lin Xiao’s track record, they couldn’t dismiss his words so easily.
"But why?" Liu Hai asked, his voice low with unease. "Why would an ordinary human be excited about YaoGuais?"
"Unless… unless the people in this town aren’t ordinary humans?"
The idea sent a chill down Zhang Nu’s spine. If the people here weren’t human, then what were they?
"Zhang Nu’s theory makes sense," Lin Xiao said. "If they aren’t afraid of YaoGuais, it could mean two things—either they are YaoGuais or they’re just as powerful as YaoGuais."
"But we’ve seen them. They look human."
"Then… have they become as strong as YaoGuais?"
A shiver ran down Liu Hai’s back. That thought unsettled them even more than the idea of YaoGuais themselves. If ordinary people had somehow become as powerful as YaoGuais, then how did it happen?
"There are definitely more secrets hidden in this town," Zhang Nu muttered, "We’ll need to uncover them carefully."
Lin Xiao and Liu Hai both nodded in agreement.
Just then, the door creaked open, and the villager stepped inside.
"What were you all talking about?" he asked casually, his tone light but his eyes sharp, "Something you need time to figure out?"
The three immediately went on guard. How much had he overheard?
"Ah, it’s nothing," Zhang Nu said smoothly, forcing a smile. "We were just discussing YaoGuais. Trying to figure out their techniques so we can be better prepared to fight them."
The villager nodded, seemingly satisfied with the answer.
"That’s beyond my knowledge," he said. "But if you’re done talking, come eat. The food’s ready."
Zhang Nu, Lin Xiao, and Liu Hai exchanged glances. They had no choice but to act natural.
"Of course," Zhang Nu replied. "We’ll be right there."
After eating, they returned to their room, lying down but not sleeping. Tonight, they planned to uncover the truth.
Just as they had expected, right around midnight, the so-called ‘YaoGuais’ appeared again. The trio remained completely still, observing carefully. Were these true YaoGuais? Or was someone pretending to be YaoGuais to manipulate the town?
Zhang Nu’s voice was a whisper.
"We’re going out there."
Liu Hai and Lin Xiao nodded.
However, despite their hushed tones, the YaoGuai suddenly stopped. Its head tilted as if it had heard something.
Zhang Nu froze. Its hearing was terrifyingly sharp. This wasn’t just a mindless beast—it was alert— intelligent. If they wanted to lure it away from the village, they had to be vigilant.
They exchanged glances, signaling silently to one another. Moving with practiced stealth, they crept out of the house, heading toward the outskirts of town.
But no matter how careful they were, the YaoGuai noticed. With inhuman speed, it suddenly lunged toward them.
"Move!" Zhang Nu hissed.
The three of them broke into a sprint, leading it away from the village, and towards the open fields beyond.
It worked.
Within moments, they stood in the middle of a vast clearing, their hands resting on their weapons, their eyes locked on the approaching creature.
It wouldn’t be long now.
After a short while, the YaoGuai arrived.