"Are you worried that something might've happened to that village?" Yao Lao seemed to sense the doubt in Xiao Yan's heart and asked.
"Yeah." Xiao Yan nodded, his expression unusually serious.
Yao Lao clearly overestimated his disciple's kindness—he assumed Xiao Yan was concerned about the safety of the villagers. In truth, what Xiao Yan was thinking about was whether he should scavenge the corpses once he went in. After all, even if those creatures had all mutated, they should still be carrying some useful stuff. Still… the idea felt a bit disgusting.
'Forget it. I'll just take it one step at a time.' Xiao Yan retracted his Heavy Xuan Ruler. This unexpected development was not something he had foreseen. While he didn't fear those creatures too much individually, large numbers could become a problem. And if there was truly someone orchestrating things behind the scenes, he'd have no choice but to retreat if things spiraled out of control.
That said, there wasn't much in this world that could truly frighten him—not even someone like Hun Daier from his past life.
Just then, Xiao Yan suddenly sensed a strange presence nearby. Instinctively, his hand rested on the hilt of the Heavy Xuan Ruler, and his gaze quickly swept his surroundings.
"Who's hiding there? Get out here now!" he shouted.
As his voice echoed, rustling came from the forest behind him. Xiao Yan turned swiftly to see a silver-haired boy, about the same age as him, walk out somewhat awkwardly. The boy was exceptionally handsome, his fair skin healthy and radiant. Dressed in simple white robes, he gave off an air of serenity.
Judging by appearance alone, the silver-haired youth didn't seem threatening at all. But it was precisely that sense of harmlessness that made Xiao Yan unusually cautious. His experiences in his past life had taught him to always stay on guard, even around people like Yao Lao and Xiao Zhan. And yet, the moment he saw this silver-haired boy, he felt an odd sense of familiarity—so familiar, it was as if this person was someone he shouldn't forget even across lifetimes.
Xiao Yan was certain he had never met this youth, in this life or the last. Yet the feeling persisted. His body tensed, eyes narrowing sharply.
"Who are you?"
"Don't misunderstand. I'm not an enemy." The silver-haired youth quickly raised his hands. "Just like you, I came to investigate the situation with those corpse monsters."
"'Corpse monsters'..." Xiao Yan muttered softly. It seemed the things he thought of as zombies were called corpse monsters in the Chu Yun Empire. Still, he didn't relax his guard.
"How do you know I'm here to investigate the corpse monsters?"
"Come on, that's obvious. Everyone in a hundred-mile radius is talking about them. If you weren't here for that, why else would someone your age come to a place like this?" The boy shrugged. "Still, you've got guts. Most kids your age wouldn't dare step foot near here."
"You're not much older than me, are you?" Xiao Yan gave him a glance. Judging by appearance, the silver-haired youth didn't look older than twelve.
"I'm not like you. I'm actually—" The boy caught himself mid-sentence and quickly shut up. "Let's just say I'm older than I look."
"Are there others who came to investigate besides you?" Xiao Yan noticed that this boy wasn't as easy to talk to as Xiao Yixian. So, even though he was curious about his real age, he decided not to press and changed the topic.
"There were. Seven or eight teams have come through already. Most didn't make it out. One group managed to return, but they turned into corpse monsters soon after. Luckily, another team had the antidote, or they'd have ended up the same way."
"Antidote?" Xiao Yan was a little surprised. Just earlier, he had been arguing with Yao Lao over whether they should capture a corpse monster to study for an antidote. He didn't expect someone had already made progress.
"Yeah. Some of our people managed to create an antidote that works on the corpse poison. But it only works if taken within one minute of infection. Any later, and it's useless." As he spoke, the boy took out a small jade bottle from his robes and tossed it to Xiao Yan. "You don't look like you've got any antidote on you. Here—keep it with you and don't get caught."
Catching the bottle, Xiao Yan looked at the few pills inside and raised a brow. 'This guy's being unusually kind to me…' While he had met friendly young people before, this was the Chu Yun Empire—they weren't exactly known for their kindness. Unless… this boy wanted to use him?
At that thought, Xiao Yan's lips curled into a subtle smile. 'If that's the case, then I might as well use him too.'
If this silver-haired boy was truly trying to use him, then Xiao Yan wouldn't feel even a sliver of guilt in using him back. And if he wasn't—if he was genuinely just a naive fool looking to make friends—well then, fools like that deserved to be taken advantage of.
So, Xiao Yan put on a sincerely grateful face and said, "Big brother, thank you so much!"
He'd pulled this kind of act many times in his past life. In fact, he figured if he ever traveled back to Earth, his acting could probably win him an Oscar.
"No problem. My family always taught me that when you're out in the world, help others when you can." The silver-haired youth patted Xiao Yan on the shoulder and said warmly, "You seem like it might be dangerous to travel alone. Why don't we team up? It's safer if we stick together."
"Really? Then thank you, big brother!" Xiao Yan agreed without hesitation. His youthful appearance, innocent demeanor, and acting skills made it easy to lower the other's guard.
In his mind, this silver-haired boy was definitely not as gentle as he appeared. He probably brought Xiao Yan along to scout ahead or serve as a meat shield in case of danger.
But this seemingly harmless kid... was, in truth, a ruthless devil. While the other was still pondering how to use Xiao Yan, Xiao Yan was already thinking about where to bury his corpse.
"I'm called Yun Dai. If you don't mind, just call me Brother Yun." The silver-haired youth smiled warmly. "What about you, little brother? What's your name?"
"I'm… Mo Yanxiao." Xiao Yan replied slowly. In a place where he was a total stranger, there was no way he'd use his real name. Not that anyone in the Chu Yun Empire had ever heard of "Xiao Yan" anyway.
(End of Chapter)
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