Chapter 51: With Brother Fu Here

The four people were very enthusiastic. After everyone parked their cars, they helped to pull some dry grass to hide the vehicles.

Lin Mu’s group, with 11 miners plus the three of them, had a total of 14 people.

It was really unimaginable that in such an apocalyptic world, there were still people willing to generously take in 14 people for a meal.

Brother Zhou and another villager were the first to step into the grass, “Go up from here, it will take less than an hour to get there, everyone be careful.”

He spoke warmly to everyone. There was a small path trampled by people in the grass, and everyone instinctively formed a single line. The other two villagers quietly fell to the back of the team.

From a distance, it would look like the four villagers were escorting the group of people in the middle.

Lin Mu and his two companions walked in the middle of the team, quietly following the miners.

After walking for more than ten minutes, everyone emerged from the wild grass. In front of them were several paddy fields, where plump fish could still be seen. Following the ridges of the fields upward, there were some vegetable gardens, all well-maintained.

After nearly an hour of walking, houses gradually appeared in view.

The houses here were all wooden, appearing to be quite old, with varying heights and sizes. There were probably around twenty or so households.

The stone-piled paths led to each house, and every household had a large platform in front for drying crops.

Under the eaves hung strings of corn and peppers, making it seem as if the apocalypse had not really affected this small village.

Brother Zhou, who was walking in front, moved aside the fence blocking the path. The fence was made of wood, resembling the ones used in ancient times for defense, with wooden spikes pointing outward, the tips sharpened to a point.

“Although this place is remote, we still need to be cautious. Everyone, come directly to my house; it’s just the one behind.”

Brother Zhou pointed to the largest wooden house, which had two floors and a large open space in front that could accommodate the dozen or so people.

The miners had become quite familiar with Brother Zhou during the journey and thought they had met a good person. They happily followed him to his house.

As they passed the fence, a faint scent of blood wafted past Lin Mu’s nose.

There were a few children by the roadside who didn’t seem to react much to such a large group of outsiders, chasing a blue ball and playing.

“Go on, we have guests. You kids go play somewhere else.”

Two women came out of the house, leading the miners inside and making tea for everyone.

Xiao Yu tugged at her mother’s clothes, “Mom, I want to go play too.”

The tranquil and peaceful village had already made the miners let down their guard, thinking that staying here might be much better than venturing outside.

With her mother’s permission, Xiao Yu joined the other children and ran off to play.

Brother Zhou walked over, looked at Lin Mu and his companions, and showed a friendly smile. “Little brothers, I haven’t asked your names yet.”

“Lin Mu, this is He Ze, and that’s Fu Jingmo.”

Fu Jingmo was standing with his back to them, lazily standing at the edge of the platform, looking into the distance.

“Alright, Brother Lin, you can stay at my house tonight. There are two large rooms, enough for all of you. I’ll have my wife prepare dinner for everyone later.”

“Okay, thank you, Brother Zhou. Sorry for the trouble with so many people.” Lin Mu smiled and exchanged a few polite words.

Brother Zhou waved his hand and returned to the house.

The sunlight was just right, but Lin Mu felt a slight chill in his heart. He Ze, who had been holding back all the way, finally dared to speak now that there was no one around.

He leaned close to Lin Mu’s ear, lowered his voice, and looked around cautiously. “Mumu, don’t you find this place a bit strange?”

Lin Mu chuckled, “No, not really.”

“……”

“Mumu, if you’re craving cured meat, just let me know. I think there’s something off about this place.”

“……”

“Haha, you’re silly,” Lin Mu finally couldn’t help but laugh out loud. “Just stay calm. With Brother Fu here, what is there to fear?”

He Ze clicked his tongue, admitting that Lin Mu had a point. He then happily went inside to drink tea.

Once He Ze was gone, Lin Mu walked over to Fu Jingmo. “How is it?”

Although he knew there was something wrong with this village, he still didn’t understand why Fu Jingmo decided to come in. They could have refused the villagers’ invitation on the road.

Even if they had refused, those four people wouldn’t have been able to do anything to their group.

“At the place where we parked, there were tire tracks from a motorcycle. The motorcycle should be hidden in the grass.”

At the parking spot, there were indeed many tire tracks, but only Fu Jingmo had seen the specific marks of the motorcycle tires, so Lin Mu hadn’t noticed anything special.

“Are you saying that the mutant from the mining area is here?”

Fu Jingmo stood up, stretched his legs, and let out a small sound. “Might as well see what these people are up to.”

Lin Mu suddenly felt that Fu Jingmo had a rather strong curiosity.

Fu Jingmo adopted a nonchalant demeanor, looking like a beautiful but useless person, 1.9 meters tall, and lazily wandered into the house.

Brother Zhou had gone to the field to pick vegetables, leaving only two women and an old man in the house.

The old man held a homemade smoking pipe, with dried tobacco stuffed in the front, puffing clouds of smoke.

He wore a pair of large hemp pants, with no shirt on his upper body. His arms and back were all skin and bones, with dark skin dotted with age spots. He seemed indifferent to the people filling the house.

The two women included one who was in her forties, likely Brother Zhou’s wife, and a young girl around eighteen or nineteen, probably his daughter.

The young girl’s expression was a bit strange, as if she had just cried. Her eyes were red at the corners, and her face was puffed up with anger.

Sister Zhou brought a cup of clear tea to Lin Mu and Fu Jingmo. Lin Mu took it and thanked her. She lowered her head a little stiffly and went into the kitchen.

The two of them sat on a long wooden bench with their tea. The tea was in a glass cup with a few tea leaves floating in it, giving off a faint fragrance.

Since the apocalypse, food had not been lacking, but tea had become rare.

Lin Mu took a sip, finding it sweet and refreshing. It calmed his mind and eased some of the unease in his heart.

Indeed, such a comfortable environment could really make people lower their guard. But he knew, no matter the place or how nonchalant Fu Jingmo appeared, he was still like a lurking leopard, quietly observing everything.

The miners drank tea and ate some home-grown peanuts that Sister Zhou had brought out. A few had already comfortably gone outside to bask in the sun.

After just over half an hour, Brother Zhou returned with a basket full of cabbages and radishes on his back.

“Everyone take a rest, we’re going to prepare dinner.”

Xiao Yu’s mother stood up and said apologetically, “I can cook, I can help.”

Brother Zhou paused for a moment, his expression briefly unnatural, but then he put on a simple and honest smile. “No need, we can’t let our guests work.”

He carried the basket into the kitchen, and soon the sounds of chopping vegetables and meat came from inside.

The sun had set behind the mountains, and the sky gradually darkened. The surrounding mountains left only the shadows of trees, and every household lit oil lamps, with smoke rising from their chimneys.

Lin Mu looked back. Due to the terrain, the wooden houses were built one after another, ascending the hillside.

Brother Zhou’s house was right in the middle. At this moment, the windows of the wooden houses behind were like gaping mouths of monsters, eerie and terrifying in the night.

Even though the village was full of people, once darkness fell, there was no sound.

Only the chirping of crickets and the occasional bark of a dog echoed in the empty mountain hollow.