Longevity starts from having a daughter in old age - Chapter 421

Chapter 421: Chapter 390: Mountain Village_1

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Walking amidst the mountain paths, Xu Mu found his wooden right leg rather inconvenient. Turning around, he entered a nearby forest and selected a large, dark brown tree.

He held up his right hand, his fingers sharp as knives and his nails popped out like razor blades. Seemingly as soft as tofu under his hands, the formidable tree was swiftly partitioned into various parts, later reassembled into an ingeniously constructed prosthetic limb.

Xu Mu attached it to his leg, wrapped it in the animal skin that Yue had given him, and then took a few steps.

“Aside from being a bit fragile, there doesn’t seem to be any major issues!”

Wary of drawing unnecessary attention and troubles, Xu Mu decided against crafting a prosthetic arm.

After cleaning up and packing his things, Xu Mu continued down the mountain. However, crafting the prosthetic limb had caused a significant delay, and coupled with his lack of direction, by the time he reached the village at the foot of the mountain, night had already fallen. The food that Yue had given him had been long consumed.

Xu Mu thought of asking for directions in the village, perhaps in exchange for some food.

Upon entering the village, he found it to be incredibly impoverished—the majority of houses were made of thatched roofs, the fences constructed of muddled mud and traces of damage were everywhere, as if something had smashed into them with immense force.

Only a few houses in the center of the village were neat and made of brick and tile, yet, their walls were also marked by signs of damage.

Knock, knock!

“Is anyone home?”

After entering the village, Xu Mu knocked on the door of the nearest house and called out.

Subtle movements could be heard from within the house, yet no one responded.

Xu Mu tried several more houses, meeting with the same situation each time.

“If a stranger knocked on my door in the middle of the night, I probably wouldn’t open it either.”

Xu Mu laughed at himself, prepared to give up and find somewhere outside the village to spend the night. As he was wondering if he could get clear directions the following day and leave, a door to a house he hadn’t knocked on pushed open, and a woman in her thirties peeked out.

“Where did you come from? What do you want?”

The woman’s face was sallow, and she was simply dressed, the typical appearance of a farm woman. Only, her eyes were ringed with dark circles, indicating a lack of proper sleep.

“I’m an outsider who got lost while hunting in the mountains. I wanted to ask for directions.” Xu Mu said, standing still and laughing.

The woman squinted, appraising Xu Mu up and down. Seeing that Xu Mu only had one arm and was a teenager of just fourteen or fifteen years old, her expression visibly relaxed.

She opened her mouth, “From the entrance of our village, just continue heading south for about twenty to thirty miles and you’ll find Three-New-Town!”

“Thanks, big sister!”

“Big sister? Ha-ha! You’re a quite interesting kiddo!”

The woman couldn’t help but cover her mouth and chuckle.

“Hehe!”

Xu Mu smiled, unabe to mind her teasing comment, and turned around to head out of the village.

The woman froze for a moment before hurrying out of her courtyard and chased after him, stopping right in front of him.

“You can’t be thinking of going to town now, right?” the woman asked in surprise.

“Yes, that’s correct! Is there a problem?” Xu Mu asked in confusion.

“Didn’t your parents tell you not to travel at night?”

The woman looked incredulously at him.

“Thanks for your concern, big sister! I’m not scared!”

Xu Mu smiled and made to walk past her. While he had only just arrived in this world, he had some confidence in his own abilities.

The woman quickly reached out and grabbed onto his clothes.

“You really do have a lot of guts for a young lad! Wait until you encounter something evil and it’ll be too late for regrets! Oh well, you do look pitiful! Come and stay at my place!”

Ignorning Xu Mu’s protests, the woman pulled him towards her house.

“Well… alright then!”

Xu Mu initially wanted to decline, but after thinking about it, he decided to take her up on her offer. After all, it would be better to play it safe as a newcomer. Besides, he wasn’t in any hurry.

As the woman led him into her courtyard, she quickly shut the door, as if she was fearing something.

Looking around, Xu Mu noticed that the woman’s house only consisted of a long thatched hut and a smaller room. The courtyard was littered with straw from rice grains and a small vegetable garden had been set up. Hanging on the wall were chili peppers, garlic, and other similar produce.

To the eye, it appeared to be just a regular farmhouse.

Meanwhile, Xu Mu heard a faint breathing sound from within the house, indicating someone else was there.

“Have you eaten?” The woman turned her head and asked with a smile.

“No!”

Xu Mu shook his head, Yue’s meager dried meat wasn’t even enough to stick in his teeth.

“Go into the house, I’ll serve you some rice!”

“Thank you!”

“You’re quite a polite kid!”

The woman went into the small room next to them, laughing. Xu Mu entered the main room and was able to clearly see the condition of the room in the lamplight.

There were two small compartments, one big and one small. The large one seemed to be where the woman lived. Inside was a large bed, where a boy about seven or eight years old was soundly asleep.

In the other small compartment, a pile of sundries was accumulated.

Inside the main hall, there were only two big tables. One was an altar with a few portraits of deceased relatives–the woman’s father, mother, and husband. It was clear that the woman was a widow.

Lucky Xu Mu hadn’t made a prosthetic hand. Otherwise, seeing him in good health, she might not have dared to let him into the house.

The other was a dinner table, the surface was blackened. There were several small stools around it. Xu Mu sat down on one.

Soon, the woman brought the food– a large bowl of coarse rice and half a bowl of pickled vegetables.

“These are all we’ve got. Don’t be too picky!”

The woman put the bowl down and said.

“This is great! Thanks!”

Xu Mu started eating with a smile.

The food wasn’t delicious, but Xu Mu wasn’t a fussy eater. He quickly finished the bowl and expressed his gratitude again.

The woman cleaned up the dishes and tidied up the room filled with junk, making a sleeping space for Xu Mu.

“If you hear any noise in the night, don’t come out to see what’s happening, understand?”

After settling Xu Mu, the woman reminded him again before retiring to her room.

Xu Mu thought about those broken courtyard walls and wondered if the two were connected. But he didn’t want to pry.

As the saying goes, a newcomer should not court trouble.

Xu Mu lay on the hard wooden bed, closed his eyes to rest and thought about the path ahead.

Naturally, firstly he needed to go to the city and learn about this world. Then find ways to restore his spiritual energy and leave this place.

Since this world lacked Spiritual Energy, no matter his physical strength, he would eventually die of old age. Therefore, he needed to leave as soon as possible. He couldn’t just leave the three people in the God Refining Tripod–no problem in the short term, long-term confinement could be fatal.

As his thoughts passed, time slipped away. It was soon midnight and judging by her breathing, the woman was sound asleep.

Thump, Thump, Thump!

A series of heavy steps echoed from outside the village. Then the steps got closer and closer, halting right in front of the woman’s house.

Xu Mu slowly opened his eyes, somewhat helpless. “This can’t be a coincidence, can it?”

Boom!

The fragile courtyard wall was crushed by the unknown creature. Then the supports in the vegetable garden were trampled.

The woman was obviously awake now, but didn’t make a move. With his sharp hearing, Xu Mu could hear her pounding heart beat and her shivering body.

There was also a muffled sound, like someone being gagged. Xu Mu guessed it was the child beside the woman.

With such a commotion, it would be impossible for the people nearby not to hear. But they were strangely quiet.

Boom!

The door of the main hall was blasted open. The unknown creature stepped inside, hesitated for a moment, then headed towards the room the woman was in.

Xu Mu’s eyes flickered.

Was this deliberate? Or simply a coincidence?