Led by Inoshita Riya, everyone quickly entered this unusually quiet Village.
"No! It should be dinner time or even time to cool off right now; when we came in, some houses still had cooking smoke rising, but why can't we see a single person? Could it be…?"
Shangguan Mo crouched forward, his expression gradually turning grim.
The petite Li followed closely behind him, her small mouth tightly pursed, and her round, large eyes showed some nervousness.
The group soon reached the first residential house at the Village entrance.
This was a house made of mud, with a greasy, dark brown, earthy chimney on the roof that had been blackened by smoke. It was still emitting a faint wisp of cooking smoke. Inoshita Riya had seen this wisp of smoke from a distance earlier, but now he couldn't feel happy at all.
Because it was just too quiet here!
There were no signs of human activity, not a single sound, not even the most common sounds of chickens crowing or dogs barking. It was as if all living things in this Village had died out!
The sky was gradually darkening, and visibility was starting to become dim.
This dimness brought even more tension to Inoshita Riya's heart. As an experienced retired Ninja, he had long since noticed that something was wrong here.
What should have been a vibrant place was now filled with dead silence, devoid of any signs of life.
He scanned the surroundings, and his ears perked up, but unfortunately, he was not a Perception Ninja, so he didn't find anything amiss. Gritting his teeth, Inoshita Riya turned back and whispered,
"Everyone, follow me. Be careful while scouting around and make sure not to get separated!"
"Mmm-hmm…"
The students all nodded with fearful expressions, and a few timid girls even had watery eyes, their faces even paler.
Shangguan Mo, following closely behind him, heard this and couldn't help but quicken his pace.
After only a few steps, a boy at the back of the group suddenly let out a startled cry, but the cry was abruptly cut short.
All the students turned back in fear, but in the darkness, they saw nothing.
"Who made that sound just now?"
The students only felt a gentle breeze brush their faces.
The next moment.
Inoshita Riya's figure suddenly appeared at the back of the group. They heard him whisper,
"L-listening to the sound, it, it seemed like Kawashita."
A male student said in a panicked voice.
"Kawashita! What are you shouting about? What did you see?"
Inoshita Riya's sharp gaze swept over all the students' faces, but he did not see the mischievous boy he remembered.
His brows furrowed even deeper.
Suddenly, his pupils widened abruptly, and his body instantly tensed, like a startled wild beast.
"Someone's missing! Where's Kawashita? Has anyone seen him?"
The entire area was silent; no student dared to speak. At this moment, their faces were filled with immense terror, their chests heaving violently, only producing muffled and suppressed gasps.
A shadow rose in Shangguan Mo's heart. The terrified and pale Li involuntarily leaned tightly against his side, her hands gripping his arm tightly.
Sighing softly, Shangguan Mo patted her small head with a touch of pity and said gently,
"Don't be afraid, stay close to me."
Li, the girl, bit her lip, trying to suppress the fear in her heart. She couldn't speak, only nodded tremblingly.
The entire group instantly fell into immense panic. Except for Inoshita Riya, no one dared to move even an inch.
Perhaps a few seconds, perhaps a few minutes later.
A faint sound of footsteps suddenly echoed in the dark Village. This sound was like the dawn breaking or the hand of a demon reaching out from the abyss, instilling fear in people's hearts while also giving them a glimmer of hope.
The Earth Beetle on top of Shangguan Mo's head suddenly became restless, vaguely indicating that something dangerous was approaching them.
"Why aren't you moving? If you don't cooperate, this game will become uninteresting. Once I find it uninteresting, your death will soon arrive…"
A faint voice seemed to come from all directions. This voice was like an emotionless machine, completely devoid of any feelings.
Gulp…
Sounds of swallowing saliva rang out one after another, so piercing in the silent night.
These students had never experienced such a thrill; at this moment, they felt as if their hearts were about to stop.
"Stop playing tricks! Come out!"
Inoshita Riya roared, his sharp gaze sweeping back and forth around him.
But this time, no more sound came.
Inoshita Riya gritted his teeth and said,
"Everyone, follow me! It's too open and exposed here; let's go inside the house!"
Shangguan Mo's lips didn't move; he wanted to say something but held back.
He felt that while staying in the room seemed safe, against a Ninja's attack, these mud houses might only withstand one Ninjutsu. If the houses collapsed, it would bring them a lot of trouble instead.
"Riya-sensei probably has his own ideas…"
Shangguan Mo could only comfort himself this way.
The group then followed Inoshita Riya and squeezed into the nearby house.
The dilapidated corners were covered in dust, and wooden farm tools were placed in the corners of the room. Some of the tools even had fresh soil on them.
Shangguan Mo looked at his classmates, who were visibly relieved, and seemed to understand something at this moment.
Inoshita Riya had these students hide in the room to prevent them from being scared out of their wits by the mysterious entity outside.
But was it truly safe here?
Looking out at the darkness through the window, Shangguan Mo felt no confidence at all.
Li, at this moment, patted her chest with lingering fear. After experiencing her classmate's scream and sudden disappearance, and with an unknown, mysterious, and terrifying presence seemingly wanting to kill them, her heart had long been utterly terrified. Now, in this confined environment, with many classmates and a teacher around, it made her feel less afraid.
"Don't be afraid. The guy outside is also human; he won't eat people."
Seeing that Li was still very nervous, Shangguan Mo comforted her gently.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm just too timid…"
Li began to apologize, her face flushed with embarrassment. Seeing Shangguan Mo's calm expression, her mood unconsciously began to settle down.
The house was not small, but too many people had entered, making it a bit cramped now.
Ignoring the students' hushed whispers, Inoshita Riya held a Kunai, his gaze fixed on the two windows in the mud walls.
He stood in a bow stance, his body tense, cautiously maintaining a high level of vigilance, his eyes fixed on the dark horizon outside the window.
Seeing his serious demeanor, the students also spontaneously pulled out Kunai from their Ninja tool pouches and became alert.
Suddenly!
A girl let out a shriek, instantly drawing everyone's attention.
Shangguan Mo also turned around immediately. He saw the girl covering her mouth with one hand, her face filled with terror, and pointing at a window outside with the other hand, trembling all over.
…