Chapter 129: The Corpse Came to Life

The first person who came to mind was Old Man Ma. Although I couldn't see clearly, that figure and the way it moved were very similar to how Old Man Ma behaved in the vine forest. But why would Old Man Ma be in the woods in the middle of the night? Besides, those clothes didn't look like anything he would wear.

I watched the direction of the footsteps until the sound completely vanished before I climbed back into bed to sleep.

The next day, I went to the woods for my morning run as usual. Other than the first few days of training when Old Man Ma had come to watch over me, I had been going alone ever since.

Early in the morning, I saw a group of people heading toward the mountain with troubled expressions. There were men, women, old, and young—clearly a single family.

This was quite rare. I had been here for a long time, and this was the first time I’d seen others up so early. Moreover, they all wore such mournful faces.

I went over to ask them what was wrong.

A gaunt, sallow-faced middle-aged woman had red, puffy eyes and looked like she was about to cry. "I forgot to lock the pigpen door after feeding the pig last night. When I got up this morning, I found that one of our big, fat pigs was gone. It must have run into the mountains, so we're going to look for it now. We’ve raised that pig for a long time; we were counting on it to pay for the children's school tuition."

I felt a pang of sympathy. The village’s economy was very poor, and their livestock was their only wealth.

Seeing her look so sad and self-reproachful, I couldn't bear it. "I’ll help you look for it. That way, there’s a better chance of finding it."

A strange look flashed across their eyes. They exchanged glances, hesitant. They were hiding something from me and didn't want me to know, but at that moment, they couldn't find anyone else to help, and the pig was very important to them.

After a moment of hesitation, the middle-aged woman's husband—a thin, wiry man—said, "Then we’ll trouble you."

I followed them deep into the mountains. This was my first time venturing this far in; usually, I only stayed within the designated areas during my morning runs.

The vegetation inside was extremely dense, showing that it was rarely trodden upon. The group wandered through the mountain for a while without seeing a trace of the fat pig—not even a single dropping.

Searching together was too inefficient, so I suggested we split up. Whoever found it would call out, and the others would come to help.

The group exchanged looks again, hesitating. The wiry man said, "Fine. Just don't go too far; we're afraid you'll get lost and won't be able to find your way back."

"Don't worry, I... I'll just look around here."

I had wanted to say that I had a great sense of direction, but I suddenly realized that they weren't really worried about me getting lost.

The group scattered, and I headed off in one direction alone. The further I went, the denser the vegetation became—it was absurdly thick. I thought to myself that a pig that size would definitely leave some traces if it had come this way, so it probably wasn't here.

Just as I was about to turn back, I suddenly noticed a small, beaten path!

It wasn't strange to have paths in the mountains, but it was very strange for one to appear here. The entire way over, it had looked as if no one ever set foot here, yet suddenly, there was a worn path!

I walked toward the path. It was indeed very narrow, hidden among the dense foliage, making it hard to notice. It didn't seem to lead back to the village.

How truly strange. No one should be living this deep inside; how could there be such a trail? Could someone be living in seclusion here?

I followed the path, and the vegetation on both sides grew even more lush, thick and dense, to the point where I suspected it had been planted on purpose. However, this ridiculous thought was confirmed shortly after.

A vast stretch of fast-growing eucalyptus trees appeared ahead!

This damn well couldn't be wild! What on earth was the meaning of this? Planting trees deep in the remote mountains—were they worried the forest wasn't thick enough or the trees weren't numerous enough? Even if they were planting for timber, this wasn't how you did it; these eucalyptus trees were planted so densely that not even a breeze could pass through. Furthermore, the eucalyptus was one thing, but what was the point of planting all those weeds and shrubs along the way?

A dull, rhythmic sound of footsteps reached my ears, and I saw a hunched figure pass behind the dense eucalyptus trees.

It was the same person from last night! It really wasn't Old Man Ma!

"Wait! Who are you? What are you doing in here?" I called out.

Hearing the noise, the figure quickened its pace and ran into the thicket.

I hurriedly chased after it. Passing through the eucalyptus forest, I saw a hunched, gaunt old man running far off into the dense woods. His limbs moved very strangely, like a puppet being manipulated by someone.

"Stop! Who are you!" I shouted.

The old man turned and looked at me. His expression was dull and lifeless, completely devoid of the vitality of a living person! Yet, the face looked somewhat familiar.

I suddenly recalled something, and a chill ran down my spine, my hair standing on end. This face... I had seen it before! And when I saw it, he wasn't a living person anymore! He was the old man whose final wishes hadn't been fulfilled during the funeral I attended!

But it was broad daylight! And the yin energy in this forest wasn't particularly heavy! Furthermore, the old man didn't look like a ghost; he looked more like a corpse!

The hunched figure disappeared into the dense forest. I immediately gave chase.

"Don't go over there! Stop! Come back!" the wiry man's voice came from behind me.

I'd have to be a fool to listen to him! This was a damn case of a corpse reanimating! The dead had come back to life!

I sprinted into the thicket, and a massive object suddenly lunged out from the side. Taken by surprise, I collided with it and fell to the ground.

The thing that had lunged out was none other than the big, fat pig! I gasped in pain, silently cursing the pig's parents. It couldn't have appeared at any other time, but had to pick this exact moment!

I climbed up, and the wiry man had already caught up. Seeing the big pig, he was overjoyed. He didn't say anything else, picked up a branch from the side, and began driving the pig back.

I had no choice but to follow them back. I turned to look at the direction in which the old man had disappeared, then looked back at the wiry man. He had intentionally tried to stop me earlier; he knew about the corpse reanimation. Whatever they were hiding must have something to do with this.

This was a reanimated corpse! A dead body had come back to life! What on earth were these people covering up? Could this really have no consequences?

I looked at the beaten path in the forest, my back feeling cold. This path was most likely made by walking corpses! From the very beginning, they hadn't wanted us to enter the deep mountains; I feared there wasn't just one walking corpse in here!

The fat pig looked listless; it didn't make a sound the whole way, and its mouth didn't even open. Its expression was dull, and it let the wiry man drive it forward.

The others gathered around. They were delighted to see the pig, but seeing its sluggish state, they couldn't help but worry.

"Did it eat something bad?" the middle-aged woman asked anxiously.

The wiry man hit the pig lightly with the branch and called out to it a few times, but the pig didn't react at all.

"Let's just drive it back first. If it doesn't get better, we'll sell it today," the wiry man said.