I Return From Hell

Chapter 80: Chapter 76: Peculiar Village

「Inside the village.」

Ancient courtyards with green tiles and gray bricks were scattered about. A dense web of alleyways connected them, creating a complex maze. A narrow, winding path, like an earthworm, snaked through the entire village to the other side. It was caked in mud, as if it had just rained.

The vast village was deserted, yet there was a lingering sense of life, which felt very strange.

If one had to describe it, it was as if a group of people had always lived here, but they had all vanished after the Mist Event broke out, clearing the way for them to enter.

”Something’s weird about this place.”

These courtyards were all square-shaped. Under the dim sky, the courtyard walls, gates, and houses were all pitch-black. The more one looked at them, the more they resembled...

Coffins!

Waiting to bury those who entered!

Zhao An felt a chill, and a strange unease settled in his heart.

Just as he slowed his pace, roars echoed from behind him.

”Oh, my God.”

He glanced back and saw people being chased and torn apart by monsters. Terrified, Zhao An took off running.

At one point,

he took the opportunity, when no monsters were focused on him, to duck into a courtyard.

”Is anyone here?”

Zhao An asked in a low voice, but there was no response.

’No one?’

It was a little strange, but his mind was on the monsters, so he didn’t overthink it. He found a hoe in the courtyard and gripped it tightly in his hands.

「Soon.」

Two figures passed by the gate.

Zhao An peeked through the crack in the gate.

”Help! Somebody save me! *Sob*...”

A glamorously dressed woman in her thirties was being chased by a monster. Her expression was panicked and terrified as she desperately cried for help.

She looked completely helpless.

Just then.

”Urk...”

Her body stiffened. Her eyes widened, and her eyeballs bulged out at an incredible speed, looking as if they were about to fall out.

The glamorous woman slowly turned her head, looked toward the gate where Zhao An was hiding, and smiled faintly.

It was a creepy smile!

It sent a chill down one’s spine!

’She saw me? How is that possible!’

Zhao An’s heart leaped, and his scalp tingled. He stumbled back several steps in terror, nearly screaming out loud.

”ROAR.”

The Mutant pounced on the glamorous woman, knocking her to the ground.

”Help, save me, I’m begging you.”

The glamorous woman’s cries for help rang out again.

”*Pant... pant... pant...*”

Zhao An gasped for breath, still reeling from the shock. How could he possibly dare to go out and save her?

He took a deep breath.

He cautiously approached the crack in the gate again, wanting to see what was happening outside.

But then,

a pair of human eyes, bulging out completely like a goldfish’s, were staring right back at him through the crack.

”Holy shit!”

Zhao An leaped back in fright, covering a distance of 2.65 meters.

That was even better than a standing long jump record.

”CREAK.”

”Brother, don’t be scared! I’m human, a living person!”

The courtyard gate was pushed open.

A young man in his twenties, barefoot—his shoes lost somewhere along the way—shouted anxiously at Zhao An, ”Can you help me save my girlfriend?”

At that moment,

his eyes were sitting perfectly normal in their sockets. Where was the abnormality from just now?

’An illusion?’

Zhao An gripped the hoe in his hands, aiming it at the barefoot man who had suddenly appeared. He eyed him with a mix of belief and suspicion.

But no matter how he looked, there seemed to be nothing wrong with him.

’Was it really just an illusion?’

He glanced past the barefoot man. The glamorous woman was still struggling and fighting back, her nails clawing frantically at the monster’s face. But not only was the monster’s face unharmed, the woman’s fingernails had broken, and blood was streaming from them.

Although the woman was brave, she was still no match for it!

In fact, half of her face had been bitten to a pulp.

”No.”

Zhao An refused decisively. ”If you want to die, go ahead. Don’t drag me down with you!”

”If you don’t want to die, then shut the damn door for me.”

”Hurry up!”

As he spoke, he brandished the hoe in his hands menacingly.

”You...”

The barefoot man was clearly taken aback by Zhao An’s words. He froze for a moment, then said, ”How can you be so heartless?”

”Cut the fucking crap.”

Zhao An’s face was a mask of urgency. He even took two steps forward. ”Why the hell should I save your girlfriend?”

”Hurry up!”

”Okay! Okay! Don’t do anything rash.”

”I’ll listen to you. I’ll do whatever you say.”

The barefoot man was startled and backed away repeatedly.

CREAK.

He shut the gate, turned around, and asked, ”Is this okay now?”

Ugh.

Zhao An’s face showed contempt. He shoved the barefoot man aside and went back to peeking through the crack in the gate, sneering, ”And here I thought you had some guts. Turns out you’re just a coward who won’t even save his own girlfriend.”

”How did such a pretty girl ever fall for you?”

’I’m so great, so why don’t any pretty women fall for me?’

’This is so fucking unfair... Urk... You...’

He felt a sharp pain in his back. His eyes widened as he looked behind him in disbelief.

The barefoot man was grinning sinisterly, a sharpened stone axe in his hand. He said, ”She’s not my girlfriend.”

Hearing this, Zhao An was even more dumbfounded.

”Do we have a grudge?”

”You... you’re actually killing me.”

He felt the Power in his body draining away rapidly. He tried to struggle free, but with his back split open, he couldn’t stand steadily. He could only lean against the courtyard gate and slide slowly to the ground.

”You’ll understand soon enough.”

The barefoot man’s words were baffling and made no sense.

He then gripped his stone axe, turned to face one of the rooms, and said, ”Come on out.”

There was no movement.

”Heh.”

”Playing dead?”

He sneered and walked over step by step. ”I saw you hide in there a long time ago.”

”Ah!”

A fat man ran out of the room, making a beeline for the back door.

The barefoot man didn’t stop him or attack. He simply let him rush out of the courtyard. Then he turned back to the dying Zhao An, the smile on his lips growing even more bizarre.

Zhao An’s whole body stiffened.

”Urk... urk...”

His body began to tremble, his face contorting in a struggle of pain.

His eyeballs began to bulge out, little by little.

It was clear that his eyeballs were bulging out at a noticeably slower rate.

A pity.

But only a little slower.

「A few seconds later.」

Zhao An’s eyeballs looked as if they were about to fall out. His body stopped trembling, and the look of struggle and pain vanished from his face.

”Welcome to the group.”

The barefoot man extended his hand.

They shook hands.

Zhao An stood up. In that instant, his eyeballs returned to normal.

The fatty who had just run out also walked back from the direction of the rear entrance, a smirk on his face. He said, ”Now we can go out together and rescue our companion.”

”CREAK.”

Zhao An pushed open the gate and charged.

And the wound on his back had already healed.

...

...

Song Zichao, his brother, and the pure-looking girl entered the village together.

Seeing the figures of monsters in the village, they were terrified and immediately rushed into a traditional courtyard house.

This one was a simple, single-courtyard layout, a square shape.

”Is anyone here?”

The pure-looking girl had just spoken.

”Shh.”

Song Zichao gestured for her to be quiet.

The pure-looking girl glanced nervously toward the courtyard gate and quickly covered her mouth.

Fortunately, they hadn’t been discovered by the monsters.

*Phew.*

The three of them breathed a sigh of relief. Only then did they turn their heads and continue to survey the courtyard house.

”With all that commotion outside, if anyone were here, they couldn’t have missed it.”

”Besides, we made a fair bit of noise ourselves when we came in.”

Song Zichao said, ”But there isn’t a single sound from the rooms, so... it’s most likely empty.”

’Makes sense.’

The pure-looking girl nodded.

”Should we hide in one of the rooms?”

Song Zichao’s brother asked.

”No.”

Song Zichao shook his head. ”Barging into a private residence in an emergency is excusable. But we’re not in danger right now, so what’s our excuse for going into the rooms?”

The pure-looking girl nodded again.

”ROAR.”

A Mutant’s roar came from outside the gate.

”We’re screwed.”

The three of them jumped in fright, backing away while staring intently at the courtyard gate.

They thought the monster outside was just passing by, but unexpectedly, it was getting closer.

”Find something...”

Song Zichao said in a low voice. Before he could finish, his brother bolted into one of the rooms, yelling, ”Find my ass! Just run!”

”You...”

”ROAR.”

Song Zichao’s expression changed. Just as he was about to say something, the monster outside seemed to have heard the commotion and quickened its approach.

He and the pure-looking girl couldn’t worry about it anymore and hurried in after him.

Luckily.

The three of them moved quickly.

And their luck was good.

The monster outside tripped on the threshold and face-planted. When it looked up again, Song Zichao’s group was nowhere to be seen.

It twitched its nose.

It sniffed the scent of humans and looked toward the room where Song Zichao’s group was hiding. Its eyes, riddled with a dense web of blood vessels, glowed with an eerie red light. It got up, preparing to charge.

’Don’t come over here!’

Peeking through the crack in the door, the three of them panicked at the sight.

Just then,

outside.

”Ah!”

A glamorously dressed woman ran past, screaming, instantly drawing the Mutant’s attention.

”ROAR.”

The monster turned and charged toward the glamorous woman.

”*Phew.*”

Seeing this, Song Zichao’s group let out a collective sigh of relief.

’Finally, we survived.’

Hm?

The pure-looking girl felt a pair of eyes staring at her from behind. Her whole body tensed up, and she whipped her head around.

In the dim light, she could faintly make out an old-fashioned dressing table.

It was quite old, antique in style, yet neat and elegant.

A copper mirror was set into it.

’A mirror facing the door?’

The pure-looking girl felt something was wrong. Whether this family believed in feng shui or not, they would never place it like this, would they?

She could vaguely see her reflection in the mirror.

But she wasn’t sure if it was because of the lighting or because she was so exhausted that her vision was blurry, but she felt the person in the mirror didn’t look like her.

She rubbed her eyes and, using the faint light from outside, took another look.

Her reflection in the mirror was beautiful, with waist-length hair. It held a wooden comb and was combing its hair, stroke after stroke.

Her eyes met the reflection’s.

A bone-chilling sensation washed over her.

”AHHH!”

The pure-looking girl squeezed her eyes shut and let out a terrified scream.

Fortunately, Song Zichao clamped a hand over her mouth just in time.

”What are you screaming about!”

Song Zichao’s brother jumped, hissing at her in a low, reproachful voice.

”There’s... someone there!”

The pure-looking girl pointed a trembling finger at the dressing table, her words stumbling out.

Song Zichao and his brother looked over...