Reborn One Week Before the Apocalypse

Chapter 124: Chapter 116: Tang Mo’s Discovery

There were two reasons for this.

First, she was a guest and had no personal grudge against the Sect Leader.

Second, the utter despair on Tang Mo’s face was impossible to ignore. If they didn’t all know she had just arrived in Wuxi Village, they would have assumed she was related to the Sect Leader.

This time, Tang Mo’s grief wasn’t entirely an act. With the Sect Leader dead, she truly was the most distraught person there.

’It would be strange if I wasn’t upset!’

Her display of emotion was so genuine that Xiao Hu felt too embarrassed to keep crying himself.

Having failed to find the insects and with the Sect Leader now dead, the group returned to the village, dejected.

The Sect Leader’s body was left behind in the jungle. He was dead and useless now, so who would care about his corpse? It was a mercy no one had gone up and kicked it a few times.

Many of Wuxi Village’s inhabitants were waiting at the entrance, hoping for their triumphant return.

Many of them were gravely ill, counting on the Medicinal Insects to save their lives.

But this time, they were destined for disappointment.

”Did you get the insects?” a villager asked, anxiously grabbing Xiao Hu.

Xiao Hu shook his head without a word.

”Where’s the Sect Leader?”

The people looked around. Why wasn’t the Sect Leader with them?

”The Sect Leader is dead,” Xiao Hu replied.

”Dead? How could you be so reckless!”

an older man from the village shouted.

Almost no one believed the Sect Leader had been killed by mutant beasts. After all, the rest of the group had returned completely unharmed, with only him left behind.

No one else asked how the Sect Leader had died or why his body was left behind. Everyone just walked home in silence, as if there was an unspoken understanding.

Tang Mo also remained silent, returning to Xiao Hu’s home while holding Jingjing.

As soon as he got home, Xiao Hu went into Xiao Tao’s room and shut the door. Tang Mo could guess what he needed to tell her.

Tang Mo returned to her own room. Seeing the books on Zhou Yi and the Eight Diagrams she had been studying for the past few days, she suddenly felt that the secrets of Wuxi Village might not have died with the Sect Leader.

She sat down, gradually calming herself, and picked up the thickest of the books again.

She flipped open to a random page and looked at the diagram on it.

’This diagram...’

’Isn’t this the pattern from that house I was observing before?’

Although Tang Mo couldn’t make out what the pattern on that building was, she knew it wasn’t complete.

The diagram in this book was clearly a smaller, even more fragmented piece of the one on the house.

’So, if the pattern on the house is a more complete version than the one in the book, where is the truly complete version?’

Tang Mo couldn’t sit still. She quickly dressed and rushed outside.

At that moment, Wuxi Village was still steeped in a somber atmosphere, and no one was out strolling around.

Of course, they were upset that no more Medicinal Insects could be made. It was impossible that they were grieving the Sect Leader’s death.

Tang Mo found the house she had observed before and held up the book in her hand.

”That’s it! This is it.”

Tang Mo was certain that an even more complete version of the pattern had to exist.

Tang Mo had looked at the diagram in the book countless times and felt almost nothing.

But she remembered feeling dizzy the last time she looked at the more complete pattern on the house. That was definitely not a coincidence; the pattern had to hold some kind of secret.

Tang Mo had a premonition. If she could see the full diagram, something even more wondrous might happen—something that could be a great boon for her.

Putting the book down, Tang Mo stared intently at the pattern on the wall.

At first, it was just a two-dimensional image.

Then, gradually, her spiritual power began to flow out of her body uncontrollably, as if drawn by some unseen force.

The pattern from the house slowly transformed into a three-dimensional image in her mind, its lines spiraling through her consciousness.

She felt the strange activity of her spiritual power, but instead of reining it in, she let it flow out and trace the lines of the diagram.

Her spiritual power joyfully adhered to the lines. With every inch it traveled, Tang Mo felt her comprehension deepen and her control over her power strengthen.

But she still couldn’t figure out what this comprehension was, what its use was, or what the complete path for her spiritual power looked like.

Because every time her power traced the path for a while, the pattern would break. It was incomplete, so her spiritual power would hit a dead end, unable to find a destination.

Tang Mo changed her position, turning to the house next door and stopping to study its pattern.

She tried again and again, but the result was always the same.

As long as the pattern wasn’t complete, it lacked a focal point. Her comprehension could never reach a conclusion, leaving Tang Mo unable to grasp the pattern’s ultimate meaning.

’Whatever. I’ll go to the Sect Leader’s house first.’

Right now, the villagers of Wuxi Village were too busy grieving the loss of their future supply of Medicinal Insects, their sense of security in this post-apocalyptic world suddenly shattered.

Who would care if someone went to the Sect Leader’s house?

Even the villagers who had previously served him had fled upon hearing the news of his death, returning to their own homes to grieve with their families.

Tang Mo had been to the Sect Leader’s courtyard several times and was quite familiar with it. This was the first time she had arrived to find it completely empty.

No need to scale walls or climb through windows—Tang Mo walked straight into the house.

Wuxi Village’s customs were as simple and trusting as any other village’s; almost no one locked their doors.

The Sect Leader must have understood the villagers well, believing no one would dare enter his house, so he hadn’t even locked the door.

This made things even more convenient for Tang Mo. She simply pushed the door open and went inside.

Tang Mo entered the main hall. She remembered that the last time she was here, the Sect Leader had rummaged around in the room to the side for a long time before emerging with a jar of Medicinal Insects.

’There must be something good in that room!’

Tang Mo stood before the room. It was locked.

She examined the lock. She had searched the Sect Leader’s body earlier, but there had been no key.

Too lazy to look for one, she simply lifted her foot and kicked the door open.

The door fell with a CRASH, revealing a spacious room inside.

Tang Mo could see nearly everything in the room at a glance. Except for the wall with the doorway, the other three walls were lined with large shelves.

The shelves on the left and right were filled with large jars. Tang Mo opened a few to check; they were all full of those disgusting insects.

’Looks like this is the Sect Leader’s entire stock.’

On the innermost shelf...

The items on that shelf were piled high. Tang Mo walked closer to get a better look.

’Was this Sect Leader some kind of pack rat?’