"What's going on?" Xun and Qianhong also walked into the living room and heard the bell ringing outside.
The food on the table had not been finished yet, but the old man suddenly stood up, not caring about eating, and wiped his hands with the paper towel beside him: "It's bad, someone must have died."
"Sometimes, if you open the window at night, you may not be assimilated, but you may be eaten."
Yang Kun said as he walked towards the door.
Tianyang winked at Yueguang and the others and decided to go and take a look.
They came to the street and saw people opening their doors one after another in the surrounding buildings. A man on the street ahead was holding a "triangle bell" and constantly knocking it and shouting loudly.
Yang Kun could understand what the natives were saying, so his expression changed immediately. Without saying a word, he wrapped his clothes tightly around him and walked quickly forward.
Tianyang and his companions followed the old man and came to a house with red walls. A broken window could be seen here. Several hunting team members were standing there, separating the crowd of onlookers.
Among them was the young man Awu from yesterday.
Yang Kun called out to Awu a few times and gestured, and the young man trotted over. They communicated in the town's language. It can be heard that the old man can use the indigenous language, but he is not proficient enough and sometimes needs to use gestures.
But not long after, he seemed to figure out what happened, turned around and said to Tianyang and the others: "I guessed right, an unlucky guy got eaten."
"Awu said he might have drunk too much and accidentally opened the window, which led to the accident."
"That guy is also a member of the hunting team. They were planning to explore the Rotten Swamp today, but he didn't show up at the gathering time, so a team member came to check and discovered this incident."
As they were talking, the crowd parted and the bearded man from yesterday was directing two men to carry out a body on a stretcher. As a result, someone's hand slipped accidentally, causing the stretcher to tip over, and the body, which was originally covered with a white cloth, fell to the ground and was exposed to the air.
It was a man, his chest and even abdomen were open, his internal organs and a large amount of tissue were missing, and his arms and thighs showed signs of having been eaten, with bones exposed in many places. It looked horrible.
There was a cry of surprise from the crowd, and people quickly dispersed, as if they were afraid of being infected with some misfortune.
The bearded man quickly ordered people to cover the body, retrieve the stretcher and carry it away, then quickly left deep into the town.
Yang Kun sighed and said, "They want to get rid of the bodies as soon as possible. They believe that if the bodies of the dead who are eaten by the deceased are not disposed of as soon as possible, death will spread like a plague."
"correct."
The old man pointed at Tianyang and said, "Weren't you asking where the temple of the Sky God was just now? There is a temple in the 'Rotten Swamp' they are going to explore today. If you are interested, I can tell you about it and see if they are willing to take you with them."
"But I'm afraid we have to wait until they have dealt with the deceased's affairs."
Tian Yang saw this opportunity and of course he didn't want to miss it, so he said, "Then I'll trouble you, Mr. Yang."
The old man smiled and pulled Awu aside. After they talked for a while, Awu nodded hesitantly, looked at Tianyang and the others, and then walked away.
Yang Kun came back and said, "I asked Ah Wu to tell him that the bearded man is called Panda. Well, I translated it myself. Anyway, the name is just a mark."
"This Panda is one of the members of the town committee and has certain rights. If he agrees, you can join the exploration."
"Let's go back and wait for news."
Following the old man home, Moonlight curiously asked, "Is there a committee in this town?"
"Yes, the town committee decides all matters of the town, and each committee member is responsible for different tasks. For example, Panda is in charge of the hunting team, some committee members are responsible for food and water, and some are responsible for treating the residents..."
"The residents of the town are assigned corresponding jobs according to their specialties. For example, even though I look like this, I am still involved in the town's garrison work."
Tian Yang looked around as he walked, and found that there was no woman on the road. He couldn't help but ask, "Mr. Yang, I noticed yesterday that there is no woman outside."
"Are there no women in this town?"
Yang Kun's movements suddenly froze, and then he laughed: "How is that possible?"
“Without women, this town wouldn’t have survived until today.”
"However, the customs here are relatively conservative, and women basically have to stay at home. They also need to participate in work, but they do it at home."
Tianyang and Yueguang exchanged glances and did not comment on Yang Kun's statement.
About two hours later, someone knocked on the door. Tianyang asked Chiying to open the door. It turned out to be Awu.
The young man was talking to Yang Kun excitedly. Yang Kun was delighted as he listened. He then said to Tian Yang, "Panda agreed. Although they had a dispute internally, Panda believed that you were able to survive the 'moon gap' yesterday, which clearly shows that you have great strength."
"The hunting team is in urgent need of strong new blood like you. Normally, important relics like the Rotten Swamp would not allow newcomers to join, but this time we will make an exception for you."
"I also benefited from you. Panda allowed me to go with you as your translator. At the same time, I was transferred to the hunting team and enjoy the same rations as the hunting team members."
"Wait a moment, I'll go pack my things and we'll be off."
Twenty minutes later, Tianyang and his party arrived at the exit of the town and came to the small square with the statue of the sky god. This was the gathering place of the hunting team.
Here, Tianyang saw more than a dozen horse beasts, which looked like horses but had six legs and were much larger than normal horses. These creatures had good load-bearing capacity, and they were all carrying a lot of equipment and supplies.
They have short hair, well-developed muscles, three eyes, and are constantly stamping their hooves in small movements.
The bearded Panda was riding on such a horse. When he saw Tianyang and the others coming, he laughed and communicated with Yang Kun while making gestures.
The old man nodded repeatedly, and after the conversation, he said to Tianyang and the others, "Panda said that it is very dangerous to go to the Rotten Swamp. It is recommended that you leave the women in the town, especially these two young ladies, for safety."
He pointed at Xun and Qianhong.
As for Yue Guang and Chi Ying, one is full of heroic spirit and the other looks strong and powerful, they don’t seem like people who need to be worried about.
Tian Yang smiled and said, "Please tell Panda that I can protect them. Please don't worry. We won't hold them back."
Yang Kun said "OK" and started talking to the bearded man again. Panda frowned and shook his head repeatedly, but did not object, so the matter was settled.
The horse team began to walk out of the town gate. Tianyang secretly counted them. Including them, the number of people in the exploration team heading to the Rotten Swamp was 19. Among them, there were both sublimators like Panda and ordinary people like Awu.
In addition, each horse beast has a lantern made of animal skin hanging on both sides of the harness, and each lantern contains a "star crystal grass", which is the star marrow.
A companion creature of the Pillar, it can be used for lighting, and the light it emits can also drive away the low-class black people.
After leaving the town, the team walked along the town wall for a while, then gradually left the town and entered the dark area.
After escaping from the gaze of the 'Eye of Suto', Tianyang had a feeling of entering the reverse world through the Kraf Gate, and instantly sensed the black fog.
He used this to establish a connection with the black fog, expand his perception, and let the black fog construct a model, allowing Tianyang to grasp the surrounding environment.
"The Rotten Swamp we are going to is a typical rainforest environment. Panda and his ancestors originally built a town there, but it was gradually invaded by the swamp."
Yang Kun, who was riding a horse beside him, whispered, "Now in the Rotten Swamp, only the Suto Temple is preserved because it is located on high ground. The others have basically sunk into the swamp."
"What are they going to do in the temple?" Tianyang asked casually.
"supply."
Yang Kun looked around warily, and then said: "The 'legacy' that Suto left them seems to consume something, and these things can only be replenished in the temple."
"But I don't know what it is. After all, I'm an outsider and I can't win their trust in this regard."
Tian Yang wondered, "If that's the case, why don't they just move the things in the temple back to the town, instead of taking the risk to go to the temple every time to get supplies?"
The old man shook his head: "I don't know about that."
Moonlight rode over and asked: "What dangers are there in the Rotten Swamp? Are there any places that we need to be careful about?"
Yang Kun laughed and said, "The terrain there is complicated. We have to follow Panda and the others closely, otherwise we will definitely get lost."
"I heard from Takeru that there is a demon living there. Fortunately, that demon is usually asleep, and they have a way to make that demon sleep very soundly."
"But besides this demon, there are countless dangers in that swamp. There are fighters that are more than ten meters long. They look like giant centipedes, with their entire bodies protected by hard, thick shells, and nearly a hundred pairs of legs with blade-like limbs. Parts of their bodies look like humans, and they have the appearance of young, middle-aged, and old people."
"It's just that it's different from us humans. The older the fighters get, the bigger they are, the thicker their shells are, and the sharper their bladed limbs are."
Moonlight frowned: "I hate this kind of monster."
Xun also felt the same way: "Me too."
Yang Kun laughed and said, "If the Slayer disgusts you, then the Rotten One will probably make you become a demon."
"That thing looks like a giant toad with a human face growing on its belly."
"The whole body of the rotten ones is rotting and emitting a foul odor. The odor contains certain toxins that can cause nervous disorders and dizziness. But don't worry, Panda and the others have essential oils that can resist this odor."
"The special organs and body structure of the rotten ones allow them to walk freely in the swamp. Sometimes they dive deep into the swamp, which makes them difficult to find."
"They eat everything with a great appetite. Of course, if you saw it, you would probably lose your appetite for the next few days..."
The old man slowly introduced the situation of the destination, allowing Tianyang and others to have a preliminary understanding of the "Rotten Swamp". At the same time, they gradually went deeper into the darkness.
At this time, the 'Eye of Suto' in the air had become a faint point of light.