Chapter 1

Sun Changming had a secret. Three years ago, he found a loach that had fallen from the sky. This was no ordinary loach; his soul could attach to it and move around in the water.

He dared not tell anyone about this secret, fearing that the villagers would report him to the immortal sects in the mountains, who would then send immortals to eliminate him as a monster.

He didn't know that on the same day three years ago, two other creatures had also fallen from the sky. A wounded giant white cat landed in the Western Ridge of the State of Qin, and the Qin King personally went into the Qin Mountains to bring it back to Xianyang, where it was revered as a national divine beast. Over the next three years, the white cat joined forces with the Qin King to conquer the six states and unify most of the Western Ridge.

Another divine fire phoenix fell into the Southern Wilderness of the Great Zhou Sect. A disciple of the Great Zhou Sect, Wu Zhao, encountered the phoenix while training in the marshes. Three years later, Wu Zhao emerged, defeating the Great Zhou Sect's guardian elder and then the sect leader, and subsequently dominated the nineteen sects of the Southern Wilderness, becoming the most powerful force in the region.

However, no one knew that on that day three years ago, three creatures had fallen from the sky, not just two.

Compared to the fierce white cat and the phoenix, the loach was too weak. No one noticed that three creatures had fallen from the sky that day.

...

"Swish—"

By a small river near the village, after three years of cultivation, the little loach was no longer sickly. It wagged its tail and dived to the bottom of the river.

Sun Changming crouched in a tree hollow by the riverbank, his soul controlling the loach as it searched the water.

Before sunset today was the last moment to pay the "survival tax." If he missed it, Sun Changming and his sister would have no food for the next half month and would starve to death.

This was the closest river to the village, and it had been searched many times. However, it was the safest place. In the deeper waters, there were many fierce water monsters, and the loach was too weak to survive if it ventured too far.

The loach swam deeper, the light dimming and the water growing colder. Sun Changming's body on land shivered as well.

The sun gradually set, and Sun Changming grew anxious. As he swam into a certain area, he suddenly felt a warm sensation. Overjoyed, he searched and found a faint yellow glow at the bottom of the river.

A river clam opened, revealing a small pearl inside.

The loach swam back, and Sun Changming retrieved it, placing it in a gourd he carried.

He then stretched his body, drew a small knife from his waist, and dove into the river. The cold made his body tense.

Swimming to the clam's location, he suddenly felt a sharp pain in his left leg. Turning back, he saw a palm-sized fierce fish biting his leg.

Sun Changming had no time to deal with it. He was already at his limit, and any delay could freeze him solid, leaving him to sink to the bottom of the river forever.

He stabbed the clam with his knife, grabbed the pearl, and swam away.

His body grew increasingly stiff, the cold penetrating his bones. Sun Changming used all his strength to leap upward, finally grabbing onto the riverbank with his hands.

Exhausted, he crawled out of the river, shivering uncontrollably, his face pale.

He tightly clutched the pearl in his hand, lying on the ground, feeling no warmth from the sun.

After a while, Sun Changming recovered. As his body regained sensation, he looked down and saw the fierce fish still biting his leg, drinking his blood.

Sun Changming used his knife to pry the fish off and tore a strip from his tattered clothes to bandage the wound.

Suddenly, the gourd containing the loach trembled. Sun Changming patted the gourd, "These things are poisonous, you can't eat them."

The loach had probably been craving meat lately and always wanted to eat the fierce fish in the river.

Sun Changming spread his palm, and the pearl, the size of a soybean, was the source of food for him and his sister for the next half month. He also had to consider the loach.

But the loach in the gourd was still restless, shaking and bumping against the gourd.

Sun Changming was puzzled, "Can you eat?"

He cut a tiny piece of fish meat with his knife and threw it to the loach. It was a very small piece, unlikely to be fatal. If it suffered, it wouldn't cause trouble anymore.

The loach swallowed it in one bite but didn't freeze as Sun Changming expected. Instead, it became more energetic, thrashing around in the gourd, wanting more.

"Hmm?" Sun Changming looked at the fierce fish, wondering if it was edible.

He cut another piece, hesitated, and then put it in his mouth. After chewing a few times... his teeth chattered, and he fell straight to the ground.

Suddenly, a warm current flowed from the loach, spreading through Sun Changming's body, dispelling the cold.

Sun Changming looked at the loach in confusion, cut another piece of fish meat, and threw it to the loach. The loach ate it in a few bites, seemingly unharmed.

The fierce fish was only palm-sized but several times larger than the loach. It ate the fish bit by bit until it was completely finished.

Sun Changming spread his hands, "No more."

The loach was still not satisfied, continuing to bump against the gourd. Sun Changming let it out, and the loach wriggled, eating the fish scales, teeth, and innards on the ground!

Finally, it was satisfied, curling into a small ball.

It looked like a snake.

Then, the familiar warm current flowed from the loach again, but this time it didn't dissipate. It moved through Sun Changming's body.

With each cycle, the cold in the environment diminished. Sun Changming had never felt so comfortable in his life.

Suddenly, he slapped his head, "Late."

The sun was about to set, and he quickly put the loach back in the gourd, grabbed his knife, and ran to the village entrance.

...

Outside the dilapidated village, several bailiffs shivered in the cold.

One of them, with one eye larger than the other, kicked a stone and complained, "This village is truly a strange place. It's not even sunset, but it's so cold."

The head bailiff said, "That's why it's called the 'Dead Village.' Anyone who enters dies within three years, leaving no descendants."

A bailiff who had some education sighed, "The survival tax here is the lowest. Those who move here are all poor people."

The one-eyed bailiff sneered, "Who can care about others in this world?"

He looked at the sky and said, "I don't think anyone will come. Boss, let's go. I feel like I'm losing three years of my life just by staying here."

The head bailiff, who also feared the Dead Village, hesitated and then agreed, "Alright..."

The bailiffs were just about to leave when a thin boy ran out of the village, holding a pearl: "Pay tax, pay tax..."

The bailiffs cursed their bad luck. The educated bailiff said, "The sun hasn't set yet."

The other bailiffs glared at him and stopped to wait.

Sun Changming panted, "Good thing I made it." He was puzzled; he seemed to have run much faster today.

The head bailiff took out a scale, placing the pearl on one side and grain on the other. When they balanced, he took three handfuls of grain and threw the rest to Sun Changming.

The remaining grain was just a small bag. Sun Changming sighed inwardly. This was the "rule," but he still felt angry. The grain he had risked his life for wasn't enough for him and his sister, and these bailiffs still extorted more.

The one-eyed bailiff glared at him, "What, not satisfied?"

An old man from the village quickly came out, pulling Sun Changming back and smiling, "The child doesn't know better. Sir, don't take it personally."

He pulled Sun Changming back.

"Hmph!" The one-eyed bailiff grunted and left with the head bailiff.

The old man sighed, patting Sun Changming's head, "Changming, bear with it. If something happens to you, what will happen to your sister?"

Sun Changming lowered his head, but his eyes showed a hint of defiance.

...

At the edge of the village, in a half-collapsed house, a seven- or eight-year-old girl sat on the broken threshold, sucking her thumb. Seeing Sun Changming, she excitedly ran out, "Brother!"

Hanyan rushed forward—activated!

Sun Changming laughed and opened his arms. Just as his sister jumped into his arms... he suddenly dodged.

Smack!

"Ow..."

Her cries were loud, but she was tough. Sun Changming smiled; most of their food went into Hanyan's stomach, making her the strongest child in the village.

Every day, she would greet her brother with a collision, hurting Sun Changming.

He had told her, and she had remembered seriously, but forgot the next day. She would sit on the threshold, sucking her thumb, waiting for the whole day just to collide with her brother.

"Wah... Wah... Bad brother!" Hanyan pouted, tears streaming down her face.

Sun Changming waved the grain in front of her, and her crying stopped, "Food?"

He handed the grain to her, "Cook it." Hanyan held the grain reverently and went into the house. For her, the second greatest sin was her brother tricking her; the greatest sin was wasting a single grain of food.

The small, dilapidated house filled with smoke, and soon a pot of porridge was ready.

Sun Changming waited for the meal, deeply inhaling the aroma. Hanyan, though clumsy at everything else, had a terrifying talent: she cooked deliciously.

A simple bowl of white porridge, cooked to perfection, maximized the food's aroma.

Hanyan scraped the pot clean, and then the siblings each had a bowl. Sun Changming, as usual, gave most of his to his sister, "I ate wild fruit, I'm not very hungry."

After half a bowl of porridge, Sun Changming didn't feel very hungry—usually, this amount wasn't enough to fill his stomach.

Thinking about the day's anomalies, Sun Changming guessed it was because of the warm current.

Hanyan licked her bowl clean and tried to lick the pot, but the embers in the stove burned her, making her cry.

Night fell, and Hanyan started to doze off.

Sun Changming closed the door, securing it with a thick wooden stick, and then carried his sister into a hole by the stove, patting her back, "Sleep."

Sun Changming, however, couldn't sleep.

The Dead Village was colder at night than anywhere else. Relying on the residual heat from the stove, the siblings wouldn't freeze to death.

But compared to the real danger, the cold was nothing.

The ground suddenly shook, and a闷雷般的声响传来，有什么巨大的生物一步步走来。孙长鸣紧紧抱着妹妹，低着头不敢看。

村里的老人们说过，村子后面的那个大土丘，是一个古老的魔神的坟墓，这些巨大的怪物，都是那个魔神的后代，一到了夜晚，魔神的后代们会回来祭拜祖先。

绝户村死人多，不仅是因为这里格外阴寒，还因为这些大怪物经过的时候，偶尔会踏入村子。

只要一踩，人和房子都会被踩扁。

但不知为何，这些大怪物一般不会从村子中经过。

然而今天，孙长鸣明显感觉到不对劲，那种轰鸣和振动越来越近！自己的小屋似乎就在大怪物行进的路线上。

轰隆……

轰隆……

很近了，孙长鸣鼓起勇气抬头，屋顶有个破缝，他看到有一只比自己房子还大的脚掌，正慢慢地从天空落下。

这一刻，孙长鸣浑身冰凉，挂在身上的小葫芦忽然动了一下，小泥鳅不安分。

那只可怕的脚掌慢慢停了下来，孙长鸣头上的冷汗一滴一滴落下来，正好滴在妹妹嘴边。

憨妹睡得很香，伸出小舌头舔了几下，咸咸的味道似乎还不错，于是在睡梦中吧唧了两下嘴。

那只可怕的脚掌挪开了，孙长鸣感觉仿佛一切凝固静止了，时间变得无比缓慢。

不知过了多久，那道裂缝外，忽然出现了一只巨大的血红色眼珠！

眼珠朝屋子里看了好半天，孙长鸣感觉自己的心脏已经停止跳动了，那颗眼珠又突然地消失了。

轰隆……

轰隆……

声音渐渐远去，孙长鸣长出了一口气，才发现自己全身已经被冷汗湿透了。

后半夜，孙长鸣才迷迷糊糊地睡着了。那些大怪物，只在前半夜出现。

---

The ground suddenly shook, and a thunderous sound came, as if a huge creature was approaching step by step. Sun Changming tightly hugged his sister, not daring to look up.

The old people in the village had said that the large mound behind the village was the tomb of an ancient demon god. These huge monsters were the descendants of that demon god, and they would return to worship their ancestors at night.

Many people died in the Dead Village not only because of the extreme cold but also because these large monsters occasionally stepped into the village.

One step, and both people and houses would be crushed.

For some reason, these large monsters usually did not pass through the village.

However, today, Sun Changming clearly felt something was wrong. The rumbling and vibrations were getting closer! His small house seemed to be in the path of the large monster.

Boom...

Boom...

It was very close. Sun Changming mustered the courage to look up. Through a crack in the roof, he saw a foot larger than his house slowly descending from the sky.

At that moment, Sun Changming felt a chill run through his body. The small gourd hanging from his neck suddenly moved, and the loach became restless.

The terrifying foot slowly stopped, and cold sweat dripped from Sun Changming's forehead, landing on his sister's mouth.

Hanyan slept soundly, sticking out her tongue to lick the sweat. The salty taste seemed to be quite good, and she smacked her lips in her sleep.

The terrifying foot moved away, and Sun Changming felt as if everything had frozen in time, the moments stretching endlessly.

After what seemed like an eternity, a huge blood-red eye appeared outside the crack.

The eye stared into the house for a long time. Sun Changming felt his heart stop. Suddenly, the eye disappeared.

Boom...

Boom...

The sound gradually faded away. Sun Changming let out a long breath, realizing he was drenched in cold sweat.

In the early hours of the morning, Sun Changming finally dozed off. The large monsters only appeared in the first half of the night.