Wang Fatty's scream was exceptionally high-pitched and shrill.
Gu Qingfeng's expression immediately changed, becoming excited.
He instantly darted toward the alley.
Before Xu Fan could react, Gu Qingfeng had already disappeared into the narrow passage.
This left him puzzled - hadn't Lord Gu said his speed was very slow? Hadn't he said that when encountering demons, one didn't need to outrun the demon, just outrun him?
But Lord Gu's speed was incredibly fast, wasn't it?
Xu Fan had no time to think it through and hurriedly ran toward the alley.
In the alley, Gu Qingfeng immediately spotted Wang Fatty collapsed on the ground, his face deathly pale and covered in cold sweat.
"What happened?" Gu Qingfeng asked urgently.
Wang Fatty, trembling, pointed toward the end of the alley and stammered, "The... the candied hawthorn seller disappeared! This... this is a dead end!"
Upon hearing this, Gu Qingfeng's eyes narrowed as he surveyed the alley, confirming it was indeed a dead end.
The space was completely empty except for himself and Wang Fatty.
Interesting!
Gu Qingfeng thought to himself, his body tingling with excitement.
He had watched Wang Fatty and the vendor enter the alley one after another, yet the vendor had vanished without a trace.
He first carefully examined the dead end.
The alley was less than ten meters long, with grayish-black walls of houses on both sides, and an old wall blocking the end.
There were no hidden mechanisms or secret doors.
That left only two possibilities.
First, the vendor was an expert who had scaled the walls and escaped in the blink of an eye.
Second, a demon.
Gu Qingfeng leaned toward the second possibility. After all, Wang Fatty was a Qi Gathering Eighth Level warrior. He had entered the alley right after the vendor, who had vanished before his eyes in an instant. If the vendor were also a warrior, they would need to be at least one major realm higher - at True Qi Realm - to possess such speed.
How could there be a True Qi Realm expert selling candied hawthorn in a small village like Black Water Village? The probability was too low.
However, Gu Qingfeng couldn't be entirely certain. What if the vendor was a hidden expert who simply enjoyed selling candied hawthorn?
So he decided to first investigate the vendor's identity.
Gu Qingfeng's peripheral vision caught three children playing nearby. These children had been playing there the whole time, and their position formed a straight line with the alley, meaning they should have been able to see what happened in the alley.
Gu Qingfeng walked up to the children, looking at their rosy-cheeked faces.
He smiled and asked, "Little ones, did you see where the candied hawthorn vendor went?"
The three children seemed somewhat shy around strangers. After a moment, one boy with a spiky topknot finally spoke: "Do you have money?"
Gu Qingfeng was taken aback. Damn, whose little brat was this, being so materialistic?
Of course, he couldn't hold it against a child, so he immediately took out two copper coins and handed them to the boy.
Seeing the money, the boy brightened up and finally answered Gu Qingfeng's question.
"I didn't see any candied hawthorn vendor," the boy said, blinking his innocent large eyes.
"Little brother, lying isn't a good habit. That vendor was just selling candied hawthorn next to you before turning into this alley. Tell the truth, and big brother will reward you generously."
As Gu Qingfeng spoke, Wang Fatty and Xu Fan also approached, though Wang Fatty still appeared shaken.
"That's right, little one, we're from the Demon Suppression Bureau. If you lie, we'll spank you," Wang Fatty threatened.
Unexpectedly, the boy wasn't intimidated, perhaps because he didn't know what the Demon Suppression Bureau was. Instead, he puffed up his cheeks angrily and said, "I'm not lying! I, Dog Leftovers, never lie!"
The boy spoke with such sincerity, and his angry expression didn't seem fake - it was as if he truly hadn't seen any vendor.
At this point, a little girl standing next to the boy spoke up. She seemed younger, and her attention wasn't on the conversation at all, but rather fixated on the mention of candied hawthorn.
"Where's the candied hawthorn? Nini wants to eat candied hawthorn."
At these words, Gu Qingfeng suddenly realized something he had overlooked. Children find it hard to resist candied hawthorn - if these three children had actually seen the vendor selling candied hawthorn right next to them, they wouldn't have just kept playing there without any reaction. They would have gathered around the vendor immediately.
Which meant the boy wasn't lying!
Suddenly, Gu Qingfeng smiled. Things were getting more and more interesting - it seemed this demon had some tricks up its sleeve.
By now, Gu Qingfeng was certain it was a demon, not a hidden expert. A hidden expert wasn't an invisible expert - how could children fail to see them?
Nearby, Wang Fatty and Xu Fan weren't fools either, and they too had figured out what was going on.
At this moment, Wang Fatty felt a chill run down his spine: "De... demon, it must be a demon! Sir, while it's still not dark, we should..."
Before Wang Fatty could finish speaking, the last rays of sunset faded away.
Darkness fell.
"It's over, it's dark! Sir, let's run, we can still make it!"
As Wang Fatty spoke, he hurriedly put back on the layer of armor he had removed earlier.
"Lord Gu."
Suddenly, a voice called out from behind them.
They turned around to find Village Chief Hu Liang approaching with a lantern from afar.
The dim light illuminated the wrinkles on the village chief's face, flickering with his steps, alternating between bright and dark.
"I have prepared dinner at my home. I hope you distinguished guests won't find it beneath you."
Gu Qingfeng smiled: "Very well, we'd be honored to accept."
Wang Fatty was completely against it: "Sir, let's forget about dinner. In my opinion, this village is cursed. We should leave as soon as possible!"
"As I said before, if you want to leave, go ahead. I won't stop you."
Wang Fatty looked at the dark, gloomy sky, but didn't have the courage to flee alone, so he reluctantly agreed.
Gu Qingfeng turned around, intending to bid farewell to the children.
But the moment he turned, his expression became extremely unpleasant!
The three children... had vanished.
Ahhhhh!
Another high-pitched scream rang out.
Obviously, Wang Fatty had also turned around and discovered the children's disappearance.
"Shut up!" Gu Qingfeng shouted.
He was in a very bad mood now, realizing that the demon had probably been toying with them.
The vendor was suspicious, and these three children were suspicious too!
As a warrior, his hearing was naturally far superior to ordinary people. If it had been an expert, that would be one thing, but it was impossible for several children to disappear from beside them without him noticing anything.
These three children had vanished without making the slightest sound!
At this moment, Village Chief Hu Liang approached, looking nervous: "Lord Gu, what's wrong?"
Evidently, Wang Fatty's scream had startled him.
Gu Qingfeng calmly looked at the village chief and asked, "Chief Hu, did you see the three children who were behind us just now?"
The village chief looked confused: "Children? What children? This old man only saw the three distinguished guests."