The corpse was a horrific sight, likely attacked by a large animal, at least one capable of tearing open his throat and belly in a single bite.
Nan Yue's gaze paused, and she picked up a nearby branch to poke at Wu Zicheng's body.
"What's wrong?"
Zhu Xi Ning and Gu Xiang Kai crouched beside her. Wen Xiang Yuan stood a bit further away, her face pale with fear at the sight of the corpse, though she forced herself not to look away.
Nan Yue lifted the stick, and all three saw that it was coated in blood, a grisly sight.
Wen Xiang Yuan swallowed, her voice trembling slightly. "Is something wrong with it?"
However, Gu Xiang Kai and Zhu Xi Ning noticed something off. "That transparent stuff is..."
Indeed, besides the fresh blood, there was a layer of mucus-like substance on the stick, though it wasn't very obvious mixed in with the blood.
At this moment, Gu Xiang Kai wished his sense of smell wasn't so sharp, because besides the stench of the corpse, he also smelled something very fishy.
"Could it be saliva?"
Gu Xiang Kai nodded, agreeing with Zhu Xi Ning's guess. "It's possible."
"What kind of animal... has saliva like that?"
The three were a bit bewildered. Nan Yue didn't speak; she used the stick to poke the rest of the body and flipped it over.
The three who had been crouching instantly sprang back as a swarm of ants poured out from beneath the corpse when it was turned.
"How disgusting."
Zhu Xi Ning rubbed her arms. "Ants don't eat carrion, do they?"
She wasn't entirely sure. Everything they learned was related to the mission worlds, but there was so much information, and since these things didn't exist in the real world, it was hard to keep track.
Wen Xiang Yuan, however, remembered clearly. "Normal ants definitely don't eat carrion."
She craned her neck to look at the ants, which appeared like a black tide and then quickly dispersed. "And even if they found food, there wouldn't be this many."
She added, "Ants that go out to find food are usually worker ants. Once they find it, they carry it back to the nest for the queen. The division of labor is very clear, and they move in an orderly line."
She frowned. "This looks more like... they were living inside the corpse, and now that the nest has been disturbed, they're all pouring out."
As she spoke, the ants had already vanished completely, as if they had never been there.
"Let's go."
Nan Yue tossed the stick aside, not lingering by the corpse any longer.
The villagers were somewhat flustered, as the death of a person had filled everyone with a sense of dread.
Breakfast was simple—plain porridge with wild mountain vegetables. After everyone filled their stomachs, they followed Luo Liu to prepare the items for the ritual.
"The sacrificial rite in four days will last all day, so we need to prepare everything in advance."
Luo Liu gave a bitter smile. "I think I only participated once when I was a kid. I don't really remember it, but Ga Da gave me a list. We'll just follow that."
Nan Yue looked at the list in his hand; it was covered in squiggly symbols that were hard to decipher.
"Hmm, we need to cut wild cogon grass and prepare Ant-red Flowers."
Luo Liu thought for a moment. "Tomorrow everyone needs to go for the blessing, so we might need to get everything ready today."
"Let's split into two groups."
"The cogon grass is on the back mountain. I'll find a villager to lead you there; he'll help you cut it."
"We'll go look for the Ant-red Flowers."
Seeing that Luo Liu didn't seem very familiar with the tasks, Nan Yue hesitated. "Luo Liu, have you ever done these two things before?"
Luo Liu scratched his head and gave a silly grin. "No."
The group was speechless; this NPC seemed so unreliable.
While scavengers were generally wary of NPCs, the villagers and Luo Liu hadn't given them a bad impression so far.
Despite their strange appearances, the scavengers' instincts were quite sharp, and they didn't sense any ill intent from these people.
"Will there be any problems?"
One scavenger asked cautiously. Luo Liu was clearly just a foolish college student; even though someone had died that morning, he didn't seem to take it too seriously.
"What could happen? There are plenty of beasts in the forest, but Brother He... we're going to the back mountain. There aren't many carnivores there."
Luo Liu ran off to find a young boy, who carried several sickles and handed them to the male scavengers.
"He doesn't speak the official tongue. You'll just have to use gestures."
Gu Xiang Kai held the sickle, feeling a bit uneasy.
"Ask him if there's anything to watch out for when cutting the cogon grass."
Luo Liu translated. "Nothing much, just don't hurt yourself."
The boy mumbled something, and Luo Liu added.
"Oh, and don't step on any ants."
The final assignment was for the male scavengers to cut cogon grass while the female scavengers picked Ant-red Flowers. Luo Liu accompanied the women for protection.
"Luo Liu, what is an Ant-red Flower?"
Luo Liu seemed to have a bit of a crush on Wen Xiang Yuan, as he kept stealing glances at her. Seeing her take the initiative to talk to him, he became quite excited.
"An Ant-red Flower is just a type of flower. You won't see them outside. They're large and red but don't have much of a scent. They grow near the ant nests on the back mountain."
Wen Xiang Yuan looked frightened. "Ant nests?"
Seeing her expression, a surge of protectiveness rose within Luo Liu. "Don't worry, those are old nests. There aren't any ants there anymore."
"Ga Da said the Ant-red Flower can cure all illnesses. It's an ancient medicinal herb of Antswamp Village, believed to be a gift from the Ant God, so it must be used during the ritual."
"As for the cogon grass, our village believes it wards off evil. Once we cut it, we have to hang it on our doors."
"Picking Ant-red Flowers isn't dangerous; just don't fall into an ant nest."
Wen Xiang Yuan looked back at Nan Yue. "Didn't you say there weren't any ants?"
Luo Liu burst out laughing. "There aren't! But the nests are interconnected and crisscrossed. If you fall in, it's hard to climb back out."
The scavengers weren't actual college students, so they couldn't be as optimistic as Luo Liu. Everyone stayed alert. Nan Yue specifically went back to the stone house to get a straw raincoat.
Seeing this, some followed suit, while others who only remembered after they had already set out felt a bit of regret.
However, since neither Luo Liu nor the village boy brought any rain gear, they assumed it wouldn't rain.
Nan Yue looked up at the sky. The weather was sweltering, and the sun hung directly overhead like a heat lamp.
But because Antswamp Village was located in a low-lying area and the whole village was very damp, every breath felt heavy with moisture.
It was impossible to tell if it would rain or not.
Everyone was becoming irritable from the stifling heat, their clothes mostly soaked with sweat.
The two teams parted ways at the river. This was the first time Nan Yue had seen the river in Antswamp Village. It was five or six meters wide, and the current wasn't particularly swift, but it looked deep, and the bottom was invisible.
This river was the villagers' primary source of water.
"Is this river deep?"
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