Traveling to Ancient Times: My Space Contains Weapons

Chapter 283 Arrangements: Everything Heads West

The car traveled westward for about three days, but then it never saw the official road again.

Helpless, Chu Chen had no choice but to put the car away and walk forward.

Chu Chen had a Uzi and several grenades strapped to his waist, was wearing a stab-proof vest, and was carrying a long knife in his hand.

He put on a backpack as a cover before heading towards the mountains ahead.

The mountain in front of us wasn't large; we entered it via a small path.

After crossing a small hill, the view suddenly opened up, revealing a wide open space in the middle that resembled a basin.

The fields above are crisscrossed, houses are scattered here and there, and wisps of smoke rise from the chimneys.

Chu Chen thought to himself, "So this is a rural area in the mountains."

In the distance, an old man was sweating profusely in the field, so Chu Chen walked towards him.

"Excuse me, sir, where is this place?"

Chu Chen was clearly just out to roam the world, so he hadn't done any planning and was completely clueless.

The old man looked up at Chu Chen, put down his hoe, and said warmly, "Young master, are you from that city? What brings you to this barren place?"

The people working nearby saw Chu Chen, an outsider, and they all walked over to him.

Chu Chen smiled and said to the old man, "I am going to a small border country in the west of the Great Xia Dynasty, so I am passing through your place. I lost my way for a while, so I thought I would ask you for directions."

"What? Young master, you're going to the other side of the mountain?"

Upon hearing Chu Chen's explanation, the old man immediately exclaimed in surprise.

After speaking, he looked Chu Chen up and down. He saw that Chu Chen was dressed in the clothes of a wealthy family, with fair and delicate skin. Although he was holding a precious sword, he looked weak and frail.

How could someone like that want to go to the other side of that mountain? Has he gone mad?

Seeing the surprised old man, Chu Chen quickly asked, "Is there some danger on the other side of Mount Mobucheng?"

Before the old man could speak, a man in his thirties who had come from the side took over the conversation.

“Young master, I advise you to go back. You are perfectly fine at home. Why do you insist on going into that mountain?”

Chu Chen looked at the man upon hearing the voice and saw that he was tall and strong, looking like a farmer.

"Oh, sir, may I ask where in the mountains you are?"

Chu Chen turned around and pointed to the mountains, asking a question.

“Young master, this is not the place to talk. If you don’t mind, please come to my home for a simple meal, and I will tell you slowly.”

Chu Chen thought this was a good idea, saving him the trouble of bringing out ingredients to cook.

So he nodded to the man and said, "In that case, I'll trouble you, brother!"

After saying that, Chu Chen followed the man into the village.

Chu Chen walked along, taking in everything around him.

The houses in the village were mostly built of wood and thatch, nestled against the mountainside.

Compared to Mashan Village, it's like heaven and earth.

When the village children saw the stranger arrive, they all followed him around, looking here and there.

Chu Chen followed the man into a thatched hut.

As soon as the man entered and invited Chu Chen to sit down, he called out to one of the women inside.

"At home, we have guests. We'll cook a few dishes and have a few drinks with this brother."

After saying that, she turned around and went to get water for Chu Chen.

But when Chu Chen looked up, he could clearly see the helplessness and unease on the woman's face.

"Husband, this house..."

The woman uttered a few words, but when the man glared at her, she swallowed them back.

Chu Chen immediately understood what was going on. The entire Great Xia Dynasty was in the same situation. Having experienced a major disaster, this family probably didn't have much food left.

So Chu Chen turned around and reached for his backpack.

He took out a large piece of mutton from his backpack.

Then he took out a bag of rice.

Then he stood up, carrying his things: "Sister-in-law, please cook these. I came here without any special gifts, just some meat and rice."

"Brother, what are you doing?"

Upon hearing this, the man rushed over and snatched the meat and rice from the woman's hand.

"Brother, I have plenty of this stuff. Let's have a few drinks today."

"Brother, we don't have anything fancy to offer you in these mountains, but we can still have a meal. You're too kind."

Looking at the strong and muscular man in front of him, Chu Chen couldn't help but sigh. Throughout history, people in the countryside have been far more enthusiastic than those in the city.

Chu Chen possessed the strength of a seventh-rank official, and this man was no match for him. After a few tugs, Chu Chen stuffed the meat into the woman's hand.

Then she turned around and pulled the man into the main room.

"Sister-in-law, don't listen to your brother. Cook all the meat. I love meat."

Left with no other choice, the man went to the main room with Chu Chen and started chatting about everyday things.

"Young master, you've been here for so long and I still don't know your name. I'm just a rough and uncouth man. My surname is Pan. You can just call me Brother Pan."

"Brother Pan, my name is Chu Chen. I would like to ask, what exactly is in those mountains?"

"Brother Chu, I didn't dare to speak loudly there just now. There's a monster in the back mountain of ours!"

Monsters? Chu Chen tensed up upon hearing this. Could it be that there really are such things as gods and monsters in this world?

Chu Chen listened without speaking, but waited quietly for him to continue.

“Brother, our village isn’t big, but it has over two thousand people. But when you entered the village, there were only about ten children following behind you. Actually, most of the children have been captured by the monsters in the mountains.”

"They also took away that young girl, which is why I advised you not to go up the mountain."

What kind of monster would kidnap children and girls like this?

So he quickly asked, "Brother Pan, has anyone seen what that monster looks like?"

"Yes, I saw it. On the night of the eighth day of last month, I got up in the middle of the night and saw a dark shadow that looked like a monkey and a giant bat grabbing Wu Lao Er's child and heading towards the mountains. By the time I shouted for everyone to run out, the thing had already disappeared."

Like a monkey, like a bat, Chu Chen's first thought was that it was a person.

Modern thought simply doesn't believe in ghosts and gods.

Then he asked, "Didn't you report this to the authorities?"

“We did report it, but as you know, brother, we are just peasants with no money in our pockets. When the government comes, it's just a formality; they haven't even been inside the mountains.”

Chu Chen could understand it as well. Although Zhou Shixun was a decent manager, there were quite a few corrupt officials who caused trouble and oppressed the people when they went to local areas.

However, Zhou Shixun had been preoccupied with natural disasters and defense against foreign enemies for the past few years, so internal management had become somewhat lax.

As they were talking, the woman brought a large bowl of meat to the table.

Along with it, there was also a pot of rice, but the rice was cooked until it was mushy, perhaps because they hadn't eaten it much and couldn't bear to cook it too dry.

As soon as the bowl of meat was served, several teenagers rushed out of the back room.

He stared intently at the meat in the bowl, swallowing hard.