Chapter 110: Gray Garlic is Hard to Find

During the day, people could enter and leave the city without much trouble, but as dusk approached, the military tightened control, no longer allowing anyone to leave. Everyone knew that stepping outside the protective outer walls meant becoming food for the undead.

After passing through the heavily guarded walls, the city inside looked much like any other, bustling and lively, especially with people from various outlying areas gathering in these districts. The new giant wall surrounding the city was like a dragon's body, offering protection from the chaos outside. The citizens, long accustomed to the threats, continued their daily lives, undeterred by the dangers beyond.

Mo Fan, along with the two sisters, wandered around a nearby magic market, but to his frustration, the gray garlic they needed was nowhere to be found. They searched for quite some time, but not a trace of it could be located. Mo Fan had been to both the ancient capital and the perilous village before, but without gray garlic, he wasn't confident they could safely venture into the undead lands. With their strength, the warrior-level undead and slaves could not pose a threat, but no one could guarantee that the commander-level undead would not be awakened, and that was a risk not even the Qinling monster tribes dared to take.

Even though the Qinling monsters are not the greatest threat to the country at the moment, they are still not something human mages are willing to provoke. However, the Qinling monsters, despite not being the most dangerous, remain a significant threat to human mages. So, as you can imagine, the realm of the undead is not an easy place to traverse.

Eventually, Mo Fan ran into the short man by chance again. Although this guy had a reputation for being a bit greedy, Mo Fan decided to join his team. For ten million, it was clear they were risking their lives, so there was no point in haggling.

With the short man's team in place, they set off the next morning towards the perilous Village. When they reached the southern gate, Mo Fan had a hard time spotting the short man in the crowd, but eventually noticed him hopping around while talking on the phone. By the time he reached him, several others had gathered as well.

The group seemed ordinary, except for one woman wearing a black silk veil, which caught Mo Fan's attention. Nowadays, most people wore masks, but a silk veil? That was unusual. She gave off a mysterious, elegant vibe, like a heroine from another time.

This woman was none other than Asharuiya. Along with her were two male bodyguards. Including the short man and his tall companion, their group now had eight people.

As the morning wind blew, the air carried an odd scent, but as soon as the sun began to warm the ground, the smell vanished as though the chaos of the previous night had never happened.

With the southern gate now open, the group registered their departure and left the outer wall, heading towards Yangyang Village under the short man's guidance. Heading south meant moving toward the Qinling Mountains, an area where vehicles were rarely seen because doing so would provoke the monster tribes, so the group had to walk.

As evening approached and the sun began to set, an uneasy feeling settled in. The land was vast—how could they be sure they hadn't stumbled onto undead territory? Without gray garlic, the undead could easily swarm and devour them.

"Here, eat this." the tall man handed out gray, garlic-like bulbs from his backpack.

Despite his strong build, it was clear the man wasn't a mage; there was no magical energy around him, and he seemed strangely lifeless.

The group chewed on the gray garlic, which provided protection from the undead as they continued their journey.

As they moved through the crowds of undead, the woman in the black veil finally spoke. Her voice was melodic, like a gentle tune floating through the air, though it lacked much emotion.

"Is it always like this here?" she asked.

The short man, flattered that she was talking to him, eagerly replied, "It wasn't always this bad, but ever since the Sand Despair River riot, the dead energy has been thick. People are saying a new era of the undead is coming. Maybe the ruler of this undead kingdom is changing."

"A new ruler?" the veiled woman asked again.

"No one's seen it, but everyone knows it exists… they call it the Undead King. It's said to be the transformed spirit of an ancient Tang Dynasty ruler." the short man explained, trying to sound knowledgeable.

"The Tang Dynasty? How long ago was that?" she asked.

The short man paused, finally realizing that this woman probably wasn't from around here. Still, he was eager to impress, so he gave her a detailed explanation.

As the group pressed on, they reached an area called Salty Pool, where the ground was littered with fine sand, supposedly nourished by the dead. Mo Fan noticed several undead picking through the sand, searching for energy-rich grains.

These undead had no intelligence but were driven by a strong desire to grow stronger and feed on the living.

"Isn't the undead threat less terrifying now that we have gray garlic?" one of the veiled woman's bearded bodyguards asked.

"Gray garlic is rarer than gold. It can't be farmed; it grows only in places full of undead and feeds on the flesh of the dead. Only the people of Yangyang Village know how to harvest it, and even then, the supply is limited. If my partner didn't have Yangyang Village blood, I wouldn't have been able to get any for you." the short man said with a grin.

The tall man chuckled sheepishly, sneaking a glance at the veiled woman, clearly smitten by her mysterious charm.

"Not far now, just over that hill is Yangyang Village. The night is long, so we'll rest there for a while." the short man pointed ahead.

"There are rules in the village. If you enter, you must follow them." the tall man reminded the group.

Everyone nodded in agreement, assuring him there would be no problems.

(End of Chapter)