Bright Sword: This unit is really ruthless

He seized a flaw in the black-clothed man and dodged behind him. The branch in his hand was like a poisonous snake, fiercely stabbing the black-clothed man's back.

The man in black obviously didn't expect Zhang Ling to do this, and he turned around hastily, blocking the attack of the tree branch with his long sword. However, Zhang Ling's branch contained a powerful true energy, and the man in black's long sword was actually shaken away.

"What?!" the man in black was shocked.

Zhang Ling took advantage of the victory and pursued him, stabbing out with the branch again, hitting the man in black in the chest.

The man in black groaned, flew backwards, and fell heavily to the ground. He struggled to stand up, but found that he could not move.

Zhang Ling walked up to the man in black and looked down at him. "Tell me, who are you? Why did you arrest me?"

The man in black raised his head, his eyes full of hatred under the mask, "Boy, you dare to hurt me? You're dead!"

"You're still stubborn even when you're about to die!" Zhang Ling sneered and raised the branch, ready to give the man in black the final blow.

Just then, there was a sudden noise outside the ancestral hall.

"What's going on? Why are there sounds of fighting here?"

"Go and have a look!"

Zhang Ling was startled, and he knew that he had to leave here as soon as possible. He glanced at the man in black lying on the ground, then turned and ran out of the ancestral hall.

As soon as he ran to the door, he saw a group of villagers rushing in aggressively with hoes, sticks and other weapons.

"It's him! He killed someone!" a villager pointed at Zhang Ling and shouted.

Zhang Ling secretly thought that he was surrounded...

Zhang Ling stared at the village in front of him, and an inexplicable sense of uneasiness spread in his heart. Smoke from cooking was curling, but no human voice could be heard. The doors and windows of every household were closed, as if they were hiding from some terrible existence. He clenched the branch in his hand. This seemingly ordinary branch had been in his hand since he woke up. It seemed to be connected to his blood. When he waved it, it could bring up gusts of wind.

He stepped into the village carefully. There was a path paved with bluestone slabs under his feet. The houses on both sides were simple but clean and tidy, without any sense of dilapidation. He knocked on a door tentatively, but no one answered. He knocked on a few more doors, but still no one responded.

"Is anyone there?" Zhang Ling raised his voice. His voice echoed in the empty village, but received no response. Instead, it added a weird atmosphere.

He pushed open a half-open door and walked in. The room was simply furnished with a wooden bed, a table, and a few chairs. There was nothing else. On the table were some leftovers, still steaming, as if the owner had just left.

Zhang Ling looked around, trying to find some clues. He noticed a portrait hanging on the wall. It was of a young woman with delicate features and a slight smile. Below the portrait were a few words written: "My wife Alan".

"Alan..." Zhang Ling whispered the name, and he became even more confused. What happened in this village? Where did the villagers go?

Suddenly, he heard a faint sound, like someone crying. He followed the sound and walked to the back of the house, where he found a well. The crying sound came from the well.

Zhang Ling walked to the well and looked down. He saw a young woman tied to the bottom of the well. It was Alan in the portrait. She was soaking wet, shivering, and her face was covered with tears.

"Help! Help me!" Alan saw Zhang Ling and seemed to see hope, and shouted for help.

Zhang Ling jumped into the well without hesitation and untied the ropes tied around Alan.

"Thank you, thank you for saving me!" Alan hugged Zhang Ling tightly, tears of gratitude.

"What happened? Why are you tied here?" Zhang Ling asked.

Alan raised her head and looked at Zhang Ling with tears in her eyes. She said, "It was the bandits! They stole all the food and property in the village and tied us up. They took the others away, and I am the only one left locked up here."

"Bandits?" Zhang Ling's heart sank. It seemed that this oasis was more dangerous than he had imagined.

"Let's run away!" Alan pulled Zhang Ling's hand and said anxiously.

Zhang Ling nodded and climbed out of the well with Alan. They ran along the village path towards the depths of the oasis.

After running for a distance, they came to a dense forest. Alan suddenly stopped, pointed ahead and said, "Look!"

Zhang Ling looked in the direction of Alan's finger and saw a mountain stronghold vaguely visible in the depths of the woods. At the entrance of the stronghold, several armed bandits were standing and patrolling.

"It seems that this is the bandits' lair." Zhang Ling said.

"What should we do?" Alan asked worriedly.

Zhang Ling pondered for a moment and said, "Let's hide first and observe the situation first."

They hid behind a big tree and observed the situation in the mountain stronghold. The mountain stronghold was small, but well-defended, with the bandits patrolling back and forth with high vigilance.

"It seems like forcing our way in won't work." Zhang Ling said, "We have to find a way to sneak in."

"But how do we get in?" Alan asked.

Zhang Ling's eyes turned and a plan came to his mind. He took off his clothes, handed them to Alan, and said, "Put on my clothes and pretend to be me. I will lead those bandits away and you can take the opportunity to sneak in."

"No! It's too dangerous!" Alan said worriedly.

"Don't worry, I'll be fine." Zhang Ling said confidently, "Trust me."

Alan hesitated for a moment, but finally nodded. She put on Zhang Ling's clothes and tried to imitate Zhang Ling's posture and tone.

Zhang Ling took off Alan's coat, tore it into strips, and disguised himself as a villager captured by bandits. He deliberately messed up his hair and smeared some dirt on his face to make himself look even more embarrassed.

After everything was ready, Zhang Ling took a deep breath and walked towards the village...

He deliberately staggered to the gate of the stronghold, attracting the attention of the bandits.

"Stop! What are you doing?" a bandit shouted.

Zhang Ling pretended to be scared and said tremblingly: "I... I am a villager nearby, and I was... I was captured by you..."

"Villager?" The bandit looked Zhang Ling up and down, his eyes full of suspicion. "Why don't you look like a villager?"

"I...when I escaped, I fell and got my clothes dirty..." Zhang Ling explained.

At this moment, a burly bandit with a face full of flesh came over. He glanced at Zhang Ling, then at Alan hiding behind the tree, with a lewd light in his eyes.

"Boss, this kid looks delicate and tender, why not..." The bandit leaned close to the ear of the burly bandit and whispered a few words.

The burly bandit laughed loudly and said, "What a good idea! Bring him in and give him a good 'treat'!"

Zhang Ling cursed in his heart, what a bunch of beasts!

The two bandits carried Zhang Ling on their left and right and walked towards the mountain stronghold. Alan took this opportunity to sneak into the mountain stronghold...

Zhang Ling stared at the village in front of him, and an inexplicable chill ran up from his feet to his heart. Smoke from cooking rose, but no human voices could be heard. It was eerily quiet. He clenched the branch in his hand. This ordinary branch, which he had infused with his true energy, was his only support at the moment.

He walked lightly into the village entrance. Passing by a house, a black cat was licking leftovers from a bowl through a half-open wooden door. It raised its head alertly, staring at Zhang Ling with its dark green eyes, and let out a low roar, then scurried into the house and disappeared.

Zhang Ling felt even more uneasy. He walked to a house with closed doors and windows and knocked tentatively. "Is anyone there?" His voice echoed in the silent village, but there was no response.

He pushed the door, but it didn't budge, as if it was locked from the inside. Zhang Ling took a deep breath, stepped back a few steps, and kicked the wooden door open.

"Bang!" The wooden door broke apart, and Zhang Ling looked around cautiously. The house was empty, the tables and chairs were neatly arranged, and there was even a pot of water warming on the stove, as if the owner had only left for a short time.

Zhang Ling walked to the table and picked up a coarse porcelain tea bowl. There were still some tea stains on the bottom of the bowl. He leaned in and sniffed it. A faint smell of bitter almonds entered his nose. Zhang Ling's heart shuddered. The smell of bitter almonds... was cyanide!

He immediately realized that there was something wrong with this village! He quickly left the house and watched the surroundings vigilantly.

At this moment, a sinister laugh came from behind him. "Hey, hey, welcome to the ghost village, kid."

Zhang Ling turned around suddenly and saw a short, haggard old man standing not far behind him. The old man was wearing a tattered gray robe, leaning on a cane, and exuding a disgusting stench of decay.

"Who are you?" Zhang Ling asked in a deep voice.

The old man grinned, revealing his yellow teeth. "I am the chief of this ghost village. You can call me Ghost Old Man."

"Ghost village?" Zhang Ling frowned. "What on earth happened here?"

"What happened?" The ghost old man laughed strangely, "Of course a lot of people died! Hehehe..."

Zhang Ling's heart sank. It seemed that his guess was correct. There was indeed something wrong with this village. "How did they die?"

"There are all kinds of ways of dying," the ghost old man stretched out his dry fingers and counted them one by one, "some were poisoned, some were strangled, some were burned, and some were..." He suddenly stopped and looked at Zhang Ling meaningfully, "some were scared to death."

Zhang Ling felt a chill in his heart. He felt as if he had fallen into a huge trap. "Why are you telling me this?"

"Hehehe," the ghost old man laughed sinisterly, "Because you will soon become one of them."

As soon as he finished speaking, a group of people rushed out from the surrounding houses. They were wearing tattered clothes, their faces were pale, their eyes were empty, and they looked like zombies.

"They...what are they?" Zhang Ling was shocked.

"They are all villagers that I turned into puppets," the ghost old man said with a smug smile, "They have no thoughts, no feelings, and only obey my orders."

Zhang Ling looked at the group of hideous puppets, and a strong sense of crisis surged in his heart. He clenched the branch in his hand and prepared to fight.

"Boy, do you think you can escape?" The ghost old man smiled grimly, "Be my puppet!"

The puppets roared and rushed towards Zhang Ling. Zhang Ling dodged their attack and the branch in his hand turned into afterimages, knocking several puppets to the ground.

However, there were too many puppets, and they were fearless and would immediately stand up and continue to attack even if they were knocked down. Zhang Ling gradually felt powerless, and his Qi was rapidly depleted.

“Hehehe, it’s useless,” the ghost old man looked at Zhang Ling who was struggling to hold on and said with a smug smile, “Your true energy will be exhausted soon, and then you will have no choice but to let me control you.”

Just when Zhang Ling was about to collapse, he suddenly felt a powerful force surging from his body. The branch in his hand burst into dazzling golden light, shaking all the puppets around him away.

"This is..." Zhang Ling looked at the branch in his hand in surprise. He felt that the true energy in his body became more abundant, and it seemed to contain a mysterious power.

The ghost old man also showed a shocked expression, "How is this possible? You...you actually..."