At his words, everyone uniformly looked in his direction to which Su Ze calmly replied,’’ But I am unsure whether it is simply from an animal or a human. The place was thoroughly cleaned up.’’
Liu Xun would like to say that it was from an animal but judging from how the situation was going it was likely to be something disturbing.
Han Zheng thoughtfully tapped his fan a few times on the table before saying,’’ For now, let’s split up and ask around for more information. Those who remained here should know something.’’
Agreeing with the proposal, they all divided into two groups. Han Zheng went with Ji Yan, while Su Ze, Liu Xun, and Wan Yu would go together.
Normally, early in the morning, the street would be bustling around with merchants and pedestrians by now, however, currently, it was empty and not a single door opened up.
Liu Xun has already tried knocking on several doors with no result. There was smoke coming out of the chimney indicating that there were people inside but everyone played dead when he called out.
At this rate, they would need to go back empty-handed so Liu Xun even had the urge of breaking in. However, it was understandable that they were afraid of what was lurking around inside the village so Liu Xun couldn't blame them even if he wanted to.
After walking around for another lap, the three of them finally rested under a big tree that grew at the end of the road.
Liu Xun slumped down in frustration,’’ These people want us to help them but refuse to give any hints. At this rate, what do you think of forced cooperation?’’
Su Ze and Wan Yu who experienced the forced cooperation firsthand wordlessly looked at Liu Xun who was simply behaving like a rogue for all this time.
Liu Xun touched his nose in embarrassment upon noticing that the two turned their heads to look at him in accusation.
He was about to say something to defend himself when all of a sudden, a rattling noise of the door opening caught their ears.
Unexpectedly, a shop that was the closest to where they were, an old woman with a slightly hunched back stepped out unhurriedly opening the door as if she was ready to open her business.
The old woman inevitably noticed them but after momentarily pausing, she acted as if nothing happened and stepped back inside.
Unwilling to lose this opportunity, Liu Xun spoke in a low voice,’’ Let’s go.’’
The other two slightly nodded their heads as they closely followed behind Liu Xun.
It was unavoidable that the only person who could start the conversation was the chatterbox Liu Xun since neither Su Ze nor Wan Yu was interested or good at social interactions.
This was also one of the reasons why Han Zheng let Liu Xun go along with these two.
Without no one urging, Liu Xun quickly went to do his job. Putting on a friendly smile, Liu Xun greeted the old woman,’’ Good morning, Madame!’’
The old woman did not even bother to lift her head upon hearing Liu Xun’s enthusiastic greeting but Liu Xun had thick skin and was not discouraged, he turned to look around the surroundings but his smile briefly stagnated upon seeing what was she selling.
Liu Xun,"......" Shit, what do I say about a coffin shop? Business is booming lately?
Seeing Liu Xun get stumped, the old woman scoffed," If you are not buying one, don't waste my time."
Hearing her say this, Liu Xun raised his voice by a few decibels," Who said that we are not buying?!"
At his words, everyone present turned to look at him, especially Wan Yu and Su Ze who were particularly curious to hear who is going to be the owner of the coffin this time.
The old woman slightly narrowed her eyes, doubts were written all over her face," Who is it for?"
With a straight face, Liu Xun confidently said," For me."
Everyone,"......"
Ignoring everyone's bewildered expression, Liu Xun proceeded to look around as if he was indeed coming to shop.
With his hands behind his back, Liu Xun nonchalantly commented," You see, even though I am called a disciple from the Heavenly Sect but in fact, I couldn't cultivate so my lifespan is the same as a mortal."
Liu Xun curiously knocked on the cold and hard surface of the coffin as he continued in a carefree tone," Since I don't know when I will die so I should at least prepare one for myself, don’t you agree?"
The old woman, of course, did not believe his words but she just happened to glance at the other two who came with him. They both silently stared at him with mixed emotions, especially the youngest one who appeared to be greatly affected by his nonchalant words.
She may be old but her eyes were still clear so Liu Xun's words might be fake but the boy's expression was indeed not false.
After thinking for another while, the old woman lightly sighed as she looked at Su Ze and said," You look after the store for me and the other two followed me to the back."
Su Ze did not want to leave both Wan Yu and Liu Xun who couldn't cultivate alone with an unknown old woman but Liu Xun stopped him in time," I will have a talk with Madame together with Ah Yu, Su Shixiong, you stay."
Leaving these words behind, Liu Xun walked to Wan Yu who for some reason stood still in a daze, he softly spoke," Let's go."
Wan Yu snapped back to his senses upon feeling the warmth on his left wrist as Liu Xun led him along while holding his hand.
He knew that the other person did not think much of the words he had just said so he shouldn’t take them seriously either…
However, to Wan Yu's ears, it sounded like a reminder that this person might no longer be there shortly.
Wan Yu did secretly check Xiao Xu’s condition but to his dismay, he could not think of a way to treat him. He tried to adjust the formula of the pill given to the other party but other than strengthening his body and meridians, no matter what the blockages were not cleared.
Wan Yu even brought up this matter with his Master behind Xiao Xu’s back but the only possible solution was to use Hua Fire which could not guarantee success and even put his life in danger.
Not willing to take the risk, Wan Yu did not mention this matter to Xiao Xu as he was still trying to look for another way.
However, deep down Wan Yu was afraid that he could not find any solution which resulted in Xiao Xu remaining a mortal forever.
If so, even if the other party agreed to stay by his side for his whole life, it would only be for a short time in comparison to his long life as a cultivator.
Xiao Xu may have been with him for less than a century but he, Wan Yu still needed to spend thousands of years or even more without him…
At the thought of this, Wan Yu unconsciously bit his lower lips to suppress the uneasiness in his heart.
What to do, what to do… What to do to not lose him?
Meanwhile, at the same time, Liu Xun was clueless as to what transpired behind his back. Although the old woman was a mortal, he still had his guard up and prepared for any upcoming attack.
Fortunately, it seemed that the old woman did not play any trick and was genuinely treating them as a guest.
As they both sat down, the old woman went to fetch a pot and started to brew tea for her guests.
Liu Xun wanted to release his hand that was holding the boy's wrist but the moment he loosened his grip, his hand suddenly got held in return which caused him to turn his head to the side to look at the boy in surprise.
Seeing that the boy had his head lowered without saying anything except holding his hand tightly, Liu Xun whispered," What's wrong?"
Without even lifting his head, Wan Yu replied in a low voice,"...It’s nothing."
" So you are here because the village elder called you?"
The old woman's voice instantly distracted Liu Xun from Wan Yu's abnormal behavior, he quickly replied," That's right. We arrived yesterday and hope to understand the village's situation so that we can help."
The old lady started to pour tea into the cups before putting them in front of Liu Xun and Wan Yu and only then did she lift her head to look straight at him in the eyes.
For a person in her old age, her eyes were surprisingly sharp and clear.
" So are you here to solve or save?"
The old woman's question sounded a bit unreasonable since, after all, they came here to do both of them.
However, even though the other party casually asked him, Liu Xun took the time to think and no longer displayed his laid-back personality.
A short while later, Liu Xun said his answer in a serious tone," We came to save."
Did not know whether his answer was correct or not but the old woman slightly lowered her eyes as she took a small sip of tea before asking," What did they tell you?"
Regarding the information he got from the village elder, there was nothing to hide anyways so Liu Xun recounted all those words to see whether the old woman could perhaps give him clues as to which parts were real and which were false.
After hearing his words, the old woman mocked," Heh, seems like he was not a village elder all this time for nothing. No matter how stupid one might be, they still can cook up some bullshit when they need to."
She then took another small sip of tea before continuing," Do you know why these people remain here despite not wanting to be here?"
Liu Xun gave a light shake of his head to her question to which she responded with a cynical laugh," They wanted to leave but were not allowed to leave."
Did not expect to hear this, and Liu Xun was momentarily stunned, he hurriedly asked," Who prevents them from leaving?"
At this question, the old woman suddenly gave a meaningful smile, " The person that needs to collect their debts."
Apparently, her words did not make any heads or tails but Liu Xun immediately pointed something out," So are you in debt too?"
The old woman did not expect to hear this so her smile abruptly froze before it completely disappeared from her wrinkled face.
Perhaps, Liu Xun's words had poked her sore spot so the old woman's mood seemed to drop a lot.
Noticing this, Liu Xun carefully chose his next words," I apologize if my words offended you, I only did so because I want to make sure that you are my ally, not a foe."
The old woman averted her eyes as she rested the teacup on the table before continuing the conversation as if she did not hear Liu Xun's previous question," Don't know why but those who were still here cannot step out of the village. The moment they stepped out of the entrance, they would always find themselves back inside the village."
" And it is not only Ah Luo, presently 15 people are already dead."
Liu Xun felt a chill run down his spine," You mean, almost half of the villagers were already gone?"
The old woman nodded her head in return," I was responsible for collecting their corpses and burying them. 2 months, twice a week ah but for some reason, last night, no one died perhaps because you and your companions were here."
This piece of information was crucial so it did not make any sense for the village head not to say anything, thus Liu Xun voiced out his thoughts.
The old woman sneered,’’ They were afraid that they would be held accountable for all those deaths so they dared not say anything other than urging you to kill the monster that was let loose in the village.’’
Although the old woman was generous in clearing his doubts, Liu Xun still did not fully trust her,’’ How come you are sure that this matter is related to the village elder?’’
The old woman was silent for a brief moment before opening her mouth to speak,’’... Because I saw it. Sometime before all these events happened, the village elder met with a suspicious man. I happened to chance upon them and caught some words before they stopped their conversation.’’
After going quiet for a bit, the old woman coldly said, ‘’ … Was the corpse not buried?’’