Chapter 131: Escape
Ye Jun stared at the Village Head. A normal old man with a hunched back, gasping for air as he came forward and bowed before him, "Welcome to Greywood Village, Honored One. You can call me Old Xu. Please come to my home."
"Thanks, but I’m in a hurry," Ye Jun shook his head, having no interest in staying here more than necessary.
"Ah. Yes, my poor residence isn’t suitable for someone of your status. I apologise," Old Xu sighed.
"No, it’s not that," Ye Jun waved his hand and said. "I just want to quickly finish my mission. So, tell me, why haven’t you been paying tributes to the sect?"
Old Xu paused, his eyes turning blank, which alerted Ye Jun instantly. Just as he was about to take out his dagger, Old Xu returned to normal and bowed, "Please forgive us for that."
He sighed, "Our horses caught a disease and they died, so we couldn’t send anyone. No merchant came here too, so we remained isolated."
Ye Jun narrowed his eyes, "So, it’s just a matter of inconvenience? Give me the tribute then. I’ll bring it to the sect and report your intentions."
Old Xu continued to bow, "As you wish, Honored One. But we can only give the herbs for now. We spent our money on buying the horses. We sent someone to a nearby city to buy them."
"Very well. You will have to add it to the following months," Ye Jun said, glancing around the village.
Everyone was observing him. Every single one of them except the three Martial Artists sitting near the well. He was unnerved, but tried to stay calm.
"I will go fetch the herbs then," Old Xu said, turning around. "Also, if you may, please do not awaken the three of them. They are in a critical stage."
Ye Jun nodded and crossed his arms over his chest. He began to walk around, all eyes still following him like a hawk eyeing its prey.
’What the hell is going on here?’
By now, Ye Jun was sure something was wrong here too. Even if his instincts didn’t tell him, he could deduce it easily. The behaviour of the villagers was too strange.
’They look human, behave like humans too, but not really at the same time.’
He pretended to be just looking around and soon reached close to the three Martial Artists. Just then, something floated out of the ground beside them.
Without any hesitation, he lashed out at it with his Pseudo Soul Sense.
[******* +1]
Ye Jun tried his best to keep a neutral expression, but it was hard. His heart thumped against his chest, as if wanting to leap out. He took a deep breath to calm down and made some distance from the Martial Artists.
Soon, Old Xu returned with a wooden chest, though he had to drag it because of how heavy it was. He shoved it towards Ye Jun and bowed, "This is all we have, Honored One. Please forgive us."
"Don’t worry. The sect will understand you," Ye Jun kept his tone neutral. "I’ll leave then."
With that, he walked unhurriedly towards the exit. All eyes followed him, as no one made any sound. An eerie silence reigned in the village, making his hair stand on end.
Still, he didn’t react and simply left the village. The guards smiled at him, but Ye Jun couldn’t see anything in their eyes. They were hollow, but he didn’t say anything and simply smiled back.
Finally, he used Ashen Phantom Steps and ran away from the village, cold sweat forming on his forehead. He cursed, ’Me and my cursed tongue. Why did I even say it?’
He had asked what could possibly go wrong in visiting a random small village. The answer was before him.
’Everything is wrong and above my pay grade.’
Ye Jun didn’t stop running even as his body asked for it. He overused his movement techniques one after another, wanting to get away from the damned village as quickly as possible.
He wasn’t welcome there. The villagers made sure he knew that.
Ye Jun was actually prepared to see the village in shambles, but on the surface it looked completely fine. Even now, he didn’t know what had happened there, but the fact that the system itself couldn’t read the attributes he picked up scared him.
’This damned thing can even pick bizarre things related to Fate, then why not this?’
He regretted picking it up, but fortunately there were no changes in his body or mind. Maybe that strange attribute alone couldn’t do anything, but what if he had consumed more of them?
’Will I become the same as those villagers?’
Even his rational mind couldn’t help but feel chilled thinking of that.
Many times, he wondered what would happen if he turned around now and looked at the village, but something inside him kept him from doing that.
’Why couldn’t I have just picked a normal location?’
Finally, Ye Jun saw a towering structure in the distance and ran towards it. He passed through an invisible film-like barrier and entered the Beacon.
Only when he was inside did he allow himself to relax. He slumped against the stone wall, his chest heaving up and down. This was by far the strangest experience of both lifetimes.
After a while, he composed himself and tried to think calmly, ’It is safe here. As safe as it could be.’
So, he took out the flute, hoping that it would work this time. He blew air into it and a terrible cacophony of sounds filled the Beacon. However, it only brought joy to Ye Jun.
"It worked!" He exclaimed in joy.
Then, he began to play it again. Han Yuexin had told him to play it for a longer time if there were any emergencies. He followed all her instructions, hoping that she would come here as soon as possible.
’Hopefully an Origin Realm Cultivator is enough.’
If he was being honest, he didn’t even want to associate with the village any longer, but he knew Han Yuexin would think differently. And after his mind calmed down, he also noticed a few signs.