Chapter 175 : The Young Couple
Chapter 175: The Young Couple
Mortal?
When Long Tao heard that word, his heart instantly went cold.
This was bad—really bad!
His greatest reliance had originally been True Person Mingzhu, a Golden Core Great Perfection cultivator.
Now that both of them had become mortals, didn’t that mean he, a grown man, would have to turn around and protect her instead?
True Person Mingzhu truly lived up to her eight hundred years of temperament cultivation.
After a brief lapse of focus, she quickly regained her composure. She drew in a deep breath.
The Divine Sense that once perceived even the slightest detail had completely vanished; all she could smell now was earth, vegetation, and the distant scent of cooking smoke.
“Panic is useless.” Her voice returned to its usual calm, though tinged with faint, irrepressible fatigue. “This place is strange. The complete loss of cultivation must be related to the rules of this world. Let’s enter the village first. Remember—everything here feels abnormal. We must strictly follow the Village Chief’s rules.”
Long Tao nodded firmly. At this moment, True Person Mingzhu’s calmness gave him tremendous psychological support.
As someone who had only been in the Qi Refining stage, becoming a mortal was not such a drastic fall. But she had fallen from the clouds into the mundane world—yet could still remain this composed. What eight hundred years had added to her was clearly not just cultivation.
The two stepped into the village.
The sight within deepened that eerie sense of ordinariness.
Earthen houses were built haphazardly along dirt paths. Small fenced courtyards held common vegetables.
A few native chickens strolled leisurely about. Farm tools and daily items lay scattered everywhere. Everything was full of life.
But… there was no one.
The village was not large. Two dirt roads crossed in a “+” shape, dividing the houses into four sections. In the small square at the center stood an old well and a banyan tree, silent and still.
“Should we find a household to ask?” Mingzhu suggested, which was exactly what Long Tao had been thinking. After walking around without clues, the only option was to try communicating with someone.
They randomly chose an ordinary house, carefully remembering the Village Chief’s rule about “knocking,” and gently rapped on the wooden door.
Knock, knock, knock.
The sound felt especially abrupt in the overly silent village. After waiting a moment, the door creaked open inward.
An elderly woman with a face full of wrinkles cautiously poked her head out. When she saw the two of them—especially the strikingly beautiful Mingzhu—her cloudy eyes lit up instantly.
“Oh my, two young ones I’ve never seen before. Outsiders?”
“Uh… yes, Granny,” Long Tao answered. “We wanted to ask—what place is this?”
“This place?” The old woman tilted her head, as though hearing a strange question. “Isn’t this just the village?”
Sure enough, the exact same answer as the Village Chief. Though they had expected it, they still felt disappointed.
“Then… how do we leave this place?” Long Tao pressed on unwillingly.
“Leave?” The old woman looked even more confused, even slightly reproachful. “Why leave? Proper folk… shouldn’t live in the village? Those who live outside the village—wouldn’t they be wild beasts and drifters?”
That logic left them speechless.
Again, it was that style of answer that sounded correct yet left no room for response.
“No, Granny, I mean… surely some people live in the city?”
“In the city?!” The old woman reacted as if pricked by a needle. Her voice rose sharply with fear. “Only masters live in the city—at least generals! How would people like us dare even think of that? You two youngsters better watch your mouths. You’ll bring disaster to the whole village!”
“Sorry, sorry!” Long Tao quickly apologized and changed the subject. “Granny, we’d like to find a place to stay temporarily. Is there any empty house?”
“Looking for a place?” The old woman’s expression softened, her tone matter-of-fact. “Just find an empty house and open the door.”
“But… which houses are empty?”
“What a strange question.” The old woman frowned as if he had asked something foolish. “Find one without a door plaque. Open it and see.”
After saying this, she began to close the door. But before shutting it fully, she added,
“Young ones, if you have nowhere to stay, you can sleep at this old woman’s place for the night. No charge, heh heh.”
Once the door was fully closed, the two retreated to the road.
Looking at the house, they both felt a chill creeping up their spines. Though she had seemed like an ordinary old woman, in this cursed place, everything felt unnerving.
“Strange,” Long Tao whispered. “The Village Chief said people here don’t like being disturbed. But that old woman… she invited us to stay tonight.”
“You mean… she was luring us over?”
“Yeah. Anyway… I think we’d better avoid dealing with that house again.”
Both silently resolved to stay away from it for now.
“What next?” Long Tao looked around at the eerily quiet village. “We can’t knock on every door, can we?”
“No. I feel… knocking here must be done very cautiously. Let’s ask one more household. If we gain nothing, we’ll find an empty house to settle in.”
This time, they chose the house across the street. The door again opened inward.
The person inside only poked his head out—a middle-aged man dressed as a blacksmith. His face was fleshy and coarse, and a rusted hammer hung at his waist.
When his gaze swept over Mingzhu, a sharp gleam burst from his murky eyes, and his throat bobbed involuntarily.
Suppressing her discomfort, Mingzhu stepped forward.
“Sorry to disturb you, Master. May I ask… is there any empty house available for lodging?”
“Oh ho!” The blacksmith grinned, revealing yellowed teeth. “If this young lady wishes to stay, my house—” He noticed Long Tao and changed his tone. “Heh, so you’re a young couple! There’s one at the southeast end of the banyan tree—perfect for husband and wife. Just push the door open.”
Hearing words like “young couple” and “husband and wife,” Mingzhu could not help frowning. Long Tao, however, smiled smugly.
See? Without cultivation status, in the eyes of ordinary people, they still matched well enough.
As they turned to leave, the blacksmith suddenly leaned out, gripping the doorframe.
In a low, sticky voice tinged with laughter, he added, “If the young lady changes her mind, you can come find me at night…”
Bang!
The door slammed shut, cutting off the blacksmith’s greasy gaze.
The two retreated once more to the center of the dirt road, unconsciously letting out a breath of relief.
“Let’s stop knocking for now. We’ll check that house by the banyan tree. First, we need to survive this first night.”
True Person Mingzhu’s experience told her that in a strange land with unclear rules and lurking danger, securing a relatively stable foothold was safer than remaining outside—even if that “safe house” was likely not safe at all.
They quickly arrived at the first house southeast of the banyan tree. It stood silently in the darkening twilight. The window paper was intact, and the door tightly shut.
“Knock?” Long Tao asked in a low voice.
True Person Mingzhu gazed at the door and slowly shook her head.
“My suggestion is not to knock. There’s no door plaque here either. Let’s treat it as an empty house and push the door open.”
Decision made, they hesitated no longer. Long Tao stepped forward, placed his hand on the cool wooden door, took a deep breath, and pushed hard.
The door opened at once.
But the sight inside froze them in place.
It was neither an empty, barren room nor an ordinary dwelling.
Before them was a glaring sea of… bright red!
Red paper cuttings of the “Double Happiness” character were pasted on the windows—roughly made, yet vividly crimson as though freshly dyed.
On the earthen bed lay bright red bedding embroidered with mandarin ducks playing in water.
The quilt looked brand new, its fine stitches clearly visible.
On the table stood two thick red candles, unlit, yet adding an indescribable festivity to the dim room.
This was clearly a meticulously arranged bridal chamber for newlyweds.
Yet inside—
There was no one.
Long Tao opened his mouth, taking a long moment before finding his voice.
“So… when that blacksmith said ‘perfect for husband and wife,’ this is what he meant?”
He could not help glancing at True Person Mingzhu beside him.
As expected, she wore a look of disdain—but in her eyes, there also seemed to be a strong trace of curiosity.