Chapter 182 : Sooner or Later, One Would Die Here
Chapter 182 Sooner or Later, One Would Die Here
Very quickly, at a single order from Xin Wushe, that group of young people obediently began handling the Wild Boar.
Xin Wushe himself did not intend to hide anything. He brought Long Tao and True Person Mingzhu to the roadside and directly recounted how he had come to this place.
It turned out that after the Secret Realm incident had ended, when Long Tao… or rather, when the System had released Divine Soul Pressure at the Deification Stage, and as the Golden Core Cultivator from the Wuyi Sect within the Secret Realm fled, the people outside the Secret Realm had also quickly dispersed.
Perhaps out of an instinctive sense for danger, the other independent cultivator present at the time, Withered-Hand Elder, seemed to have sensed something unusual. Afterwards, he had not gone to the Wuyi Sect to claim the remaining payment for the commission, but instead concealed his whereabouts and vanished once more.
As for Xin Wushe, he had naturally been unwilling to labor in vain and had personally gone to collect his reward. The result… whether the people of the Wuyi Sect had become enraged out of humiliation over their failed operation, or were simply devoid of commercial integrity, not only had they refused to pay him, they had even plotted to send him to this place.
As for the specific details, he did not elaborate. Long Tao and True Person Mingzhu were tactful enough not to press further. The two sides could hardly be considered friends; being willing to reveal the general outline was already quite a courtesy.
“So when you opposed us at the Secret Realm Entrance back then, it really was just because you had taken the Wuyi Sect’s money?” True Person Mingzhu still found it somewhat difficult to believe. Though Xin Wushe acted eccentrically, his reputation as a sword cultivator had always been good. He did not seem like someone who would do such a thing.
“There was no helping it. I had also reached the point where I needed to consider Nascent Soul matters. As an independent cultivator, I had no sect backing me. There were too many places that required money. Sigh… cultivating immortality, cultivating immortality—at the end of it all, it still came down to money.”
“I thought you did it for a battle with True Person Zhiying.” Hearing this, True Person Mingzhu could not help but cover her mouth and laugh softly.
“At the time, I did not know she would appear. But to be honest, when I saw her then, I was indeed quite excited. I had not expected to cross hands with her again at the Secret Realm Entrance.” He changed the subject. “Enough of that. How much do you know about this ‘Heavenly Court Fragment’?”
From Xin Wushe’s tone, it was obvious that he had already, at the first moment, regarded the two of them as… if not teammates, then at least fairly reliable people. After all, everyone’s goal was to leave this place. Unless it were ultimately proven that only one person could leave each time, there was no reason for hostility.
Long Tao then took the initiative to recount the intelligence they had previously obtained.
“Mm. To figure out this much in just one day after arriving is decent. Saves me the trouble of explaining.”
Xin Wushe took out a handkerchief and carefully wiped his sword sheath as he continued,
“But the rules here are not that simple. To be frank, after staying here for about three months, I was personally quite despairing about whether it was possible to get out. I had already prepared myself to die here.”
Hearing the words “three months,” Long Tao’s heart stirred slightly. From the Secret Realm incident to the Sect Grand Competition had also been exactly three months. He had originally thought that in a place like the Heavenly Court Fragment, the flow of time would differ from reality. Unexpectedly, it had been nearly the same.
“Why such despair?” True Person Mingzhu did not dwell on the time issue and went straight to the core.
“I had originally planned to exchange this information with you for some resources, but at this point, it is not the time to haggle.” Xin Wushe said frankly.
“I will speak plainly. The most troublesome aspect of this village is that it will, from time to time, force you to do things. Did you previously think that as long as you did not knock on doors, you could remain in peace indefinitely? No. Because the village will assign you tasks in various ways, and among them will be errands that require you to deal with the village’s Original Residents.”
At this, Long Tao’s expression instantly turned unsightly.
“In other words… these tasks may forcibly require us to ‘knock on doors’?”
“Correct. So do not expect to stay here in peace forever. Given enough time, there will always come a moment when you have no choice but to knock on the same door a second time.”
“There is no solution?” Though True Person Mingzhu’s expression was also grave, her tone remained calm.
“There is. But such key information cannot be given for free.” A faint smile curved Xin Wushe’s lips. “One Mid-Grade Spirit Stone in exchange.”
Without hesitation, Long Tao took out a Spirit Stone and handed it over. Unexpectedly, Xin Wushe did not absorb it himself. Instead, he lightly pressed the Spirit Stone against his sword sheath, allowing his blade to absorb the spiritual energy first.
“Very well, I cannot take something for nothing.” He put away the Spirit Stone and said seriously, “I will tell you. There are two methods. The first is to stubbornly refuse to do tasks, but your points will be deducted.”
“What do you mean?”
“In this village, every Outsider has a point score. No one knows the exact amount, but there must be one. If you repeatedly refuse tasks, or fail to fulfill responsibilities corresponding to your identity, points will be deducted. When your points drop to a certain level, you will be expelled from the village and become a Drifter.”
“So what exactly is a Drifter?”
“No one knows. But those people certainly cannot be considered alive anymore—just like that puppet-like Village Chief. Considering how strange this place is, turning into that kind of existence… I think it would be better to simply die outright.”
Both of them could not help but frown deeply. The first method sounded simple—merely stubbornly refusing tasks—but in truth, it was only postponing death by a few days.
“And the second method?” Long Tao pressed, urgency evident in his voice.
“The second…” Xin Wushe’s fingers gently stroked the sword sheath, his tone as calm as if discussing the weather. “Is to find someone to do the task in your place. For example, if you receive a task to knock on the physician’s door, but you have already knocked on that door before. If True Person Mingzhu has not yet knocked on it, she can go in your stead and help you avoid disaster.”
“T-that works?” Long Tao’s eyes first brightened, then dimmed again. “But if there are no newcomers, this method cannot last long either, can it?”
“You are correct.” Xin Wushe nodded. “And opportunities to knock on doors are precious for everyone. Asking someone to knock in your place will never be free. You will certainly have to exchange it with your own future knocking opportunities.”
“I understand.” True Person Mingzhu suddenly spoke, her cool voice tinged with realization. “By substituting for one another in knocking on doors, everyone can prolong their survival as much as possible. But if newcomers fail to arrive in time, and tasks continue endlessly, eventually everyone will be unable to escape the fate of knocking a second time.”
“Precisely.” Xin Wushe’s tone remained frighteningly calm. “That is the despair I speak of. When no one remains to knock in your place, and your points are exhausted, that will be your true time of death.”
Seeing him speak so matter-of-factly, Long Tao felt that… Xin Wushe might already be accustomed to facing death at every moment.
Then Long Tao suddenly thought of something else and hurriedly asked, “By the way, there is another matter I would like to ask. Yesterday when we knocked on doors, the two of us stood outside together. Did that count as using up two opportunities?”
“It did.” Xin Wushe affirmed. “As long as you hear the villager inside speak, it counts as using one knocking opportunity. This is the most common mistake newcomers make. How many households did you knock on together?”
“Two.”
“Then that is not too bad.” Xin Wushe pointed with his sword hilt at the young boys and girls handling the Wild Boar meat. “When that group first arrived, more than a dozen of them went door to door knocking collectively. Who knows how many precious opportunities they wasted.” As he shook his head, a trace of helplessness flashed in his eyes.
……
After that, neither side continued the discussion in depth. Du Yiluo came over at the right moment to exchange a few pleasantries with Xin Wushe, then used the excuse of showing the two around the village to lead Long Tao and True Person Mingzhu away.
“You already knew Big Brother Xin before?” Du Yiluo asked curiously along the way.
“Yes, though we were not friends. There were some past grievances.” True Person Mingzhu glossed over it lightly. “Why?”
“Is Big Brother Xin considered very powerful where you come from?”
“He was only at the Late Golden Core Stage, same as I.” True Person Mingzhu paused before adding, “But in terms of sword talent, looking across the entire Uncircumvented Heaven World, he could certainly rank within the top twenty.”
This statement shocked both Du Yiluo and Long Tao. Long Tao especially understood the weight of those words “top twenty.”
The Uncircumvented Heaven World was vast beyond measure.
No one dared claim to be number one under heaven. To say someone could rank within the top ten or top twenty in a certain aspect essentially meant, “This person is the strongest I have ever seen in my life; I simply dare not speak too absolutely.”
Du Yiluo immediately beamed. “No wonder! I have sparred with him several times and could never last more than twenty moves. So he truly is a genuine genius sword cultivator! In that case, now that everyone is in mortal bodies, losing to him is not embarrassing at all.” She covered her mouth and laughed, her crimson pupils shining with excitement, as if losing to such an opponent were instead something to be proud of.