Chapter 73
Chapter 73: First Entry into the Haunted Village
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Lin Muyu said this with a smile spreading across her face, raising her hand to give Su Wanqing a thumbs up.
Only then did Su Wanqing secretly breathe a sigh of relief, though she didn’t quite understand what that raised “thumb” meant.
But seeing the approval in Lin Muyu’s eyes, she knew the other party clearly agreed with her actions just now.
Her mind was as clear as a mirror, the heavy bloody aura clinging to that man was far from ordinary.
That fishy sweetness wrapped in ferocity was clearly the scent of someone who had taken many lives.
Moreover, deep within that bloody aura seemed to hide a trace of barely perceptible… human flesh stench.
Furthermore, she had seen clearly the malice surging in those men’s eyes just now. Hunger had already driven them to become beasts that would devour people.
If she hadn’t taken decisive action to intimidate them first, someone would probably have already lost control and attacked.
Su Wanqing’s action not only served to extract useful information from that person, but also had the effect of making an example to warn others.
As for why she didn’t directly punish that man, firstly she didn’t want to dirty her own hands.
Secondly, a desperate criminal who had lost his weapon wouldn’t live long in this chaotic world anyway.
“I thought you were going to question me about being so violent.”
Su Wanqing turned her head, a faint smile playing at the corners of her lips.
Lin Muyu was momentarily speechless at her words.
Honestly, at first she did think Su Wanqing’s methods were somewhat too rough.
But upon careful consideration, she had to admit this method was simple, direct, and extremely efficient.
After all, having already stepped into this cultivation world where the strong prey upon the weak, it would be too naive to continue measuring worldly affairs with the gentle thinking of her previous life.
“I’m not some saint, and besides, he clearly wasn’t a good person.”
Lin Muyu shook her head, her gaze falling on that knife stained with dark red blood.
Since entering the cultivation path, she had become particularly sensitive to the auras around her.
And this blood-soaked knife made her entire body feel uncomfortable just by looking at it.
“But Great Xia and Great Qi have actually gone to war?”
Lin Muyu gazed at the distant mountains, murmuring to herself.
Having wandered the mortal realm for a while, she naturally knew that these two neighboring countries, Great Qi and Great Xia, had always been at odds.
She just hadn’t expected that in less than a month since she went up the mountain, the two countries would actually come to blows.
And Great Xia’s princess Luo Chenxi had chosen this exact time to come up the mountain. Lin Muyu’s intuition told her this was no coincidence.
“Don’t worry, wars in the mortal realm can’t affect the cultivation world.”
Su Wanqing spoke calmly, her eyes carrying some certainty.
“No mortal country would dare easily provoke cultivation sects, and naturally, cultivation sects won’t interfere too much in mortal affairs.”
Because once entangled by mortal karma, damaged cultivation would be the least of concerns, in serious cases, it might affect one’s dao path.
“However, the demonic beasts they mentioned running rampant, we need to be especially careful about that.”
Su Wanqing changed the subject, reminding at the right time.
“If we encounter powerful demonic beasts, with our current cultivation level, I’m afraid we can only run away quickly.”
As for Demonic Beasts, they weren’t worried, while those creatures were formidable, they were extremely rare, and the probability of encountering one was minimal.
“Should we still continue on this road then?”
Lin Muyu looked at the winding mountain path ahead, asking with furrowed brows.
“Generally speaking, places with human presence often mean safety, but if we’re in a period when demonic beasts are rampant, crowded places might instead become targets for demonic beast attacks.”
Su Wanqing’s tone became more serious, and after pondering for a moment.
The two looked at each other, immediately deciding, take the small path!
Even choosing the remote small path, with their speed, they didn’t spend much effort reaching the village entrance of what the jade slip called the “Haunted Village.”
At this moment the sun was setting in the west, orange-red afterglow spilling onto the old locust tree at the village entrance, but it brought no warmth. Instead, it made the entire village seem even more desolate, not even a human shadow could be seen.
“Senior Sister… why do I feel this village is so gloomy?”
Just as they stepped into the village entrance, Lin Muyu shivered, feeling as if the surrounding air had suddenly become several degrees colder, even her breathing carried a trace of chill.
“You’re afraid of ghosts?”
Su Wanqing turned her head, looking at her with some surprise, then consoled her.
“Don’t worry, even if there really are some ghost cultivators here, with our strength, we might not necessarily lose.”
Ghost cultivation was easy to start but difficult to master, ordinary ghost cultivators’ cultivation levels weren’t particularly high.
“Senior Sister, have you noticed something’s wrong?”
After walking into the village for just a few steps, Lin Muyu suddenly stopped, her gaze sweeping over the paths between the fields.
“There’s not even half a person’s shadow on these roads, it’s too quiet.”
“Maybe it’s mealtime and they’ve all gone home to eat?”
Su Wanqing also noticed this, but didn’t pay it much mind.
“No, that’s not it.”
Lin Muyu looked left and right, telling Su Wanqing her discovery in a low voice.
“Look, although this village has quite a few houses, not a single one has cooking smoke rising…”
“No cooking smoke? What does that prove?”
Su Wanqing blinked her eyes in some confusion.
Lin Muyu was momentarily speechless, only then remembering that the sect cafeteria cooked with spiritual fire.
Since it naturally produced no smoke, Su Wanqing, this young lady from the sect, had probably never seen how ordinary people cooked over fires.
“This means there might be no one in the village! At this hour, ordinary families should have already started cooking fires. How could it be like this without even a trace of cooking smoke?”
“You mean this is an empty village?”
Su Wanqing immediately understood, casually choosing a house that looked relatively intact and kicking the door open.
Originally they had planned to find the village chief to ask about the situation, but now it seemed obviously unnecessary.
Seeing Su Wanqing’s decisive manner, Lin Muyu could only hurry to follow.
But just as they stepped inside, the scene before their eyes made both of them instantly freeze in place, gasping in shock.
The tragic scene inside was truly too horrifying.
This household of four had died in different ways, making one’s scalp tingle.
The woman was hanging from the roof beam, her body actually torn in half, leaving only half a torso.
The man was soaked in the water vat in the courtyard, his corpse already swollen white from soaking, like an inflated giant.
And the two children, the older sister and younger brother’s bodies seemed to have been drained of blood and flesh by something, leaving only a layer of shriveled skin wrapped around bones, their appearance extremely pitiful.
“Don’t look.”
Su Wanqing, walking in front, instinctively wanted to reach out and cover Lin Muyu’s eyes, but ultimately was still a step too slow.
Lin Muyu stared blankly at the scene before her, a chill shooting straight from her feet to the top of her head. This scene… how familiar it was!
Two words instantly exploded in her mind:
“Demonic cultivator!”
An uncontrollable rage shot straight to her head, almost burning her rationality to ashes.
Su Wanqing’s face changed drastically, immediately grabbing Lin Muyu to head outside:
“Since there are unknown demonic cultivators active here, we must immediately report to the sect.”
Demonic cultivators were much more terrifying than any ghosts or spirits. Ghosts and spirits at most frightened people, occasionally taking lives.
But when demonic cultivators appeared, it often meant corpses everywhere and rivers of blood.
“Run quickly, Master! A formation has been activated!”