After leaving the narrow mountain pass, the road gradually widened. As the soft desert sands gave way to hard-packed dirt paths, the caravan’s speed increased dramatically. By evening, they had covered a distance that would have taken two full days at their previous pace.
Zhang Xiucai rode up beside Li Tan and pointed toward a village at the bend in the road. “Master Li, our food supplies are running low. Let’s go there to buy some more and spend the night.”
Li Tan followed his gaze. The village sat partway up the mountainside, so its buildings were arranged from low to high, and its crops were also planted in terraced fields.
From sunrise to sunset, the evening smoke rising from the chimneys should have painted a beautiful scene. Yet Li Tan saw no smoke, and instead felt a vague discomfort he couldn’t quite explain, which made him feel uneasy. If it weren’t for the common folk in the caravan needing rest, he might have chosen to camp in the wilderness.
“Master Li, what are you thinking about?” Zhang Xiucai asked, puzzled.
“There’s definitely nothing wrong with that village. I pass through Fan City regularly and always go through here.”
Li Tan shook his head slightly. “Nothing, I suppose I’m just being too sensitive.”
Li Tan gestured and led the group toward the village. Yet between the fields, not a single villager could be seen.
Zhang Xiucai muttered in confusion, “Strange, why is there no one around? It shouldn’t be like this at this hour.”
“Where does the village chief live? Let’s go directly to him.”
Li Tan suggested.
Zhang Xiucai didn’t object, pointing to a slightly larger house in the distance. “That’s it.”
“Alright then, you come with me to see the village chief. The others can rest here.”
“Fine, that’s settled.”
Zhang Xiucai agreed and addressed the rest of the caravan. “Listen up, Master Li and I will go talk to the village chief about food. Everyone else, don’t wander off. Oh, and you can try to approach the villagers first and offer something in exchange for a night’s stay.”
“Wait,” Li Tan frowned slightly as he looked at the tightly shut doors and windows of the houses around them. “Don’t disturb the villagers. Just sleep outside.”
Zhang Xiucai assured him, “We won’t disturb them—we’ll pay.”
Li Tan remained silent for a moment and said nothing further.
Truthfully, even he didn’t understand why he had said that to Zhang Xiucai. Was it really just because of his vague unease?
As he and Zhang Xiucai left the caravan toward the village chief’s house, he extended his spiritual perception to cover the nearby houses.
But nothing particularly noteworthy was found. Women were weaving, and men were sitting on beds resting—completely ordinary scenes.
Perhaps he really was overthinking things, too preoccupied with the Black Robe Organization. Sighing inwardly, they soon arrived at the village chief’s house. Zhang Xiucai knocked on the door, and a hoarse voice came from inside, “Come in.”
“Does the village chief have a bad cold? He sounds so weak,” Zhang Xiucai mumbled quietly as he pushed the door open, with Li Tan following behind.
The house was a typical two-bedroom, one-living-room structure. The village chief’s wife sat on the bed in one room, her head bowed, fiddling with something, visible only from the waist up, her face obscured by the backlight. The village chief walked out of the room, just as Zhang Xiucai had said—his whole demeanor was extremely haggard, and his voice was weak.
“Welcome, honored guests. I’m sorry I couldn’t greet you properly,” the village chief said.
Zhang Xiucai hurriedly replied, “No, no, it’s us who are intruding and disturbing you.”
The village chief slowly sat down on a chair in the living room. “You’re here to buy grain, right?”
“Yes, and the price is negotiable. Dry food would be best.”
“There’s plenty, but it can only be ready tomorrow. Why don’t you stay the night here?”
The village chief suddenly forced a somewhat eerie smile.
Zhang Xiucai instinctively leaned back, replying nervously, “If the villagers don’t mind, I’d be delighted to stay.”
“Hehe, young sir,” the village chief suddenly turned to Li Tan, revealing a mouthful of yellow, crooked teeth. “You’re a cultivator, aren’t you?”
Li Tan didn’t answer. To avoid offending the village chief, Zhang Xiucai quickly replied, “Yes, yes, this young master is Li Tan, our caravan’s leader this time. Elder, your eyesight is truly excellent.”
The village chief chuckled softly for no apparent reason. “Master Li, why don’t you stay at my house tonight? There’s an empty room just available.”
Li Tan glanced at the empty room. The door was open, and although there were no signs of anyone living there, the furniture was complete, and the chairs were neatly arranged.
“Elder, don’t you have any children?”
This question also puzzled Zhang Xiucai. “Right, last year when I came here, I saw your son. Why isn’t he here now?”
The village chief said, “He’s gone.”
“Gone? Did he go to Fan City?”
Zhang Xiucai asked.
The village chief shook his head. Zhang Xiucai wanted to ask more but realized it was a personal matter and stopped himself.
Finally, Li Tan said, “I need to go check on the goods. I won’t disturb you two anymore.”
“What a pity,” the village chief seemed somewhat disappointed.
“Then we’ll take our leave now. We’ll come early tomorrow morning to collect the dry food and pay you.”
Zhang Xiucai nodded with a smile.
“Go ahead. It’s not safe at night. Don’t wander outside the village.”
“Alright, we know.”
Zhang Xiucai swallowed hard, his eyes drifting sideways, landing exactly on the village chief’s room.
At some point, the old woman sitting on the bed had lifted her head, smiling at him sinisterly.
“Farewell!” Zhang Xiucai was startled and, without caring about his image, pulled Li Tan out hastily, his heart pounding inexplicably.
Not far from the house, he muttered nervously, “Why do I keep feeling so uncomfortable at the village chief’s house?”
“Was the village chief like this before?” Li Tan asked calmly.
Zhang Xiucai thought for a moment and shook his head. “The village chief was always kind. He often gave extra grain and never charged us for staying overnight.”
“So he sounded like a very amiable old man.”
“Yes, but I don’t know what’s wrong. He just feels different from before—how to say it… a bit gloomy.”
Exactly—gloomy. Even without speaking, the village chief’s mere presence made one feel uneasy, as if sitting beside a corpse. Although such a description might seem impolite, it was indeed the most accurate feeling. Moreover, Li Tan realized why he had felt uncomfortable even before entering the village. The entire village gave off the same lifeless vibe as the village chief.
Li Tan walked a few more steps slowly and asked, “Was the village chief’s wife always like this?”
Zhang Xiucai recalled the old woman who had been sitting there doing something unknown during their visit, frowning in confusion. “In the past, she always warmly brought us some food to eat.”
“This whole family is acting strangely,” Li Tan began to feel uneasy. He wanted to use his spiritual perception to check the village chief’s house again, but unfortunately, it seemed beyond his range. To investigate further inside, he would have to go back. But thinking it was only for one night, he decided not to dwell on it. It would seem odd to return now, so he dropped the idea.
Returning to where the caravan was stationed, it was already completely dark. The number of people still outside had dropped by more than half, indicating that many had already chosen to stay in villagers’ homes.
“Uncle Zhang, aren’t you going to stay at someone’s house tonight?” Li Tan asked casually.
Zhang Xiucai paused, shaking his head slightly with an embarrassed expression. “I’m a bit scared.”
“Scared of what?”
“I can’t really explain it myself,” Zhang Xiucai said as he scooted closer to Li Tan, seemingly seeking more security.
Li Tan didn’t say anything, crossed his legs, closed his eyes, and began to meditate.
But he couldn’t enter a proper state of meditation. The village chief’s eerie smile and the old woman’s sinister expression uncontrollably kept surfacing in his mind.
“I really am still worried,” he sighed softly and opened his eyes again. By then, it was completely dark, and Zhang Xiucai had already dozed off, with the other caravan members scattered around, sleeping haphazardly.
Looking up, the moon was already high in the sky.
Except for some big cities, it was already bedtime for most normal people at this hour.
Unable to shake his unease, Li Tan stood up, brushed off the dust from his pants, and carefully extended his spiritual perception into the nearest house.
Inside the house, the people who had come to stay were already asleep. However, the two homeowners were still awake, sitting silently on the edge of the bed, motionless and unresponsive.
Who in the world would stay awake at night without sleeping or cultivating, just sitting motionless by the bed?
Previously, it was just suspicion, but now Li Tan was almost certain—the two people and the entire village were definitely not normal.
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