Lin Fan watched the child tumbling through the jungle and couldn’t help but smile slightly.
From the child’s behavior, it was clear he was quite familiar with this place, though Lin Fan couldn’t tell where the final destination was.
Before long, when Lin Fan caught sight of the scene ahead, he stopped in his tracks.
He hadn’t expected to find a village hidden among these mountains.
Moreover, the village seemed to be cloaked by some force, concealing its presence so that no trace of it could be detected externally.
Perhaps that was the method used to ensure safety.
At the village entrance, an old man stood observing the surroundings, his aged face showing a hint of concern, as if he were waiting for something.
“Grandpa…” At that moment, the child Lin Fan had been following ran out from the distant bushes, rushing toward the old man.
“What’s going on here?” Lin Fan looked at the old man. His wings clearly marked him as a Winged Clan member, yet how could he be the grandfather of this Fox Clan child?
“Xuan’er, where have you been? How could you run off like that?” The old Winged Clan man’s expression was stern, but seeing that the child was safe, he let out a sigh of relief.
“Grandpa, please don’t be angry. Xuan’er knows better now,” the child said, lowering his head in apology as he approached the old man.
“Just look at your face. You go out once and get so dirty. It’s dangerous out there. Don’t ever go out again,” the old man scolded.
“Yes, I understand, Grandpa,” Xuan’er nodded, then suddenly remembered something. “Grandpa, I met someone outside just now.”
“Hmm?” At the old man’s questioning look, his expression immediately changed. “A Gu Clan member?”
“No, he looked just like me, only without a tail. He even asked me about the adults, but I didn’t tell him anything,” Xuan’er giggled.
“He didn’t follow you here, did he?” The old man’s expression grew serious, a sense of foreboding creeping in. It was so remote here—how could someone appear in this area?
“Nope, that guy was super slow. He looked really silly…” Xuan’er laughed, feeling quite clever.
Meanwhile, Lin Fan, who had been in stealth mode, was momentarily stunned, showing a trace of helplessness. This little brat had just called him silly—this was simply unacceptable.
“Little one, it’s not right to badmouth others behind their backs,” suddenly a voice rang out.
Xuan’er was taken aback, while the old Winged Clan man immediately pulled Xuanling behind him. “Who’s there?”
“Don’t be alarmed, I mean no harm,” at this moment, Lin Fan’s figure appeared before the two.
“I clearly lost you. How could you possibly…” Upon seeing the figure, Xuan’er couldn’t believe his eyes. He had thought he’d shaken the person off, so how could he still have been followed?
“Hehe, little one, you’re still too green,” Lin Fan chuckled, then turned to the old man and politely bowed. “My name is Lin Fan of the Human Race from the Xuan Huang Realm. I’ve recently ascended to the Gu Sheng Realm.”
Seeing the old Winged Clan man’s extreme vigilance, Lin Fan introduced himself to dispel any suspicions.
At the same time, Lin Fan couldn’t help but wonder how dangerous the Gu Sheng Realm really was, considering how cautious these people were.
Sure enough, when Lin Fan revealed his identity, the old man’s wariness gradually eased, though he still remained somewhat guarded.
“The Human Race?” The old man seemed lost in thought, as if recalling something, then suddenly changed expression. “Please come in…”
“Eh…” Lin Fan was momentarily stunned, not quite understanding what was going on.
“Grandpa, he was bullying me,” Xuan’er, seeing his grandfather suddenly treating this person so kindly, couldn’t help but complain.
“Xuan’er, don’t be rude,” the old man gently patted Xuan’er’s head.
“Little one, I didn’t bully you at all,” Lin Fan smiled at the child.
Xuan’er glanced at Lin Fan, then huffed angrily and ran into the village.
“What a child…” The old man shook his head helplessly.
…
Then Lin Fan followed the old man into the village.
The village wasn’t large, but the locals, upon seeing Lin Fan, showed expressions of surprise.
Lin Fan, too, felt puzzled about the people inside the village.
Representatives of various races were present—what kind of place was this exactly?
Lin Fan followed the old man to a modest house.
Inside, Lin Fan accepted a cup of tea from the village chief and nodded slightly. “Chief, may I ask what this place is?”
The village chief looked at Lin Fan, then sighed helplessly. “This place exists to escape external conflicts.”
“Chief, you relaxed your guard upon hearing I was from the Human Race. Could it be you have some connection with the Human Race?” Lin Fan wanted to find the Human Race and now, seeing the chief’s friendly attitude toward humans, assumed there might be some link.
“No, you’re the first Human Race member I’ve ever seen,” the chief shook his head.
“Then why…?” Lin Fan asked, puzzled.
“Ten thousand years ago, the Gu Clan was extremely powerful, and all races lived in hardship. At that time, no one dared to speak out or resist. Later, five great experts from the Human Race confronted one of the eight supreme beings of the Gu Clan in a life-or-death battle…” the chief slowly explained.
At this moment, Lin Fan’s heart was filled with joy. He hadn’t expected that Yuan Tiandi and the others’ names would be so famous. Their actions had earned the Human Race such high regard in some people’s hearts.
Lin Fan now understood that the reason this village had people from various races was because they were all hiding from the Gu Clan’s slaughter and the traitors who had already submitted to the Gu Clan.
Though Lin Fan wanted to learn more, the village chief had never left this place and thus knew no further details.
In Lin Fan’s view, this place, hidden deep in the mountains, was highly concealed, with ancient beasts surrounding it.
Cultivating here would be very secure.
Once his strength improved, all these problems would be resolved.
Dignity and freedom were all built upon absolute strength.
Without strength, all of this would be empty talk.
“Chief, I’d like to stay here for a while. When the time comes, I’ll leave on my own,” Lin Fan said after considering for a while.
“What? You still want to go outside? It’s very safe here, but outside is extremely dangerous. I hope you can live here forever and avoid facing those terrifying things outside,” the chief said.
“Danger isn’t scary. I came here with the hope of the Human Race, determined to open up new hope for them,” Lin Fan said firmly.
The village chief looked at Lin Fan and finally nodded.
“Thank you,” Lin Fan said gratefully.
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