Ling Feng had long sensed this, but it offered no help in uncovering the truth of the situation.
Based on the physical strain from their wandering activities the previous night, these people were doomed to die sooner or later.
Moreover, the faint蠱毒 (gǔ dú - poison) on their bodies was also depleting their vitality, and slowly, the entire village would perish.
"No, look at their expressions!"
Suddenly, Ji Yun Yue reminded him coldly.
Ling Feng immediately turned to look, and his pupils contracted upon seeing it.
When they saw the villagers who had died in their village, the surrounding villagers should have shown some signs of sadness.
However, as the corpses were placed before everyone, the villagers looked at the bodies without any trace of sorrow. Instead, every person wore a very strange smile.
This smile was very similar to the one they had shown the previous night, still tinged with a hint of excitement.
Such smiles, appearing in such a setting, were truly chilling to the extreme.
Everyone, except Ling Feng, felt a shiver down their spines.
"Village Chief! It must be you outsiders who did this!"
"You heartless bastards, give me back my Gou Sheng!"
Strangely, when these people turned their heads and faced Ling Feng and the others again, they displayed an expression of utter grief and extreme resentment.
Clearly, they had instantly reverted to normal human demeanor.
Faced with these groundless accusations, Ling Feng couldn't help but frown.
Strange things were happening in the village, people had died, and everyone had no memory of what had happened before!
At this moment, the appearance of outsiders like Ling Feng was too coincidental.
Even if they didn't want people to associate the killings with Ling Feng and his group, it was unavoidable!
The scene grew more chaotic, and some villagers even brought out their tools from their homes.
Hoes, shovels, sticks, everything was readily available!
It seemed that if there was any disagreement, or if the white-haired village chief gave the order, Ling Feng and his companions would have no escape.
At this moment!
On the mountainside of the neighboring village, Shan Han Yi looked down at the scene unfolding before the Mountain God Temple, seeing everything clearly.
He immediately revealed a look of schadenfreude!
"Haha, these idiots! Entering the village at this time and occupying their Mountain God Temple, they are clearly asking for death!"
Upon hearing this, someone beside him shook his head and said, "Young Master, the skills of these few people are very formidable. Those villagers cannot possibly capture them!"
Shan Han Yi immediately retorted angrily, "Nonsense! Of course, they can't catch them if they're fighting them!"
He then continued with a sinister look, "But even if they can't catch them, there's no way they can stay in that village, or even get close to this area! If this continues, what else can they investigate? Nothing!"
A line of people behind him nodded repeatedly, but it was unclear who muttered, "Then they can't participate in the investigation, and we'll have to rely on ourselves to investigate. This is too difficult..."
Shan Han Yi's mouth twitched. Clearly, this remark had struck a nerve!
However, even so, Shan Han Yi was still immensely pleased to see Ling Feng and the others in such a predicament.
Inside the Mountain God Temple.
"The situation is not right, we should retreat!"
The mysterious young girl suggested with a grim expression.
Everyone looked at Ling Feng, clearly awaiting his command.
Ji Yun Yue, however, shook her head, "We cannot leave like this. These people are merely victims. If we leave, more of them will surely die!"
Guan Ya wore a wry smile.
"But in this situation, we are completely unable to protect them. We might even get beaten to death by them..."
"Tch, little brother, you're exaggerating. This small matter, your big brother can solve it for you in minutes!"
Lin Shuai Nan suddenly jumped out, twirling his red-tipped spear skillfully in front of everyone!
Ling Feng frowned slightly but still stepped back, deciding to observe what Lin Shuai Nan intended to do. If all else failed, a strategic retreat would be the only option!
Lin Shuai Nan's skillful handling of the red-tipped spear created gusts of wind.
The villagers crowding below saw that Lin Shuai Nan was a skilled practitioner and instinctively retreated a few steps, clearly showing some fear.
"You, what are you doing? Don't think you can scare us villagers with your monkey tricks!"
The white-haired village chief pointed at Lin Shuai Nan and shouted, but his footsteps unconsciously moved backward.
Guan Ya was dumbfounded. Were these villagers so cowardly?
*Crack!*
Suddenly, a whistling sound echoed as a stone shot towards Lin Shuai Nan.
Just as it was about to hit Lin Shuai Nan's handsome face, he suddenly reached out and caught it. This scene made the people below gasp in amazement!
Behind the crowd, a little boy holding a slingshot directly fell from a tree. Clearly, he was the one who had sneakily attacked Lin Shuai Nan, but he was terrified by Lin Shuai Nan's skill of catching a "bullet" with his bare hands!
"Tch! Just a kid!"
Lin Shuai Nan proudly threw the stone on the ground and cast a disdainful look at the little boy.
He muttered, "Sneaking up on me? I'm the ancestor of slingshot play!"
"What did you say?"
The white-haired village chief at the front vaguely heard Lin Shuai Nan's words and asked uncertainly.
Lin Shuai Nan waved his hand authoritatively and declared, "Halt! You villagers of the countryside! Ignorant and unenlightened, you dare to attack without knowing my identity! Do you know? I, this immortal master, have been dispatched by heaven to save your village?"
Guan Ya was once again dumbfounded. What was Lin Shuai Nan's game?
Xiu Xiu shook her head with a wry smile, "It's over, it's over. He's gone crazy again. Does he think those villagers are all idiots?"
Ji Yun Yue wanted to call Lin Shuai Nan an idiot, but out of consideration for Xiu Xiu, she refrained from saying it.
However, what happened next astonished everyone.
As soon as the villagers heard Lin Shuai Nan's words, they exploded into a frenzy, chattering and discussing amongst themselves.
Then, the white-haired village chief looked Lin Shuai Nan up and down and cautiously asked, "You, young sir, are you truly an immortal master, a Taoist priest?"
"Of course! Don't believe me? Look!"
Lin Shuai Nan twirled his red-tipped spear again, then performed a somersault. He landed unsteadily, almost falling flat on his face, but he smoothly rolled into a ball and landed among the crowd.
This scene made Ling Feng and the others roll their eyes!
But the villagers' gazes towards Lin Shuai Nan began to change, even showing a hint of reverence!
"Ahem, that's right! My ancestors for eighteen generations were Feng Shui masters, and I, Lin Shuai Nan, am an immortal master whose fame resounds throughout Nanyun! This immortal master arrived in your village last night! I have come this time to save you!"