Chapter 126 The Old Man

As Feng Ruoxing and I turned around simultaneously, an old man with a cane walked out of the bushes.

The man was dressed in old-fashioned cotton clothes, with animal skin covering his cotton trousers from the knees down. His clothes weren't clean, but the material was thick.

The old man's white hair was neatly combed, but his eyes were frighteningly bright. At first glance, he looked like a raccoon cat that had jumped out of the bushes, staring at us coldly.

The old man's attire clearly marked him as an old-fashioned mountain dweller.

Back then, most people weren't wealthy, and few could afford to wear a coat over their cotton-padded jacket. People going into the mountains wore animal skins to protect their clothes from being torn, and even those who didn't venture deep into the mountains used thick cloth for their outer garments.

Was this old man from Qingyan Village?

After the man appeared, Feng Ruoxing and Ye Yang kept exchanging glances with me.

They were asking if we should take him down.

I subtly signaled them: Take him down!

Unexpectedly, the old man spoke, "You want to capture me, don't you?"

"It's no use capturing me. Reaching Qingyan Village is like reaching the gates of hell. You won't have time to turn back. Go back! It's not a place anyone can go!"

As the old man spoke, he walked past us. In that instant, I clearly saw Ye Yang and Feng Ruoxing's hands twitch, as if they wanted to raise them but couldn't.

The old man crossed the bluestone right before our eyes and stepped onto the village's dirt road.

My gaze paused slightly on his legs, "You're not a mountain dweller!"

The old man suddenly turned back, his eyes gleaming, "Who said I'm a mountain dweller? I'm just telling you not to wander around. Go back! Don't really run into those people, or you won't be able to leave."

The old man didn't care whether I was listening or not. He took a few steps and disappeared around the bend ahead, out of my sight.

Only then did Feng Ruoxing whisper, "Ye Yang, couldn't you move just now either?"

Ye Yang nodded slightly, "It felt like my hand was tied."

My gaze sharpened, "Was that a god or a ghost just now?"

What is divine power, and what are demonic arts,妖法(yao fa), ghost magic, and supernatural strength?

It's actually hard to distinguish. Purely from the perspective of power, what gods can do, demons and monsters can also do, and they are even very similar.

The difference seems to be that one is righteous and honorable, while the other is secretly causing trouble.

If a sorcerer were to differentiate, they could only judge from the other party's aura, but I didn't sense any aura from that person just now.

If that old man had really attacked us, at least one of us three would have been left here.

If I enter Qingyan Village, I will definitely encounter them.

If I don't, I have a seventy percent chance of avoiding the pursuit of the Reincarnation Division in the mountains. Even if I can't avoid them, we may not suffer a loss.

Why must I go to the village?

Just as I was feeling indecisive for the first time, moonlight quietly fell, and the bluestone not far away took on a crimson, blood-like hue.

Feng Ruoxing and Ye Yang both looked at me.

We three have been through life and death together so many times. We can't guess exactly what's on each other's minds, but we're not far off. They had already guessed that I was hesitating about whether to enter Qingyan Village.

I exhaled a long breath and said, "Let's go, into the village!"

Old Liu is a shiye (scribe) of the Two Realms Hall, I trust him!

The moment I crossed the bluestone, an unprecedented sense of crisis struck my heart.

In that instant, I felt as if my life was no longer my own, but was held in the hands of some force, or someone. With just a slight pinch, they could make me vanish into thin air.

When I looked back, Ye Yang and Feng Ruoxing had also tensed up at that moment.

Their feeling should be the same as mine.

We've already come in, so there's no turning back. We can only keep going, until life or death.

The three of us were on high alert, but Qingyan Village was more peaceful than we had imagined.

The entire Qingyan Village was deserted, but it didn't feel like it had been abandoned for a long time. Instead, it felt like everyone had just left the moment we stepped into the village.

The empty village even retained a hint of the smell of smoke.

Feng Ruoxing entered two courtyards in a row before shaking his head, "There's not a single person here. What do we do?"

"Sit and wait for the Reincarnation Division to come to our door." I pushed open the door of a courtyard and sat down at a stone table.

Soon after, the Reincarnation Division arrived. The leader was an elderly man. Besides Wen Yile and Cai Wenyan, a middle-aged man also followed behind the old man. He seemed to be of similar status to Cai Wenyan and Wen Yile.

After the three entered the courtyard, Cai Wenyan smiled and cupped his hands, "Hall Master Li, we meet again. Our Reincarnation Division has always been reluctant to create more killings. How about you come back with us?"

I laughed, "I'd like to go back with you, but I can't get out of this village. How can I go with you?"

Cai Wenyan still smiled, "That's simple. As long as you surrender, we will pierce your pipa bone (disabling the martial artist) and ensure your safety!"