Young Master Bai — Chapter 33

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Chapter 33: Strange Village

The news that the Divine Wordless Book had reappeared spread wider and wider, and more and more interested people gathered in Jiangdu. Bu Tiange did not wish to linger and packed up his belongings early, instructing the accompanying elders to take the injured disciples back to Yuncheng via the official road, while he himself led twenty uninjured disciples to escort the Divine Wordless Book by a smaller path.

Bai Chen naturally had to follow this escort team, so he brought Chenzui and Lu Ren Yi along. Since the Hidden Wisdom Sect wanted to conceal their whereabouts, they could not use the conspicuous spirit stone carriage, nor did they dare to exhaust their true qi by flying at full speed. After flying for two hours, they found a small mountain village to rest.

This place was called Elderly Village, hidden deep in the mountains at the border of two prefectures, small in size, with steep and difficult roads, and only one mountain path leading to the nearby county town. It was originally built six hundred years ago by commoners fleeing south from war. Because there was no good farmland and it was unsuitable for trade, the population gradually dwindled after the chaos ended. Now only thirteen households remained, and even in broad daylight, it felt deserted and eerily quiet.

The fox yao had keen eyesight. As soon as Chenzui landed, he felt someone watching them, and when he looked, he startled himself, hurriedly tugging on Bai Chen’s sleeve: “Ancestor, there’s an old man hiding behind the window watching us. His face looks like dried tree bark, pretty scary.”

Bai Chen also noticed that the houses seemed to be filled with elderly people at death’s door. The entire village was lifeless, and even the arrival of a group of cultivators didn’t stir up much of a wave. Bu Tiange had already gone to find the village head, and Bai Chen looked around but did not see a single young person, and couldn’t help but wonder: “Are there no able-bodied people here?”

“This place is remote and isolated from the world. It was originally a refuge from war. Now that the world is at peace, the young naturally go out to make a living elsewhere.”

Li Wuming was not surprised by this. He explained simply and sighed again: “In times of war, there were many such places. The people would flee to desolate mountains and rivers, hiding their children for fear that they would be caught by soldiers and sent to the battlefield.”

Although Bai Chen had never seen war with his own eyes, he felt sorrow just hearing it and asked again: “Now that there’s no fighting, why don’t they leave?”

This made Li Wuming sigh again: “One is reluctant to leave one’s homeland. When people grow old, they no longer want to leave.”

The human cycle of birth, aging, sickness, and death was a calamity the yao could not understand. Listening to their conversation, Chenzui glanced back at the old man leaning in the window who was clearly on his last days, and instinctively touched his own smooth face, finally sighing: “The human lifespan is too short. In the yao clan, even at a hundred years old, one hasn’t grown up yet…”

While they chatted idly, the Hidden Wisdom Sect had already chosen their lodging. Bu Tiange tossed over a bunch of keys from afar, pointed to a nearby farmhouse, and said: “We’ll rest here tonight. There’s no inn in the village. I rented two vacant courtyards from the village head. You’ll stay in the one next to the general store.”

The fox yao could sleep even in the snow and were not picky about where to stay. However, it was still early in the day, and the Hidden Wisdom Sect claimed to be escorting the Divine Wordless Book yet was in no hurry to proceed. This puzzled Bai Chen: “Headmaster Bu, may I ask, why does the Hidden Wisdom Sect split into two groups?”

Even in its decline, the Hidden Wisdom Sect was still one of the ten seats of the Heaven’s Way Alliance. Anyone who attacked them would be opposing the entire Heaven’s Way Alliance. By rights, traveling the official road should have been the safest. Yet Bu Tiange chose such a hidden path and even stopped at a remote mountain village, which seemed to be creating an opportunity for ambush.

Bu Tiange showed no reaction to his questioning gaze and simply said coldly: “The news of the Divine Wordless Book was not leaked by me.”

By rights, having found an immortal treasure, it should first be escorted to a safe place. How could it be that as soon as it disembarked, the whole world knew? Bai Chen had already been suspicious and now understood: “You suspect someone deliberately stirring up conflict?”

“Who knows. Soldiers will block, water will cover. I’d like to see who is so tired of living that they dare cause trouble in the Hidden Wisdom Sect.”

Although Bu Tiange did not state it plainly, his hand on his sword said it all. He was never one to take a beating passively. Since someone was impatient to strike at the Hidden Wisdom Sect, he would use the bait to lure out all those restless turtles, slaughter them one by one, and drain their blood. After that, things would naturally quiet down.

Such a fierce headmaster of this generation of Hidden Wisdom Sect — who knew whether this was good or bad for the Great Snow Mountain. For the sake of the alliance, Bai Chen could only risk his life to accompany him. He took the keys and went into the courtyard to assign rooms.

Fortunately, the earliest families to move out of this place were considered wealthy in the village, so although the houses they left behind were dilapidated, there was no shortage of rooms, more than enough for the four of them.

Lu Ren Yi was a spy trained by the Demon Sect and was the most observant of the external environment. Along the way, he had already examined the soil and brick walls here. Once inside the courtyard, he circled around carefully to check and, after confirming there was no ambush, warned Bai Chen: “Be careful. The feng shui of this village makes me very uncomfortable.”

His words made Chenzui alert as well. He quickly sniffed around for anything unusual, but apart from the inherent musty smell of the old houses, he smelled nothing strange. The surroundings were also very quiet; apart from the footsteps of the Hidden Wisdom Sect disciples and the creaking of the rocking chairs of the old people, there wasn’t even an extra bird call. He couldn’t find anything wrong, so he just shook his head at his Ancestor: “I didn’t smell anything strange, nor hear anything out of place.”

Demonic cultivators were best at ambushes. Even though Lu Ren Yi used his detection methods, he still found nothing abnormal, yet he felt uneasy, as though some force in his body was rejecting this place. This kind of premonition had saved the two brothers many times in the past. Lu Ren Yi believed this was no coincidence and chose the room with the widest view for himself, leaving Bai Chen with only one sentence: “Anyway, none of the places that have made me uncomfortable so far have ever been normal. Believe it or not.”

The Nine-colored Deer possessed the divine power to purify filth. Even a magical treasure made only from its antlers could ward off a hundred evils. Since Lu Ren Yi reacted this way, this place was probably sinister.

Bai Chen secretly took heed. Although he still couldn’t see the problem, he still instructed Chenzui: “Any force that dares to strike at the Hidden Wisdom Sect won’t be simple. Indeed, we should be cautious. Keep watch on the surroundings, and if you notice anything unusual, go find Bu Tiange immediately.”

At times like this, the benefits of having a Dao companion showed. Even though there were spare rooms, Li Wuming still stayed with him. Bai Chen felt reassured with a man by his side and even had the mood to glance around the room.

This courtyard abandoned for years in the mountains really wasn’t much. Bai Chen didn’t want to touch the oil lamps that were crusted over, just ran his fingers across the table and chairs, and frowned at the dust on his fingertips: “This place is too desolate. Not only is everything covered in dust, but even the window paper is moldy, as if no one has lived here for a dozen years.”

After speaking, he looked at the old wooden bed. The bedding reeked of mildew and was unusable. Although the Hidden Wisdom Sect disciples had bought straw mats and sent them over, they were of little use in the winter.

Even if cultivators could meditate through the night without issue, Bai Chen couldn’t let his man sleep here. He immediately returned to his original form, his nine tails spreading out like fine blankets, and complained to Li Wuming: “This lousy mat is unbearable. Just lean on me and make do for the night.”

There was absolutely no better bedding in the world than the fur of a Nine-tailed White Fox. Bai Chen thought this man would immediately pounce and knead him. Who knew Li Wuming just stood at the door staring at him for a long while without moving, making the little fox tilt his head in puzzlement: “Why are you staring at me?”

After speaking, he even glanced at his own fur, thinking to himself that it was still well-groomed as before. Could there be a spot?

This action amused Li Wuming. Having not been cared for by anyone for many years, he was a bit sentimental seeing the little fox truly sincere towards him. Sword Immortal Li immediately leaned against the fur, lightly pinching Bai Chen’s ears as he softly asked: “Little fox, do you have feelings for me?”

This man never played by the rules. Bai Chen was caught off guard by the question and almost froze. Luckily, he wasn’t one to just talk tough, and only said sourly: “So what if I do? You wouldn’t take it seriously anyway.”

Li Wuming wasn’t sure if the heartfelt words he overheard before were a trick, but since there was a chance, he wanted to take a gamble. At this moment, he hugged the grumbling little fox and finally revealed a bit of truth: “Don’t blame me for being cautious. I must make sure I truly have your heart. If you betray me, I will pay a very high price.”

These words instantly made Bai Chen serious: “What price?”

This reaction made Li Wuming smile again. He simply used his fingers to gently comb the fox’s fur and, in a casual tone, said: “There are some sect secrets I can’t tell anyone. In short, if I lose, you might never see me again. So, you’d better cherish this Dao companion who pampers you and don’t step on my corpse to climb to the throne.

You should know, even though this was the path I chose myself, when I lose, I will still silently resent you. People, after all, are unreasonable like that.”

He always spoke such chilling words in a calm tone. Bai Chen felt a pang in his heart but didn’t know what to say. In the end, he could only reply with a helpless look: “Ordinary people treat their lovers with all the sweet talk they can muster, trying to convince them that love is more important than life itself. Who else speaks like you in matters of romance?”

Li Wuming couldn’t learn the ways of those frivolous playboys anyway. The Sword Immortal’s mouth was never sweet. Hearing this, he also laughed: “Selfless devotion is something I once did for family and country. Later I realized that noble character can’t be eaten or worn, and in the freezing snow, it’s not as warm as holding a little fox. Since then, I decided never to be a silent fool again.

Manipulating hearts is the way foxes survive. Even if you’re still using me in the end, I’ll make sure you never find anyone more useful than me. The yao clan lives such long lives — so long as you can’t forget me, you’ll always have moments of regret in the dead of night.”

This man truly lived up to being a Sword Immortal; his casual words always carried blades hidden in jokes. Bai Chen’s conscience really was pricked painfully. He rubbed against his cheek and, for once, teasingly whispered into his Dao companion’s ear: “My human body is also warm. You can try it.”

~ Chapter End ~

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