“Two months ago,” the old woman replied. “On that day, the village chief conveyed the Water Goddess’s message, saying she wanted to select a young person to sing. Coincidentally, Aunt Li’s two children at home had both learned to sing, so they chose someone who understood musical theory to sing every ten days.”
“Has it been effective?”
“It has yet to show results,” the old woman said.
“So, what exactly has this village attracted?” Lou Muge stared at her and asked.
“We don’t know. The Water Goddess is supposed to reside in the village, so theoretically, there shouldn’t be any monsters daring to come.”
“When did the anomalies in the village first appear?” he inquired again.
However, as soon as the question was asked, the old woman fell silent, seemingly contemplating how to phrase it. After a moment of hesitation, she stammered, “It’s, it’s like someone suddenly going mad…”
“How do they go mad?” he pressed.
Now, the old woman refused to speak, shaking her head repeatedly. “I can’t say. If I say, I’ll be tainted too. I can’t say this!”
Lou Muge frowned. “Just speak freely; I’ll handle the rest for you.”
However, his words held little credibility with the old woman, who continued to resist. “Spare me. I really can’t say. Even though I have one foot in the grave, I still want to live a few more years.”
Impatience colored his beautiful features. If the people in the village cooperated and honestly explained the situation, he could work on resolving it. However, everyone avoided him like snakes and scorpions, refusing to disclose any information, which proved to be troublesome.
He stood up and threatened, “If you don’t speak, I’ll take you to drink Meng Po’s soup right now.”
The old woman wailed.
“Mother!” a sharp cry rang out as a man came running, his face contorted.
Wen Changchu, who had his head on the ground, perked up at the sound. Upon hearing the shout, he immediately stood up, emitting a warning growl from his throat, staring at the man.
Lou Muge, seeing the man bare his fangs, crouched down, grabbed the back of Wen Changchu’s neck, and lifted him up. As the man lunged with a kick, Lou Muge’s figure flashed like a phantom.
The man’s stored strength was immense, and in his anger, he hadn’t even considered that he might miss his kick. When he realized, his body was already plummeting towards the ground, his face smashing into the stone, blood streaming from his forehead and nose.
As he got up, some rationality returned. He understood that the person who looked like a young girl in front of him might not be an ordinary person, but he couldn’t suppress his rage. He roared, “You dare to bully my mother! I’ll fight you!”
Lou Muge tossed Wen Changchu, who was trying to burrow into his arms, onto the ground. Lazily casting a glance at the man, in the past, if someone had recklessly charged at him like this, attacking without distinction, he would have rolled on the ground holding a broken leg. However, the current situation was unique.
Dealing with these mortals, being rude and verbally abusive was one thing, but physically harming them was another. As long as he didn’t lay a hand on them, no matter how he cursed them, the immortals wouldn’t care. However, if he were to harm their lives, it might attract attention from the immortal realm.
Too troublesome.
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
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A grown man crying so miserably, wincing in pain as he touched his wounds, left Lou Muge somewhat puzzled. “Why are you crying? It seems like you fell by yourself, right?”
The man sobbed, making the old woman cry even more, and the mother and son embraced each other as if they had suffered a great injustice.
Lou Muge was annoyed by the crying, “Stop crying! I’m just asking your mother a few questions, not doing anything!”
The man sniffed hard, “If you have questions, ask me. I promise to tell you everything. My mother is old, yet you made her sit on the ground.”
Lou Muge now really wanted to lift this man and punch him a couple of times. Suppressing the urge to hit him, he patiently said, “Can you now help your mother get up from the ground? How can a grown man sit on the ground and cry, making a mockery of himself?”
The man helped the old woman stand up, wiping his nose, tears, and blood on his sleeve. He patted the dust off the old woman, “Mom, you go home first. I’ll be back soon.”
“Son—” The old woman grabbed him fearfully.
“Am I going to eat people or something? I’m just asking a few questions.” Lou Muge saw the blood still flowing from the man’s forehead and nose, couldn’t bear to look directly at it, summoned a water spell at his fingertips, and a trickle of water flew to the man’s face, circling around. The wound healed, leaving only a bit of bloodstain.
He sighed, suddenly remembering someone from the past, a godlike figure in the eyes of others, but in front of him, pouting with tears in their eyes. Lou Muge couldn’t stand seeing people cry.
After healing the man’s wounds, his attitude softened. Seeing that his mother was indeed unharmed, he quickly swallowed his previous anger and said to Lou Muge, “What do you want to ask? Just say it.”
“Absolutely can’t say!” The old woman clutched his hand. “Son, absolutely can’t say! Understand?”
The man seemed oblivious to what the old woman meant, looking confused. Lou Muge, finding her bothersome, turned to leave. “Follow me.”
The man bid farewell to his mother and followed. The old woman chased them, repeatedly uttering the same sentence. In the end, she couldn’t keep up with her son’s pace, left behind, shouting.
People on the street avoided Lou Muge and the wolf, creating a path wherever they went. Lou Muge enjoyed the freedom and entered a seemingly elegant restaurant.
As soon as he entered, the restaurant’s owner approached nervously. “I wonder what the lady is here for?”
“Of course, I came here to eat. Bring out a table of dishes first.” Lou Muge acted extravagantly, though he didn’t have a single copper coin on him.
“Upstairs private room, please, lady.” The restaurant owner called a waiter to lead them upstairs.
The man stiffly said, “I won’t eat. You better ask quickly; I’ll leave afterward.”
“You better come in, or I’ll send you to meet the underground grandpa right now.” Lou Muge warned him calmly. “I’m tired; let’s talk while eating.”
Finding a quiet place for the conversation.
“My grandpa is still alive!” The man protested.
“I’m not talking about your grandpa; I mean the Lord of the Underworld.” Lou Muge said as he walked upstairs. His companion, Wenchang Chu, followed closely, occasionally looking back at the man.
The restaurant’s upper floor’s dishes arrived swiftly. The waiter placed the food and hurriedly left, not daring to linger. Lou Muge’s mood improved upon seeing the well-presented dishes. Without a second word, he took up the chopsticks and started eating.
Wen Changchu obediently lay on the side.
The man seemed a bit dull-headed, seeing Lou Muge eat, he followed suit. It appeared he hadn’t eaten such luxurious dishes before, devouring them much faster than Lou Muge, oblivious to the fact that his companion had stopped.
Lou Muge, observing his enjoyment, spoke calmly, “What’s your name?”
“Chang Anning.” The man mumbled with a mouth full of food.
“Chang Anning.” Lou Muge said solemnly, “Listen carefully. Your village, Shan An, is in danger. We are sent from the heavens to save you. If you cooperate, we can protect everyone in Shan An.”
Chang Anning, despite his delicate features, looked a bit bewildered, perhaps not the brightest. He stared at Lou Muge, not entirely convinced. “I’ll cooperate. Speak; I’ve sensed something amiss in our village for a while.”
“Why did your village invite spirits to the feast?”
“Starting this July, strange illnesses struck the village. People, perfectly fine, began losing their vision. Within three days, they went completely blind. Afterward, they’d go mad, wielding knives or clubs, smashing their left legs until they were completely crippled, then committing suicide.” Chang Anning explained.
Lou Muge, reminded of Tao Ming, inquired, “Do people with this strange illness always die?”
Chang Anning nodded, “Except for one.”
“Who?”
“Li Shens’ grandson, Tao Ming. He was the first to get sick, broke his leg, and then recovered. But later, everyone who got this illness died, and nothing could stop it.”
“Why did Tao Ming escape unharmed in the end?”
“We don’t know.” Chang Anning said, “Later, the Water Goddess sent a dream to the village chief, revealing this method. For almost half a month, there haven’t been any reports of new illnesses.”
“That won’t work.” Lou Muge declared.
“I know,” Chang Anning said, “Zhao Uncle from next door has already started losing his vision.”
“So far, how many people have contracted this illness?”
“Less than ten.” Chang Anning replied, “But people in the village say it’s a curse. They believe we’ll all eventually get this disease.”
Lou Muge fell into contemplation, suddenly feeling lost.
If some demon or ghost was truly targeting the village’s people, this method seems too slow, doesn’t it? From July until now, not even ten people killed. Is it because their cultivation isn’t enough, or is the Water Goddess, located in the central village, secretly protecting them?
Or is it simply a natural illness?
After asking, Lou Muge left, letting Chang Anning finish the remaining food. When leaving, the innkeeper didn’t dare ask for payment. Instead, he nodded and bowed, sending Lou Muge off with excessive warmth, just not daring to say “Welcome again.”
On his way back, Lou Muge encountered Tao Zhai. He and Tao Ming were twin brothers, nearly identical, with beautiful, dark eyes.
Standing at the door, watching Lou Muge approach, his eyes were cold and distant. “Do you want to save the people in the village?”
Lou Muge glanced at him. “Why?”
“You can’t save them.” Tao Zhai, inexplicably, uttered these words and then coldly walked back into the house.
Coincidentally, Lou Muge saw Tao Ming walking out, tapping a stick. He quickly stepped forward to assist, “Brother, if there’s anything, just call me.”
“Xiaozhai, hurry and tidy up; tonight, we have to visit the graveyard to avoid missing the hour,” Tao Ming said.
Tao Zhai responded and supported Tao Ming back to their room.
Lou Muge thought it was supposed to be every ten days. He found Aunt Li, asked the reason, and learned that last night, when he was singing, he spoke a few words. The people in the village believed that last night’s performance was invalid, so today it needed to be repeated. Lou Muge decided to join.
Since Aunt Li was too lazy to go, she handed him the basket of buns and the task of stopping people for a chat. She reminded, “Little immortal, don’t mess things up this time.”
Lou Muge half-heartedly agreed. When taking the basket, he noticed Aunt Li’s fingernails were unusually dirty, the nail seams as if pricked by a needle, with a dark bloodline and a faint smell of blood.
Perhaps a remnant from her work, Lou Muge didn’t pay much attention.
It wasn’t until the night fell that the group of performers set out, loaded with several boxes of meals, heading grandiosely toward the village gate.
As they approached, a crowd had gathered near the village gate, craning their necks to see and engaging in continuous chatter.
“Who’s this again?”
“Why another one? Isn’t this endless?”
“Yet another child. What’s going on exactly?”
Upon hearing that another person had arrived, Lou Muge immediately thought it might be someone sent from the immortal realm, a potential ally. Thus, he pushed through the crowd, and upon seeing him, the people willingly made way.
A spacious path opened up, and Lou Muge raised his eyes to see a semi-grown youth standing in the snowy expanse outside the village gate, wrapped in a black and gold fox fur cloak, with delicate features.
When his gaze met Lou Muge’s, a honey-like smile appeared in his eyes, as if he had crushed the white snow into a pure and clean expression.
———–
Author’s Note:
The character Ning Shaosi has officially joined the story.
Thank You for the new chapter ( ˘ ³˘)♥
ML is here, woop woop! 🥳
thx for the chapter!
aunt li is suspicious…