Chapter 1476: Did You... Hear It?

The village chief seemed to be drawn in just out of curiosity, greeted him briefly, and then left.

Lann clipped a bit off the edge of a Temerian Oren Coin as payment for the accommodation.

However, as Lann watched the village chief walk away in his thick-bottomed black priest’s wooden clogs, his gaze lingered on the old man before he turned back around.

The Demon Hunter sniffed the air, confirming he hadn’t mistaken the scent earlier.

There was a scent of blood on the village chief’s hands.

It was the kind of blood scent that accumulates over years of slaughtering, similar to a butcher’s.

But the blood didn’t seem to be human; it was likely from animals like cows or horses, maybe even monkeys or wild boars?

Isn’t this village supposed to be a way station for handling large livestock?

Could it be… also managing slaughter?

Even if so, the village chief, who doubles as a priest, shouldn’t personally involve himself in such tasks.

Shintoism believes that corpses are impure, even funeral rituals focus more on the soul’s guidance rather than the lifeless body.

Moreover, in Japan, funerals are typically managed by monks.

How could he communicate with deities (from a Shinto perspective) with bloodied hands?

But Lann’s curiosity was merely piqued.

After all, everyone has their secrets, and since it wasn’t human blood, there’s no need to be too concerned.

Perhaps the priest has a secret penchant for meat?

Whether the village chief enjoys meat or not isn’t important, Lann has now been allocated a spot in the village.

Though still a wooden cabin with a thatched roof, it already appears to be one of the superior rooms in the village.

Its location is distant from the livestock pens and next to a river, reducing the animal stench significantly.

The size is appropriate; it seems originally intended for multiple occupants, but perhaps due to Lann’s generous payment, he’s alone this time.

Yet the adjacent room didn’t show anyone coming out to see the commotion earlier. Perhaps the workers are catching up on sleep.

“Father, are you really letting him stay here?”

In the distance, Kikuchi Daisuke rested his hand on the hilt of his sword, the scabbard covered by his haori. Beside him, a young man looked towards the large house in the distance, speaking.

“Do you have a problem?” Kikuchi Daisuke glanced sidelong at his son, Kikuchi Dingji.

This kid is decent at swordsmanship, yet he rambles on about wanting to do great things, while ignoring small tasks in the village, wandering around and bossing the workers.

Thus, the villagers nicknamed him “Idle Dingji.”

“There seems to be no real issue, but… it’s just too strange.”

Kikuchi Dingji scratched his shaved head.

“The world is vast, Dingji,” Kikuchi Daisuke said with an open mind, “Incidents you find unbelievable may happen to others. Look at that armor of his.”

“I bet the entire village couldn’t buy even one gauntlet like that armor of his.”

The old warrior raised a hand, patting the arm he once saw the “Smaug” arm armor on.

“And look at how he doesn’t haggle, just shells out gold coins. Pfft, I think even in the Ming Country, he wouldn’t be ordinary… Do you hear any word of a big shot from Ming Country lately? I haven’t heard of any.”

With a sigh, Kikuchi Daisuke turned to his son.

“Anyway, lead the patrol tonight. Don’t pout! Hear me? Want a beating?”

“Demons, bandits; even one sneaking in would be deadly! Be serious!”

Kikuchi Daisuke kicked his son in the lower back, sending him stumbling several steps forward.

Kikuchi Dingji grumbled as he dusted off his sandals, unhappily going off to work.

After the fuss, the sky had truly darkened; if one didn’t want to burn oil lamps, this was the time to rest.

Inside his cabin, Lann first stirred a fire pit, producing the crackling sound of burning wood.

Once the sunlight faded completely, he silently slipped out through the door crack.

With a body seemingly giant compared to most, it now showed remarkable agility.

And Lann’s stealth skills posed no threat of detection against the village’s patrol.

He even brushed past Kikuchi Daisuke’s abode, heading deeper into the village.

The village’s dusty, dirty road bustling with life faded, replaced by a weathered path of stone slabs climbing uphill.

Moss grew on the cracks, showing the road’s ancient history.

Two bird houses formed the winding stone stairway.

The red-painted Shinto gate, sometimes decked with shimenawa and paper offerings.

Often found at the entrance of a shrine, symbolizing the boundary between the Divine Domain and the human world.

Past the first bird house, the stone steps led to the Divine Hall for the village chief’s residence and daily worship. Continuing uphill was the object of worship, the sprawling sakura tree where petals glowed faintly and bloomed eternally.

The courtyard with the sakura tree, behind locked gates, posed no barrier for Lann.

With a light flip, he silently scaled the two-man-high gate.

Previously observed by Lann during the day, the sakura tree seemed even more magnificent at night, nearly glowing.

Falling petals resembled a beautiful light rain.

Yet upon landing, Lann continued frowning.

His eyes, now profound to the point of intimidating onlookers, surveyed his body from head to toe.

Occasionally extending a palm, seemingly inspecting some invisible object.

“It won’t do.”

After observing himself, the Demon Hunter softly uttered a conclusion.

“The powers entangling my body have nothing to do with this cherry blossom tree.”

“It’s not because we suddenly appeared in its courtyard that these powers entangled me. In other words…”

Lann’s gaze moved from the lavishly blooming cherry blossom tree, petals silently drifting down, and instead unfocusedly glanced around.

“It’s truly because we’ve stepped onto this land and immediately got entangled.”

Finally, even Lann couldn’t help but twitch the corner of his mouth: “Although I still can’t feel any danger, but… tsk, it’s really absurd.”

He rotated his arm and palm around.

“Do I really have to tattoo my [Body Light] or what?”

Those strands of power had already started increasingly falling upon and attaching to Lann’s [Body Light].

At a glance, it indeed looked like a fine art painting that hadn’t yet outlined its contours.

Even with Mentos’ computational power and Lann’s insight, they couldn’t deduce what it would ultimately turn into when faced with a painting that hadn’t even roughly sketched its outline.

Having returned to this cherry blossom tree again, and confirming that the powers entangling him, Rong Buqiu, and Qilin had nothing to do with this tree, Lann was ready to leave the courtyard.

A nameless river flowed through Thirteen Cherry Blossom Village, with his house conveniently by the riverside.

Once he silently returned, Qilin could quietly carry Rong Buqiu over the river, where they could have a brief, discreet exchange.

Generally without leaving a trace.

After stepping off the bluestone mountain path and back onto the village’s dirt road, Lann calmly watched the passing patrol in the darkness.

A bored young warrior leading, followed by four sleepy, nose-sniffing militiamen.

It was at this moment that Lann realized that the militia guarding the village gate during the day were actually reasonably equipped.

At least they had a few scattered iron pieces on their bodies serving as protection.

The remaining militiamen were really just in single clothes, holding a long spear or carrying a cheap broadsword on their waists and that was it.

They didn’t even have iron-plated helmets, just a triangular sweat cloth wrapped around their heads like farm work.

The torch held by the young warrior leading the group brushed past him, and after they walked farther, Lann continued on to the door of his house without his breath faltering.

Lann’s wooden house door had been slightly oiled at the hinge, so as long as it was silently opened and he slipped inside, no one would notice.

But just at this moment, there was a ‘creak’ sound.

The hinge of the wooden door made a dry friction noise.

This sound exposed the door pusher’s movements, carrying a sense of hesitation and timidity.

In the village, already silent to the point of just having the sound of flowing water left, this not-so-loud sound became abrupt.

Of course, this couldn’t have been Lann’s door opening sound.

Lann’s body had already slipped into his smoothly opening door, leaving only a head sticking out, as if just attracted by the sound.

“Is, is someone there?”

A voice, as hesitant and timid as the door-pushing sound, came out.

In the village where all households had already extinguished their lamps and gone to sleep, human voices at this moment in an environment silent to just the background sound were abrupt and eerie.

As if the night grew darker with it.

“Is, is someone there? Anyone?”

He asked again, nearly breaking into tears yet still keeping his voice low.

It was obviously a call for help, yet he dared not shout loudly, as if afraid of waking something.

This voice, self-contradictory in fear, made one’s heart too begin to feel tingly.

“Someone there.” However, at this time, a calm voice responded to him.

It was Lann’s voice.

“What’s your situation? It’s already quite late now.”

His tone was like discontent from being woken up, yet his face remained one of calm thought and peaceful observation.

The tone and expression were disconnected from each other.

A man with a face stained black and gray, who seemed half-awake as if just startled out of sleep, trembled his head out from the opened door.

He seemed petrified from fright, his expression frozen and robot-like.

Looking around, he saw Lann.

And he no longer had the energy to observe Lann’s appearance and the height of his head sticking out.

Afterward, with a touch of faint hope, face twisted, he inquired.

“Didn’t, didn’t you hear… hear any sounds?”

“What sounds?” Lann countered, “I only heard your noise.”

Saying this, but the Demon Hunter’s senses had already been mobilized, yet the keen hearing yielded nothing.

“Noise…” that person insisted tremblingly yet pressing his voice down severely, “there’s something! Broom! Linen! The noise of those things brushing past the tatami!”

“Tatami?” Lann raised an eyebrow, “Your room has tatami?”

“That’s because…” the person was on the verge of tears under Lann’s questioning, “I don’t!!!”

Suddenly! The distance already gone, the patrol’s firelight began to flicker! Along with a loud shout!

“Demon!”

And immediately following, the man who had reached his head out and talked to Lann by the doorframe.

His expression suddenly turned terrifying, as if drawn back by a force!

His whole head that reached out was abruptly pulled back into the room, even that door ‘bang!’ shut tight!

Without a moment’s hesitation, Lann dashed out! He stomped his foot on the adjacent room door!