Chapter 201 - 198: The Village’s Oddities

Before entering the village, the students exchanged names.

Including Song Ciwan, the group of students numbered ten in total. With Jiao Zuo, there were eleven.

Among them were five Cultivators and six Martial Artists. Besides Song Ciwan, there was one other female among the five Cultivators, and two females among the six Martial Artists.

However, Song Ciwan was currently under the guise of "Xin Mian," so in the eyes of others, she was not a Female Cultivator, but a Male Cultivator.

Song Ciwan’s Cultivation was the highest among this group of Cultivators; she was at Late-stage Qi Refining. But when everyone announced their Cultivation levels, she only claimed to be at Early-Stage Qi Refining.

After all, her current identity was Xin Mian, and Xie Yunxiang knew Xin Mian’s "background" crystal clear.

In Xie Yunxiang’s mind, Xin Mian had clearly just broken through from the Qi Transformation Stage to Early-Stage Qi Refining. How could he possibly jump to Late-stage Qi Refining so suddenly? If that were the case, wouldn’t it be obvious that there was something wrong with him?

Even though Song Ciwan was on good terms with Xie Yunxiang, she was unwilling to expose such a vulnerability to him.

Thus, on the surface, the one with the highest Cultivation was a Cultivator named Xie Yunchong.

This man was also a disciple of the Xie Clan and Xie Yunxiang’s older cousin. He was at Mid-Stage Qi Refining. Before Song Ciwan and Jiao Zuo appeared, this group of white-haired students had been led by Xie Yunchong.

There were two other Cultivators: one at Late-stage Qi Transformation, the same Cultivation as Xie Yunxiang, and one at Early-Stage Qi Refining, the same as "Xin Mian."

The one at Early-Stage Qi Refining was a Female Cultivator named Yu Miaomiao. She was very quiet, only occasionally stealing glances at Jiao Zuo with a peculiar look in her eyes.

Among the remaining six Martial Artists, Jiao Zuo had the highest Cultivation. Of the other five, three were at Innate Second Transformation and two were at Innate First Transformation. Among them was one Female Martial Artist at the Second Transformation and one at the First Transformation.

These two were always together and seemed to be martial sisters.

Zhang You, the one punished by Mr. Gao to copy poems a hundred times, was also at Innate Second Transformation.

Having exchanged names and Cultivation levels, the group gained a preliminary familiarity with one another, and the atmosphere imperceptibly grew more positive.

Everyone seemed to have gained a clearer sense of confidence in their ability to escape this Deceitful Realm.

Xie Yunxiang was a good mediator. Before they entered the village, as if struck by a belated realization, he suddenly made a point of asking Jiao Zuo, "Brother Jiao, after we enter the village, our identities—Mr. Gao’s and ours as students—they’re a form of protection for us, aren’t they?"

Jiao Zuo looked at him, slightly surprised, but quickly replied, "That is correct."

Xie Yunxiang breathed a sigh of relief and smiled. "In that case, I must ask Brother Jiao to be careful and protect Mr. Gao well."

Jiao Zuo said coolly, "Of course."

Xie Yunxiang chuckled, pleased with the response and not the least bit annoyed by Jiao Zuo’s indifference.

But his exchange with Jiao Zuo left the other students looking thoughtful.

No one was a fool; they could already tell there was a hidden meaning in the conversation between Xie Yunxiang and Jiao Zuo.

Xie Yunxiang was tactfully reminding everyone to abide by the rules of the Deceitful Realm!

Carrying Mr. Gao, Jiao Zuo was the first to step into Huai Xi Village.

A stream meandered before the village, its banks lined with swaying weeping willows. As the students crossed by stepping on the stone pillars in the water, a loud, coarse female voice suddenly rang out from upstream. "Well now, have the Talented Scholars of the academy returned? Eh? What’s happened to Mr. Gao?"

The voice had barely faded when a white-haired woman, who had been beating clothes with a wooden club by the stream, abruptly stood up. Club in hand, she took a large stride, instantly becoming a blur of motion before suddenly appearing in front of the group.

Jiao Zuo, walking at the very front, was startled and immediately stopped in his tracks.

Jiao Zuo’s face was taut, and he remained silent. Xie Yunxiang immediately stepped forward and said with a smile, "Yes, Mr. Gao is tired and just resting. We’re taking him home."

As he spoke, Xie Yunxiang’s legs were actually trembling slightly.

It was because the club in the hand of this woman, who had appeared so suddenly, was not an inanimate object.

Gleaming, sharp spikes covered the club, and at its tip grew a strange, furry face!

The bizarre face was inverted and distorted: its nose was at the very top, with the mouth below it, then the eyes, and the eyebrows at the bottom. It was a grotesque sight, winking and leering as it gave Xie Yunxiang a sinister smile!

Xie Yunxiang almost lost control and fled in terror.

’Brother... Brother Xin can be my witness, I, Xie, am truly terrified of ghosts!’

’I’m scared of anything and everything bizarre! AHHH—’ Xie Yunxiang screamed internally, on the verge of losing control.

Beside Song Ciwan, the Heaven and Earth Scale materialized and collected another wisp of energy: [Human Desires. From a Qi Transformation Stage Cultivator: Shock, Fear, Worry. Three catties and nine taels. Exchangeable.]

Song Ciwan: "..."

He was a total chicken, yet he always put himself out there. That was Xie Yunxiang in a nutshell.

What else could she say?

The woman casually swung the grotesque club in one hand, but her attention was on Xie Yunxiang. Her voice boomed, yet her face was coy. "So Mr. Gao is just tired, is he? My, you young gentlemen are truly worthy of being Scholars, so considerate as to escort your teacher home."

As she spoke, she turned to Jiao Zuo and shot him a flirtatious wink.

Jiao Zuo nearly stumbled. It was only thanks to Song Ciwan’s quick reflexes that she managed to steady him.

In that instant, the Heaven and Earth Scale appeared, and Song Ciwan received several more wisps of energy in quick succession.

[Human Desires. From a special Hundred Acupoints Realm Martial Artist: Shock, Terror, Annoyance. Six taels and two maces. Exchangeable.]

[Human Desires. From a Qi Transformation Stage Cultivator: Shock, Terror, Panic. Two catties and one tael. Exchangeable.]

[Human Desires. From an Early-Stage Qi Refining Cultivator: Shock, Fury, Worry. Nine taels and eight maces. Exchangeable.]

...

The first two wisps of energy were easy to understand. One came from Jiao Zuo, the other from Xie Yunxiang.

As for the last one, Song Ciwan deduced that it must have come from Yu Miaomiao.

It was strange. She was surprised the Heaven and Earth Scale had collected energy from Yu Miaomiao.

There was one thing that needed to be explained. Ever since entering this Inverted Deceit Realm, Song Ciwan had lost the ability to perceive intangible energy with her naked eye.

Without this special sight, she could no longer actively capture the "human desires" of others.

If she relied on the Heaven and Earth Scale’s automatic collection, however, there was a prerequisite: the generation of the person’s "human desires" had to be related to Song Ciwan in some way, however small.

If there was no connection at all, the Heaven and Earth Scale would not collect it.

While secretly keeping an eye on Yu Miaomiao, Song Ciwan watched the white-haired woman twist her hips, brandishing the club. The woman then addressed the group again. "Young gentlemen, I must get back to my laundry, so I won’t keep you. I’ll bake some flatbreads later and bring them to you. You mustn’t refuse my humble offering!"

She smoothed her salt-and-pepper hair, her face—a canvas of wrinkles and age spots—creasing into deep smile lines. Leaving a trail of goosebumps in her wake, she sashayed away on her ample hips.

The students were still shaken. With Jiao Zuo carrying Mr. Gao, they huddled behind him and hurriedly followed him deeper into the village.

There were quite a few villagers in the settlement.

The group greeted villagers as they walked.

Most of the villagers were white-haired, but this type of villager tended to consider themselves young. In fact, it was the able-bodied young people they had to address as their elders.

The village children were even more arrogant, strutting along the paths with their hands behind their backs. When the white-haired elderly met them, they would have to bow and address them as Grand-uncle, Great-grandfather, Grand-aunt, or Great-grandmother.

Fortunately, the group had Mr. Gao with them. He was of a high generation, so out of respect for him, the villagers were somewhat more courteous to the students.

This continued until a person appeared up ahead, striding toward them with a grim face and a hoe slung over their shoulder.

From a distance, they could see it was none other than Sha Si, the man who had been hunting Jiao Zuo earlier!