“Of course we’ve tried that.”
The village chief gave a bitter smile. “In fact, after the third case of a demonic beast attacking someone, a villager suggested this idea. After a discussion, it was quickly adopted.”
“But we truly underestimated the power of those beasts. Even though most of the militia had already gathered to protect the young people, that night a bloodthirsty Demonic Tiger broke in and gravely injured several militiamen in an instant. The remaining ones scattered in terror.”
“What happened next was even more heartbreaking. That Demonic Tiger actually dragged away three young people. When we found their bodies at the village entrance, the villager who made the suggestion was nearly beaten to death on the spot.”
“I see.”
Lin Huanhuan mused, “If not for that suggestion, at most only one person would’ve died that night. But because of it, two more perished. The families of those three young people must hate the one who suggested it to death.”
The village chief nodded. “That’s right. After that, no one dared mention such an idea again. After reporting it to Lingyun Sect, we’ve been hoping for an immortal master to come and save us.”
Ye Jinxiu asked, “Since that’s the case, why not try letting all the young people leave? There shouldn’t be such incidents in other places, right?”
“This…”
The village chief opened his mouth but hesitated, afraid of offending their saviors.
“You foolish woman, you just don’t get it, do you?”
Lin Huanhuan glanced at her disdainfully, full of pride. “You should understand one thing—this is just an ordinary village. For these villagers, farming is their only livelihood. In such circumstances, how could they possibly have much money saved?”
“If they leave here, leave this land they depend on, how are they supposed to survive? So as long as there’s hope, they will never leave. Maybe a few would, but definitely only a small number.”
“I understand now.”
Ye Jinxiu came to a realization and nodded, then bowed to Lin Huanhuan. “Thank you for enlightening me, Senior Sister Lin.”
Lin Huanhuan had originally been looking forward to seeing Ye Jinxiu embarrassed and was determined to ridicule her if she acted stubborn.
But this reaction from Ye Jinxiu was completely unexpected, leaving Lin Huanhuan at a loss for a moment. “Y-you know your own shortcomings, that’s good. You’re still far from enough!”
Lin Huanhuan huffed coldly and turned her head. Ye Jinxiu’s eyes curved as she smiled, “Senior Sister Lin, are you blushing? Why are you blushing? You couldn’t have a fever, could you? Should I check for you?”
Although Ye Jinxiu hadn’t reached out, Lin Huanhuan was so startled she took two steps back. “W-what are you trying to do? If you come any closer, don’t blame me for being rude!”
“I haven’t even done anything yet.”
The village chief and the militia captain watched this scene with a strange feeling, quickly remembering that key word and shaking their heads vigorously to force those memories away, afraid they’d be silenced for knowing too much.
Silently walking at the rear, Dong Yun’er squinted her eyes, watching her lady and that annoying woman interact cheerfully, who knows what she was thinking.
They first went to the place where the bodies were kept. Most had already been buried, only the most recent two remained, since the village chief knew someone from Lingyun Sect would come and kept them for investigation.
Lin Huanhuan and the others inspected the bodies. The wounds indeed matched those recorded in the bestiary of demonic beasts.
“Looks like it really was done by demonic beasts.”
“In that case…”
The village chief looked forward anxiously, though he didn’t voice his next question, everyone could guess he wanted to ask: “When can this be resolved?”
“Mm.”
Lin Huanhuan thought for a moment and said, “We’ll deal with this matter, but before that, we need to confirm something else.”
“Let’s investigate the first victim’s home.”
The village chief was confused—why investigate when it was already so obvious? But he still led them to the place.
It was a somewhat rundown yellow earth house.
The village chief went straight up and knocked on the door. “Widow Wang, open up, the immortal masters are here to uphold justice for us. We just want to see if there are any clues here.”
“Coming.”
The door was opened by a widow dressed in plain mourning clothes. She looked exhausted, her face written with sorrow and helplessness.
“Please come in, though I don’t know if I can be of any help.”
What met their eyes was a home mired in poverty. A little girl with braided pigtails sat on a small stool, staring at them curiously as if to ask, “Who are these pretty big sisters?”
The village chief hurried to introduce her. “Her surname is Wang. Her husband died of illness early on, leaving behind a fifteen-year-old son and a two-year-old daughter.”
“She’s been raising both children alone all these years. Life hasn’t been easy. The villagers, seeing her plight, often help her out. That’s how they’ve managed to get by.”
“Her eldest son was nearly fifteen, old enough to help with many things, but then this tragedy struck and he died. Now it’s just the two of them. I really don’t know how she’s held on.”
Lin Huanhuan felt as if a stone weighed on her heart, making it hard to breathe. She opened her mouth to speak, but didn’t know what to say.
They then asked a few questions, all of which Widow Wang answered without the slightest attempt at concealment.
When they finished, the little girl with pigtails pattered over and held out the cake in her hands to Lin Huanhuan. “Big sister, you must be tired from helping us, right? Here, you can have this.”
Lin Huanhuan noticed that although the little girl offered her the cake, her gaze never left it, and she couldn’t hide the way she swallowed secretly. Lin Huanhuan said, “Big sister isn’t hungry, you eat it.”
The little girl tilted her head at her, then turned to look at Widow Wang. Widow Wang nodded lightly, giving permission, so she happily started munching away.
“Are you very hungry, little sister?” Lin Huanhuan asked gently.
“Not really, just haven’t had cake in a long time, so I kind of want to eat it. Usually the rice at home is hard and not tasty at all.”
The little girl grinned. Lin Huanhuan sighed softly. “That sounds a bit sad.”
“My big brother always ate a lot, but ever since he went out to learn a trade, I haven’t seen him. I really miss him. I wonder when I’ll see him again.”
The little girl spoke innocently. Lin Huanhuan turned in shock to look at Widow Wang, who bit her lip and shook her head at Lin Huanhuan. Lin Huanhuan instantly understood and didn’t continue the topic with the little girl.
After Lin Huanhuan and the others left, Widow Wang closed the door. While tidying up the house, she noticed that several pieces of silver had appeared on the table at some point.
******