Ye Yi passed through the mountain cave at the bottom of the cliff, leaving the vast, boundless forest behind. There, he found traces of human activity.
Following those traces, he walked along a narrow path to a thatched cottage, where he encountered a strange-tempered White-Haired Old Man.
The Old Man said little and was extremely aloof. Wearing a deadpan expression, he clearly did not welcome Ye Yi and urged him to leave.
Ye Yi said nothing. Since he was unwelcome, he had no intention of shamelessly lingering there.
The Old Man led him through twists and turns until they finally reached a small river about three meters wide and stopped at the entrance to a wooden bridge.
Turning back, he coldly said to Ye Yi, "Cross the river and continue straight. You'll see a village."
With that, he turned and walked away without looking back.
Ye Yi did not mind. He bowed respectfully toward the Old Man's departing figure and thanked him before stepping onto the wooden bridge.
The bridge was crude, built from only a dozen or so logs tied together. It would certainly be slippery in rain or snow.
Fortunately, the river below was not deep. Even if someone fell in, their life would not be in danger.
Ye Yi crossed the bridge in seven or eight steps and reached the other side.
He followed the muddy path straight ahead and arrived at a village half an hour later.
The village had roughly a dozen households, all ordinary farmers, with men tilling the fields and women weaving cloth.
The moment he entered the village, an old woman with white hair, a wrinkled face, and a walking stick slowly approached him.
"Young man, who are you looking for?"
Though she was old, her eyes were still sharp. Seeing that