New and Old Village Chiefs

The next morning, Lin Le sat on a tree trunk, welcoming the first rays of the morning sun.

As the warm sunlight shone on him, Lin Le felt his internal Yang Qi begin to grow, producing about 50% more than before.

"This will help me reach the Blood Qi Furnace faster," Lin Le nodded slightly.

As his Qi and Blood circulated throughout his body, a red mist seemed to rise from Lin Le's arms, as if he were shrouded in a hazy veil.

Shouldering his belongings, Lin Le continued eastward.

Compared to his slow, stumbling pace on the way here, he was now walking with the speed of a swift bird on his return.

By noon, Lin Le arrived at a village.

Seeing the cooking smoke rising, Lin Le stood on a hill, thought for a moment, and then walked towards it.

As he approached, several pairs of eyes fell upon him.

Lin Le narrowed his eyes for a moment before returning them to their normal state.

Upon reaching the village entrance, an old man weaving a straw mat stood up and said respectfully, "Young Hero, what brings you here?"

"I'm heading to White Lotus County, but I'm short on provisions, so I stopped by to buy some food," Lin Le replied.

"Oh, I see," the old man nodded. "Young Hero, it's already noon. Why don't you join me and my family for a simple meal?"

"That would be fine," Lin Le said, taking out a piece of silver. "This is for the meal. Please use the change to buy me some provisions."

"Certainly," the old man said, taking the silver and nodding.

The old man then led Lin Le to his home, which turned out to be a brick and tile house.

"Are you the Village Chief?" Lin Le asked the old man beside him, seeing the house.

The old man nodded. "Yes."

"Oh," Lin Le responded, showing no particular reaction.

He had expected himself to react, as he had been influenced by the concept of official hierarchy in both his past and present lives.

However, after killing so many people, he found it all rather ordinary. What was an official position worth? He was just an old man he could crush with a flick of his wrist.

Seeing Lin Le's calm demeanor, the old man couldn't help but feel a twinge of fear, realizing this young man was likely from a wealthy family.

But then he thought of that gaping maw, and his heart hardened. What if he was from a wealthy family? Dressed in rough cloth and without guards, he clearly wasn't from a major clan, just a young man from a moderately prosperous family who had seen a bit of the world.

If he killed him, he doubted his family would be able to trace anything back.

The old man pushed open the door and called inside, "Da Zhuang, we have a guest! Prepare some hot food and dishes for them."

"Alright," a rough voice replied. A sturdy man walked out of the house. He paused when he saw Lin Le, then revealed a set of yellowed teeth. "Guest, are there any foods you dislike? I'll be careful."

"There's nothing I dislike, just not too spicy, as I'm not used to it," Lin Le said.

"Understood," Da Zhuang nodded.

Before long, Lin Le sat at a table, watching Da Zhuang serve him three dishes and a bowl of rice.

Lin Le ate slowly, circulating his Blood Qi using the Great Devourer Art, stimulating his digestive system to process the food.

After finishing the meal, the old man offered a cup of tea. "Young Hero, are you satisfied with this simple fare?"

"It's alright, I'm not a picky eater," Lin Le said, taking a sip of tea. "By the way, Village Chief, is the position comfortable?"

The old man blinked, then replied, "It's alright. Life has indeed gotten better since I took the position."

"I suppose so," Lin Le suddenly reached out, his fingers like hawk claws, and grabbed the old man's throat. "After all, it's easy for life to be good when you're stepping on the corpses of others, isn't it?"

The old man's eyes bulged slightly, a look of panic appearing in them. He felt that things had spiraled out of his control.

He tried to speak, but Lin Le's grip on his throat only allowed him to make muffled choking sounds.

"I met the previous Village Chief here. He was a very honest uncle who even gave me some fried rice for provisions," Lin Le said, looking at the old man with a detached expression. "I thought for a moment you might be his father, but after your son came out, I confirmed you weren't."

At that moment, Da Zhuang walked in. He froze as soon as he entered, unable to comprehend why Lin Le was holding his father. Then he reacted, roaring, "Let go of my father!"

Lin Le glanced at him with a detached expression, then with a snap, the old man's head twisted to the side.

"Ah! You killed my father!" Da Zhuang's face turned a furious red. "Are you even human? We kindly invited you for a meal, and you dare to kill my father!"

"Firstly, I paid for it, so it wasn't an invitation," Lin Le said, slowly walking towards Da Zhuang. "Secondly, you didn't have good intentions, did you? The food was laced with a sleeping drug. Do you really think I couldn't tell?"

Da Zhuang froze, glancing at the empty dishes. His tone held a hint of confusion. "Then why are you alright?"

Crack! Whoosh!

A gust of fist wind whistled, accompanied by a series of cracking sounds. A somewhat delicate fist landed heavily on Da Zhuang's temple.

Da Zhuang hadn't expected Lin Le to attack so suddenly, nor had he expected Lin Le to be so fast. This punch landed squarely.

Bang! Crack!

The sound of bone breaking echoed. A noticeable indentation appeared on Da Zhuang's head. He then slumped down limply, a grayish-white fluid trickling from both his ears.

Lin Le withdrew his fist and looked at Da Zhuang's corpse.

"Go ask your father."

It's unlikely they'd have any good knockout drugs in this rural village, and if they did, they couldn't afford them anyway.

While ordinary knockout drugs might be troublesome for a Martial Master, they could still endure them through sheer constitution without passing out, though it would cost them a period of reduced combat power.

Furthermore, the Great Devourer Art greatly enhanced stomach resistance, allowing even ordinary knockout drugs to be easily digested.

To affect him, they would have to be injected directly into his bloodstream.

Stepping out of the brick and tile house, Lin Le glanced around before calling out, "Hey, big brother, could you come here for a moment?"

A farmer stopped, looked around, and then pointed at himself, asking, "Are you calling me?"

"Who else would I be calling? It's just you and me here," Lin Le said with a smile. "Come over here, I have a few questions for you."

Perhaps it was Lin Le's confident demeanor, but the farmer obediently walked over. "What do you want to ask?"

"How did the former Village Chief die?" Lin Le asked.

"Eaten by a Yokai," the farmer answered instinctively, clearly having a vivid memory of the event.

However, after speaking, the farmer suddenly seemed to realize his mistake and quickly corrected himself, "Wait, I remembered wrong. He died of a cold."

Lin Le narrowed his eyes. "What Yokai?"

"No Yokai, no Yokai!" the farmer waved his hands repeatedly. "The former Village Chief really died of illness!"

Lin Le placed a hand on the farmer's shoulder, his smile carrying no warmth, making one feel a sense of dread. "What Yokai, and where?"

The farmer's heart pounded violently, filled with fear. After much internal struggle, he finally told the truth, "A big tiger, in that forest over there."

As he spoke, he pointed to a patch of woods.

"Is that so?" Lin Le glanced at the forest. "How often does it come out to hunt?"

"Once every seven days," the farmer replied honestly. "It's been five days since the last time."

Lin Le's eyes narrowed slightly. "Does it speak?"

"No, but it can write," the farmer said.

"I understand," Lin Le said, releasing his hand. "You can go back to what you were doing."

"Oh," the farmer obediently left.

After a few steps, the farmer couldn't help but look back at Lin Le. He saw Lin Le enter the former Village Chief's house and his pupils contracted.

The new Village Chief was the one responsible for feeding the Yokai. He had been wondering why Lin Le, an outsider, was walking around the village.

Now it seemed...

The farmer shivered, unwilling to think further. In any case, he couldn't afford to offend Lin Le.