New and Old Village Heads

Early the next morning, Lin Le sat atop a tree trunk, welcoming the first ray of dawn.

When the warm sunlight fell upon him, Lin Le felt yang qi begin to grow within his body. The amount produced was roughly half again as much as before.

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

Blood and qi circulated through his body. A red mist seemed to rise from Lin Le's arms, as though he were draped in a hazy veil of gauze.

Shouldering his luggage, Lin Le continued east.

Compared to his stumbling steps on the way there, he now moved as swiftly as if flying.

By noon, Lin Le arrived at a village.

Watching the cooking smoke rise, Lin Le stood on a hillock and pondered briefly before ultimately walking over.

As he approached, several gazes fell upon him.

Lin Le's eyes narrowed slightly, then returned to normal in an instant.

When he reached the village entrance, an old man weaving straw mats stood up and cautiously asked with respect, "Young hero, what brings you here?"

"I'm heading to Bailian County, but I'm short on dry provisions, so I stopped by to buy some food," Lin Le said.

"Oh, I see." The old man nodded. "Young hero, it is already noon. Why not come to this old man's house for a simple meal?"

"Sure." Lin Le took out a piece of broken silver. "This is for the meal. Use the extra to buy me some dry provisions."

"Alright." The old man accepted the silver and nodded.

The old man then led Lin Le to his own home. It was unexpectedly a brick-and-tile house.

"You're the village head?" Seeing the house, Lin Le asked the old man beside him.

The old man nodded. "That's right."

"Oh." Lin Le merely acknowledged it, without much reaction.

He had thought he would react somehow. After all, both in his previous life and this one, he had been influenced by the idea that officials came first.

But after killing so many people, he found it all ordinary. So what if the man held an official post? He was just an old man Lin Le could crush to death with a casual squeeze.

Seeing Lin Le remain so indifferent, the old man could not help but feel uneasy. He knew this young man was likely the descendant of some wealthy and powerful household.

Yet when he thought of that gaping bloody maw, the old man hardened his heart. So what if he was from a wealthy household? He wore coarse hemp cloth and had no guards. Clearly, he was not from some great lineage, merely a boy from a mildly prosperous family who had seen a little of the world.

If they killed him, his family probably would not be able to trace anything back to them.

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

"Alright." A rough voice answered. A brawny man emerged from the house. When he saw Lin Le, he froze for a moment, then revealed a mouthful of yellowed teeth. "Guest, are there any foods you avoid? I'll keep it in mind."

"I don't have any restrictions. Just don't make it too spicy. I'm not used to it," Lin Le said.

"Alright." Da Zhuang nodded.

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

Lin Le ate slowly. Within him, his blood and qi circulated according to the Great Devourer Art, stimulating his stomach and intestines to churn and digest the food.

After he finished all the food, the old man offered him a cup of tea. "Young hero, were you satisfied with this humble fare?"

"It was fine. I'm not picky about food." Lin Le took a sip of tea. "By the way, is sitting in the village head's position comfortable?"

The old man froze, then said, "It's alright. Life did become easier after I took the position."

"That makes sense." Lin Le suddenly reached out, his fingers like an eagle's talons as they clamped around the old man's throat. "After all, when you use someone else's bones as a cushion beneath you, how could life not become easier?"

The old man's eyes bulged slightly, panic appearing within them. He felt events slipping beyond his control.

He wanted to speak, but with Lin Le gripping his throat, he could only make indistinct coughing sounds.

"I've met the village head here before. He was a very honest uncle, and he even gave me a handful of fried rice as travel provisions." Lin Le looked at the old man with an indifferent expression. "At first, I thought you might be his father or something. But once your son came out, I knew for certain that you weren't."

At that moment, Da Zhuang entered as well. The instant he came in, he froze. He could not understand why Lin Le had seized his father. Then realization struck, and he roared, "Let go of my father!"

Lin Le cast him an indifferent glance. Then came a crack, and the old man's head twisted to one side.

"Ah!!! You actually killed my father!" Da Zhuang's face immediately turned blood-red. "Are you even human? My family kindly invited you to eat, and you dare kill my father!"

"First, I paid. It wasn't your treat." Lin Le walked slowly toward Da Zhuang. "Second, you had no good intentions either, did you? You put knockout drugs in the food. Did you really think I couldn't taste them?"

Da Zhuang froze. He glanced at the dishes that had been cleaned spotless, a trace of confusion entering his voice. "Then why are you alright?"

Smack! Whoosh!

The wind of the punch howled, carrying nine crackling bursts as a somewhat delicate-looking fist smashed heavily into Da Zhuang's temple.

Da Zhuang had not expected Lin Le to attack so suddenly, much less that Lin Le would be so fast. He took the punch squarely.

Bang! Crack!

The sound of shattering bone rang out. A distinct dent appeared in Da Zhuang's skull, after which he collapsed limply. Some grayish-white fluid flowed from both ears.

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

"Go ask your father."

In a rustic village like this, they probably could not get their hands on any good knockout drugs. Even if they could, they could not afford them.

Ordinary knockout drugs were somewhat troublesome for martial artists, but they could still endure them through sheer physical constitution without falling unconscious. The price was that their combat strength would decline for a time.

Moreover, the Great Devourer Art could greatly enhance the resistance of the stomach and intestines. It could easily digest ordinary knockout drugs as well.

To affect him, they would have to inject it directly into his bloodstream.

After walking out of the brick-and-tile house, Lin Le glanced around and then called out, "Brother over there, come here for a moment."

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

"Who else would I be calling? There are only the two of us here." Lin Le smiled. "Come over. I want to ask you a few questions."

Perhaps because of Lin Le's confident manner, the farmer obediently walked over. "What would you like to ask?"

"How did the former village head die?" Lin Le asked.

"He was eaten by a demon." The farmer answered instinctively. Clearly, the incident had left a deep impression on him.

But as soon as the words left his mouth, the farmer suddenly came to his senses and hurriedly corrected himself. "Wait, I remembered wrong. He died after catching a cold."

Lin Le narrowed his eyes. "What demon?"

"There's no demon, no demon!" The farmer waved his hands repeatedly. "The former village head truly died of illness!"

Lin Le placed one hand on the farmer's shoulder. He wore a smile, but there was not the slightest warmth in it, making one shudder at the sight. "What demon? Where is it?"

The farmer's heart began pounding violently, and fear filled him. After struggling with himself again and again, he finally told the truth. "A huge tiger. It's in those woods."

As he spoke, he pointed toward a patch of forest.

"Is that so?" Lin Le swept a glance over the woods. "How often does it come out to hunt?"

"Once every seven days," the farmer answered honestly. "It has been five days since the last time."

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

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

"Understood." Lin Le released his hand. "Go back to your work."

"Oh." The farmer obediently left.

After taking a few steps, the farmer could not resist turning back to look at Lin Le, only to see him enter the village head's house. His pupils immediately contracted.

That new village head was the person responsible for feeding the demon. Before, he had wondered why an outsider like Lin Le was walking around the village.

Now, it seemed—

The farmer shuddered and did not dare think further. In any case, neither side was someone he could afford to provoke.