Punishment for Breaking Taboo

"I don't think that young man looks like a shepherd either, he's too scrawny. We don't have room for shepherds here," said the man holding a bowl, chuckling heartily.

Or rather, they didn't have room for man-eating anomalous beings.

If they determined Yu Ziqing was a man-eating shepherd, they'd dig a hole and bury him.

This was because, previously, no shepherd had dared to truly set foot inside the village.

"The moment I saw him, I knew he wasn't a shepherd. No shepherd would be this weak, and besides..." The old man paused slightly, grinning and revealing his missing teeth.

"He kept protecting that Old Yang, so I knew he wasn't one of them. It's likely the shepherd brought him here to work for him, and that Old Yang is very likely someone from his family. Him saying he was a kidnapped cook is probably true."

"Speaking of which, why are there so many older people this time? I heard something big happened outside earlier, what was it?" The man with the bowl scratched his head.

"Do your job and mind your own business," the old man said, tapping the man lightly with his staff. The smile on his face disappeared. "The shepherd is dead, and something big happened again. You don't need to worry about these things. You just need to focus on the work in the mine. The work can't stop, and the output can't decrease. The next person to pick up the goods should be arriving soon."

"Understood."

Yu Ziqing was tired and sleepy. Coupled with the stuffy air in the underground cave and the not-low temperature, he soon fell into a daze, halfway between sleep and wakefulness.

After more than an hour, footsteps sounded outside the door. Yu Ziqing suddenly woke up, reaching out a hand to touch Old Yang while gripping the short sword at his waist.

"Little brother, the hot water is ready. Do you want some?"

"Yes, thank you." Yu Ziqing walked out of the underground cave, took the hot water in the wooden bowl, and thanked the short man. "Thank you, brother. My name is Yu Ziqing. What should I call you, brother?"

"Everyone calls me Er Han. My Grandpa is the Village Chief here. You can rest for a day, and then you'll have to start working. We don't keep idle people here. What can you do?"

Yu Ziqing found it a bit strange. He felt like he had already answered this question.

"I was a cook before."

"A cook, huh? That's fine. Looking at your arms and legs, you probably can't go down into the mine. Starting the day after tomorrow, you'll work with those old women," Er Han chuckled heartily and turned to leave.

Yu Ziqing took the hot water, sniffed it, then took out the rock-hard dry biscuits from his satchel. He slowly soaked the edges of the biscuits, eating small bites after they softened, and then continued soaking more.

Feeling not so hungry anymore and noticing nothing unusual, he soaked some more and let Old Yang get up to eat.

"Old sir, please eat something before you sleep."

After Old Yang ate a little, he pointed his front hoof to his throat and scratched a few words on the ground.

"Cut it open with one stroke, two inches from the skin, half an inch below the skin. Not a fraction of an inch off."

After saying this, as if afraid Yu Ziqing wouldn't understand, he used his hoof to gesture the position below his throat for a long time.

Yu Ziqing pondered for a moment.

"Old sir, are you trying to break through an evil magic? Can't you break it in one go, but in stages? Is that possible?"

Old Yang nodded, then went into his satchel himself to find the small knife he used for cutting meat, bit it, and handed it to Yu Ziqing.

"Will this work?"

Old Yang didn't waste any words. He lay down on the ground, tilted his head back, and pointed with a hoof to the spot that needed to be cut.

"In such a hurry? Why not rest for a few days first?"

Old Yang kicked Yu Ziqing, then continued to lie on his back, waiting to have his throat cut.

Yu Ziqing flipped his hand, holding the small knife, and estimated the depth and position. With his knife skills, it should be about right.

As the blade fell, a two-inch-long bloody gash appeared on Old Yang's throat, half an inch deep into the skin, the measurement just right.

Old Yang grunted, enduring it motionlessly, letting the blood flow. However, in just two or three breaths, dark light surged from the wound, and the wound healed again, leaving only a thin trace. Old Yang also got up from the ground, and his hoarse, aged voice rang out.

"The pain of skinning, I may not be able to endure it now, but I can still endure cutting through the bone."

"Old sir, you never told me about this move before."

"Why would I tell you? With those shepherds around, if I spoke, I would surely die. Even those shepherds don't know this method. I originally didn't plan to speak, but this time cutting the skin two inches, next time if it's skinning to break the evil magic, it will need to go into the flesh by one inch. But, I have to speak now."

"Old sir..."

"Just call me Old Yang. It's fine," Old Yang walked to the entrance of the underground cave and peeked outside.

"Anyway, remember two things.

You've always been asking about cultivation methods, right? If you find any cultivation methods here, don't cultivate anything other than body-nurturing methods. First, eat more and nourish your body, otherwise, you're just seeking death.

I'm afraid you won't be able to resist, not knowing your limits, and ruin your future, walking to your own death.

Second, don't get involved in the local affairs. Recover well, pack enough supplies, and leave quickly. Don't wait for spring. Waiting until spring will be too late."

After giving these instructions, Old Yang collapsed onto the pile of dry grass, his eyes filled with deep fatigue, and slowly closed them.

"Old Yang? Old Yang?" Yu Ziqing was startled and quickly called out twice.

"Call what? You'd be the same if you took a knife to the throat," Old Yang lifted an eyelid slightly, grumbled indignantly, turned over, and fell into a deep sleep.

"..."

Yu Ziqing didn't disturb Old Yang further. Taking that knife cut was probably not as simple as it appeared on the surface.

Old Yang had taught him the official dialect, taught him writing, and also taught him a lot of miscellaneous knowledge. He learned quickly, and Old Yang was happy to teach, but he had never imparted any cultivation methods to Yu Ziqing.

Old Yang said he didn't know either, otherwise, he wouldn't be without Qi Refining; he was just an ordinary person who taught.

Yu Ziqing took it as truth and never asked about it again.

With the warm earth-house, and seeing Old Yang's condition, Yu Ziqing knew there was no immediate danger. He could finally sleep soundly, a deep sleep lasting seven to eight hours until hunger pangs woke him up.

Stepping out of the earth-house, he heard a commotion in the distance. Yu Ziqing grabbed a handful of the dried biscuit crumbs he had been slowly collecting and took a few sips of water. He then slowly savored the crumbs as he walked towards the crowd.

Reaching the edge of the crowd, he craned his neck to look. Inside, a thin man was tied up with ropes. The man was skin and bones, his eyes a bit vacant, with drool still in his mouth.

The crowd behind parted, and Er Han came forward, supporting the Village Chief.

"Village Chief, this man went to the back mountain to steal and eat white meat."

The Village Chief sighed and nodded at Er Han. Er Han immediately turned and left. The Village Chief looked around and cleared his throat.

"If you don't want to work, you don't get food. If you don't get food, you go steal white meat. This is our biggest taboo here. There's nothing else we can do but let him have one last meal, at least he won't starve to death."

The surrounding people remained silent. Yu Ziqing continued to slowly savor the dry biscuit crumbs, letting his saliva soften them. He remembered what Old Yang had told him even when he was being struck, so he was purely there to watch the spectacle and, incidentally, to learn about the people and affairs here.

Before long, Er Han returned with a wooden tray carrying a steaming bowl of ice water and another stone bowl covered with a stone lid.

The Village Chief opened the lid. Inside was something yellowish-orange. At first glance, it looked like old tofu, or perhaps millet cake. The Village Chief picked up a pair of iron chopsticks, clamped a piece, and rolled it. The steam diffused along with the aroma of grains and the fragrance of oil.

The Village Chief picked up a piece about half the size of his fist, lightly rolled it in the ice water, and the scalding heat dissipated. He held the food and brought it to the mouth of the thin man lying on the ground.

The man was dazed. Smelling the aroma, his mouth, without thinking, swallowed the large piece in one go.

With a gulp, without any chewing, the food slid down his throat and into his stomach.

However, in just a few breaths, the man suddenly began to struggle violently, emitting inhuman gurgling sounds from his throat. Heat continuously poured from his mouth. After struggling for a short while, the man completely stopped moving.

Yu Ziqing silently savored his crumbs, watching quietly like everyone else.

The man had been scalded to death by that mouthful of unknown food.

Even from this distance, he could feel the heat. That thing was definitely hotter than boiling oil. If someone said it was a fresh batch of magma, Yu Ziqing would have believed it.

The skin around the man's stomach was visibly different in color from the surrounding skin. His internal organs were likely cooked…

And such a large piece, swallowed instantly, was probably not just because the man was starving mad; he didn't even chew.

The Village Chief finished dealing with the situation and turned to leave.

Someone silently dealt with the body, while others went about their own tasks. Everything proceeded in an orderly manner.

Er Han saw that Yu Ziqing hadn't left and walked over with the tray.

"Young Master Yu, come on, I'll take you around."

"Mm, okay."

After walking only a few steps, Er Han, holding the tray in one hand, picked up the bowl of water and casually splashed it to the side.

The ice water hit the ground and quickly formed a thin layer of ice. Chilling mist billowed up, forming frost branches that climbed along the ground in all directions. In just a moment, an area of seven to eight feet was covered in frost.

Er Han held the tray and quietly lifted the lid of the food bowl a crack. Instantly, it was as if a ball of glowing charcoal had appeared, with heat and aroma gushing out.

Er Han couldn't help but swallow.

"We can't even eat this millet cake yet. That bastard got off easy."

Yu Ziqing stood to the side, feeling a burning sensation on his cheeks. Just a brief glance at close range felt like a burn.

Could such a thing really be eaten?

He subtly glanced at Er Han. The latter seemed completely unaffected by the heat, his face showing only one emotion: longing.

He recalled the Village Chief, who couldn't stand steadily and needed a cane, needing to be supported, yet he stood even closer and personally handled it, also seeming unaffected by the heat.

Coupled with those who peeled skin to dissolve evil magic with ease, and those who handled things with such lightness.

Yu Ziqing couldn't help but secretly question:

Were the people here truly ordinary humans?

When did ordinary people become so outrageous? Were the ordinary people he saw in the past few months all fake?

Recalling the desolate Abyss of Despair he had passed through before entering here, and the unforgiving way they treated those who ate white meat.

Yu Ziqing connected all the information and filled in some missing details with his imagination.

Suddenly, a bold conjecture formed in his mind.

The only path in and out, with the Abyss of Despair on the left and a forest where death awaited on the right.

Cannibals definitely couldn't get out.

And the desolate Abyss of Despair, appearing so coincidentally?