The village was dim and gray, as though moonlight had draped it in a layer of silver.
Yet even the moonlight could not entirely dispel its deathly, stagnant atmosphere.
Even an ordinary person entering the village would have sensed an air like that of an old man in his twilight years.
Not far from the village, Shen Bai followed his gaze and saw a ragged middle-aged man crouching by the roadside, his lifeless eyes fixed on the moon in the sky.
The man's clothes were not actually tattered, merely somewhat worn. Yet the way they hung messily over him lent him an air of desolation and defeat.
Especially those dull, vacant eyes, as though all spirit had been drained from them.
Shen Bai shifted his gaze and let it settle on the man's wrist.
That mud-caked wrist was crisscrossed with scars, a gruesome and terrifying sight.
From time to time, villagers passed by the man.
Several of them even spat at him.
Some children who were playing grabbed handfuls of dirt from the ground as they passed the middle-aged man and scattered it over his head.
After observing carefully, Shen Bai discovered that dense scars covered the wrists of everyone—whether the middle-aged man, the villagers, or even the children.
"Benefactor Shen, the scars on their hands were inflicted by sharp weapons. Their steps are unsteady and their blood and vitality weak; they should have had blood drawn recently."
Wuhua spoke softly.
Shen Bai nodded. "That should be the case."
Recently, Shen Bai had been replenishing his blood and vitality. Coupled with his naturally abundant blood and vitality, his perception of it was especially keen.
Thus, he could tell at a glance.
"Let's go take a look."
An abnormality had appeared the moment they entered the village. Coupled with the starkly different behavior of this despondent middle-aged man and the villagers, Shen Bai's interest had been piqued.
The two exchanged a glance and said no more, walking toward the despondent middle-aged man.
But before they could approach, something unusual happened.
"You two are outsiders, aren't you?"
A voice sounded behind Shen Bai and Wuhua.
Shen Bai turned around and saw a white-haired old man slowly approaching with a cane in hand.
"Yes, we are outsiders. We were passing through, and it is already late. We would like to stay the night. May I ask how to address you, Elder?"
The old man lightly tapped his cane on the ground. "This old man is the Village Chief of Huaixi Village. My surname is Yang. You may call me Village Chief Yang."
"Our Huaixi Village does not ordinarily receive outside guests. But today is the day we make offerings to the Sophora Spirit, a most joyous occasion. If you wish to stay the night, you may rest in Huaixi Village for one night before leaving."
Offerings to the Sophora Spirit?
Shen Bai stroked his chin and asked, "Village Chief Yang, what are these offerings to the Sophora Spirit?"
Village Chief Yang chuckled. "Huaixi Village has a massive sophora tree. Nurtured by Liuyun Lake of Huaixi Village, it developed spirituality and can ensure favorable winds and timely rains for Huaixi Village."
"Every so often, the villagers make offerings to it. Repeating this again and again nourishes the sophora tree's spirituality and allows Huaixi Village to grow ever more prosperous."
"Gentlemen, please look around. In the past, all of these were dilapidated houses. But because of the Sophora Spirit, the entire village has been transformed."
Shen Bai looked around and found that the village was indeed wealthy.
The buildings alone were far more prosperous than those in other villages.
Wuhua stepped forward two paces and asked, "Then why is this benefactor in such a desolate state?"
The old Village Chief glanced at the despondent middle-aged man and sneered. "This man was originally a villager of Huaixi Village, but he offended the Sophora Spirit and ended up like this. He deserves it."
"How did he offend it?" Shen Bai became even more curious.
At this, Village Chief Yang seemed to have opened a floodgate and explained, "The Sophora Spirit protects the village with favorable winds and timely rains, yet this fellow claimed that our offerings to it depleted ourselves. He even said the Sophora Spirit was evil. This outcome is the consequence of his own actions."
As he spoke, Village Chief Yang even spat at the middle-aged man.
After saying this, Village Chief Yang seemed to recall something and raised a hand in invitation.
"Two guests, let us not speak of this anymore. Come with me. I will arrange lodging for you."
From the sound of it, Shen Bai knew Village Chief Yang did not wish to say any more.
He did not continue asking and followed behind him with Wuhua.
Village Chief Yang led Shen Bai and Wuhua to find a house in the village.
"This house is vacant," Village Chief Yang said. "It was originally inhabited by a villager, but his entire family moved to Maple Forest Province, so it was left empty."
"Normally, no one would clean it, but today we offered tributes to the Sophora Spirit, so the entire village was cleaned."
Standing at the doorway, Village Chief Yang said, "Although you may stay temporarily because of the Sophora Spirit, you must still pay some silver."
Shen Bai nodded, then took some silver from the pouch at his waist and placed it in Village Chief Yang's hand.
There was no such thing in this world as the stories where one could eat and lodge for free anywhere. Charging some money was perfectly normal.
After receiving the money, Village Chief Yang told them to rest early, then turned and left.
Wuhua closed the door, turned around, and said, "Benefactor Shen, shall we go out and take a look tonight?"
Sitting in a chair, Shen Bai tapped the table with his fingers. "Master Wuhua noticed it too?"
Wuhua nodded. "Sophora trees are inherently strange, yet they regard it as a Sophora Spirit. That is an obvious problem."
Shen Bai stopped tapping the table, withdrew his hand, and said, "There is another point. Village Chief Yang told us too much."
"Oh?" Wuhua asked with interest. "Is talking too much also a problem?"
Shen Bai nodded. "He was eager to explain the sophora tree, and equally eager to explain why the middle-aged man ended up as he did. He wanted us to believe that everything here was the man's own doing and had nothing to do with them."
"Sometimes, the more someone explains, the more it reveals a guilty conscience."
"He could have simply refused to let us stay. But because we saw that middle-aged man, he needed to keep us here for the night, explain the reasons clearly, and dispel our doubts."
Wuhua's eyes lit up when he heard this. "Benefactor Shen is not only formidable in strength, but also quick-witted. This humble monk never considered that."
Shen Bai waved his hand. "No need for needless words. We will take a look tonight."
The two did not rush to seek out the massive sophora tree, because they had to pass through this village to reach Liuyun Lake.
The abnormalities in this village had to be resolved first.
Otherwise, if something changed at the massive sophora tree, and it was caused by the village, they would be the ones at a disadvantage.
Time gradually passed, and in the blink of an eye, the night deepened.
Several oil lamps had originally been lit in the village, but as time passed, they gradually went out as well.
The front door opened from within, and Shen Bai and Wuhua stepped outside.
Outside the village, even the moonlight had slipped behind the clouds. Only scattered traces of light remained.
Shen Bai determined the direction and headed toward where the middle-aged man was.
As he drew close, he could vaguely make out the middle-aged man's despondent figure.
As Shen Bai and Wuhua approached, the middle-aged man seemed to hear their footsteps. He stiffly turned his head toward Shen Bai and spoke in a dull, numb voice.
"Beasts! They're all beasts!"
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