A Solemn Request

The Village Chief of Reed River Village, the Village Chief who raised Qin Siyu, had already died when Lin Yu met him.

To be more precise...

Even before reaching Reed River Village, Lin Yu had already detected some "anomalies" within the Reed River Village through his Mental Power perception.

This is why Lin Yu suddenly proposed to go to Reed River Village himself.

Because he wasn't trying to eliminate any potential traps set by the "Diviner," but rather he had already sensed that something was amiss.

But...

The "abnormality" that Lin Yu sensed was more like some kind of tragic situation than a "trap".

The "Diviner's" provocation was not unfounded.

After arriving at Reed River Village, Lin Yu confirmed that his perception was not false.

Within this Reed River Village, more than half of the villagers... have incomplete or fragmented souls.

For some reason...

The Diviner extracted half of the souls from most of the Village, plunging them into a coma-like state similar to that of a vegetable.

In a sense... these people could even be considered dead.

Qin Siyu's most important relative, the Village Chief, was also among them.

The peaceful and serene scene in Reed River Village today is the result of Lin Yu hypnotizing all the villagers and cleaning up the Village Reed River Village. He then distributed fragments of his soul to temporarily repair the broken souls of the villagers, allowing them to awaken. He also put the conscious villagers into a hypnotic state, weaving a dream.

The Village Chief's current ghostly state is naturally due to having been using Lin Yu's Soul Power for too long, causing his body to exhibit "Spirit Body Transformation" characteristics.

After all, most of the villagers in Reed River Village, including the Village Chief, are just ordinary people. Although a few have some Martial Arts skills or know a few Fang Techniques, their souls and bodies are not very strong.

After the soul has been extracted and left incomplete, forcibly reawakening consciousness in this way for an extended period is not a long-term solution.

It's like killing the goose that lays the golden eggs.

So...

Lin Yu did this for Qin Siyu's sake, but the decision was not made by him.

He looked at the old Village Chief in front of him and spoke softly.

"Village Chief, I have fulfilled your request."

The current plan...

It was the Village Chief who proposed it.

He initially awakened the Village Chief's soul and consciousness through a gentler method, allowing his Mental Power to enter the Village Chief's consciousness and communicate directly with Village Chief.

At the time, Lin Yu was simply trying to figure out what had happened to them.

Although it's 99% certain that the Diviner did it, what if there's more to the story?

Moreover, Lin Yu also wanted to know the Diviner's reasons for doing so.

But after a brief conversation with the Village Chief, Lin Yu learned the truth...

First of all, it was indeed the Diviner who did it.

Secondly... there wasn't any particular reason why the Diviner did this.

He simply needed some "souls" as sacrifices to activate some evil spell after he had fooled Qin Siyu.

And he just happened to be in this Village... that's all.

It's as natural as a hungry wolf spotting livestock on the road and killing and eating them.

Lin Yu even felt that... the Diviner probably didn't anticipate that doing this could be used to provoke the "Feng Shui Master."

This did not surprise Lin Yu.

Because the Diviner is a guy who has absolutely no Moral Concepts.

As Lin Yu gained a deeper understanding of the Diviner, he realized that every time Jian Cunyi cursed someone with words like "beast" and "wretch," it was based on reason and evidence.

Rather than being an insult, it was more like a straightforward, descriptive account... Lin Yu had reason to suspect that although Jian Cunyi had cursed the Diviner so much, upon closer examination, it might not even count as creating "speech karma."

But...

To Lin Yu's surprise, although the Village Chief also hated the Diviner to the core, when Lin Yu asked, "Is there anything you want me to do for you?" the Village Chief didn't mention "Revenge."

Instead...

"Master, I have an adopted daughter who has been separated from her family and is named Qin Siyu. Her name in the martial arts world should be 'Moon-Exploring Star-Plucking.' I wonder if you have heard of her?"

"If you happen to see her in the future... I hope you can help look after her!"

The Village Chief's final request was related to Qin Siyu.

Throughout his conversation with the Village Chief, Lin Yu concealed his relationship with Qin Siyu, only saying that he was a member of the Mystic Gate passing through the area and came to investigate after noticing something unusual about the Village.

But hearing what the Village Chief said...

Lin Yu could no longer bear to hide it from the Village Chief, so he simply told the Village Chief everything about how he met Qin Siyu and what he had seen and encountered along the way.

Certainly...

Lin Yu selectively concealed the dangers Xiao Qin had encountered several times, exaggerated Xiao Qin's role, and finally mentioned that Xiao Qin was about to travel far away with him and planned to return to the Village before the journey.

"I'll bring Qin Siyu over in a bit... Although your soul is incomplete, I can awaken you again. You should be able to talk to Xiao Qin just like you are now."

Lin Yu said that at the time, but after thinking about it, the Village Chief came up with a different idea.

"Master Daoist... you possess extraordinary abilities. I dare to ask you... do you have any way to prevent her from seeing the current state of the Village, or from discerning my true situation?"

"Although I live in the countryside, I had some extraordinary encounters in my youth and am not entirely without knowledge... Daoist, you are not a person from the Two Mountains and Six Hells, but rather the legendary 'Inter-Realm Walker,' is that right?"

"You said you were going to take Xiao Qin on a long journey... you mean to take her away from the Two Mountains and Six Hells, right?"

"In that case... I hope you can prevent her from learning such a cruel thing before she leaves... To be honest, those of us who have contracted Fire Poison are already living a life worse than death. Now that our souls are incomplete and we've lost consciousness, it's not such a bad thing for us to die like this."

"But if Xiao Qin finds out about this... she'll inevitably be heartbroken."

"Since we'll rarely see each other again anyway, why not weave a 'beautiful dream' for her, so she can feel that I'm still alive, and that the villagers are still alive... We all passed away peacefully a few years apart, what do you think?"

"Of course, I do have my own selfish motives... That Demon Lord who took our souls and lives is too terrifying. If Xiao Qin knew it was him, she would most likely do something foolish... Her skills are meager; her lightness skill is alright, but how could she be a match for that kind of Demon Lord?"

"Although she is indeed famous in the martial arts world, she is not the kind of person who would kill... Therefore, Daoist Master, I hope you can grant me a wish and keep it from her for me."

"The other villagers will be willing too."

Faced with the Village Chief's sincere request, Lin Yu naturally agreed.

But now...

Qin Siyu was already fast asleep in the next room. As agreed, he would take the Dreamscape Qin Siyu back soon, so that she could leave Reed River Village in her dreams.

After Lin Yu leaves, the old Village Chief will be utterly terrified.

Lin Yu was able to save Qin Siyu because although Qin Siyu's soul was damaged, it was intact in terms of "quantity".

However, the old Village Chief and the other villagers already had broken and incomplete souls before Lin Yu arrived.

Therefore, Lin Yu still couldn't help but have some questions.

"I respect your opinion... but I have a question now."

"Was it all really worth it?"

As Lin Yu spoke, the Village Chief looked at Lin Yu and a smile appeared on his aged face.

"Daoist priest, young hero... it's certainly worth it."

As he spoke, the Village Chief quietly pushed open the door to the room, then went to Qin Siyu's door and opened it a crack.

A corner of the made-up bed was lifted, revealing Qin Siyu lying on the low bed, fast asleep, her expression more peaceful and relaxed than ever before.

She didn't make the bed too messy, probably thinking that she would only be sleeping there for one night and that the old Village Chief would have to clean up after she left, so she didn't pull the blankets all off.

Seeing Qin Siyu fast asleep, the old Village Chief smiled.

"Seeing her again this afternoon and being able to exchange a few words with her, seeing her eat two bowls of rice at lunch, and now seeing her sleeping so soundly, without a single worry in her mind—that makes it all worthwhile."

"Master, you are still young and don't have children... If you had children, you would probably understand me better."

"When I found her at the village entrance, she was only this small," the Village Chief gestured, recalling the past. "It was raining heavily that day, and the little girl was under a tree, so pitiful. Her cries were even quieter than the sound of the rain..."

"Now that I've raised her to this age and she's grown into such a beautiful young woman, I have no regrets in this life."

"If she were to be seriously injured and lose her life because she wanted to avenge me, that would be unacceptable to me."

"This child has had a hard life, abandoned by her parents when she was little... Now that she's grown up, it's time for her to enjoy life... So, it's not a bad thing to let her have some sweet dreams."

The old Village Chief kept talking, and Lin Yu nodded.

"Don't worry, Village Chief... she will be very happy."

"In our world, even if you drank chicken soup with every meal, it wouldn't cost much."

Lin Yu said softly.

The old Village Chief laughed, "Now that you say that, I'm relieved..."

As he spoke, the old Village Chief bowed again, but after thinking for a moment, he took a step back, solemnly knelt on the ground, and kowtowed.

Lin Yu looked at the elderly man kneeling before him and instinctively reached out to help him up, but the moment he reached out, he realized something and his hand stopped in mid-air.

Then, Lin Yu stood still and accepted the bow from the old Village Chief of Reed River Village.

After watching the old Village Chief kneel and worship for a long time, he slowly got up, put his hands behind his back, and walked slowly and silently to his own house, gently closing the door.

Lin Yu nodded to the closed door, then turned and walked towards Qin Siyu, carrying the sleeping Qin Siyu on his back, and walked out of the village into the night.