Bird's Death X Cursed Funeral

Is he dead?

Kevin sat in the living room, his gaze fixed on the Red Sparrow in front of him.

The Red Sparrow was already lifeless.

He untied the cage and held the Red Sparrow's carcass in his hands.

Even though it was dead, the Red Sparrow's body was still burning hot. Touching it no longer felt as soft as it had yesterday; instead, it was as hard as iron, like an iron sculpture covered in feathers.

It's heavier than yesterday.

However, the "desire" emanating from it was no different from yesterday.

"Why did he die in just one night?" Kevin wondered.

When he rested last night, Red Sparrow looked full of energy, showing no signs of discomfort with the external environment or illness.

After all, this was a creature with some kind of Nen ability, yet it died after only being captured for a day or two, which seemed far too fragile.

How could something so fragile survive well in the wild?

"Could it be some kind of habit that caused the death?"

Kevin couldn't help but mutter to himself:

The main problem is that there is no record of the habits of Red Sparrow in either literature or other sources.

Or is it because the environment is different here?

This is indeed a problem that needs to be considered, after all, this Village is a closed-off area.

"Never mind."

Kevin stopped worrying about it.

Anyway, this bird was originally intended for medicinal use. Even if it hadn't died for other reasons, Kevin would have disposed of it today anyway, since living things can't be used to make medicine.

He sealed the Red Sparrow away.

"Is this bird really that fragile? The literature says they're quite aggressive, isn't it?"

Men Qi, who had just walked in, asked with a puzzled look on her face.

Generally speaking, creatures that are highly aggressive and can firmly occupy their territory are mostly very resilient.

Kevin shrugged helplessly. "Who knows?"

Since Red Sparrow is already dead, there's really nothing more that can be done.

Kevin went downstairs, where Bianluoke, who usually stayed at the counter, was talking to someone.

"There's going to be a follow-up—but the transport of supplies has already ended, and the memorial service is just around the corner." Bianluoke's voice carried a hint of helplessness.

"Elder brother!"

A young girl's voice rang out, clearly tinged with displeasure.

"The next supply delivery won't be until after the memorial service! We can't wait that long. We need to find a way to get supplies sent in now. Aren't you supposed to have a lot of connections outside? Can't you even get this much stuff?"

After a sigh, Bianluoke's voice grew increasingly helpless, but he had clearly given in. "Alright, alright, I'll think of a way, see how."

"Okay, please, brother. Get it in as soon as possible."

"Sigh, I understand—after the Festival —would you like to take over the inn?"

No one responded.

Kevin had already gone outside when he spoke to Bianluoke, who was standing at the door. The person he was talking to was a girl who was about half a head shorter than him and dressed in a maid-like outfit.

"Did maid outfits exist hundreds of years ago?" Kevin wondered to himself.

Taking advantage of Kevin's brief moment of absence, the girl glanced at him, then nodded slightly as a greeting, and said, "Then I won't disturb your work any longer, brother. Remember to hurry up!"

After speaking, he nodded slightly in Kevin's direction, bowed, and quickly left.

Bianluoke watched his sister's retreating figure, sighed, and then turned to Kevin beside him. "That's my sister, Lorraine."

"A very lively girl," Kevin said.

Upon hearing this, Bianluoke glanced at him, his eyes seeming to ask: What nonsense are you spouting?

"Never mind, it's better if she's not so lively."

The two went back inside and sat casually at the table and chairs. Bianluoke poured Kevin a cup of tea.

"Oh, the taste is quite unique." The strange tea entered his mouth, and a feeling of invigoration arose spontaneously.

Hearing Kevin's evaluation, Bianluoke's face showed a proud expression. "I guess this can be considered one of my specialties, not bad, right? From planting and harvesting to the final processing, I did it all by myself. You could call it my personal specialty, hehe."

Kevin took another sip. The refreshing and sweet aftertaste was truly wonderful. Even though he didn't know much about tea, he couldn't help but praise it:

"Good tea!"

"Impressive! Do the people in your Village all have their own unique culinary skills?"

Kevin couldn't help but guess, after all, this was a unique feature of the Village.

Bianluoke thought for a moment, then nodded. "Pretty much. Even someone like me who doesn't really delve into cooking has similar taste preferences."

That's true, no wonder this place is called the "Food Village".

"It's better than Bianluoke's tea, isn't it?" Men Qi. Clearly, she and Buhaci had already sampled it over the past few days.

Kevin nodded.

Bianluoke also poured a glass for Gowen, who came down later.

"How did that That Bird die?" Gowen asked curiously. He hadn't seen the Red Sparrow in the living room earlier and had assumed it had flown away.

I was really startled.

Kevin simply shook his head helplessly.

At this moment, Bianluoke put down his teacup. "He must have been killed by the Village's Curse."

The room fell silent instantly upon hearing this.

Well, Kevin and his companion might not fully understand, but for Men Qi and his companion, the word "Curse" was undoubtedly an absolute taboo in the Village.

On the surface, these villagers seem indifferent and living quite well, but how could they really be indifferent?

How could they remain unmoved by the fact that this small Village has confined them to this place for their entire lives, and that it will even affect their descendants?

The homeless man at the door behaving in a more normal way.

Seeing the sudden silence, Bianluoke sighed and waved his hand, "A few years ago, I might have cared, but now it doesn't matter. Curse is Curse; it's there. Even if we pretend not to see it, will it disappear?"

After saying that, he continued the previous topic, saying, "This intelligence is worth one million."

Without waiting for Kevin to transfer the money, he began to speak, "The Village is Curse, I believe you all know that. But this Curse doesn't just apply to us villagers, it also applies to the outside creatures."

"Perhaps you are unaffected because you are human, but any living animals that enter the Village will die quickly. Even the Thunderbeast, which are as large as mountains, will not survive more than three days in the Village."

The so-called Thunderbeast is the largest creature in the entire Secret Realm; describing it as a "moving mountain" is not an exaggeration at all.

The Thunderbeast Beast is enormous, Life Force resilient, and can even summon heavenly lightning when enraged, making it arguably at the top of the ecosystem in this Secret Realm.

However, their numbers are extremely small, numbering no more than five in the entire Secret Realm.

It is said that these Thunderbeast no longer reproduce; they are the same group that was domesticated hundreds of years ago.

"In a way, we should be grateful for this Curse; after all, it didn't kill us outright, did it?" Bianluoke joked with a wry smile.

After hearing this, Kevin nodded slightly; it did indeed align with some of his suspicions.

"Since you don't care, then what exactly is this Curse?" Men Qi asked bluntly.

Previously, because the villagers avoided talking about the Curse, Men Qi had given up asking and planned to investigate on her own. Now that someone didn't seem to care, she might as well just ask him directly.

"I thought you'd ask from the start, but I didn't expect you to hold back for so long," Bianluoke said with a smile. In the past, Hunter x Hunter came usually asked for the same few kinds of information at the beginning.

"I don't know exactly which year the Village was Curse, I only know that one day our ancestors suddenly could no longer leave the Village."

"Roughly speaking, it should have happened between 270 and 280 years ago. As for the specifics of the Curse, we don't know. All we know is that the villagers and their descendants are no longer able to leave this place."

"Or rather, once you leave, you are doomed to die; the Curse will take effect the moment you step out of the Village."

As they were talking, the sound of Handbell came from outside, accompanied by a long and slightly melancholic song.

Bianluoke looked towards the door and suddenly asked, "Want to go see what's going on about the Curse?"

Upon hearing this, everyone turned their gaze toward the door.

"If possible, of course, no problem," Kevin replied directly.

Bianluoke led everyone outside the door.

A large number of villagers had gathered on the street outside, and in the center walked a group of people dressed in black and white clothes, with all sorts of animal masks on their faces.

Leading the way was an elderly man, whose attire looked exceptionally formal and luxurious.

People dressed in black and white clothes sang silently on both sides, shaking bells in their hands. The surrounding villagers watched this scene quietly from behind. A few people exchanged glances and then silently followed behind the crowd.

Combining Bianluoke's words with the current scene, it inexplicably feels like a Funeral, except there's no coffin in sight.

The group wasn't stupid; they could tell that the old man at the front was very old, and that he was still able to move only because of his Nen ability.

Following the group all the way to the end of the village, we found that some simple facilities had already been set up, and various items that looked like they were for funerals were hanging there.

Because of the different customs of various ethnic groups, Kevin and his friends were not very clear about the specific uses, but most of them were related to funerals.

Place a soft cushion at the Boundary.

An elderly man dressed in fine clothes walked over and sat steadily on the soft cushion, as if he were resting with his eyes closed.

His Nen Aura slowly dissipated and condensed, and even maintaining the basic [Entanglement] technique seemed extremely difficult. The people around him, dressed in different clothes, appeared to be his family members, and they all knelt beside him with their heads bowed.

Just then, a "whoosh" sound came.

Kevin frowned slightly, as if he had noticed something, and looked in that direction.

A silver-white metal palanquin slowly approached, carried by four robust men in white robes. Seated on the palanquin was a young girl, so beautiful that one could not look away.

She had long, smooth, and lustrous white hair, and her flawless face was adorned with striking red eyes that shone like jewels.

She was wearing close-fitting white clothing, adorned with silver ornaments.

The long, close-fitting robe reached all the way to her knees, her jade-like calves hanging down casually, and her bare feet adorned with silver nail polish.

Pure, charming, poignant, and delicate.

A strange quality blended together in her, yet it was inexplicably harmonious, making her appear both mature and somewhat childlike.

Hiss~

White hair, red eyes, bare feet.

Kevin clicked his tongue inwardly and silently withdrew his gaze.

The girl sitting in the sedan chair, however, had her gaze fixed on them.

Upon seeing these four unfamiliar faces, Men Qi and the others stared at them without any restraint, while Kevin quietly averted his gaze.

The girl's gaze lingered on Kevin for a moment, and a slight smile appeared on her face.

"Is that the Saintess?" Men Qi murmured to himself.

Hearing this, Kevin turned to look at her, puzzled. "What Saintess? Isn't this the cook's Village? How come there's a religious figure here?"

Seeing Kevin's gaze, Xiahara explained, "It's strange, but there is indeed such a thing as a 'Saintess.' However, there is no religion here, only this one Saintess."

"That's what the villagers call her anyway. Look at that Small Castle over there; that's the Saintess's residence."

However, the two of them only knew this basic information and nothing else.

As the Saintess arrived, the villagers in the temple fell silent, and everyone lowered their heads slightly.

Seeing this, Kevin and his three friends followed suit.

Although everyone had their heads down, Kevin quickly glanced at the villagers' expressions before the Saintess appeared. Although it wasn't very obvious, everyone's attitude seemed to be different.

The palanquin stopped, Saintess gently rose. Her feet did not touch the ground, and the chair she had been sitting on floated slowly into the air, tilting forward as it drifted toward the Boundary.

Kevin then raised his head and squinted slightly.

He was sure he wasn't mistaken; the Saintess was actually sitting on a snake, and it was some kind of Nen ability of this snake that was lifting her into the air.

Moreover, this snake seems to have an innate ability to become invisible, so it cannot be seen with the naked eye.

However, with so many villagers here, and a group of Nen user at that, Kevin doesn't believe no one can [condense], so it shouldn't be considered a secret.

The Saintess floated to the old man's side, closed her eyes, and murmured incantations as if in prayer.

After he finished speaking, the bell rang again. The family members who had been kneeling on both sides were overcome with grief, and all the villagers looked up.

The old man slowly stood up, turned his head to look at his family members on both sides, said nothing, and slowly walked out of the village.

At this moment, Kevin activated [Condensation] with all his might, wanting to see what this Curse was all about.

Not only him, but Men Qi and the others beside him were also observing carefully.

As the old man crossed the Boundary, his Nen Aura instantly expanded, spreading wildly in all directions. Some dark Resentment mixed in with the Nen Aura and drifted outwards.

The essence of these Resentment seems no different from the original Resentment in the Village.

The old man walked forward silently, his Nen Aura swelling ever stronger. This swelling didn't mean his Nen Aura increased.

Instead, the range of the Nen Aura emitted outwards is getting larger and larger.

Finally, a cry came from the sky.

By this time, the old man had walked quite far, and they could only see a blurry silhouette.

A huge, eagle-like bird swooped down like a silver lightning bolt. More creatures were rushing in from all directions.

Soon, the old man was overwhelmed by the animals, and then the animals began to fight each other.

Villagers have already begun to leave, seemingly accustomed to this scene.

"So this is your funeral culture?" Gowen asked quietly, watching her intently.

Bianluoke, standing beside him, nodded slightly. "But if you call it culture, it's not that far removed. It's said that this method is actually less than 150 years old."

"In recent years, more and more elderly people are choosing to die this way, believing that this allows their souls to return to the outside world and prevents them from returning here after reincarnation."

Indeed, the reasons for this culture are quite obvious.

Confined to the Village, no one would not yearn for freedom. But when freedom is so closely linked to death, freedom naturally takes a backseat to life. Besides, life in the Village isn't particularly difficult.

"So the Curse you're talking about is that you'll be targeted by powerful animals outside the village Village leave?"

Bianluoke nodded. "Just as we crave those delicacies, now we are also being eyed by those 'delicacies'—isn't it ironic?"

These words silenced the group.

Such a statement is indeed ironic, and it must be admitted that it is somewhat self-inflicted.

After all, this is Secret Realm, and most of the powerful creatures in the Secret Realm were once raised by them in the surrounding area.

Otherwise, there wouldn't be a situation where animals die as soon as they leave the Boundary. Logically, if the surrounding animals are weaker, leaving the Boundary would only present them with some risks.

The problem lies in the sheer number of powerful creatures in the Secret Realm, a situation they themselves created—a truly ironic situation.

Kevin was at a loss for words.