Grass did not appear at the rear window until midnight.
After leaping into the room, she closed the window and came to Chen Lin's bedside.
"How did it go?"
Seeing her empty hands, Chen Lin knew she had found neither the Xuanwu Shield nor the Cold Moon Saber. He had already prepared himself for that, however. What concerned him more was information about this place.
Sure enough, Grass spoke with some sadness. "I'm sorry, Master. I couldn't find your treasures."
Chen Lin waved a hand. "It doesn't matter. Lost treasures can be refined again. Tell me what you learned first!"
Grass's expression immediately turned strange.
"Master, every person here carries their head in their hand. It's so strange!"
Chen Lin nodded.
In that case, the old man had not deceived him. It was not that the master and apprentice were peculiar; this was the norm here.
"What is the area outside this village like? Are there any dangerous places? Are there other villages or cities nearby?"
Since there was a government office, there had to be cities. This was the main thing he had asked Grass to investigate. Only in a place where large numbers of people gathered could he obtain more complete information about this realm.
Grass immediately answered, "The surroundings are fairly safe, but this village already counts as a large one. There are other villages nearby, though they're all smaller. I didn't see any cities. They must be farther away. I originally wanted to grab someone and question them, but you said not to startle the snake by beating the grass, Master. Besides, I couldn't understand what they were saying."
"That's all right. The language problem is easy to solve, but you were right to be cautious."
Chen Lin offered those words of reassurance.
Then he stilled