After the last sliver of light at the far western edge of the world was swallowed by darkness, Jiang Yan and his group arrived safely at Qingshan Village.
There were no patrols at the Village Boundary.
Once they entered the village, they saw no one on the crisscrossing country lanes, either.
"Something doesn't look right."
Seeing that Qingshan Village hadn't even managed to maintain its basic defenses and alert posts, Jiang Yan felt a weight settle in his heart.
Qingshan Village had given up defending its outskirts. Judging by the situation, the Patrol Team was probably too short-handed to protect the whole village, and had gathered everyone inside instead.
They had drawn in their defenses, hunkered down, and waited for help.
"Could something else have happened?"
He wondered to himself, his body already tense with vigilance.
It was only after they entered the village that they encountered members of the Qingshan Village Patrol Team.
Stepping forward, Ren Yuan called out, "We're from the Yuyang Village Patrol Team. Has anyone from the hall arrived?"
By "the hall," he meant the Patrol Mountain Hall. With a High-Level Monster appearing in Qingshan Village, the hall would certainly send experts to deal with it.
But the mining area was even farther from Qingshan Village. It was already dark, and if the experts sent by the Patrol Mountain Hall still hadn't arrived, tonight would be dangerous.
A bald man came to meet them. He knew that the Patrol Teams from both villages would send reinforcements today. Hearing Ren Yuan, he hurriedly said, "The hall's experts have already arrived, and people from Xiaoqiu Village are here too. Everyone from Yuyang Village, please follow me—"
"Eh? Chief Ren?"
The bald man had been farther away and hadn't gotten a good look at the leader of the Yuyang Village Patrol Team. Now that he was closer, he recognized Ren Yuan.
"Hmm?"
Ren Yuan spotted the man's unmistakable bald head and pursed his lips. "Hu Xing?"
Hu Xing gave a wry smile. "Chief, how come you're leading the Yuyang Village Patrol Team this time?"
"The previous chief met with an accident, so I'm guarding Yuyang Village for a few days. I didn't expect to run into this."
Hu Xing gestured for them to follow and led the group onward. "This way, Chief. Lord Ning and everyone from Xiaoqiu Village are at the square. I'll take you there now."
Jiang Yan glanced silently at Hu Xing's shiny bald head. He hadn't expected the guy to know Ren Yuan.
Ren Yuan and Hu Xing were clearly acquainted. As they chatted casually, Ren Yuan asked, "You're close to a breakthrough, aren't you?"
"I've already sensed the qi. I think I can become a martial artist in two months at most."
Hu Xing seriously described his progress in martial arts to Ren Yuan. "It's a pity I had average talent and let you down, even after you gave me a Blood Qi Pill, Chief."
Ren Yuan shook his head. "It's good to build a solid foundation."
As they spoke, the group arrived at the square.
The two men had no more time to talk. Hu Xing invited the Yuyang Village Patrol Team members to get something to eat, while Jiang Yan and Tang Long followed Ren Yuan to pay their respects to the expert sent by the Patrol Mountain Hall.
It was an ordinary brick house, brightly lit.
Jiang Yan followed Ren Yuan through the doorway.
Whoosh!
A gaze swept over them, sharp as a sword. Every hair on Jiang Yan's body instantly stood on end.
An expert!
He was absolutely certain that the gaze belonged to the expert sent by the Patrol Mountain Hall, casually sizing them up.
Jiang Yan fought down his body's fierce urge to turn and bolt from the room, lowered his head, and followed behind Ren Yuan.
Ren Yuan cupped his fists and said loudly, "Chief of the Patrol Mountain Hall pays his respects to Lord Ning."
Hmm? Hearing Ren Yuan address him that way, Jiang Yan was taken aback, then quickly understood. This Lord Ning might not be an expert from the Patrol Mountain Hall, but someone from another hall who had come to help.
Otherwise, Ren Yuan wouldn't have addressed him that way.
Ning Gongdao sat in a large chair and casually pointed to several chairs below, inviting Ren Yuan and the other two to sit.
"Ren Yuan, is Sheng Fuwu really missing?"
"Yes. I didn't find Sheng Fuwu's body in the wilderness, but I also haven't received any news that he returned to one of the Dahe Gang's strongholds."
Ren Yuan's answer left no room for fault. In short, they couldn't determine whether Sheng Fuwu was alive or dead, but he was indeed missing.
"Mm."
Ning Gongdao had only asked in passing and didn't pursue the matter. He looked around the room. Some of those present had come with him from Zhenwu Hall, but most were leaders of various ranks from the three villages' Patrol Teams.
Suddenly, he pointed at Jiang Yan and asked, "Who are you? I don't think I've seen you before."
As the person in charge of Zhenwu Hall, he had seen most of the martial artists in the entire mining area and the five villages at the foot of the mountain. He might not remember some of their names, but he would recognize them.
He had no impression of Jiang Yan at all.
Before Ren Yuan could introduce him, Jiang Yan stood and respectfully cupped his fists. "Newly appointed junior chief Jiang Yan pays his respects to Lord Ning."
His voice was unhurried and full of vigor, clear as a bell. He had introduced himself simply.
He wasn't worried in the least. It was obvious Lord Ning had only asked because Jiang Yan was unfamiliar to him.
"A newly advanced martial artist." Ning Gongdao nodded, then paid Jiang Yan no further attention.
After glancing over the group, he began explaining the situation with the monster they had to deal with.
"We've had fairly ordinary luck this time. The monster we've encountered is at the Severe Sha level."
"But this monster has the ability to conceal itself."
Ren Yuan had arrived last and didn't know all the details. He looked at Ning Gongdao. "Lord Ning, how did you determine that this monster isn't a Blood Sha? Have you fought it?"
Ning Gongdao shook his head slightly.
At that, a middle-aged man sitting across from Ren Yuan cupped his fists toward him. "Ren Yuan, you probably wouldn't guess this, but two people came to the village this afternoon asking for lodging. One of them turned out to be a Body Refining Realm martial artist. Lord Ning subdued him with a special technique."
"Then Lord Ning used an Anomaly Seeking Talisman to locate the monster and had that martial artist test it. The man was injured, and the monster took the opportunity to hide itself again."
"Since the monster couldn't kill a Body Refining Realm martial artist, that proves it hasn't advanced to Blood Sha."
Hearing the explanation, Ren Yuan nodded. The monster could wound a Body Refining Realm martial artist but hadn't killed him—clearly, it was a Severe Sha-level monster.
"By the way, where is that Body Refining Realm martial artist?"
Ren Yuan asked casually.
The man across from him tugged at the corner of his mouth. "He's recovering from his injuries. There's no need for him to come here.
"Actually, he's already crippled."
Hmm?
Ren Yuan looked at him. The man continued, "That Body Refining Realm martial artist wasn't just injured. He was also afflicted by the monster's curse."
Jiang Yan listened to the people from the hall talking without interrupting. He was still only a Martial Apprentice, while there were several Body Refining Realm martial artists in the hall.
He simply committed the important details to memory.
As he listened to the middle-aged man, Jiang Yan's brows furrowed slightly. If Ning Gongdao had only confirmed the monster's strength after arriving, then before that, Qingshan Village had told the Patrol Mountain Hall that a monster lurking in the village might be a Blood Sha. How had they made that determination?
He had only just thought of this when Ren Yuan brought up the same question.
He wasn't the only one who had thought of it.
Just then, a man seated in the corner slowly stood. He was Tan Xinghe, the chief of the Qingshan Village Patrol Team.
Tan Xinghe's face was as dark as a storm cloud. He said fiercely, "Because I fought that beast before, and I couldn't last even four moves."
"I thought I'd die right then and there, but it didn't kill me. It left and continued lurking in Qingshan Village."
He took off his shirt, revealing his sturdy upper body.
Jiang Yan looked up. His pupils contracted. Right over Tan Xinghe's heart was a bright red number.
One hundred and fifteen!
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