The snowstorm intensified once more. Following the route the woman had pointed out, Lu Bai walked for a long time before finally spotting a mountain village at the foot of the mountain.
The village had some connection to the stronghold. Some of the people in the Black Tiger Stronghold had originally come from here.
Following the principle that a rabbit didn't eat the grass around its own burrow, the Black Tiger Stronghold had generally left the local villagers alone.
According to the woman, she had fled to this village to escape the fighting, but before she could settle in, she had been abducted.
Her parents were still in the village, but she had no idea what had become of it since she was taken away.
She said nothing more. When it came to her parents, she didn't know how she would face them.
The village had a little over a dozen households, most of whose residents were huddled inside their homes.
After all, when heavy snow blanketed the world, a single misstep could leave you frozen to death.
Ancient times were nothing like the modern era, with its down jackets, air conditioners, and all sorts of other ways to stay warm.
The people at the bottom of society had few ways to keep warm in winter. They mostly had to tough it out with their own bodies.
And every year, many people died that way.
Of course, some people had no choice but to venture out to work in the cold, even in heavy snow.
If they didn't, their entire family might starve to death.
So when Lu Bai entered the village, someone spotted him.
His unusual appearance immediately put the villagers on guard. One after another, they gripped kitchen knives or pitchforks and stared at him warily.
Lu Bai didn't attack them for it.
So far, he could certainly be called ruthless, but he still had some basic criteria for deciding whether someone should die.
For instance, whether they were involved in the Martial Forest, or whether such things were a part of their daily lives.
Of course, this wasn't absolute. Lu Bai's moral boundaries were quite flexible.
To Lu Bai, the Martial Forest was a hunting ground. If you were in that hunting ground and dared bare your claws at him, he could treat you as prey.
These villagers weren't "hunters" in the Martial Forest. They did have some connection to the stronghold on the mountain, but for now, they were essentially just people scraping a living from the soil.
"I'm just passing through. Could you tell me where the nearest town is?" Lu Bai offered a brief explanation. "And I'd like to see if I can buy some provisions from you."
Lu Bai had quite an appetite. After all, he trained in martial arts, and with his natural build, he had always eaten a lot.
He'd had a meal at the stronghold earlier, but he hadn't taken all the food there.
He was a bit of a perfectionist and liked to see things through. Since he'd decided to spare that woman, he wasn't about to go out of his way to leave her for dead.
She was alone in the mountains, so it was better to leave her some food.
By the time he reached the village, Lu Bai had finished what he was carrying and was starting to feel hungry.
"Please leave. Outsiders aren't welcome here." Just as the villagers were at a loss, a middle-aged-to-elderly man stepped out, clad in animal hide and speaking in a belligerent tone.
The man looked to be around fifty. In ancient times, that was already considered old.
Even so, the old man seemed in good spirits. With a little tidying up, he could still have passed for a handsome older man.
"Can't you understand plain speech, old man?" Lu Bai had no particular habit of respecting his elders. If you were old and shameless, he wasn't going to indulge you.
Besides, counting the seventy-seven years he'd spent asleep, he might well have been several generations older than this half-old man.
"I asked where the nearest town is, and whether I can trade for some food." Lu Bai reached into his pocket and pulled out some gold, silver, and jewels.
"Don't flash your wealth around" was advice for little kids carrying gold. For Lu Bai, it was bait.
The old man's tone had annoyed him. If they tried to attack him for the treasure, his flexible moral boundaries would shift a little lower.
What surprised Lu Bai was that, although the people around him stared at the treasure, their eyes wide, and tightened their grips on their weapons, they immediately looked to the old man.
It seemed they were waiting for his orders.
In other words, their greed for wealth was weaker than their respect for the old man.
"Follow that road and you'll get out of here. Hurry up and leave, outsider." The old man glanced at the treasure. Though surprised, he showed no greed. Instead, he pointed to one side and urged Lu Bai to go.
"All right, then." Lu Bai nodded, put the treasure away, and calmly walked through the villagers and their knives and pitchforks, heading out.
But halfway there, he suddenly turned around and looked at the village chief, focusing on the old man's face.
"Have we met somewhere before? Or have I seen one of your children?" Lu Bai thought the old man looked familiar.
He was sure this was the first time he'd seen the man, but genetics meant that children inherited some of their father's features.
Lu Bai had a good memory. He hadn't met that many people since coming to this world, and few had left a strong impression on him.
There was something familiar about the old man's face, yet Lu Bai couldn't quite place it. That was interesting.
When the old man heard Lu Bai's words, his expression immediately darkened.
"Drive him out!"
As the old man's expression changed, Lu Bai suddenly understood.
"So it's you, Flower Face." Lu Bai looked at the old man.
He remembered Flower Face very well, but Flower Face's face was covered in scars. Anyone who saw him would notice the scars first and pay no attention to what he'd looked like before.
Lu Bai was no different. What he remembered most about Flower Face was his scarred face.
But the old man and Flower Face looked remarkably alike. If you removed the scars from Flower Face's face and made him older, he'd look exactly like the old man.
"In that case, you must be involved in the Martial Forest too." Lu Bai wasn't bad at drawing conclusions.
Flower Face was a high-ranking member of the Hundred Flower Grave. His father—or, at least, an elder—was in this village, and the village had some connection to the Black Tiger Stronghold.
The Black Tiger Stronghold had also been recognized by the Hundred Flower Grave some time ago, changed its banner, and become the Black Tiger Sect.
And considering the old man's exceptionally high standing in the village, there had to be all sorts of backroom dealings going on.
He'd assumed the village's relationship with the Black Tiger Stronghold amounted to little more than the stronghold leaving its neighbors alone, with some of its members coming from the village, and perhaps a little passing of information and cover.
Now it seemed their ties ran much deeper.
"I'm very interested in you people now." Lu Bai glanced around. As the conflict escalated, most of the villagers had come out.
He rolled his fists and smiled.
"And I'm sure you'll be willing to talk soon enough."
Before you continue