Ye the Phoenix Chick and Principal Lin

"Hm?"

Fifth Master Zhang looked stunned, with a trace of fear in his eyes. He seemed to have remembered something ominous.

"Ah!"

A chill ran through Ye Fan. Wasn't the Sacred Body supposed to be impervious to evil? Its vital energy had a powerful natural resistance to all manner of foul forces, so how could red hair still grow on his body?

"Didn't I tell you? Some people with your constitution grow red hair in their later years, and all sorts of ominous things happen to them."

Lin Xian sounded surprised. "It has a great deal to do with the break in your path."

"Holy Master, you told me that?!"

Ye Fan began to doubt everything. A breeze brushed past. Despite the abundant vital energy of his Sacred Body, he felt cold and could not help shivering.

It was as though a pair of sinister black eyes were watching him from behind. He could not tell whether they belonged to a person or a ghost.

"That's a minor detail. It isn't the point."

Lin Xian coughed, then declared with a straight face, "The point is that our two lineages share an enemy. We're truly on the same side."

Fifth Master Zhang fell silent. Memories of the various legends about his ancestor's later years came back to him. After a moment, he signaled for everyone in the village to put away their weapons.

The village, built of piled stone, held only a few dozen households and just over two hundred people in all. Yet they stood together. To defend against marauders, every villager, young or old, man or woman, had taken up a blade.

When they heard the visitors were not enemies, the villagers relaxed and smiled. They welcomed their new friends and slaughtered a sheep that very night to treat