Ignorance Is Truly Terrifying

Shen Leyan pulled his senior brother out into the courtyard.

Once he was sure no one else was around, he recounted everything about being teased by a Demon and feeling a chill around his neck.

Then he earnestly urged his senior brother to contact the sect at once and have them send cultivators to investigate the village thoroughly.

As for them, they would be better off staying out of anything involving Demons. They had delivered the grain and medicinal herbs anyway; they could leave the same way they had come.

Shen Leyan talked until his mouth went dry, then waited for his senior brother's reply with bright, expectant eyes.

Instead of "Then let's leave right now," he got a resounding knock on the head.

His senior brother scolded him in exasperation. "Shen Leyan, I know you're in poor health, and this is your first time leaving the mountain to work for the sect, so you're not used to it yet. But even if you want a rest, you can't lie and make up an excuse like that!"

"No, I—"

"Do you think Demons are something to joke about?!"

"No—"

"You were scratching all over your neck like a monkey back in that room. You probably got bitten by some flying insect on the way down the mountain."

"N—"

"If there really were a Demon in the village like you said, would it flirt with you?"

His senior brother glanced at the boy's fair, handsome face and coughed lightly.

"...All right, even if Demons do sometimes flirt with handsome young men, you wouldn't be the only one to notice."

Shen Leyan: "..."

"You're always sleeping through lessons at the sect, so you probably never heard the instructor explain that Demons excel at concealing themselves and changing their appearance. When they aren't using demonic power, even cultivators can be fooled, let alone mortals without a Spiritual Root.

"But once a Demon uses its power, the temperature within several yards will plunge. Mortals within that range will either suffer damage to their souls or have their energy severely drained.

"You just said you felt a Demon blowing on your neck, and that the back of your neck was icy cold. That means it must have used demonic power. But I was right beside you, and there were so many injured people in the room, yet none of us felt a thing."

"Tell me, how am I supposed to believe you?"

The twenty-odd outer disciples of the Cloud Radiance Sect helped the villagers clear away the remains of the burned thatched cottages. One team went into the forest to cut timber for new houses, while another stayed behind to care for the injured and help the villagers wash clothes and cook.

Shen Leyan was the youngest and received plenty of care from his senior brothers and sisters. He was assigned the easiest job: boiling water and brewing medicine in the kitchen.

All he had to do was add firewood at regular intervals, keep track of when the medicine was ready, then pour it out and bring it to the injured.

The boy sat on a little stool with a palm-leaf fan in hand. The medicine still needed almost another hour.

He let his mind wander, searching his memory for the original novel's plot.

A small village at the foot of the Cloud Radiance Sect's mountain.

A fire that broke out at night.

A Demon that liked flirting with young men.

Shen Leyan gently fanned his forehead, unable to recall anything similar being mentioned in the original novel.

It was also possible that outer disciples like them were merely background extras, and the author had never bothered to write about them.

But he was certain his senses hadn't deceived him. Something was definitely wrong with this village... Maybe I should find an excuse to leave the village and return to the sect once I finish today's work.

Tell one of the sect's instructors what happened today and see if they can send a cultivator?

"Dear host."

Shen Leyan snapped back to attention and checked the system's status.

Dear host, Xiao Du is still working hard on repairs.

Estimated time until repairs are complete: six hours.

Probability of successful repair: 0.5%.

"Why did you suddenly speak up if you aren't fixed yet? And why does the chance of a successful repair keep dropping? Wasn't it still one percent this morning?"

Xiao Du sounded aggrieved. "The more powerful a system is, the harder it is to repair, of course. You're the one who came to this godforsaken place. Keeping you alive is really hard, you know."

Shen Leyan's heart jolted, and his tone turned gentle. "...Care to elaborate?"

"I'm not fixed yet. I can't tell you."

"Then what can you do right now?"

"Right now, I can only keep you company and chat, dear ho—"

Shen Leyan cut off his connection to the system without expression.

Although the system hadn't offered any practical help, it had helped confirm that this village wasn't as peaceful as it appeared. Yesterday's fire very likely hadn't been a simple accident.

He couldn't stay in the village any longer.

He was the only one that unknown thing had teased this morning.

What if that thing has taken a special liking to me and comes for me first when something happens?

It was still light out. Once he finished brewing the medicine, there would still be time to tell his senior brother he needed to return to the sect.

An hour later.

Boom!

Masses of dark clouds churned like ink, swallowing the blazing sun.

Fierce winds rose, and the rice paddies outside the thatched cottage rustled loudly. The seedlings looked as though they might be ripped out of the ground.

A brilliant flash of lightning split the sky, followed by rumbling thunder and torrents of rain.

Shen Leyan looked at the bowl of medicine in his hands, then at the dark curtain of rain outside, and swallowed the speech he had just prepared to ask his senior brother for permission to leave.

He had no cultivation and couldn't fly on a sword. In the rain, the mountain path would be muddy and slippery, and there were plenty of wild beasts roaming about. Returning to the sect alone would be far too dangerous.

Summer weather was changeable. A sudden thunderstorm was nothing unusual.

Provided this downpour wasn't the work of the Demon in the village.