"You're amazing! You can even control ants!" Ye Wuyou praised him.
Looking rather pleased with himself, Tu Su stood up with his hands on his hips, brimming with pride.
He vaguely felt that he was unlike ordinary people. Every kind of beast seemed familiar and dear to him.
When he slept at night, he sometimes dreamed of a scene where he had a fiancée, and many people came to congratulate him...
Now that he had inexplicably controlled ants, Tu Su wondered whether he might be some mighty expert reincarnated.
"But what good does that do?" Ye Wuyou's next words doused his pride.
Right, what good did it do?
"Chirp, chirp."
A faint sound reached them. They looked over and saw a little chick that had emerged from who knew where.
But the chick could barely stand, looking utterly listless.
"Whose chicken is this? Looks beyond saving. Might as well roast it," Ye Wuyou said without thinking.
"Quit talking crap." Tu Su walked over and cradled the chick in his arms.
He did not know why, but he felt an inexplicable affinity for beasts.
"It won't taste good once it's dead. I want it fresh," Ye Wuyou said.
"You're the one who'll die!"
Tu Su retorted coldly, then looked down at the chick breathing its last in his arms and sank into thought.
In his dreams, he seemed capable of controlling incredibly powerful beasts...
"Steamed, braised, or simmered in spices... but one won't be enough."
Ye Wuyou's voice kept coming from beside him, leaving Tu Su agitated and distracted.
He stood up, a trace of resolve and ferocity appearing on his face, as though he had made some decision.
"What are you doing?" Ye Wuyou was playing with the chick. Seeing Tu Su's expression, he froze.
"Be quiet. Another hand seal just popped into my head. Move aside and let me try," Tu Su said.
Tu Su did not know where these strange incantations in his mind came from, but he was withdrawn by nature and would not ask anyone.
As it happened, Ye Wuyou was a madman and did not care in the slightest why he knew such things.
As long as he could put on a show.
With this hand seal, the little chick shuddered, then actually began walking on its own.
Tu Su had successfully controlled the chick before him and brought it back to life.
"Phew, phew! It worked!" Sweating all over, Tu Su looked at the chick with a strange feeling.
Unlike before, this time he could even sense what the chick wanted to express...
"I really am extraordinary." A smug smile spread across Tu Su's face.
[As expected of you. With just a few words, you goaded a Third Realm cultivator into making a little chick his bound spirit beast. Who beneath the heavens could rival such vicious methods...]
"Amazing, amazing." Ye Wuyou scratched his head. Finding it rather boring, he got up and left.
Along the way, he encountered two more people.
"Ye Wuyou, reading makes a man wise. You spend all day in a muddle. Why not follow my example and read more?"
The speaker was a pale-faced man named Bai Changzai, carrying a book that had already been worn ragged from reading.
"Don't waste your breath on him. That wooden head of his could never manage a book. Better he follow my example and help out around the village. Anything beats wandering aimlessly all day."
Xu Fang carried a shoulder pole with four buckets of water hanging from each end, yet still looked perfectly at ease.
Ye Wuyou glanced at him without speaking.
He knew this fellow was burly, strong as an ox, and unlike ordinary people.
Mostly, he could not beat him in a fight.
A madman was not an idiot.
[Merely a Second Realm body-refining cultivator. Aside from a powerful body, he is utterly useless.]
The two figures headed off and stopped in front of a wooden house.
Even from a distance, Xu Fang's booming voice remained audible.
"Qingqing, look! I carried eight buckets of water all by myself. Am I badass or what?"
"Badass? More like a dumbass!"
Ye Wuyou remained where he stood, gazing around in bewilderment.
The village was peaceful, its houses neat and orderly, the surrounding vegetation lush and bursting with life.
Yet reflected in his pupils, all of it seemed different.
For some reason, the peaceful scene within the village changed.
Desolation, scorched earth, ruined houses, withered yellow trees...
"Fake! It's all fake! Hahahahaha!"
He suddenly burst out laughing.
[You saw through the falsehood and realized that everything around you now...]
A cold wind blew past. Ye Wuyou shivered, feeling a little chilly.
He patted his forehead, his gaze puzzled.
Everything before him was still brimming with life.
"What did you see?" A voice sounded beside his ear, making Ye Wuyou flinch.
When he turned, he saw a cold, sinister face nearly pressed against his own.
"Fuck! What are you doing?" Startled, Ye Wuyou hurried several steps back and glared at the other man.
Before him stood a man in brocade, his expression gloomy, yet his bearing exuded wealth and nobility. A jade pendant hung at his waist.
One glance was enough to tell he was not from the village.
Seemingly worried that others might notice what was happening, the man in brocade said nothing, but pulled Ye Wuyou into a nearby alley.
"Hey, hey, hey! What are you doing? We're both men-keep your hands to yourself!" The man was immensely strong, and Ye Wuyou could only let himself be dragged along.
Only after making sure no one was nearby did the man in brocade slowly turn his gaze toward the madman before him.
"I've been watching for a long time. Something's wrong with this village."
"Hmm?" Ye Wuyou's interest stirred.
The man in brocade spoke flatly.
"Don't talk. Stay quiet and hear me out. I'm not from your village. Of course, neither are you. I imagine you've realized that too."
"I've been watching for a long time, and I've seen a few familiar faces... but they don't recognize me anymore. You're the only normal person in this village."
"These past few days, whenever I've tried to leave this village, I've lost consciousness in the middle of the night without realizing it. When I wake up the next morning, I'm back here. Otherwise, I wouldn't have come to you. Understand?"
"Now, if you have any questions, you can ask."
Ye Wuyou had held his tongue for quite a while, his eyes somewhat blank.
Truthfully, he had forgotten the beginning of what the man in brocade had said, forgotten the middle, and forgotten the end.
All Ye Wuyou remembered was that the man had called him the only normal person in the village.
A kindred spirit!
"You finally came to find me."
"I knew I wasn't mad. They're all the mad ones! But none of them believed me." Ye Wuyou looked excited.
"But you're different. You always knew I wasn't mad. I've thought something was wrong with this village for ages too. Every night, they sleep like the dead, while I'm scared out of my wits!"
The corner of the man in brocade's mouth twitched. He seemed to realize that the other man had not listened to anything he said.
But what did he mean by, "You finally came to find me"?
Had I come looking for you before?
The man in brocade wanted to ask, but the madman before him kept dodging the subject.
Was it just a madman's rambling?
He could only let it go.
But he had indeed been watching from the shadows for quite some time. His former companions, whether Bai Lu of the Joyous Union Sect or Tu Su of the Beast Taming Sect, no longer recognized him.
Moreover, neither of them seemed to notice anything amiss. Like ordinary villagers, they lived quiet, orderly lives in this eerie village.
He knew that the man before him, Ye Wuyou, belonged to the Heavenly Prison.
And though Ye Wuyou behaved like a madman, the things he occasionally said suggested that he had vaguely sensed something wrong with this place.
The man in brocade's expression darkened. He pressed a hand to his forehead, confusion showing in his eyes.
There were gaps in his memory.
He remembered only that he had come to this village with Bai Lu and the others, then encountered that Demon Fox.
At the time, he had fallen into the Demon Fox's illusion and slaughtered this village.
The man in brocade vaguely felt that something else had happened afterward, but he could not remember.
His memory ended there.
That night, he had struck, and blood had flowed in rivers.
Yet the village before him was bursting with life. Where was even the slightest sign of danger?
Before you continue