On the road to the neighboring village, Li Ru told Su Jiu all about Yu Shanshan.
Su Jiu was surprised. She had never expected the aloof-looking female cultivator to have such a warm, uninhibited side. She happened to glance at Xia Jue, only to meet his gaze head-on. The embarrassment of being caught stealing a look flickered across her face.
Then she seized the initiative. "Senior Brother, did you need something?"
Xia Jue paused, then a faint smile surfaced on his face. He seemed to have noticed Su Jiu's slight embarrassment, but merely shook his head.
The others from the Enforcement Hall had all heard of Su Jiu and naturally knew that she and Xia Jue were both Personal Disciples. Seeing their discreet exchange, they were just wondering whether there might be something between them.
Suddenly, the expressions of several members with higher cultivation darkened.
Su Jiu stopped in her tracks and lowered herself onto one knee. Studying the ground, she discovered that the closer they came to the neighboring village, the damper the soil became. What had originally been reddish-brown earth was now increasingly dark, until the ground at the village entrance was almost entirely scorched black.
At the same time, Su Jiu's keen senses picked up a nauseating odor, something like the stench of decay.
The stone marker for Ma Family Village stood at the entrance. Perhaps worn by the passage of years, the lettering had already become somewhat indistinct. Vines also twined around the marker, with rotting leaves and withered, yellowing tendrils gathered at its base. Clearly, no one had tended it for a long time.
Su Jiu fared somewhat better, but after holding out a little longer, Li Ru vomited outright. Once she had recovered a little, she gave the others an apologetic look and shut