He looked toward the source of the sensation. It was pitch-black over there; he could see nothing.
Something there was calling to him.
It had kept him from sleeping peacefully since last night.
And... it had begun after sunset. He had sensed nothing during the day.
Cui Jiuyang held a copper coin, turning it idly between his fingers.
Li Jinbo handed him a steaming bun and asked, "Mr. Cui, can you climb trees?"
The question came out of nowhere, leaving Cui Jiuyang momentarily stunned.
Li Jincai said, "The three of us need to climb up into the trees tonight... otherwise, if wild animals come along, we'll be in danger."
Cui Jiuyang turned to look at the straight oak tree...
Well, how should he put it... getting the tree to climb him might be easier.
Of course, Cui Jiuyang did eventually make it up the tree.
Under Li Jinbo and Li Jincai's awestruck gazes, as though they were watching an immortal, several blue-green points of light flew from Cui Jiuyang's hand. They landed on a branch, took root, and sent several vines dangling down.
The vines slithered down like snakes, wrapped around Cui Jiuyang, and hauled him onto the branch. They then bound him securely, so he would not have to worry about falling off in his sleep.
Each of the three occupied a nearby branch. Cui Jiuyang asked his two dumbfounded companions, "Want me to tie you two to your branches too?"
Li Jincai shook his head like a rattle drum. Li Jinbo looked eager to try, but ultimately did not dare.
Cui Jiuyang was tired too. He lay on his branch, listening to the rustle of wind through the treetops. It felt as though he were lying in an ocean of leaves, and before long, he drifted off to sleep.
In his drowsiness, he seemed to have a dream. There were no images in it, only a pair of gentle hands stroking him.
Those hands were warm and soft, gliding lightly over his shoulders and chest, like a lover's caress...
Just as Cui Jiuyang was losing himself in the sensation, the vines around him suddenly tightened, squeezing him awake.
He sat up. The campfire below had burned out, and moonlight filtered through the leaves. The two branches beside him were empty... Where were those two?
Cui Jiuyang looked down, but could see nothing in the pitch-black darkness.
With one hand, he formed the seal for the Thunder Art, once again using the simplified version that produced lightning without thunder. A brilliant flash blazed out!
Cui Jiuyang narrowed his eyes, and in that instant of light, he saw...
Li Jinbo and Li Jincai were walking deeper into the forest, hand in hand.
And they were heading straight toward the source of Cui Jiuyang's sensation...
He understood at once!
Fuck, I can sense that thing, but ordinary people are drawn to it!
There's definitely something wrong with it!
Now he knew how the people of Heyang Village had disappeared!
Anyone who entered the mountain behind the village would get lost, and anyone who got lost would have to spend the night in the forest.
Once they fell asleep among the trees, that unknown thing would draw them in, and they would wander toward it in a dreamlike haze.
Cui Jiuyang acted immediately, commanding the long vines to lower him from the tree. With a Fire Talisman, he lit the torch Li Jinbo had wrapped before bed.
He dared not disturb the two sleepwalkers, afraid that waking them suddenly might have unpredictable consequences. He could only trail behind them, following slowly.
In truth, he had no choice but to go slowly. The two sleepwalkers passed through the grass and bushes far more easily than they had during the day, as though walking on level ground.
Cui Jiuyang, with no one clearing a path for him, had a miserable time. Bushes blocked his way, vines caught his legs, and he stumbled along after the two men.
He was terrified that the moment he lost sight of them in the dark forest, they would wander too far ahead.
Finding them again then would be little different from searching for a needle in the ocean.
He had no idea how long they had walked through the dense forest. Cui Jiuyang had long since lost all sense of direction when he spotted a glimmer of light far ahead.
He hurriedly extinguished his torch.
Li Jinbo and Li Jincai abruptly quickened their pace as well. Left with no choice, Cui Jiuyang quietly cast a lightness spell on himself, speeding up his steps just enough to keep up.
After walking a little farther, he silently cursed his own stupidity. Why had he not thought to use a spell earlier?
Damn it, I haven't been a mystic for long. Unless I'm really out of options, I still don't think of using spells on myself.
As the light ahead drew closer, Cui Jiuyang crouched in the grass, doing his best to stay out of its glow.
He wanted to see just what was drawing people here.
Keeping low, he moved another hundred or two hundred paces through the grass. The view abruptly opened onto an enormous clearing, where many thatched huts had actually been built.
Li Jinbo and Li Jincai stepped out of the grass. The huts blocked them from view, and Cui Jiuyang could no longer see them from where he was.
Rather than venture out recklessly, Cui Jiuyang stayed in the grass and peered inside.
There were quite a few thatched huts, arranged in a circle around the clearing. The light was coming from its center.
But the huts obstructed Cui Jiuyang's view, so he could not make out what was shining.
He moved sideways through the grass until he finally found a suitable angle. Through a gap between two huts, he saw the scene in the center of the clearing.
Cui Jiuyang's eyes flew wide. What he saw was utterly incredible!
A roaring bonfire burned in the center of the clearing.
Beside it, Li Jincai and Li Jinbao stood amid a crowd of people, all enthusiastically exchanging... formal greetings.
One clasped his hands, another bowed. Every face bore a warm smile, seemingly genuine and utterly radiant...
As though old friends had been reunited.
Chapter 65: Rich and Mellow
The hairs on Cui Jiuyang's back stood on end!
What were these people doing?!
Exchanging formal greetings in a forest clearing in the dead of night?
What, nothing else matters as long as you make some friends?
Wait, no...
These people... could they be the ones who disappeared from Heyang Village?
Cui Jiuyang studied them closely, staring wide-eyed. There were people of all ages among them, from old men in their seventies to youngsters in their teens.
They more or less matched the people Li Jinbo had mentioned earlier... Cui Jiuyang could not help regretting it. Had he known, he would have asked more questions and found out exactly who had disappeared.
They seemed extremely excited. Once the greetings were over, Li Jincai and Li Jinbo were accepted into their midst, and everyone sat around the bonfire.
Two teenage youngsters picked up a wine jar from the stone platform beside the bonfire and poured wine for everyone.
They all raised their cups together, toasting one another, chatting and joking, and occasionally bursting into hearty laughter in unison.
If not for the eerie setting, anyone looking on would have seen a cheerful, harmonious gathering.
Cui Jiuyang was already very close to them. By now, that faint pull and call had become unmistakably clear.
The pull came from the stone platform beside the bonfire!
More precisely, from that wine jar!
What kind of wonderful wine was in that jar?
Could it really draw people from so far away?
Good wine needs no clearing, even deep in the woods?
Cui Jiuyang searched his memory. What kind of wine could it be? It seemed even Great-Grandfather had never recorded anything like it.
He forced himself to stop looking and turned his gaze away. Yet only a few breaths later, he could not resist looking at the wine jar again.
Cui Jiuyang now felt that the jar's pull on him had grown even stronger than when he first arrived!
It seemed that the longer he stayed, the more firmly his eyes were drawn to that wine jar.
As though nothing else mattered anymore, and the wine jar was all that remained in his sight.
A gentle voice tempted him from within... Go have a taste.
Go on... try it... just one sip.
Look how happy they are...
Don't you want to join them?
Try it. It tastes wonderful.
Forget your troubles. Forget your sorrows.
Each meeting comes but once; every sip and morsel is fated.
Come...
Cui Jiuyang's eyes gradually grew hazy. He slowly rose to his feet, his gaze fixed on the wine jar atop the stone platform not far away.
The laughter around the bonfire seemed like the music of celestial beings drifting down from heaven, echoing softly in his ears.
The yearning in his heart surged up, wave after wave.
Maybe... I should have a sip?
Just one sip...
I think one sip would be enough.
Let me have a sip.
I can't resist anymore.
All struggle and restraint vanished from Cui Jiuyang's expression. He stepped out of the grass, a dreamy smile spreading across his face.
At that moment, his heart brimmed with happiness. He was walking toward the greatest bliss this world could offer.
The most wonderful thing beneath heaven was only ten steps away.
Before you continue