The strange happenings in Moon Ancient Village

"Holy shit!"

Lu Feng pinched his nose and frowned. "Who shit their pants? Why does it stink so badly?"

"My lord, the villagers have been relieving themselves indoors these past few days, and we haven't cleaned it up promptly. Please forgive the smell."

The old man hurriedly explained.

At the same time, he turned his gaze toward Chu He. He could tell that this man was the leader of the group.

At that moment!

Thanks to the system's warning, Chu He already knew that the old man before him was possessed by an evil spirit and had long since died.

Hum...!

Chu He channeled the power of his soul into his eyes. This was an effect that came with his strengthened soul power, allowing him to see through most illusions. He called it the Pupil of Illusion Breaking.

Whoosh!

The scene in his vision changed:

The respectful old man before him looked entirely different. His face was gaunt and covered in livor mortis, and maggots squirmed inside his pupils.

Waves of foul stench emanated from his body. Meanwhile, the waist tokens belonging to Chu He, Lu Feng, and the others were all trembling faintly, proving that a demon was nearby.

Yet.

Lu Feng and the others paid no attention whatsoever. They could no longer even smell the corpse stench they had noticed at first.

"A first-grade demon can actually deceive all five senses. It seems this village is far from simple. Something is seriously wrong here."

Chu He looked up and surveyed the village. Everywhere he looked, the entire village was steeped in corpse stench and the presence of demons.

"A ghost village?"

Chu He's eyes jolted. If his guess was correct, there should no longer be anyone alive in this village.

"If you gentlemen don't mind, please come to my home for a seat and a cup of tea. This old man can tell you about the situation!"

The old man looked at Chu He and spoke again.

"Very well!"

Chu He nodded. "Yun Long, head straight back to the county town. We'll stay in Moon Ancient Village tonight."

"Yes!"

Yun Long nodded in acknowledgment, then turned his horse and rode away.

Although he could not fathom why Chu He wanted to stay in the village despite knowing something was wrong with it, he did not ask any questions.

This was the Heavenly Martial Guard's way of survival: when a lord of the Demon Suppression Guard gave an order, simply obey and never ask why.

Led by the old man, Chu He and the others entered the largest courtyard in the village and sat at the stone table in its center.

Inside the courtyard:

An enormous banyan tree occupied nearly half the space, its lush branches and leaves blocking most of the sunlight.

It left the entire courtyard somewhat dim. Gusts of chilly wind swept through, making it feel as though evening had arrived.

"Chunni, we have guests! Hurry and pour our guests some good tea. Don't neglect them!" the old man called out.

Immediately.

A young girl wearing a floral padded jacket emerged from a room, carrying a large teapot and several tea bowls.

The girl approached the stone table, arranged the bowls neatly, and poured out the fine tea from the large teapot: black broth, rotten mud, and earthworm brand tea-you deserved it.

"It smells wonderful..."

Smelling the tea, Lu Feng reached for a bowl to taste it.

Thud!

Chu He kicked him over a dozen meters away and barked coldly, "Who gave you permission to drink before your squad leader? You worthless fool who knows nothing of rank! Have you forgotten how Zhang Qing died?"

"Hiss...!"

Lu Feng clutched his chest, his face deathly pale.

However.

Hearing Chu He's words, he shuddered all over.

Zhang Qing had joined the Demon Suppression Guard in the same batch as them, but he had not died for defying a superior. He had died in his own room after eating the wrong thing. It had caused quite a stir at the time.

After all:

A Demon Suppression Guard, a dignified graded expert, had actually died from eating the wrong thing. He had become a laughingstock over tea and meals.

Eating the wrong thing, death, tea!

Was something wrong with the tea?

Lu Feng instantly guessed what Chu He meant. He immediately stood and bowed. "Your subordinate failed to observe proper etiquette. Please forgive me, my lord."

At the same time!

The other four Demon Suppression Guards also caught on. They were trained, after all, and none of them gave anything away.

"My lord, please have some tea..."

Seeing Chu He's expression soften, the old man immediately spoke.

"Mm!"

Chu He nodded and picked up his tea bowl. He tapped it three times with his left ring finger, then drained it in one gulp.

Afterward.

The other Demon Suppression Guards also picked up their tea bowls and drained them.

"Tell me about the situation in your village," Chu He asked the old man directly.

"My lord, this really is a strange affair."

"Everything was fine when the merchant association first arrived, but after one night, they suddenly vanished, as though they had disappeared into thin air."

As the old man spoke, he deliberately shivered. "Later, the Demon Suppression Guards and several sect disciples did the same thing. They vanished into thin air in the middle of the night."

"These past two days, whenever midnight comes, we hear ghosts wailing and wolves howling. The villagers are too frightened to go outside."

Thump! (ﾉ_ _)ﾉ

As he spoke, the old man dropped to his knees before Chu He and said:

"My lord, you must put an end to the strange happenings here. Otherwise, our Moon Ancient Village is finished."

Nighttime?

Chu He nodded.

He had roughly figured out the village's situation. Although the evil entity before him and the others in the village were numerous, they could not possibly make an entire squad of Demon Suppression Guards disappear without a sound.

In other words, an even greater demon existed here, and it came out and acted at night.

So!

The old man had said all that just now to make him stay until night, so his boss could slaughter him.

"Prepare a room. Tonight, this squad leader will deal with every demon here for you," Chu He said as he stood.

"Thank you, my lord." Although the old man felt that Chu He's words held another meaning, he did not grow suspicious and immediately said:

"Chunni, tidy up the east wing."

A while later.

Chunni finished preparing the room. Chu He led Lu Feng and the other four inside. Once the door was shut, they all flicked their sleeves:

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!

Several jets of water splashed into the corner. It was the tea they had just drunk-a standard sleight of hand used by the Demon Suppression Guard.

Every Demon Suppression Guard had to learn it, and Chu He tapping three times with his left ring finger had been the signal.

"My lord, this..."

Lu Feng was about to say something when Chu He waved him silent. "Everything can wait until tonight."

Time slowly passed!

Night fell!

Before the demons emerged, another group arrived in the courtyard: two men and a woman, carrying longswords.

"Senior Sister Wang disappeared right here. There must be evil entities lurking around. We'll wait here tonight."

"Agreed. It dared provoke our Divine Sword Sect. Whatever kind of demon it is, it won't live past today."

The old man hurried out to greet them again. First, he served each of them a bowl of "good" tea, then settled them in the west wing.

"My lord, they're from the Divine Sword Sect in Green Mountain Commandery."

"Their sect master, Jian Buer, is a fourth-grade expert with some renown throughout Yun Province. Their disciples are all skilled with swords."

Lu Feng spoke as he watched the three outside through the window.

"Mm!"

Chu He nodded.

Looking through the Eye of Illusion Breaking, he saw nothing unusual about the three. They were clearly human, all at the first grade: one late-stage and two mid-stage.

Their strength amounted to little to him now. If they did not interfere with his demon slaying later, they could naturally leave one another in peace.

Otherwise:

His saber might drink more than demon blood today!