Qin Tiexin refused the village chief's offer to arrange accommodation.
"I'll just take a look in the village." He said, "You don't have to worry about me."
The village chief wanted to say something more, but when he saw Qin Tiexin's calm eyes, he swallowed his words and nodded repeatedly. "Then... then I'll ask the immortal master."
Qin Tiexin said no more, held Edgeless tightly, and began to patrol the village.
The village is small and built against the mountains. Most of the houses are made of adobe and wooden houses, and are distributed along a main road. According to the village chief, there were originally hundreds of households living in it, but since the strange incident happened, all those who could have fled have already fled - to join relatives, moved to towns farther away, or simply entered the city. There are less than twenty households left, and most of them are old, weak, women and children who have nowhere to go.
Qin Tiexin walked slowly along the main road, his eyes seemingly casually scanning the surroundings, but in fact he carefully observed every detail.
The exception is obvious.
The eyes of the villagers were a little dull. They seemed to have heard the village chief's voice and came out to see Flowing Cloud Sect's "immortal master". However, when they saw Qin Tiexin walking by, although they would cast their gazes, their gazes had no focus, as if they were looking elsewhere through him. It took a while before they focused on Qin Tiexin, and they seemed to have reacted.
Qin Tiexin tried to talk to a few villagers who carefully opened the doors and windows, and asked some simple questions - "How many people are in the family?" "How have you slept recently?" - they often took a while to respond before answering slowly and incorrectly.
The older you get, the more serious this situation becomes. An old woman in her seventies asked Qin Tiexin "Have you had lunch?" She looked at him blankly and repeated "Lunch... lunch...", and after ten breaths, she murmured, "Have... eaten..."
This is not the reaction that an older person should have.
Occasionally, a few bold children would sneak out to play, only to be dragged home angrily by the adults in the family, saying something while being dragged. The children covered their mouths and did not dare to cry. Qin Tiexin noticed that their eyes were clearer than those of adults, but there was also a faint gray under their eyes, as if covered with a layer of mist. Their movements also seemed slow, and their voices were dry.
Qin Tiexin remained calm and continued to observe.
He walked to the north side of the village, which is close to the mountains and forests, and the houses are sparse. The further north, the colder feeling becomes more obvious. The air is filled with a faint black Sha Qi, which is invisible to the naked eye, but can be clearly perceived with Divine Sense - like a layer of gauze, covering the entire village.
This Sha Qi is similar to the Sha Qi on Demon Beast Spirit Bone, but it is colder and more... sticky. Demon Beast Sha Qi is violent and bloody, but this Sha Qi is like a slowly penetrating poison, eroding everything silently.
Qin Tiexin looked up at the mountains and forests to the north.
The source of Sha Qi was right there. Three miles away, deep in the mountain forest. He could feel that the concentration of Sha Qi there was several times that in the village, and it was spreading outwards.
He noted the location and turned back to the village.
The sky is getting dark.
Qin Tiexin found the village chief and told him, "I will keep vigil tonight. You can eat and sleep as usual. Don't come out when you hear any noise, and close the doors and windows."
The village chief nodded repeatedly. "I understand, I understand."
The sky is getting dark.
The villagers had dinner early and closed the doors and windows. The village was completely silent, not even the barking of dogs - all the dogs in the village died half a month ago, and it is said that they were drained of their blood by Demon Beast.
Qin Tiexin came to the ancient tree at the entrance of the village in the north. He took out a piece of "Breath-Concealing Talisman" from Storage Bag - this was bought in Fangshi before. It is a low-grade talisman that can restrain the breath., to avoid being discovered. The talisman was light yellow, with complex lines painted on the surface. He injected a trace of spiritual power to activate it, and the talisman turned into a shimmering light and integrated into his body. He suddenly felt that his aura was weakened by half, like an ordinary piece of Shitou.
Qin Tiexin jumped up and lurked among the thick branches. This position has a wide view and can clearly see the entire main road and most of the houses.
Under the effect of Breath-Concealing Talisman, his aura was almost completely restrained and blended with the ancient tree.
Time passed little by little.
At the beginning of midnight, the moon was Central Heaven, and the cold moonlight shone on the village road, casting mottled tree shadows. The village was eerily quiet, not even the insects chirped - the insects seemed to sense the danger and did not dare to make a sound.
At two o'clock in the morning, the clouds moved slowly, covering the moon. The night became darker, and the village fell into darkness.
Qin Tiexin held his breath, his muscles relaxed, but his mind was highly concentrated. He could hear his own heartbeat, slow and powerful. Body Tempering Eighth Layer's physical body and five senses were far sharper than ordinary people. Even without Divine Sense, he could still detect subtle movements within a hundred feet.
He is waiting.
According to the villagers, Demon Beast always appears late at night. The previous attacks occurred between midnight and Chou hour.
Three quarters of a hour.
The clouds completely covered the moon, and the sky and the earth were pitch black.
At this moment, a very slight "rustling" sound came from the direction of the forest behind the village.
Qin Tiexin immediately concentrated and looked towards the source of the sound.
In the darkness, a black shadow emerged from the woods.
The speed is astonishingly fast.
It flew close to the ground, almost blending into the shadow. If Qin Tiexin hadn't been staring in that direction, it would have been impossible to spot it. The way the black shadow moved was very strange, with its limbs barely touching the ground, like a black wind.
In the blink of an eye, the black shadow passed through the open space outside the village and arrived at the entrance of the village.
It stopped at the entrance of the village.
Qin Tiexin finally saw its full picture.
A dark gray fox-shaped Demon Beast. Its body is two circles larger than an ordinary fox, close to the size of a wolf, with a shoulder height of about three feet and a body length of more than five feet. The fur is dark gray, with a faint metallic luster in the night, and black Sha Qi circulates on the surface, like smoke.
The strength doesn't look very strong, probably around Qi Refining Fifth Layer.
The most eye-catching thing is its eyes - red, like two drops of coagulated blood, shining eerily in the darkness.
Demon Beast stopped at the entrance of the village, raised its head slightly, and twitched its nose, as if sniffing something. Its eyes swept across the village road, houses, trees... When it passed the ancient tree where Qin Tiexin was hiding, its blood-red eyes paused for a moment.
Qin Tiexin The muscles all over the body are tense, but the breathing is still smooth, and the effect of Breath-Concealing Talisman is fully exerted.
Demon Beast didn't seem to notice anything unusual. He moved his blood-red eyes away and continued to scan the village.
Qin Tiexin observed the fox.
Judging from the appearance, it is recorded in the sect's catalog that it should be the low-level Demon Beast "Shadow Fox". But the size does not match - the ordinary Shadow Fox is only the size of a house cat, but this one is close to the size of a wolf. The eyes are also wrong, Shadow Fox's eyes are mostly dark brown, and will glow green in the dark, but this one's eyes are blood red, revealing something strange.
Moreover, Shadow Fox is timid by nature, feeds on small animals and wild fruits, and rarely attacks humans.
There's something... something wrong with this fox.
Qin Tiexin did not take action immediately. He restrained his breath and slid down from the ancient tree quietly, landing silently. Body Tempering Eighth Layer's physical control was extremely strong, and in conjunction with Wood Phase Steps, his steps were as light as stepping on cotton.
Shadow Fox stayed at the entrance of the village for a moment, its nose twitching as if sniffing something. Then it turned around and turned into a gray shadow and rushed into the village.
Qin Tiexin followed quietly.
He runs Wood Phase Steps, and his spiritual power circulates through his legs. Each step is accurately stepped on the shadow or soft soil, and the fluctuation of spiritual power is reduced to a minimum. The distance of fifty steps is neither far nor close, and it is within the Divine Sense locking range and will not be noticed by the opponent.
Shadow Fox shuttles through the village with a clear route - go straight to the west side of the village. It seems to be very familiar with this place, avoiding the main road and only walking in the alleys behind the houses, like a silent ghost.
Finally, it stopped in front of an adobe house.
This house is more dilapidated than other houses, the wooden doors are a little skewed, and the window paper is damaged in several places. Qin Tiexin remembers that during an inspection in the afternoon, he saw an old man living alone inside, with the most glazed eyes.
Shadow Fox paused for two breaths in front of the door, its tail swaying slightly. Then it shrank and squeezed in under the door - the door was only two fingers wide, but it seemed to have no bones, and it easily got in.
Qin Tiexin climbed over the courtyard wall and landed in the courtyard.
There were some firewood piled in the yard, a broken water tank in the corner, and the ground was covered with weeds. He moved close to the wall to the window, held his breath, and looked in through the holes in the window paper.
The room was very dark, with only a few rays of moonlight leaking in through the broken window. On the earthen kang against the wall, there lay the old man who lived alone, sleeping soundly and breathing heavily.
Shadow Fox stood by the kang, its tail swinging slowly. It lowered its head, got close to the old man's face, and opened its mouth - not biting, but spitting out a wisp of black Sha Qi.
The Sha Qi was like a thin snake, emerging from Shadow Fox's mouth and winding its way to the old man's mouth and nose. The moment it touched the skin, Sha Qi seeped in.
The old man's body trembled slightly, but he did not wake up. His face began to change - from normal rosy to gray, and his lips turned purple. Faint black lines appeared on the surface of his skin, spreading like a spider web.
Qin Tiexin could clearly feel that the essence in the old man's body was being pulled out, flowing back to Shadow Fox's mouth along Sha Qi. This was not directly devouring flesh and blood, but a more sinister "sucking of essence" - essence is the source of life. If too much is sucked in, a person will be weak, sick, and prematurely aged, but he will not die immediately.
No wonder those villagers who survived in the village were depressed and their eyes were dull.
Shadow Fox smoked the incense for about half a time, and its belly bulged slightly. It took back Sha Qi, swung its tail twice with satisfaction, then turned around and got out of the crack in the door again.
Qin Tiexin did not take action immediately.
He continued to follow.