Chapter 92 Strange Snowfall
"That boatman is really dishonest! We paid for the boat, and he tricked us into getting off!"
"I'll definitely report this to the authorities and teach them a lesson!"
Cui Mingcan plucked a bunch of yellowed foxtail grass from the roadside, stuffed it in his mouth, and muttered curses at the unscrupulous boatman.
"Alright, alright, you've been nagging me for days. Aren't you tired? No matter how much you nag, it won't hurt you." Cen Ying handed him a pot of specially brewed tea to cool him down. "Drink this to cool down, or you'll get blisters on your lips."
"Hehe, Xiaoyingzi still cares about me; she knows I'm thirsty..."
"Hey, umm." Cen Ying reached out and rubbed her palm against his, indicating that he should give her the money.
Cui Mingcan held the water bottle to his lips, unsure whether to drink or not.
"..."
Finally, looking around at the desolate, godforsaken place, he muttered as he took out his money, "Cen Xiaoying, I misjudged you! You're such a cheapskate. I only drank a sip of your water, and you want me to pay for it? That's so hurtful!"
"What are you saying?" Cen Ying picked at her ear and glared at him with displeasure.
"No, no, I didn't say anything, I just said that Sister Cen is beautiful, generous and charming..."
Cen Ying chuckled and rolled her eyes at him: "Nonsense, since you're so good at talking, I'll just charge you less."
As he spoke, he took out one spirit stone, then two spirit stones, all under Cui Mingcan's piercing gaze...
Just as her finger was about to touch the third stone, Cen Ying suddenly burst into laughter, put the spirit stone back in her hand, and said with a grin, "Alright, alright, look at you like that."
Cui Mingcan immediately beamed with joy and fanned her with a straw fan: "Sister Ying is truly Sister Ying, so generous and capable! Let me fan you, this autumn heat is really intense!"
"Xiao Can, you're so spineless!" Bai Yuheng said with a smile, adding fuel to the fire when she saw his fawning manner.
"Go away, stop stirring up trouble here! My loyalty to Sister Ying is as clear as day and night!"
Everyone was speechless at his obsequious words and shook their heads. Li Tiankuo couldn't help but tease him, "I wonder if Brother Cui would be willing to make a trip to the palace?"
Cui Mingcan peeked out from beside Cen Ying, puzzled, "What? Go to the palace? Really? I've never been to the palace before!"
He became excited and ran over to ask what the palace looked like.
Even Pei Yuan, who was usually serious and quiet, couldn't help but smile.
Cen Ying flicked his head and said speechlessly, "People say you're suited to be a eunuch! You idiot!"
Cui Mingcan finally realized what was happening and angrily retorted, "Fine! Li Tiankuo, you actually mocked me! Take this!!!"
As he spoke, he pulled out a kitchen knife and chased after Li Tiankuo, hacking at him.
"Hahahahaha..."
A deafening burst of laughter echoed through the valley, startling the birds on the branches into scattering in all directions.
They chatted and laughed all the way until the sun went down into the mountains, at which point the five realized something was wrong.
"Hey? Have you guys noticed this place? It looks like we've been here before."
“We were here three-quarters of an hour ago.” Pei Yuan squinted and surveyed the surroundings before concluding, “We’ve entered the formation.”
"A formation!?"
After his initial shock, Cui Mingcan snorted, "Formations are my specialty. Let me lead you out of here!"
Seeing his confidence, the four of them let him be and followed closely behind him, but they kept their eyes and ears open, ready to fight at any moment.
After walking for an unknown amount of time, the group finally arrived at a village.
Before Cui Mingcan could even feel happy and boastful, he was shocked by the scene before him.
Strange.
You can sense the coolness and eeriness as soon as you get close.
—Just because the mountains along the way and even the surrounding area were the yellow of autumn, but this small village was already covered in heavy snow, and the snow in the houses seemed to be about to crush these simple huts.
The village wasn't large; as far as the eye could see, there were rows of thatched houses, staggered one after another, with wisps of smoke rising from their chimneys, and the faint sounds of hushed conversations could be heard from inside.
In front of the village gate was a snow-covered stone, its color indistinguishable, with three large characters engraved on it. The traces of red ink on the stone had faded beyond recognition. The three of them approached and tried to make out the characters by the faint sunlight.
"Luoshui Village?"
The group felt the name was familiar, but couldn't quite place it at the moment.
I racked my brains for a long time but couldn't remember, so I finally gave up.
The five people entered the village, hoping to find a good family to stay with for the night.
"Crunch, crunch."
The temperature dropped sharply as soon as I entered the village; compared to the lingering heat outside, it was so cold it felt like my blood was freezing.
At this moment, there wasn't a single idle person from the village.
The five people cautiously observed their surroundings, and could still see the figures inside the house through the broken wooden door.
Those inside the houses who passed by saw outsiders entering the village, and a sense of unease spread through them. They slightly opened their doors and peeked through the cracks.
His gaze was direct and blank.
Some even carried a heavy sense of sorrow... and hatred.
Each room was filled with cattail leaves, mugwort, peach wood swords, gourds...
They're all used to ward off evil spirits...
“This place is really strange,” Cen Ying whispered to Bai Yuheng.
Countless eyes were watching them, both openly and secretly.
Going straight from the village entrance into the center, there is a wide open space, several tens of feet wide. In the center, directly in front, is a stone platform. On the stone platform is a frame with a straw dummy tied to it, which is blackened by fire.
"Waaah—"
A loud bugle call rang out, followed by a flurry of hurried, tense footsteps and cautious, gruff voices.
"They're right ahead!!"
"Hurry! Don't let them get away!!"
In the blink of an eye, a large group of people carrying various farm tools surrounded the stone platform, each with a cold face, raising their sharp weapons as they approached.
Who are you?
Why are you here?
An aged voice came from behind the crowd. People made way for him, and the newcomer was an elderly man with gray hair, who was somewhat hunchbacked and leaning on a wooden cane.
His not-so-bright eyes warily scanned the five people who had suddenly barged into the village. His eyes were like sharp swords, able to peel away their skin and disguise to see the strangeness inside.
Why did you come to Luoshui Village?
"You'd better tell the truth, or you'll be the ones tied to the altar and burned to death."
Li Tiankuo took a few steps forward, but was forced back to his original position by the villagers' wary weapons. He said, "We are disciples of the Tianyan Sect. We were ordered by the sect to come down the mountain to subdue demons and monsters. We got lost and ended up here. We are not evil people."
As soon as he finished speaking, it was like a drop of water falling into a pan of oil; the surrounding villagers immediately erupted into a cacophony of voices, whispering amongst themselves, but the noise only grew louder and louder.
"Hey, hey, did you hear that? He said they are disciples of the Immortal Sect!"
"I heard you, I heard you, I'm not deaf!"
"This means our village is saved!"
"Why don't we ask them for help? That way we won't have to move the village!"
"Tch, you believe everything they say?"
"That immortal sect is a hundred and eight thousand miles away from here. How could they possibly get lost and end up here? You're too naive!"
"That's right, that's right. Look at the Li family, with their delicate skin and tender flesh, they can't lift anything heavy. Do they look like demon-catching immortal masters? Or are they notorious bandits!"
"I think so too. Look at them, they're all as beautiful as flowers, but they don't even look as big as my Wangcai. It's unbelievable, it's probably a scam..."
"You know what, those two young ladies are really as beautiful as celestial beings, they might actually be immortal masters..."
"Hey Lao Zhang, are you possessed by a lecherous devil? There are man-eating succubi and bewitching fox spirits in that forest! And aren't they all so beautiful!"
"I said if I could marry such a beautiful wife, I'd be willing to be a monster..."
"Bang!"
In an instant, the villagers who had been commenting on Bai Yuheng and Cen Ying were blasted away by a mysterious force, falling to the ground and spitting out a mouthful of blood.
Before the villagers could react, the people had already flown a hundred meters away. They reacted instantly upon hearing the sound, and their relaxed vigilance suddenly surged. They saw the five people as monsters from the mountains, possessing sorcery, capable of striking cattle from a distance and taking lives.
"It really is a monster!!!"
Sharp farm tools drew ever closer.
The faces of Pei Yuan and the other two men had been extremely grim ever since those people made their blatant offense; they were as black as the bottom of a pot.
Bai Yuheng spoke up at that moment: "You must be the village chief? We are not monsters. It was you villagers who offended us first."
Cen Ying took out the token and nameplate from his waist and showed it to the old man: "This is our sect's token. You can check it if you don't believe me."
The old man was a well-traveled and knowledgeable person. After examining the situation carefully for a moment, he made the fierce-looking villagers who were holding sharp weapons put down their weapons and step aside.
"village head!"
Some people still had doubts, worried that they might not be able to defeat the monster in one fell swoop: "Village chief, are we really going to let them go? What if they're fake?!"
The old village chief glanced at him and said in a deep voice, "I still recognize the token of the Tianyan Sect."
The man persisted, "What if they're monsters who killed the immortal masters of the Tianyan Sect and are imposters?! How can we just let them go? What if they retaliate against us while we're asleep at night? Our village will be finished!!"
Upon hearing this, the others who had put down their weapons also hesitated before picking them up and putting them down as well.
The old village chief pondered for a long time, and seemed to think that what they said made some sense.
Cui Mingcan was so anxious that his chest was burning with anger. If it weren't for the sect's rule against attacking mortals, he would have already given that troublemaker a good whack on the head. By the time they were here discussing things, he would have been frozen solid!
His great-aunt! He's freezing to death!!!
Cui Mingcan pushed Bai Yuheng aside, his eyes widening. He casually twirled his hand, then with his closed hand, he made a splashing motion— *splash*
A spark burst from his hand, the flames dissipated, and he was left holding a silver ingot.
"Stop talking nonsense, I'm freezing to death! Here! This is money, it's for you. Just give us a place to stay tonight, arrange it however you like, as long as it shelters us from the wind and snow!"
Cui Mingcan shoved himself into the old village chief's arms with an air of nonchalance, ignoring the spikes that were about to poke his face. He took a deep sniff, then shrank back, waiting for them to speak.
"Village chief, this..."
Many people saw the silver ingot.
It weighs a full ten taels...
This is enough for even the most capable family here to earn, and it would take them two or three years to earn the same amount...
What's more, this young master could casually toss out a piece of gold, and all he wanted was a place to stay...
With such extravagance, could they possibly be evil spirits or demons?
For a moment, people's hearts were in turmoil, and everyone stared at the old village chief's arms with eyes that gleamed green like hungry wolves, ready to pounce and tear their prey apart.
The old village chief, observing the wavering emotions of the people, naturally knew what they were thinking.
He glanced at everyone, pondered for a moment, and said, "So, are you all willing to let them stay overnight?"
"agree!"
"I agree."
"I agree..."
"Let them stay for one night, it shouldn't be a problem..."
"Exactly, they could stay at that person's place!"
Scattered voices could be heard.
Upon hearing someone's suggestion, the people behind fell silent instantly, timidly asking, "Is...is this alright?"
"What if they come to retaliate... wouldn't I be dead?!"
“Cuihua’s mother, you’re such a wimp! Aren’t they immortal masters? Isn’t this perfect…”
The unspoken meaning in his words was immediately understood by everyone, and they all gave him glances with praise. The man was delighted and puffed out his chest, ready to say something more constructive.
The old village chief raised his hand to stop them, looked at the five people over there, sighed softly, and understood what was going on. He said loudly to them, "Alright, then you immortal masters can stay in my village for the night. This ten taels will be your lodging fee, and it will be recorded in the village register later."
The villagers had no objections at this point and could only follow the village chief's arrangements. Those who had objections were a minority who yielded to the majority, grumbling and complaining, fearing that the villagers would be greedy for money and end up letting the wolf into their house.
"Gentlemen," the village chief said as he walked across the stone platform, turning back to look at Bai Yuheng and the other four. A dark glint flashed in his cloudy, grayish-blue eyes as he raised his hand to ask for permission, "Please follow me."
The five exchanged a glance and followed.
"Let's go, let's check out where we'll stay!"
"Let's go, let's go! I'm about to freeze to death here!"
The group chattered behind the village chief, while behind them were the villagers' gazes, each with a different expression, seemingly trying to avoid eye contact yet remaining unmistakably clear.
"What a pity, so young, I wonder if he'll even survive—"
A woman watched the backs of the five young and beautiful women and murmured unconsciously. Suddenly, her husband pulled her away, and she hissed as her face turned pale. Her eyes looked around in terror. The snow was everywhere, and the villagers were all tiptoeing home and closing their doors tightly. She immediately spat out a curse and ran home with her husband like a rabbit.
"Swish—"
A few crows flew across the sky.
The snow fell heavily, covering the ground.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
