Chapter 56 He wants to be mine... My junior brother wants to be his most important and...
Upon hearing this, Fu Ming staggered, but Xiao Huaiyuan caught him by the waist.
Was it really He Cuihua herself who knocked on the door yesterday?
Xiao Huaiyuan, didn't you say she wasn't alive? How could you trust your junior brother's conclusion so much? Fu Ming glanced at the person beside him.
“It wasn’t like that last night, and I don’t know why it is now.” Xiao Huaiyuan always appeared calm and reliable, but after being glared at, a subtle smile appeared on his lips, as if he was hoping Fu Ming would scold him a few more times.
"Fine, let people talk about it if they want. It's not bad to annoy her a bit."
It was a bit awkward, but Fu Ming was more concerned about another question: He Cuihua was a disabled mortal, so how could she live and walk outside while being watched by shadows?
In the eyes of the other villagers, who had been incited by He Cuihua, their actions were clearly considered indecent flirting. As soon as they approached, the villagers all retreated, thus ruining Fu Ming's plan to chat and gather information.
The village of Boyun was damp and cold.
As the sun rises, golden rays scatter, yet they struggle to pierce the lingering morning mist in the forest.
Beside the jagged boulders at the village entrance, various offerings were laid out: a pot of wine, a plate of rice, and a bloodied black pig's head with its eyes wide open in death. The pond not far away was a dark, murky green, and a faint, fishy odor could be detected if one looked closely.
The ritual was supposed to begin at sunrise, but the officiant was late. The villagers remained calm and patient, simply squatting to the side with their knees drawn up to their chests. Their sallow, wrinkled skin was covered with large black spots, and many were missing limbs. Their faces were filled with anxiety.
The hushed chatter gradually subsided, and even He Cuihua, who loved to gossip, remained silent by the rock, no longer moving around.
Something unusual must be going on.
“There’s not a single young person in this village. Could it be that this disease only infects the old folks?” Fu Ming, with his exceptional eyesight, noticed the blind spot after looking them over one by one.
As an exception, Xiao Huaiyuan quickly reminded him, "Senior brother."
Fu Ming didn't even turn his head: "Stop being so cheeky, you're an old guy who's over a hundred years old too."
Reaching the Foundation Establishment stage grants an additional hundred years of lifespan, the Nascent Soul stage grants five hundred years, and the Deity Transformation stage can reach a thousand years. Therefore, a Deity Transformation cultivator in their early thirties is indeed considered a young talent in the cultivation world. Although cultivators often go into seclusion for ten or eight years at a time, they have truly lived that many years. Even if Fu Ming's parents in this world hadn't died a violent death, they would have long since turned to dust.
Mortals toil and cultivate, generation after generation, but in the eyes of cultivators, they are no different from mayflies that live only a day and die in a day. But for Fu Ming, he preferred to buy a cup of peach blossom wine at the town's tavern and enjoy a small drink when he had nothing to do, rather than fighting with cultivators.
When will these troubling matters be resolved? He can finally have a proper talk in the Demon Palace and let bygones be bygones over a cup of wine.
For the sake of his buttock health, it's best to separate from Xiao Huaiyuan for the time being.
after all.
Even the strongest person needs rest, and Fu Ming felt a dull pain in a certain unspeakable part of his body again.
After reading through his memories of the past few years, the system in Fu Ming's brain also started crying loudly: Host, I never expected you to make such a huge sacrifice to complete our mission, I'm so touched, waaaaaah!
Fu Ming's forehead creased with three black lines: You saw everything?
System: Oh my god, the images and audio in the host's consciousness are all censored in a pitiful way, and they were tortured by the rampaging Xiao Huaiyuan, crying and screaming. It's really too difficult for them.
Since the image was blurred, he suddenly wanted to hear how the system would explain Xiao Huaiyuan's clinginess towards him.
"Of course, it's because they were captivated by the host's domineering and arrogant aura!" the system fawned.
Yes, that's it.
Fu Ming's inner turmoil finally became logically consistent.
If it were just simple love, wouldn't getting his [private parts] be enough? Xiao Huaiyuan both loves and hates him; in essence, he wants Fu Ming to be his most important and irreplaceable little brother, even if they are on opposing sides, he wants Fu Ming to never forget him.
There are far too many characters like this in male-oriented novels.
With a clear mind, Fu Ming let out a long sigh of relief and took the initiative to turn to put his arm around Xiao Huaiyuan's shoulder.
He raised an index finger and smiled, "Junior brother, I've been racking my brains lately and finally figured out what you're looking for."
Suddenly, a weight settled on his shoulder. Looking down from the side, Xiao Huaiyuan saw that Fu Ming, whose blood and energy he had nurtured, had become even more radiant, making Xiao Huaiyuan's mouth dry.
Could it be that Fu Ming has finally seen the light? Xiao Huaiyuan grasped Fu Ming's index finger, suppressing his joy as he asked, "Then what brilliant idea does Senior Brother have?"
"You've gone to so much trouble just to prove that I have feelings for you. That's easy enough. I assure you, no one can surpass you in my heart." Fu Mingyan smiled warmly and shook Xiao Huaiyuan's hand back.
He never really cared about anyone, so the title of "Number One Underling" truly belongs to Xiao Huaiyuan.
Having been fooled by sweet words several times, Xiao Huaiyuan had learned his lesson: "Really? It's a pity that Senior Brother's credibility is really poor now. He needs to show some practical results."
Leading by example?
It's already being lenient not to beat him up, what more do you want in terms of physical gestures, like kisses, hugs, and head pats?
Before Fu Ming could even grasp the deeper meaning, they heard the ethereal and sorrowful sound of the xun (a type of ancient Chinese wind instrument). In the mountains and forests, an old man with a black and purple headscarf was playing the xun and approaching them, followed by the long-braided fairy they had seen that day.
Waaah.
The villagers fell down like harvested rice and wheat, banging their heads on the ground, kowtowing and weeping. Fu Ming and Xiao Huaiyuan, the only two standing, looked quite out of place, and they also bowed down.
The melody of the xun was not pleasant to the ear; the notes were always unexpected, as if it were reciting a difficult and obscure eulogy. As the music was about to end, a crimson dragon rose from the clouds, its body seemingly longer than the mountain rivers, swimming for a long time without ever reaching its end.
Fu Ming was also somewhat shocked, not because the dragon was so powerful, but because there had long been no trace of the demon race in the cultivation world.
Humans are the most intelligent of all beings, and it is only through the favor of Heaven that they can easily embark on the path of cultivation. This is not the case for plants, trees, birds, and beasts. Firstly, it is extremely difficult for them to gain intelligence, and secondly, it is also difficult for them to enter the Dao. In the past thousand years, with the spiritual energy of the Three Realms declining, human cultivators have been declining day by day, not to mention demon cultivators whose path is even more difficult.
With such a miracle in mind, the fairy began to put on airs. She lowered her eyes and became serious, shaking a string of silver bells that looked like vines.
The sound waves rippled outwards, completely shattering the minds of the villagers. They raised their heads in a daze, their faces wet with what appeared to be tears or saliva.
The fairy shackled her bell and said, "Foolish fools, do you know your sins?"
The villagers spontaneously cried out in unison, "Please, Fairy Maiden, guide us through our confusion!"
Seeing that everyone obeyed her, she nodded as if satisfied, but soon scolded them: "You who have contracted this terrible disease are all sinners. Otherwise, the gods would not have punished you."
Holy crap, this is a cult.
Fu Ming, who had received civic education in the new era, secretly grumbled to himself.
The fairy pointed to a spot, and her black snake slowly swam out, writhing wildly on the muddy ground soaked by the night dew, finally stopping in front of a person who was blind in one eye: "You, yes, you, tell me what sins you have committed."
The one chosen by the fairy was one of the three people who came to find us with He Cuihua, as Xiao Huaiyuan prompted Fu Ming in his divine sense.
Upon hearing this, Fu Ming remembered that the person had been hiding behind He Cuihua, so he had little presence and must have been a timid person.
The blind old man kowtowed again: "I am unfilial, unwilling to care for my eighty-year-old father until his death, but that was all for the sake of raising my three-year-old grandson, Fairy..."
"Hmm, no need for excuses. So, have you done anything good for our village?"
“I, I have offered up the land deeds for five acres of land passed down in the village, ten taels of silver, and more.”
"That's all? That great man gave you the chance to live, not so you could idly loaf around here. What do you say?" The fairy fiddled with her fingernails, which were stained red with balsam flowers and looked as if they were covered in blood.
"Yes, yes... the fairy is right. I should do more for the village." The blind old man trembled and forced a smile that looked more like a grimace.
The black snake coiled around his thigh, which had little flesh left, its cold head occasionally brushing against his inner thigh.
"ah!!"
A bloodcurdling scream rang out. The blind old man clutched his right thigh, convulsing uncontrollably. The black snake sucked a few mouthfuls of his blood, but then, perhaps finding it unpalatable, it crawled off his body. Only black, venomous blood remained, flowing everywhere, along with three rapidly expanding, pitch-black holes.
“Even my precious snake wouldn’t eat your blood, which shows how useless you are. Our village has never supported good-for-nothings who just eat and do nothing. The miraculous medicine that can cure serious diseases is all painstakingly prepared by the divine doctor. How can we give it to you for free?”
The fairy glared at the man with disgust, then began to look for a new target: "So, whether it's gold, silver, herbs, or grain and cloth, you have to hand over every single one of them, understand?"
"Understood."
The villagers didn't dare to look up, and could only respond in hushed tones.
Her gaze swept across the crowd, finally settling on two tall, slender figures, and she clasped her hands together, smiling as she said, "By the way, the offerings for today's ceremony are far too few. That lord won't be happy to see them. So, the same old rule applies this time: one person enters the pond, and the rest will receive the elixir of immortality that relieves pain and stops illness."
What does "one person enters the pond" mean? Does it mean allowing someone to voluntarily soak in the pond?
Fu Ming was still thinking when he suddenly saw a snake several meters long about to climb onto his calf. He immediately grabbed the snake by the neck with lightning speed and threw it away.
The long snake flew through the air with its gaping maw, baring its sharp, venomous fangs, seemingly actively seeking its next prey.
Xiao Huaiyuan used Tai Chi to pull several people up at the same time, causing them to trip and fall. Some people actively avoided the snake, while others were frightened by it. The docile crowd immediately turned into chaos.
Of course, not everyone was so submissive. Some took the initiative and shouted in the chaos, "Throw them into the pond!"
Neither the fairy nor the xun player used any spiritual power, so Xiao Huaiyuan and Fu Ming naturally wouldn't use it either, relying solely on their physical skills to fight against a hundred opponents. Fu Ming's movements were agile and his attacks were ruthless, while Xiao Huaiyuan was steady yet unpredictable, with an impenetrable lower body. It was a perfect combination of offense and defense, making for a thoroughly enjoyable experience.
They haven't fought side by side for a long time.
Every move they made was met with a supportive response, as if they were born to be partners.
But plans can't keep up with changes. Suddenly, a rapid sound of an ocarina rang out, and the dragon descended from the clouds, slamming Xiao Huaiyuan into the dark green water.
Xiao Huaiyuan!
His junior brother was so tall, yet when he fell into the water, not a single drop of water splashed out; only ripples appeared, making the oval-shaped pond look like a lifeless eye.
Fu Ming jumped into the water; he couldn't just stand by and watch his junior brother get into trouble.
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