Encountering villains on the first day
With her own worries on her mind, Chao Lan and the strangely behaving You Youju shared one last meal together before setting off on their journey.
You Youju didn't seem to care much, only saying it was a "side effect" of leaving the pass.
After all, in the past, when he came out of seclusion, he was either listless, or he would sit blankly for several days, arrogant and domineering, or he would stay in his room with tears streaming down his face. Ju often said that the aftereffects were too great, which made his Dao heart unstable.
In fact, Chaolan didn't understand how a highly cultivated elder like her master, who could use a year as if it were a hundred, could still have an unstable Dao heart.
I only hope that Master can recover his physical and mental health as soon as possible, and not let his other identities burden his mind.
After descending the mountain, he changed his appearance and embarked on the journey marked on the map.
That map was not useless; during this journey, Chaolan will obtain his destined weapon—the Sword of Strength and Softness.
The first place Chao Lan arrived at was the farthest on the map. He wanted to use his brief enthusiasm to ease his longing for Chaodi Peak, so that he could see his master sooner after the training was over.
In the sweltering summer heat, waves of heat rise from the boundless plains, and cicadas chirp loudly, responding to the scorching sun.
He was sweating profusely when he finally saw a village in the distance. He drank the Chaolan water and entered the village, stepping through the dust.
Perhaps because it was midday, most villagers were taking a midday nap, and the area was almost completely peaceful and quiet. Chao Lan found a small shop with the character "茗" (tea) on it and went inside.
A man was dozing off at the door. Hearing someone approach, he rubbed his eyes and only woke up as if from a dream when Zhu Xun walked up to him. He greeted him, "Guest...sir, are you here for a meal or to stay the night?"
Chao Lan looked around the shop. A smell of dry wood and fermented grain, mixed with the heat, hit her. The shop was simple, with only two tables and eight stools. The middle-aged man in front of her, who looked sleepy and had just gotten up from the recliner, was probably the owner.
Without any hesitation, Chao Lan sat down on one of the stools, which immediately creaked.
"What kind of tea do you have? Are there any shady rooms available because it's hot?"
Seeing that the newcomer had an extraordinary bearing, the shopkeeper also discreetly sized up Chao Lan: "We run a small business, and we rarely have any fellow villagers come to eat here, so we only have some coarse tea. There is also a room in the courtyard; if you don't mind, you can go and take a look."
After saying that, he chuckled twice, seemingly a little embarrassed.
Chao Lan was already parched. She took off her straw hat and placed it face down on the table. Without haste, she instructed, "Bring me some warm water first, so I can fill my water bag. I'll pay for the tea. Thank you."
The shopkeeper limped as he took the water bag, muttering to himself, "This kid is so dark-skinned, but his face is so pointed it looks like a woman's."
After quenching her thirst, Chaolan followed the innkeeper into the courtyard to look at the rooms. Although the rooms were simple, they were clean. She thought they were a bit too small, but why should she be considerate in every way when she was traveling? She wasn't here for leisure.
Having booked this room for a day and a night to rest, I began meditating on the bed.
In the middle of the night, the faint sound of a baby crying could be heard from afar, sometimes near, sometimes far, and never ceasing.
Chao Lan lit a lamp, sat down, and poured herself a cup of cold tea. She wondered if some child had woken up hungry in the night.
Then several more rustling voices spoke intermittently, their words indistinct, while the child's voice grew increasingly shrill, as he cried out with all his might. Chao Lan realized something was wrong, drew her sword, and leaped onto the roof.
A few bright lights in the distance—are they someone holding torches?
The crying stopped abruptly, without any transition, and the firelight in the distance grew larger, as if something was being burned.
Chao Lan's heart tightened, and she jumped several times before rushing towards the fire with trepidation.
Two men stood around the burning fire, muttering filthy grievances: "She's really useless, another money-loser, wasting our food. Luckily, I strangled that shrew in time. She had such strength even after giving birth, she even managed to cut me in several places."
“You did the right thing. You had two sons, so your womb is probably useless now. Keeping them around is just bad luck,” one of them said in support.
Chao Lan leaped down from the roof and pushed the two away, shouting, "What are you doing!"
The two were startled and nearly fell into the fire. One of them shouted angrily, "Who are you?!"
Upon closer inspection, one was a middle-aged man, and the other, a slightly younger man, was probably his son; the two looked remarkably alike.
He threw the talisman at Chao Lan, and the fire immediately went out. He didn't have time to pay attention to the two people; he dug through the fire and took a few steps back in horror. It really was a child.
The young, strong man, his hands covered in blood, grabbed Chao Lan by the collar, intending to pull him over. Unexpectedly, the boy was as steady as a mountain, and instead threw him into a still-sparking pit with a back throw. The man rolled twice on the ground, howling in pain.
Seeing his son being beaten, the middle-aged man roared angrily and picked up a torch to strike Chao Lan. Chao Lan dodged lightly and kicked him away.
"How cruel! To burn an infant alive! They're worse than animals!" Chao Lan was furious, trembling with rage. She stomped on the man who was about to launch a sneak attack and crushed him several times.
The middle-aged man fell to the ground groaning, while the man at his feet roared, "Who are you?! How dare you trespass on my property and interfere in my business! I haven't even asked you for an explanation yet! Help! Help!"
Chao Lan kicked him again, dislocating his jaw: "You dare to call for help? I'm going to take you all to the authorities right now!"
The middle-aged man chuckled twice: "Not to mention that the government office is a hundred miles away from here, who do you think you are?" Before he finished speaking, a woodcutter's knife was thrown straight at him, which Chao Lan dodged to the side.
Just then, the noise woke up the neighbors, who started banging on the door and asking what was going on inside.
When Chaolan saw that people had arrived, she didn't say anything more to them and went to open the door.
The neighbors, seeing that the newcomer was a strange young man, peered into the house. When Chao Lan let them into the yard, the two men lying on the ground cried out for help: "Help! Help! This stranger has broken into our house and killed someone!!"
Chao Lan was surrounded by a group of people, all staring at him with fierce expressions. Chao Lan said angrily, "Fellow villagers, I was just staying here for the night when I heard them burning and killing infants in the courtyard! It's utterly hateful and despicable! What did the infants do wrong?! Where is the village head? These two must be sent to the government office for punishment immediately!" His voice trembled in the wind and was scattered by the wind.
The villagers stared at him with strange expressions. The torches crackled and popped, creating a bizarre scene that gave Chao Lan goosebumps.
The old man at the head of the group spoke, but not to Chaolan: "Another girl?"
The man finally got up and helped his father up as well. He looked so pitiful that if you didn't know the truth, you would really think that this teenager had broken into the house and killed someone, harming their conscience.
The middle-aged man said, "That's right, another useless fellow. This guy even wants to hand us over to the authorities, what a fool!"
Chao Lan was horrified by the conversation and stared incredulously at the group of hypocritical people: "You're all in cahoots! I'll execute you on the spot tonight!"
"Be careful! This person seems to know magic! He's a sorcerer!"
Chao Lan did not draw her sword, but nimbly dodged the attacks of the crowd, thinking of a way to deal with them. She fixed the positions of several people, flew up to the roof, and saw the crowd shouting in the courtyard, which looked like evil ghosts. She felt a chill in her heart.
Amidst the commotion, someone threw a farm tool, which scratched Chao Lan's face, leaving a small cut. Chao Lan quickly drew a shield talisman to block the attacks and planned to get away from this troublesome place.
"Stop! Stop!" The owner of the voice was still panting heavily, instantly attracting everyone's attention.
The villagers stopped what they were doing and started chattering, saying, "Village head! He's an outsider! He's here to disrupt the order of our village!"
Chao Lan squinted, watching Muramasa warily. Muramasa caught his breath and then shouted to Chao Lan on the roof, "Hero! Please come down and talk. I'm late!"
Upon hearing his words, the villagers fell silent, staring at Chao Lan without uttering a sound. Chao Lan was not afraid of the villagers' attacks; he was only afraid of harming innocent people, and he did not believe he had the right to arbitrarily dispose of people's lives.
He leaped down and came to the old man with the goatee, bowed respectfully, his guard still on his face, and said nothing.
The old man returned the greeting: "I am the village head of this village. The village head is not in our village, so I, this old man, will temporarily take over all matters, big and small."
Seeing that Chaolan still didn't speak, Muramasa pointed at the two menacing instigators—the two murderers: "This is your house, you two tell me, what exactly happened?! Why is there such a big commotion!"
The middle-aged man said, "Nothing serious happened. It's just that my baby is a girl again this time."
Chao Lan was furious, her eyes reddening: "You speak so casually, yet you have taken a life!"
Muramasa's eyes darted around, then he roared, "What?! Even if it's a girl, how can she be burned to death at birth?! Oh dear, you! You scoundrel!"
The middle-aged man looked puzzled, then his face hardened with anxiety. He was about to retort, but the village headman wouldn't give him the chance. He ordered his men, "Quickly seize this man! As soon as it's light, take him to the village head! I'm furious!"
In the midst of Chao Lan's confusion, the matter was completed in one go.
Then the village chief said with a forced smile, "Thank you for your chivalrous help. It is truly a misfortune for our village that such a heinous thing has happened!"
Chao Lan nodded, but she was still uneasy: "I went with you this morning, I am a witness."
Muramasa chuckled dryly, wiping the sweat from his brow. "Is the chivalrous knight staying at Wang Bo's inn? Since we're going together, why don't we move to the old man's house for a rest today? Do you have any belongings that I can send over?"
Although the village head was asking for his opinion, his words clearly implied that he had made the decision for him. Asahi frowned, but agreed, partly for convenience and partly to prevent them from trying to pull a fast one.
At first, Muramasa kept rambling on, sometimes saying he was too young, sometimes asking where he came from. Asahi, seeing that he was older, responded to every question. She thought to herself that she should send a telepathic message to her master and ask for his opinion.
Upon entering the village chief's house, next to the side room where he rested, there was an even smaller wooden hut, seemingly used for storage. Chao Lan felt extremely uncomfortable, as if there was some resentment inside.
He asked, "What's in that room?"
Muramasa paused for a moment, his cloudy eyes probing at Asahi, but he still calmly opened the door to the room: "Young hero, please take a look. These are nothing more than things used for shamanistic rituals during festivals."
Chao Lan didn't look closely, but glanced around and reminded her, "Take it out to air it more often, as this kind of thing easily attracts yin energy and spirits."
Muramasa immediately chimed in, "Thank you for the reminder, young hero."
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