Chapter 39: The Old House’s ‘Tenant

Two miles is not too far, but the road is overgrown with weeds, making it more and more desolate as you walk. The closer you get to the village, the more you can feel the presence of people.

The fields, overgrown with weeds, speak for themselves. The people of the village once cultivated and lived here, but now the fields are still here, but they have disappeared.

Looking at all this, I felt a little sad and couldn’t help but ask my master, “Are they doing well after they left their hometown? Will they still have their own land?”

The master said, “It is also the country’s wish to see them leave. After all, it is easy to control the impact of killing one village, but it is difficult to say if you kill many villages.”

“Hmm,” I nodded, but looking at this overgrown place, I couldn’t help but feel a little melancholy.

I have never denied my sensitivity, which is also a flaw that my master pointed out to me long ago. Having too many emotions is not good for a cultivator, but sometimes my master has to admit that perhaps people who are sensitive are the ones with the strongest hearts. At least their emotions are sincere, and after they have gained enlightenment, their minds are even more steadfast.

The surroundings were full of the sound of footsteps, and by the time we got here, it was basically impossible to see the path. We were walking completely in the grass, and the summer sun was very strong, so it was a bit hazy. Walking in the grass was definitely not a pleasant experience.

Yang Qinhuai, the young master, couldn’t stand it any longer and kept complaining, “I say, guys, how long will it take to find a place to rest our feet?”

No one answered him, so he lifted his foot to show me. “Chengyi, I’m not complaining. Look, my feet are swollen from the grass.”

I didn’t even look up, and said directly, “You are already very lucky. You have been sprayed with a secret formula of insect repellent, otherwise the creatures in the grass would have made you suffer.”

Speaking of this, Yang Qinhuai really had an experience. He really didn’t encounter any bugs along the way. Originally, summer is a season when snakes are active, but he didn’t encounter any. In fact, he even thought the powder smelled pungent at first!

“That, haha… these things are really amazing! No wonder they say that the best experts are in the common people! Chengyi, what about you? I didn’t see you sprinkle any on yourself,” Qinhuai quickly changed the subject.

“Me? Do I have this?” I handed him a bamboo tube. Qin Huai took it, sniffed it, shook it, and asked me in a confused voice.

“What is this thing? A secret weapon?”

“Yes, a secret weapon. I got it as a gift when I was 6 or 7 years old. It’s more effective than your powder.” The snake repellent gave it to me back then, and I’ve kept it all these years. He said that if I ever met a powerful opponent, I should sprinkle some of it on them, but I never had the chance.

Speaking of this, I think of the Hungry Ghost Tomb. If I had this with me at the time, and if the Candle Dragon were still alive, would the powder have been effective?

In the years that followed, I also talked to my master about the Hungry Ghost Tomb. My master said that the Hungry Ghost King had eaten the Candle Dragon, so he had the characteristics of the Candle Dragon. I thought back and realized that it was indeed the case. Would the powder be effective?

However, if it is only if, the matter of the Hungry Ghost Tomb has long passed. I have mentioned several times to my master what I asked Yang Sheng to bring to Beijing, and my master has always dismissed me with the same answer.

Has the matter of the Hungry Ghost Tomb come to nothing?

“We’re in the village. There really is a village here?” Just as I was lost in thought, Qin Huai suddenly shouted, startling me.

I looked up and sure enough, after turning a corner, we arrived at the village. From a distance, I could see the houses, which were not too densely packed.

Originally, when you are alone on the road, it is a joyful thing to see a cluster of houses, but for some reason, I felt an indescribable feeling when I saw this village.

It was like looking at a static painting, not a realistic impression, because it lacked vitality.

Except for Qin Huai yelling, none of us made a sound. We must have all felt a little strange about the village. Unlike the ancient city ruins, which were left behind by the passage of time, this was a life that had been brutally cut short.

Since we had seen the village, it wasn’t far away. We hurried and soon entered the village. Everywhere was a desolate scene, with vines creeping over everything, squeezing out the cracks in the houses.

Cracked, wobbly doors.

The road that had almost been submerged was no longer visible.

And the quiet atmosphere that almost drove us crazy.

We kept walking, walking, until we came to a large house. Yuan Yi shouted, “Let’s rest here, drink some water, and eat something.”

As soon as he finished speaking, everyone looked at my master, but my master didn’t want to have anything to do with Yuan Yi, so he just nodded and said, “Okay, I’ll listen to you.”

Yuan Yi’s face didn’t look good, but fortunately, my master gave him face, and he didn’t get angry.

In fact, I don’t quite understand. The Taoist priests are all different, and this department is so loose that no one can control the lives of others. Why fight everywhere? Just do one thing, as long as you do it seriously and finish it, why bother about how others do it? Why do you have to suppress others? If you can’t suppress them, you have to embarrass them everywhere? Isn’t this just adding to your own frustration?

Of course, I was just thinking about it. My master had told me not to argue.

Since no one objected, Yuan Yi led everyone to the courtyard and pushed open the dilapidated gate.

As soon as the door opened, a cloud of dust came rushing at them, choking the few people who were walking in front of them. Yuan Yi didn’t care, and stepped into the courtyard with one foot.

I followed him in and looked at the courtyard. I felt even more uncomfortable because I saw the former owner of the house, who had shriveled and dried up, lying in the courtyard in a sieve, which was covered in dust and had already begun to rot.

I even saw that there was a large water tank in the yard, and next to it was a basin, also covered in dust.

All of this shows how hurriedly the owner left.

“This yard is impossible to walk on. Let’s go inside and sit down,” Yuan Yi said to himself, and stepped into the room. As soon as he entered the room, he screamed and stumbled out.

I didn’t know what was going on, so I looked up and saw a centipede as long as a small human arm crawling out of the room, followed by a bat.

“There are so many of these things in this room, I didn’t notice it, and when I went in, it was really…” Yuan Yi explained with a bad look on his face. After all, being scared by insects and bats was a very embarrassing thing in his eyes. Although we didn’t think it was a big deal, any normal person walking in this depressing village would be scared if something suddenly appeared.

Even Taoist priests are the same, because they are also ordinary people, only that their studies are different from ordinary people.

The bat was not caught, but the centipede was caught. Yang Sheng shouted that everything here was of research value and was a clue, and he resolutely did not allow people to kill it.

He carefully observed the bugs, and so did his master. Yang Sheng didn’t see any results, and was still discussing with Zhao Jingyi.

But my master couldn’t help but let out a “huh”!

Yang Sheng heard my master say “eh” and couldn’t help but ask, “Master Jiang, are you also very knowledgeable in biology? I’m not an entomologist, but I know a lot about insects. I really don’t see anything special about this centipede.”

“Yes, I think I have a lot of knowledge about zoology and entomology, and I don’t see anything either. In fact, it is not much different from an ordinary centipede, but the pattern is a bit special, and I don’t know if it is poisonous or not.” Zhao Jingyi also said in unison.

My master stepped on the centipede without looking up and said, “When I studied abroad, I also studied biology, but I can say that this kind of centipede is not recorded in books. If you want to say species, it is the most common scutigerus. But don’t you think it’s wrong? It is possible to grow so big, but the scutigerus here…” The master pointed to the head and first dorsal plate of the centipede that had been squashed and continued, “It should be golden red, right? But it has turned pale white. Are you wondering about this?”

Yang Sheng clapped his hands and said, “Yes, I just can’t figure this out. I just temporarily defined it as a genetic mutation. Is that correct?”

“Very right, it is a mutation.” The master said very seriously.