Two sharp "whoosh" sounds rang out as two streaks of cyan light shot from the corpses of the yin beasts, flying back behind a large boulder nearby. Then a figure flickered, and a man and a woman stepped out from behind the rock.
The man had an unremarkable appearance with clear, bright eyes, while the woman was lovely and refined, gentle and pleasing — none other than Han Li and Mei Ning. Both wore light blue beast-hide outer garments, and in each of Han Li's hands was a small, inch-long cyan sword, their hilts wrapped with loops of translucent, thread-like material — strips of slender beast tendon.
Han Li walked over a few steps, lowered his gaze to look at the two yin beasts killed by the small swords, then raised his head to survey the wary group of people before him.
"Just now I saw these two Green Toad Beasts about to flee, so I had no choice but to act rashly. Surely none of you will hold it against me? But rest assured — I have no need for these two Green Toad Beasts' bodies. I only wish to ask you all a few questions. Would you be willing to answer?" Han Li smiled, projecting an air of goodwill toward the group.
"You really don't want the corpses of these Green Toad Beasts?" A muscular man, slightly older than the rest, spoke up with a puzzled expression. He appeared to be the leader of this band of young men and women.
"Of course I'm serious. I'm not short on food," Han Li kicked one of the carcasses on the ground and repeated firmly.
"Fine, ask away!" The muscular man still found the situation somewhat odd, but figured he had nothing to lose and finally nodded in agreement.
Seeing that the other party was so cooperative, Han Li nodded with satisfaction and spoke at a leisurely pace: "Are you all from the nearby Red Earth Village?"
"That's right — we're all villagers of Red Earth Village!" The muscular man furrowed his brow slightly, but answered honestly.
"Good. The reason we came here is actually to find out whether your village has recently taken in any newcomers from the outside. We've come looking for someone," Han Li asked calmly.
"Newcomers? No, we haven't! Although, the last time the rift opened, we found several sets of remains near where the yin beasts roam — men and women, all reduced to bare white bones. It seems they were unlucky and got completely devoured by the yin beast herds that returned early." The muscular man thought for a moment and answered somewhat hesitantly.
"White bones?" Mei Ning, standing behind Han Li, felt her expression shift slightly, her face growing pale.
Over the past month and more, the two of them had already visited three other villages. Though none had turned up her brother, in each place there had been at least two or three cultivators who had survived the ordeal.
But this village — from the very first word, it was nothing but death.
How could that not make Mei Ning's heart clench with a vague sense of foreboding?
"That's right. We buried the remains on the spot. But whatever they had on them, we put in the village storeroom. Would the two of you like to go take a look?" The muscular man could see that Han Li had genuinely come looking for someone, and his wariness gradually faded. He gestured with a hearty air.
"Very well then. We'll trouble you, brother." Han Li glanced at the silent beauty beside him and gave an affirmative nod on her behalf.
Even if it was just a few dead people, he needed to confirm their identities. In the event that her brother truly was among them, he could put this matter to rest.
"Heh heh! You talk in such a refined, literary way — you're clearly an outsider. Just arrived here recently too?" The muscular man called out to the others behind him to deal with the yin beast corpses, then struck up a warm conversation with Han Li.
Han Li smiled faintly at this.
After following the group for several li, Han Li and Mei Ning arrived at another unfamiliar village.
This settlement was noticeably smaller than the others.
Though it was also surrounded by stone walls, these were only seven or eight zhang tall and in disrepair in many places, as though no one had the energy to maintain them.
Judging by its scale, the village held no more than a hundred-odd residents — pitifully few.
The moment they entered the village, the muscular man pointed to a relatively large stone building and apologized, telling Han Li and Mei Ning they could go look for themselves. He needed to help the villagers process the Green Toad Beast carcasses first — they were precious food and had to be dealt with as a priority.
Han Li naturally didn't mind, thanked him, and led Mei Ning over.
...
"Is this really your brother's belongings?" Han Li asked, somewhat surprised as he looked at the tattered, blood-stained clothing before him.
He hadn't expected that the moment they entered this so-called storeroom, Mei Ning would immediately recognize her brother's remaining possessions sitting in the corner. Her face went deathly pale, and her lovely eyes became vacant and unfocused.