Chapter 917: An Odd Village

Editor: Henyee Translations

Chu Qingzhi didn’t find the herbs she was looking for, but she stumbled upon a refugee village.

The village, filled with bundles of dry straw and surrounded by barren land, seemed like a place worth checking out, perhaps as a stroke of luck.

Originally called Shuixiu Village, it was known for its scenic beauty and prosperity, with many villagers living in blue-brick and tile houses. Now, it could more aptly be called Ruin Village.

The earth was cracked open, the fields were abandoned, and the fissures in the land resembled wrinkles on an old man’s face, speaking to the desolation and lifelessness of the area.

The blue-brick houses still stood, but with broken roofs, peeling walls, cracked doors, and messy courtyards—all echoing decay and desolation.

The villagers’ hair was unkempt, their clothes tattered, and their skin rough and aged. Young as they were, they looked like old people.

Most terrifying was the deadness in their eyes, devoid of any light.

Chu Qingzhi’s arrival immediately drew the attention of all villagers, who then surrounded her.

In their eyes, Chu Qingzhi saw a nauseating kind of desperation.

She noticed there were no children and few women in the village, suggesting they might have met grim fates.

Without further ado, Chu Qingzhi raised her hand and with a burst of spiritual energy, knocked all the villagers back. She didn’t strike to kill, as these were refugees who had lost their sanity from hunger.

Realizing they had encountered a formidable opponent, the villagers looked at her with fear and reverence.

Strength, she knew, was paramount at any time.

“Help me find a herb, and I’ll find you something to eat,” Chu Qingzhi said, pulling out a paper with the image of the herb she was looking for.

“Whoever finds it first, I’ll reward with a piece of meat!”

At this, the greatest motivator being food, the villagers dispersed eagerly to search.

Chu Qingzhi flew onto a rooftop to get a better view of the village, then headed towards a household with the most grass. “I’d like to search through these grasses for a herb. If I find what I need, I will compensate you generously, how does that sound?”

The homeowner, a stooped old woman walking with a tremble, replied, “Go ahead, but please tie the bundles back up afterwards. I’m too frail to do it myself.”

“Thank you,” Chu Qingzhi said, picking up a wooden bucket before flying off.

From inside the house, a pair of eyes watched this unfold and someone rushed out, “Grandma, she took our bucket!”

The old woman’s expression changed dramatically as she pushed the child back inside, “Quick, get inside, the villagers will come for you if they see.”

The child, a girl about ten but looking much younger and frail, heeded her grandmother’s words and ran scared back into the house.

It was understood without saying what had befallen the children and women of the village, and how the grandmother had survived by pretending to be dead, never showing herself for over a year.

Though Chu Qingzhi saw the girl, she decided to fetch some water first before returning to rummage through the grass, so she flew off without further action.

Far and wide, she saw no water.

Upon encountering a riverbed cracked and dry, her brows furrowed in frustration.

With no water in sight, Chu Qingzhi had an epiphany about where she might find some.

Carrying the bucket, she flew towards the county town, hopeful that some ancient wells there, which often retained water through droughts, wouldn’t disappoint her.

Arriving in the town, Chu Qingzhi searched from house to house. After checking five wells without finding water, she sat by one, disheartened.

Even with her strong resolve, the continuous disappointment weighed on her. Opening her water flask, she took a sip to rest before continuing her search.

After several more homes, she reached the courtyard of the county office.

As she flew into the courtyard, a cool breeze greeted her—there had to be water here.

Sensing with her spiritual awareness, she found the well.

Indeed, there was water!

Chu Qingzhi brought a bucket over and filled it. Since she was there, she took an extra bucket—just in case.

After fetching the water, she noticed many dried lotus leaves on a nearby pond that appeared untouched and likely contained lotus roots underneath.

Thinking it over, she positioned herself by the pond’s edge and reached into the mud with her spiritual energy. Indeed, there were roots, small but present.

With repetitive effort, she extracted about ten kilograms of lotus roots, wrapped them in a cloth, and slung them over her shoulder, carrying the water back to the old woman’s house.

…

In Shuixiu Village.

“Just now, I saw a little girl run out of that old devout woman’s house!”

“Are you sure?”

“I’m certain, I saw it with my own eyes, there’s no mistake.”

“Let’s gather the villagers and head to the old woman’s house. She’s hidden her well; we had no idea she had a girl.”

Almost immediately, the villagers, driven by a frenzied need, stopped their search for the herb and converged on the old woman’s house.

Xu Er, brandishing a hoe over his shoulder, his eyes gleaming with ruthless excitement, shouted commandingly, “Old devout woman, hand over your granddaughter.”

The old woman, petrified, quickly urged her granddaughter to hide. She then faced the crowd.

The girl, obedient and terrified, scurried into a hidden compartment beneath a cabinet in the cellar, curling up and trembling, hugging herself tightly.

The old woman, braving her fear, stepped out, “There’s been a misunderstanding, everyone. My granddaughter died long ago, there’s no one left.”

“Stop your lies, old woman! We saw her with our own eyes. Hand her over now, or we’ll end you today!”

Sweating profusely and shaking, the old woman stood defiantly at the doorway, “I’m old and have lived my life. Kill me if you must.”

“Not expecting you to be so tough…”

“Don’t waste time talking, let’s go in and find the girl!”

“Let’s go, search the house!”

Xu Er pushed the old woman aside and led the mob into the house. “Little girl, we saw you. Come out on your own, or we’ll drag you out.”

“If you don’t come out, we’ll kill your grandmother. You wouldn’t want her to die because of you, would you?”

As the mob ransacked the house like bandits, the girl in the cellar began to cry, terrified at the thought of her grandmother being harmed for her sake.

Ignoring her own pain, the old woman crawled back inside, shouting toward the cellar, “Stop looking, there’s no one here!”

Tears streaming down her face, she pleaded, “Don’t torment an old woman like me. There’s nothing left here, stop turning my home upside down!”