Farmer Girl Reborn: I Play the Pig and Eat the Tiger in the World of Immortal Cultivation

As Yan Yue entered the village, she was enveloped by a strange atmosphere. The usual sounds of roosters crowing, dogs barking, and children playing were gone, replaced by a suffocating silence. The air was filled with a faint smell of burning, mixed with the fishy smell of earth, which made her heart tighten. Most of the shops lining the street were closed, and occasionally a few villagers hurried by, their faces panicked, their eyes flickering, as if they were avoiding something.

A villager saw Yan Yue, paused, seemed to hesitate for a moment, and finally walked over quickly and said in a low voice: "Yan Yue, you should go home and see your mother... your mother..." He hesitated, his eyes full of worry and fear.

Yan Yue's heart sank, and a bad premonition came over her. "What happened to my mother?" She grabbed the villager's arm and asked hurriedly.

The villager hesitated for a long time, and finally just shook his head, said nothing, broke free from Yan Yue's hand, and left quickly.

Yan Yue's heart beat faster and faster. She ran home quickly, but found the door closed and the yard empty. She knocked hard on the door, but no one answered.

"Mom! Mom! Are you home?" Yan Yue's voice trembled slightly.

It was still deathly silent.

A sense of panic washed over Yan Yue, who pushed the door open and rushed in. The house was in a mess, with tables and chairs overturned and items scattered all over the floor, as if it had been through a fierce fight.

"Mom!" Yan Yue's voice was filled with tears. She looked everywhere for her mother, but found nothing.

She slumped down in a chair, trying to calm herself. What had happened? Why had the village become like this? Where had her mother gone?

A thought flashed through Yan Yue's mind, and she thought of the village wise woman, Granny Li. Perhaps she knew something.

Yan Yue immediately stood up and ran towards Granny Li's house, a simple thatched hut in the deepest part of the village.

"Grandma Li! Grandma Li!" Yan Yue knocked on the door of Grandma Li's house.

After a long while, the door creaked open. Granny Li stuck her head out and saw that it was Yan Yue. A hint of surprise flashed across her face, and then she looked worried.

"Miss Yan Yue, why are you back?" Grandma Li's voice was a little hoarse.

"Grandma Li, what happened in the village? My mother is missing!" Yan Yue asked anxiously.

Granny Li sighed, pulled Yan Yue into the house, and closed the door. The room was dimly lit and filled with a faint herbal scent.

"Child, there are some things that it's better for you not to know." Grandma Li's voice was low and contained a hint of helplessness.

"Grandma Li, what do you know? Please tell me!" Yan Yue held Grandma Li's hand tightly, her eyes full of pleading.

Granny Li hesitated for a moment, then finally spoke slowly, her words evasive and evasive, "A few days ago... a few people came... they..."

"Who are they? What did they do?" Yan Yue asked.

Granny Li shook her head, a hint of fear flashing in her eyes. "They... are very powerful... We... we can't afford to offend them..."

"Did they take my mother away?" Yan Yue's voice trembled.

Granny Li didn't answer, but just patted Yan Yue's hand, her eyes full of sympathy and helplessness.

Yan Yue's heart sank to the bottom. She knew that Granny Li must know something, but she was unwilling to say it.

Suddenly, Yan Yue noticed that there was some dirt on Grandma Li's sleeves. The color of the dirt was different from the dirt in her yard. It looked like... like dirt from the mountains.

"Grandma Li, have you been to the mountain?" Yan Yue stared at Grandma Li's sleeves with a calm tone.

Granny Li's body stiffened slightly, her eyes flickering, "No... no..."

Yan Yue didn't ask any further questions, but she already had the answer in her mind. Those people must have gone to the mountain... and Granny Li must have followed them...

Yan Yue felt a surge of unease. Granny Li's evasiveness and the dirt on her sleeves hinted at a certain truth. Suppressing her anxiety, she gently patted Granny Li's hand and said softly, "Granny Li, you should rest well. I'll be leaving now."

After leaving Granny Li's house, Yan Yue didn't go home directly. Instead, she took a detour to the hills behind the village. The dirt on Granny Li's sleeves was clearly the red soil unique to the mountains. If she was right, those mysterious visitors were likely up there.

The mountain path was winding and rugged, overgrown with weeds. Yan Yue carefully pushed aside the thorns and climbed upward. She deliberately slowed her pace, held her breath, and carefully observed her surroundings. The air was filled with a faint smell of blood, mixed with a strange aroma, which made her heart palpitate.

Halfway up the mountain, Yan Yue paused beside a boulder. Its surface was smooth and flat, etched with strange symbols. She had never seen these symbols before, yet they emanated a faint spiritual energy, flickering and fading like breath. Yan Yue reached out her fingers and gently touched the symbols. A chill instantly spread through her body, sending a shiver through her.

She carefully observed the symbols, trying to find some clue. They seemed to be an ancient script, with complex strokes and a sense of mystery. Yan Yue memorized them firmly in her mind and continued to climb.

The higher they went, the stronger the smell of blood and that strange aroma became. Yan Yue's heartbeat grew faster and faster, and an inexplicable sense of fear enveloped her. She felt she was getting closer to the truth, yet she was afraid of uncovering the cruelty behind it.

Finally, she reached the top of the mountain. It was an empty platform with a huge pit in the center. The soil around the edge of the pit had been renovated, and the smell of blood in the air had reached its peak.

Yan Yue's heart sank to the bottom. She was almost certain that a fierce battle had taken place here. And those mysterious visitors were likely participants in this battle.

She walked around the pit and discovered strange symbols carved around it, identical to the ones she'd seen on the boulder. These symbols formed a peculiar pattern, emitting a faint spiritual aura, as if guarding something.

Yan Yue's heart skipped a beat. She remembered Granny Li's evasive words and the terrified expressions on the villagers' faces. Could these symbols be the source of their fear?

Full of questions, Yan Yue returned to the village after descending the mountain. She noticed that the villagers looked at her with wariness and fear, as if she were some kind of dangerous being.

She tried to talk to several villagers, asking them if they knew anything about the mysterious visitors and the meaning of the strange symbols, but the villagers kept silent and even avoided her, as if she were a spreader of plague.

"Yan Yue, you'd better stop asking." An elderly villager pulled her sleeve and whispered, "Some things, the less you know, the better."

His tone was full of warning and fear, which made Yan Yue feel uneasy. She realized that this village was hiding a huge secret, and she was getting closer to the core of this secret step by step.

As night fell, the village fell into a dead silence. Yan Yue sat alone at the door of her house, gazing at the dark night sky, her heart filled with doubt and anxiety. Suddenly, she heard a faint sound of footsteps coming from the distance, getting closer and closer...

"Who?" Yan Yue stood up suddenly and looked vigilantly in the direction of the voice.

A dark figure slowly emerged from the darkness, its outline vague in the moonlight. He was tall, draped in a black cloak, his face indistinct, and holding a flute.

Yan Yue's heart was in her throat. She clenched her fists and took a defensive stance. "Who are you?"

The visitor didn't answer, but slowly raised the flute in his hand and placed it to his lips. The melodious flute sound rang out in the silent night sky, like a plaintive cry, with a hint of strange magic.

The sound of the flute seemed to have some kind of magic, making Yan Yue feel dizzy. She shook her head vigorously, trying to dispel the feeling, but found that the sound of the flute was like a maggot on her tarsal bone, tightly entwined with her thoughts.

At the same time, the dogs in the village began to bark wildly, the chickens began to crow in panic, and the doors of the villagers opened one after another, revealing terrified faces.

"That flute sound again!" a villager shouted in fear. "Those people must be back again!"

The villagers ran out of their houses and gathered around Yan Yue, their faces filled with fear and anxiety.

"Yan Yue, get out of here!" An elderly villager grabbed Yan Yue's arm and said anxiously, "The sound of the flute is ominous. It will be dangerous if you stay here!"

"I'm not leaving!" Yan Yue shook his head firmly, "I want to find out what's going on!"

"Don't be silly, kid!" another villager advised, "There are some things we're better off not knowing!"

The villagers all tried to persuade Yan Yue to stop her from pursuing the matter. They seemed filled with fear of the flute sound and the mysterious symbols, as if they were some kind of taboo.

Seeing the horrified expressions on the villagers' faces, Yan Yue became more determined to find out the truth. She knew that this village was hiding a huge secret, and this secret might be related to the safety of all the villagers.

She took a deep breath, cleverly broke free from the villagers' obstruction, and ran towards the direction of the flute sound. She had to find the flute player and find out the truth of all this!

The villagers wanted to catch up, but the sound of the flute distracted them, and they stumbled and could not keep up with Yan Yue's speed.

Yan Yue ran along the winding path, the sound of the flute growing clearer and more eerie. She felt as if she were being pulled by an invisible force, approaching unknown danger.

Finally, she came to a dense forest. From deep within the forest, the sound of the flute began to drift in and out like a ghost.

Yan Yue rushed into the woods without hesitation, pushed aside the dense branches and leaves, and walked towards the direction where the flute sound came from.

The woods were pitch black, and Yan Yue could only rely on the faint moonlight to barely identify the direction.

She moved forward cautiously, taking every step with extreme caution. She knew that there were unknown dangers hidden in this forest, and if she was not careful, she would be doomed.

Suddenly, the flute sound stopped.

Yan Yue stopped, held his breath, and listened carefully to the movements around him.

The woods were dead silent, with only the rustling of leaves in the wind.

"Come out," Yan Yue said in a deep voice, "I know you are here."

In response to her, she heard a creepy whisper: "You... shouldn't come here..."