I am a living immortal.

Yun Yue understood what the old man meant. The reason why the girl's mother did not stop him was that she was thinking about whether to exchange the girl for a candy. The reason why she stopped him was that they had the answer, which was not to exchange.

There are many considerations involved. If they eat it themselves, it would be a huge loss, and they are reluctant to eat this luxury product. But if they don't eat it and sell it, very few people can afford it.

So they refused. Of course these are not the main reasons, the main reason is that the girl is not worth a candy.

Yes, they thought the girl was not worth a candy, so they refused it.

Thanks to them for refusing.

Yun Yue finally saw what was going on. He put away his empathy. This country seemed completely different from what he usually saw.

The mule cart swayed along the road.

No one spoke on the road afterwards, and Yun Yue observed the group. They were all silent, as if uninterested in any information from the outside world. At their feet lay bags of something that looked like flour, made from some unknown grain, and a few small bags of potatoes.

It seems that they are going to the town to trade.

Yun Yue observed. These people were in perfect sync, taking bites of their pancakes at set times. The pancakes were apparently dry and choked. A kettle of water was passed around, and each person took a small sip, a very frugal bite. He doubted whether this small sip of water could dissolve the dry pancake. According to his own words, it was definitely not enough.

But a few of them took a sip and stopped drinking. So he saw these people swallowing the dry food forcefully, which made him very painful, as he was afraid that the food would get stuck in his throat and he would suffocate to death.

Eating is supposed to be a joyful experience, but it felt like torture to these people. But whether it was due to natural talent or training, they managed to finish the meal without any danger.

Yun Yue didn't know what rules they followed, or who had made them. He didn't want to ask too much, for fear of breaking some taboo. He would find out when he got to Gaogou County.

These people live like ascetics. He had a bag of cakes he'd bought, all made by a master chef. He'd originally wanted to use them as snacks, but he'd never had the chance to taste them, and now it seemed like he couldn't bring himself to do so.

Fortunately, his need for food came entirely from his appetite, so it made no difference whether he ate or not. He usually ate, a habit he had developed, a legacy shared by Su Mu.

Time passed, and the sky grew darker. A howling wind blew, though it wasn't as harsh as winter at this time of year; the wind wasn't biting. The old man, driving his mule cart, soon merged into a larger road, where more and more people were gathering. He discovered that not everyone was expressionless and numb.

This also made Yun Yue breathe a sigh of relief. He was really afraid of seeing the streets full of numb faces. That would be terrifying. Fortunately, this was not the case. Most people had similar personalities to the old man driving the cart. They were all normal people.

And there is a small group of people who are similar to the people in the car.

As Yun Yue was observing, the old man suddenly said, "Isn't it strange that they all have these expressions? Gaogou County is remote, so there are fewer people like them. The more affluent the area, the more people like them there are."

The "they" the old man mentioned should be those numb people.

The old man continued to explain, "Because they are fanatics, their belief in God is comprehensive, from body to soul. The soul and body do not belong to them. They are just borrowing this body and will eventually return to the embrace of God."

"So they don't care whether their lives are good or bad. As long as they can meet the minimum standard of survival, everything else is just wishful thinking."

"Instead of going to the city to attend the market, they dedicated all the wages of their labor to the gods."

"this......"

"Don't be so shocked. You can find more shocking things in this country." The old man kindly reminded.

Yun Yue also discovered that only when talking about God would the people on the mule cart give a little reaction.

When he got here, he realized that he had arrived in a very magical country.

As the sky grew darker, and the night was not suitable for traveling, the old man asked his men to find a place and started a fire with some dead branches.

A few people sat together to keep warm. The temperature difference between day and night was quite large here. It wasn't noticeable during the day, but at night it was chilly when the wind blew. The old man asked Yun Yue if he wanted to eat something, but Yun Yue refused.

He took out a piece of cake from his sleeve and ate it slowly.

The old man didn't care. He took out a basin, added some water, grabbed a handful of rice and cut a few potatoes. A simple dinner was ready. The potatoes were soft and mashed, giving the bowl of something that looked like porridge and paste a hint of sweetness.

The old man was very satisfied with the dinner.

He drank from his bowl while chatting with Yun Yue. The old man explained that they had been traveling for several days. He was going to the county to buy salt. Although the village was mostly self-sufficient, salt was a necessity. It was okay to use less, but it was essential.

Only the old man was familiar with these roads, so he came out to shop together.

He had encountered these people halfway along the way. Originally, the old man didn't want to bring them along with him, but he had recently heard rumors that a group of road robbers had arrived nearby. Anyone who could do this in this country must be a ruthless and vicious person.

In a country where absolute fairness is paramount, gaining something without working is a serious crime. So, for safety's sake, the old man brought these people along. These fanatics might be a bit stubborn, but when it came down to it, they were truly reckless. They cared nothing for their lives, only for the protection of the gods.

If the gods say equal exchange, then they will make this rule an iron law. There is no need for incitement or words. When they see it, they will pounce on it and kill all those who dare to disobey the gods.

For safety reasons, the old man took these people with him.

In the eyes of this group of people, this was considered an exchange. The old man took them to the county town, and they protected him when necessary.

After hearing this, Yun Yue's understanding of this country deepened again.

The old man has lived here for 40 or 50 years, and he doesn't know when it started to become like this. As long as he can remember, there have been people like this, but they weren't as serious back then. Now, as time goes by, the number of such people has not decreased, but has increased.

As for the gods they were talking about, he had never seen them.

Speaking of gods... Yun Yue suddenly realized that this country seemed to have no traditional gods. There were no city gods, no patrolling gods, no judges of good and evil, no ghost messengers, and not even an underworld. So where did the people here go after they died?