Fantasy: Immortality Begins with Absorbing Demons

Chapter Sixty-Seven Dazhuang Village

"Why are you so late!"

"Did you sleep in?"

Han Yi arrived at the west gate of the city, only to be surprised to find Qianxue and Bai Sanren already standing there, seemingly having waited for a long time.

It was just dawn, and the dew was still fresh.

He thought he was one of the early risers, but he didn't expect these two to be even more eager than him.

"Haha, Little Han, you don't know this," Bai Sanren shook his head, looking helpless, "This isn't the first time we've gone out on a mission, and Xiao Qianxue was so excited she didn't sleep a wink last night..."

"You're really putting my old bones through a lot!" As he spoke, Bai Sanren gently tapped Qianxue's forehead, but his eyes revealed a hint of doting affection.

"Forehead…..."

"it hurts!"

"Bai Sanren, isn't your behavior as a bodyguard a bit overstepping boundaries...?" Han Yi thought to himself.

"Alright, let's go." Han Yi quickly stopped Qianxue's futile counterattack.

At this time, more and more people were arriving at the West Gate. Many farmers were already queuing up with melons and fruits and vegetables on carts, waiting to enter the city.

Several wealthy men, dressed in fine clothes and riding in carriages, walked out of the gate, seemingly on their way to discuss some big business deal.

The poor people, dressed in tattered clothes and coarse homespun cloth, stood in stark contrast to the young gentlemen and ladies dressed in light gauze and silk.

Dazhuang Village is located five li west of Anyan City. All three of them were martial artists with extremely fast footwork. In no time, they walked out of the official road, and the surrounding farmland began to increase.

Soon, the three of them arrived at a small hill.

We arrived at Dazhuang Village at the foot of the hill.

Despite it being early morning, there were few people to be seen below, only the occasional crowing of roosters and barking of dogs.

At the village entrance, several rows of weeping willows were planted haphazardly by the roadside, their shades dark and their branches hanging down like disheveled hair. The willow leaves also exuded an eerie, pale green color, and they swayed incessantly despite it being only a light morning breeze.

The three looked at each other, but Bai Sanren was the most experienced.

He summoned a villager from the roadside and told him to go find the village head.

The villager noticed that the three men had extraordinary bearing and were not ordinary people. The young man in the middle was quite handsome, but the large sword on his back, as big as a door panel, looked terrifying!

"I wonder where this thug came from! Has the village chief gotten into trouble?" the villager thought to himself.

The three waited for a short while before a small old man with a cane and a slightly hunched back came out.

Han Yi glanced at the old man; he was just an ordinary person.

"My surname is Zhang, and I am the village head of Dazhuang Village." The village head seemed to have seen some of the world, and said neither humbly nor arrogantly, "Gentlemen, what brings you to my humble village of Dazhuang?"

The three exchanged glances, and Han Yi took a step forward and walked up to the village chief.

He cupped his hands in greeting: "Zhang, I've heard that wild dogs are crying at graves here? Is that true?"

"Yes Yes!"

Upon hearing this, Zhang Lizheng became excited, waving his cane, and his back seemed to straighten up instantly.

It turns out that there was a burial ground on the north side of Dazhuang Village, which was the common burial site for the villagers. It had been fine all along, and the village would usually pool money every year to hire monks and Taoist priests to perform rituals.

But out of nowhere, a pack of stray dogs appeared and ran amok in the graveyard in broad daylight. What's even more infuriating is that...

The pack of wild dogs even dug up the coffins in the cemetery, breaking open the coffins and exposing the corpses. New, old, broken, and shattered skeletons, coffins, and straw mats were scattered all over the ground!

Speaking of this, the village chief was furious, his eyes red with anger, and he looked as if he wanted to skin and eat the pack of wild dogs.

Han Yi could understand his feelings. After all, no matter what world it is, filial piety is the most important virtue. No one could accept that their ancestral graves would be exposed by the remains of Huo Huo and gnawed by wild dogs!

"But didn't you try to wipe out this pack of wild dogs?"

"Sir, we reported it to the authorities first, but those bigwigs in the government are all freeloaders who do nothing!"

"Sir, we also organized a militia to kill these wild dogs, but who knew..." Zhang Lizheng sighed deeply.

"When those wild dogs saw that there were many of us, they would run away. We couldn't catch them, and we couldn't hit them with arrows. Even if we did hit them, they wouldn't react at all..."

"When there are few people, the pack of wild dogs dares to come up and bite people. Wang Erniang's son was once chased by wild dogs when he passed by that cemetery during the day. Fortunately, it was close to the village, and dozens of villagers came out and chased the pack of wild dogs away."

"Later, we reported it to the authorities, but those bigwigs in the county government didn't even bother to investigate. They didn't do anything at all, just freeloading!"

"Hmm?" Bai Sanren snorted. They were now essentially working for the government.

"Of course, I'm referring to those corrupt officials, not you three gentlemen." The village head shrank back and gave an awkward smile.

He continued, "After that, the village was thrown into chaos and people couldn't live in peace. Those who had connections went to live in Anyan City, or went to stay with relatives. Now, only a dozen or so elderly, weak, sick, and disabled people who are attached to their homeland remain in Dazhuang Village, and no one cares about the stray dogs anymore..."

Zhang Lizheng sighed deeply, his voice filled with exhaustion.

"Village head, before the wild dog cried at the grave, were there any strange or unusual events in Dazhuang Village?"

After listening to the village head of Dazhuang Village, the three discussed it in hushed tones for a while before Han Yi finally spoke up and asked a question.

"The village is still the same as always. Even if there are events, they're just weddings and funerals..."

"To put it in more detail, it's nothing more than Old Wang's son getting married, the villagers going to his house for the wedding feast, and Old Li's wife going to Anyan City, catching a cold on the way, and becoming seriously ill..."

The village head started rambling on, counting on his fingers, but all he talked about was gossip about the Zhangs and Lis.

At first, the three of them were able to listen patiently and try to find some clues. After all, the mission requirements stated that if they could find out the reason for the wild dogs' mutation, the reward would be much more generous than simply clearing out the wild dogs!

"Alright, alright, old man, please stop talking!"

Qianxue couldn't hold back any longer. She covered her ears with both hands and shook her head wildly like a rattle drum, just like Sun Wukong hearing the headband spell. Her face was full of irritation.

"Thank you, village head. Let's go check out the village cemetery first."

Han Yi pressed down on Qianxue's restless little head.

"The cemetery is located north of Dazhuang Village, in a small grove of trees. It's easy to find. Gentlemen, you must help us get rid of these stray dogs!"

The village headman respectfully performed a deep bow.