Transmigration: A person in a martial arts world, cultivating to ascend to immortality

Although time was a bit rushed, the meal prepared by Village Chief Chen was quite sumptuous, with two meat dishes and one vegetable dish, filling three large plates.

After serving all the food, Village Chief Chen even took out a small jar of wine that he had treasured for many years, insisting that Jiang Yuchuan taste it.

Chen Yuandong, who had been busy helping Village Chief Chen, did not leave after finishing his work, but he did not join Village Chief Chen in entertaining Jiang Yuchuan. Instead, he squatted alone under the courtyard wall and smoked his pipe.

"Young Master Jiang, this wine is all homemade. Why don't you try it and see how it tastes?"

Village Chief Chen picked up the wine jar with great enthusiasm and poured half a large bowl for Jiang Yuchuan.

Jiang Yuchuan picked up the bowl, took a sip, and exclaimed, "Excellent wine! I never expected Village Chief Chen to have such superb brewing skills!"

Village Chief Chen chuckled and replied, "Heh! It's nothing special, just a traditional folk remedy passed down through generations. I'm glad you like it, young master!"

Jiang Yuchuan took another big gulp of wine, savoring the taste for a moment, and then casually asked while picking at some food, "Village Chief Chen, has something happened in this village lately? Why are all the doors tightly shut, and we don't see anyone coming out?"

Qi Changqing, who had been eating quietly, immediately turned his gaze to Village Chief Chen sitting opposite him after hearing Jiang Yuchuan's question.

Village Chief Chen's expression changed instantly, but he quickly concealed it, sighed, and said to Jiang Yuchuan in a deep voice, "To be honest, Young Master Jiang, a major event did happen in the village not long ago!"

Jiang Yuchuan and Qi Changqing immediately showed expressions of listening intently.

Village Chief Chen glanced at the two men and said in a sorrowful voice, "About three months ago, a group of bandits suddenly came to our village, saying they wanted to take away all the village's grain, money, and unmarried women! If we refused, they would kill us all!"

Upon hearing this, Jiang Yuchuan glanced at Qi Changqing and, sure enough, saw that Qi Changqing's expression turned ugly.

But Village Chief Chen was clearly immersed in his own grief and did not notice any of this, continuing to speak:

"Whether it's grain or money, it's all accumulated by us farmers through hard work. If we were to hand it over to those bandits, wouldn't we starve to death? As for people, that's even more impossible! Young Master Jiang must know very well what it means for these young women to fall into the hands of bandits!"

"Seeing that there was no way to avoid this disaster, the men in the village gathered together, picked up their weapons, and fought against the bandits!"

"Those bandits only numbered a dozen or so, far fewer than all the young men in our village combined. But they were men who had tasted blood on the battlefield, fierce and brutal, and their broadswords were incredibly sharp! How could we ordinary civilians possibly be a match for them!"

"Before long, most of our village was killed or wounded! If it weren't for the timely arrival of government reinforcements, our Chenjia Village would probably no longer exist..."

Village Chief Chen covered his face and wept, and did not continue speaking.

"Those bandits deserve to die!"

After hearing this, Qi Changqing practically spat out those words through gritted teeth.

While sympathizing with Chenjia Village's plight was one aspect, more importantly, Qi Changqing was reminded of his own father.

If it weren't for the banditry back then, his father wouldn't have died tragically, his once happy family wouldn't have been torn apart, and his mother wouldn't often weep over his father's memorial tablet late at night.

"Sigh! It's all in the past, let's not talk about it anymore."

Village Chief Chen quickly composed himself and said to Jiang Yuchuan and Qi Xiaoshou, "Young Master Jiang and Young Master Qi, please eat quickly. I won't disturb you any longer. If you need anything, please call me." After saying that, he got up and left.

After Village Chief Chen left, Jiang Yuchuan glanced at Qi Changqing, whose face was still somewhat gloomy, and said softly, "Eat quickly, and get some rest. We have to continue our journey tomorrow morning."

"I understand sir."

Qi Changqing took a deep breath, suppressed his resentment, and began to eat large mouthfuls of food and rice.

Once outside the house, Village Chief Chen's expression instantly became incredibly calm. He walked straight to Chen Yuandong's side and squatted down.

Chen Yuandong didn't say a word, and handed his pipe to his side.

Village Chief Chen took the pipe, took a deep drag, and exhaled a long puff, a cloud of white smoke swirling between the father and son.

"Father, do we really have to do this?"

Chen Yuandong's hoarse voice finally broke the silence just as the white smoke was about to dissipate.

"Otherwise what?" Village Chief Chen exhaled smoke again, his tone calm. "Are you willing to sacrifice your own son?"

"I—but—"

Chen Yuandong stammered, but ultimately couldn't say what he was about to say and fell silent.

"--well!"

Village Chief Chen sighed deeply, "How could I possibly want to implicate others? Tomorrow is the time designated by the Fox Spirit. Only by sacrificing that brat surnamed Qi to the Fox Spirit can we temporarily save Shao Bo's life!"

After another moment of silence, Chen Yuandong asked, "What about that Young Master Jiang? What do you plan to do with him?"

After a moment of silence, Village Chief Chen replied, "Tie him up and throw him into the woods behind the village. Whether he lives or dies is up to fate."

When Village Chief Chen brought Chen Yuandong back to the house, Jiang Yuchuan and Qi Changqing were already slumped on the table, unconscious.

"Let's do it."

After giving the order, Chen Yuandong immediately took out a rope, tied Jiang Yuchuan's hands and feet, carried him on his shoulder, and walked towards the woods behind the village.

To prevent Qi Changqing from making a scene or even running away after waking up, Village Chief Chen carried him to the kang (a heated brick bed) in the inner room, tied his hands and feet with rope, and gagged him as well.

About the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, Chen Yuandong returned from outside.

After thinking for a moment, Village Chief Chen said to Chen Yuandong, "The sacrifice tomorrow cannot go wrong. Go back and tell Liu Ping to bring Shao Bo along to guard it."

Chen Yuandong nodded and then asked, "What about the other villagers?"

"Confess to what? Why should I confess?" Village Chief Chen glanced at him and said coldly, "I am the village chief of Chenjia Village!"

"But--"

Before Chen Yuandong could say anything more, he was immediately interrupted by Village Chief Chen's stern voice: "There are no 'buts'! If I tell you to go, then go now! Even if the sky falls, your father will hold it up!"

Chen Yuandong, his face flushed, stood there for a while before finally taking a step and turning to walk home.

After Chen Yuandong's figure completely disappeared, Village Chief Chen returned to the main house and came to a wooden table standing against the wall.

At the top of the wooden table was a memorial tablet, with a half-burnt white candle on each side. In front of the candles and the memorial tablet were three large white porcelain plates filled with fruit and snacks.

Village Chief Chen gazed at the memorial tablet on the wooden table and sighed:

"Old woman, if you have a spirit in heaven, you must protect our grandson! Protect the sacrifice tomorrow so that nothing goes wrong! This time, I have caused the death of an innocent person, it is my sin! I deserve to die! If there is retribution in the future, let it all fall on me alone! Please do not implicate Yuan Dong's family!"