The three of them searched every house. After half a day, as night fell, they only found a group of rats and a few dirty, skinny cats.
The house was fully stocked with daily necessities and drinking water, and there was nothing unusual.
The villagers disappeared inexplicably, and Shi Jingzhi was about to pass out again. He wanted to turn around and look for Zheng Fengdao to fight him to the death. After all, Zheng Fengdao could breathe, so he was a solid living being.
"Ah Ci, remember to keep the coins after you take them. Do we... do we have to stay here tonight?"
"It's getting colder these days. It's easy to freeze to death if you stay out in the open overnight." Yin Ci said the truth. He didn't care at all. He borrowed a pot to steam meat and cook porridge and prepared to rest.
He understood Shi Jingzhi's temper very well. His cheap master was easy to appease - as long as there was someone to accompany him, Shi Jingzhi would always accept his fate after his crazy anxiety subsided.
Sure enough, Shi Jingzhi pulled at his cloak and came closer.
"Everything is neat and tidy, it doesn't look like it was attacked by bandits."
"Um."
"If there were a herd of animals coming here, they wouldn't leave the livestock uneaten."
"Um."
"Aci, where do you think all the people here have gone?"
Yin Ci scooped up a spoonful of hot porridge, turned around and fed it to his master, and helped him divert his attention: "Master, where did Yan Qing go?"
Shi Jingzhi was so frightened that he almost choked to death on the porridge. He dragged Yin Ci out of the house. Yin Ci didn't even have time to put down the iron spoon. The rice soup was hit by the cold wind and immediately froze into a thin layer of ice.
Fortunately, Yan Qing did not disappear into thin air.
He didn't walk far before stopping at the gate. The young man stood in the snow like a tree that was too straight. He blew a few breaths on his red hands and looked at the empty village in confusion.
"Yan Qing, go back to the house first. This place is weird. It's getting dark, and I don't know what will come out..."
"Master, I really want to go home."
Shi Jingzhi was stunned for a moment before he realized what he meant by "home".
Yan Qing claimed to be half a Xizhuang native. He hid his identity at the age of eleven and entered Taiheng. Before that, he must have had a home here.
But Yan Qing's face was filled with mixed emotions, and it was hard to tell which ones were sad.
This person's background was sensitive, so Shi Jingzhi did not ask about his childhood experiences. Now, Yan Qing's life was even worse than he had imagined.
Shi Jingzhi sniffed and said, "It's too unsafe for you to go alone. Let us go with you. Well, if you mind..."
"It's okay." Yan Qing said in a hoarse voice.
Xizhuang was small, but the farmhouses were neat and tidy. Yan Qing led them past the empty houses, toward the corner of the village, and stopped in front of an abandoned house.
The abandoned house was half the size of the surrounding farmhouses and had been abandoned for a long time. From a distance, it looked like a messy pile of ruins. Its walls were scattered with lumps of earth and the roof had collapsed completely.
At the door stood a broken tree, with a huge rock under it and a pile of snow on top. As the night deepened, the snow crust took on a cold gray-blue color.
Yan Qing squatted down in front of the stone and wiped off the snow, revealing a series of crooked scratches—
Tomb of Yan Ziren.
There is no date of birth or death, just five simple characters.
Seeing someone bury his own father in the yard and even put a stone on it as a tombstone. Even though Shi Jingzhi was not very polite, he was still shocked. He coughed up a mouthful of blood, and then managed to squeeze out a voice: "Yan Qing, this is..."
"Dad." Yan Qing did not pay his respects, his expression still complicated.
"Isn't this a bit... How about we pick an auspicious time and move your father to another place?"
"No need. He gave me a life, and I will support him until he dies. We owe nothing to each other."
Yan Qing picked an empty spot and sat down, rubbing his forehead with both hands, as if he wanted to vomit out his emotions: "Master, you didn't ask me about my background before, I was very upset. But since I'm here, I might as well tell you, so that you can rest assured."
Yin Ci smelled a hint of hostility again. He stood quietly beside Shi Jingzhi, pretending to listen.
There isn't much swordplay in Yan Qing's life, it's so simple that it's a bit ordinary.
When his father was young, he joined the Ling Sect, but he had no ghost eyes, no token, and no martial arts, so he was mistaken for a fake and had half of his leg broken.
It was difficult to find his ancestry, and the soldiers would rather kill the wrong person than let him go. Later, his father got married, and to avoid being hunted down, he fled to Xizhuang with his wife.
Ever since Yan Qing could remember, Yan Ziren only knew how to drink.
When Yan Qing came home from work, he would either listen to him muttering about his ancestors or be beaten by him. In the few moments of clarity, he would only tell his son that he would become a superior person in the Lingjiao Sect, eat delicious food and drink spicy drinks, and have any woman he wanted, and live a fairy-like life.
Having said this, Yan Qing fell silent.
He looked at the stone without hatred in his eyes, as if he was looking at a person who had nothing to do with him.
Shi Jingzhi forgot his fear for a moment and asked in a gentle tone, "Where's your mother?"
"My mother was pregnant and supported my disabled father all the way to escape here. She died after giving birth. It's a pity that her love was wasted. My father married her just because he didn't want to cut off the bloodline of the Yan family... My mother doesn't even have a grave."
Yan Qing slowly stretched out his hand and covered his eyes with his palm.
"My father must really want this pair of ghost eyes." Yan Qing said, "He dreams of sending me to Lingjiao to prove that he is a descendant of the Yan family."
Shi Jingzhi took a breath: "Then how do you...?"
Before he finished asking the question, Yan Qing knew what he meant: "The villagers know about the Ghost Eye and are keeping a close eye on me. They are afraid that I will be exposed and the village will be branded as 'harbouring the descendants of the devil'."
Yan Qing withdrew his hand and gave an ugly smile. His red eyes glowed faintly, like a dying charcoal.
"Some people wanted to kill me, but they were afraid of revenge from the ghost of Yan Budu, so they didn't dare to do it... My father hoped that I would grow up and take him to escape to Lingjiao. Unfortunately, when I was nine years old, he got drunk and banged his head on the door sill and died."
"You know what happened next. I changed my surname and became a disciple of Tai Heng, where I stayed for ten years."
Yin Ci suddenly understood. A child has to bend down to make a living since he is old enough to understand things, so why would he care about those illusory prides? Yan Qing's father was really a waste, making his son suffer so much, but in the end he didn't even cultivate a cynical heart.
Having to take care of a disabled drunkard since childhood, it's no wonder Yan Qing is so skillful. In comparison, Taiheng Sect can be said to be a paradise on earth.
Shi Jingzhi was quite moved: "I understand, you are here to say goodbye to your father, alas..."
Yan Qing shook his head: "My father had a pure silver mountain ghost coin, he liked it very much, but he didn't exchange it for wine. When he left, he was too young to take it with him, so he buried it under a tree."
It turned out that he was here to collect money. Shi Jingzhi's movements were gradually frozen by the cold wind.
Yan Qing dug the soil with his sword, and soon he picked out a small wooden box. However, as soon as he opened the box, his face slowly froze—
There was no mountain ghost money in the box, only a poorly made longevity lock.
Yan Qing threw the box away and rushed into the house. The abandoned house was not covered, and the house was in a mess, covered with thick snow. Yan Qing had a clear goal. He found the window and used his fingers to dig into the gap of the window frame.
I actually dug out a piece of cloth for him. The cloth was pure white, and it was obviously stuffed in recently.
Yin Ci and Shi Jingzhi huddled together and got closer to take a look.
There were bloody words written on the cloth, more than on the tombstone. The handwriting was extremely sloppy, as if it was written in a hurry: Third son, run away!
Shi Jingzhi: "Who is the third son?"
"It's me." Yan Qing tightly grasped the longevity lock, "Impossible, how could Ah Si... Master, can we stay here for a while? I want to find out what happened here."
Although Shi Jingzhi was soft-hearted, he was very clear-headed: "Yan Qing, to be honest, the Kushan Sect has limited capabilities. The situation in Xizhuang is strange, and your friend also asked you to escape quickly. It's best for us to leave as soon as possible, otherwise something unexpected will happen."
It was a good thing that Yan Qing valued friendship. However, he had not been in Xi Village properly for a few years, and the friendship between the children was not that deep, and it was not worth the three lives of the Kushan Sect.
After saying this, Yan Qing realized that this request was a bit excessive. He was used to being honest and didn't know how to make trouble. He could only hold the small longevity lock, at a loss.
Yin Ci came out to smooth things over at the right time: "How about this, let's get up earlier tomorrow and explore around before leaving."
Shi Jing is cautious in his dealings, but the devil Yin is not reluctant to lead him astray - the longer a person lives, the rarer new things become. If you miss this village, you will miss this shop forever.
Shi Jingzhi didn't answer, his jaw set, obviously still having concerns.
Yin Ci grabbed his master's arm and added fuel to the fire: "Grandpa told a very similar story. These people might have 'encountered a fairy'. The Zongwu Mountain is mentioned in the Yanbudu map. Maybe it's because of this."
After thinking it over, Sect Leader Shi finally agreed: "Get up at Yinshi tomorrow morning, and find another three hours, and then we will set off."
The three of them returned to the house, each ate a bowl of meat porridge, and carefully sealed the doors and windows. Yan Qing packed his few luggage neatly, sat down against the wall, and didn't sleep all night.
The night passed peacefully.
Shi Jingzhi kept his word and woke up on time at 11:00. It was freezing cold, but Yin Ci clung to the bed again, covering his head and refusing to get up. The inner room was too small, so it was difficult to use the bamboo pole, and it was difficult to use the stabbing method again.
Sect Leader Shi sneered twice and walked around outside. When he returned to the inner room, he rolled up his sleeves, put his two cold claws into the quilt, and pressed against Yin Ci's shoulders and neck.
Demon Yin almost exploded on the spot.
He had no choice but to get up in a bad mood and deliberately made a bland breakfast.
Shi Jingzhi felt more confident after seeing nothing strange the whole night. He comforted Yan Qing, who had lost her appetite, "We arrived too late yesterday, and it was pitch dark everywhere. Now it's getting brighter outside, and maybe there will be some clues."
Yan Qing's eyes were dark, and he hummed absentmindedly: "Thank you, Master, for your good wishes."
Yin Ci finished his meal early and was bored: "Tell me about your friend. You have such a good relationship with him. Have you been in touch?"
"I haven't seen him for ten years. I thought he was dead."
Yan Qing's face was blank, and his chopsticks paused in mid-air.
"... Ah Si will not return to live in the village. He must have come here specifically to look for me."
The master and the apprentice looked at each other. Hearing this, "Ah Si" didn't seem like a simple childhood playmate. It made sense, Yan Qing had a pair of red ghost eyes since he was a child. Even if the villagers could barely accept him, they would not let their children provoke such a "dirty thing".
Anyone who can play with Yan Qing must be no easy task.
Shi Jingzhi took over the conversation: "Doesn't your friend live in the village?"
"Yes. The shortcut we took when we came here was the way he took me to escape."
"Everyone in the village called him 'Dujuan Jie' and stayed away from him... Now that I think about it, I don't know if he was considered a human being."