Chapter 1 "Evil Cultivators?"

"Evil cultivators?" Jiang Cheng's expression tightened, and he immediately thought of the ghostly things hidden in the fog. "What are these evil cultivators you speak of?"

However, the one-eyed man at the head waved his hand to interrupt him. "Don't ask unnecessary questions for now. I'll take you into the village first. Although it's not time yet, who knows what those things are up to."

"Asheng, go and tell the villagers that these are living people, so they don't need to worry."

The man called Asheng responded with a muffled sound. Then, after glancing at Jiang Cheng and the others, he turned and ran alone into the bushes, quickly disappearing from sight.

"Let's go too."

The one-eyed man, carrying his harpoon, turned and walked into the bushes.

"Wait," Fatty couldn't help but speak. He turned his head to look at the village within reach, then looked towards the dark bushes. "What do you mean? Aren't we... aren't we going back to the village?"

The one-eyed man was stunned for a moment, then quickly realized what he meant, explaining, "This path through the woods is the way to the village. You can't take the path in front of you. It won't work."

"Why?"

This time, the man didn't answer, just urging them to hurry. Jiang Cheng seemed to understand something, pinching Fatty's shoulder and winking at him. Fatty obediently shut his mouth.

They traveled through the woods. The seemingly remote path wasn't too difficult to walk, because the grass on the ground had already been trampled down, indicating that people often walked this path.

After several twists and turns, everyone walked out along a stone wall, and a village came into view, giving them a feeling of emerging from the clouds and seeing the moon.

What made everyone even more relieved was that lights had already been lit in the village, indicating that the previous person had already delivered the message.

The one-eyed man at the head led them into the village, walking quickly towards a courtyard. "I'll find you a place to stay first. It's almost night, so remember not to open the door to strangers at night. The people in our village don't go out at night, and they certainly won't knock on doors."

After speaking, the one-eyed man stepped forward and knocked on the door, making a loud thumping sound. "Sister Xiuling, Sister Xiuling!"

After a while, the door opened a crack. After the woman saw who was outside, she opened the door a little wider. "Brother Fuqing, Brother Asheng came by earlier. We know everything. It's just me and Grandpa at home, so there's no problem with putting up a few people."

The woman wasn't very old, around sixteen or seventeen years old. Her skin was a healthy wheat color, and her pretty face had a maturity that didn't match her age.

The man called Brother Fuqing didn't waste any time. After a few simple instructions, he left. The woman let Jiang Cheng and the others in, then glanced outside before quickly closing the door and securing it with a thick wooden bar.

Only then did Jiang Cheng and the others see clearly that what was called a courtyard was actually just a few dilapidated houses, only one of which had a light shining from inside.

After securing the courtyard door, the woman seemed to breathe a sigh of relief. Then, she led them to the other two rooms. "The rooms are a bit small, so you can stay separately. It's just me and Grandpa here, so feel free to stay. Don't be shy. Also, my name is Xiuling."

After speaking, the woman planned to leave, but Jiang Cheng stopped her. "Sister Xiuling, we stumbled into your village because we got lost. We're really sorry to bother you. We still don't know the name of your village."

"Wugong Village," the woman replied without thinking.

Hearing this, everyone couldn't help but be stunned for a moment, then inevitably felt a little disappointed. Fatty even showed his disappointment on his face. He didn't expect that after so much trouble, they had come to the wrong place.

They were looking for Daotou Village, not some Wugong Village.

Jiang Cheng's expression remained normal. "Sister Xiuling, I don't quite understand the customs of your village. I'm just asking, does your village have any other names?"

The woman looked at him in confusion, shaking her head. "I don't understand what you mean."

"Have you heard of Daotou Village?" Shao Tong asked directly.

The confusion in the woman's eyes deepened. "No, is that village nearby too? Why have I never heard of it?"

Seeing that this girl was relatively simple-minded, Jiang Cheng felt relieved. He had initially worried that the words "Daotou Village" might trigger some taboo.

"Sister Xiuling, when we came, Fuqing and the others seemed very flustered. When they met us, they seemed to treat us as enemies. Do you know why?"

Hearing this, the woman, who was about to leave, frowned. "What, didn't they even tell you that?"

"No, maybe we didn't hear clearly, since we were on the road the whole time," Jiang Cheng brushed it off with a few words.

The woman stomped her foot angrily. "Brother Fuqing and Brother Asheng are both blockheads. How could they not tell you such important things? If something happens, I'll never forgive them in my life."

Jiang Cheng and his group weren't interested in hearing this. They all looked at the woman, waiting to pry information from her mouth.

Li Bai even added fuel to the fire at the right moment, vaguely mentioning the term "evil cultivator."

But in the next second, the woman's expression changed instantly. She stepped forward and covered Li Bai's mouth with her hand, the panic on her face undeniable. "Don't talk nonsense, it's almost night. Be careful of those things..."

As she spoke, the woman led them to a room. The room's facilities were relatively old, but at least the doors and windows were intact, making it a place to shelter from the wind and rain. There was also a stove made of mud and stones, which could be used to make a fire for warmth.

The woman stabilized herself for a few seconds before looking at Li Bai again. "You got lost in a fog, and then you came to our Wugong Village, right?"

"That's right," Jiang Cheng and the others nodded.

"Did you encounter anything bad during this process?" The woman's eyes became strange, even showing some panic. "In the fog... did you discover anything?"

"There were some very strange things. The reason we lost our horses was because they were frightened. The horses were afraid of those things," Jiang Cheng simply said more bluntly.

The woman took a deep breath. "Those ghostly things are evil cultivators."

"Why are they called that?" Yao Shunyu asked. "And what exactly are these evil cultivators?"

"I don't know the specifics. I only know that those evil cultivators were also people in their lives, and not ordinary people. They were Daoists with cultivation, but because their Dao hearts were unstable, they eventually became demonically possessed, and that's how they turned into those things that are neither human nor ghost."

"That fog was created by the evil cultivators. They lurk in the fog, and they also sneak into the village at night. Many families have suffered at their hands. The scene..."

At this point, the woman suddenly couldn't continue. She bit her lip tightly, seemingly lost in terrifying memories.