Chapter 78: Chapter 78: In the Small Village, the Rain that Bullies the Weak and Fears the Strong_1
"You actually managed to come down from Egret Mountain. That’s truly remarkable, truly remarkable." The chief of Yin Village inspected Wang Linchi up and down, a look of disbelief in his eyes.
Earlier, a villager had told him that an outlander had arrived in the village. This made the village chief wary. In ancient times, people rarely left their hometowns, so an outlander mixing into the village was even more conspicuous. Everyone recognized each other; how could they not recognize a sudden stranger?
Those who left their hometowns were typically one of three types of people: refugees, fugitives, or merchants. But there were exceptions to this rule. There were also dart masters who roamed far and wide, and travellers who enjoyed sightseeing in the mountains and along the waters.
Wang Linchi didn’t look like a merchant, but rather like a scholar. Furthermore, he wasn’t as ragged as a refugee would be; he looked more like a fugitive.
"Just luck, just luck. The Evil Tiger in the mountains was fierce, but I have some skills. I managed to rip off its ear and barely escaped." Saying this, he pulled a tiger’s ear from his pocket.
Seeing this, the other party believed Wang Linchi’s words.
"What a pity we couldn’t get rid of this Evil Tiger. The number of people it has eaten is countless."
After their conversation, the village chief felt that Wang Linchi wasn’t a bad person.
Even if he were a bad person, they couldn’t expose him. Someone who could fight an Evil Tiger, even managing to tear off its ear without any injuries, clearly possessed extraordinary skills.
The so-called ’luck’ was probably just his modesty.
"Rooster Crow Temple? I’ve never heard of it." The village chief shook his head, unfamiliar with the Rooster Crow Temple Wang Linchi was asking about. Hearing this, he felt somewhat relieved, thinking Wang Linchi was more likely a traveller; otherwise, why would he be asking about a temple?
"At the mouth of Egret Mountain, there is a temple of a grass god, though it’s long been abandoned. It does not worship the Buddha but a Mountain Spirit. It likely isn’t the Rooster Crow Temple you’re talking about."
The village chief also answered Wang Linchi’s other questions.
Then Wang Linchi asked about the black rain.
"Black rain? Ah, no wonder you don’t know about it. This is a special feature of our Black Rain City. Every night, black rain falls.
"If a person or livestock gets drenched in this black rain, they feel weak all over. When it hits the face, it hurts terribly. However, the black rain also preys on the weak but fears the strong; it doesn’t dare fall in places bustling with human activity.
"It only dares to show off its power in the wilderness."
Hearing these words, Wang Linchi was somewhat surprised. So, it turns out black rain only falls in deserted areas with no people around.
"Apart from the black rain, there is a White Wind on the fifteenth of every month.
"Although this wind doesn’t occur daily like the black rain, encountering it means certain death.
"Luckily, this White Wind moves in a single direction. If it goes south, it won’t reach the north. If it heads west, it won’t reach the east."
The village chief kindly explained the situation in their surrounding area to Wang Linchi.
Besides this, Wang Linchi also indirectly inquired about some common knowledge and the state of the Secret Realm.
The natives inside the Secret Realm were aware of the existence of Demons and Ghosts, but they were not excessively worried because they rarely encountered such things.
The Evil Tiger causing trouble was the king of the mountain; as long as you didn’t travel through Egret Mountain, there was no danger. Even if you passed by and didn’t encounter the Evil Tiger, and were not deceived by a Ghoul, there wouldn’t be any danger.
There were other dangers nearby as well. For example, twelve miles north of the village, there was a ghost house. If you accidentally entered, you would be forced to marry. Occasionally, if handsome young men appeared, the ghost spirits in the ghost house would capture them. The fate of those caught was naturally to be married off and then devoured by the Ghosts in the ghost house.
Wang Linchi did not have this worry, as his looks were quite ordinary. But the village chief didn’t think so. Wang Linchi’s skin was fair and delicate, and with the modern lifestyle of the Great View, Wang Linchi seemed to be living a luxurious life in this Secret Realm. He was a true young master. Fair skin conceals many flaws; this saying was not untrue.
Therefore, Wang Linchi very sincerely said that it was getting late and asked to stay overnight in the village. He then pulled out the gold and silver he had scavenged from the Evil Tiger’s cave as payment for lodging.
Seeing that Wang Linchi was a person of resources, the village chief finally agreed and gave a few instructions.
"I know you have extraordinary skills, but these Ghosts are not like Demons; they are extremely hard to deal with.
"For now, stay for one night. If you hear any movement during the night, don’t open the door. Even if a young woman tries to tempt you, don’t fall for it."
The ghost house was somewhat interested in Wang Linchi, mainly because it was rare to encounter such a refined-looking gentleman. Naturally, the ghost spirits of the ghost house wouldn’t let him get away. The other Demons and Ghosts around the village were indifferent to an extra person; as long as one didn’t pass through their territory, they rarely attacked proactively.
A room for him to stay in was quickly arranged. It was the hall where villagers usually held their meetings. Since meetings definitely wouldn’t be held at night and the hall was unused, they laid out some bedding on a table for Wang Linchi. He couldn’t be too demanding; after all, conditions were limited.
The village chief was a sincere man and even prepared dinner for Wang Linchi, considering Wang Linchi had paid generously. However, Wang Linchi politely refused the food. Whether he had digested the tiger meat in his stomach or not, he had no intention of eating food offered by them. He harbored no ill intent towards others, but he still needed to be wary of them.
Sure enough, there was no black rain in the village at night.
After nightfall, Wang Linchi did not hear the familiar sound of raindrops, confirming that the village chief had not lied.
Rain that preys on the weak but fears the strong, and wind that only appears on the fifteenth.
Truly strange.
Wang Linchi planned to go to Black Rain City the next day. The small village didn’t know about Rooster Crow Temple, but a large city might. As for the black rain and White Wind, Wang Linchi had no plans to investigate them now. If he still couldn’t find information about Rooster Crow Temple in Black Rain City, it wouldn’t be too late to investigate those phenomena then. The main reason was that he suspected these two abnormal phenomena were related to his task, but he lacked sufficient evidence.
In addition to the unusual Demons and Ghosts, the Evil Tiger alone has the ability to annihilate this entire village, yet it remains on Egret Mountain, relying solely on a Ghoul to lure passersby for food. Wang Linchi was sure the Evil Tiger definitely liked eating humans, yet it left such a large, vulnerable target untouched.
Forget it, I’ll think about these things tomorrow. Tonight offers a rare chance for peaceful rest. I should sleep to restore my Spirit.
Wang Linchi had been on the road all day and hadn’t dared to rest. After all, having experienced the phenomenon of black rain and reanimation, he was naturally cautious. His mind taut and body weary, he soon fell asleep.
Nevertheless, he didn’t sleep too soundly. Who knew what strange things might happen during the night?Under this pressure, if he had the ability, he would have wanted to sleep with one eye open.It would be best if he could avoid sleeping altogether. Unfortunately, his body wouldn’t allow it. Otherwise, why would he choose to sleep and rest? He would have pulled an all-nighter to practice the Soul Forging Method and Soul Secret Technique.
Around midnight, a faint knocking sound came from the door, accompanied by a seductive voice.
"My lord, have you gone to sleep?"