The most famous hunter nearby, Wu Peihuan's secret crush, Li Ancheng's enemy, and Fengqing Village's night watchman.
Given all these conditions, Liang Chen had initially assumed that even if Xu Mu wasn't particularly handsome, he would at least be a burly, robust man.
To his surprise, he turned out to be a scrawny fellow in tattered clothes with unkempt hair.
"Oh, so you're that deserter."
Liang Chen scrutinized Xu Mu from head to toe, then added with a hint of mockery.
"How dare you show your face again!"
Upon seeing Xu Mu, Li Ancheng also leaped out from the crowd, shouting furiously.
In his eyes, Xu Mu was the murderer of his father!
Xu Mu, exhausted, paid them little mind and walked directly to a row of bodies covered on the ground, shaking his head slightly.
He was still a step too late.
The flickering firelight illuminated the weariness in the young man's eyes.
Along the way, Charles had told him a lot about pollution sources. From this, he had guessed that the pollution source in Fengqing Village might erupt prematurely, so he had immediately quickened his pace. He was afraid that the villagers wouldn't be able to cope, leading to another tragedy like Wu Kui's, only adding to the sorrow.
But to his surprise, he had still returned a step too late.
"Brother Xu, what happened to you!"
Zhao Dayong, seeing the bloodstains on Xu Mu and the bandage on his arm, became somewhat flustered. This was a fierce individual who could wrestle with a tiger barehanded in his youth, and after becoming a night watchman, killing aberrations was like routine.
As long as he didn't venture into the perilous West Mountain, what could possibly injure him to this extent?
"It's nothing serious," Xu Mu shook his head slightly, then crouched down, took Village Chief Li Fengtian's hand, and lowered his head apologetically, "I'm sorry, Village Chief, I came back late."
Li Fengtian, his expression numb as he smoked his pipe, looked up at Xu Mu, not realizing who it was at first. It wasn't until Xu Mu took his hand that Li Fengtian recognized him.
"Little Xu, you're back?"
"Mm," Xu Mu sighed, looking at the row of bodies covered with white cloth on the ground, "Don't worry, Village Chief, I'll handle things from now on."
"Stop pretending to be a good person here!" Li Ancheng gritted his teeth, his voice rasping as he pushed Xu Mu away fiercely, "Take your dirty hands off, don't touch my grandfather!"
"How are you going to handle it? My dad is already dead!"
"Bang!"
Li Ancheng pressed down on the bandaged wound on Xu Mu's right arm and shoved him hard to the ground.
"You unfilial son, what are you doing!"
Li Fengtian berated him. He knew Xu Mu's character and that this matter definitely had nothing to do with him.
"Hey, hey, hey, don't lay a hand on him, calm down!"
"Xu Mu, are you alright!"
The surrounding villagers also chimed in with their劝说.
They didn't want Xu Mu to be hurt either, as they would rely on the night watchman for the aberrant night. They couldn't expect that extraordinary person to guard them every night in the future.
No one wanted to become the next Xiaokang Village.
"You dare touch Brother Xu again!"
Seeing the physical altercation, Zhao Dayong rushed out from the crowd, roaring and grabbing Li Ancheng by the collar, looking like he was about to fight.
"Let him go."
Just then, Xu Mu spoke, telling Zhao Dayong to release Li Ancheng.
His right shoulder ached slightly, but it was manageable. Xu Mu stood up from the ground and brushed off the dust.
Of course, he knew Li Ancheng and understood why he was targeting him.
When he was sixteen, because of Wu Peihuan, Li Ancheng had brought a group of people to his house to cause trouble.
Xu Mu, not wanting to bother, had pushed him away casually. Unexpectedly, Li Ancheng's leg bone had been fractured. The Li family had spent a lot of money on physicians, and Wu Kui had even compensated them a significant amount of silver for this incident.
At the time, Xu Mu hadn't taken the matter too seriously, only feeling uncomfortable because Wu Kui had been wronged. Over time, he had forgotten about it.
He thought Li Ancheng had forgotten too, but judging by his attitude today, the other party still held a grudge. Perhaps it was also because his father had just died?
Xu Mu mused this to himself. His father had died, so losing emotional control was understandable. Therefore, he decided not to argue with Li Ancheng.
Li Ancheng was somewhat dazed by Zhao Dayong's shouting, with spit splattering on his face. He felt a pang of guilt, as he was just an uneducated second-generation heir. Fighting with a seasoned farmer like Zhao Dayong, he was at a complete disadvantage.
But then, he remembered that his classmates and friends were around, so he immediately sneered at Zhao Dayong:
"If you have the guts, hit me, you bastard! Sun Widow, the one you like, is dead. Why don't you go to hell with her!"
"You!" Having his secret exposed in public, Zhao Dayong felt as if ants were crawling inside him. He looked at the young man before him, his teeth itching.
His relationship with Sun Widow had already spread throughout the village.
Although she was flirtatious, she had treated him well, and he had saved up enough money to marry her. He hadn't expected such an incident to occur at this critical juncture.
Sun Widow had turned into an aberration!
"Xu Mu, where have you been all this time? We've all been very worried about you."
Wu Peihuan ignored their conflict. Seeing that Xu Mu was injured, she quickly stepped forward and asked with concern.
She hadn't seen Xu Mu for over half a year, so she missed him dearly.
"Private matter. I went to Cemetery Mountain and encountered some aberrations, but I dealt with them."
"You're bragging!"
Upon hearing Xu Mu's reply, Li Ancheng's face contorted into a sneer. He pointed at the large red lanterns and bronze bells on the ground with an absurd expression:
"Night watchman, open your eyes and look at what these are. They were all found in your house!"
"Encountering aberrations is one thing, but 'some'?"
"Without these magical artifacts issued by the imperial court, how could you possibly deal with aberrations? With that broken hunting knife of yours? Do you really think you're an awakened one!"
Li Ancheng's mockery was relentless. Dealing with aberrations was easy to say. Although he hadn't studied diligently, he knew that the bones of aberrations became five times harder than those of ordinary humans after mutation, making it difficult for ordinary blades to sever their heads!
Just moments ago, his awakened brother, Liang Chen, had only managed to defeat the four aberrations by using the abilities of an awakened individual.
Xu Mu, an ordinary person, how could he possibly achieve the same feats as an awakened one?
"Believe it or not."
Xu Mu picked up the large red lantern that had been thrown on the ground and shook it gently.
Instantly, a dazzling golden light illuminated the area.
The torches suddenly lost their purpose. After the villagers on both sides managed to adjust to the intense light, they extinguished their torches.
"Who killed these aberrations?"
Xu Mu sighed, squatted down, and lifted the white cloths covering the bodies. He examined their corpses by the light.
He then discovered that although these villagers had all been bitten to death by aberrations, their vital essence had not been consumed.
This was very strange. Did aberrations emerging from the pollution source only kill and not drain blood?
"I killed them."
Xu Mu looked up and saw a young man dressed in fine clothes, who was the very person who had made threats earlier and vowed to capture him.
"He's Liang Chen, the most talented student from our Golden Silver Chamber of Commerce's seminary. He's twenty years old and is already an awakened individual!"
Wu Peihuan, afraid that Xu Mu might get into a conflict with Liang Chen, quickly introduced him.
"That's right, those aberrations just now were killed by my elder brother Liang Chen using his powers. You said you killed aberrations too. Are you also an awakened one?"
A sycophant of Li Ancheng, who was close to him, also chimed in mockingly. He was a student from a large town. Although not an awakened individual himself, he was extremely knowledgeable about guarding against aberrations.
He believed he knew very well what methods night watchmen possessed. Xu Mu's casual remark about dealing with aberrations was clearly him showing off. He didn't believe it!
"The Golden Silver Chamber of Commerce's seminary."
Xu Mu pondered for a moment. The Golden Silver Chamber of Commerce was a faction of awakened individuals on the continent, renowned like the Demon Exorcism Division. They had numerous businesses and had amassed countless awakened individuals through wealth, possessing immense strength and presence in every corner of the continent.
"Thank you. Without you, our Fengqing Village might have suffered even more severe losses."
Xu Mu had no intention of arguing with them. Instead, he thanked Liang Chen sincerely.
"Village Chief, please help evacuate everyone."
"The 'night of anomalies' is coming soon. Everyone listen to me. The situation tonight might be very dangerous. Please stay in your homes and absolutely do not remove the demon-repelling bells from your doors!"
Xu Mu called out loudly to the surrounding residents. After giving his instructions, he immediately picked up the lantern and bronze bell from the ground, preparing to investigate the source of pollution near the ancient tree.
Liang Chen was taken aback by Xu Mu's reaction. He hadn't expected this young man to be so unpretentious. Facing his mockery and Li Ancheng's provocations, he remained so calm.
If that was the case, it would be difficult for him to proactively seek trouble with Xu Mu.
"You harbinger of disaster, are you fit to continue guarding the night?"
"My father is dead. Sun Widow turned into an aberration in broad daylight and was killed by an official from the Demon Exorcism Division. So, what use are you as a night watchman?"
"You killed Wu Kui. You killed your own savior. That idiot, he shouldn't have picked you up in the first place. You bastard, you should die too!"
Li Ancheng's voice was venomous and piercing. Liang Chen frowned.
He had only intended to teach Xu Mu a lesson and hadn't meant to offend him so much.
In this world, who would risk total destruction over trivial matters? Li Ancheng's words had completely alienated Xu Mu.
Upon hearing Wu Kui's name, Xu Mu stopped in his tracks and turned around expressionlessly.
Whoosh!
The wind howled. Xu Mu's figure flashed past the crowd, and a resounding slap landed on Li Ancheng's face.
Crack!
The crisp sound echoed through the surroundings. Li Ancheng clutched his face, staggering backward, his eyes filled with terror.
"Well done!"
Zhao Dayong clenched his fist. That slap felt incredibly satisfying!
"You're quite audacious."
Liang Chen's expression turned grim. Xu Mu had ignored him and slapped Li Ancheng directly, truly not taking him, an awakened individual, seriously!
"You dare hit me? You dare hit me?"
Li Ancheng, dazed by the slap, his hair disheveled, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth.
"I'm not alone this time. Elder Brother Liang Chen will uphold justice for me!"
"Brother Chen, quickly kill him and avenge me!"