The two of them rode the wind, landing on a gentle slope outside Fengqing Village. Xu Mu gazed at the small village nestled in the mountains, his gloomy expression finally easing.
The scenery had new meaning to him, and after ten years, he was naturally happy to see it again.
"Such a large village, isn't it a bit too quiet?"
The Wine Immortal Daoist stood beside Xu Mu, his face filled with doubt.
A powerful expert of his caliber could sense what was happening in the village even without entering it. Apart from the sound of stones being stacked for construction and the panting of oxen and horses pulling bricks and stones, Fengqing Village was eerily quiet, as if it were asleep.
But the problem was, it was daytime.
Xu Mu's expression grew serious again. He strode down the mountain and found a secluded, hidden path among the trees, one that was familiar to him. After a few turns, he walked for ten minutes and arrived at a narrow alley lined with densely packed houses.
Xu Mu's face stiffened. This alley should have only had three to five houses. Now, there were thirty to fifty, making the already narrow path even more constricted, leaving only enough space for a carriage.
"Like Heya Village, many outsiders have come here, so many that it's overflowing, hence the many newly built houses."
"But with so many people, why is no one speaking?"
As Xu Mu pondered with a frown, a man carrying a shoulder pole walked towards him from the other end of the alley. The load on the pole seemed heavy, and the man was focused entirely on balancing it, not noticing that someone was standing in front of him.
He watched the stumbling man approaching with a strange expression, not dodging. He stood there until one end of the shoulder pole was about to hit him, and then he reached out and gently blocked it.
"Huh?" The man looked up in confusion. It was then that he finally realized someone was in front of him and that he had accidentally bumped into them.
"Sir... Sir, I didn't do it on purpose. Please forgive me, sir!" The man didn't dare to look a second time. He quickly put down the shoulder pole and knelt down.
Xu Mu frowned and said coldly,
"Get up!"
"Zhao Dayong, have you lost your mind? How can bumping into someone on the road scare you like this?"
The man who was kneeling and begging for forgiveness heard the familiar voice. His body immediately stopped trembling. He looked up in astonishment, and then his pale face flushed red. He stood up excitedly, stepped over the shoulder pole, and lunged towards Xu Mu.
"Little Brother Xu? Is it really you? You're finally back! Everyone in the village thought you were dead!"
*Bang!*
Xu Mu extended a finger to stop Zhao Dayong's chest, preventing him from hugging him. Then, looking at the pile of rubble he was carrying, he frowned and asked,
"What exactly happened in the village? Why are the houses being built almost up to the mountain? And who spread the word that I was dead?"
Zhao Dayong's body sagged like a deflated ball upon hearing this. He slowly took a step back, lowered his head, and choked out,
"Little Brother Xu, you don't know, something big has happened in the village."
"A few days ago, a group of people came to the village, saying they wanted to buy empty land at a high price to build houses for temporary accommodation. When they left, the houses they built would belong to us, free of charge. But we had to build them ourselves."
"Those people said they were showing us a permit from the Demon Extermination Division. Because the village chief said you were also from the Demon Extermination Division, we believed it was genuine and all of us pressed our thumbprints on the contract. But who knew they would then claim they weren't buying land to build houses, but all the land."
"Now, the houses and land in the village are no longer ours. Instead, we have to build houses for them, or we'll have to pay a lot of money. Old Wu's daughter, who studies in the city, has reported to the authorities several times, but the yamen dismissed it, citing the validity of the contract."
As Zhao Dayong spoke, tears welled up in his eyes uncontrollably.
"Little Brother Xu, now we have no houses, no land, and we have to work for them for free. Those people treat us like livestock, making us work day and night, beating and kicking us at any moment. Many villagers have been injured. Old Liang's head couldn't bear the blow and committed suicide. Now those people are at the village chief's house, urging us to finish the work, or we'll have to pay. You must help us seek justice!"
"Good, good, good..." After hearing Zhao Dayong's tearful account, Xu Mu said "good" three times in a row, his face so gloomy it looked like it could drip water.
"Don't worry, I will seek justice for you." Xu Mu forced a smile, patted Zhao Dayong's shoulder, and walked towards the end of the alley. "Let's go, come with me to the village chief's house."
"I want to see who it is that's so arrogant!"
As Xu Mu spoke, a terrifying killing intent erupted from him, startling Zhao Dayong into swallowing hard. He glanced at the old Daoist behind him, then at Xu Mu's retreating back, gritted his teeth, and immediately followed.
...
In the spacious courtyard, dust filled the air, and the sunlight was a dim yellow. In the yard, at least a hundred people were squeezed together, divided into two groups, standing in opposition. On the left, the villagers of Fengqing Village, their eyes blazing with anger, held shovels as if they were about to strike. Only the village chief, Li Fengtian, sitting at the forefront, remained calm.
On the right, the group was unhurried. Although they were fewer in number than the Fengqing Village villagers, their imposing presence was in no way inferior. Every face bore an unconcealed hint of smugness and arrogance.
Opposite Li Fengtian, three chairs were set up. Two of the people sitting in the chairs were unfamiliar outsiders, and the third was Liang Jue, whom Xu Mu had met once and who was later almost killed by Grey-White Eyes.
"Village Chief Li, in another half an hour, it will be time for handover. If the houses are not completed, then according to the contract, your villagers will have to compensate us... nineteen thousand taels."
The cunning-looking man on the far left, stroking his small black mustache, said with a sinister smile. Ten thousand taels of silver could provide him with a lifetime of wealth and luxury.
"You damn it! In five days, you want us to create over two hundred houses out of thin air. Do you think we're made of iron!" Li Ancheng, standing behind Li Fengtian, roared through clenched teeth.
They had barely slept these past few days, rushing to meet the deadline, and had only managed to build over seventy houses, with the completion date still a distant prospect!
"Haha, I understand you, but rules are rules. If you can't do it, why did you press your thumbprints back then?" the man asked, feigning confusion and sighing.
"That's because you went back on your word and deceived us! You said you were buying empty land to build houses, and then you changed your mind!" Wu Peihuan, dressed in plain clothes, her fair and tender face smudged with dust, said.
"Who said we were buying empty land? We were buying your houses from the start. The empty land was just a bonus," the man in the middle said, taking a sip of tea and speaking calmly.
Wu Peihuan was enraged again, but then she heard the man say,
"We'll give you another two hours. If you can't finish building all the houses, then pay the compensation. And if you don't have the money, I'll let you off the hook. Just get out of my village quickly!" the man shouted, exuding the unique pressure of an ability user, making the Fengqing Village villagers on the left turn pale.
They were about to lose their homes and become refugees!
"Brother Liangchen, please say something for us..." Li Ancheng mustered up his courage and looked at the youth standing behind the third man.
"Heh heh... Because of you, I don't know how many times I've suffered losses, and I almost caused the Liang family to be annihilated. You still want me to save you now?" Liangchen crossed his arms, his eyes cold and arrogant.
"That was clearly because you were inferior in skill! What does that have to do with us!" Li Ancheng's eyes reddened. Regardless of Liangchen's identity, he roared angrily.
"Inferior in skill, well said. So now I'm bullying you, and you can only blame yourself for being inferior in skill!" Liang Jue, sitting in his chair, his killing intent surging like a tide. Then, Li Ancheng's almond-shaped pupils instantly shrank to an extreme. A strong killing intent poured into him, and Li Ancheng spurted blood with a *pu* sound, falling to the ground.
"Ancheng!" Li Fengtian's face was filled with grief. He rose from his chair and looked at Li Ancheng, who was spitting blood on the ground with vacant eyes. His voice trembled as he spoke, "Don't you fear him coming back to settle scores with you if you do this!"
"Him?" Hearing this, not only did Liang Jue and his son fall silent, but even the hands of the two foreign ability users sitting in the chairs beside them twitched involuntarily.
A young figure slowly appeared in everyone's minds. A few months ago, that person alone had dealt with a stage three pollution source and then, with one punch, had severely injured Liang Jue, who was at stage two!
And a few months later, that youth had killed a demon god in the core region of Xishan, and was even suspected of obtaining the Heavenly Book!
One must understand that in their eyes, Xishan was like a divine realm, let alone its core region. If even a single great demon were to emerge from there, it would be enough to flatten the entire Guiye Region.
When Xu Mu's name first became prominent in Xishan a few days ago, the entire Guiye Region was shocked for a whole night. And the powers that had offended Xu Mu before were terrified to the point of losing their souls.
And if it weren't for a mysterious person a few days ago, whose strength even Liang Jue couldn't sense, had told him that Xu Mu had been killed by a great demon, he wouldn't have dared to come to Fengqing Village even if he had ten more lives, even with Jin Jiao standing behind him...
"Haha, then wait. When I personally kill you, you can probably see that brat named Xu Mu!" Liang Jue laughed wildly on the surface, trying to mask his fear of the young man.
"Alright, there's nothing more to discuss. You people, don't all huddle here. Hurry up and get to work. Because you spat out a pool of blood, I'll give you another hour!" The man in the middle smiled slightly and stood up from his chair, about to leave.
"I can try to gain another day for you, but the price is you." Liangchen spoke again, pointing at Wu Peihuan, whom he had been treating as prey but whose plan was interrupted due to Xu Mu. His face was full of lustful smiles.
"You bastard, you wish!" Wu Peng, Wu Peihuan's father, spat fiercely.
"A toad wanting to eat swan meat, you're dreaming!" The other villagers also cursed.
"Since that's the case, then enjoy these last three hours. After three hours, you will become homeless refugees and be eaten by strange ghosts!" Liangchen laughed wildly, his face contorted.
Everyone fell silent upon hearing this.
"If... if it's for everyone's lives, I will!" After a while, Wu Peihuan, her face pale and her expression resolute, said.
"Pei... Huan, you can't let him succeed!" Li Ancheng, who was seriously injured, said with all his might.
"Yes, Peihuan, you're still young, there's no need to ruin yourself like this!" An old woman behind her tried to persuade her with all her might.
"Absolutely not. You young people are the future hope of the village. Even if we die here today, you must never be in danger!" Li Fengtian slowly stood up from the ground, a cold killing intent erupting from his old, clouded eyes.
"Ability user!" The people on the right exclaimed in surprise, but then they all breathed a sigh of relief. "So it's a stage one ability user. I thought it was some hidden master."
"Even if it's stage one, coupled with the hundreds of men of our Fengqing Village, we will bite you with our teeth and keep you despicable villains here forever!" As Li Fengtian spoke, a hundred more people suddenly rushed out from somewhere in the yard, and people filled the top of the walls, all holding weapons!
"Hahaha, good, you still have this trick up your sleeve." Liang Jue and the others' faces remained unchanged, only feeling provoked and somewhat angry.
"Since you're so eager to die, I'll send you on your way. How many people are hidden in the dark, come out and die!" Liang Jue's abilities surged, and the axe in his hand was menacing.
"And us!" On the street outside the courtyard, women carrying hoes suddenly filled the area.
"And us! Fengqing Village has no cowards!" Some thirteen or fourteen-year-old children, hidden in the cellars, also emerged from somewhere, their immature faces carrying a trace of resilience.
"Good, good, good. Today, let us defend our home together!" Li Fengtian drew the sword he hadn't used in a long time from his waist and let out a few bitter laughs.
"Slaughter them, just like Xiaokang Village!" the bearded man on the far left shouted.
"Today, it truly is the heavens that are destroying my Fengqing Village!" Li Fengtian looked at the group of thugs gradually surrounding them, and a trace of blood suddenly trickled from the corner of his mouth, his eyes filled with despair and darkness.
"Make way."
Just as the people of Fengqing Village were preparing for a desperate fight, a familiar voice suddenly came from outside the courtyard, breaking the impending slaughter.
The crowded people parted like a tide, clearing a path.
As this happened, the dust and sand in the air seemed to dissipate, and the brilliant sunlight once again shone on everyone's faces.
A young figure slowly walked out.
"Sorry, I'm back late."
The young man spoke with a faint apology.
Upon seeing this familiar figure, Li Fengtian froze for a moment, and then his tensed body completely relaxed. Two streams of excited, turbid tears rolled down his weathered face.
...