"This is the elder of our village, his name is Zhao Lang, you can call him Brother Zhao."
Saying this, Ling Yong wiped away the blood flowing from his nose and pointed to a middle-aged man with a resolute, square face standing beside him.
This middle-aged man had no physical defects, was a perfectly normal person, and his eyes shone with intelligence as he appraised Duan Chen and his party.
Duan Chen did not meet his gaze, but instead observed their surroundings. There were many villagers, most of whom were looking at them with curious eyes.
Based on the path Ling Yong had led them, this was likely the middle section of Yue Ling Village.
Zhao Lang smiled slightly and patted Ling Yong's shoulder.
"You've worked hard, go take care of your own matters. I'll entertain these outsiders."
"Okay."
Ling Yong turned and left.
After he left, Zhao Lang's gaze swept over Duan Chen and Du Qingyi.
It was clear that he believed the backbone of this group was either Duan Chen or Du Qingyi.
Duan Chen stepped forward and said with a faint smile, "Brother Zhao, we got lost and accidentally entered the village. Could you please find us a place to stay? I'm willing to pay."
"Money? What is that?"
To his surprise, Zhao Lang appeared puzzled.
"Silver?" Du Qingyi tested.
"What is that either?"
"Currency." 138 Reading Net
Duan Chen uttered these words and simultaneously activated his mind-reading ability.
A blank white expanse, nothing was read.
The corners of his mouth twitched. He even suspected his eye technique was malfunctioning, otherwise why would he keep hitting dead ends?
"Oh—"
Du Qingyi clearly had a breakthrough. She drew out her tone and signaled Duan Chen with her eyes.
The weirder it is, the more normal it is.
Duan Chen suddenly understood. He plucked a strand of his hair and offered it to Zhao Lang.
This seemingly nonsensical action was precisely what Zhao Lang expected.
"Oh! You wish to give me a reward? No need, no need, too kind. The village has plenty of empty houses, just pick one."
Zhao Lang laughed heartily and carefully handed the hair back to Duan Chen, as if afraid a gust of wind might blow it away.
"What is this operation?"
Everyone was bewildered.
"The weirder it is, the more normal it is. Everything here is the opposite of the outside world," Du Qingyi explained.
"Alright, we rarely have guests in the village. How about this, you all take a walk around the village, and I'll gather the other village officials to host a banquet for you!"
"Finally, we can eat something. I'm starving," Ding Ding rolled his eyes.
"What good are you thinking about? They might give us some strange food later. Don't forget, everything here is the opposite of outside."
Tian Qi turned her head away, feeling that being of the same species as this fellow was an embarrassment.
Watching Zhao Lang's departing back, Duan Chen pondered.
"Let's go. Following Zhao Lang's words, we'll stroll around the village."
"You're actually going? Who has the energy now?" Tian Qi complained.
"Are you a captive or a young lady?" Tu Fei Yuan glared at her.
Willbenya remained obediently by Hill's side, not uttering a word.
Much quieter compared to those guys.
Duan Chen made a mark on a nearby wooden stake, then turned and headed back the way they came.
"Oh my... these two beautiful girls, do they have boyfriends? How many people are in their family?"
An old woman suddenly popped out from an alley, startling everyone.
The old woman's head was dented on one side, its shape rather strange. Her face, however, was smiling, and her small eyes were fixed on Hill and Willbenya.
"Uh, she..."
"Young man, are you her boyfriend? What a pity, such a beautiful girl is already engaged..."
Before Duan Chen could speak, the old woman began to shake her head and sigh, her gaze towards Willbenya practically overflowing with "satisfaction" and "regret."
Don't misunderstand, the boyfriend she was referring to was not Duan Chen.
But rather...
"Meow meow meow!"
Tu Fei Yuan, nestled on Willbenya's head, began to protest by raising its paws.
Even the usually calm and elegant Willbenya's expression began to crack.
Hill didn't think the old woman was wrong. Instead, she looked at Tu Fei Yuan and the other with a look of sudden realization.
"So you two are in *that* kind of relationship? Tu Tu, then I..."
"No, no!"
Duan Chen suddenly felt his brain cells were insufficient. He quickly covered Hill's mouth, fearing she might say something even more astonishing.
"You two..." the old woman looked at Duan Chen and Hill again.
"Little girl, he's a bit ugly. Not as good as that one."
Duan Chen's eyes widened.
She said he was not as good as Tu Fei Yuan?!
Tu Fei Yuan turned its cat head aside, pretending it had nothing to do with him.
"Hmm... no, I think he's quite good,"
Hill smiled slightly.
Hearing this, the old woman stopped babbling. She took out a few candies from her pocket and placed them into everyone's hands one by one.
These were very old-fashioned candies. Duan Chen remembered Old Zhang giving him and Gao Tian Kai one when he was a teenager, calling it a childhood memory. At the time, it tasted only sickeningly sweet, with no other flavor.
Gradually, the old woman's figure began to merge with Old Zhang's. Duan Chen felt a surge of emotion.
"Thank you."
"You're welcome, you're welcome."
After giving candy to the last person, the old woman shook her head, hunched her back, and turned to leave.
Sun Xiaoxiao: ???
Tian Qi: ???
Ding Ding: ???
"What about ours?" Ding Ding protested.
"Exactly, she had some," Tian Qi looked at Jia Yunlian, and sure enough, she had already unwrapped the candy and was tossing it into her mouth from bottom to top.
"You are sea demons. The people here seem very unfriendly towards sea demons,"
Du Qingyi chewed on a candy, feeling a touch of regret.
Duan Chen nodded.
Hill, Willbenya, and Tu Fei Yuan received the most candies. The others only got two or three scarce ones. As for Sun Xiaoxiao and the other two, they received none at all.
"Hey—!"
Zhao Lang's shout came from behind them.
"We should go."
Duan Chen returned to the place where he had made the mark and found an old man beside Zhao Lang. The old man was about seventy or eighty years old, his bones were sturdy, and his back was perfectly straight.
"This is the village chief, Zhao Yuan, also my father."
"Village Chief Zhao."
Duan Chen bowed slightly.
"Follow me, we'll go to the village's only tavern and treat you to a good meal."
Zhao Yuan clasped his hands behind his back and led the way.
The tavern was located in the rear section of Yue Ling Village. It was quite substantial, the only difference from the large restaurants in the city being the lack of modern facilities and its ancient decor. The signboard was covered in dust.
Inside the private room, many people were already seated. They were all physically sound, complete individuals. According to Zhao Lang, they were all village officials. The way they referred to village officials was also simple.
Eldest Brother, Eldest Sister.
Duan Chen and his party took their seats one by one. When the seats were full, they realized.
Sun Xiaoxiao and the other two had no seats.