Divine & Bizarre: Increasing Points to Invincibility-Chapter 367 - 148: Testing the New Version of the City God’s Command! Mysterious Countryside Village! (10,000-Word Mega - , Request for Subscription)_6
It all seemed utterly inconceivable.
"Uncle Wang..." Looking at the imposing figure of Fan Wu walking in the front, especially the conspicuous Demon-slaying Sword on his back, Zhen Zhiyuan spoke in a voice he believed only he and Uncle Wang could hear, "That Miss Yun said, the mighty warrior named Fan Wu is a Taoist."
Zhen Zhiyuan swallowed hard, his tone filled with disbelief, "But how is he different from all the Taoists I have seen?"
Uncle Wang didn’t know how to answer this question because Fan Wu was different from any Taoist he had ever seen as well.
How could he know why a Taoist would be born with such an impressive physique?
With such a formidable body...
Why not join the army?
If he became a soldier of the Imperial Court, with a body as exaggerated as his, he would probably be able to become a low-ranking officer with ease, right? So why be a Taoist?
He couldn’t figure it out.
After a moment of silence, Uncle Wang said, "Isn’t that Miss Yun a cultivator? Maybe this Daoist Fan Wu is a cultivator too, who knows? After all, they seem to be companions."
Zhen Zhiyuan was very surprised, "We actually encountered two cultivators on the way, has fortune finally smiled upon us after our recent string of bad luck?"
"Encountering cultivators doesn’t necessarily mean good luck," Uncle Wang said gravely, "You know what cultivators usually deal with, things we ordinary people can’t handle."
"It seems... that’s true..." Zhen Zhiyuan glanced surreptitiously at Old Blue Ox, led by Yun Jiuqing, or rather, he was looking at the Nanjun County Prince on the ox’s back.
Zhen Zhiyuan spoke in a low voice, "Miss Yun said that man had been bewitched. He seems to be dressed rather richly, probably from a big household in the Prefecture."
Uncle Wang helplessly said, "Being too curious is a taboo among Escort Masters. Matters like getting cursed..."
He emphasized, "It’s best not to touch or inquire about them, as those are not within our reach."
The group chatted quietly as they continued on their way.
Before they knew it.
Evening fell.
At dusk, everyone in the caravan was on high alert. Because the past two escort missions had encountered strange incidents precisely at dusk!
Uncle Wang looked up at the sky and let out a heavy sigh of relief, his tone filled with both relief and gratitude, "I remember, whether it was the first path or the second... the strange village always appeared when the sun was halfway down."
"Now, the sun has already set by more than half, and it still hasn’t appeared, so it seems..."
He stopped talking abruptly at this point.
Uncle Wang, mounted on a tall horse, suddenly widened his eyes, staring at the road ahead.
He looked completely dumbfounded.
At that moment, Zhen Zhiyuan beside him had an equally stupefied expression.
His face was full of shock and amazement.
And also...
Mixed with a trace of terror!
Because the path in front of the caravan, which was previously quite wide and clean, had changed in the blink of an eye into something else—the road was overgrown with various weeds, and the unkempt path seemed to stretch toward another direction, where a village could vaguely be seen.
It was extremely strange!
Terrifying!
As each of the Escort Masters and drivers hastily grabbed the reins of their horses, their faces were all marked with an expression of horror.
"How... how could it appear again?" a driver said in terror, his voice quivering, "This is the third time... already... it’s the third time! We’ve already changed our route three times, so why do we still encounter it? Could we... could we have been marked by some ghost or demon?!"
Next to him, an Escort Master with a horse and a sword swallowed his saliva quietly, but he was clearly calmer than the driver.
After all, these escort masters who traverse the north and south would not be able to take on their profession if they were not bold.
This escort master took a deep breath and said, "It might not be that we are being targeted, but more likely that one of us, or a few of us, are being singled out... For there must be a reason behind these strange occurrences; we can’t possibly encounter vengeful ghosts that harm without cause, can we?"
Some escort masters also noticed something amiss: "I remember the last two times we encountered this situation... the rural village ahead had no lights, so why do we see lights and smoke from cooking fires today?"
"Hiss... Indeed! What’s going on here?"
"Escort Leader Zhen, Master Hu... shouldn’t we take a different route this time? After all, we who do not know the ways of the Dao are completely unable to resolve such matters!"
"Right! Shall we go back? This escort job is too dangerous!"
"Yes!"
"..."
A flurry of panicked voices reached Zhen Zhiyuan’s ears, leaving him unsure of what to do. What if they encountered the same strange incidents on another path? What if all the paths were blocked by these eerie conditions?
What then?
"Shut up! All of you, shut up!" Suddenly, a slightly irate voice rang out: "I’ve already paid you, paid you hundreds of silvers! I’ve given you the money, and you talk of going back? Go back my foot!"
The merchant Hu Dafu had, at some point, descended from his carriage and was glaring at the people around him: "And those hundreds of silvers were just the deposit, there are hundreds more once the goods arrive in Guyuan County!"
"Even..."
He gritted his teeth: "Even then, I could give each of you ten silvers! No! Fifteen silvers each!"
There were about a hundred people present, plus some drivers, making it nearly two hundred people.
Didn’t that mean he would have to shell out thousands of silvers before he even sold his goods?
Good lord, could the goods in these carriages sell for so much silver?
The one with such doubts was Yun Jiuqing. 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝘦𝓌𝑒𝑏𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝘭.𝒸𝘰𝑚
Moreover, Yun Jiuqing noticed... Hu Dafu seemed to be overacting, as if something that was fated to happen had come to pass upon him.
Yun Jiuqing’s beautiful eyes narrowed.
"Daoist Priest Fan, that man... there’s something off about him." Yun Jiuqing reminded Fan Wu as she glanced ahead at the suddenly appearing mysterious rural village: "That village is very strange, I didn’t even notice how it emerged."
"If you find it odd, then let’s go take a look." Fan Wu seemed completely unconcerned, as if there were no danger ahead.
His movements at this time attracted everyone’s attention.
He headed towards the direction of the eerie rural village.
The group of drivers and escort masters was left staring, dumbfounded.
"Daoist Priest Fan, wait for me!" Yun Jiuqing hurriedly led Old Blue Ox and scurried after him.
This left the group of escort masters and drivers exchanging puzzled looks.
"Uncle Wang..." Zhen Zhiyuan swallowed nervously: "They... they actually went inside?!"
Uncle Wang responded: "Yes..."
Zhen Zhiyuan looked at his own people, then at the outraged Hu Dafu, and again at the retreating figures of Fan Wu and Yun Jiuqing.
He clenched his teeth fiercely.
"Let’s go over there too!"
...
...
