Chapter 84: A Strange Person

Fortunately, no matter how deeply he was drawn in, having reloaded once, he still kept his wits about him. He drank, yes, but never to the point of total inebriation. Each time he felt himself nearing drunkenness, Yu Daoyi would channel the spiritual energy within him to dispel the intoxication from his body.

Time ticked by. The hour grew late, and the banquet gradually drew to a close. Feigning a deep drunkenness, Yu Daoyi leaned naturally against Yaoyao, enjoying the tender care of the beauty beside him, breathing in the scent of peach blossoms that seemed to linger on her skin.

It was a pity that she, sensitive to the cold by nature, wore so many layers that he could not savor the delicate smoothness of her skin.

Tsk, next time I should just use spiritual energy to cure her. I’m just naturally helpful, not lusting after her, he told himself.

Inside the simple house, Yaoyao laid the feigning-drunk Yu Daoyi onto a bed of moderate size. Fully conscious, he forced himself to stay alert, using a trace of spiritual sense to observe what happened around him. He remembered that in the last cycle, it was here—after losing consciousness from drink—that the new round began.

Yet what he expected did not occur. Yaoyao seemed to be concealing something; after a moment’s hesitation, she left the room. Yu Daoyi slowly opened his eyes. The anticipated event hadn’t happened, leaving him a bit disappointed. The emptiness in his body and his mental fatigue, it seemed, were not what he had imagined.

Time slipped by. Yu Daoyi crept cautiously out of the house, alert to everything around him. Strangely, neither Yaoyao nor Xiao Qian was anywhere to be found, whether inside or out in the courtyard.

A bright, flawless moon hung high in the night sky. For now, nothing was happening. Bored out of his mind, Yu Daoyi sat on a bench in the courtyard to appreciate the moon. What was stranger still, above him hung only that single full moon; the myriad stars seemed to have agreed to hide themselves away.

Seated on the bench, Yu Daoyi seemed to see something unusual. He rubbed his eyes. The once-white moon was beginning to blush red around the edges. He shot to his feet.

But before he could take more than a couple of steps, a sudden wave of weakness and drowsiness swept over him, sending him sprawling to the ground.

“Damn! What’s going on? Why does it feel like I’ve been drugged?” Forcing himself to fight the weakness and sleepiness, Yu Daoyi struggled to his feet. In just those few moments, when he looked up again, the white moon had vanished, replaced by a blood-red orb hanging in the night.

The silvery moonlight that once bathed the village was now veiled in crimson, as if the whole village had been dipped in red. A surge of impatience, unease, rage, and resentment flooded up from Yu Daoyi’s heart.

Perhaps it was the drug’s effect, but everything before his eyes began to blur. Staggering, he made his way into the village, soon hearing a chorus of chaotic roars—cries that sounded like the venting of something primal. He forced himself to look ahead.

The sight was hell on earth.

In the blink of an eye, Yu Daoyi collapsed on the path through the village. His consciousness drifted further and further away, until only darkness remained.

He had no idea how long had passed before his awareness began to return. Forcing his eyes open, he was met with blinding sunlight, the chirping of birds, the babble of a brook, the petals of peach blossoms carried by a gentle breeze brushing his face, filling the air with fragrance.

“Well, well! It’s the first time I’ve seen anyone silly enough to bite their own hand,” a lazy, familiar voice drifted from behind him.

As he struggled to steady himself, he realized he was biting a large pork knuckle—no, it was his own hand. It hurt terribly...

The exhaustion and mental fatigue weighed on him even more heavily now; even keeping his composure was a challenge. Slowly, he glanced back.

“You’re still the same as ever—”

Nothing’s changed at all—

What’s going on? Again? He shook his head, pinched his thigh hard, and the pain cleared his mind a bit. Taking a few deep breaths, he tried to calm his unsettled heart.

“Stay calm. Stay sharp. It’s clear now—there’s definitely something wrong here, something very wrong!” Yu Daoyi muttered to himself.

“Hey, hey! I’m talking to you!” The boy up in the tree, annoyed at being ignored, called out.

“One thing at a time, one thing at a time,” Yu Daoyi mumbled. Looking up at the boy in the tree, he said, “Take me into the village.”

“Who are you? I’ve never seen you before,” Xiao Qian said, eyeing the stranger warily.

“Of course, I must’ve lost my mind. I know the way myself,” Yu Daoyi smacked his forehead, then strode off toward the village.

“Hey! Why are you just leaving? You look totally unfamiliar—did you come from outside the village?” Xiao Qian leapt down from the tree, chasing after him.

“Don’t talk to me right now—I’m exhausted. If you annoy me, I just might hit you,” Yu Daoyi threatened, glaring back at the persistent tagalong.

“You think I’m scared? Look at you, so weak—maybe I could even beat you!” Xiao Qian retorted from behind, unconcerned.

The two locked eyes for a moment. Even weakened, Yu Daoyi was still a cultivator; he promptly scooped Xiao Qian up and gave him a couple of resounding smacks on the rear.

If you can use your hands, don’t bother with words! I’m not some protagonist who only runs his mouth!

“Tell me, has anything strange happened in your village?” Suddenly remembering what he wanted to know, Yu Daoyi asked, completely unconcerned about having just slapped the boy.

Humiliated, Xiao Qian covered his backside, pouting like a wronged maiden, then glared fiercely at Yu Daoyi.

“You hit me! And now you’re asking questions like that the moment we meet! You think I’d tell you?” Xiao Qian protested, indignant and angry.

Yu Daoyi stopped abruptly and turned to him.

“Xiao Qian, don’t be surprised I know your name. In fact, I’m your long-lost brother!”

“Brother?” Xiao Qian’s voice shot up in surprise, forgetting his indignation for a moment.

“Yes! I’m your brother! I even know you have an older sister named Yaoyao! We’re all family!” Yu Daoyi declared passionately, nearly in tears.

“How could that be? That’s impossible! My sister never mentioned it, and Grandpa the village chief never said a word!” Xiao Qian was thrown into doubt and confusion.

“Xiao Qian, don’t question it! They just kept it from you to protect you!” Yu Daoyi grabbed his shoulders and shook him earnestly.

“No, I don’t believe it! How could I have such a silly brother? You were just biting yourself a moment ago!” Xiao Qian broke free, gesticulating wildly.

Damn it, I’ll settle the score with you properly after I get what I want!

“That’s not the point! The point is, your brother is back! I just want to know about the village! I don’t want to be treated as an outsider. Xiao Qian, can you understand that feeling?” Yu Daoyi forced out a few tears for effect.

“Well, but…Bro—brother, what do you want to know?” Simple-minded Xiao Qian quickly forgot his humiliation, bought the old scoundrel’s story, and asked eagerly, a bit embarrassed.

“Everything about the village,” Yu Daoyi said gravely, silently commending his own acting skills. The village kids were so easy to fool.

On the way back, Xiao Qian chattered endlessly as if a dam had burst. Even the most trivial matters he recounted in detail, and it wasn’t until Yu Daoyi’s ears nearly went numb that Xiao Qian finally finished summarizing the village’s general situation—though from his excitement, it was clear he could have gone on much longer.

Yet for all his talking, he hadn’t touched on anything important. Nothing about the village’s origins, nothing about the world outside, nor a word about the blood moon that appeared at night.

“So, Xiao Qian, there haven’t been any other strange occurrences?” At his wits’ end, Yu Daoyi could only ask again.

“Strange things? Does something recent count?” Xiao Qian frowned in thought.

“Oh? There is something? Tell me everything, no detail too small,” Yu Daoyi said, a little excited.

“Well, now that you mention it, I did run into something—or rather, someone—strange,” Xiao Qian said, as if recalling something after a long search in his memory.

Someone strange? Besides me, has anyone else entered this village? If so, that would make things easier—two are better than one, Yu Daoyi thought.

“And? What’s so strange about this person?” Yu Daoyi pressed.

“Umm…strange enough to bite himself,” Xiao Qian replied, looking at him earnestly.