Chapter 9: The Strange situation

As Mu Feng stepped out of the teleportation array, he felt slightly disoriented. This wasn't his first time experiencing teleportation, but unlike before, his current strength, limited to the One Soul stage, could no longer easily withstand the spatial distortions that came with teleportation.

“Ugh…”

After only a few steps, Mu Feng felt dizzy and nauseous. He barely had time to take in his surroundings before he bent over and began to vomit.

Suddenly, Mu Feng heard the sound of a child crying nearby. Wiping the corner of his mouth, he looked up and saw a young girl sobbing, with a teenage boy, around seventeen or eighteen years old, standing beside her, trying to comfort her.

The girl, who appeared to be around fifteen or sixteen, had a round face, her big teary eyes making her look particularly adorable despite her shabby and worn-out clothes. She was a real beauty in the making, and her delicate features couldn’t be hidden by her plain outfit.

The boy, on the other hand, was more ordinary. His hair was unkempt, his skin tanned, and his simple clothes were stained with dirt.

"Who are you?" the boy asked, stepping slightly in front of the girl protectively, eyeing Mu Feng with suspicion.

Mu Feng, still feeling a bit dazed, wasn’t sure how to respond. He didn’t even know where he was yet.

"He's a bad person," the girl said between sobs, her tear-streaked face making her look even more pitiful.

Mu Feng was perplexed. How had he become the bad guy? While he might look pale from the nausea and vomiting, it hardly seemed fair to label him as a villain.

Seeing the young girl crying nonstop, Mu Feng couldn’t help but ask, “What’s going on? Do you need any help?”

The boy's expression turned to anger, and he shouted, “We don’t need your help! Just leave us alone and stop bothering us!”

"Don't leave! You owe me a black green snake!" The girl, still hiding behind the boy, stopped crying and said in a small, resentful voice, as if she was afraid of angering Mu Feng.

“Owe you what?” Mu Feng asked, puzzled.

“It’s your fault! You were making all that horrible noise, and it scared away the black green snake we were trying to catch!” the girl said, her face full of grievance.

“Horrible noise?” Mu Feng couldn’t help but laugh bitterly. So his unintentional vomiting had caused them quite a bit of trouble.

Realizing what had happened, Mu Feng felt a little embarrassed. “Don’t worry. It’s just a small black snake. I’ll help you catch it,” he said with a smile, feeling responsible for the disturbance he had caused.

Under their watchful eyes, Mu Feng retrieved a small incense stick from the ring on his pinky finger and planted it in the spot where the two had been trying to catch the snake. He then took out a firestone and lit the incense.

“What’s that?” the boy asked, still on edge and suspicious.

“It’s beast luring incense. Any ordinary beast without spiritual intelligence will be drawn to it, as if they’re drunk. They’ll come to us without resistance,” Mu Feng explained with a gentle smile, motioning for them to wait.

Soon enough, just as Mu Feng had said, small creatures like rats, centipedes, and insects began gathering.

The girl seemed frightened by the sudden appearance of so many snakes, bugs, and rodents and instinctively backed away.

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

“Look! Look!” the girl suddenly exclaimed, tugging at the boy’s clothes excitedly.

In the distance, a small, ugly, dark green snake with strange markings was slowly slithering toward them. It was the black green snake they had been after.

Seeing the snake, the boy immediately leaped forward, grabbing it by the neck and skillfully putting it into the basket tied around his waist.

“Brother, look! There’s another one!” The girl was so thrilled that, despite her fear of snakes, she looked at them as if they were prized treasures, her eyes filled with joy.

“Thank you, big brother! With this black snake’s gall, my mom’s cold illness can finally be cured,” the girl called out to Mu Feng, her earlier resentment replaced with admiration. In her eyes, Mu Feng had become a god-like figure capable of anything.

So, they were trying to save their mother! Mu Feng couldn’t help but feel moved.

"Watch out!" the boy suddenly shouted, quickly putting the snake in the basket and rushing toward the girl.

The boy’s warning caused both Mu Feng and the girl to shift their attention. They saw a wild wolf not far behind them, staring hungrily and drooling, watching the three of them.

“Stay behind me,” Mu Feng said, spreading his arms to shield the boy and girl while adopting a defensive stance, keeping his eyes fixed on the wolf.

As Mu Feng stepped forward, a strange gleam flashed in the boy’s eyes. His previous hostility faded, and the girl clung to Mu Feng, terrified, with her eyes tightly shut.

Mu Feng kept a close eye on the wolf, not daring to make a sudden move. The wolf seemed hesitant as well, wary of something.

“Waaah…” The girl couldn’t hold back her fear any longer and started crying.

Her cries seemed to spur the wolf into action, and it lunged at them. Startled by the sudden sound, Mu Feng was slow to react, and the wolf’s claws raked across his arm as he tried to block the attack.

As the wolf landed and prepared to leap again, a sharp whistling sound pierced the air.

A flying arrow, imbued with great power, shot through the wolf's eye, piercing through to the back of its head, instantly killing it. The force behind the arrow was enough to end the wolf’s life in an instant.

Mu Feng stared at the fallen wolf, stunned. In that brief moment of facing death, he had been jolted awake to a harsh reality—he was no longer the powerful cultivator he once was.

Now, he was weak. So weak that he couldn’t even defeat a common wild animal.

If things continued like this, he feared he wouldn’t last the remaining four years. He might not even survive his first journey into the world.

“Looks like we’ll be eating wolf meat tonight,” a deep voice said. It belonged to a middle-aged man, the one who had shot the arrow. His name was simple—Huo Gen.

As Mu Feng stood frozen in thought, Huo Gen walked over to the wolf’s corpse, quickly but efficiently preparing it and slinging it over his shoulder.

Mu Feng looked at the man before him. He was tall, muscular, and brimming with strength. A scar, as wide as a finger, ran down the left side of his face, adding to his rugged and imposing appearance.

“Come on, let’s head back to the village. We’ll get that arm of yours bandaged up,” Huo Gen said, placing a friendly but firm hand on Mu Feng’s shoulder, as if they were old friends.

Huo Gen’s face showed approval as he spoke loudly, “I saw you stepping in to protect the kids earlier. Didn’t expect someone so frail to act so manly. Not bad, not bad.”

Mu Feng couldn’t help but feel a little embarrassed. The mention of his frail body made him smile wryly. If it weren’t for his incomplete Seven Souls, he would have been as strong as Huo Gen. But as things stood, even carrying the wolf would have been difficult for him.

“Since I’ve just left the valley, I might as well stay here for a bit and learn more before heading to Qinglong Town,” Mu Feng thought to himself.

“Uncle Huo Gen, don’t lean on big brother like that! His arm’s still bleeding!” The girl, bouncing along, called out, worried that Huo Gen was pressing too hard on Mu Feng.

“It’s alright, little one. My name’s Mu Feng. You can just call me that,” Mu Feng said with a gentle smile, slowing his pace and turning back to look at her.

“Okay, Mu Feng big brother! My name is Huo Yu, but everyone calls me Xiao Yu,” the girl replied with a sweet smile. Then she pulled the young man beside her forward and introduced him, “This is Huo Niu, my older brother. He has a bit of a temper, so don’t mind him. He didn’t know you earlier, which is why he was rude.”

The young man named Huo Niu smiled and gently patted Huo Yu’s head, teasing, “And you were so polite, weren’t you? Who was the one demanding Mu Feng compensate them earlier?” He laughed heartily.

“Brother!” Huo Yu pouted and tried to kick him playfully, making him dodge with a grin.

“Mu Feng, don’t mind them. These two have been bickering since they were kids,” Huo Gen laughed. “We live in the village just ahead. It’s a small place with not many people, but everyone there is friendly and welcoming.”

“That’s right! Tonight, we’ll make sure to thank Mu Feng properly,” Huo Niu said as he dodged another playful kick from Huo Yu. “Uncle Huo Gen, you didn’t see it earlier, but we wouldn’t have gotten the black snake’s gall without his help.”

With Huo Gen leading the way, Mu Feng soon arrived at a small village nestled between the mountains. The village had only one narrow path connecting it to the outside world, and from above, it looked like a massive pit surrounded by rising cliffs, with a small crack leading out—much like a teacup with a single fissure running down its side.

As soon as Mu Feng had just stepped into the village when he heard distant voices calling out.

"Come help! Huo Gen is back from the hunt!"

"Baiji Auntie, your daughter is back!"

Mu Feng observed the small village, which appeared to have no more than twenty people. Though everyone was busy with their own tasks, smiles adorned their faces, and they seemed to live without a care in the world.

“Mom, look! Look what we caught!” Huo Yu called out excitedly, pulling Huo Niu as they ran toward a wooden house.

At the door stood a middle-aged woman, leaning against the wooden frame, eagerly awaiting them. Her face was pale and weary, and she looked quite frail.

"From now on, you’re not allowed to sneak off again," the woman said sternly as she held Huo Yu’s hand, though her tone was filled with affection.

“I know, Mom,” Huo Yu replied playfully, sticking out her tongue.

Huo Gen placed the wolf carcass on the ground and patted Huo Niu on the shoulder. "Why are you just standing there? Go take care of those black snakes."

"Alright, I’ll go find Grandpa Mutong," Huo Niu replied enthusiastically, running off to a distant corner of the village.

“Even at his age, he’s still as restless as ever. He’ll be an adult soon, yet he still behaves like a child,” Huo Gen said with a laugh.

Baiji smiled helplessly, then turned her attention to Mu Feng, her gaze soft and warm. She asked Huo Gen, "And who is this?"

For the villagers, Mu Feng was a stranger, but since Huo Gen had brought him into the village, everyone welcomed him with genuine hospitality. Their simple and sincere ways were evident in how they treated Mu Feng as one of their own.