It was near noon when they reached their destination, Little Ox Village.
The sight of a sky-treading horse caused the villagers to gather and gander at the spectacle.
Even though the ones who exited the carriage were baby-faced, the villagers showed deference out of knowledge these teenagers were cultivators.
When they heard Zeng Fei and Sun Ru were here regarding the string of recent disappearances, the villagers became all the more respectful, many breaking into tears and praising the cultivators’ benevolence.
While mortals were generally courteous and humble before cultivators, the reception here was far beyond what Qi Refiners usually received; since those at the Qi Refining realm had only made the first and easiest step onto the path of immortality, they could be beaten by well-trained opponents and even the untrained if up against overwhelming numbers.
The other thing immediately noticeable about the village was the sheer amount of medicinal herbs attached to buildings and people’s clothes, giving off a potent, discordant stench that forced you to wrinkle your nose. It was as if these trinkets meant to ward off danger had been taken to a paranoid degree.
In no time, the two of them were brought towards the biggest building in the village, the Village Head’s home.
Once greetings were given and confirmation of their mission carried out, they were seated in the living room while a housemaid served them green tea.
The Village Head was a large middle-aged man who had bloodshot eyes, a sickly cast, and an aura of instability; and in that, he was a reflection of everyone else in this village.
He bowed his head once more. “I cannot thank you enough for responding to our request, Esteemed Immortals. We have been waiting anxiously for your arrival.”
Sun Ru took a sip of the tea and placed the cup down. “It hasn’t been long since the request went out, no? Has something happened since to have caused this dire mood?”
“Yes, Fairy Immortal is truly discerning. Although it hasn’t been long, the case has worsened considerably. The first to disappear was one of our local hunters, and then a woodsman, followed by a housewife who’d been out foraging. One disappearance can be chalked up to misfortune, but three in a spate made it clear our village was being targeted - that was when I sent out the request to your sect.”
“Did you not take any preventative measures to stop the disappearances?”
“Yes, of course - I ordered everyone that they must go at least in pairs if they’re to go outside the village boundaries, and preferably for them to not go at all unless it’s business that must be attended to. And indeed, the disappearances stopped shortly after, leading me to fret that I’d misread the situation and requested the Treading Infinity Sect’s help far too hastily.”
The Village Head stopped, his portly face quivering. “Now, I wish that were the case and that only I would face your discontent for wasting your time. Instead, the respite lasted three days, whereafter the disappearances restarted and in a far more audacious fashion. No longer was it those who wander far outside the village being targeted: it was a retired hunter with an amputated leg yesterday, a child the day before, and my daughter who was pregnant…”
The Village Head heaved a massive sigh and deflated, his eyes losing focus as he looked down towards the floorboards, leaden with misery.
The two cultivators gave him time to recompose before continuing.
“I note that you’ve referred to every incident as a disappearance so far.” Zeng Fei voiced. “Does that mean there the people taken could still be alive?”
The middle-aged man’s absent gaze focused onto him. “I don’t know, but… I don’t think so. In every incident, there was no blood left behind, nor any signs the victims had struggled or resisted - hell, we couldn’t even find any scraps of their clothes left behind, only ever the tools they’d been carrying or the like.”
“At first, we too thought there’s a chance they could still be alive, just kidnapped. But we haven’t heard any ransom demands, not once. And the fact that so many have been taken makes it far more likely the vile beast is taking them to its lair and.” The Village Head nodded with a grave expression and spoke no further.
Sun Ru raised an eyebrow. “Wait, if it’s attacking so close, surely someone must have seen it taking the victims away. You must have an idea of what it could be, no? Or even a rough description of its appearance.”
“No one here has seen it… It strikes out of nowhere, making no noise or struggle, and it seems to disappear with its prey back into nowhere. That’s why it’s so haunting - you may see someone, not have them in sight for a few seconds, then look around to see that they’re gone. In ordinary times, you’d think they’ve just gone elsewhere to do something, but we can’t even assume that anymore. That’s why we’re all sticking together in the village, trying to maintain constant surveillance on each other. Yet even then, the briefest moment is all the beast needs to be able to strike!”
“Is there anything else about the recent disappearances that stand out against the ones from before?”
“Not about the disappearances, but we noticed that our graveyard had been dug up before the recent disappearances started, though we don’t know exactly when. This was noticed on the day after the first reoccurrence, when someone went to pay respects to their deceased relations.”
“Why did it take so long to notice? Is there not anyone who manages the graveyard? Or who lives nearby?”
“The graveyard is further out and managed by our medicine woman, Granny Ju, who lives nearby. Or at least she used to until two months ago, when she became too weak to be able to easily leave her home anymore, though still able to take care of herself - you could see she didn’t have long left even then, so it may be she’s passed on already. The last one to see her was the person who noticed the graveyard robbery.”
A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.
The Village Head showed a rare look of hope. “Thank the heavens, she’d regained some of her strength then, and on hearing what’d taken place in the village, she asked for quiet and started going through her books to see if she could figure out what’s tormenting us. You see, although Granny Ju’s not the most knowledgeable about demon beasts, she said that the circumstances of this case were eerily reminiscent of something she’d read about many years ago.”
“And?”
“We don’t know - the person we sent to check up on her disappeared. Even when we sent groups, none of them returned. So I made the order that no one should brave the distance anymore, not when we’ve already lost so many… too many.”
“And this phenomenon only started once Granny Ju began to look into what the beast could be? Because the person who visited the graveyard initially was fine, you said.”
“Yes. It’s almost like the vile creature’s retribution for us daring to make an effort to get rid of it.”
Zeng Fei quizzically frowned. “So why bother stopping you from reaching her when it’d be far easier to strike the source and take her out directly? In fact, why did the demon beast not do so from the start when it was desecrating graves and that close to her?”
“We don’t know, but we thought maybe the medicinal stench clinging to her home repulses the monster: after all, demon beasts typically have a heightened sense of smell. That’s why we strapped medicinal herbs everywhere here, though it hasn’t worked so far to ward off the beast. Though that could be because we’re using the wrong type - Granny Ju had the largest collection of medicinal herbs here by far, including many rare types.”
“So it’s possible she could or already has discovered the identity of the beast, as well as what endangers it. And since it knows this, yet is unable to harm her directly, it shows aggression towards any who try to approach her.” Zeng Fei stroked his chin in thought. “In any case, this demon beast must be sentient and have a critical weakness that it desperately wants to hide.”
Sun Ru added. “If your medicine woman can figure out the beast’s identity, there could also be others who can do likewise. Even if not in this village, perhaps in nearby villages. So why not ask for help from them, especially after the situation got this bad?”
The Village Head gave a helpless shrug at her suggestion. “We did, but those we sent to nearby villages to request for help have yet to return, and still no help comes our way. So we concluded that they too had ‘disappeared’. And since we believed Esteemed Immortals would come to our aid, we figured it’d be better to stay here as one clump than to move recklessly and risk further needless deaths.”
“When you mentioned that the beast had dug up graves,” Zeng Fei said, “was there anything particular about the graves it dug up?”
“They all belonged to people who’d died within the last two years, though not all the graves from that period were dug up, I believe. And it looked to have been rushed work with only small amounts of dirt displaced. Almost as if the perpetrator dug small holes over the graves simply to observe the decomposing corpses.”
“Oh, you mean that the corpses themselves weren’t taken?”
“No, they were. But it shouldn’t have been possible from how small the holes were said to be.”
“Ah, right, I see. That’s why you think this too was the workings of the beast - the inexplicable way in which it transports bodies,” Zeng Fei deduced. “If only we knew why certain bodies were targeted and not others, that could have helped. All the same, it sounds like our best option is to check in with Granny Ju.”
The Village Head’s expression brightened, showing a glimmer of hope.
“But before that,” Sun Ru interrupted, “could you give us some space so that we can talk in private for a moment?”
Since messaging through divine sense was something only higher rank cultivators could do, they’d need to discuss their thoughts in the old-fashioned way.
Once the Village Head left, Sun Ru’s look of composure gave way to a grave expression. “This case sounds far more troubling than the mission description mentioned, Brother Zeng. The lack of bloodshed during the disappearances points towards a quick-acting poison or some other way of rapidly incapacitating prey, especially since no one heard any struggling sounds from the victims. And given that we’re only at the Qi Refining stage, it’s almost guaranteed to work against us too.”
Zeng Fei did not respond, causing her to continue. “Moreover, that period of quiet the Village Head mentioned could have been the demon beast moulting or, worse, evolving into a more powerful form! Based on how its behaviour became far more aggressive and reckless, I’d not be surprised if it’s reached Foundation Establishment; in which case it only has to incapacitate one of us to win against us.”
“So you’re saying we should dip?” Zeng Fei was surprised to hear it from his (supposedly) honourable and justice-minded Sister Sun Ru of all people.
She grimaced but didn’t deny it. “I think the sect would have assigned Foundation Establishment seniors if the true extent of the situation was known. There’s a very real risk that this mission is already beyond our ability to solve.”
“Still, I would have thought you would demand we stay and protect the people no matter what.”
Sun Ru gave a resigned shrug. “If we lack the ability to protect them, what more is there to say? We’d be needlessly sacrificing further lives by wasting time dithering around; it would be more beneficial for the people if we acted decisively and with haste.”
Zeng Fei gave a nod, impressed - he was glad to hear it wasn’t out of cowardice but of cold hard practicality.
Nonetheless, for some reason he found himself unwilling, and not out of fear of disappointing the locals. So what was it then?
Well, leaving now would mean he’d lose out on a potential demon core, of course. But more importantly, there was no evidence so far that this monster was beyond their ability to handle: why else would it go to such lengths to hide its identity?
If it was as powerful as Sun Ru feared, surely it would have acted with far greater arrogance. And it couldn’t be the case that the beast was simply cautious of attracting the attention of big scary cultivators: if that were so, it wouldn’t have started recklessly killing in the first place.
On top of this, there was the intrigue from the unanswered questions: how was this beast transporting bodies (and would that technique show up in its demon core?)? Why was it targeting different people each time and not showing a preference for one type of group or the other? Why had it dug up decomposing corpses when there was easily accessible and defenceless prey nearby - was this not about sating its hunger, then?
When he reviewed all the details of this case, he couldn’t shake the feeling that something wasn’t adding up… but nor could he point it out, despite the wealth of information they’d received from the Village Head, who had certainly appeared to be honest and exhaustive in what he’d said.
Watching the hesitation flicker on Zeng Fei’s face, Sun Ru sighed. “Of course, I’m happy for us to check up on Granny Ju before making a decision… but I also fear it might be too late by then.”
“Hmm…” Zeng Fei stared at her in bewilderment, questioning why her words had struck him so deeply.
Suddenly, eureka: the answer breached his mind, piercing through the thick maze of questions in there.
It was not that something wasn’t adding up in this case: no, if anything, the issue was that it was adding up all too well!