Carriages lined the road, transporting the wounded back to the city.
Not all of Zhao Qiao'Er's household guards from before had died.
The main reason was that when Lu Yuan had fled with Zhao Qiao'Er on his back, the Xingzi hadn't been targeting the guards.
Most of them were just severely injured and unconscious. Only a few unlucky ones had truly perished.
It was a blessing in disguise.
Lu Yuan and the Fat Traveler stood by the roadside for a while.
Soon, their carriage arrived.
The driver was the same one from the beginning.
It was quite surprising that the driver was completely unharmed.
When the driver pulled up, Lu Yuan offered him a cigarette and asked curiously,
"Looks like you got out of it without a scratch?"
The driver, his face a mask of lingering fear mixed with relief, said,
"Back then, I saw my horse wouldn't budge. I was afraid if I went with you, I'd come back to find my horse gone.
So, I didn't go...
But looking at it now... I'm so glad I didn't..."
Lu Yuan nodded and patted the driver's shoulder.
"Opportunities to defy fate and change your destiny are rare, but you still have to know your own limits."
The driver nodded repeatedly, then looked at Lu Yuan and the Fat Traveler and quickly asked,
"So, you two sirs..."
Lu Yuan answered directly,
"Same place as before. Shige Village."
The driver hurriedly lifted the carriage curtain, looked at the Fat Traveler, and was about to say, "After you, sir," when Lu Yuan simply hopped up and ducked inside.
Once inside, Lu Yuan crossed his legs, looked at the dumbfounded driver outside, and raised an eyebrow.
"Let's go."
The driver blinked, a look of pure confusion on his face. He glanced at Lu Yuan, then at the Fat Traveler.
Seeing the Fat Traveler make no move, the driver finally lowered the curtain.
The Fat Traveler, looking like he had just eaten shit, joined the driver and got on the carriage.
Then, the driver cracked his whip and urged the horse forward.
"Sir... What just happened?"
The driver couldn't contain his confusion and leaned toward the Fat Traveler to ask in a low voice.
'Something isn't right...'
'How did their roles completely reverse?!'
It would have been better if the driver hadn't asked. The moment he did, the Fat Traveler couldn't hold it in any longer.
He shot the driver a glare and cursed in a low voice,
"Then was then, now is now! Don't confuse the two!
Stop your damn yapping and drive the carriage!!"
Startled, the driver flinched and quickly said,
"Yes... sir..."
At the same time, Lu Yuan's nonchalant voice drifted from inside the carriage.
"Be a little kinder to people. You never know when they might end up climbing over your head."
Hearing this from inside, the Fat Traveler, despite being furious, forced a fawning smile onto his face.
He turned to look back at the carriage curtain and said,
"Thank you for your guidance, Young Master Nephew..."
After saying this, the Fat Traveler turned back, shot the driver a vicious glare, then fell into a sullen silence.
Inside the carriage, Lu Yuan couldn't be bothered with the two men outside.
Instead, with his legs crossed, he was carefully examining the Lu Ban's Ink Pot in his hands.
The Ink Pot Thread was completely used up.
However, the most crucial part of the Ink Pot was the ink itself.
Lu Yuan inspected the Lu Ban's Ink Pot and discovered that ink was continuously welling up from the reservoir.
Seeing this, Lu Yuan breathed a sigh of relief.
'Good, good. The ink is inexhaustible.'
This meant that Lu Ban's Ink Pot wasn't a one-time-use item.
He could just re-string it and use it again.
'But if I use a different, ordinary thread, it might affect its performance, right?'
'But it should still be more or less the same. It's definitely a powerful Divine Artifact either way.'
After carefully stowing the Ink Pot away, Lu Yuan took out the Celestial Master Sword from his inventory.
'Hmm...'
'Although it doesn't look very ornate, simplicity is the ultimate sophistication. I'm sure this thing is incredibly powerful.'
After all, it was a reward with a Multiplication Factor of 9.
After examining everything, Lu Yuan took out two Secret Manuals.
One was titled *Celestial Master*, the other *Craftsmanship*.
He wanted to read them, but after some thought, he decided it was better to wait until he got home.
...
The journey continued at a bumpy, leisurely pace.
Around nightfall, Lu Yuan's group arrived at the town.
After paying the fare, Lu Yuan and the Fat Traveler walked toward Shige Village.
They didn't need to enter the village itself. Lu Yuan led the Fat Traveler on a patrol around its perimeter.
He wanted to catch that female ghost that was always scaring him.
With the Fat Traveler by his side this time, Lu Yuan felt much bolder and started making small talk with him.
The Fat Traveler's real name was Lin Fusheng. He was from Taiping City and had studied his craft in his early years at a Daoist Temple on Taixing Mountain.
However, he was too fond of eating and lazing about, so he was kicked out.
After that, he joined the Five Doctors Guild.
Don't be fooled by the way Lin Fusheng had been throwing his weight around in front of Lu Yuan and the others before.
Within the Guild, he was a nobody with no real influence.
After all, if he were truly skilled and capable, he wouldn't have been assigned to a village. He would be in the city.
Or at least he would have been made a Shopkeeper or a Steward in the village.
"You're twenty-three?"
Lu Yuan stared at Lin Fusheng, dumbfounded, after hearing this part of his self-introduction.
Lin Fusheng blinked.
"What?"
Lu Yuan gave him a strange look.
"You're only a few years older than me. How do you look like you're forty?"
Lin Fusheng: "..."
The two of them circled the village once.
The conclusion was...
Nothing.
Forget Water Ghosts, there were no ghosts at all.
The area was completely clean.
Lu Yuan listened to Lin Fusheng, his face a mask of confusion.
"How is that possible? Not a single one?"
Lin Fusheng also frowned.
"It is strange. There were definitely some here before, quite a few of them, it seemed.
I can still smell the scent they left behind.
But now, I really can't see a single one...
It's as if they all fled overnight..."
Hearing this, Lu Yuan blinked, but he didn't feel happy.
It was like a patch of ocean with no sharks.
Or rather, a place that used to have sharks, but they all vanished overnight...
There's only one explanation for that.
An orca has moved in...
It was also like a region in the icy plains of Siberia with not a single wolf.
Then it's very likely... there's a tiger there...
'And now, all the ghosts are gone, all fled...'
'This means...'
'Could it be... that something far more terrifying has fucking arrived?!'
...
"Su Liyan!
Wash these dishes!"
Shige Village.
The ancestral hall in the center of the village was bustling with activity.
The village chief's family was hosting a grand feast for the entire village today, and their own courtyard wasn't big enough.
So, they simply moved the event to the open space in front of the ancestral hall.
Since they were having a feast tonight, everyone had to chip in. No one could just eat for free.
Everyone was currently helping out.
The women helped clear the tableware and clean up.
The men helped slaughter the pigs and sheep, and also took the opportunity to offer sacrifices to the ancestors.
A sharp, harsh voice rang out.
A woman, dressed differently from the villagers and clearly from the city, stood with her hands on her hips, shouting.
Su Liyan, who had been focused on sweeping the ground, immediately straightened up when she heard her name called.
"Okay, I'll be right there."
Nearby, a group of village women huddled together sorting vegetables couldn't help but purse their lips at the scene.
'That daughter-in-law of Lao San's is such a bully...'
'Are all city folk like this?'