Looking up, the first thing that caught their eyes was a towering willow tree.
Their gaze then shifted downwards, discovering a small village beneath the willow.
By estimation, the village had over fifty households, with a large palisade gate at its entrance.
Inside the gate lay the village, and outside stretched endless farmlands.
Led by Liu Yangyun, the three moved unhindered. They encountered many villagers along the way, who stopped to observe them with curiosity.
"Who are they?"
"Their clothes are a bit strange, but the material feels quite good."
"Yangyun has run out to play again and brought back three strangers. We must tell the village chief quickly."
"Yes, this boy is young and brought people in like this, isn't he afraid of trouble?"
Someone hurried off to inform the village chief.
However, Lin Yu and his companions met the village chief on their way.
Upon seeing his father, Liu Yangyun exclaimed with joy, "Dad!"
The village chief appeared to be around sixty years old, with a goatee and wearing a long robe, holding a wooden staff. He berated, "Wicked child, running out to play, you are forbidden to leave the village again, or you'll face family punishment!"
Liu Yangyun lowered his head, looking unconvinced, "Dad, I just went out for a stroll and encountered wolves. Then these benefactors saved me. Otherwise, I might have died."
As he spoke, tears began to well up, and his father's accumulated anger immediately dissipated.
He grabbed Liu Yangyun and said, "Hmph, let's see if you dare to run off again. Go home quickly, your mother has been missing you for a long time."
Hearing the mention of his mother, his eyes lit up, and he hurried towards home.
At this moment, the village chief bowed to Lin Yu and the others, "Thank you for saving my son. Judging by your attire, you must be night walkers from the Land of Chuyun, correct?"
Land of Chuyun?
Night walkers?
Two new terms.
Lin Yu nodded slightly.
"We are visitors here, and we apologize for the intrusion," Lin Yu said.
The village chief smiled upon hearing this, "It's nothing. You saved my son, I should be thanking you."
After saying this, the village chief looked up at the sky and said, "It's getting late. Would you three honored guests like to come to my humble abode?"
Lin Fan heard this and said, "I'll speak for my brother. Old man, lead the way."
Lin Yu gave a wry smile, "My brother speaks without restraint, please don't mind him, elder."
He then nudged Lin Fan, urging him to mind his demeanor.
Bai Xiaosah's eyes twinkled as he observed the surroundings. When he looked at a stone tablet beneath the willow tree, he froze.
Suddenly, he felt a wave of dizziness and quickly withdrew his innate ability, feeling somewhat better.
That stone tablet was strange! Could it be the divine artifact? Bai Xiaosah thought to himself.
The village chief chuckled, "Guests joke. I am indeed an old man, and the village children often call me that. If they didn't call me 'old man,' I would feel unaccustomed."
Lin Fan looked proudly at Lin Yu and said, "Big brother, see, I wasn't wrong!"
Lin Yu gave another wry smile, "We apologize for disturbing you."
"You are too kind. Please, this way."
"Village chief, lead the way."
Passing through a pebble path, the three finally arrived in front of a courtyard.
Earthen walls, wooden houses. What met their eyes was a dwelling that was not at all luxurious, but rather very ordinary.
Woof woof woof!
As they approached, the dog in the yard started barking.
The old village chief tapped his staff on the ground with a thud, and the dog whimpered and retreated, no longer daring to bark loudly, but it still watched Lin Yu and the two others warily.
Lin Yu ignored the dog and followed them into the main hall.
The interior was simple, with only a long table placed in the center of the hall and a square table. Two solid wood chairs flanked the square table, where the village chief and Lin Yu sat, while Lin Fan and the other occupied seats below.
At this point, the village chief went to instruct his wife to prepare food.
After a while, the village chief's wife appeared, a woman with semi-white hair.
"Our home is humble, we don't have many good dishes, please don't mind, guests."
"It's fine, guests should follow the host's lead."
Lin Yu chatted with the village chief.
He discovered that although the village chief was old, he clearly lacked worldly knowledge.
So, he intentionally or unintentionally used his words to guide the village chief, coaxing him to reveal information about this world.
"Guests, this old man has also ventured out before. I didn't know until I left how much of a frog in a well I was."
"Those with culture don't use 'de' but 'zhi,' it should be 'jing di zhi wa' (frog at the bottom of a well)."
"Our Willow Village is located amidst the Great Wilderness Mountains. There are countless villages like ours."
"Also, outside the village, there is a country called Chuyun. This country is remarkable and very large."
He wasn't sure of its exact size, but Lin Yu learned that beyond the mountains lay a country named Chuyun.
Lin Yu was puzzled. Could this truly be a secret realm?
He had never heard of such a vast secret realm.
Not to mention the hundred miles they traveled from the entrance to here, even according to the old man, it would take a month to reach Chuyun from Willow Village.
At the old man's pace, he would walk at least fifty miles a day.
A month would be fifteen hundred miles.
A secret realm comparable to a small world!
Lin Yu increasingly felt that this secret realm hid too many secrets.
The divine artifact might just be one of them.
If he could uncover its secrets...
At this moment, the dishes were served. The old man said, "My home is simple, please don't mind, honored guests."
"We are the ones intruding, why would we mind? Please, eat!"
"Haha, guest, please, start eating."
"You are the host, please start."
"You are the benefactor, you should go first."
Lin Fan, impatient, picked up a piece of food and said, "Fine, I'll go first then."
Everyone chuckled at this, but the atmosphere became livelier because of his action.
They ate.
They chatted.
At this moment, Lin Yu realized the advantage of his extensive reading.
Whenever the conversation lulled, he could always introduce new topics and keep the other person engaged.
"Guest, let me tell you, the nights here are filled with strange phenomena, and it's too dangerous. You can't see these strange beings, but they can invade your mind and kill you silently."
"Our village is protected by the Soul Suppressing Stele. As long as you don't go out at night, you'll be fine. Those strange beings cannot enter."
"If you hear any commotion outside the village, don't go to investigate, because while the Soul Suppressing Stele deters the strange beings, it also acts like a beacon in the night, attracting them."
Lin Yu took a sip of wine and laughed, "Alas, who knows where these strange phenomena come from? It truly is a hardship for our human race."
The village chief, having drunk several cups of wine, had a flushed face.
"Who knows? Anyway, I heard that after people die, they must be cremated, otherwise, they might turn into strange beings."
"Also, there are cultivation techniques in the Land of Chuyun that can subdue strange phenomena."