Chapter 2028: Digging Out The Heart
Zhao Hai rode on his Demon Horse as he slowly traveled towards Li Village. Although he has yet to complete his mission, his harvests were already great. This harvest doesn’t pertain to materials but in gaining Su Dingshan as a friend.
Su Dingshan was Lin Yuefeng’s legacy disciple. And his blade technique pays great attention to one’s imposing aura. Although Su Dingshan has yet to reach Lin Yuefeng’s level, he can already show a heavy aura through his blade. Being able to grasp the intent within his blade meant that Su Dingshan wasn’t a simple character.
Moreover, Yalong City’s Branch Hall was an important branch. Hall Master Lin Yuefeng also has a substantial voice inside the Tyrant Blade Sect. With Su Dingshan being the Hall Master’s successor, his future position in the sect wouldn’t be low.
Zhao Hai doesn’t know a lot of people in the Tyrant Blade Sect. After all, it has only been a year since he arrived. Moreover, he spent this entire year inside his residence practicing. It can be said that besides the Dao Brothers as well as Gu Yueyu, Zhao Hai has no other connections. Being able to know Su Dinghan was very good for Zhao Hai.
Although the Tyrant Blade Sect was famous for its unity, Zhao Hai doesn’t believe that there are no factions within the sect. Where there are people, there are rivers and lakes, this saying didn’t just come out of thin air.
However, regarding these factional matters, Zhao Hai has no plans to partic.i.p.ate. With his capacity, he can progress without these matters. Don’t forget, Zhao Hai has two powerful masters. With these two great deities behind him, n.o.body would dare offend Zhao Hai.
Not wanting to partic.i.p.ate in factional struggles doesn’t mean that Zhao Hai would isolate himself. Getting to know people was better than fighting disciples of other sects. After all, collecting friends is better than gaining enemies.
A hundred li of road was nothing to the Demon Horse. It would be able to cross this distance in less than two hours. It doesn’t even need to run.
Li Village wasn’t a big village. All in all, there were around 100 families in the village. Moreover, the majority of the people in the village belong to the Li Clan. According to legend, the Li Clan had an ancestor who had great talent and became a disciple of the Tyrant Blade Sect. But after that ancestor, no other clan members have any good compatibility with spiritual roots. This caused the clan to degrade from an affiliated clan to an ordinary clan.
The village was built under a hill. The hill wasn’t high but a river ran across it like a jade belt. The Li Clan’s territory included this river, which made the land an auspicious site.
Zhao Hao stood outside the Li Village, looking at the entire settlement. It wasn’t time for farming, so the village was very peaceful.
From what Zhao Hai observed, it was indeed as Su Dingshan said. It doesn’t look like there was something wrong with the village. It was calm and peaceful. How could it be haunted?
Zhao Hai patted his Demon Horse, urging it to walk towards the village. The houses of the village were made out of wood and had their own yards. There was only one house with a grand courtyard. It seems like this was where people of status live.
When he entered the village, Zhao Hai quickly discovered something different. During farming downtimes, people would be out drinking and children would be playing on the streets. As for Li Village, besides some barking dogs, the streets were entirely empty. It was like entering a ghost town.
Zhao Hai could see that there were people in the village, but all of them were hiding inside their homes and didn’t dare to come out. Zhao Hai didn’t mind it and instead rode towards the largest house in the village. Then he jumped down from his horse and knocked lightly, “Excuse me, is anyone here? I’m a disciple of the Tyrant Blade Sect. I came here after accepting the mission. If anyone can hear me, please open the door.”
Not long after Zhao Hai announced his arrival, the huge door of the house opened. Opposite was a young man with an excited look on his face. Seeing Zhao Hai as well as the Demon Horse on his side, the young man became more excited. He immediately knelt down and said, “Sir, you’ve come. Our Li Village is saved!”
Zhao Hai quickly held him up and said, “Get up. What’s all this about? Why is everyone afraid to go out?”
The young man stood up and bowed, “Replying to Miser, this is because the village is haunted. Everyone is afraid. Therefore, n.o.body dares to come out. Sir, please come inside and take a rest.” Then he turned around and led Zhao Hai into the courtyard.
At this time, several people walked out. There were both men and women, old and young. Zhao Hai counted and there were more than 10 people in the family. The oldest man had aged spots and white hair. He also held a walking stick in his hand.
The young man who opened the door quickly ran to the old man and loudly said, “Grandfather, this Mister came from the Tyrant Blade Sect. He’s here to deal with the ghost.”
The old man seemed to have trouble hearing, so the young man spoke loudly. Fortunately, the old man understood what the young man said. He excitedly kneeled down and said, “This small old man Li Defu has seen Mister.”
How could Zhao Hai allow such an old person to kneel? He quickly supported the old man and said, “Senior doesn’t need to be polite. I came because the sect issued a mission. But Senior can rest a.s.sured, I will deal with this matter.”
The old man quickly said, “Mister is too polite. This old man can’t accept it. Mister, please head inside and have tea.”
Zhao Hai didn’t decline, he held the old man and walked towards the room. The old man didn’t dare continue talking, but Zhao Hai kept supporting him. He held the old man until they entered the residence.
After entering the room, Zhao Hai took out a medicinal pill and gave it to the old man, “Senior, I think your ears have gone hard. Take this pill, it will make it better.”
It was only an ordinary pill, but the old man was already very excited. It must be known that most of the time, ordinary people wouldn’t be able to get their hands on pills. This was medicine that cultivators use. The old man’s hands were shaking as he received the pill. Before he could kneel towards Zhao Hai, he was immediately stopped. He initially wanted to treat the pill as an heirloom, but Zhao Hai didn’t let him. So the old man could only eat the pill.
After the old man ate the pill, his elderly ear was quickly filled with spiritual qi. His essence and spirit was also replenished. The old man heavily expressed his grat.i.tude towards Zhao Hai. It was only after that did the old man get to the matter, “Mister, the village began being haunted a month ago. It started in our Li Clan’s cemetery. A month ago, Li Zhuzi of our village made a bet with other young men in the village. To prove that he’s not a coward, he would go to the old cemetery and then come back. However, n.o.body saw him return. We went over to the old cemetery to take a look only to see Li Zhuzi’s corpse. His death was very miserable and his heart had been dug out. This caused the people in the village to be afraid. In the beginning, n.o.body thought that it was because of a ghost. We only thought that he had been attacked by a beast. So we buried him. But a few days later, Li Suozi of our village went missing. Everyone looked all over but they couldn’t find him. Finally, he was found in the old cemetery with his heart dug out. It was only then that everyone thought that we were being haunted by a heart-digging ghost. So we reported this matter.”
The old man stopped after speaking up to this point. Then he sighed and said, “However, that ghost is very sly. When the Misters from Yalong City came, they couldn’t find anything. They stayed in the village for two days but discovered nothing. It was only after they left that the ghost began to attack once more. By this point, ten people in the village have died. Each one of them had their heart dug out. Mister, I beg you, please save our village.”
Zhao Hai knit his brows and said, “When cultivators arrive, it hides. But when they leave, it comes out again. If it doesn’t appear when I go out, then it would be troublesome. Old man, do you have a place I could stay? Can you arrange it for me? Moreover, please tell me the location of the old cemetery. I want to go and take a look.”
Li Defu quickly replied, “Mister, you can live with my family. We have plenty of rooms. Xiaofang, have everyone clean Mister’s room quickly.” The young man who opened the door for Zhao Hai nodded and then ran out.
Seeing the situation, Zhao Hai knew that he could only stay here. So he nodded and said, “Alright, then I’ll stay here. Old man, please tell me where the old cemetery is located.”
The old man quickly replied, “Mister, there’s no need to be anxious. It’s not too late to go after a meal. I have already asked someone to prepare food.”
Zhao Hai smiled and said, “Senior is too polite, I’ll go take a look first. I’ll eat when I return.” Hearing this, the old man stood up and said, “Mister, please come with me.”
The two appeared at the front gate. Then the old man pointed towards the hill and said, “On the backside of the hill is an open area. The old cemetery is located there. It’s not that far. I’ll have a villager accompany Mister there.”
Zhao Hai waved his hand and said, “There’s no need. Thank you, Senior.” Zhao Hai cupped his fist towards the old man before his body moved and rushed towards the cemetery.
Before long, Zhao Hai arrived at the backside of the Li Village’s hill. The back mountain of the Li Village was in a very good position. Most of the trees were pine trees. But Zhao Hai could tell at a glance that these plants were planted artificially.
After pa.s.sing through the pine forest, grave mounds began to appear. These graves looked old at first glance. But it seems like the Li Clan has a habit of adding new soil on top of the mounds every year. Therefore, the mounds didn’t look eroded.
Zhao Hai inspected the old graves and couldn’t help but frown. Although the graves were very old, it was evident that they had been well taken care of. They don’t look barren. How could such a place become haunted? Moreover, there was no trace of yin energy in the surroundings.
After spending some time in the Li Family’s cemetery, Zhao Hai didn’t discover anything. This caused him to be somewhat disappointed. It seems like this matter wouldn’t be solved in a short time.
Thinking of this, Zhao Hai couldn’t help but sigh. He turned around and returned to Li Village. But Zhao Hai didn’t immediately return to Li Defu’s house. Instead, he went around the village and looked at the terrain. Originally, the Li Clan was a Great Clan. Although the clan had been demoted to an ordinary clan by this point, its members continued living close to each other. After strolling around for a while, Zhao Hai returned to Li Defu’s house.