"Mister! Can you spare us some money?!""..."
Lin Cheng walked through an abandoned village on the outskirt of Yiting town, he saw it was ravaged by the plague. The huts looked rundown with flies swarming everywhere, perching on the bodies both the living and dead. Dirt caked the faces of the people of Yiting village, who wore robes that looked more like rags. Hands with fingernails resembling that of rabid claws stretched out to the man that was dressed like someone from one of the n.o.ble families in the town. Their skin was very much darkened by dirt such that it made it difficult to separate one from the other.
The lone cultivator kept looking around the village, walking past them to see if there was anything he could salvage from the dilapidated place. There was no water from the few wells that was in the village, plants and trees had withered from lack of water, the whole place was consumed by filth.
"I have to see if I can bring back some food from Yiting town and get some herbs and a few jars of water."
As he spoke aloud, Lin Cheng knew in his heart that it may not be enough to go round, but he still resolved to got ahead and buy what he needed to help the villagers of Yiting town.
He turned around to head out of the village, but the cries of the villagers grew louder even though it was weak at first from starvation and neglect.
"Mister, please! Do not leave us to all die!"
"I"m coming back, I just need to get everyone something to eat and medicine for your illnesses."
Lin Cheng looked back and told them of his plan, he watched as they continued to plead with him not to abandon them, but he knew that if he continued to stand there trying to convince them that he wasn"t going to run away, then it will be nightfall and the market would have closed. Therefore, he decided to ignore their pitiful pleas and head out of the village straight for the market at Yiting town.
"Come and buy fresh melons!"
"Dumplings! Fresh dumplings at half the price!"
Several traders called out their wares to the people that pa.s.sed through the market stalls.
"Bedding for newly weds! With talismans to ward off evil spirits!"
"Get your children the latest toys from Qin town! They just came off the boat!"
"Mister! Get some hair pins for your little girl at home! Or your wife! Or lover!"
"Noodles! Freshly made! They are half the price! Come and buy them before it runs out!"
"Quilted shoes! Just made today! Get yourself a new shoe!"
"Candy sticks! Come buy some dragon candy sticks! They are freshly made!"
"Come and read your fortune from the best fortuneteller in Yiting town! Know what the future holds for you and your family!"
"Herbs! Medicinal Herbs! Buy some for you and your family! They don"t cost much! Get some Herbs today!"
"Paper Lanterns! Get yourself one for the coming mid-autumn festival!"
"Earrings! Bracelets! Rings! All in different colors! Came out of Qin town today! Choose your pick!"
Lin Cheng heard several traders call out from different parts of the market, he kept moving through the town in a hurry, not wanting daylight to disappear before he was done with getting what he came in to buy.
He suddenly sensed that he was being watched, but whoever it was did not give an aura that was threatening. Moving from different stall, as coins and merchandise exchanged hands. Not long after Lin Cheng had both hands full of the things he had gotten from the market, his pouch felt a lot lighter after spending money to get the things he needed for the villagers of Yiting town.
He hadn"t eaten since he left the restaurant few hours ago, but since he had practiced inertia, he didn"t get as hungry as someone that hadn"t mastered the act of controlling their hunger.
Lin Cheng kept walking out of the town of Yiting towards its outskirt bypa.s.sing several people from the town on his way to the abandoned village. The presence that was with him at the market kept on following him, as he drew closer to the village.
"Who is there? Show yourself!"
All of a sudden, a red smoke appeared and out of it came the girl he had seen when he was attacked by bandits.
"Princess Yan Xuequi?!"
"You remembered my name!"
The fox princess could not hide the surprise in her voice when she saw that the cultivator from the other time, still knew who she was, they both stared at each other as neither knew what to make of their encounter.
"I hope you still remember mine?"
Lin Cheng smiled faintly while looking to see if the fox princess had not forgotten him.
"Lin Cheng of the BaoXu sect!"
He saw her pout in disappointment, as though she was hurt that he thought her to be forgetful.
"What brings you here? I thought you were meeting with some people from the mortal realm?"
"..."
Yan Xuequi was fl.u.s.tered by the question, not knowing what to give as her reason for appearing in front of him. Instead she said whatever came to her mind right there.
"I was only following to see if you were going to come across those bandits again!"
"Why?!"
"You are asking me why?!"
"Yes, why do you have to be on the lookout for bandits for me? You and I have nothing to do with each other."
"Look here! Lin Cheng of the BaoXu sect! I am not doing it for you! I"m only looking out for those in the mortal realm!"
"And why is that?!"
"Because you cultivators are full of deception!"
"Has any cultivator deceived you?!"
"They haven"t, but that"s what my grandfather and Aunt said! That I should be weary of everyone of you!"
"Hahhaaaa!!!!"
Lin Cheng roared in laughter, he hadn"t laughed in so long and the sound of it felt so good. He couldn"t believe that the fox princess judged him and every other cultivator from what she heard from her grandfather and Aunt. Although he also thought he wasn"t all that different, because he also looked at her with caution when they first met.
"Stop laughing at me!"
Lin Cheng tried to stifle his laughter, he saw how adorable she looked while showing her anger towards him.
"Wait! Did I actually think that Princess Yan Xuequi is adorable?! I"ve been too long in the mortal realm if I start thinking that someone from the fox clan appeals to me!"
"Do as you wish, I"m only going to that village over there to take care of them and afterwards I would be on my way."
"Hmm!"
The fox princess gave a sound, as though she didn"t believe a word of what he said to her, while watching him resume his walk back to the villagers.
"The mister came back!"
Those that had strength left in their voice, called out to the rest that were still alive, telling them that the man that they thought would abandon them was actually back to help them.
Lin Cheng began clearing out the dead bodies and burning them to prevent the spread of the plague. Soon after he began dividing the food he bought, sharing it among the villagers, before opening the folded paper containing herbs to concoct medicine for them.
The villagers still had a long way to go in getting constant food supply and water which was one of the things that the plague fed on to spread rapidly to the villagers.
"Would you mind helping me dig a new well for the villagers so that at least they can have a bath?"
Although the fox princess wasn"t visible to the villagers, Lin Cheng knew that she was close by, which proved to be true, as she saddened appeared in front of the villagers.
"Demon!!!!!!"
"There is a demon with him!"
Although the villagers were still recovering their strength, many of them both young and old grabbed onto whatever they could use as a weapon to attack the girl they thought was a demon.
"It"s alright! She is not a demon! Put your stick down!"
"You"re lying! She is a demon! You brought a demon with you to our village! Leave right now!"
"You would rather die than be saved by a demon?!"
Lin Cheng looked at the dirty faces of the villagers as they hatred for the girl in front of him s.h.i.+ned brightly in their eyes.
"Leave us alone! We would rather die than be touched by a demon!"
"Are you serious?! You don"t have water! Or food! Or even medicine! Once it all runs out what are you going to do?!"
Lin Cheng never meant to force them to receive help from the fox princess, but he felt the villagers were being unreasonable when it was their lives that was at stake.
"Leave! And take that demon girl with you!"
"Don"t speak to her that way!"
"If you don"t go! Don"t blame us for what we do to you!"
That was when out of nowhere, someone threw a stone towards Yan Xuequi. As a fox immortal her knee senses already showed her who threw it and from which direction. Right in front of the villagers, the stone disintegrated in mid air.
The hostility in their eyes were like daggers to Lin Cheng, he didn"t know why he felt that way about how the villagers were acting towards Yan Xuequi. The urge to take her away far from them resonated strong within him.
"Princess Yan Xuequi, let"s go!"
Usually it was unheard of for a male cultivator to hold onto the hands of a female whether married or otherwise, but Lin Cheng was so angry at villagers and felt sorry towards the fox princess that he forgot propriety and latched onto the hands of Yan Xuequi as the two walked away from the village of Yiting, never once did they turn back to look at them.
"Let go of my hand!"
After walking several steps, the fox princess demanded that Lin Cheng stop holding on to her hand.
"Oh! I"m sorry! I forgot that I still had your hand in mind! Please forgive me, Princess Yan Xuequi!"
Lin Cheng released her hand and gave a deep bow to apologize for lacking discretion and acting in a manner not betting a disciple of a cultivation sect. He didn"t know what made him act rashly while speaking to the villagers, he could easily have asked that the fox princess stay away until he had concluded his business with the villagers. Instead he chose to walk out of them in their need, which is something that his sect would have frown heavily on and a possible punishment would have resulted from not practicing the teaching of good will as taught by the BaoXu sect. Not just their sect but every cultivator knew that good will was a part of walking the path to immortality and self abnegation.
The fox princess rubbed at her hand that previously held those of Lin Cheng as though wanting to erase the imprint of his hand.
"I"m truly sorry for how you were treated by the villagers."
"Its no concern of yours how they treated me! Humans are fickle creatures! I knew that before coming out to face them!"
"..."
Yan Xuequi"s eyes flashed in anger, she wasn"t happy with the villagers of Yiting town and she needed someone to pour the resentment she felt towards them. Lin Cheng eyes were filled with one of admiration, at first he saw the fox princess as bothersome, but the more time she spent with him, the way he saw her began to change little by little.
"I"m heading for another town, follow me if you want."
Although he spoke in an offhand manner, Lin Cheng secretly wished that the fox princess continue to accompany him on his journey in the mortal realm.