Yusu squinted. This guy didn't die?
Luyan: "That old guy's blood is black."
Yusu also noticed; this was probably related to the evil god Xiongli worshipped.
His intuition told him that this matter was probably not so simple.
Indeed, Xiongli's chest suddenly erupted with black energy, attacking the witch-slave warriors.
Initially, the witch-slave warriors had the upper hand, nearly defeating Xiongli's forces.
At this moment, Xiongli suddenly mutated. After the witch-slave warriors were engulfed by the black energy, they screamed in agony, turning into dried corpses in the blink of an eye.
This happened too quickly, catching even Yusu off guard.
And after turning all the witch-slave warriors into dried corpses, the black energy turned toward Xiongli's followers. Soon, the entire tribe fell into silence.
Yusu's expression became serious. "What is that thing?"
The elven scout was also startled: [I don't know.]
Xiongli, after absorbing the flesh and lives of so many people, miraculously repaired the hole in his head in an instant, acting as if nothing happened.
Seeing the tragedy in the tribe, he was shocked, seemingly not expecting this turn of events.
But he quickly calmed down, attempting to loot the village's belongings and escape.
Yusu couldn't let him go.
Yusu summoned Tengman and trapped Xiongli. "What is this thing?" Xiongli exclaimed in terror, "A demon, a demonic creature?!"
Something in his chest stirred again, trying to devour Tengman. However, Tengman wasn't a flesh-and-blood entity, making it immune.
Yusu and Luyan didn't dare to get too close, fearing the creature might turn on them.
Controlling the vines, Yusu aimed to retrieve whatever was in Xiongli's chest.
Xiongli, seeing the vine entering his chest, screamed in fear, attempting to pull it out. But Tengman wouldn't comply.
"Oh, Lord of the Evil God, save your faithful!" Xiongli shouted.
But the so-called Evil God didn't appear. Only the thing in his chest, realizing the vine's intent, tried to escape.
As it fled, the vine tightly bound it, rendering it immobile.
Through the vines, Yusu learned that this thing was half of a black heart.
Yusu found it particularly repulsive.
As Xiongli's body lay lifeless after the detachment of this half-black heart, Yusu brought it over, keeping a safe distance.
The little black bird hopped onto Yusu's head, its eyes fixated for a while. Then, with a chirp, it spat out divine fire.
When the divine fire touched the half-black heart, it instantly turned into ashes.
After the burning, a lingering smell remained.
Yusu and the others quickly distanced themselves.
"What is this thing?" Yusu asked the little black bird, which seemed to have some knowledge.
The bird chirped twice, indicating it didn't know the specifics but recognized it as a malevolent entity.
Yusu remembered asking the people of the Xiongshi Tribe earlier; they mentioned that Xiongli turned into this after emerging from the dormant place of the witch doctor. Could something sinister have originated there?
But they didn't know the location of that dormant place.
Yusu said solemnly, "Report this to Qingze when we return. Let's see what the elder has to say."
---
The Xiongshi Tribe turned into an empty settlement.
Worried about potential threats, Yusu released the slaves from the grass huts, ensuring there were no survivors before setting the village on fire.
After burning everything to ashes, he and Luyan departed.
They were heading back to the eastern mountain range. Winter was approaching, and it was time to return.
This time, returning to the mountains, Yusu and Luyan felt no restraint. The magical beasts in these mountains were no match for them, having sensed their presence and hiding early on.
They spent seven or eight days searching the mountains, finding many spiritual herbs and crafting materials. After that, they left the mountains and returned to Yucun.
As they entered Yucun's territory, the first snowfall greeted them.
Yusu noticed that a large area of new farmland had been cleared on the east bank of the river. However, the soil had not been turned over yet, probably waiting until the next spring.
The original eastern village had been rebuilt, filled with tools and some miscellaneous items used for feeding livestock. These items could also be spread in the fields with the soil in the coming spring.
Moving eastward, they saw the workshops and members of the patrol.
"Lord Yusu?!"
"Praise the Mountain God! Look, Lord Yusu and Leader Luyan have returned!"
The patrol members, noticing Yusu and Luyan, ran towards them with excitement.
It was getting cold, and they were all wearing warm animal skins, dressed quite thickly.
"Lord Yusu, you've finally returned!"
"Lord Yusu, you're still dressed so lightly. Let me give you my fur coat!"
Everyone surrounded them warmly, seeing Yusu and Luyan dressed lightly, and they eagerly wanted to take off their fur coats to give them.
Yusu stopped them, saying, "I have a protective technique; I won't feel cold. Luyan has the fire spirit's affinity, using his technique can keep him warm. Wear them yourselves and return to the village. Tell me about recent village affairs on the way."
Seeing that they wouldn't feel cold, the patrol members put their fur coats back on.
Walking surrounded by them, they shared the changes in the village during this time.
Yusu noticed that the workshop was temporarily closed; probably it was too cold, and everyone had retreated to the village.
"Lord Yun Chuan built a large workshop in the village. Xin Ya and You Yu's people moved there and started making clothes in the village."
"It's snowing, the ground is freezing. Everyone stored food in the underground cellar, leaving nothing in the fields. We'll deal with it in the spring."
"The caravan went on a trip to the northern plains some time ago, traded with the villages there, and even went to the villages further north. They just returned a few days ago."
"The five southern villages have been sending people to our village to work. They came even today, saying they would stop working when the snow gets heavier and the roads become impassable. They want to earn more food to take back for the winter."
"The salt field is doing well. The salt we sell is very popular in the northern plains. I heard that the salt from the Salt Village is almost unsellable now. To survive, they had to lower their salt prices even lower than ours. Now, it's not others begging to buy their salt; it's them begging others to buy it."
"The villages in the northern plains are grateful to us. Recently, many people have come along the canyon plain road to deliver goods. I heard that the people from the Five Southern Villages can come here to work and exchange for food. They envy us a lot."
"By the way, Iron Village also came a half month ago and brought dividends, money shells, and pearls."
The patrol members talked incessantly about the recent events in the village.
Yusu listened and nodded. Everything seemed to be on the right track, progressing towards a positive direction.
"When there was no snow, Yu Zhou and the others used to come over to this side of the river every day, saying they were waiting for you to come back. When it snowed, Lord Yunchuan stopped them from coming. They haven't come since. If you and Leader Luyan had returned yesterday, you could have seen them on this east bank."
Yusu asked, "Is someone watching them?"
"Yes, before it snowed, someone was here every day. We didn't dare to let them come alone."
Yusu nodded, "The kids are playful; they might run to the river. When they come out, remind them."
"Don't worry, Lord Yusu. We're keeping an eye on them. Yumang even erected wooden railings on both sides of the river."
Yusu raised an eyebrow. This Yumang guy could be meticulous at times.
Reaching the riverbank, people on the opposite watchtower already spotted them.
"Lord Yusu is back!"
The voice from the watchtower was loud, and many people heard it.
By the time Yusu and Luyan crossed the river, people had already come out.
"Big brother!" The one running in front was Yuzhou.
Yusu was delighted to see him, and when he ran over, Yusu picked him up.
"Why did you come out so quickly? Shouldn't you stay at home?"
"It's snowing. Father said you would definitely come back, so I came to pick you up."
Yuzhou, hugging Yusu, was ecstatic, rubbing affectionately against him.
Yusu raised his hand and rubbed his head before greeting others who had come out to welcome them.Jian Yunchuan also came. When he saw Yusu, he smiled, patting his shoulder and arm, "Good, you haven't slimmed down after being away for a while. You know how to take care of yourself, not bad."
"Dad, you look thinner."
"I've become robust. Before, it was just some superficial fat; now I'm truly spirited."
Surprisingly, Jian Yunchuan did look much more robust now, standing tall and energetic. With proper grooming, he didn't look much different from a vigorous young man in his twenties, maybe at most thirty.
Yusu thought he could still find a second spring.
If Jian Yunchuan found someone, Yusu would support him.
Jian Yunchuan patted him, "Let's enter the village; you look too lightly dressed."
Yusu entered the village holding Yuzhou, with Luyan following as usual.
Jian Yunchuan extended his hand, placing it on Luyan's shoulder and pulling him over, "Wait a moment, why are you rushing? I have something to ask you."
Luyan glanced at Yusu's back and then at Jian Yunchuan.
If it were someone else, he would probably refuse, but Jian Yunchuan was different. He obediently slowed his pace, listening to Jian Yunchuan inquire about what happened on the other side of the mountain.
TLN: Celebrating 100 translated chapters, don't forget to support by voting