Chapter 135: Calamity

“Calamity?” Zhou Qi wondered. Could it be that the intrusion of outsiders would bring disaster upon this place?

Huangfu Xiu was equally bewildered. Clearly, none of the family elders had ever mentioned this place. Their appearance had even brought the children’s games to a halt, and the youngsters now stared at them curiously.

A bold, chubby little boy with a tiger-like face spoke up. “Grandpa Deaf can’t hear anything. He was frightened silly. Big brothers, where did you come from?”

Zhou Qi rubbed the boy’s head and smiled kindly. “We came from outside the village. Little friend, where are the other adults?”

“My name is Little Tiger. I’ll take you to see Grandpa Village Chief. Father went to work in the fields, and Mother is at home washing clothes,” the boy replied.

“Very well. Thank you, Little Tiger.” Zhou Qi was delighted, though he regretted not having brought any sweets.

Several children skipped along as they led the two men toward the village.

Outside the cottages, many peasant women were busy with their chores. When they saw Zhou Qi and Huangfu Xiu approaching, they eyed them nervously and cautiously, as though they were afraid.

“Maomao, come back at once! Where are you going?” one of the women called to the children.

A little girl with apple-red cheeks skipped toward her. “Mother, Big Brother Little Tiger is taking two big brothers to see Grandpa Village Chief.”

“Stop that nonsense.” The woman scolded her and hurriedly dragged Maomao back into the house.

Several other children were called away by their mothers and shut indoors. Only Little Tiger continued leading the way. Zhou Qi and Huangfu Xiu kept cupping their hands politely toward the women, wearing friendly, harmless smiles, but not one of them returned the gesture.

The two men could only sigh helplessly. The villagers’ clothing and appearance were exceedingly plain; at a glance, they were clearly ordinary mortals.

What secret did Wuyang Village conceal? Why was there a village of mortals inside this secret realm? What exactly did the Sword Immortal intend?

The two men could not understand. Perhaps the village chief would be able to answer their questions.

Before long, Little Tiger led them to a thatched hut and shouted, “Grandpa Village Chief, there are big brothers from outside who want to see you!”

The door of the hut opened, and an old man in his eighties appeared at the entrance, leaning on a walking stick. Zhou Qi and Huangfu Xiu quickly clasped their hands and saluted him.

The village chief gestured for Little Tiger to leave, then sighed. “What is destined to come will come in the end. This is fate.”

“Elder, what happened here? Why do all the villagers look afraid when they see us?” Zhou Qi asked.

“Forget it. Since there is no way to avoid it, I may as well tell you everything.” The village chief sat down and began recounting the story of Wuyang Village.

The people of Wuyang Village had lived here for generations and had never once ventured beyond its borders. The village was entirely self-sufficient. Everyone worked from sunrise to sunset, and their lives had always been peaceful and happy.

Yet Wuyang Village had one strange occurrence. Every fifty years, outsiders would arrive from beyond the village. The arrival of outsiders also marked the beginning of disaster.

On the mountain behind Wuyang Village lived demonic wolves. Normally, they remained on the mountain and never descended to attack the villagers.

But whenever outsiders appeared, the wolves would behave completely differently. They would come down from the mountain and assault the village, leaving many innocent villagers to die beneath their jaws.

A demonic race? Zhou Qi was startled. Everyone here had become an ordinary mortal, including himself and Xiu’er. How could they possibly withstand such creatures?

The village chief explained that the outsiders would help repel the wolves, but once the beasts withdrew, the outsiders would leave as well, leaving behind a devastated village and its surviving inhabitants.

The cycle repeated every fifty years. The arrival of outsiders meant that the wolves’ attacks would soon follow. The villagers believed that the outsiders had disturbed the demonic wolves on the mountain and brought disaster upon the village, which was why they treated them with hostility.

So that was the reason. It seemed the wolves could still be repelled. Zhou Qi hurriedly asked the village chief how terrifying they were.

The old man said that he had seen them once when he was young. The wolves were incredibly fast and covered in blood-red fur. They loved to devour flesh and blood. The more severely wounded they became, the stronger and more frenzied they grew. They usually appeared in packs at night, while hiding themselves during the day.

“They should belong to the Blood Wolf Clan,” Huangfu Xiu interjected. “Aside from pouncing and biting, do they possess any special abilities?”

The village chief shook his head. He had never seen them display any unusual powers.

The two men understood. These were probably ordinary demonic beasts, not even powerful enough to be assigned a rank. Any cultivator could destroy them with a simple wave of the hand.

Unfortunately, upon entering this place, everyone had been reduced to ordinary mortals. Dealing with demonic beasts would not be easy.

According to the village chief, repelling the Blood Wolves was likely the task assigned to them. The Sword Immortal could not possibly have set them an impossible mission.

They would either have to organize the villagers to resist, or unite all the cultivators who entered this place. The only question was how many Blood Wolves there were.

“Village Chief, how many able-bodied men are there in the village? Do you have any weapons? The two of us are not the only ones who came here. I believe many more people will arrive later. If we unite to resist the Blood Wolves, we can reduce the villagers’ casualties,” Zhou Qi said.

“There are thirty able-bodied men in the village. As for weapons, we have only sickles and a few farming tools. Those Blood Wolves are astonishingly fast. Before you can strike them, their teeth may already be at your throat,” the village chief replied.

The arrival of outsiders had become an established fact. Rather than remain frightened, it was better to find a way to resist.

Farming tools would have to suffice. Everyone had become mortal upon entering this place, and their storage rings could no longer be used. At least tools were better than fighting with bare hands.

“You have a plan?” Huangfu Xiu asked.

“I have a few ideas, but we should wait until the others arrive. It is still early, and the two of us alone would never be able to hold them back.”

Zhou Qi then asked the village chief about the village’s terrain, analyzing which direction the Blood Wolves might attack from. He also inquired about the total population and the available medicinal herbs. Injuries were inevitable in the battle against the wolves, and with neither storage rings nor spiritual power at their disposal, using the village’s resources to treat the wounded would be essential.

The village chief cooperated fully. He understood that if they wanted to keep the villagers’ deaths to a minimum, they would have to rely on these outsiders.

Zhou Qi continued to ponder, analyzing every possibility of driving back the Blood Wolves. The elderly, women, and children could not take part in the battle; their safety had to be protected above all else.

He simply did not know how many cultivators had entered this time. When he learned that twelve cultivators from the Huangfu Family had come in, his heart settled. It seemed there were not many people hoping to take advantage of the situation.

The two men sat silently at the village entrance, waiting for the other cultivators to arrive. The village chief had also moved beneath a tree, while the children who had been playing earlier reappeared beneath the willow and resumed their games, skipping and hopping about.

Everything was just as it had been when the two men first arrived, except that there were now two more people and the old village chief.

Before long, cultivators appeared outside the village. It was the burly cultivator and the young cultivator. They were delighted to see Zhou Qi. The moment they had entered, they had been reduced to mortals, and encountering someone who had once saved them made them feel as though they finally had someone to rely on.

Huangfu Rou had also arrived with ten cultivators from the Huangfu Family. Her battle with Shui Bing had ended in a draw, after all, since neither of them had been fighting to the death.

Shui Bing had not entered with her. Huangfu Xiu felt relieved, yet at the same time, a little disappointed.