Chapter 57: The Village

As the first light of dawn broke, Yu Qi and his two companions were already gone from the area.

At that moment, a troop of horsemen suddenly charged into view, led by none other than Wu Weihe.

He glanced around, his gaze falling upon the trampled grass nearby, and his heart skipped a beat. He knew instantly that the three of them had not died.

"Search along these footprints! Report back to me the moment you find any trace of them!" Wu Weihe commanded coldly.

His subordinates hurriedly followed the footprints left upon the grass.

The thunder of iron hooves echoed, and before long, the area around him was completely deserted.

Wu Weihe raised his head to look up at the top of the cliff, where the territory of the Vulture Sect lay.

Because of the sheer height, the Vulture Sect looked like nothing more than a tiny dark speck to him. Having fallen from such a tremendous height with martial arts inferior to his own, how on earth had they managed to survive?

He simply could not fathom the reason.

"Elder Wu, the footprints disappear near the side of a road ahead," a subordinate reported, riding up to him while he was deep in thought.

Wu Weihe’s eyes turned icy. "Lead the way!"

Guided by the subordinate, Wu Weihe rode out of the jungle and onto a main road, while his other men continued their search further ahead.

"Elder Wu, their tracks end right here. I’ve already told the men to keep searching," the subordinate said.

Wu Weihe surveyed the surroundings. After a moment of thought, he waved his hand. "No need to continue searching. They must have taken this main road. Follow me."

His men had already scoured the surrounding woods without finding a trace of them, which meant that after reaching the main road, the three of them had not continued into the jungle but had traveled along the road instead.

Furthermore, this road led in only two directions: one toward Anlong County, and the other leading outward.

Naturally, Yu Qi and his companions would not return to Anlong County, leaving only a single possibility.

Led by Wu Weihe, the men of the Vulture Sect galloped away in the remaining direction. The sheer number of horses instantly kicked up thick billows of dust from the road.

The travelers on the road were utterly miserable, yet the moment they saw it was the Vulture Sect, they dared not utter a single word of complaint.

By this time, the sun had slowly climbed into the sky, and its scorching rays began to bathe the entire land in warmth.

Not far away lay a village. The men toiled in the fields, the women prepared midday meals at home, and children leaped about the village streets, their cheerful laughter filling the air in an atmosphere of utter tranquility.

In a modest cottage nearby, an elderly woman was brewing medicinal herbs in a clay pot. She was not preparing them for herself, but for the three young travelers who had arrived in the dead of night.

In the small hours of the morning, Yu Qi and his two companions had stumbled upon this place. Due to their injuries, they had no choice but to make a brief halt in this village.

As luck would have it, Granny Sun had not yet fallen asleep. Seeing their condition and remembering that she had neither children nor grandchildren of her own, she took them in.

Noticing that the herbal brew was ready, Granny Sun poured two bowls and handed them to Yu Qi and Mu Qingnan, who were the most severely injured. She smiled warmly and said, "Drink up quickly. If it gets cold, the medicinal efficacy won't be as good."

The two men had no suspicions. After all, the medicine had been brewed right under their watchful eyes, and there was no way the old woman could have tampered with it.

Expressing their gratitude, they took the bowls and drank the concoction down. Although it was merely brewed from common herbs, they immediately felt their pain subside significantly.

"Thank you, Granny Sun," Yu Qi said as he returned the bowl.

Mu Qingnan coughed a few times and stuck out his tongue. "Granny Sun, what kind of medicine is this? It's so bitter."

"Could it be called medicine if it weren't bitter?" Dongyun glared at him, snatched the bowl from his hand, and handed it back to the old woman.

After the old woman turned around and stepped outside, Yu Qi instructed Mu Qingnan to fetch ten taels of fragmented silver, which they left on her bedside table before bidding their farewells.

Naturally, Yu Qi would repay someone who had shown them such immense kindness. While ten taels was a negligible sum to him, it was more than enough for the old woman to live comfortably for several years.

About half a quarter of an hour after the group left the village, other visitors arrived.

It was a band of cold-eyed men, all mounted on horseback and looking fiercely imposing.

Such a large display of force suddenly crashing into the village frightened many of the children into wailing tears, prompting their mothers to rush out and scoop them into their arms.

At that moment, a subordinate beside Wu Weihe shouted at the top of his lungs, "Everyone in the village, gather here immediately! Otherwise, death!"

Clearly possessed of some internal strength, the man's roar, though not deafening, was heard by all the men working in the fields nearby, who hurriedly dropped their hooves and hoes and came running.

Before long, the villagers were gathered in a tight cluster before the riders.

Wu Weihe gave a subtle cue, and three subordinates stepped forward, each unfurling a portrait in their hands.

Wu Weihe swept his gaze across the terrified faces of the villagers and said coldly, "We are searching for these three individuals. If anyone knows their whereabouts, these fifty taels of silver will be his."

With that, he produced a money pouch and tossed it casually in his hand.

At the mention of fifty taels, greed flashed in the eyes of every villager. Such a vast sum of silver was more than enough for them to pack up and move to Anlong County to live.

However, Yu Qi and his companions had arrived in the village in the middle of the night when most people were fast asleep, leaving their whereabouts unknown to the masses.

Just then, a middle-aged man wearing patched clothing elbowed his way to the front of the crowd and shouted, "I know those three! In the middle of the night, I got up to relieve myself and happened to see them standing right outside Granny Sun's door. Granny Sun even brought them inside her house."

With that, he pointed a finger directly at Granny Sun, then cast a hopeful, eager gaze toward the money pouch in Wu Weihe's hand.

Upon hearing this, Granny Sun panicked. Though her contact with Yu Qi and his companions had been brief, she could sense their inherent goodness, whereas this troop of horsemen was menacing and clearly meant to cause them harm.

She hurriedly cursed, "Li Gouzi, what kind of nonsense are you spouting!"

"I saw it with my own eyes. How could it be false?" Li Gouzi cast a sidelong glance at Granny Sun, then turned back respectfully to Wu Weihe. "My lord, I wonder about those fifty taels..."

Wu Weihe tossed the fifty taels to him, then spurred his horse forward until he stood right in front of Granny Sun. "The old woman stays. Anyone else who doesn't want to die, get lost."

Terrified by the threat, the remaining villagers quickly scattered. In a matter of moments, only Granny Sun was left standing alone.

"Tell me, where are they now?" A wave of oppressive aura surged from Wu Weihe, bearing down heavily upon Granny Sun.

Granny Sun was no martial artist. Under the crushing pressure, her body involuntarily stepped backward, and a deep chill settled in her heart.

Yet, no trace of fear registered on her face. "I don't know."