"How do you wish for me to help you?" Shen Feng asked immediately.
One of the old men quickly replied, "Lord Fengshen, we wish for you to drive away the woman who has occupied our village. It would be best if you killed her, so that we can return to our village to live. As long as you help us, our village will remember your kindness for generations to come."
After he finished speaking, everyone kowtowed repeatedly, appearing very pitiful. Xu Xing could not stand to see this. Since these people were all driven out, they were truly forced into a desperate situation.
Then Xu Xing said to Shen Feng, "City Lord, since these people are not intentionally provoking the ability users, and they are all implicated, if we do not help them, they might freeze or starve in the mountains. Let's go drive away the ability users in the village."
Shen Feng did not agree immediately. Instead, he inquired, "What are the ability users in your village like? What abilities do they use? You must tell me, right?"
Shen Feng would not fight a battle unprepared. Before he knew what kind of ability user the opponent was, Shen Feng had no intention of rashly seeking trouble.
Then, an old man from the crowd stepped forward. Judging by his appearance, he seemed to be the village chief. The village chief immediately said, "Lord Fengshen, that wicked woman is very detestable. With a wave of her hand, flames appear all around us. Many houses in our village have been burned."
"Is that so? It seems to be an ability user who uses fire. It's not particularly tricky, especially since Qi Lingshan happens to counter her," Shen Feng thought to himself.
After learning that the opponent's ability was fire, Shen Feng immediately had an idea and said, "Since that's the case, you should lead us to the village. I want to see what kind of crazy woman she is."
Seeing that Shen Feng had agreed directly, the villagers were overjoyed. They immediately expressed their gratitude to Shen Feng, showering him with compliments, treating him as their last hope.
The village was located on the mountain, with only a few small paths leading up. Therefore, Xu Xing had to stay by the car to guard it. The village chief then led Shen Feng, Qi Lingshan, and Lu Xian up the mountain. The surrounding mountain terrain was quite steep. It was no wonder that during the chaotic times, the Taihang Mountains were always inhabited by a large group of people. With such terrain, it was easy to defend and difficult to attack. Once a group of people gathered and established a village, they could directly defend it.
As they walked, the village chief also spoke, "Lord Fengshen, this village was where our village lived decades ago. However, it was too remote, so we moved down. After the apocalypse arrived and zombies were everywhere, we went back to the mountains. We could barely survive by farming, but this year, the accursed mutated birds ate a lot of our crops. It seems that living in the mountains will not be easy in the future."
In response, Shen Feng could only comfort him, "It's alright, there will always be ways to deal with mutated birds. As for the future, if you can't stay in the mountains, then go to the cities."
In the apocalypse, countless people had fled to the mountains to hide. This was a tradition passed down through generations. Regardless of the direction, it was the same. In the apocalypse, flat open areas were too dangerous, especially with taxes. Sometimes, even manual labor was not wanted, so it was better to hide in the mountains, farm their own land, and weave their own cloth. With dozens of acres of land, one could support a whole village.
Afterward, when society stabilized, they could come out of the mountains.
However, during the changes of previous dynasties, one could at least pray for the end of the war sooner. But in the current apocalypse, there was no end in sight to the peace. Mutated beasts were everywhere, and mutated birds filled the sky. Under such circumstances, even living in the mountains was problematic. Everyone hoped for peace soon, but how could peace be achieved so easily?
Shen Feng and the other two, led by the village chief, soon passed through the narrow mountain paths and arrived outside the village. It was no wonder that immortals chose this place to reside. It was indeed easy to defend and difficult to attack. Both sides were sheer cliffs, dozens of meters high. The back mountain was a pile of rocks, making it impassable. There was only a main gate on the front side to enter the village.
"It seems there's no one here. Should we go in and take a look?" Qi Lingshan asked quickly.
Shen Feng nodded and said, "Since we're here, let's go in and take a look. I want to see what kind of formidable character has occupied this village."
The group then entered the village. The village gate was ajar, and it could be opened with a push. Upon entering the village, everyone immediately became vigilant, not knowing where the ability user who had occupied the place had gone.
It could be seen that the village had been established not long ago, as there was new wood in many places, and even many houses were unpainted. People who lived in wooden houses knew that wooden houses were prone to insect infestation. Houses that were infested with insects would have problems within one or two years. To extend the lifespan of a house, it needed to be painted. After painting, the problem of insect infestation would be reduced.
It was not easy to find paint in the mountains, and there were no lacquer trees nearby, nor natural tree sap. Therefore, the houses in the village were unpainted.
Shen Feng walked through the village and saw several ruins. Almost half of the village had been burned down. After all, it was winter, and the winter in the north was very dry. As long as a fire was lit and no one controlled it, the flames would continue to spread, and the spreading flames would be difficult to extinguish.
Seeing the state of the village, the village chief complained to Shen Feng, "Lord Shen Feng, as you can see, our village has been burned to this extent. That crazy woman really makes no sense. You must avenge us!"
Shen Feng looked at the ruined village and then asked Lu Xian, "By the way, have you found the enemy's location?"
Fortunately, the village was not completely burned down. Half of the village was still usable. After Lu Xian used his ability, he immediately pinpointed the enemy's direction and said, "It's over there, by the stone wall. There's a heat signature over there."
Upon hearing this, the village chief was stunned. He had not expected that they would know the enemy's location without even seeing them. Was this what an ability user was like?
However, upon seeing the place Lu Xian mentioned, he quickly said, "Oh no, that's the direction of the granary. Has this crazy woman already occupied the granary? What if she burns all the grain?"
Hearing this, Shen Feng rushed towards the warehouse. If the granary here were really burned, then the entire village would not be able to survive.
However, as Shen Feng arrived at his destination, he saw a ragged woman walking back and forth on the street, muttering incomprehensible words. Furthermore, her feet were bloody, and her calves were swollen. At this moment, the woman was both crying and laughing, looking truly deranged.
Seeing this, Shen Feng cautiously said, "Friend, can you calm down? I don't want to fight you, but I hope you can leave here, otherwise, the people in this village will not be able to survive."
After Shen Feng finished speaking, the woman on the street suddenly stopped walking and looked towards Shen Feng. She slowly raised her head, covered in mud. Anyone who saw her would surely think she was just a madwoman, not an ability user.
At this moment, the woman looked at Shen Feng deeply, then suddenly seemed to remember something and couldn't help but say, "Lord Shen Fuyao, why are you here?"
As she spoke, the woman slowly pushed aside the hair from her face, revealing her true appearance. Shen Feng looked at her and was immediately surprised, "You are Qin Kewei? No, you are... Saya?"
Shen Feng could not have imagined that the person who appeared in the village in the Taihang Mountains was someone he knew. Shen Feng recognized her now. Was this not someone he had met in Japan? Later, under Yue Hengyi's guilt, she was compensated and eventually became an ability user. He never expected to meet her here.
Seeing Shen Feng appear here, Saya said sadly, "Lord Shen Fuyao, I failed to protect Lord Yue Hengyi. Lord Yue Hengyi has gone missing."
Upon hearing this, Shen Feng was immediately confused and said, "Wait, I heard Yue Hengyi was dead. What do you mean Yue Hengyi is missing?"
Saya did not hide anything and then recounted what had happened in Yanjing. When the mutated birds attacked Yanjing, it happened to be the day of Yue Hengyi's execution. In the chaos, Saya rescued Yue Hengyi. Yue Hengyi at the time had also agreed to leave China with her and live in seclusion in Japan.
After hearing this, Shen Feng finally understood why Yue Hengyi could not be found in Yanjing. It turned out that Saya had taken the opportunity to rescue him, and Saya's ability was precisely to control fire, and she could barely melt steel.
"Then how did Yue Hengyi get lost?" Shen Feng asked.
At this moment, Qi Lingshan and Lu Xian had also caught up. Seeing Shen Feng talking to this madwoman, and seemingly knowing her, they looked puzzled, thinking, "Does the City Lord know so many people? He can even strike up a conversation, which is truly extraordinary."
Saya said sadly, "When I went to kill a villain, Lord Yue Hengyi was captured by an owl. I chased for a long time, but I could never find the owl. Then I searched in the Taihang Mountains for another two months, but I still couldn't find Lord Yue Hengyi."
Hearing Saya's explanation, Shen Feng finally understood why Saya was in her current state. She had been searching in the Taihang Mountains for two months. Such a long period of searching, without even resting, would naturally affect her mental state.
After hearing Saya's description, Shen Feng understood the course of events. Now, Shen Feng could only state a cruel truth: "The Yue Hengyi you are looking for is probably dead now. Not to mention that owls are birds of prey, and there's no reason for them to let go of a captured human. Moreover, Yue Hengyi had consumed the seeds of the Century Plant, and the side effects have already appeared. In this situation, even an ordinary person could kill him. Therefore, the hope of Yue Hengyi surviving is almost zero."
Saya's mental state was already not good, and Shen Feng's words were a severe blow to her. She had traveled thousands of miles to find Yue Hengyi, just to be with him. Now, she couldn't even get a good outcome, which was simply unbearable.
Therefore, after suffering such a blow, Saya directly spat out a mouthful of blood and fainted.
The village chief did not dare to approach the granary. As the saying goes, "when the city gate catches fire, the fish in the moat suffer." The battles between ability users were like wars of the gods to ordinary people. Was this something that people like him could interfere with? So, he watched from a distance, not daring to approach.
As a result, at this moment, the village chief saw the madwoman spitting blood and collapsing. He was immediately filled with admiration for Shen Feng, saying, "Lord Fengshen, peerless in the world!"