"Wind God Lord is peerless in the world, merely by speaking, he has made the enemy spit blood. He is truly too powerful. You are the strongest, kill this wicked woman!" Seeing the woman who had driven them out of the stockade spitting blood, the village chief became agitated. Although he didn't know what they had discussed earlier, he knew that the Wind God Lord was incredibly powerful.
Indeed, his reputation was well-deserved. The Wind God was already one of the strongest globally, and now he could defeat opponents with mere words. Witnessing this, the village chief was awestruck. The Wind God Lord was terrifyingly formidable.
However, when Shen Feng saw Sayaoka faint, he showed a helpless expression and said to Lu Xian, "Go to the car and bring Xu Xing over. Also, have Xu Xing bring a set of her clothes. This is my friend, don't say anything out of line."
Lu Xian quickly nodded and replied, "Understood, City Lord. We definitely won't say anything outside, you can rest assured."
Lu Xian then quickly left. He had expected another fierce battle, but he never imagined the City Lord knew the other party. In this situation, the fight would certainly not commence. Lu Xian then went to call Qi Lingshan.
Shen Feng suddenly remembered something and quickly called out to Lu Xian, "Also, bring that long wooden box from the car. You understand why."
Lu Xian naturally knew why. After hearing Shen Feng and Sayaoka's conversation, he also knew that this woman liked Yue Hengyi, and had traveled from afar to rescue him, only to fail in the end.
Next, Xu Xing arrived with the items Shen Feng requested. Shen Feng asked Xu Xing to take care of Sayaoka. Upon first seeing Sayaoka, Xu Xing mistook her for Qin Kewei, as they looked so alike, especially in their demeanor, which was almost identical to Qin Kewei's. However, Shen Feng did not provide any useful information, so Xu Xing could not know Sayaoka's true identity.
Xu Xing then found a complete room, boiled water to wash Sayaoka, and threw away her tattered clothes. After thoroughly cleaning her, she bandaged Sayaoka's foot wounds. Dressed in her own clothes and properly attended to, Sayaoka was truly graceful and stunningly beautiful.
Xu Xing couldn't help but speculate, "Could this woman also be the City Lord's old flame? Otherwise, why would the City Lord ask me to take care of her?"
Meanwhile, Shen Feng found the village chief. Ignoring the chief's flattery, he directly ordered, "This esper is also my friend. The previous incident was mostly a misunderstanding. I will persuade her to leave. You can let your villagers return. However, it's best not to spread this matter around."
Upon hearing Shen Feng's words, the village chief was greatly surprised. He hadn't expected this "madwoman" to be someone the Wind God Lord knew. It seemed the "madwoman" would definitely not be killed. As for themselves, they could only accept their misfortune, having provoked an esper.
At this moment, Lu Xian approached Shen Feng and asked, "City Lord, according to what this woman said, Yue Hengyi had recovered from his injuries before he was captured. He might still be alive now. Should we also search for him?"
Hearing this, Shen Feng immediately shook his head and said, "No, we absolutely cannot do that. For one thing, if we openly search for Yue Hengyi, it would be like telling the world that Yue Hengyi is not dead. And searching in secret would be even less effective. This is the Taihang Mountains, with tens of thousands of peaks. How can we search?"
Lu Xian nodded. Shen Feng's concerns were indeed serious. After all, in the eyes of the world, Yue Hengyi was an unmitigated villain who had killed too many innocent people. How could such a person be allowed to continue living?
Shen Feng continued, "Furthermore, if Yue Hengyi is still alive, he would have likely recovered within two months. According to Sayaoka, Yue Hengyi would have come to find Sayaoka himself. He is a man of his word, especially serious in matters of the heart. He would definitely do what he promised. But now, there is no news from Yue Hengyi, which clearly indicates that Yue Hengyi has likely died outside. That is why there has been no news. If there were news, he would have appeared before us by now."
Shen Feng understood Yue Hengyi quite well, having spent more than half a year together. That amount of time was enough to truly know a person. If Yue Hengyi were still alive, he would definitely find a way to contact Sayaoka, or at the very least, go to Japan. However, with no news arriving, it meant Yue Hengyi was likely dead.
After Shen Feng analyzed Yue Hengyi's condition, Lu Xian and Qi Lingshan nodded in agreement, believing that Yue Hengyi must have died at the hands of Owl.
Just then, Sayaoka also woke up. Shen Feng immediately advised, "The dead cannot be brought back to life. Sayaoka, please accept your grief. Moreover, if Yue Hengyi's spirit in heaven saw you like this, he would not want you to give up on yourself."
Sayaoka, however, remained lying on the bed, silent, her eyes vacant, like a salted fish that had lost its dreams.
In fact, Sayaoka understood everything. She was, after all, an intelligent woman and not ignorant. The reason she hadn't given up was that she refused to accept the fact that Yue Hengyi was dead. Sayaoka's mind was in turmoil; she refused to accept Yue Hengyi's death and was deceiving herself, yet her subconscious kept telling her that Yue Hengyi was dead. This internal conflict led to Sayaoka's mental state deteriorating, turning her into what others perceived as a madwoman.
Now, Shen Feng had directly stated the truth. Upon receiving this news, Sayaoka finally faced reality. She said nothing but began to weep silently, her quilt soon becoming soaked.
At this point, Shen Feng could only retrieve Yue Hengyi's Kanglong Jian and hand it to Sayaoka, saying, "This was Yue Hengyi's weapon before. Now, I give it to you, so you have something to remember him by. Please do not continue to trouble the people in this stockade. The villagers are also pitiful people trying to make a living. Let them continue to live here."
When Shen Feng found Yue Hengyi's weapon, Sayaoka's eyes lit up. Seeing the Kanglong Jian, she was reminded of Yue Hengyi from the past. This weapon was frequently used by Yue Hengyi, and now, seeing it before her, it brought back memories of his spirited face.
Shen Feng continued to comfort her, and Sayaoka finally regained her composure. She then said, "I don't believe Lord Yue Hengyi would die just like this. I will come here to search every year from now on. I must return now. Lord Shen Fuyao, if you have any news of Lord Yue Hengyi, please notify me immediately. I will rush here in the shortest possible time."
Seeing that she had finally calmed down, Shen Feng breathed a sigh of relief. Helping her accept the reality was not an easy task, especially news of the death of a loved one, which was even more difficult to accept.
However, Sayaoka then revealed another piece of information: "Lord Shen Fuyao, the people in this village are not good either. While I was searching for someone in the mountains, they colluded and tricked me into coming here, saying I could find the person I was looking for. But after I arrived, they wanted me to marry one of the village's bachelors. Isn't this imprisonment? So, I started killing. If it were anyone else here, they would have been forced to become someone's wife by now."
Upon hearing this inside story, Shen Feng frowned and said, "I didn't expect things to turn out this way. You were actually tricked into coming here. It seems these villagers are not as simple and honest as they appear. However, I think it's best to let this matter go. You've already burned half of their village, and their lives will be very difficult from now on, so I don't want you to seek further revenge."
Shen Feng now understood that these villagers had actually concealed the most important information and used him to reclaim their stockade. It was they who had been trying to find wives for the village's bachelors, and when trouble arose, they shifted all the blame, instead accusing Sayaoka of being a madwoman.
Hearing this, Xu Xing looked incredulous. She never expected such a turn of events. In that case, wasn't her sympathy being exploited?
Sayaoka nodded and said, "Lord Shen Fuyao, I understand. I will leave here now, but I will never come back to this place again. This world, no matter where it is, has become exceptionally perilous."
Sayaoka tightly hugged the Kanglong Jian as if embracing Yue Hengyi, lost in memories. Yue Hengyi, whom she had known for only a month, was someone she couldn't forget. Because it was Yue Hengyi who had helped her in her most desperate moments, Sayaoka now wanted to repay Yue Hengyi with her own strength, but the opportunity was gone.
Shen Feng was finally relieved. As long as Sayaoka could return to normal, it was a good thing. As for Sayaoka's intention to search here every year, it was clear she hadn't given up. He could only let her be. Time would heal all wounds, and he hoped Sayaoka could soon overcome her trauma.
Originally, Shen Feng had intended to take the Kanglong Jian back to Yuzhou to give to Yue Hengyi's parents. However, Sayaoka clearly needed comfort more at the moment, so Shen Feng decided to give the Kanglong Jian to her.
Next, Shen Feng had to continue his journey. But before leaving, he addressed the villagers in the stockade, saying, "If you ever want to imprison passing women to be wives for your bachelors again, watch this! This is your fate!"
With that, Shen Feng condensed hundreds of wind blades and shot them out, striking the charred skeletal frames of houses on the side. The blackened frames instantly collapsed, kicking up clouds of dust. This scene shocked the villagers, who quickly said, "We dare not. We will never dare again."
In many TV dramas and even novels, villagers are often portrayed as simple and honest. However, in reality, villagers often have their own agendas. These villagers were often involved in unsavory activities behind the scenes. Especially in ancient societies that emphasized mutual concealment, people would hide their wrongdoings from outsiders while presenting a united front.
Thus, in ancient times, women often went missing. Where these missing women went was often unknown. Perhaps they were captured by bachelors to become wives, or perhaps they were imprisoned by many people. This was the work of "village bandits" that books often failed to mention.
It was clear that Sayaoka had encountered such a situation. Some bachelors, thinking she was a madwoman, tricked her into the mountains under the guise of helping her find someone, intending to give her to the village's bachelors. They never expected that the woman who entered the stockade was an esper.