The crowd stopped and turned to look. The old man smiled awkwardly, "Although there's a village rule against letting outsiders stay, we can't abandon the etiquette of our ancestors."
"This..."
Xu Lei hesitated and glanced at Yu Daochen beside him. Seeing him shake his head, Xu Lei instantly understood.
Just as he was about to refuse, the disciple named Xiao Long nodded in agreement, "Okay, we're all tired from the day's journey anyway..."
*Slap!*
Before Xiao Long could finish speaking, a stern disciple beside him smacked him hard on the back of the head.
Xiao Long turned to his senior disciple with a wronged expression, "Senior Brother, why did you hit me?"
The senior disciple was about to speak when Xu Lei called out, "Alright, Xiao Hua."
Hearing Xu Lei's words, the disciple named Wang Hua swallowed the words he was about to say.
"Since the village chief has said so, we'll have to impose on you." Yu Daochen said with a faint smile.
Xu Lei looked at him with confusion.
Yu Daochen nodded, signaling him to relax.
Seeing this, Xu Lei could only nod helplessly in agreement.
As the saying goes, if it's your fate, you can't escape it.
Yu Daochen also wanted to see what this old man was up to.
Besides, with the Heaven Ranking and everyone armed with a firearm, no matter what tricks they had up their sleeves, they would have to consider if they had the strength to pull them off.
Seeing that everyone agreed, the old man chuckled and led them into the village.
Yu Daochen followed the old man into the village with the others.
Yu Daochen casually asked, "Elder, I noticed a scar on your left eye. How did you get it?"
From the moment he saw the old man, the prominent scar on his left eye had caught Yu Daochen's attention.
The old man turned to look at Yu Daochen, and the scar on his face was even more striking.
"This scar was left from a fight with a wolf when I was young. It's been many years."
"I didn't expect there to be wolves here," Xu Lei remarked.
The old man nodded, "That's right. Don't be fooled by how desolate our mountains are; there are quite a lot of wolves."
No, this scar was definitely not left by a wild beast.
Yu Daochen was certain that the scar was caused by a knife or sword.
Wild animal claws could never leave such a neat scar.
Xu Lei, standing beside him, also realized that the scar was not from a wild animal.
Yu Daochen and Xu Lei exchanged glances, and both nodded knowingly without speaking.
This old fellow is definitely suspicious!
Xiao Long, trailing behind, also sensed that something was amiss and was about to speak when he saw his senior brother Wang Hua glare at him.
As they walked through the village, Yu Daochen found the villagers standing at their doorways, staring at them, unnerving.
There was no curiosity in their eyes; their gaze was very strange.
To put it metaphorically, it was the look of wolves eyeing sheep, the look of predators eyeing prey.
Xiao Long, feeling uncomfortable under their stares, looked at his senior brother, "Senior Brother, why are they looking at us like that?"
Wang Hua shook his head, signaling him to stay quiet.
Xu Lei, walking ahead, also felt the strange gazes and his brow furrowed.
The old man ahead smiled and explained, "Please don't misunderstand, everyone. We have very few people in our village. It's rare to have outsiders visit, so they're all a bit curious. Please don't mind them."
Xu Lei nodded and smiled, "Village chief, you jest. It's just staring, it won't cost us anything."
After speaking, Xu Lei turned to the disciples behind him, "Boys, who has my lighter?"
The disciples behind him immediately understood the implication and reached into their backpacks for their firearms.
Yu Daochen also noticed their actions and turned to look at Xu Lei, who gave him a reassuring look.
Yu Daochen immediately realized that the remark must have been a code. He hadn't seen Xu Lei smoke at all during their journey.
He hadn't expected Xu Lei to be so prepared.
Under the surprised gazes of the surrounding villagers, they arrived at an open space in the center of the village.
A pungent smell of blood assailed Xu Lei and the others' nostrils.
Xu Lei frowned and looked in the direction of the bloody smell.
He saw a large, round stone pillar not far away, covered in a deep red, with dried bloodstains on the ground.
Yu Daochen, though lacking a sense of smell, also saw the bloodstains on the stone pillar.
"Village chief, what is that?" Xu Lei asked, looking at the stone pillar.
The old man looked up and explained, "Our village is small. Whenever someone slaughters a pig, they do it here so everyone can share. We just slaughtered a pig a few days ago."
"So that's how it is," Xu Lei nodded and asked no further questions.
Yu Daochen and Xu Lei knew better. A single pig wouldn't produce so much blood.
Who were they trying to fool?
Moreover, the ditch next to the stone pillar was likely connected to the small stream.
The old man led them to two set tables and invited them to sit.
"My apologies, everyone. Time was short, and we couldn't prepare any fine wine or dishes. You'll have to make do with some home-style cooking."
Yu Daochen waved his hand and said politely, "Village chief, you jest. We're not hungry, so there's no need to prepare any dishes."