Chapter 384

Chapter 384: Even If We Meet, We Don’t Know Each Other

In the border area of the Great Xia, as dawn broke, the distant crowing of roosters could be heard. Everyone sighed in relief, having survived another month of the dark moon’s onslaught.

For half of each month, the sun remained hidden, replaced only by a blackish-purple moon floating above, with dark energy filling the air, fierce ghosts rampaging, and ghost kings causing havoc.

An old hunchback sat slumped against a wall, taking a long time to catch his breath, tapping his smoking pipe and lightening up a bit with dry tobacco.

"Old Guo, how are you holding up? Do you think you can last until next month?"

"Not well at all. I feel like I’ll meet my end after this puff of tobacco," the hunchbacked elder replied with a furrowed brow. "I’m just at the Gathering Spirit stage! Before, the ghostly creatures around the village were manageable, but these pesky ones keep getting stronger. Poor little Lu! He got half his head bitten off by an evil ghost right next to me, and I was splattered with blood when it happened."

"Sigh, little Lu was a good boy. With him gone, life will be tough for his two younger siblings!" After a long silence on the wall, someone finally shouted, "Look! How can there be a migration convoy at this time?"

Old Guo shook himself up and saw the sunlight was a bit blinding as he shaded his eyes and looked into the distance. He spotted a team with flags from the Merchant Alliance slowly approaching.

"Hahaha, it’s a merchant convoy; there must be a high-level demon cultivator with them." Everyone smiled, knowing that anyone who could ignore the dark moon overhead and travel during the ghostly rampage must have at least one practitioner at the Bosa stage protecting them.

Old Guo’s eyes brightened as he shouted, "The merchant convoy is here! Everyone hurry home and gather your belongings. There may be treasures and spiritual materials passed down from our ancestors. However, those things aren’t food; if you’re not at a high enough level, they won’t be very effective. It’s better to trade them for items we can actually use. I’ve decided to sell the ancestral flying locust jade ring and the Dragon Cutting Stone. No matter what, I want our village to last a few more months."

"Ah? Old Guo, you must be crazy! That’s been your family’s treasure for over ten generations. Five years ago, someone in the town was eyeing it, and you had to turn them down."

"Saving my life is more important. What’s more important, things or lives? If we can last a few more months, maybe we can endure through this calamity." Following Old Guo’s lead, everyone began to contemplate what they could contribute.

As the convoy arrived, the village opened its gates, eagerly welcoming the team. However, many felt a shiver run down their spines and, feeling uneasy, instinctively stepped back. Something wasn’t right!

This merchant convoy had no visible figures; the horses were emaciated, their eyes bloodshot, resembling the haunted steeds ridden by ghost generals. Many of the carts were stained with blood and looked tattered.

Old Guo’s expression darkened with anger. He thought, "Have the ghostly creatures reached the point of being able to act freely in broad daylight? Or could the ghost king refuse to remain dormant and continue to hunt for blood?"

"Hey! If you have anything good, bring it out quickly. Once this village passes, that shop will be closed. I am Li Yingjun from the Heavenly Talisman Sect! I have over a hundred ghost-repelling talismans, dozens of purification talismans, and I can even set up talisman formations and barriers!" The voice startled everyone as a luxurious cart approached from the back. Its curtains were lifted high, and inside sat a young man with a gallant demeanor, calmly crafting talismans at a table.

"Young master, is this convoy just you?" Old Guo snapped back to attention and hurried over to pay his respects.

"The sun is out, and I conduct business here in the mortal realm. In the dark moon, I conduct business in the underworld. This convoy has encountered grave misfortune and is temporarily under my command, wandering between the realms. Here lies the Dragon Cutting Stone, and there is also the rare Miao Jade. The two are in close proximity, perfectly complementing each other."

"You’ve come for the Dragon Cutting Stone, Young Master Li?" Old Guo felt a bit wary.

The man in the cart continued to draw talismans as he spoke: "In the second cart on the left, there’s cargo. See if it’s enough to trade for the Dragon Cutting Stone. Furthermore, this convoy is buying artifact fragments and treasure fragments; the more, the better. There are also items related to talisman-making in the third cart, including the Protecting Path Stone. You can check the price list and exchange for goods."

Soon after, Old Guo and his people confirmed the situation and sighed in relief, saying, "It is indeed a merchant convoy, though only one person. The Heavenly Talisman Sect? I’ve never heard of it."

The villagers responded to the news, crowding around the grand cart to see what was new. Exclamations of surprise arose: "Ah! Artifact fragments can be traded for spirit talismans? My spouse tossed several down the well to pacify the town’s spirit. Hey, I’ve always said she was a wasteful woman; I should hurry home and fish them out."

"There are so many types of elixirs. Which one should I trade for?"

"Uncle Guo hit the jackpot; he’s trading for a cartload of treasures! I heard they packed fifteen storage talismans just with the spiritual rice. Young Master Li even promised to set up a talisman formation for the village."

Around noon, Old Guo returned with a pair of siblings: "Young Master, I found out that the Miao Jade is in the hands of the Lu siblings."

The siblings knelt in front of the cart, saying the words Old Guo had prepared in advance: "We hope Young Master will take us in. We can feel the spiritual energy of heaven and earth and are willing to offer the Miao Jade in exchange for being your servants."

“Lu Qingchen, Lu Qingying.” Li Hui surprisingly revealed their names, nodding and saying, “The Heavenly Talisman Sect teaches according to one’s ability. First walk on the path of the heart, and then we’ll decide your future directions.”

With a wave of his hand, the siblings vanished, leaving Old Guo shocked. He quickly knelt down, beseeching, "Young Master, you are a high-level demon cultivator. Please save the children in the village."

Li Hui put down his talisman brush and replied calmly, "Please rise, elder. In the past six months, I have gathered over a hundred thousand people, either sending them to large cities to reunite with family or to mountain camps to band together. However, only less than forty have been fortunate enough to join the Heavenly Talisman Sect. The Great Xia is relatively better off; those small, remote countries are even worse off. Under the onslaught of calamity, every place is similar. You can go ask around. If anyone wishes to leave, I can escort them to a slightly safer town."

"That’s true. Amid a great calamity, where is there peace?" Old Guo sighed, feeling reluctant to leave home. If there was any glimmer of hope, who would want to abandon their hometown? Only orphans like the Lu siblings would have nothing to hold them back.

After asking around, Old Guo found that even the orphans in the village didn’t want to leave, and in the end, they decided nothing would come of it.

Although the place was a mess under the great calamity, following Li Hui meant a different situation altogether. He traveled the Great Xia, finding three locations to shelter refugees: the Great Buddha Temple ruins, the ancient tombs of Baoyang Mountain, and the depths of Xiuming Mountain. However, as the number of people increased, they were now overcrowded and could hardly accommodate anyone else.

Around noon, another merchant convoy arrived, dust swirling as it approached with more than a hundred people.

“Whoa…” A stout, white-skinned cultivator leapt down from the back of a beast with azure eyes, shouting at the ghostly convoy, "You little brat! Are you trying to steal our business again?"

"Heh, fat fool, that’s because you’re so slow!" Li Hui laughed while sipping from a jug of wine. “Where’s that pretty wife of yours? Last time she chatted with me, you were barking like a wild dog beside us."

“Qiniang got hurt; it was so dangerous! Luckily, I, Chef Zhao, have the beast bone seal to help me. I mostly have to thank you for the beast bones you sold me last time; they were very useful."

"If your wife is hurt, shouldn’t you be taking care of her rather than acting all high and mighty in front of me? Get lost, before your wife’s baby gets tainted by dark energy."

"Wow, you even know when my wife’s pregnant? You don’t mean…?" The stout man was caught off guard, only to hear a reprimand: "Get back here! Stop embarrassing yourself out here!"

Li Changtian and Song Zining approached and nodded at Li Hui. This marked their third encounter, and the two maintained their vigilance as team leader and deputy team leader respectively.