Chapter 535: Kite Hero

With a thought, Lin An simply asked again directly:

What abnormalities have happened recently in the village?

Is this village called Wasteland Village? If so, why is it called that?

Imperial court? What imperial court? Have you seen anyone similar to us?

Also, blood corpse? Explain in detail what a blood corpse is!

The successive questions left the old man stunned for a while.

Seeing Lin An show some impatience, he hastily performed a salute.

The strangely dressed man before them could speak human language; he certainly didn't look like a monster.

Only the burly man beside him looked too hulking, like a black bear.

You don't even know what a blood corpse is? How is that possible?

Replying, sir.

Our village is indeed called Wasteland Village.

This name has always been like this; I also don't know why it's called that...

Our ancestors have always called it that...

Probably because it's located in a desolate mountain? This place is too remote...

Full of doubts, the stranger's questions before him were too strange.

But seeing Lin An's tightly furrowed brow, he dared not ask another word:

As for the imperial court, it should currently be the Great Xia dynasty; as for the era name...

He gave a bitter smile; the old man felt a bit embarrassed:

The scholars in the town might know; the last era name I heard was when I was young.

Back then it was called...

Get to the point.

Lin An directly interrupted the old man's rambling, his brow not relaxing.

What the era name is, is completely unimportant to him.

The old man was stunned, and dared not ramble on further.

Just what background does this strange person have?

Replying, sir.

Blood corpses are man-eating monsters; they resemble skinned living humans, and cannot die unless their heads are severed.

They possess immense strength; only the imperial court can deal with them.

People like us, if scratched by the monster, will contract the blood plague and turn into blood corpses.

After a pause, Huang Dawei secretly raised his head with some doubt, and glanced again at Lin An's attire:

As for people similar to you, sir...

I haven't seen such people, but I've heard there are many extraordinary individuals in the army; that's why I guessed you might be imperial court soldiers.

He spoke hesitantly.

After speaking, he bowed slightly and coughed twice, somewhat fatigued.

After hearing that, Lin An quickly pondered.

It seems the blood corpse is just a zombie, at most differing in appearance.

Extraordinary individuals? An ancient version of Awakened Ones?

Just that.

Seeing Village Head Huang Dawei seemingly avoiding the question of abnormalities in the village, Lin An coldly asked:

You still haven't answered my question.

In the village, have there been any abnormalities recently?

We'll ask about the blood corpse later; for now, the key is the Wasteland Village incident.

Seeing that Lin An hadn't given up his questioning, the old man opened his mouth for a moment, then lowered his head and replied:

Replying, sir... no...

Before the words even left his mouth, Lin An instantly turned his head toward the nearby house, his mental power surging forth.

Boom!

Like a bombardment of artillery shells, it frightened the villagers into a burst of cries.

Don't try to hide anything from me.

This is your last chance.

Expressionless, Lin An stepped two paces closer to the village head.

This old man is obviously hiding something.

No abnormalities? What a joke.

I myself was attacked by that thing as soon as I entered the Secret Realm.

The thatched hut is so close to the village; he simply doesn't believe Wasteland Village has no abnormalities at all.

A panic ensued.

Village Head Huang Dawei looked in terror at the blown-up house, knowing that if he didn't speak now, this strange person before him would kill him.

He inwardly cried out 'alas', and could only steel himself to reply.

While speaking, he furtively glanced at the couple beside him.

Replying, sir.

"It's not that I want to hide anything, it's just that the matter has already been resolved..."

His eyes revealed memories, the old man took a breath:

"A year ago, the village was haunted, and a woman went mad."

"Later, a Daoist priest was invited, and the matter was resolved."

"Since then, there has been nothing unusual in the village these days."

He said it very briefly, brushing it off in one stroke.

The villagers beside him also kept nodding, echoing in agreement.

"Yes, sir! The matter has already been resolved!"

Lin An heard this and let out a cold laugh.

Still not being honest?

He noticed that Huang Dawei, before speaking, gave a furtive glance at the couple behind him.

Judging by their appearance, they must be a family.

He extended his right hand.

His mental power turned into telekinesis, Lin An directly snatched the middle-aged man standing behind the old man out of thin air:

"I want to hear the details."

"Don't try to hide anything."

"What happened? Who went mad? Who died?"

"But if I discover you are deceiving me,"

"Bang!"

The stone mill exploded.

The middle-aged man dragged out by telekinesis widened his eyes, watching the stone mill that Lin An had crushed in midair, trembling all over like a sieve.

Caught off guard, the old man panicked and hastily spoke:

"Sir! We really didn't dare to deceive you!"

"That matter has truly been resolved!"

"If you don't believe me, you can go to the town and ask that Daoist priest; the pagoda he built is right next to our village!"

Lin An showed some impatience.

Is it because I didn't kill anyone myself that these people keep spouting nonsense?

What I want is the course of events; why keep telling me the matter is settled?

Feeling a hint of killing intent from the middle-aged man pulled before him, he hurriedly waved his hands:

"Sir! We'll speak! We'll speak!"

"We don't want to conceal anything; it's just that this matter isn't very glorious..."

He sighed, and the man struggled to speak:

"Sir."

"Around the year before last, I once encountered a woman on the road back to the village."

"It was winter, and that woman lay motionless in the ice and snow."

"Seeing her pitiful, I brought her back."

"Back home, for some reason, the woman revived."

"Later, seeing her pitiful, I took her in as a member of my household..."

At this point, the woman behind the middle-aged man shuddered violently.

The man likewise gave a bitter smile, his eyes full of fear:

"Later, the woman I picked up became pregnant..."

"That same year, my wife, Madam Huang, also became pregnant."

"This should have been a good thing... but..."

"The following winter, my wife took that woman out to draw water, but saw the woman sitting by the well with her head lowered..."

Taking a deep breath, the man swallowed, and Madam Huang behind him spoke for him in a trembling voice:

"The woman sat by the well, continuously singing opera tunes in her mouth."

"I was worried she might fall in, so I went over to try to call her up."

"Who would have known... who would have known.."

"That woman suddenly lifted her head—no! She suddenly turned her head and smiled at me."

"Her face had only three bloody holes!"

"After laughing, the woman leapt up and jumped into the well!"

"I was terrified at the time, didn't even dare to take the water bucket, and fled back..."

In the midst of speaking, Lin An suddenly interrupted Madam Huang, his gaze solemn:

"What is the name of the woman your husband brought back?"

Madam Huang stared, still immersed in the fear of that time.

Instinctively, she opened her mouth and replied:

"Sir, that woman's name is Yuan Ying."