Chapter 24: The Price of Growth

Just as Xiao Han was returning to Shanqian Cun with the prey he had caught, as he usually did, he stared with a blank expression at the scene of hell on earth before him.

Within the mountain village, there was no longer any sign of human life; severed limbs and ruined walls were everywhere, and a few Magic Beasts still lingered in the village.

The blood-stained saliva dripping from their maws seemed like the greatest mockery of Xiao Han, who prided himself on being a top-tier expert at the peak of the Dou Ling realm.

And this was the very day Xiao Han had planned to leave; although his stay here had been very relaxing, Xiao Han had his own things to do.

There would always come a time when he had to leave, so he had spent a little more time this time, just hoping to hunt some more game.

Magic Beasts? How could that be? Xiao Han had lived here for half a year and had never once encountered a Magic Beast invasion.

Back then, Xiao Han had even been surprised and asked why there were no Magic Beasts here.

He still vaguely remembered the middle-aged blacksmith with a full beard saying gratefully:

"For that, we must thank the great cultivators of the Yunlan Sect. The Yunlan Sect Disciples from the nearby cities send people every year to clear out the surrounding Magic Beasts."

After all, although this village was close to the Magical Beast Mountain Range, Magic Beasts did not like human habitation, and this was not a special place; furthermore, under the regular clearing by Yunlan Sect Disciples, the occasional Magic Beast naturally vanished.

This was one of the reasons Xiao Han was willing to help Yun Shan; the current Yunlan Sect Disciples and the Yunlan Sect were still a sect full of righteousness.

Therefore, seeing a Magic Beast invasion, Xiao Han's first choice was not to believe it.

After slaying these few Magic Beasts that were still lingering, Xiao Han began to search everywhere.

Then, under his careful investigation, Xiao Han actually discovered some clues.

Beast-Attracting Incense, a special spice frequently used by mercenaries in the Magical Beast Mountain Range, was mostly used to lure away Magic Beasts so that mercenaries could conveniently pick the Medicinal Herbs and treasures they were guarding; it was of great value.

It was also a tactic many mercenaries used to ambush their opponents.

When Xiao Han saw the burnt residue of the Beast-Attracting Incense, a violent aura suddenly radiated from his body. A feeling of guilt immediately spread in his heart.

Smart as he was, how could he not know that Shanqian Cun had suffered an unprovoked disaster? This whole thing definitely had something to do with the mercenary he had killed.

Although Xiao Han spent nearly half a month afterwards killing all the members of that mercenary group, what was lost would never return.

That time, Xiao Han abandoned his principle of only punishing the ringleader and left none alive. He deeply realized what a painful price had been paid for the warning that one must root out evil completely.

He had never regretted killing that mercenary, but he hated his own arrogance at the time; now, the price of growth was hundreds of lives.

If he had been more cautious back then, how could such a tragedy have been caused?

He spent another three days burying all the parts he could find of everyone and erecting tombstones. Standing before the tombstones, the voices and smiles of those people from the past flashed before his eyes one by one.

"Little Lin, you're such a good young man, when will you find a pretty little girl to marry?" This was a joke an old woman had made with him during a chat.

"Don't worry, when I get married, I will definitely invite the whole village to drink wedding wine." At the time, Xiao Han never thought there would be such a day.

Because he knew he would never come back. Unless he had already reached the peak of the continent, but by then, things here would likely have long since changed.

"Sigh, today I have come to invite you big brothers, big sisters, uncles, and aunts to drink some wedding wine!" Sitting in front of the graves, Xiao Han took a fierce gulp of wine, the spicy sensation raging in his throat.

Immediately, he noticed something; looking at the traces here, it seemed someone had been cleaning. Could it be that there were still survivors back then?

Just as Xiao Han was thinking this, a sharp shout interrupted him, "Who are you?"

Following the sound, he saw that it was a slender youth dressed in coarse linen clothes, with a slightly pale complexion and a thin build.

He was carrying a large bag of paper money and some offerings. His eyes were filled with hostility. In this wilderness, a decadent, white-clothed weirdo had suddenly appeared, and the youth's heart was full of vigilance.

In fact, if Xiao Han had not been stirred by the scene and feeling unsettled, he would have discovered the lingering traces of offerings the moment he arrived here.

But compared to the youth's vigilance and defense, Xiao Han's heart was extremely excited.

With a choked voice, he said cautiously, "Little one, are you here to pay respects to your relatives?"

The youth shook his head, leaving Xiao Han feeling a moment of disappointment, though he soon understood; after all, there really were no survivors in the village at the time. Where would there be any relatives?

"I am here to pay respects to Grandpa Shi's fellow villagers on his behalf. I am an orphan; there are no relatives of mine here." However, his subsequent words made Xiao Han's spirits lift.

"Then can you take me to see your Grandpa Shi?" Although he knew his sudden request was inappropriate for this already wary child, Xiao Han could not care about that anymore.

Sure enough, hearing Xiao Han's words, the youth's wariness, which had slightly eased due to the conversation, immediately intensified again.

"What do you want with Grandpa Shi?" The youth took a step back, and the Dou Qi on his body began to erupt; the small kid was actually a one-star Dou Zhe.

Xiao Han revealed an interested expression. "Kid, do you have a sect?" His occupational disease as the Pavilion Master of the Langya Pavilion had flared up; he wanted to recruit anyone he saw as a genius.

"A sect? No, my cultivation is all taught by Grandpa Shi." Seemingly to intimidate him,

he also said tremblingly, "I'm telling you, Grandpa Shi is much more powerful than me; I'm only a Dou Zhe, but he is a Dou Shi expert.

You… you better not mess around!"

Xiao Han chuckled. Kid, that's not up to you! He stepped forward directly, grabbed him, and hoisted him up.

Putting on a fierce look, he said, "Tell me quickly, where is that Grandpa Shi of yours?"

The youth was still not behaving, kicking and punching at Xiao Han. "I knew you weren't a good person; I will definitely not tell you where Grandpa Shi is."

"Little brat, I can't deal with you?" Xiao Han didn't care; looking at the youth's appearance, he knew he must live in the vicinity.

He spread out his Soul Power to search for signs of human life.

The youth only felt a wave of dizziness and instantly appeared in front of his own door. He was immediately terrified.

"You… how did you know about this place? No, how did you get here all of a sudden?"

This was more than ten miles away from the graves.

Hearing the youth's voice, the door was pushed open, making a creaking sound.

Then, an old man who looked like he was nearing the end of his life slowly shuffled out. "Xiao Wu, what's wrong?"

Afterwards, he seemed to see an incredible scene; his whole body trembled, his finger pointed at Xiao Han, and he opened his mouth, but he was too excited to speak.

"You… are you Brother Lin?" Looking at Xiao Han's face, which was only slightly more mature than it had been in the past, Grandpa Shi was incredibly excited.

"You are?..." Too much time had passed, and Xiao Han had long since forgotten the old acquaintance who had completely changed.

"Brother Lin, I… cough, cough, cough~" Perhaps because he was too excited and his tone was too hurried, Grandpa Shi began to cough violently.

Xiao Han did not dare to go up and help; with the old man's current body, his Dou Qi would only make him die faster.

Finally, having slightly calmed his emotions, the old man said with tears in his eyes, "I am Shitou, Brother Lin, don't you remember me?"

"Shitou? Are you that Shitou who used to clamor about wanting to cultivate and still had drool in his mouth?" Xiao Han suddenly realized and recalled the little kid who had left a deep impression in his heart, only now he was a dying old man.