Chapter 413: Everything of Yours is Mine

"Young Master Shen, the village only has coarse tea and simple meals, I hope you will not mind!"

After bringing Shen Yu back to the village, they prepared a table full of dishes. This place was cut off from the outside world, with only their own crudely made liquor, which even they were reluctant to drink on ordinary days.

The old village head, accompanied by several village elders, received Shen Yu with great enthusiasm; as the group toasted one another, they appeared to be in high spirits.

Yet the very next moment, Shen Yu collapsed heavily onto the table, looking as if he had fainted from an inability to hold his liquor.

Seeing this, the villagers were all stunned; they had just been watching him and he didn't look drunk, so how could he have collapsed? Besides, with the liquor they made themselves, who could possibly get drunk?

"Quick, quick, get some rope and tie him up." Upon seeing Shen Yu faint, the old village head stood up immediately and called for people to tie Shen Yu up.

Throughout the entire process, Shen Yu did not resist, and only after they had bound him tightly, layer upon layer, did the old village head finally heave a sigh of relief.

"Village head, this is, this..."

"I drugged him; it's just to make him sleep for a while, nothing will happen!"

"But village head, the man came from afar, and we drugged him—isn't that bad?"

"What do you know? One must always be on guard; the minds of these outsiders are not like our own people—they are very wicked."

Recalling the time he went out when he was young, he had first been tricked into repairing river embankments for no reason, and nearly didn't make it back.

Then, after barely escaping from the river embankment work, he was almost sold off. If he hadn't been tricked once before and kept his guard up, he didn't know where he might have been sold to long ago.

When he mentioned his life wandering the outside world to the villagers, he naturally spoke of it as a series of dramatic ups and downs, where he had slaughtered his way through everything.

But in reality, it was truly a matter of tears and snot; the bitterness within was not something to be told to outsiders.

This also allowed him to see the true faces of people outside; it could not be denied that there were good people, but there were also plenty of bad ones.

As for these villagers who had never seen the world and didn't know how to be on guard, they might even help count the money for someone after being sold; how difficult it was to be their village head.

"Quick, search his body and see if he has anything on him!"

"This, village head, we've already tied him up; robbing him now doesn't seem right."

"You blockheads! Don't you think about it? We are surrounded by steep mountains and ridges; anyone who wants to walk out of here would lose half their life."

"Look at this young man—there isn't a speck of dirt on him. How did he get here?"

"I fear he has ulterior motives and has set his sights on us. If we don't check what proof of identity he has on him, how can we determine who he is!"

As he spoke, the old village head personally began searching Shen Yu. Seeing this, two people nearby also came up to help.

The old village head had already made up his mind: if this young man was someone they couldn't afford to offend, then he would naturally untie the ropes immediately and serve him with the best food and drink.

If such a person went missing, it would cause a huge uproar, and countless people would inevitably come searching. Their village's location would still be exposed, which would be even more troublesome, and perhaps the whole village would be in danger.

He had seen how bloodthirsty people outside could be; they wouldn't reason with a group of villagers like them.

If his status was ordinary and he had no power, then naturally no one would come looking for him with great fanfare; if he was lost, then he was lost—who would care?

If that were the case, then he was sorry, but since he had entered their place, he shouldn't think about leaving.

Although life here was not as luxurious as it was outside, they still had food and drink.

Plus, this kid didn't look bad; among the village's young women and wives who saw him, which one wasn't drooling with envy?

Find him a wife, let him have a child, and tie him here.

He had seen villages outside, and those living in misery were everywhere. They had no harsh taxes or corvée labor here; it was much better than the villages outside, he didn't know how many times over.

【Gu Kui】

How could such a peaceful life be broken by an outsider? Doing this was a last resort.

Being groped by the villagers here, Shen Yu, who was feigning sleep, could barely keep it up—searching was one thing, but why were they taking things out?

The reason he pretended to be drugged was not to put on a show for these villagers, but because he was afraid there might be something hidden here.

If these were just ordinary villagers, that would naturally be best; if there was something else, his disguise could still serve a purpose.

"Village head, look at what this is?" After searching Shen Yu for a while, a villager suddenly touched a hard plate; when he took it out to look, it was actually glittering gold.

"Gold?" Upon seeing this plate, the old village head's heart trembled. He had been outside and naturally knew what a Golden Medal made of gold signified.

Either wealthy or noble—not someone to be trifled with!

When he saw the characters on it clearly, the old village head shivered in fear. As one of the few people in the village who knew how to read, he naturally knew what the text on this Golden Medal was.

This Golden Medal was given when Shen Yu was still a Patrol Censor, representing the imperial court. Although the imperial court outside was now weak and many people no longer held the government in high regard.

But for these ordinary villagers, even in a mountain village isolated from the world, the majesty of the government was still deeply rooted in their hearts.

"Quick, quick, untie him!" They hurriedly untied him and carried Shen Yu to the bed, after which the old village head issued a gag order to everyone around him, telling them to act as if nothing had happened.

It was fortunate he was smart enough, otherwise he would have invited a great disaster.

After a long while, Shen Yu felt he had feigned enough, and only then did he slowly open his eyes.

He hadn't been idle just now; he had quietly used his Super Perception to investigate the surroundings while forcibly activating the Soul Bead in his hand, hoping it could accurately point out the location.

It was a pity, however, that the Bead in his hand could only confirm that the target it was looking for was within this mountain village; as for where exactly, it still couldn't be pinpointed. It seemed he would have to find it slowly himself.

"Young Master, you're awake!"

When Shen Yu woke up, someone nearby immediately stepped forward to hand him a bowl of water, while giving him a shy smile.

This was the prettiest girl in their place, brought by the old village head to serve his needs.

However, in Shen Yu's eyes, she was just so-so; a village belle, she looked alright, but compared to the charming beauties outside, she was lacking by more than just a little.

"Earlier, Young Master, you were drunk, so the village head gave up his house for you to stay in; this is the best house we have here, I hope you won't mind."

"That won't do, I am a guest, how could I occupy the host's house!"

"The village head said you are an honored guest and must be treated with the highest hospitality, otherwise Grandpa Village Head will be unhappy."

"Well, then, alright!"

"Young Master, you can rest easy staying here!" Seeing Shen Yu no longer refused, the young girl added, "By the way, Young Master, the back mountain is not safe, you must not step into it."

"Also, go to sleep early at night; in these deep mountains and forests, there are sometimes wild beasts, so you need to close the doors and windows tightly and not come out."

"Alright, I understand!"

Nodding at the other person, while the sky had not yet turned completely dark, Shen Yu walked around the village and visited every household to sit for a while.

Although it was a bit strange that this young man liked to wander around for no reason, and often left after just a short stroll, they still received him warmly.

It was just that Shen Yu did not find what he wanted; all the places looked very normal, so normal that he even wondered if the things Mu Zishan left behind were playing a trick on him.

Furthermore, after the sun set, everyone began to bolt their doors and would not come out again. Shen Yu also returned to the house the village head had prepared for him, lay on the bed, closed his eyes, and pretended to be asleep.

When the night was deep and quiet, Shen Yu suddenly opened his eyes. He seemed to feel his life force draining away; this was clearly someone absorbing his power.

This village, as expected, had a problem.