Chapter 361: The Feeling of Coming Home Is Wonderful (10/15, going to sleep…)

They walked, looking around as they went.

The once-dangerous wilderness had nearly been turned into a scenic spot by their party.

The team's soaring spirits could not be contained.

After a brief moment of nostalgia, the group's pace quickened, and kept quickening.

The rider at the very front, mounted on horseback, even pulled ahead of the group, eager to reach the village as soon as possible.

But after advancing a certain distance, the lead horseman suddenly halted, stunned.

Fang Yue's heart skipped a beat; he immediately spurred his horse forward and asked, "What's going on?"

"Captain Ye, the ground—the ground, look at the ground ahead!"

Fang Yue stared ahead and his expression subtly changed.

From where they stood, the village path beneath their feet had been torn apart as if plowed—two-thirds of it destroyed, the white ceramic stones shattered, their underlying soil churned up, turning the earth into a chaotic mess, impassable for the convoy.

"Has Gu Yue Cun been attacked?!"

The Blood Hunter who had just arrived narrowed his pupils and asked grimly.

"Not certain yet."

Fang Yue's face also darkened; when others arrived and saw the village path had been torn up, their joy of returning home was instantly crushed.

Many clenched their fists, emotions flaring.

"Who did this?!"

"Why ruin the road? It must be outsiders!"

"Is someone targeting Gu Yue Cun?"

Thinking of their families still in Gu Yue Cun, no one could remain calm; whispers rose and fell like waves.

The scene instantly descended into chaos, like a bustling marketplace.

"Calm down! Don't forget Lord Han is still in Gu Yue Cun!"

Fang Yue shouted loudly, and the group barely regained composure.

It wasn't just because of Fang Yue's voice, but also because of what he said.

"That's right—Lord Han is still in the village. With Lord Han there, the village won't fall!"

"And Captain Lin Ling! Captain Hua Wuye! They're all there to protect the village too!"

"Yes! The village is surely fine—don't scare yourselves! Let's hurry, get back to Gu Yue Cun faster—maybe we can still help!"

The village path had been destroyed, its surface layer turned up, still fresh.

So this destruction must have happened just within the past day or two.

Fang Yue questioned veteran Blood Hunters and quickly confirmed this theory was correct.

But… who, and why, would do such a thing?

Fang Yue couldn't figure it out, but the Blood Hunters had their own analysis and theories.

"Maybe villagers, sensing an outsider attack, destroyed the path. For us, losing the path doesn't matter—we know the way back, it's second nature. The path only served as a barrier against Guiyi."

"But for outsiders, without the path, they'd be lost. Yet the plowing here is so crude, it can't possibly mislead anyone. Unless they later plowed deeper to redirect the path away from Gu Yue Cun, this wouldn't work at all—it's useless as is."

Fang Yue listened, then shook his head slightly.

He thought this unlikely. Tian Dan Zhi Yuan Wu had also drawn near.

"Ye Ge, without the path's protection, do you think Guiyi are lying in wait further ahead?"

"What's to fear? Kill them when we meet them."

Fang Yue was now a Postnatal Second-rate Realm cultivator, and he possessed the Internal Energy Heart Method leading directly to Postnatal First-rate Realm—he had full confidence.

Also, the Guiyi around Gu Yue Cun were relatively low-level compared to those near Mo Cun.

Except for those specifically prepared, most Xiao Guiyi should be easy to handle.

But as they pressed forward, Fang Yue and the others soon realized they had overthought it.

Along the entire route, they encountered no Guiyi at all.

And strangely, their assumption—that the plowing was meant to redirect outsiders—was completely wrong.

Even though the path was destroyed, the plowing marks were unmistakably straight, pointing directly toward Gu Yue Cun.

Some worried the villagers who did the plowing might have been caught off-guard, forced back into Gu Yue Cun by outsiders, and had no time to clean up the traces.

In short, every pessimistic theory surfaced; everyone held their breath, desperate to reach Gu Yue Cun.

Soon, the faint black dot of Gu Yue Cun appeared ahead, and along the entire stretch, the plowing direction had not changed—it still pointed straight to the village.

Fang Yue squinted from afar, and his tense heart instantly eased.

He could barely make out two figures standing at the village entrance—likely Guard Team members.

Too far to see their faces, but they were clearly allies.

Fang Yue quickly informed the team of this discovery; they immediately perked up, energized, and accelerated.

Those ahead, mounted and galloping, surged forward with the joy of returning home—this raw emotion was far stronger in these native Gu Yue Cun villagers than in Fang Yue, a displaced wanderer.

Consider Fang Yue—he'd only stayed in Gu Yue Cun for a while, merely as a starting point. Though he held fond memories, it was still just a temporary stay, like a newbie village.

Even so, after being away so long, returning to the village stirred powerful homesickness in him.

In contrast, one could imagine how intensely the original villagers felt right now.

The team instantly grew loose, scattered.

The mounted riders up front galloped wildly.

The second group sprinted on foot, racing to match the horses' speed—briefly keeping pace before being overtaken.

The third group consisted of ordinary villagers dragging carts; their physical condition was poor, they couldn't run, couldn't ride well, and could only trudge slowly behind the carts.

The fourth group was Fang Yue and the Blood Hunters—who, now knowing it was safe, were assigned to guard the rear, accompanied by a batch of escort team members. The Blood Hunters had forcibly held them back; otherwise, these people would have sprinted ahead long ago.

"Gu Yue Cun! Gu Yue Cun! Gu Yue Cun!"

"We're back! We're back! We're back!!"

"Hahaha! Finally back! Finally home!!"

Excited shouts echoed at the village entrance.

Emotions, turned to sound, reached every person's ears.

The Guard Team members who had been guarding the gate instantly widened their eyes, too stunned to speak.

"They're back! Deputy Captain Ye's team is back!!!"

"They're back! The escort team is back! Everyone, come quickly and see!"

Several of them sprinted into the village to spread the news.

Soon, a large crowd surged out of the village, all come to welcome Fang Yue and the others.

In the distance, Fang Yue also saw Zhanshu Huxi Hu, and Jing Yan, apparently using his recording mode, along with some familiar faces.

Fang Yue sincerely sighed: the feeling of being home is truly wonderful!

……

Time to sleep, really can't hold on anymore. I'll make up the last five updates after waking up.

(End of Chapter)