Chapter 391: The Mysterious Village

Chapter 391: The Mysterious Village

Ruo’er had become Lin Nuo’s significant other, at least in name.

But for Ruo’er, it held profound meaning.

After all, she was granted the privilege of accompanying the young master on a pilgrimage and masquerading as his partner—something no one else could claim.

Every journey begins with a first step, and she had taken an exceedingly important one, gradually positioning herself to become the young master’s closest confidante.

It was clear she was favored by him; those older sisters couldn’t compare.

After some bustling travels, Lin Nuo and the others finally reached Ru Yu Village, and it was sooner than expected.

It all involved their horse; the initial time estimated was based on the speed of their previous swift steed, but they had an unfortunate encounter with some Zaun horse hunters who brutally took down their horse mid-journey.

Lin Nuo couldn’t swallow this indignity and marched right to the hunters’ lair to reclaim some horses for himself.

Those horses were incredibly fast—before they knew it, they had covered several kilometers in no time.

So they arrived at Ru Yu Village ahead of schedule. One couldn’t help but admire the Zaun horse hunters; they not only hunted horses but had a stash of good ones hidden away.

Ru Yu Village was aptly named, situated near the sea, where the villagers engaged in fishing, leading a simple and stable life away from the chaos.

A small hill stood several miles outside the village, serving as the resting place for departed villagers, including Lin Nuo’s grandmother.

One must say, Ru Yu Village was a blessed piece of land—blessed with good weather, free from calamities like tsunamis, even with the sea so close.

While fishing was the primary livelihood, the villagers also cultivated crops, allowing for a harmonious balance between agriculture and fisheries. Not exceptionally wealthy, but they enjoyed a comfortable little life.

In front of the village stood a great banyan tree, under which two elderly men played chess.

Seeing Lin Nuo and the others approach, the old men greeted them with open smiles.

They welcomed travelers home, especially the young ones; the older fellows found it refreshing to hear about the outside world from the youth.

“Hanmoh, welcome back.”

The old man smiled warmly.

“Thank you, Uncle Li and Uncle Guan. We’re here to pay respects to our late mother.”

“Mm, the weather has been nice lately; no signs of heavy rain. After your pilgrimage, you should stay a while. We plan on preparing a feast for you, and everyone would love to hear about the outside world.”

“Oh, you’ve all been too kind. There’s no need for a feast. I can just whip up some dishes at home. Please come by then.”

Xia Hanmo politely spoke with the two elderly men, and after a brief chat, they continued their way into the village.

They had a family ancestral home in the village, simple and not very large, but sufficient for the three of them to stay comfortably.

They returned at most once a year, and each time they had to clean up.

This was where Ruo’er’s importance shone through; not only was she a travel expert, but she also excelled in housekeeping.

Let her handle the cleaning while he took the opportunity to slack off. Seriously, what kind of villain helps clean ancestral homes?

“Nuo’er, come on, sweep the house.”

“Ma’am, let me do it!”

Ruo’er quickly grabbed the broom; as a professional maid, she could never let the young master do manual labor. She could finish the cleaning all on her own.

“Ruo’er, you’ve almost cleaned the whole place. Go ahead and take a break.”

“No need, ma’am! It’s my duty. The young master has it tough out there training, I should be helping him with this.”

“Ruo’er is so considerate.”

Xia Hanmo smiled, pleased.

Lin Nuo cast them a glance.

He figured his. mother’s thinking was off.

Oh no, he. thought. That is to say, his mother’s reasoning was faulty; what a concept.

Ruo’er was a maid, so naturally she worked for money—what sort of sense did it make to say she was being conscientious? Did they start thinking of her as a daughter-in-law?

Oh, it seemed he hadn’t even given her any money.

But that didn’t bother him; he paid her, and she refused the payment. At Xuanyun Sect, everything was taken care of, so money wasn’t necessary.

However, that didn’t mean her labor was free.

She just wouldn’t collect from Lin Nuo; working for Xuanyun Sect meant fees were still owed. After all, Lin Nuo wouldn’t allow those folks to exploit his maid’s labor! A little nudge here or there, they were gonna have to pay.

Some of that money found its way into Lin Nuo’s pocket, and then he would give Ruo’er a cut.

At this point, Ruo’er would gladly accept the money because it was from her own labor. If it was for Lin Nuo, however, she’d refuse to take any wage at all.

And thus, Ruo’er often found herself picking up money that Lin Nuo deliberately dropped.

Ruo’er and Xia Hanmo were busy cleaning inside, while the lounging Lin Nuo decided to grab a grandmaster chair under the tree for a nap, thinking he’d wake up just in time for dinner.

The villagers were all at the seaside fishing, and with no fish ponds around, he couldn’t use his fishing rod and bait there either.

Adjacent to Lin Nuo’s ancestral home stood a larger house that used to accommodate a family of four. Tragically, their eldest son had gone out fishing one day and disappeared amidst a sudden storm—no word had come back in many years, making it likely he had perished at sea.

It was said the storm was bizarrely sudden; one moment the weather was clear and sunny, the next it turned into a violent tempest, like something out of a nightmare.

Yet, just as quickly, the clouds cleared, and everything returned to normal, bright skies resuming.

At that time, several people had gone out to sea and returned safe and sound, except for that poor neighbor’s eldest son.

People speculated that he hadn’t died but had been cast away to some unknown place.

But as years passed, those who went to sea had searched as far as possible, yet still found no trace of him. Let alone him actually returning.

Lin Nuo believed he was dead; the idea of him being lost in some unknown place was psychological self-deception. And as for the whole “dead man tells no tales” line—given how vast the ocean was, good luck even locating a navigation signal.

The neighbor also had a little girl, two years younger than Lin Nuo, who was quite the sensible child. After her parents were injured and unable to move, and with her brother’s accident, she had taken up the responsibility of supporting the family.

That was tough.

But in this world, there were many who struggled. Lin Nuo saw them but remained indifferent; for him, being a villain meant not causing trouble for others—empathy wasn’t in his playbook.

Furthermore, speaking of struggles, his own life wasn’t a cakewalk. In his previous life—it was all tragedy after tragedy, just when he thought he could breathe.

“Nuo Ge?”

A familiar feminine voice called out, and Lin Nuo turned to look.

He nodded:

“Hello.”

……

On the eastern sea line, the water lay calm.

Yet deep within the ocean, a few individuals with dragon-like horns discussed fervently as they scanned a map of the ocean:

“This village shouldn’t even exist.”

“Indeed, our people have held several ceremonies in the past, each triggering ferocious tidal waves, logically, this village should have been submerged.”

“Then how do we explain that area? It has endured many tribulations, yet lately enjoys tranquil weather—what’s going on?”

“This is a terrifying situation. If every coastal village is like this, we can’t threaten the mainland. Perhaps humans are preparing to counter us.”