“Along the only way to the Graveyard of the Sun, there is a small village that we would have to pass through. The village only has about hundreds of inhabitants, and it is not on any map.” Crippled Elder adopted a melancholy tone as he recalled the past.
The village that he referred to must have been the place where Du Lang was attacked. However, the old man said that there were only hundreds of people there.
“Crippled Elder, did you say that the village only had about hundreds of villagers? But the Cave Wolves Mercenary Group mentioned that there must have been over a thousand people there.” Shen Yanxiao asked in confusion.
The old man kept silent for a moment. “I was there over a dozen years ago. It must have changed. It’s only natural that the population has grown.”
Hundreds to a thousand villagers in a dozen years?
Naturally?
Shen Yanxiao did not think it was normal at all. Du Lang mentioned that the village had men and women, older people over fifties, and strong and healthy young men. However, Du Lang did not see any children there. How could the village expand to two to three times its size in just a dozen years, but there were no children there?
That was strange.
“Little guy, if you have to go to the Graveyard of the Sun, don’t spend your night in that village. Trust me on that. If you have to go past the village, do that in the day and leave as soon as you can. Do not stay there.” Crippled Elder hesitated for a moment and then offered his advice cautiously.
“Why is that?” Shen Yanxiao knew that Crippled Elder must have known something about that village. However, something held him back from telling Shen Yanxiao about it. She had to find out.
The old man did not answer Shen Yanxiao’s question directly. He was quite tactful with his answers.
“Just listen to my advice. I am an old man, and I won’t lie to you. There is something weird about that village. You two young kids would not be able to survive it.”
No matter how hard Shen Yanxiao tried, the old man did not offer more details about it. He only persuaded her not to spend the night in the village.
The journey was a long one. After more than ten days, Shen Yanxiao could finally see a small village that had suddenly appeared on the horizon.
They had been in an endless desert, and the village had popped up abruptly.
“Little kid, this is as far as I can go. I will wait for you here, and if you are not back in ten days, I will go back to the Black City by myself.” The Crippled Elder sat on the carriage as he smoked tobacco in a long-stemmed Chinese pipe as he stared at the village in the distance. There was fear visible in his eyes.
Shen Yanxiao nodded. She hopped off the carriage and gazed at the village where the Cave Wolves Mercenary Group almost suffered complete destruction.
She bade farewell to Crippled Elder and headed toward the village.
The Vermilion Bird stayed with Shen Yanxiao, and he looked quite comfortable. The little Phoenix on his head had even nodded off.
“You humans like to freak each other out. As far as I can see, that is just a small village. Even if there is something weird, it’s not going to be that dreadful.” The Vermilion Bird folded his arms in front of his chest. While he complained against Crippled Elder’s fear, he stared at his domineering master.
“You are a mythical beast, and he is a normal old man. You two have different levels of psychological endurance.” Shen Yanxiao cast a glance at the Vermilion Bird as she gave him a lukewarm reply.
People were strong because they knew how to learn, create, and adapt.
At the same time, humans were vulnerable too.
In the infinite universe, people were as fragile as a grain of sand. Too many outward things could cost someone their life. Therefore, people knew fear, and they knew to stay away from fear.
Humans would only be fearless if they have the strength to face calamities and enemies.
