A New Feature Has Appeared! (4)
“Gasp… There really is a person collapsed here!”
And it was an old man who looked quite advanced in years, with a thick head of white hair. No, how did a grandfather end up out here alone and in this state…! Ah, no! This wasn’t the time to be thinking about that!
Lin hurriedly tried to save the old man, channeling a bit of her spiritual energy into him as a quick measure. Spiritual energy was the concentrated essence of pure natural qi. What’s more, the spiritual energy flowing from Lin’s body carried a faint healing power thanks to Ju A-ran’s phoenix feather. Thanks to that, the old man soon regained consciousness.
“Cough! Cough…!”
“Uh, um… Grandpa, are you okay…?”
Lin asked, watching him with cautious eyes.
“Ugh… Where am I…”
The old man looked around once he came to his senses, then dropped his head as though resigned to his fate. He turned toward Lin and offered his thanks for being rescued.
“So it was you, young monk, who saved me. I’m truly grateful. How can I ever repay this kindness…”
“What are you saying! Hehe! It wasn’t even that hard!”
He introduced himself as Old Man Jeong. He lived in a small hut he had built in the forest by the village ahead, barely scraping by by wandering the woods and gathering medicinal herbs and wild plants.
Wait… a village nearby?? That meant there were people living close by…??
Lin immediately asked the old man the question burning in her mind.
“Is there a village around here?”
“There is one small village. It isn’t large, but enough people live there to call it a proper village. That’s where I’m from. Why do you ask?”
“Ah! It’s just that… I was actually looking for a village!”
At last! The thought that she had finally found the clue she had been desperately searching for made Lin so happy she felt like she could fly. At this point, even if it wasn’t the Ju Nation itself, it had to be somewhere nearby. The chance that the locals wouldn’t know the way to the Ju Nation was practically zero.
“Hehe, you were looking for the village? How fortunate. I was just about to head back there myself.”
“Whoa! Really? Can I come with you?”
“Hehehe, of course. How could I repay my benefactor on the side of the road like this?”
The old man spoke naturally and began leading Lin forward. Perhaps thanks to the excellent restorative power of her spiritual energy, he already seemed to have completely recovered from his earlier injuries.
“Though it will take some time to reach the village. It’s quite far from here.”
“That’s fine! We can chat as we walk!”
The distance meant nothing to Lin. After all, walking was practically all she had done since arriving in this world, and she had plenty of questions she wanted to ask the old man along the way.
Having lived a long life, he was bound to know a lot about the Ju Nation and the human world. Maybe she would hear some useful stories? Hehe! Though the odds were low, Lin secretly hoped the old man might even know something about the capital sect located in the Ju Nation.
As she listened to him talk, a question suddenly occurred to her.
“By the way, Grandpa, how did you end up coming all the way out here? Wouldn’t gathering ordinary herbs or mountain berries be easier in the forest closer to home?”
“That is true. However, I’ve recently come down with a chronic condition, so I needed far stronger and better herbs than the common ones. There aren’t many of those nearby. Spiritual herbs filled with powerful energy can only be found in places untouched by human hands—like the heart of the Fantasy Forest Demon Territory.”
“The Fantasy Forest Demon Territory?”
“Y-you don’t know…?”
The old man’s momentarily flustered expression made Lin tilt her head with a pure, innocent “Huh?” It wasn’t an act or a bluff; she genuinely had no idea what he was talking about.
“Ah, my mistake. The Fantasy Forest Demon Territory… In other words, the farther you travel from where humans live, the denser the spiritual energy becomes and the more demon races and spiritual creatures tend to appear. Naturally, that also increases your chances of finding good spiritual herbs.”
“I-is that so…? The Fantasy Forest Demon Territory…”
Learning such interesting new information put Lin in an excellent mood. Although she had picked up plenty of general knowledge about the cultivation world through Daoyeongbang, she had been completely in the dark about the mysterious realm she actually lived in. It felt like a stroke of luck to finally learn the name of this region.
In that case, the place where I hatched is probably also in the central demon territory of the Fantasy Forest! Hmm… But how does Grandpa know all this if he isn’t a cultivator?
“Ah! There’s a fork in the path just ahead.”
While she mulled over the meaningful conversation they had just had and continued following him, a path splitting into two suddenly appeared before them.
“What should we do? Which way…?”
“I know the route from here. When I came out to gather herbs, I took exactly this path. At this fork, you must go left no matter what.”
“Left…?”
At Old Man Jeong’s strong insistence on the left path, Lin unconsciously turned to look that way. The moment she did, she felt an inexplicable sense of unease. She couldn’t quite put it into words, but her instincts were screaming at her. If she had been alone and forced to choose, it was the path she would never have picked. An unpleasant aura clung to it.
In contrast, the right path felt… ‘...Fine? I don’t sense any strange energy at all. It just looks like a normal trail. If anything, the right side smells more like human habitation…’
As you can see, Lin’s instincts and Old Man Jeong’s opinion were completely at odds.
While she stood there wondering what to do, the old man spoke again.
“Just trust me this once. Would I ever do anything bad to my benefactor? I only suggested it because I truly want to repay you.”
Old Man Jeong stepped forward strongly, practically pushing for the left path.
With no other choice. Although something still felt off… she was still a little unsure. In the end, Lin decided to trust the old man just this once.
“All right! It’s not like I have any proof we shouldn’t go left or anything…”
“Wise decision! The right path has rough terrain and is full of dens for vicious wild beasts. It’s no place for a lovely young lady like yourself. You won’t regret this!”
“Y-yes…”
And so Lin and Old Man Jeong headed down the left path.
“.....”
Even as she silently followed behind the old man, Lin quietly asked the Daoyeongbang viewers for their opinion the moment he couldn’t see her face.
…What do you guys think? This seems suspicious, right??
As I thought… I’m right, aren’t I? It’s not just me thinking this, right??
But it does seem right… How do I confirm it for sure? He’s still hiding his identity, so it feels weird to make the first move…
Still, he hadn’t shown any open malice yet, and on the surface he looked like nothing more than a frail old man. Attacking him outright felt wrong. It would be so much easier if he would just drop the act and attack first…
That was when one viewer suddenly made an interesting suggestion.
Exorcism arts?
Oh? Now that was a very tempting suggestion. The deeper they went, the creepier and colder the path became. It really did look like the kind of place where ghosts would appear. If Old Man Jeong really was a ghost cultivator or a disguised evil spirit, he would surely react to exorcism arts in some way. Even if he wasn’t, someone from a different school wouldn’t be harmed by it, so there was basically no downside to trying.
There was no reason not to do it right away.
Sounds good! I’ll try it! So… how do you do this exorcism thing?
Urgent order of the law, urgent order of the law…
She steadied her mind, emptied all fear from her heart, and…!
“By the command of heaven, evil ghost, begone!!”
"Urgent order of the law, urgent order of the law..."
"By the command of heaven, evil ghost, begone!"
⟨ Exorcism Incantation ⟩
In that instant—!
The solar emblem hidden on Lin’s forehead suddenly flashed with light. The weak exorcism art was instantly infused with powerful radiance. Old Man Jeong, struck directly by that light, let out a horrific scream.
“Kwaaaaaah—!!!! What the hell are you doing!!!!”
His arms and legs began twisting into grotesque angles as he shrieked in agony.
Got him! I had a feeling, but I never dreamed he was actually a ghost cultivator hiding his identity!