Chapter 34 Zhuangyuan Village
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Wuwang Peak, a part of the Shisi Province, was a familiar place to Pei Jing.
Ji Wuduan provided a clue about a small village located far from Shisi Province.
The village was hidden amidst mountains, surrounded by peaks in all directions, but it wasn’t cut off from the world. In fact, it was quite renowned in the nearby area, mainly due to its distinctive name: Zhuangyuan Village.
[T/N] Zhuangyuan Village ~ Village of the Scholars
They were in a restaurant situated in Yunzhong City.
Pei Jing leaned against the window and observed the bustling crowd outside. The atmosphere was filled with lively conversations and constant street vendors. Comparing the current lively and vibrant scene to the desolation he had witnessed when passing through Yunzhong in the past, Pei Jing shook his head, thinking, “I hope this time Shu Yan won’t cause too much trouble.”
The sight of lifeless bodies scattered everywhere and the rivers of blood flowing were extremely horrifying.
Regardless of how many times he had seen it, the scene remained deeply disturbing.
Yu Qinglian stirred her teacup with a spoon, supporting her cheek on her hand as she glanced sideways. Slowly, she began to speak, “I heard that in the past, the Sect Master of Shisi Province went mad and turned to cannibalism. The entire mighty sect fell into madness overnight, causing immense suffering to the people of the Yunzhong City below. It’s hard to imagine that this place, now so peaceful, was once a veritable hell.”
Pei Jing: “So every time I pass through here, I think of Senior Brother Pei, the number one champion of the Trial of Challenging the Heavens, who saved countless lives with his sword skills and looked really handsome.”
Yu Qinglian rolled her eyes and paused for a moment, her hand gripping the spoon tightly as her eyes narrowed. “I suddenly remembered something. I saw someone asking in the Celestial Pavilion, ‘What does it feel like to be the One Sword Soaring through the Frost of Wuwang Peak?’ Was it you who replied with ‘it’s cold’?”
Wu Sheng couldn’t help but suppress his laughter on the side.
Pei Jing hesitated for a moment and asked, “Why do you think it could be me?”
Yu Qinglian: “Just a hunch. Tell me the truth, is it you?”
Pei Jing couldn’t stop laughing and didn’t directly answer. He simply said, “I think that person made a valid point. Suddenly encountering heavy snow, one’s head must have felt cold.” He then casually brought up Chu Junyu, “Don’t you think so?”
Chu Junyu glanced at the hand tugging his sleeve and quickly averted his gaze.
Before they left, they gathered some information.
For example, they learned that Zhuangyuan Village was truly a place that produced many top scholars. Every decade, the village would produce one or two top scholars.
During its most famous period, there was a year before the national imperial examination where the top scholar, second place, and third place all came from Zhuangyuan Village. That year, many people traveled from far away just to witness its extraordinary reputation, but most of them left disappointed without finding anything special. Moreover, they couldn’t stay for long. Zhuangyuan Village was deep in the woods, teeming with poisonous insects and fierce beasts. The villagers had grown accustomed to it, but outsiders would feel uncomfortable after staying for a day or two.
The one who shared these details with them was an elderly man, the proprietor of the restaurant.
The old man wiped the vase with a cloth and said, “Zhuangyuan Village, you see, others don’t want to enter, and the people inside don’t want to leave. Even those who pass the exams and leave eventually come back. According to their mysterious beliefs, Zhuangyuan Village is a place favored by the God of Literature. They believe that only by staying there can their descendants achieve academic success.”
Pei Jing chuckled, wondering if they were truly under the protection of the God of Literature, would that paper have appeared?
The old man pondered for a moment and slowly continued, “In Zhuangyuan Village, there’s a temple dedicated to the God of Literature. The image of their God of Literature is completely different from what you see in books. I can’t quite describe it. If you’re really interested, you can go take a look. But I advise you, if you can avoid going in, then do so. Lately, I’ve been feeling increasingly uneasy about that village.”
“Alright, thank you for the warning.”
Suddenly, Pei Jing asked, “When did Zhuangyuan Village come into existence?”
The old man steadied the vase and slowly responded, “It happened about four hundred years ago. Wuwang Peak was in chaos, with demons causing havoc. Those who could run away did, and those who couldn’t took refuge. Some people hid deep in the forest and stumbled upon a flat land, which became the Zhuangyuan Village of that time. They were lucky and remained undiscovered for a long time. However, when that immortal arrived and the turmoil caused by the monsters subsided, the people in the deep forest didn’t want to come out anymore. Outside, there were only the corpses of their loved ones and rivers of blood. They decided it was better to find a new place and start anew.”
Pei Jing was stunned, not expecting the origin of Zhuangyuan Village to be like this.
Zhuangyuan Village. Zhuangyuan Temple. Pei Jing wondered whether the deity of literature worshipped by the villagers was truly a god or a ghost.
The old man’s words about feeling uneasy made Pei Jing instinctively believe that the village must have been lifeless and filled with eerie vibes.
However, as they continued along the mountain path, with towering trees separating them, and meandering paths leading into seclusion, when Pei Jing finally witnessed the true scene of Zhuangyuan Village, he almost doubted whether he had come to the wrong place.
The village basked in gentle sunlight in the morning, with interconnected lanes, golden rice fields, and the sounds of mulberry trees, willows, and chickens. Women returned from pounding clothes, and children played joyfully. In this prosperous and peaceful countryside life, this was probably how it looked.
Pei Jing relied on his divine sense but didn’t detect anything abnormal here.
As he observed the village, the people in the village also observed him.
Children stared with wide eyes, whispering among themselves.
The adults noticed and relayed this matter to the village chief.
Despite his advanced age, the village chief was spirited and came to the village entrance without any surprise. “We don’t welcome outsiders here now.”
Pei Jing smiled and said, “That’s not right. I came here based on the guidance of someone who had been here before. Why were outsiders welcomed before, but not now?”
The village chief lifted his eyelid nonchalantly and said, “Anyway, we don’t welcome anyone now. Just leave.”
Next to the village chief was a little girl, probably his granddaughter, about seven or eight years old, with wide eyes, looking at them with confusion.
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