Chapter 67: Outside Lumen City Lies the Deer Platform (5)
Bai Chunsheng still remembered Hong Chunfeng. If it hadn’t been for that man, he and Yan Yi wouldn’t have been trapped in Fuyu Mountain for several days. And if it weren’t for that incident, they wouldn’t have received compensation from Yusheng Sect, nor been accepted as outer sect stewards. Later, when they met Su Xiaojing in Tiannan City and followed him into the mine, they obtained the blue dragon’s corpse and Ye Jingxing’s identity token.
In truth, if you traced it all back, Hong Chunfeng’s death had actually helped Bai Chunsheng avoid many detours. Originally, he expected to stay in the Shattered Stone Mortal Realm for at least ten years. But thanks to the blue dragon and Ye Jingxing, he and Yan Yi managed to return to the Grand World in just a few months.
Bai Chunsheng had never seen Hong Chunfeng in person, but he’d heard his name and remembered how Yan Yi once described his manner of death. Now, the gaping wound that remained open on this “Hong Chunfeng’s” head was proof enough.
This was just too bizarre. A person who was undeniably dead—how could he appear here?
From inside the wonton shop came a woman dressed in white, the shopkeeper. Her attire was similar to the others. Her face, caked with white powder, made it impossible to see her features clearly. She wore a hairpin in her bun. With her hands on her hips, she pointed at the upstairs Hong Chunfeng and began cursing loudly, “You outsider! I’ve had enough of you! You’re clearly trying to ruin the reputation of my wonton shop, slandering me for being unhygienic in the kitchen!”
Hong Chunfeng’s voice was muffled and gruff. “I didn’t.”
After a few seconds of stunned silence, it was as if he suddenly regained his spirit. No longer the dull figure mindlessly repeating himself, Hong Chunfeng now frowned and sneered coldly before shouting, “I’ve been in my room this whole time! Who knows if it was you playing tricks to bully an honest outsider like me? Don’t think I don’t know—you locals have been targeting us, openly and secretly!”
With that loud outburst, the villagers on the distant street—who had been setting up for what looked like a night market—began walking toward the wonton shop one by one.
Bai Chunsheng instinctively took a few steps back. As he watched more closely, he noticed that the villagers were only wearing two colors: red and white. This seemed to divide them into two factions, now standing in formation outside the shop.
At first, the approaching villagers seemed like mere onlookers, their expressions blank and lifeless, both in appearance and gaze.
But as the argument escalated, their speech became more fluent, and their insults increasingly vulgar.
Bai Chunsheng had been leaning in the corner against the shop wall, but with the growing crowd, he was pushed farther back, to the point where he could no longer see the bickering shopkeeper and Hong Chunfeng.
As he listened closely to their exchanges, he began to piece together part of the strange village’s situation.
This town was isolated from the outside world. Plants barely survived on this land. The villagers’ main food source came from a type of fish caught off the nearby coast—only this kind of fish was edible. Other fish were ground up to feed pigs or chickens. Because of this, the town’s supplies were extremely scarce.
To make matters worse, in recent years, it seemed the outside nations had been at war, followed by famine. Many outsiders had fled here for refuge.
This led to significant tension between the local residents and the newcomers.
Bai Chunsheng was drawn in. Setting aside the fact that this “Hong Chunfeng” was somehow back from the dead and inexplicably here, one thing was clear—he was an outsider.
He glanced at the two distinct factions in front of the wonton shop. Judging by the situation, the red clothing likely symbolized outsiders, while white represented the local villagers.
Next to him stood a woman in white holding a swaddled baby also wrapped in white. She seemed frustrated at not being able to see what was happening, and casually lifted her foot to step on Bai Chunsheng’s foot.
That’s when Bai Chunsheng noticed the second oddity.
He waved a hand in front of the woman’s face—she had no reaction whatsoever.
In other words, the people of this strange village couldn’t see him.
But just earlier, he had clearly kicked a stone that hit someone in the face.
He wasn’t sure what would happen if she did step on him, but he still retreated from the crowd. Before leaving, he tapped someone nearby on the shoulder with his sword hilt. That person did turn around, but their hollow gaze showed no recognition of Bai Chunsheng’s presence.
As Bai Chunsheng debated whether to follow Hong Chunfeng upstairs after the crowd dispersed—and perhaps rough him up for information—he recalled the unfavorable reports about Hong Chunfeng back at Mount Fuyu. He had no moral qualms about using force if needed.
If that worked, maybe they could communicate through writing. He could ask questions and get some answers about this place.
—Hopefully, this “Hong Chunfeng” wasn’t illiterate.
Lost in thought, White Chunsheng didn’t notice that the argument around him had fallen silent.
The entire fishing village seemed to sink into a deathly stillness, like a swamp that swallowed sound itself.
The villagers all froze in place, their expressions locked in time.
Night was falling.
Author’s Note: Slipping away… slipping away…
Huge shoutout to @_nyanmaru_ on Discord for commissioning this! The chapter will be posted regularly, show your support for Ciacia at Kofi.
