CHAPTER 8

He didn't get it before, but he does now.

Fu Changling regretted what he had just said after realising where he was and quickly apologised, "Sorry, Dà Gē, I was wrong, I was wrong!"

However, it was evident that the other party had no intention of forgiving him. The big fellow lifted him up and threw him to the side before striking Fu Changling with his raised fist. Everyone else around rushed up and punched and kicked Fu Changling in the middle as soon as the big fellow took the lead.

These townsfolk were all very fierce, and every punch and kick delivered by them carried the strength of the Jindan.

Fu Changling was cowering in the midst of the townsfolk, powerless to fight back.

Confronting Qin Yan, he was up against a top-tier Jindan—but confronting these townsfolk, he was up against a group of Jindans!

Fu Changling wanted to cry but was unable to shed a tear. What he was feeling right now was regret—a lot of regret. What the hell had he gotten himself into? He dared to act in such a way despite not even understanding what was going on.

Was this an ordinary temple? Was this a bunch of ordinary townspeople?

This was "that" legendary Golden Light Temple's number one ominous realm—the Xuanji Secret Realm that had caused him to bury his Jindan in his previous life!

Was there no reason as to why the Xuanji Secret Realm had never been opened in the hands of the Golden Light Temple?!

The reason for this was straightforward—very straightforward. It was because, in this secret realm, any random child passing by could be a Jindan capable of making you cry. Jindans could be found everywhere, and YuanYings were as numerous as dogs. Entering this secret realm was extremely dangerous, and even the slightest mistake could result in death.

Fu Changling curled up on the ground, giving up all attempts at resistance, hoping only not to provoke the other party. When everyone had had enough of beating him, he finally heard a female voice saying, in a sympathetic manner, "That's enough. He'll die if you continue to beat him."

True, true, true—Fu Changling agreed inwardly right away. He would really be killed right here if the beatings kept on.

"But he has offended the Venerable One, so his death won't be regretted," the big fellow who had initially beaten him spoke up, and Fu Changling silently condemned the other party's ancestors.

"That also necessitates a decision from the Venerable One." The female was somewhat irritated and muttered, "Despite being bruised and swollen, he has a good figure. What a pity to kill him."

Fu Changling's heart shook when he heard these words. He looked up to see a woman the size of two people, squinting and eyeing him up, with two red blotches painted on her face and a hairy mole at the corner of her lips.

Fu Changling's breathing came to a halt in shock. The woman examined him from his head to his feet, then from his feet to his head, before finally sighing, turning her head away, and resting her palm on the face of a man lying next to her. "This one is still better-looking," she said, softening her tone.

Fu Changling gazed at the woman and found that it was Qin Yan's face that she was caressing.

Qin Yan was completely unconscious by now, but he was treated a lot better than Fu Changling and was placed on a flatbed cart with hay underneath him. Blood stained his shoulder, and he frowned tightly. His pale face and attractive features, combined with the bright crimson of his blood, gave him a frail beauty in contrast to his whole person.

Fu Changling's heart skipped a beat, and he quickly turned his head away. He had no doubt in surmising that Qin Yan was being treated in this manner solely due to his appearance.

He ignored his racing heart and lowered his head to listen to the people next to him discuss for a while. After much deliberation, these people decided to offer both Fu Changling and Qin Yan as sacrifices and send them to their "Venerable One", who would then decide whether or not to punish the villains who had destroyed the temple.

When Fu Changling heard this decision, he finally put his mind at ease, knowing that he was safe for the time being.

The big fellow with the surname Wang first tied him with the Immortal-Binding Rope, and then dragged him to his feet, saying with a cold grunt, "Let's keep you alive one more time. Let's go."

Fu Changling hastened to smile and made flattering remarks, "Thank you, thank you all, Dà Gē and Dà Jiě. Don't worry, I will take responsibility for it and will undoubtedly impress the Venerable One."

Wang Dahan sneered and, without saying more, dragged Fu Changling forward.

The temple was located just outside of the village, a short distance from the town. When they arrived, there were quite a few of them, and they were drawn by an ox cart. On the way back, everyone got on the small cart that had previously been towed behind the ox cart, leaving Fu Changling rope-bound to trail behind the ox cart.

Fu Changling had just been seriously injured by Qin Yan, and then he was thrashed by a group of townspeople. Fu Changling didn't feel distress at first, but when he was truly out of harm's way and being dragged forward like this, he felt it.

He stumbled as he walked, and the sun was high in the sky, emitting an overwhelming toxicity. Following the ox cart, Fu Changling watched Qin Yan, who was lying on it. The ox cart was spacious and comfortable, with only him and the woman who had initially coveted their beauty, and he slept soundly. The woman did not forget to feed the unconscious Qin Yan some water and fanned him with a fan…

As he watched Qin Yan being treated so well, Fu Changling's eyes turned red with envy. He was so hungry and tired that he was starting to see some shadows before his eyes. He couldn't help but turn to the big fellow with the surname Wang, who was closest to him and was tugging on his rope, and say, "Dà Gē…"

While nibbling on his steamed corn bread, the big fellow seated on the ox cart turned his head and asked, rather impatiently, "What?"

"Dà Gē," Fu Changling gulped, "can I have a sip of water?"

"You're lucky if you're not beaten to death. What's the point of drinking water?" the big fellow with the surname Wang roared at him.

"Then... then how come he can?" Fu Changling pointed to Qin Yan and said, "You can't treat us differently when we are both offered as sacrifices, can you?"

"He has water to drink, but I'm not the one who feeds it to him. Ask Wu Xiaojie for it if you think you're as good-looking as him."

Fu Changling glanced at Qin Yan after hearing this, who was being watched adoringly by "Wu Xiaojie", and a chill instantly ran down his spine. All of a sudden, he felt that Qin Yan's sacrifice was too great, and perhaps Qin Yan would go crazy when he woke up. For such a meagre benefit, it wasn't worthwhile, it wasn't worthwhile.

When he failed to ask for water, Fu Changling sighed and put the way Qin Yan was being treated out of his mind, and instead, he chatted with this big fellow Wang.

He had always been a talkative person. Wang Dahan wasn't interested in talking to him at first, yet he was actually so pleasant to chat with that Wang Dahan was also willing to talk to him and even handed him water, saying, "Never mind, have a sip."

Fu Changling quickly thanked him. After finishing his water, Fu Changling noticed that the atmosphere was favourable, so he cautiously pried, "Who is that Wu Xiaojie over there, Wang Dà Gē? You all seem to be very afraid of her?"

"She is our town headman's daughter, named Wu Sisi." Wang Dahan cast a glance at Wu Sisi, noticed her staring at Qin Yan with fascination, and beckoned to Fu Changling. Fu Changling was highly sensible and hurriedly picked up his pace and came up to Wang Dahan, appearing to be all ears. Wang Dahan was a bit nervous. He took a quick glance around and whispered to Fu Changling, "Almost thirty and not yet married off. The town headman is growing impatient now, so you must be careful!"

As soon as Fu Changling heard this, he understood and displayed a horrified expression, saying, "The town headman isn't looking for a son-in-law, is he?"

"Shh!!!" Wang Dahan raised his thumb and said very nervously, "Keep your voice down!"

Fu Changling nodded repeatedly, and Wang Dahan continued with a lower voice, "The town headman is looking for a husband for her, but no one in town dares to marry her. It's a good thing she has a good eye and hasn't yet wrecked anyone. Listen to me, young man. If you're given the option of being the town headman's son-in-law or a sacrifice, you'll choose the latter, and eighteen years after your reincarnation, you'll once again be a hero. But if you marry Dà Xiaojie, I'm afraid your life will be worse than death."

"Is it... is it that horrible?" Fu Changling took another glance at Wu Sisi. The other person was indeed slightly larger and had a very peculiar taste. Given her heavy makeup, it was impossible to tell her true appearance, and her garish attire irritated the eyes. Because of how shiny the oil on her hair was in the sun, it appeared that it had gone unwashed for an extended period of time. She had a big grin on her face as she propped up her chin and looked at Qin Yan.

Yet there was one odd thing about her that caught Fu Changling's attention. She had a pretty unique fragrance pouch, which was light blue with jade green cirrus pattern crimping and a sword symbol in the middle. The fragrance pouch appeared to be worn and had been fondled so much that the edges were furred up. It looked a bit out of place on Wu Sisi, who, despite her poor taste, indeed appeared to be very wealthy.

Fu Changling shifted his gaze away from the fragrance pouch and back to Wang Dahan. Without Wang Dahan having to say more, he nodded and said, "I get it."

The two of them chatted away, and when they entered the town, the big fellow with the surname Wang led Fu Changling and Qin Yan to the place where they were being held.

The Xuanji Secret Realm was exactly the secret realm that Fu Changling had accidentally entered in his previous life at the Shangguan Clan.

The Xuanji Secret Realm was a small town in and of itself, and there were still some things ten lǐ away from town but nothing beyond that.

The town appeared to be pretty much the same as Fu Changling remembered it, with the shops that used to be there still open in the same spot. People were passing by in the streets, and all of them turned to stare when they saw Fu Changling rope-bound being led in. A group of eyeless people were staring fixedly at Fu Changling, creeping him out.

But aside from the absence of the people's eyes, the town still looked like a typical town, lively and bustling, as if entering a perfectly ordinary town.

Fu Changling and the unconscious Qin Yan were led into a large compound by a group of townsfolk.

A vermilion gate stood outside the compound, guarded by two YuanYing-level cultivators. Wang Dahan explained the situation to the two men, who nodded and then asked Fu Changling to carry Qin Yan inside while they followed them.

Despite being a sword cultivator, Qin Yan was very lean. Fu Changling carried him into the compound on his shoulders, following the two men.

Inside the compound, there was a wide square with a sacrificial altar at the back. The sacrificial altar was a protruding circle surrounded by four stone statues of women in various dancing postures facing in four directions.

In the square, there were numerous wooden cages in which a number of people had been confined sporadically. The YuanYing cultivators pushed Fu Changling and Qin Yan into the wooden cage, and Fu Changling grumbled with displeasure, "Gently!"

"Cut the crap," said one of the big fellows coldly. "Stay in there and behave while you await the Venerable One's final decision!"

Fu Changling let out a "tsk" and said nothing more as the big fellow locked the wooden cage and turned to walk away.

After the two men had left, Fu Changling turned to look at Qin Yan.

This cage was quite small, and Qin Yan leaned his entire body against Fu Changling after being thrown in. He was still unconscious and showed no sign of waking up. Fu Changling examined the gash on his shoulder, which was smouldering with dark Qi, and confirmed that it was the Yin Demonic Qi left behind by the Wushi Luo that was eating away at his wound.

The problematic element of this evil spirit was right here: Qin Yan might never wake up again for the remainder of his life if nothing is done about it.

For a brief moment, Fu Changling looked at Qin Yan in silence.

He had noticed Qin Yan was thin before and assumed it was because he had become a demon cultivator and had lost weight as a result of his demonic cultivation. But now he realised he was naturally this thin, and the entire person leaning on him, such a tall person, didn't actually weigh much for someone of his stature at all.

But, compared to when he was a demon cultivator, he is now slightly more mellow, especially in his chiselled facial features. He appeared a little boyish, leaning against Fu Changling with his eyes closed.

Fu Changling couldn't help but smile, but he felt it came out of nowhere and was inappropriate.

His heart sank, and he gathered his thoughts quickly before averting his gaze to look around.

The most important thing right now is to solve the problem at hand.

...❦❧❦❧❦❧❦❧❦❧❦❦❧❦...

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