Stranger Danger

Chapter 523: Life, Death, and Human Nature

“Thank you! Thank you for not killing me!” The man thanked Ye Qing profusely as he climbed back to his feet.

“Hmm? I never said I wasn’t going to kill you.” Ye Qing suddenly changed his tone and stared at the man with a smile that didn’t reach the eye. The poor guy had just regained a hint of color when the blood drained away from his face once more.

“Relax. It’s just a joke,” Ye Qing said indifferently.

“Phew...”

The despairing man let out a huge sigh of relief when he heard this. Right after some color had returned to his face, and he was about to say something, Ye Qing said again, “I can always kill you after you disobey me.”

The man’s heart hadn’t even lowered back into his ribcage before it leaped to his throat once more. For a time, he could only stare at Ye Qing incredulously. If this guy isn’t a bloodthirsty murderer, I’ll wash my hair while doing a headstand!

“I... I wouldn’t dare, senior. Just give me the order, and I will fulfill it no matter what it is,” replied the man in a hurry while bowing deeply to Ye Qing. He was worried that Ye Qing would grow impatient and kill him if he took too long to answer.

“Good.” Ye Qing nodded and asked, “What is your name?”

The man answered carefully, “My name is Zuo Ming, senior. It’s an honor to meet you.”

“Zuo Ming (Bright)? What a waste of a good word.” Ye Qing shot him a disdainful look.

Zuo Ming laughed dryly. “P-Please don’t make fun of me, senior.”

“Tell me, is this Longevity Village?” Ye Qing finally stopped intimidating the guy and asked.

Zuo Ming answered obediently, “I’m not sure, senior.”

“You’re not sure?” Ye Qing narrowed his eyes a little as the temperature in his voice dropped. “I’ll give you one more chance to ruminate on your answer. There is no one I hate more than liars.”

“I wouldn’t dare, senior!” Cold sweat trickled down his nose like bullets as Zuo Ming explained himself as quickly as he could, “We are here in search for Longevity Village, but this place is nothing like what we imagine. That is why I can’t in good conscience say that we’re in the right place.”

“We? You’re not alone then,” Ye Qing stated matter-of-factly.

Zuo Ming replied obediently, “That is correct, senior. There are seven of us in total.”

“Seven? That’s quite the big group you have!” Ye Qing chuckled and caused goosebumps to break out on Zuo Ming’s skin. “And how did you find this place?”

Zuo Ming didn’t dare to conceal anything. “An... An old Taoist’s the one who led us here.”

Old Taoist? Is it Yi Pin? Ye Qing thought with delight, though he didn’t reveal his emotions on his face in the slightest. He continued in an indifferent tone, “Heh. And you’re sure the old Taoist didn’t lie or mislead you?”

Zuo Ming scoffed, “He wouldn’t dare. That old Taoist is a small fry who knows nothing but some divination skills.”

A weakling who only knows some divination skills? It has to be him!

“Fool. Even a rat will bite when cornered—but it is not my responsibility to correct your foolishness. Take me to him,” Ye Qing declared in a tone that wouldn’t accept no as an answer.

“As you command!” Zuo Ming neither had the courage nor the strength to resist. “This way please, senior.”

Two steps later, Ye Qing continued his questioning, “Has this village always looked like this?”

“Yes, senior.” Zuo Ming nodded. “The village looked like it had been abandoned for decades since the moment we set foot in this place, and as far as I’m aware, nothing has changed during our time here. Not only could we find no one, we couldn’t even spot a single Stranger. It’s quite unusual.”

“Not a single Stranger, you say?” commented Ye Qing while side-eyeing the child-like Stranger crouching on top of Zuo Ming at this very moment.

“I-Is there a problem, senior?” Zuo Ming shuddered involuntarily under Ye Qing’s stare.

“If you think there’s no problem, then sure,” Ye Qing replied ambiguously. He didn’t know what the child-like Stranger haunting Zuo Ming was and so didn’t want to act rashly.

It wasn’t because he was afraid of the Stranger, of course. He just didn’t want to lose his one and only guide at this point of time.

Zuo Ming grew even more anxious after hearing Ye Qing’s answer, but Ye Qing couldn’t care less about his feelings. He asked another question, “Why are you looking for Longevity Village?”

Zuo Ming snapped out of his worries and answered, “My master is nearing the end of his lifespan, but he doesn’t want to die just yet. That is why he came here in search for a way to extend his lifespan.”

“Your master?” Ye Qing purposely dragged out the word “master”.

Zuo Ming understood his meaning and launched into an explanation, “My master is the patriarch of the Xue Clan of Mu Yang, Xue Hanshan. We usually address him as Lord Xue.”

“The Xue Clan of Mu Yang?” Ye Qing knew that Mu Yang was the county to the south of Bei You, but he had never heard of a Xue Clan.

A short silence later, Ye Qing said in a ridiculing voice, “It is true that entering the Longevity Village would increase one’s lifespan, but doesn’t Xue Hanshan know that his boon comes at the cost of his own friends and family?”

Zuo Ming let out an awkward chuckle. “He is aware, but...”

Zuo Ming didn’t finish his sentence, but his meaning was clear enough. There were some people in this world who would sacrifice themselves to save a million lives, but there were also people who would sacrifice millions to save themselves.

It was just human nature.

“My oh my... and everyone in the family is fine with this... exchange?” Ye Qing asked curiously.

Zuo Ming chuckled a lot more naturally. “Lord Xue kept them in the dark, of course.”

“Interesting.” A meaningful smile flitted across Ye Qing’s face. “You’re one of Xue Hanshan’s aides, aren’t you? Are you sure he won’t blame you for your indiscretion?”

Zuo Ming hurriedly clarified his standpoint. “I’m sure Lord Xue will forgive me since it’s a question from you, senior.”

“Heh... I guess you’re not too stupid.” Ye Qing chuckled as if satisfied with Zuo Ming’s response. Zuo Ming too let out a sigh of relief.

The duo continued to chat as they walked. Of course, Ye Qing was the one who did most of the questioning, and it wasn’t because he was bored. He needed to know as much about his enemies as possible so that he could come up with a surefire plan to rescue Yi Pin.

Very soon, Zuo Ming led Ye Qing to his companion’s meeting spot. Ye Qing immediately recognized it as one of the residences he and Mu Qing had visited last night. In his memory, the residence was an elegantly-designed house attached to a beautiful garden filled with gorgeous flowers. However, the house currently in front of him was dilapidated and overgrown with weeds. He would never have linked the two houses together if they weren’t at the exact same spot.

They were dozens of meters away from the house when Qing’s demonic thought picked up an ancient voice, “Reverend Yi Pin, are you sure we’re at Longevity Village?”

The speaker was a pale, haggard old man who looked like he had one foot in the grave. He was most likely Xue Hanshan.

There were three other people in the courtyard. One of them was muscular, ugly, and carrying a jagged mace on his shoulder. The second person was wearing a ghost mask and a black outfit. Inconspicuous and unnoticeable, he was carrying a sword in his lap and standing behind Xue Hanshan like a shadow.

These two were probably Xue Hanshan’s left and right arm and his most trusted aides, the Tiger and the Hawk. Tiger was the muscular, ferocious-looking man, and Hawk was the one standing in Xue Hanshan’s shadow.

The third and last person was of course, Yi Pin.

The good news was that the old Taoist looked unharmed despite the fact that he was a hostage. In fact, Ye Qing would even say that he looked fit and healthy.

Xue Hanshan was asking Yi Pin a question, and the old Taoist answered in a hurry, “I’m sure. This has to be Longevity Village.”

Tiger grabbed Yi Pin by the collar and snarled into his face, “Bullshit! We haven’t found a single soul since we set foot in this place! I bet you’re trying to trick us!”

Yi Pin defended himself, “I wouldn’t dare! As far as my divination is concerned, this place really is Longevity Village. It’s not like I came here before, so how would I know it looks like this?”

“Let him go, Tiger. Reverend Yi Pin is a smart man, and a smart man wouldn’t do stupid things,” Xue Hanshan said slowly.

“But of course!” Yi Pin forced out a chuckle.

“Hmph.” Tiger grunted with displeasure before threatening, “Don’t forget that your disciple is in our hands, old man. If you dare lie to us, then I will rip you and your disciple into pieces.”

“Of course, of course.” Yi Pin’s head bobbed up and down like a doll.

Suddenly, Xue Hanshan looked outside the courtyard as if he had sensed something. He then called out, “You’re back, Zuo Ming. Did you find something?”