Chapter Thirty-Two: Simple Task

  "Wait a minute—"

  Shep swiftly pulled out a silver coin from under the counter, rubbed it lightly on the back with his thumb, and handed it to Lega. "Here."

  Lei Ga handed over the silver coin, hesitantly looking at Xie Pu, "Boss, is giving just one a bit too little?"

  "Hey kid, this isn't for you to spend!"

  Xie Pu gave him a cold stare, "Take a closer look at the back of the coin."

  On the Four Kingdoms' continent, whether it's gold coins, silver coins, or copper coins, the front side all have the pattern of holy light shining everywhere. The back side will be made into different patterns according to the producing country. Leiga picked up a silver coin and was shocked to find that the back side had been smoothed out, leaving only a shadow.

  "Boss, now I don't even have money to spend."

  "Listen carefully, young one—"

  Xie Pu lowered his voice and said seriously: "Xu Lingtian is not as simple as he looks, you must be careful to pay attention to his actions. If you encounter a life-threatening situation, throw the Shadow Face upwards and recite the mantra of the Balance Sect. As long as you can survive until the silver coin lands, it will help you get through the danger."

  "Boss—"

  Lei Ga's mind surged with countless questions, but Xie Pu waved his hand and turned away, not giving him a chance to speak.

  "It's getting late, hurry up and get out of here."

  "Boss, I'll definitely bring back the Moon Demon Grass for you."

  Lei Ga slightly bowed his head, grasping a silver coin with one side holy light and the other side shadow, turned around and walked out of the Bao Ya wine house.

  "Alas, after all these years of not killing anyone, I've actually become so weak?"

  Xie Pu blinked his eyes and held back tears of farewell.

  Xu Lingtian, who was waiting outside the tavern, saw Leika walk out and nodded slightly, "Let's go."

  Lei Ga followed closely behind Xu Lingtian, trying his best to ignore the pain of the sword scabbard's leather strap tightening around his wound.

  Fortunately, Xu Lingtian's walking speed was not fast, which gave Leiga an opportunity to adapt to the weight of the giant sword.

  The afternoon sunlight was dim and cold, the road south of Wuyaling Old Town was empty, the silence was a bit eerie. The alchemist didn't say a word, not even a sound of breathing could be heard. Leiga couldn't help but feel a sense of illusion, as if he was walking with a corpse.

  After walking south for more than an hour, the climate temperature had changed significantly, no longer as cold and gloomy as Fenglin Village, but a refreshing autumn day. The trees on both sides of the road were also full of greenery, and the air was filled with sweet fruit fragrance - if you hadn't experienced it yourself, it would be hard to imagine that two seasons could coexist in the same region.

  Lei Ga gradually adapted to the weight of the giant sword on his back, and his breathing and footsteps also adjusted to an ideal state. In comparison, the Alchemist's speed seemed a bit slow.

  "How much longer until we reach Dusk Village?"

  "Don't be in such a hurry, young man."

  Xu Lingtian didn't turn around, calmly replying: "At sunset, you'll be able to see the village of dusk. I'll arrange a place for you to eat and sleep, so you can rest well and start your task tomorrow."

  "Arrange a place?"

  Lei Ga Na asked in a low voice: "Am I not living in your house?"

  "Live in my house?"

  A low, mirthless laugh sounded from under the brown hood, "No, it's not that I'm being inhospitable, it's just..." He suddenly pressed his pale lips together and fell silent.

  "You just have secrets and don't want me to find out, right?"

  Xu Lingtian stopped in his tracks, his eyes staring straight at Leika from under the hood. "It's not that I'm a bad host, it's just that there's no food in my house. And besides, after Yinsi died, I don't have any secrets that can't be seen."

  After finishing speaking, he turned around and continued walking forward slowly.

  "Isn't there any food?"

  "Then what did you usually eat during those three years when you didn't go out?" Lei Ga couldn't help but ask.

  "I'm not eating anything."

  Xu Lingtian said lightly: "I am an alchemist, eating is a waste of time for me, it's no longer necessary."

  No wonder it has become a human-like ghostly appearance!

  Lei Ga took a deep breath of cold air, and his heart felt chilled to the bone.

  Xu Lingtian added, "When you went to find the weapon, your boss asked me to guarantee your food and drink for these few days. So, arranging you to stay with a villager's family is the most suitable choice. Moreover..."

  He stopped in front of an apple tree by the side of the road, looked up at the fruit on the tree and said softly: "I still need your help with one more thing."

  "Do you want an apple?"

  Lei Ga shook the tree trunk with force, and the ripe fruits fell from the branches one after another.

  "This was Yoon Lissa's favorite food when she was alive."

  Xu Lingtian smiled and said, his tone filled with the flavor of happy memories. He bent down with difficulty, carefully selecting two translucent red apples, and handed them to Leiga. "Please help me put them in front of her tombstone, I... am not allowed to enter."

  Looking at those thin, bony hands that were slightly trembling, Leiga felt an inexplicable sadness. Under the heavens, there was actually such a great love, after his wife's death so many years ago, he still remembered her preferences with nostalgia.

  He took over the two apples and nodded heavily. "Don't worry, I'll definitely help you bring it."

  Xu Lingtian revealed a relieved smile. "You're the first person who didn't try to negotiate with me." After that, he took out a small, exquisite pickaxe from under his cloak, its surface gleaming with an otherworldly aura, clearly imbued with magic.

  "This is a harvesting tool, the herbs collected with it will retain their original medicinal properties. This is also your first task I'm giving you. After you wake up tomorrow morning, don't come to my residence, go to the cemetery instead and tell the night watchman that you're a friend of the villagers, after entering, remember to offer an apple to Elisa, at the same time, you'll find a kind of thick moss-like thing around her tomb, that's graveyard moss, bring me three sprouts, then I'll tell you the next task, got it?"

  "I understand."

  Lei Ga picked up the crane beak hoe and felt that this task was too simple.

  Xu Lingtian noticed the expression on his face, a dry smile, and didn't say anything else, continuing to move forward towards the village in the twilight.

  At sunset, the village of dusk really appeared in front of Leica's eyes.

  A thick night fog enveloped the village, only the outline could be seen vaguely. As he walked closer and closer, the appearance of the village emerged around him, as if a ghostly image was gradually taking shape.

  Wooden huts, thatched roofs, earth roads, plus the aroma of food, the laughter of children and the conversations of parents - this place is completely different from the old town of Crow Ridge. The old town was built with stone, even the roads were paved with cobblestones, but it was dull and lifeless, only Xie Pu dared to operate there.

  The villagers who were chatting saw Xu Lingtian's arrival, immediately put on a serious face, stopped smiling and talking, but instead stared at him tightly, as if the resentment of three years ago had not been dissipated.

  Lei Ga couldn't escape either in this sea of hostile gazes, the feeling of being stared at by the crowd made him feel like a thorn on his back.

  Xu Lingtian had long been accustomed to this feeling, and he continued to walk slowly in the streets and alleys of Dusk Village, finally stopping his footsteps in front of a house that was brightly lit.

  "It's right here."

  He took a deep breath of cold air and then stretched out his hand to knock on the door.

  When he knocked for the third time, the wooden door creaked open a crack. A little girl of five or six years old stared at them with big, watery eyes, peering out from behind the door in a timid manner.

  "Who are you looking for?"

  Xu Lingtian seemed to have not expected that the one opening the door was a little girl, he involuntarily took half a step back, then trembled and said: "You are... Meina?"

  "You know my name? But I don't know you."

  The little girl tilted her head and said in confusion.

  Xu Lingtian's tone became unusually gentle, "I am your aunt's husband, your mother is..."

  Just then, a rough male voice came from inside the house: "Meena, who's outside?"

  The little girl turned around and said, "He says he's Auntie's husband!"

  The house was first filled with an eerie silence, followed by the sound of a woman's scream and the thud of footsteps. Meena's parents rushed out of the house like they had gone mad.

  "Come quickly!"

  Her mother pulled Meena back with one hand and tightly hugged her in front of her chest, looking at Xu Lingtian and Lei Jia in horror.

  The father grasped an iron-tipped spear, standing in front of his daughter and wife, but the expression on his face was not as brave as he appeared. He wore a deerskin jacket with metal studs, tightly tied around his large belly, and his unkempt beard covered his cheeks and chin, its color like old gold.

  "What are you, a devil, doing here?! Haven't you harmed our family enough?!"

  "He loudly shouted: 'I am now the village's night watchman!'"

  "I'm extremely sorry..."

  Xu Lingtian unexpectedly bowed his head, making a deep bow to them, "Because of my involvement, you have suffered a lot in the village for the past three years. I should have come to apologize earlier, but I couldn't put down my thoughts about my wife..."

  Mina's mother burst into tears, "Eriisa, my poor sister..."

  "Shut up! Stinky woman, all day long you just know how to cry!"

  Meina's father scolded and turned his head to stare at Xu Lingtian, "If it was just an apology, then you've already done that. Hurry up and leave! Our family has nothing to do with you!" As he spoke, he reached out to close the door.

  Xu Lingtian quietly pulled out a gold coin from his brown cloak, the golden light reflecting off it as if coating his pale fingers with a layer of gold.

  Meina's father slowed down his action of closing the door immediately.

  "Anything else?"

  His tone was obviously not as severe as before.

  "It's like this..."

  Xu Lingtian bent one of his thin, rugged fingers and pointed at Leika, "This is the son of my old friend, passing by here, wanting to stay for a few days, hoping you can provide some convenience."

  Meina's father hesitated, looking at Leiga and then at the gold coin in Xulintian's hand. One gold coin was indeed a windfall, but it wasn't as satisfying as two...

  Xu Lingtian seemed to see through the greedy and hypocritical man, so he immediately added another gold coin, "In the name of the Holy Light..."

  Mina's father's eyebrows revealed a look of crazy joy, while stretching out his hand to grab the gold coins, he hypocritically said: "Alright, for the sake of the Holy Light, I'll help you this one time!"