Published: September 2, 2025
Chapter 589: Soul Devour
“Swish! Swish!” Two sounds came as two streaks of cyan light flew out from the bodies of the yin beasts, darting back behind a nearby giant stone.
Then, a figure flashed, and a man and a woman stepped out from behind the stone.
The man looked ordinary, with clear eyes, while the woman was beautiful, delicate, and gentle—Han Li and Mei Ning.
Both of them now wore light blue beast skin coats. Han Li held a small green sword about an inch long in each hand. The sword handles were wrapped with translucent thread-like strips—delicate beast sinews.
Han Li took a few steps forward, glanced down at the two yin beasts he had just killed with the small swords, then looked up at the wary faces of the nearby people.
“Just now, when these two Jade Toad Beasts tried to run, I had no choice but to act impulsively. I hope no one will hold it against me. But please rest assured, I have no use for these two Jade Toad Beast carcasses. I only wish to ask you a few questions. Would you be willing to answer?” Han Li smiled kindly and said to the others.
“Are you sure you don’t want these Jade Toad Beast bodies?” An older strong man with a puzzled expression spoke up. He seemed to be the leader of this group of young men and women.
“Of course. I’m not lacking food.” Han Li kicked the bodies on the ground and repeated decisively.
“Alright then, ask away!” Although suspicious, the strong man felt there was nothing to lose and finally nodded in agreement.
Seeing their understanding, Han Li nodded in satisfaction and calmly said,
“Are you all from the nearby Red Earth Village?”
“That’s right. We’re villagers from Red Earth Village!” The strong man frowned but answered honestly.
“Good. We actually came here to ask if your village has recently accepted any newcomers. We’re looking for someone.” Han Li asked without changing his expression.
“Newcomers? No, none! But when the rift opened last time, we found a few skeletons—men and women—near where the yin beasts gather. They were just piles of white bones. Seems they were unlucky and were completely devoured by the early-returning yin beast packs.” The strong man hesitated a bit and said thoughtfully.
“White bones?” Mei Ning, standing behind Han Li, changed color slightly and looked a bit unhappy.
Over the past month or so, the two had visited three other villages. Though they hadn’t found her brother, there had been two or three cultivators who survived some disaster in each place.
But this village was different. From the start, it was all about death.
No wonder Mei Ning felt a tightness in her heart and a vague sense of foreboding.
“That’s right. We buried the remains on site. But the belongings they had were placed in the village warehouse. Would you two like to take a look?” The strong man realized Han Li really came to find someone and his wariness eased as he generously invited them.
“Alright. Thank you, brother.” Han Li looked at the silent beauty beside him and nodded to make the decision.
Even if they were just corpses, they needed to confirm identities. If her brother was really among them, he wouldn’t have to trouble himself further.
“Heh heh! You speak so formally, you must be an outsider, a newcomer here, right?” The strong man gestured to others behind him to clean up the yin beast bodies. Those were precious food and needed priority.
Han Li smiled faintly.
After walking several miles with them, Han Li and Mei Ning arrived at another unfamiliar village.
This village was clearly much smaller than the others.
Although it was also surrounded by stone walls, these walls were only about seven or eight zhang high and were patchy and dilapidated, showing signs of neglect.
Judging by the size, only about a hundred or so people lived here—a pitifully small population.
Upon entering, the strong man pointed to a relatively large stone house and, with some apology, told Han Li and Mei Ning to look for themselves. He wanted to deal with the Jade Toad Beast corpses first—valuable food that required immediate attention.