novelden Chapter 122 Sunset Town
Chapter 122 Sunset Town
Ye Ling continued her adventures and explorations until she finally found a town, but this town was full of eeriness.
First of all, it's as if everyone in the town knows about her arrival, even though she's an outsider, and they're all extremely enthusiastic about her, even though this town is quite large!
Secondly, they said this place is basically isolated from the world, with very few outsiders. So how come there's an inn? How has the inn managed to stay afloat until now? Is it because of those few outsiders?
Finally, this town is strange. The people here never seem to have any desire to venture out into the world, but with so many people, there must be one or two exceptions! Where did they go, or are they even alive?
Ye Ling was in her room at the inn, pondering these strange things. The more she thought about it, the more she felt that there was a secret in this town. Although she didn't want to meddle or be curious, it was the only way to find a way out.
She had just spoken with the shopkeeper, who said that the people in Luoxia Town were simple and honest, almost completely isolated from the outside world, and that the people in the town were unwilling to contact the outside world, and that the locals did not go out!
These few sentences alone raise suspicions. For example, the phrase "almost isolated from the world" implies that someone has come and gone, and the reason why the locals do not go out is not sufficient. This suggests that they may not be able to go out, or that there are conditions for them to go out.
Moreover, the entire mountain range is shrouded in a huge restrictive array. Preliminary judgment suggests that this restrictive array is intended to prevent something from escaping, and there is actually a town in the middle of it. It all seems so strange.
Who on earth is going to do something so extravagant? Is it to protect the people of these towns? Or to prevent them from escaping? Who exactly is this restrictive magic array meant to imprison?
"This town is a bit strange! And why does this situation seem so familiar?" Ye Ling thought and tried to recall what was familiar about it.
Ye Ling's inexplicable arrival here suggests a connection between her and this place, perhaps even a fortuitous encounter. Fortuitous encounters often come with danger, and fortune favors the bold! This kind of danger might just be worthwhile!
"Oh! I remember now, this place is so similar to the classical Chinese text 'Peach Blossom Spring' written by Tao Yuanming that I studied in modern school."
The town is equally isolated from the world and equally hospitable. It appears peaceful and serene, but beneath the calm and tranquility lies an eeriness.
"The Peach Blossom Spring is a test of the fisherman's loyalty and trustworthiness. Is this town also a kind of test? And what is it testing?"
"Forget it, I'd better go outside for a walk and find out what's going on!"
Ye Ling made up her mind and went downstairs!
"Where is Miss Ye headed?" the waiter's voice rang out.
Ye Ling frowned slightly. She disliked others prying into her affairs, but considering the strangeness of the town, she suppressed her dissatisfaction.
She calmly replied, "Oh, so you're here for the first time and want to go out and see what's fun?"
The waiter seemed oblivious to her displeasure and continued, "That young lady can go out for a walk, but she must be back before dark!"
Ye Ling frowned and asked, "Why do we have to be back before dark?"
The child said, "It's getting dark, and the shop has to close. There's a rule in Luoxia Town that everyone should go to bed early and get up early to maintain good habits and order. After dark, every household must close their doors and windows, and it's best to even extinguish the candles so everyone can get some sleep and rest!"
Ye Ling nodded without asking any further questions. She knew that even if she asked, he might not tell her, and that prying might only annoy him.
Ye Ling secretly opened her spatial storage from her sleeve, took out a bottle of pills, and gave it to the waiter.
"Brother, I know that this town of Luoxia has a custom of bartering. Please take this. It has the effect of nourishing the body and strengthening muscles and bones. If I do anything inappropriate in the future, I hope you can remind me."
The waiter was very tempted by the medicine in her hand, but he still declined, saying, "This... Miss Ye, I can't accept it."
Ye Ling noticed that the other party was only making a slight refusal, so she directly stuffed the medicine into his hand and said, "Take it, little brother! Don't refuse!"
"Well... alright! I can't refuse Miss Ye's hospitality, it would be my fault if I refused again!" After saying that, he immediately took it away.
Ye Ling appeared completely unfazed, but inwardly she thought, "Could your hand speed be any faster? Are you afraid I'll lose it all back?"
Ye Ling wandered around and felt that the town was too peaceful, so peaceful that it was somewhat eerie. Usually, when buying and selling things on the street, something would definitely happen, such as haggling or minor frictions and arguments, but there was none of that here.
Everyone was smiling, but the way they looked at her was strange. Even though they were all smiling at her, she felt uneasy.
Ye Ling forced herself to remain calm and continued walking. After only a few steps, a group of children began running around her, singing eerie songs.
The moon hangs high in the sky, the night is quiet.
A strong wind blew, causing the tree branches to sway and leaves to fall everywhere.
Every household closed their doors, and at night, they groped in the dark, pretending to sleep.
Cui Lang welcomed his new bride, who was as beautiful as a fairy.
Every household offered their congratulations, but the bride wept.
The crowd around the banquet celebrated, unaware that the bride had murdered Cui Lang.
She was a beautiful woman with a delicate face but a devilish heart.
He sought the path to immortality without heart or emotion; pitiful was Cui Lang's sincere heart.
As Ye Ling listened to the strange nursery rhyme, she felt more and more that it was related to the eeriness of the town.
For example, the shopkeeper told her that she had to be back before dark when she left the shop at night, and all of this seemed to be closely related.
"Who is this Cui Lang, and who is he marrying? The bride seems unwilling to marry him. If she doesn't want to marry him, why not just refuse? Why kill him?"
"Ugh, this is such a headache!"
Ye Ling had a lot of complaints in her mind, but she still obediently took action.
"Children, here's some candy! You can all have some! But before you eat it, can you answer a few questions for me first?"
As Ye Ling spoke, a bunch of candies appeared out of thin air in her hand hidden under her sleeve. In order to find out the information, she had no choice but to sacrifice her own snacks.
"Okay!"
"Okay!"
"Okay!"
The children all wore the same smiles and gave the same answers, but their tone betrayed no excitement whatsoever, which was quite unsettling.
Ye Ling's lips twitched, but she still forced herself to ask.
"Sister has a question for you! Who is Cui Lang in the nursery rhyme you just sang?"
Then the children started singing eerie nursery rhymes!
The Cui family was a powerful and wealthy clan, and Cui Lang, the son of the Cui family, was an idiot.
They fantasize about flying to the heavens and disappearing into the earth to enter the realm of immortals, seeking the path to immortality by leaving their hometown.
He finally became an immortal with his beloved, making all mortals envious.
"This Cui Lang is actually a cultivator! Then this formation and this strange town might be his doing." Ye Ling analyzed silently in her heart.
"No, he also brought back a Daoist partner, 'enviable to all.' Why does this story feel so strange? Considering the ballad I heard earlier, this Daoist partner he brought back probably didn't come back voluntarily." Ye Ling frowned deeply, feeling like she had grasped something, but there was a thin veil between them that prevented her from seeing clearly.
Ye Ling continued to ask, "Then the girl that Cui Lang brought back is his bride, right?"
All the children nodded in unison!
"Was that young lady also an immortal?"
The children nodded.
Ye Ling, seeing that she had asked enough questions, stopped. After giving each of them some candy, the children left, singing eerie nursery rhymes.
Ye Ling felt that the people here were being controlled, as if they were presenting a sense of happiness to outsiders. Ye Ling found it very strange, but she also knew that she was probably already under that person's nose. If she wanted to ask, she would only know if the other party wanted him to know. So she might as well just go and ask him directly.
"Damn it, time is already tight, and now we've run into such a bizarre thing. If I could, I really wouldn't want to deal with this mess!" Ye Ling's face was solemn, but she had been cursing in her heart for a long time.
Seeing that it was getting late, Ye Ling decided to return to the inn to make some preparations before investigating the matter that night.
After Ye Ling returned to the inn, she was strictly warned not to go out at night, or she would not be held responsible for anything that happened outside!
Ye Ling acknowledged that she understood, closed the door, and continued making preparations.
Ye Ling made the most detailed preparations, and looking at herself in the mirror, adorned with jewelry, she felt very satisfied.
These are not ordinary ornaments; they are magical artifacts with various functions, including defensive, offensive, and even those designed for both mental attacks and defense.
She even wore a Mind-Cleansing Bracelet, a rare treasure in the entire Sky Realm, used to prevent mental loss and even suppress demonic nature when one goes berserk.
She looked at the bracelet and ring on her right hand, which had a bell-like shape in the middle of the link and a series of small bells on both sides. Normally, it was completely silent, but it would ring to alert and rescue the wearer in a crisis.
Ye Ling looked left and right, but felt that something was missing. Although she already had enough, she still felt that something was missing.
"Oh!" Ye Ling suddenly realized, and then began searching in her space to take out a hairpin.
This hairpin looks ordinary, but in reality, it's only slightly more advanced than ordinary hairpins. It's not a magical artifact; it's just a hairpin made of ordinary materials.
Ye Ling simply turned the end of the hairpin slightly and it opened directly. Once opened, she discovered that it was hollow and that the inside of the hairpin was divided into two parts.
Ye Ling placed acupuncture needles on one side, and on the other side, she placed transparent ice needles. A faint chill could be seen emanating from these ice needles; in fact, they were coated with a potent poison and were used for self-defense.
One can be used to administer acupuncture at critical moments to save lives, while the other is used to launch surprise attacks on enemies and save one's own life—a truly excellent combination!
The ends of the two hairpins, when disassembled, have a hollow design and a small space, just enough to hold a pill. Ye Ling immediately placed a life-saving pill, which was wrapped in a layer of wax, inside.
Wrapping pills in wax prevents their internal properties from leaking out. This is something she learned unintentionally while studying history in the modern world. In the cultivation world, almost no one uses wax to wrap pills, since everyone has bottles for storing them. These bottles are often protected by inscribed arrays, which greatly reduces the loss of medicinal properties and allows them to be better preserved.
But Ye Ling had to be careful. What if she ended up in a place without spiritual energy and couldn't use it to open up a space? That's why she always made thorough preparations. Who knew what she would face?
Everything is ready; all that remains is to await the arrival of darkness.