Chapter 287: Blind Man

In the dim, oppressive temple, filled with the scent of sandalwood, Li Huowang stood before three clay statues, pondering a question in his mind: "Are the voices real or illusory?"

He had just entered the village, and the Siwang Dao hadn't even appeared, yet he had managed to confuse himself.

As Li Huowang continued to ponder the question, the door was suddenly pushed open from outside. The temple priest, with his white hair, poked half his head through the doorway, holding a lantern. The dim candlelight illuminated everything within the temple.

Using the lantern's faint light, he surveyed the interior of the village temple, paying particular attention to the rafters.

However, after scanning around, he didn't find a single shadow.

"That's odd. No thief, but the lock is broken?" The suspicious priest, after another careful look around, pulled out a hemp rope and tightly bound the tiger-head doorknob.

He was about to go back inside to sleep, but after careful thought, he still felt uneasy. So, he simply brought out a mat from inside and lay down right at the entrance of the village temple. "Well, there's no way a thief will get in now."

Li Huowang, who had been inside the temple earlier, naturally couldn't be locked in. He had already slipped out and was now standing on a nearby rooftop, quietly observing the priest's every move below.

But apart from that one sound just now, everything else seemed perfectly normal.

If it weren't for the letter stating there were indeed traces of the Siwang Dao here, Li Huowang would have even thought this was just an ordinary village.

If he had passed through here while traveling before, he would likely have ignored it completely.

Recalling the voices again, Li Huowang's brows furrowed even deeper.

"This won't do. I can't even trust my own senses right now. It seems I'll have to let Bai Lingmiao and the others come in, so they can check for sounds."

With that thought, Li Huowang no longer hesitated. He flipped off the roof and headed towards the village exit.

The village was very quiet at night, with no sound other than the faint barking of dogs in the distance.

Along the winding path, fireflies danced up and down among the grass by the walls. Li Huowang walked along, but the further he went, the more he felt something was wrong.

This feeling wasn't the sharp sensation of being watched, but rather an indescribable one.

Peeking with his peripheral vision, there was no one behind him.

"What? Has someone spotted me?" Li Huowang, who had been walking, suddenly pressed his back against a nearby mud wall, slowly moving towards the previous corner.

In his invisible state, he moved steadily but not slowly at all. His hand was already gripping his sword hilt, ready to strike anyone who turned the corner.

Closer, getting closer, Li Huowang's heart beat faster and faster.

At the moment he turned, Li Huowang took a deep breath, pursed his lips, and was about to draw his sword, when a drab yellow mud wall appeared before him.

Staring at the wall before him, Li Huowang felt as uncomfortable as if his tightly clenched fist had struck cotton.

Li Huowang tried to turn, but was firmly restrained in place by a pair of iron-like hands.

"How is this possible! I'm clearly invisible right now! How did he find me!" Before Li Huowang could ponder this question, a voice came from behind him. "Shh~ Don't move! Keep them distracted for a bit... draw more in..."

As soon as the extremely low voice spoke, Li Huowang's heart leaped into his throat. He stayed put as instructed by the other person, his mind constantly trying to figure out the identity of this person.

"Ah, bad luck, it got away again."

When Li Huowang felt the grip on his arms disappear, the first thing he did was turn to look at the speaker.

With the faint light from the scattered fireflies around, Li Huowang saw a blind man.

This was a lean, old blind man. He wore a wrinkled black gown and old cloth shoes. Besides a bamboo basket on his back, the only other thing he had was a yellowed bamboo staff, worn smooth by handling.

A black melon cap sat atop his pale eyes. His sparse goatee, below his mouth, did not give him an air of an immortal sage, but rather added a touch of shiftiness.

Seeing his appearance, Li Huowang realized why the other person had detected him so easily. It was because he was completely blind.

As Li Huowang observed him, the man was also observing Li Huowang. However, he wasn't doing it with his eyes, but with his nose.

"A strong smell of blood. Are you sent by the military strategists? My surname is Chen. If you don't mind, you can call me Blind Chen. I'm a Renzu of the Sky Surveillance Department." An iron plaque, identical to the one Li Huowang held, appeared in his hand.

"No, I'm a junior Ao Jing Sect cultivator, Erjiu. My identity is a Guizu within the department. Greetings, Senior Chen." Li Huowang also took out his plaque.

Hearing Li Huowang's words, the other person's face immediately showed a hint of understanding. "Oh~ So you're from the Ao Jing Sect. Since you're here, you must be the reinforcements I was looking for, right?"

After speaking, he frequently tapped his staff on the ground as he quickly walked towards the village exit.

"Let's go, we can talk as we walk. I arrived earlier than you, so I can tell you a few things first."

Watching his back, Li Huowang followed him with a faint smile.

"Senior Chen, have you been handling things here all this time? Could you tell me what's wrong with this village? And what exactly are 'they' that you just mentioned?"

"I don't know what they are. Aren't we trying to figure that out? All I know is, these things can move through mud. Just now, they saw you, and were about to make a move on you."

"Is that so? Then this evil spirit seems a bit tricky," Li Huowang responded calmly.

"Tell me about it. With evil spirits that can burrow underground, who knows what they even look like. But precisely because of these things, we get paid."

"Oh right, kid. Since you're the reinforcement sent by the department, do you have any special abilities?"

"Senior Chen, you jest. I don't have any special abilities. I'm just familiar with the usual techniques of the Ao Jing Sect." As Li Huowang replied, he kept his gaze fixed on the man's eyes.

"Heh heh, that's what you say. Who doesn't know that people from your Ao Jing Sect are not to be trifled with. It's just that the necessary catalysts for your rituals are hard to find. By the way, did you come alone?"

"Ah, yes, I came alone. Did Senior Chen also come alone?"

"Ah, yes, I also came alone, just like you. Heh heh." After Blind Chen said this, neither of them spoke anymore. They continued walking out of the village.

When they arrived outside the village, they finally began to converse again.

"So, Senior Chen, you're saying there's still no way to deal with them?"

Sitting on a moss-covered stone, Blind Chen sighed. "Who would have thought I, Blind Chen, would have a day when I'd need to call for help? As you know, I'm blind. Those mud devils are like loaches; I can't catch them at all. Even if I do, I can only catch one."

"Ah, right, Er boy. For this situation, do you have any way to force them out?"

As he spoke, Blind Chen's tone became extremely confident. "You just need to figure out a way to force them all out. Don't mind that I'm blind; if it comes down to a direct fight, I, Blind Chen, am truly not afraid!"