5 The Beginning of Fleeing Famine

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As expected! Upon hearing the words of the playful child, Ye Lu felt as if the dust had finally settled. This world was far too bizarre, and the drought in the village was extraordinarily unusual.

Ye Lu’s mind churned with countless thoughts. No, they could not leave now. They had nothing at all; even if the three of them left the village, they wouldn’t survive long. Ye Lu instinctively glanced at the Ghost Scholar beside him, and the two exchanged a knowing look, understanding each other’s thoughts.

The Ghost Scholar calmly took over the responsibility of comforting the playful child from Ye Lu, signaling that Ye Lu was free to do as he wished. He consented.

Ye Lu turned around, but by then, their movement had already drawn the attention of some villagers. Especially when Ye Lu turned, his expression was grim, as if he wanted to say something.

Ye Lu immediately looked toward Elder He, instinctively trusting this senior.

“Lu, if you have something to say, just say it!” Elder He, who had been resting with his eyes closed, slowly opened them, as if sensing Ye Lu’s gaze.

At Elder He’s words, the crowd’s eyes shifted toward Ye Lu.

Fortunately, Ye Lu had been through countless major events; otherwise, the silence and the peculiar scene might have rendered everyone speechless. Ye Lu was completely unfazed. He merely gathered his thoughts and, with some difficulty, began: “Elder He, what I mean is, what if there really is a powerful sinister creature behind the drought snake?”

“...” Elder He suddenly stared at him sharply.

The other villagers, including the village elders and the two shamans, gradually grew serious.

Ye Lu remained indifferent. He knew that if they wanted to survive, they had to stay with the village. To live according to his ideas, they had to demonstrate their value within this village.

“Ah Xi has had a special gift since childhood...” Ye Lu paused but did not blink as he mixed the playful child with the foolish Ah Xi from Little Leaf Village: “He often senses danger. Sometimes he’s right, sometimes wrong. When Little Leaf Village was attacked by a powerful sinister creature, he was like this—rambling nonsense, seemingly mad.”

“Unfortunately, most adults didn’t believe him; only some children did.”

“...”

Silence fell.

Elder He’s gaze immediately landed on the playful child, who looked tall and alert, as if he had witnessed a terrifying sight. This was the opposite of how he had appeared before. Danger premonition—a gift even Elder He had never heard of.

But just because he had never heard of it, did that mean it didn’t exist?

The shaman He wore a grave expression as he stroked his beard and spoke, “Premonition of danger—I have never heard of such a gift. But there are many talents in this world, many yet undisclosed. People are reluctant to reveal their gifts; it’s possible there are others like this.”

“That playful child was foolish and sometimes mad, which fits the mental instability caused by unusual gifts,” the shaman He indirectly agreed with Ye Lu.

The stone shaman nodded as well, showing his agreement.

Elder He appeared calm as he fiddled with his cane. Then, he suddenly opened his eyes and asked Ye Lu an apparently unrelated question: “Lu, you said this playful child is someone you saw in Qiang City. If I remember correctly, Little Leaf Village is quite far from Qiang City...”

“Very far, almost a hundred miles!” Ye Lu answered promptly.

Elder He breathed out slowly, believing Ye Lu’s words. Someone who was sometimes foolish and sometimes mad could escape a village’s destruction and run all the way to Qiang City a hundred miles away, evading countless man-eating sinister creatures and plants along the way.

That alone proved Ye Lu’s words true.

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“What does the playful child mean?” Elder He asked Ye Lu. So far, everything Ye Lu had done had slowly earned Elder He’s trust, and he began inquiring about village matters.

Ye Lu replied with certainty: “Run!”

“The farther we run, the better! We must relocate and flee. Our village’s drought will only worsen; there will never be water!”

“If we don’t run, we die!”

It was like the past world of the Living Buddha of Spirit Mountain—those who couldn’t escape could only become sacrifices.

Elder He had already guessed Ye Lu’s thoughts. Indeed, if it weren’t for this reason, Lu wouldn’t have spoken up in front of so many elders.

“Wait, Elder He, you mean just because of a few children, we’re going to relocate the entire village?” He Lan’s gaze was sharp, standing firm like a rock in the center. Her special gift was profound, and her cultivation advanced, naturally disturbing the perceptions around her.

He Lan wasn’t distrustful of Ye Lu; this was her instinct as captain of the guard. The guard existed to protect the village, and her instinct made her vigilant against any possible danger.

She scrutinized the playful child and the Ghost Scholar, not with hostility, but simply to assess the truthfulness of their words. Ye Lu could see this and did not feel offended.

He estimated the playful child’s reaction and was relieved there was still some time. After a moment’s thought, he said, “Three days, Aunt Lan. I’ll bet you three days. The drought will only worsen. By then, there will be no water in the wells, and the fields will crack!”

Ye Lu trusted the playful child’s instinct.

He Lan fell silent for a while and ultimately said nothing. In fact, she somewhat believed them. When she slew the drought snake, its strength had exceeded her expectations; otherwise, she wouldn’t have made such a fuss. Ye Lu’s words aligned with her thoughts.

“Then so be it,” He Lan said.

The conversation in the ancestral hall cast a heavy atmosphere over the entire village. When people left, their expressions were grave. Ye Lu noticed the elders held a high status, and villagers showed them much respect.

Besides that, the villagers’ attention was mostly fixed on the sky.

The dim sky was scorching under a sun half-covered by layers of clouds. These clouds clung to the sun like layers of dirt, amplifying an invisible sense of drought.

The village had been silent for days. People dressed lightly, but sweat still poured endlessly, evaporating before even reaching the ground.

The water in the wells dwindled further.

Three days passed in the blink of an eye.

The drought showed no sign of relief. Worse, the water in the wells was insufficient even for daily needs.

That noon, the villagers gathered again in the ancestral hall to discuss fleeing. Where would they go?

This time, Ye Lu brought his two brothers into the hall early. He watched as villagers, anxious and worried, filed in one by one.

Soon, everyone was present.

Elder He looked around, confirmed their presence, tapped his cane, and said in a steady voice, “Speak up. Where do we go? We simply can’t stay in this village anymore.”

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He Lan’s expression was solemn as she said, “More drought snakes are gathering outside the village. We must leave quickly.”

Village Chief Qian Bacun was known for speaking plainly. Many village disputes were settled by him. As the atmosphere grew tense, he coughed and smiled, lightening the mood: “There are plenty of places we can go.”

“Brother He Qi, tell us about the places we discussed before. Let’s think together about where to go.”

He Qi was easygoing and had a good relationship with Qian Bacun. As deputy captain of the guard under He Lan, he was the mediator between her and Qian Bacun.

He Qi nodded and pulled out a coarse blue cloth with three dots drawn in charcoal.

“There are three places. I asked the stone shaman and shaman He. If the drought is truly caused by sinister creatures, and they can control drought snakes from such a distance, the sinister force must be at least at the blood-resentment level. Within thousands of miles around the village, no one can live.”

“Currently suitable for us are three places: to the south, the Ten-Thousand-Mountain Range, with abundant rain but many sinister beasts and plants. If we’re lucky, we might find a sinister plant there, and even if we flee there, life could be tolerable.”

“The downside is the distance is far, and the rain might reduce the yield of our qingmi grains. Also, we’re unfamiliar with the sinister beasts and plants there, so casualties could be heavy.”

“To the north is the Beast King’s Court, closest to us, so fleeing there is fastest. Once there, the many tribal priests will see a blood-resentment level disaster and surely won’t let it escape. That way, the grasslands won’t wither, and their sinister beasts won’t suffer.”

“The downside is qingmi grains might not grow there, and even if they do, we might not protect them. As for sinister beasts, many villages want to raise them. Only a few villages can manage.”

He Qi smiled wryly at the last remark.

“As for the third, it’s the barren stone mountain range to the west!”

“It’s desolate, sparsely populated, with poor land and cold weather. But our qingmi grains don’t fear cold or drought and don’t require fertile soil. Besides, we all know the barren stone mountain range lacks almost everything—except sinister creatures that eat people everywhere.” He Qi ended with a few jokes.

Ye Lu listened quietly throughout. He sensed He Qi favored the barren stone mountain range, but the land was indeed barren. The He Village had always been a refuge for refugees; going to barren land seemed unlikely.

However, cultivating sinister plants did require sinister blood and flesh, and Ye Lu’s expression grew thoughtful.

This world was truly different from what he imagined. Just from a few words, he realized how crucial sinister plants and beasts were to the village.

Elder He had been resting with closed eyes all along. When He Qi finished, he slowly opened his eyes and asked, “Enough. Let’s talk—where exactly should we go?”

Silence.

“Bacun, you are the village chief. You speak first.”

Elder He turned his gaze toward Qian Bacun.

Qian Bacun scratched his head and said, “You really want me to say? Then it’s the Ten-Thousand-Mountain Range. Not to mention other things, at least there are many sinister plants. If someone in our village finds one, we could gain a great gift, like awakening a talent. That would be a huge gain.”

Before Qian Bacun finished, someone from behind immediately objected, “Who knows how many tribes live in the Ten-Thousand-Mountain Range? Their poison experts are natives. We’re outsiders. Can we really enter? Forget finding sinister plants.”

“And the miasma, poisonous and parasitic insects, not to mention the ubiquitous sinister forces—we might not survive.”

“Then we can’t go to the Beast King’s Court either. Those barbarians trade sinister food with merchants every year. If we bring qingmi grains there, can we really keep the sinister plants?”

A man in the crowd quickly rejected another option. They would rather go to a more dangerous place than lose their sinister plants.

Everyone knew how terrifying it would be for a village to lose its sinister plants.

That meant they would become an ordinary village—no sinister food, no right to invite shamans, no chance for children to awaken talents, and only blood food for the sinister creatures.

Not only the villagers but also the elders frowned. Everyone was deeply uncertain about the future, and disputes grew fierce. The elders were no exception, except for the three who remained silent—Ye Lu and his two brothers.