Bab 120: Flowing Leaves Village (Complete)
Pat! Pat! Pat!
Liu Chang struck the ground with his Spirit, Spirit Hoe Tool Spirit. He woke up early in the morning to tend to his fields and was drenched in sweat already.
"Ah! Tired, I am too tired!" Liu Chang threw his Spirit Hoe on the ground and cried out.
"What tired, keep working! Since you are too tired to work, I guess you are also too tired to play, let's not do anything tonight and have a good rest."
Almost immediately after he complained, a woman's voice shot back at him in contempt.
Liu Chang looked at his wife and hurriedly shook his head, "I didn't mean that. I just needed a small break; I will get back to it right away."
His wife glared at him and harrumphed, before turning away and going back to weaving baskets.
Liu Chang, noticing she turned away, dropped the act and sighed exhaustedly.
He wiped the sweat from his dirty, yellowish face and stared into the clouds above.
Hah... If only I awakened a mighty Spirit, I could have become a Spirit Master, Liu Chang thought to himself.
Suddenly, he noticed a black dot in the sky, and it seemed to be getting closer.
"Oh, oh my, what is that?" Liu Chang asked.
"Why are you looking at the sky for, huh? If you don't get back to work, how are you going to pay for our meals?"
Lady Liu went to check back on Liu Chang and noticed him slacking on the job, so she got angry and started yelling again.
However, unlike the usual reaction she gets from him, he ignored her and shakily pointed to the sky.
"T-that, is that coming right towards us?" Liu Chang's face began to pale, and his voice shook more than his dirty fingers.
At this time, his exhaustion left him, and panic replaced it, filling his body with anxiety.
"Go, quickly get the Village Chief!" Liu Chang yelled at his wife after a couple of seconds.
Lady Liu ran to the Village Chief's house screaming about the beast in the sky, causing a large amount of mass panic throughout the village.
The Village Chief swung the front door open and ran outside, "What is going on? Why are you screaming?"
"Chief, look in the sky, over there!" A villager pointed in the direction where everyone was looking as he informed the Village Chief.
The Village Chief looked into the sky and raised his old hand to block the sunlight.
He could see a black shadow that was quickly becoming larger. However, it wasn't a Spirit Beast like he thought it would be, because he could see a humanoid figure.
Being the strongest person in the village, the old Village Chief had the best vision and could better see the figures in the sky.
Flying? Can humans fly? The old chief thought incredulously. It was almost scarier than seeing a Spirit Beast.
"It is not a Spirit Beast. I can see a human up there," the Village Chief tried to calm the villagers down, but it looked like he was the one that needed calming.
He then remembered something and looked at a villager, "Lao, hide the girl!"
The villager, Lao, nodded his head while still stunned, and only ran off after the Village Chief yelled at him.
Wulin soon arrived above Flowing Leaves Village with Ning Yuzi and manipulated the Monkey God's Nimbus to descend.
He noticed earlier that a lot of villagers seemed to be gathering around and looking at him.
With his keen eyesight, he was also able to see the fear etched on their faces.
The Nimbus landed in the centre of the village, and Wulin and Ning Yuzi hopped off.
The villagers were stunned as they stared at the two of them, while Wulin and Yuzi looked around.
Yuzi couldn't help but smile when he saw the familiar buildings and dirty-faced people who reeked of farm work.
"This Flowing Leaves Village reminds me of my village," he said reminiscently.
Wulin was also looking around at the villagers with curiosity. They were surprised to see a couple of young men land in front of them.
Some of them openly looked at him, and other sneaked a glance through the slits in their windows.
"Hello, I am the Chief of this Flowing Leaves Village. Is there something you need of our tiny village?"
The old Village Chief hesitantly stepped forward and spoke to Wulin in a cautious tone, like he didn't want to offend him.
He could see that the two of them were very young, but they produced an invisible pressure that was stronger than any of the other nearby village chiefs.
With his instincts, he knew they were much stronger than him; thus, he was hesitant to approach them.
Wulin turned to look at the older man who spoke to them and used his Observation Ability on him:
==
Name: Yu Xiang
Spirit Rank: 43
Spirit: Wind Cutter Axe
==
A Spirit Ancestor was the best that a small village could produce. Yu Xiang probably graduated from a small academy and never aimed higher after finding out his potential.
Wulin guessed his Spirit Ring's weren't rare or mighty either since the Village Chief would probably be too scared to fight a Spirit Beast with 10,000 years, or even less.
Since the Village Chief is untalented and probably doesn't have useful Spirit Ring's, it was impossible for him to progress his cultivation further.
Nevertheless, Wulin didn't disparage him for it and instead introduced himself and Ning Yuzi.
"Good day. My name is Chen Wulin, and this is Ning Yuzi. We are part of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan," he said courteously.
The Village Chief was a little taken aback when Wulin was acting courteous towards him, but later almost popped out of their sockets when hearing of his origins.
Even the village chief, with his backwater education, knew of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan.
It would be harder to find a Spirit Master that didn't know about them since they were so well-known in the Douluo Continent.
A glint of light caught his attention, and his eyes lowered to Wulin's chest.
Adorned on the right side of Wulin's chest, the mark of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan vibrantly stood prominently on his white clothing.
Though the clothes were silky and expensive-looking, the mark of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan was unique, and it was taboo to try and reproduce it.
None would dare to masquerade as a member of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan.
If they were found out, they would be hunted and prosecuted, and it wouldn't even be the Clan pursuing them.
The Village Chief's heart rose to his throat as he thought, 'It's real! They are from the legendary Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan!'
He stood frozen like a popsicle as his mind was still attempting to process this vital information.
At the same time, he wondered why the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan would visit his small village. After all, there are better places to stop for a rest.
However, he swiftly remembered the event that took place a couple of weeks ago, the Spirit Awakening Ceremony.
During that ceremony, two significant events occurred. The one that could gain the attention of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan would be the Spirit Awakening of one little girl.
Despite her low backgrounds, she awakened a unique Spirit with an innate Spirit Power of nine.
"You are here to invite Little Niu to the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan?" The Village Chief asked with expectation and trepidation.
Though the girl wasn't his daughter or granddaughter, the Village Chief was elated for her boon, since it could also spell good news for Flowing Leaves Village.
He didn't even think twice about how the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan got word of her awakening since they were experts at information gathering.
Also, he knew his villagers weren't the most tight-lipped mob, so they would easily be able to investigate Little Niu.
"Little Niu is her name?" Wulin looked to Ning Yuzi inquisitively. He only jumped in on the journey for fun, so he didn't know who they were picking up.
"Her name is Bing Niu, so Little Niu is probably just her nickname," Ning Yuzi nodded his head and answered.
The Village Chief's eyes lit up, "That's great, really great!"
Being talented, Little Niu was guaranteed to receive many benefits. The Village Chief only wished a small portion of that would flow to Flowing Leaves Village, which raised her.
"Where is Little Niu? Go and bring her here; she should greet her senior brothers," He looked from side to side, before ordering one villager.
From his energetic tone, one could tell that the Village Chief was in an excellent mood right now.
However, before the villager ran off, Wulin stopped them, "It's alright. We will go to her instead."
"If she is forced to come with us, she will definitely feel enmity towards us," Wulin said.
There was no point in recruiting someone if it were forced because they would grow up under your command and try to usurp you when they are stronger.
"Ah, how wise. Masters, please allow me to escort you to Little Niu's home."
Yu Xiang nodded his head with enlightenment and offered with a small gesture.
"No need, just point us in the right direction, and we will find her home soon enough."
Wulin gently declined the offer as he wanted to allow Ning Yuzi a bit of time in a nostalgic place.
Yu Xiang could see that Wulin didn't want a guide, and didn't attempt to force it onto him.
"Alright, Little Niu's home is that way, it has a broken wheel resting on the wall. If you need anything, ask me, my home is that one there."
Yu Xiang nodded his head and pointed out the direction of Little Niu's home, before pointing at his own.
Then, he looked around at all the villagers that were still staring at Wulin and Ning Yuzi with their silly looks.
"What are you lot still doing here? These Masters want to walk around, so don't get in their way, scram!" Yu Xiang scolded the villagers, causing them to shuffle away quickly.
A couple of those that entered their houses cracked open the windows and continued to stare at the two boys sneakily, but immediately shut it after Yu Xiang glared at them.
Wulin could feel al of the gazes on his body, but didn't mind as he patted Ning Yuzi on the back, "Come on, let's go and look around."
Ning Yuzi nodded his head, and the two of them strolled around Flowing Leaves village while looking around.
Wulin was also feeling curious about everything he saw. He had never seen a village like this before; the village he grew up in wasn't like this.
His village was more like a small town compared to the Flowing Leaves Village.
There were no clans; only small families brought together by food to assemble a community.
He watched as some farmers passionately toiled the round as if they were trying to impress Wulin or catch his attention.
However, Wulin was more interested in the crops they were growing. If they were different from the ones that he already had, then he wouldn't mind adding some to his Immortal Realm.
The two of them briskly wandered around the tiny village; it didn't take much time, and there wasn't a lot of unique things to observe.
Even Ning Yuzi discovered how different his life is now, compared to when he was still a small village boy.
His life was one thousand times more comfortable, and one thousand times more eventful. His gratefulness for being recruited to the Clan renewed once more.
At the same time, he became determined to show Little Niu the opportunities that she can take to change her destiny.
As for Wulin, his only coaxing method was to give her some food from the Immortal Realm.
It was a simple strategy, but it has never failed before. As long as Little Niu took one bite, she would be following Wulin like a baby chick for the rest of her life.
After Ning Yuzi was satisfied with looking around, the two of them went in the direction that the old Village Chief pointed and found Little Niu's home.
As the latter said, there was a broken wooden wheel leaning on the straw and mud mixed wall.
It was strange for Wulin to see a house like this. Never in his two lives had he lived in a place where these kinds of homes were prominent.
The house was quite small, and it seemed hard to believe that it could house a family.
"Excuse me, is this Little Niu's home? We are the pair from the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan." Wulin used a bit of Spirit Power to project his voice into the building.
The house returned a short reply before Wulin could hear rustling and rushed shuffling before the door swung open.
What appeared before the two of them was a middle-aged woman with worn-out features.
Wulin could tell that she was freshening herself up for the two of them, as her face still had a couple of watermarks that she missed when drying.
She had a bright smile, and her muddy eyes fixated on Wulin and Ning Yuzi, or more specifically, their clothes.
She had never seen such lush silk before, and she didn't know white could be so white.
"Madam, you must be Little Niu's mother. Is Little Niu here?" Ning Yuzi asked the woman kindly.
"Ah, she is at her friend's house. Please, come in, and I will brew some tea for Masters."
The woman shiftily moved her eyes with a little sadness before she invited the two of them inside.
However, her eye movements weren't unnoticed by Wulin and Ning Yuzi.
They were a little suspicious and wondered what was wrong, so they declined her offer.
"That's fine, could you take us to Little Niu right now? We are eager to meet her," Wulin said.
The woman was still hesitant and seemed to be internally conflicted, "She might be playing somewhere. She will come back in time for dinner, so how about we wait for her here."
Wulin and Ning Yuzi furrowed their brows. This woman was too suspicious, and she kept trying to keep them from meeting Little Niu.
Ning Yuzi's face sharpened sternly, and his tone became an octave deeper and more intimidating.
"Madam, what are you trying to hide from us? Is there something wrong with Little Niu?"
The woman couldn't help but shriek when faced with Ning Yuzi's pressuring gaze, "N-no! Nothing is wrong with Little Niu!"
"Then why are you trying to keep us from meeting her? If there is nothing wrong with her, let us go and look," Ning Yuzi pressed on.
He was worried that something happened to Little Niu, she was a prospective pillar of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan.
Wulin shook his head and pulled Ning Yuzi, "Forget it; let's go and find her ourselves."
Ning Yuzi nodded his head, and the two of them turned around, walking away from the middle-aged woman.
"Wait!"
However, the woman dashed in front of Wulin and Ning Yuzi, blocking their way.
Wulin began to frown, and he didn't know what this woman was hiding, but her constant attempts to stop them was getting on his nerves.
The woman also saw their displeasure building, and she got to her knees, kowtowing to the two of them.
Tears streamed down her face, and she unhesitatingly forced her head to the ground repeatedly.
"Please, I am begging you! Don't hurt Pachong!"
Wulin, who was getting annoyed, was stunned by the sudden events.
He looked to Ning Yuzi, who displayed an equal level of shock and looked at the woman with confusion.
"Who is Pachong? Why would we hurt her?" He asked.
'She does know we are from the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan, right? Why is she making us out like murderers?'
They had no idea what was going on, Ning Yuzi didn't receive any information about this Pachong either.
"It... It happened during the Spirit Awakening Ceremony..."
The woman sniffled as tears welled up once more, "Many people are calling her a demon child, but that isn't true!"
"Please, she is only a little girl, you can't hurt her!" The woman got closer to Wulin as she grovelled in front of him.
Wulin stepped back as he said, "I won't kill anyone without reason. Now, take us to Little Niu."
The woman couldn't reject Wulin anymore, as they would leave her if she tried.
Helpless, she wiped her teary face and led Wulin and Ning Yuzi around the village.
After a couple of minutes, they arrived at a home a bit bigger than Little Niu's.
The woman said Little Niu was playing at Pachong's house, but Wulin and Ning Yuzi could hear screaming that didn't sound like it was playing.
Wulin moved quicker and opened the door, hearing the piercing sound of an angry little child, like a furious bird.
"I WON'T FOLLOW THEM ANYWHERE! I WON'T LEAVE CHONG CHONG ALONE HERE!"
Wulin saw a little girl confronting a familiar old man and a couple of unfamiliar adults.
Her tiny hands balled into fists, and her entire body shook with anger and agitation.
The little girl, which Wulin assumed was Little Niu, had messy sandy-brown hair that wildly cascaded down her tiny back.
She was a little grimey and malnourished, but Wulin could see that she was quite cute.
Her face was aligned and symmetrical, and her cheeks still had a bit of baby fat, while her eyes were bright like glass.
Yu Xiang, the Village Chief, and the other adults had their backs to the door and didn't notice Wulin come in.
"Little Niu, this is an opportunity of a lifetime. If you take it, you could help the entire village, and maybe even Pachong."
The Village Chief tried to coax the little girl, but she seemed to be preoccupied with something else.
Little Niu was staring at Wulin and Ning Yuzi, who entered the room unnoticed by the adults.
Yu Xiang was about to continue but saw Little Niu's gaze fixated behind him, and turned around.
Finding Wulin and Ning Yuzi standing behind him, Yu Xiang jolted in fright and sucked in a deep breath of cold air.
As for Little Niu, she gathered that Wulin and Ning Yuzi were the ones that wanted to take her away, and immediately fled, scurrying deeper into the house.
PERTIMBANGAN PENCIPTA 
The_Wulin
The_Wulin This is the completed chapter.
Someone thought it would be nice to compare the two chapters, so I will leave the old one up for a couple of days before deleting it.
Status Power Mingguan
-- Peringkat
Power 
-- Power
stone