Chapter 8: Secret
The night passed quickly.
Before dawn, Lu Yunxi arrived at the village chief’s house. Spotting Liu Er heading inside, she quickly crept up to the building and pressed her ear against the wall.
What a shame. She couldn’t tell if the walls were simply too thick or what, but she couldn’t hear a single word of the conversation inside.
About a quarter of an hour later, Liu Er walked back out, his eyes red from crying. The village chief followed him out, watching him go in silence.
Yunxi wavered, wondering if she should step in and help. After all, Brother Liu really was a wonderful person. Ever since the villagers had started acting like normal human beings, she often went around trying to strike up conversations. While many found her pestering annoying, Brother Liu was the only one who always patiently kept her company.
When she had visited him last night, he clearly seemed tempted by her offer, and even this morning, his reluctance to leave was written all over his face. Yet, whatever the village chief had just said to him had completely rewritten his resolve. He now seemed entirely determined to go, with no intention of staying in the village at all.
Seeing that look in his eyes, she knew there was no convincing him otherwise.
Still, she couldn’t wrap her head around it. What on earth could the village chief have said to Brother Liu to make him leave the village so willingly?
Watching Liu Er’s retreating figure, Yunxi’s mind swirled with questions. Should I just knock him out and hide him somewhere safe?
She watched him a moment longer and was just about to follow him when a familiar voice called out.
“Xiaoxi!”
Yunxi froze. She hesitated for a moment before slowly turning around. “Village Chief!”
Faced with the kind, benevolent-looking old man, she didn’t know what to say. She could only lower her head, pretending to be deeply interested in the ants crawling by her feet.
The old man didn’t seem to notice her awkwardness, his face maintaining its usual gentle smile. He gestured for her to follow him, and the two of them walked into the courtyard and sat down across from each other. Steam rose lazily from the freshly poured teacups between them, blurring their view of one another.
“The second boy already told me that you went to see him last night,” the village chief said casually, offering a faint smile as if it were nothing more than a trivial matter.
Yunxi’s heart suddenly sank.
Why would Brother Liu blab about what happened last night?!
A wave of unease washed over her. The village chief might look like a sweet, grandfatherly figure, but he was actually cold and ruthless enough to exile his own people. If he decided he wanted to get rid of her right here and now…
She cast a swift glance around the courtyard and realized the front gate was firmly shut.
This is bad!
If the village chief actually attacked her, she might not stand a chance. Sure, she had defeated a field mouse, but how could the strength of a tiny rodent compare to that of a grown man?
Besides, the village chief only looked ancient because of his full head of white hair. In reality, he was only in his forties. The kids in the village only called him “Grandpa” out of cultural respect, not because he was actually a frail old man!
Yunxi secretly braced herself, every muscle tensing.
“Don’t be so nervous,” the village chief chuckled, easily reading her rigid posture. He let out a long, heavy sigh. “You think it’s incredibly cruel of me to drive out the people who can’t kill field mice, don’t you?”
She kept her mouth shut, but internally, she was screaming: Of course it’s cruel! It might be one thing for an able-bodied person, but for someone like Brother Liu who could barely walk, running into a tiger on the mountain pass outside the village meant certain death!
The village chief set his teacup down, his tone turning incredibly solemn. “The truth is, we have no choice but to send them away. Our ancestors established this rule to save their lives!”
“What do you mean?”
“The villagers who fail to kill a field mouse on their own lack the mountain god’s blessing. Once they turn eighteen, their bodies will rapidly deteriorate, and they will waste away and die within a month.”
The mountain god’s blessing?! What kind of backward, feudal superstition was this?! Yunxi was entirely speechless.
As if seeing right through her skepticism, the village chief explained further, “It’s the absolute truth. Our ancestors tried to find workarounds many times in the past. They tried helping them kill the mice, they tried using poison to catch them, and they even tried taking them straight to the ancestral hall without a kill—but it was all entirely useless. They never received the blessing. Only those who slay a field mouse with their own two hands can be protected by the mountain god! So, for those who simply can’t do it, our only option is to make them leave. Curiously, the moment they step outside the village boundaries, their bodies stop weakening. It’s the only way they can at least save their lives.”
“But Brother Liu is heading to town all by himself. What if he encounters a tiger along the way?” Yunxi countered. What good is saving his life if he gets eaten before he even arrives?
“You don’t need to worry about that. Anyone sent to the town is secretly escorted and protected by our hunters until they are safely within the city gates.”
Yunxi scrutinized the village chief’s expression intensely but found absolutely no signs of deception. Either he was telling the absolute truth, or his acting skills were terrifyingly flawless.
She fell into deep thought.
The part about people becoming incredibly weak after turning eighteen if they couldn’t beat a field mouse was likely true. After all, a lie like that would be way too easy to expose in a small village. However, the root cause definitely wasn’t some lack of a “mountain god’s blessing.” There had to be another explanation. Ancient people simply had limited knowledge, so whenever they encountered a phenomenon they couldn’t explain scientifically, they automatically attributed it to the supernatural.
“Village Chief, is there really no other way?”
“None at all. We can only do our best to ensure they have a decent life out there,” the village chief replied with a bittersweet smile. “You’ll understand once you’re older and go out to make a path for yourself. Our village actually owns a large property in town where any exiled villager can live while they look for work. It’s quite spacious and can easily house dozens of people.”
Yunxi’s eyes widened. She had never expected their tiny, isolated village to own real estate in the city! Knowing this, however, made her feel significantly better about Liu Er’s sudden departure.
“Normally, I only explain this to the specific villagers who are leaving, but I was worried your stubborn streak might drive you to do something reckless, so I decided to tell you,” the village chief said, patting her shoulder gently. “Make sure you keep this to yourself. After all, it’s painful enough for the families to believe their children are just leaving for normal work. It would be far worse if they knew the grim truth.”
Yunxi remained silent, her thoughts tangled up in a massive knot.
Immersed in his own melancholy, the village chief didn’t seem to notice her preoccupation. Suddenly, he let out another heavy sigh. “Come to think of it, we have another youngster leaving the village in a few days.”
“Who?”
“Baozhu, the girl from the Liu family over on the western side of the village,” the village chief said, a genuine smile returning to his face. “Unlike Liu Er’s situation, her family is thrilled about her going out to explore the world. They’ve already packed all her bags! It’s certainly a much happier affair than being forced out.”
Yunxi looked up in surprise.
While she still wasn’t entirely sure which historical era or kingdom she was currently living in, the societal customs here seemed incredibly progressive for ancient times! She had heard that women in the city could walk the streets freely, didn’t have to wear veils, and could even run businesses. Even so, most traditional families still found the idea of an unmarried daughter traveling alone to make a living completely unacceptable. She hadn’t expected the western Liu family to be so open-minded.
After leaving the village chief’s house, Yunxi hesitated for a moment before deciding to head over to the western edge of the village to meet this adventurous girl.
However, when she knocked, it was Liu Baozhu’s mother who answered the door. Upon hearing Yunxi’s request, the woman shook her head with a look of deep regret. “Oh, you came to see Baozhu? What a shame, she actually left to explore the world quite a while ago! If you had come just a few days earlier, you would have caught her. She didn’t even say when she’d be back!”
Yunxi felt a brief pang of disappointment, but she quickly brushed it off and headed home.
