Chapter 27: Something Happened
Early that morning, Lu Yunxi stored all of her household valuables into her spatial dimension. Carrying nothing but a small bundle of food, she prepared to finally leave the village and explore the outside world.
However, right before she could cross the village boundary, a piercing scream tore through the sky. She froze in her tracks, hesitating for a split second, before turning and sprinting toward the source of the noise.
The scream had come from the opposite end of the settlement. By the time she pushed her way through the village and arrived at the scene, a sizable crowd had already gathered.
When she looked up and recognized the familiar courtyard, her heart plummeted. Something has happened to the Li family!
She stopped dead in her tracks. Her feet felt as heavy as lead, completely refusing to move. It wasn’t until she spotted Daya’s dazed, trembling back through the crowd that her stiff body finally regained its mobility.
Taking a few deep breaths to steady herself, she approached her friend. “Daya, what happened—”
The words died in her throat as she caught sight of a familiar figure lying perfectly still on the ground, eyes closed.
“Grandma… Li?” she whispered, her pupils shrinking in horror.
Grandma Li—the woman who had looked after her when her parents died, who would personally bake her osmanthus cakes, and who would stay by her side to keep her company on lonely nights—was just gone.
Staring at the fatal wound on Grandma Li’s chest, a fierce, blazing rage ignited in Yunxi’s eyes.
“Xiaoxi!” It took Li Daya a moment to realize she was there. Like a frightened baby bird finding its mother, she threw herself into Yunxi’s arms.
Yunxi held her quietly, letting the younger girl sob into her shoulder. The wails were absolutely heartbreaking. Supporting Daya with one arm, Yunxi gently patted her back with the other until the girl’s chaotic emotions began to settle.
All the while, Yunxi’s eyes continuously scanned the scene, desperately trying to pick out any clues. Grandma Li had been a kind soul. Although she was traditional and prone to nagging, she wasn’t a bad person. She had never even spoken a harsh word to anyone in the village. There was no way she could have provoked a deadly feud.
If it wasn’t a revenge killing, could it be… a crime of passion? No, that was even more absurd!
Was it a robbery? As far as she knew, the Li family was far from wealthy. Why would anyone commit murder for a few meager coppers?
Yunxi’s mind felt like a tangled knot; none of it made any sense. She stood there, lost in thought, until Daya exhausted herself from crying and fell asleep right in her arms.
After running around the village day and night interrogating anyone she could, Yunxi finally gathered some viable clues.
“You’re saying it was an adventurer?” she asked her informant. Why would an adventurer target Grandma Li?
“Yes. You know how those adventurers always like to hide up in the trees. Early this morning, someone saw an adventurer scaling the Li family’s courtyard wall…”
Yunxi followed the informant’s directions and quickly tracked the suspect down. Standing at a safe distance, she casually chatted with the villager, acting completely natural. The adventurer had no idea he was being watched.
“Are you absolutely sure it’s him?”
“I’m certain. You need to be careful, Xiaoxi! That guy is incredibly ruthless. I have no idea how old Madam Li managed to provoke him.”
Yunxi’s cold gaze swept over the adventurer in the distance, permanently burning his face into her memory. After slipping her informant a reward, she lingered around the area long enough to discover where the man was staying before heading back home.
Night fell. The villagers were all fast asleep, leaving only a few restless adventurers wandering the dark streets. Under the cover of night, Yunxi vaulted over the rooftops with practiced ease, quickly arriving at the location she had scouted earlier.
Bright candlelight flickered through the windows of the building, and the sound of boisterous male laughter echoed from inside. Hiding in the shadows, Yunxi watched the commotion, her brow furrowing slightly.
Are there really that many people in that one room? Just as she was debating whether to find a way to lure her target out alone, a loud voice carried through the thin walls.
“Hahaha! This place is fantastic! It’s not like the outside world, where you get slapped with a wanted poster just for killing somebody!”
“What?! Chi Yan, you actually murdered someone out there?!” another man gasped in shock.
“Are you kidding? You guys didn’t know?! There was this annoying old hag living near the back of the mountain who kept nagging me constantly. One minute she’s telling me I need to bathe every day, the next she’s lecturing me on how to properly court a woman! Me? Chi Yan? Needing to coddle a woman?!” The voice belonged to the exact man Yunxi had been hunting. A psychotic gleam flashed in his eyes as he let out a cruel, barking laugh. “If I want a woman, I’ll just take her! Why would I need that damn old bag lecturing me?! She annoyed the hell out of me, so I just got rid of her!”
“I heard there are a few tough locals in this village. I’d be worried they might come looking for trouble! You’d better lay low for a few days,” someone advised nervously.
“Oh, shut up, you coward! What kind of ‘powerful’ characters could possibly exist in a starter village like this?! Let them come; I’ll be waiting right here!” Chi Yan sneered, a sadistic light dancing in his eyes. “Let me tell you, going on a spree in this place is a brilliant idea. Tomorrow, I’m going to hunt for some fresh prey… maybe a pretty woman this time! I’ll kill one a day until this entire miserable village is dead by my hands. Who knows, I might even unlock a rare achievement!”
Standing out in the dark, Yunxi listened to the unhinged drivel spewing from the man’s mouth. An icy, murderous light flashed in her eyes.
The night gradually deepened, and the village fell into complete silence.
“Who the hell are you?!” Chi Yan roared, narrowly dodging an arrow aimed straight at his chest. He glared at the figure emerging from the shadows.
Yunxi’s expression was freezing cold. She ignored his outburst entirely. After listening to his twisted bragging, she had realized this man was a literal wanted criminal in the real world! For whatever reason, he had evaded the law out there, only to log in and continue murdering innocent people in here. And from the sounds of it, he fully intended to massacre the rest of the village. This degenerate was incredibly dangerous—completely different from the petty thieves she had dealt with before. He had to be dealt with permanently.
“I’m your executioner,” she sneered, instantly loosing another arrow.
After a brief, fierce exchange, Chi Yan collapsed to the ground, critically wounded.
He gritted his teeth in absolute denial. How long had he successfully evaded capture?! Those useless interstellar police dogs couldn’t even touch him!
Yet he had actually been defeated here?! Losing to a programmed NPC was infuriating enough, but losing to a little female NPC?!
He glared viciously at the girl standing over him. “Let me go, you stupid bitch! Believe it or not, I will make you pay for this later!”
Yunxi looked down at him with dead, calm eyes. “Since you’ve made that promise, I definitely can’t let you go.”
Early the next morning.
“Village Chief!”
The village chief rubbed his sleep-crusted eyes, blinking at the morning sun. “Oh? Is that… Xiaoxi? You’re here awfully early. Is something wrong?”
“This animal murdered Grandma Li,” she stated, her voice dangerously low as she shoved a thoroughly bound and struggling Chi Yan forward. “Based on what he confessed, he has done this kind of thing before. A vicious monster like him poses a severe threat if left in this village. What do you think we should do with him?”
Hearing those words, the village chief instantly snapped completely awake. His brow furrowed into a deep, furious scowl as he glared at the captive.
After pondering the dilemma for a long moment, the chief let out a heavy sigh. “Leave him here with me. I’ll need to travel to the town to formally request assistance.”
“Request assistance?” Yunxi frowned in confusion. In a cut-and-dry murder case like this, why weren’t they immediately marching him to the magistrate’s office? Why keep him locked up here gathering dust?
“You don’t understand the new laws,” the chief explained wearily. “These ‘adventurers’ are strictly forbidden from entering the town without an official letter of recommendation. We can’t drag him there ourselves; we have to go to town and petition the guards to come down here and handle it!”
Lu Yunxi: …
The bureaucracy of this ancient era is seriously a massive headache!
