Thanks to Katy for the kofis, enjoy these bonus chapters!

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The group rested for another night. That night, Xiao Shitou slept with them, and surprisingly, his parents didn’t come looking for him… He didn’t know if that meant they were carefree or just careless.

Early the next morning, after breakfast, the group set out as usual to search for the Divine Flowers.

This time, they ventured further out—partly because they felt bad about picking all the Divine Flowers near the village, and partly because they wanted to scout out the surrounding terrain a bit.

To their surprise, there were very few mutant beasts near Dongying Village.

Yongning Village was already considered safe; the Resource Zone was regularly patrolled and cleared by ability users, so there were almost no Level 2 or higher mutant beasts. Even so, the villagers often encountered Level 1 mutant beasts roaming about. However, since everyone in the village had the items and equipment provided by Cen An, dealing with Level 1 mutant beasts was no problem.

In Dongying Village—at least during the few days they’d been there—no ability users had ever come out to clear the area, yet they hadn’t seen a single mutant beast. “Is it because of the terrain?” Cen An wondered. “Or is there some mineral or scent nearby that the mutant beasts dislike?”

Su Rui shook his head and shrugged. “I haven’t noticed anything. Probably just better hunting grounds nearby.”

Cen An thought about it. Although he didn’t like the atmosphere in Dongying Village, fewer mutant beasts were definitely a good thing, so he didn’t pursue the matter further.

The two spent the rest of the morning picking flowers. He even went out of his way to take another look at the house from yesterday. As usual, several rows of clothes were hanging out to dry in the yard, but there was no one in sight.

No matter how you looked at it, this village was just plain strange…

They returned to the village at the agreed-upon time. Just as they reached the door of their temporary lodging—before they’d even stepped inside—they spotted a somewhat familiar figure on the road. At this point, Boss Cen didn’t have a high opinion of anyone in Dongying Village. He was about to ignore the person when he suddenly remembered who it was. “Hello.”

The man seemed to be just passing by and looked up in surprise. “Oh, it’s you guys… Is there something you need?”

Cen An recalled that his name was Han Si. “Excuse me, has your niece’s injury improved? If you need it, I can take another look at her.” 

Han Si replied immediately, “No need—she’s already much better!”

Cen An immediately grew suspicious. The girl’s injuries had been severe—how could she possibly be “much better” after just one day? He hadn’t given her any Rain Dew Essence.

Noticing Cen An’s suspicion, Han Si composed himself. “Really, there’s no need. You’re honored guests—how could we possibly trouble you to treat our family? People in our village aren’t that delicate; a little wood ash rubbed on the wound is usually enough. Besides, men and women shouldn’t have physical contact—I can’t very well let you into my niece’s home…”

As Cen An listened, he actually smiled. Su Rui, noticing his expression, subtly shifted to the side, but then, realizing it wasn’t right, moved back again.

Cen An smiled at Han Si and said, “You have a point, but since we’re the ones who saved her, we can’t just leave her to fend for herself. How about this: I’ll give her some medicine, and you can find someone to apply it for her when you get back.”

As soon as Han Si heard the word “medicine,” his eyes widened. “Oh my, that’s… that’s so embarrassing…”

“It’s no big deal. We’ve got plenty of medicine with us; giving you some is no trouble at all.” Cen An said this as if offhandedly, not noticing Han Si’s eyes darting about, and called out, “Brother Fei, could you please bring out my first-aid kit?”

A figure clad in a large black robe soon emerged from the courtyard. Han Si was startled by the sight. Good heavens, who was this? Wasn’t it hot being bundled up like that in the middle of summer? When he looked up, he was even more startled. Seriously, did this person just crawl out of a grave halfway through their journey? His face was so pale!

Yu Fei handed the first-aid kit to Cen An, who smiled as he introduced them: “Brother Fei, this is Han Si. We hit it off right away and would like to get to know each other better.”

Yu Fei glanced up at him, and Cen An gave a faint smile. Yu Fei twitched his finger.

Upon hearing this, Han Si looked up and smiled, but inwardly he rolled his eyes. Didn’t this bunch just want the Divine Flowers from their village? “Instantly hit it off”? Pfft, what a load of nonsense! Still, the medicine was a good thing. He eyed Cen An’s little first-aid kit with envy.

Cen An took out three packets of powdered medicine and handed them to him. “These are all for external injuries. Just apply them to the wounds. By the way, would you mind telling me how your niece is doing?”

Han Sihui beamed as he took them. “I’ll gladly accept these. Please thank my niece for me. Phew, she’s doing just fine now—our whole family is taking good care of her.”

He scampered off with the medicine. Just as he reached his own front door, he paused to think for a moment, then turned around and headed to Han Chengye’s house.

“Third Uncle, guess what great thing I got?!” He pushed open the door, beaming, but when he saw Han Chengye talking to a middle-aged man, he quickly composed himself. “Second Uncle.”

Han Chengye looked up. “What good thing did you get? Did those people give it to you?”

“It’s medicine—top-notch wound medicine!” Han Si said greedily. “They brought a first-aid kit. I took a look inside—it’s full of medicine. Third Uncle, should we…” 

He made a slashing motion across his throat.

Before Han Chengye could speak, Second Uncle frowned and said, “You’re so short-sighted—can’t even hold back over a few packets of wound medicine?” Han Chengye nodded in agreement. “The ceremony is about to begin. Let’s not complicate matters.”

Han Si quickly composed himself. “Yes,” he replied, then added, “That little brat Han Sanya—even with such tight supervision, she still managed to run off. Why didn’t she just fall to her death! Now that she’s injured like this, she’s useless. Shouldn’t we pick someone else? What about our reward…”

“No problem. Just have her go in with someone else; you’ll still get your reward,” Han Chengye said. Han Si immediately broke into a smile. “Thank you, Third Uncle, and thank you, Second Uncle. Now I can rest easy!”

Cen An smiled as he watched him leave, then turned and walked into the courtyard, his expression suddenly darkening. “Brother Fei, what do you think?” 

“He’s lying,” Yu Fei said bluntly. “He didn’t even mention his niece’s current condition just now.” In the courtyard, the rest of the group had returned; despite the crowd, not a single sound had been heard just moments ago.

Yu Lin took his medical kit, and Wang Lie promptly handed him a cup of warm water. “Cen, have a sip of water to soothe your throat.”

“Thanks.” Cen An’s brow was still furrowed as he took a sip of the water. “This village is weird. We shouldn’t stay here too long. Once we find the Sacred Spirit Flower…”

He stopped himself mid-sentence. The Sacred Divine Flower wasn’t that easy to find. Today, he and Su Rui had picked over a hundred Divine Flowers as usual, yet they still hadn’t found a single Sacred Divine Flower.

When he asked the others, sure enough, there were several more Spirit Flowers and Nightmare Flowers, but the Sacred Flower was nowhere to be found.

There’s no such thing as a perfect solution in this world—only dead-end dilemmas. The Chief was troubled. He could ignore the village’s oddities, but he had to figure out why the Sacred Flower wasn’t appearing. Could it be that they hadn’t gathered enough Divine Flowers?

“Big brother, here’s some water.” Xiao Shitou obediently walked over, holding a cup. He had stayed behind again today; while the others had gone out foraging that morning, he and Team Leader Liao had stayed home to watch over the place.

“Thanks, Shitou.” Cen An quickly took the second cup of water and gulped down a few mouthfuls. Glancing over, he saw that Su Rui hadn’t had a single sip, so he poured the rest of the water into his mouth.

Xiao Shitou obediently tilted his head back. “Big Brother, are you looking for the Divine Flowers?”

Cen An nodded and crouched down. “Do you know where we can find the Divine Flowers, Shitou? We’re looking for a mutant variety of one of them.” Little Shitou looked at him, tilting his head. “Brother, are you looking for the Spirit Divine Flower or the Holy Divine Flower?”

Cen An was genuinely surprised. “You know about the Spirit Divine Flower and the Holy Divine Flower?” Was that why the area around Dongying Village was so rich in Divine Flowers? At least in Yongning Village, before he’d explained it, no one knew about the Spirit Divine Flower or the Holy Divine Flower—at most, Team Leader Shi knew a little about the Divine Flowers.

Xiao Shitou clapped her little hands and laughed, “I knew it.”

Cen An exchanged glances with his friends and asked again, “Does Xiao Shitou know where we can find lots of Spirit Flowers and Sacred Flowers?”

Xiao Shitou replied without hesitation, “For Spirit Flowers, you just have to look in the Three Divine Flower groves, but Holy Flowers haven’t appeared in a long time. Mom said it’s because the villagers offended the Three Divine Flower Gods, so the Flower Gods won’t bestow Holy Flowers upon us anymore.”

Cen An looked at the little boy’s small hands. After a moment, he nodded. “So that’s how it is. I understand now, Xiao Shitou. You’re really smart.” He stood up and said, “Sister Qu, it’s hot out. Could you help the child take a bath?”

Qu Yue was taken aback. “Me?”

After thinking it over—a child this young doesn’t really distinguish between genders—she simply nodded. “All right, then.”

She took the child into the house, and the sound of running water filled the room. Half an hour later, the two of them—one big, one small—came out. Xiao Shitou’s face was rosy, and he was wearing one of Qu Yue’s own shirts, which was much too big for him; she’d had to tie it around him with a string.

Qu Yue looked a bit uneasy. “Xiao Cen, did you figure it out?” Cen An also looked a bit uneasy and nodded. “Just as I thought.”

The others were still confused, but Tian Yuan suddenly seemed to realize something. He closed the courtyard gate, pointed to two ability users, and whispered, “Go stand guard. Don’t let anyone get close.”

The two nodded, their expressions turning serious as they walked out.

Only then did Qu Yue whisper, “Xiao Shitou is a girl.”

At this age, the difference between boys and girls isn’t very obvious. But Cen An was a special case. At the orphanage where he used to live, there was a child who had been registered as a boy upon arrival, but the teacher only discovered she was a girl while giving her a bath. It was later found out that the child’s mother had mental health issues. Compounded by societal pressure favoring sons over daughters, she became mentally unstable after giving birth to a daughter, persistently believing she’d had a son and dressing the child as a boy.

It was precisely because of this experience that Cen An could sense something off about Xiao Shitou—something others wouldn’t have noticed. Qu Yue whispered, “Also, have any of you noticed something?”

Everyone turned to look at her. They saw that this usually feisty and domineering older sister now had a grim expression on her face as she said, “In Dongying Village, you rarely see any women.”

The men present realized what she meant. Indeed, aside from the woman Cen An had encountered yesterday, every adult and child they’d come across in Dongying Village over the past two days had been male—not a single woman.

“Could this be why Xiao Shitou’s parents dressed her up as a boy?” Wang Lie asked, somewhat incredulously. “Is there something wrong with this village? Not letting women go out—how much labor force does that cut into? Are the resources gathered by men alone enough to sustain them? No wonder they’re starving and eating grass roots and tree bark!”

It was indeed a bit of a dark joke, but it was actually kind of funny.

Cen An, however, shook his head with a grave expression. “Look at those houses out there. Do you think there’s room for even one woman inside?” Wang Lie’s expression slowly turned serious. “What do you mean?”

Cen An shook his head, turned to look at Xiao Shitou, and asked gently, “Xiao Shitou, how has your mom been lately?”

Xiao Shitou, who had been quietly playing with her fingers, looked up and shook her head. “I don’t know. I haven’t seen Mom in a long time.” 

As she spoke, she clapped her little hands. “But in seven days, I’ll get to see Mom!”

Cen An continued, “So how often do you get to see your mom, Xiao Shitou?”

Xiao Shitou replied, “Mommy said to count one number each day, and when I get to sixty, I’ll get to see her. Xiao Shitou has already counted up to fifty-seven!”

Qu Yue slammed her fist down on the table—but, afraid of startling the child, she softened her blow as it came down and lowered her voice as much as she could: “This village is crazy! Not letting a child see her mom for two months? What’s going on—is her mom in jail?”

“Could it be…” Tian Yuan mused, “That all the women in the village have been locked up? Locked in that house Brother Cen saw?”

“Locked up for what? To work?” Wang Lie was a bit baffled. “To do laundry? Didn’t Brother Cen say there were lots of clothes hanging out to dry there? Two big courtyards—there shouldn’t be that much laundry to do, right?”

“That doesn’t make sense either!” Team Leader Liao scratched his head in frustration. “What’s the difference between locking women up to do laundry and having them do it at home? Is it just because the courtyards are big and the clothes dry faster?”

Hmm, how should I put this? Captain Liao’s mind is usually a bit muddled, but this question actually makes a lot of sense.

Just as they were talking, a commotion suddenly broke out outside again. Captain Liao stood up, about to yell, “What’s going on in this lousy village? There’s never a moment’s peace. If Ah Long were here…”

Tian Yuan quickly held him back. “Something’s off. The commotion is coming from far away—it probably isn’t from the village.”

Everyone listened intently and heard faint shouts: “Fire! There’s a fire in the north of the village! Everyone with the surname ‘Cheng’ or younger, go help put out the fire…” A moment of silence fell over the group, and they all turned to look at Yu Lin.

The two ability users on guard outside also ran in and whispered, “There’s a fire on the north side of the village, and many villagers have gone to put it out. Han Chengye sent someone specifically to tell us that the fire is too big to control and he’s afraid we’ll get hurt, so he wants us to stay inside.”

With that, he gestured toward the outer door. Through the crack in the door, they could see the backs of several unfamiliar ability users. It seemed they were there to guard them. The group fell silent for a moment, then looked at Yu Lin again.

Cen An looked puzzled. “Why are you all looking at Xiao Lin?”

Yu Lin stayed close to Cen An, propping his chin with one hand, his single visible eye darting about. “Exactly—why are you all looking at me?” The group slowly turned their heads; he sure had some nerve.

“What exactly is on the north side of the village?” Only Cen An was still thinking about the matter at hand. “Mobilizing so many people to put out a fire—it must be a very important place…”

Su Rui pressed firmly on his brow. “I told you not to frown, or else I’ll—who’s that?” His expression turned stern as he turned to look.

Following his gaze, the group saw a woman perched on the wall, who deftly swung over. Noticing everyone looking at her, she pointed toward the doorway and made a shushing gesture.

Cen An watched curiously and whispered, “Is she an ordinary person or an ability user?” Su Rui replied in a low voice, “An ordinary person.”

Cen An was a little surprised—the girl had scaled the wall with remarkable agility.

The girl landed and ran over. Cen An raised an eyebrow—it was the girl who’d been collecting laundry yesterday.

The girl looked very anxious and whispered, “I’m here to ask for help, but time is running out.” Cen An nodded, motioning for her to speak.

The girl said, “I know you’re looking for the Sacred Flower. I can tell you for certain that there are no Sacred Flowers left near Dongying Village. If you want to find one, you’ll have to get to the bottom of what’s happening in the village. I…”

She was speaking very quickly, but just as she got to this point, a voice came from outside—it was Han Chengye talking to someone. “Are the people inside still there? Never mind, I’ll go take a look… Go knock on the door.”

The girl’s expression grew even more anxious, but she lowered her voice even further: “Look for the mutant beast first. Once you find it, you’ll understand. Also, stay away from the north side of the village for the next few days… Thank you for saving Sanya.”

With that, without waiting for a reply, she took a few quick steps, leaped onto the wall, and swung herself over.

As luck would have it, just as she landed from the wall, there was a knock on the wooden door.

Cen An found it hard to speak to Han Chengye in a friendly tone right now, so Tian Yuan spoke up for him, “Who is it?” Han Chengye replied as expected, “It’s me. I’ve come to pay a visit to Yongning Village’s distinguished guests.”

The group exchanged glances. Xiao Ji ran over to open the door. Han Chengye scanned the room from the doorway; seeing that everyone was present, his expression immediately relaxed. “It’s been sweltering, and a fire broke out in the village, but thankfully it was brought under control quickly. I came to check on things, worried that our guests might have been disturbed. Since everyone is safe and sound, I’m relieved. I won’t keep you any longer—I’ll take my leave now.”

“Take care,” Qu Yue said coolly. “Before coming here, I prepared some gifts for Dongying Village that I’d like to distribute to the young women of your village. Village Chief Han, would you be so kind as to organize this for me?”

Han Chengye paused for a moment, then smiled. “Thank you for your generosity, but our village customs are different—women aren’t allowed to accept gifts from outsiders without reason. I’ll decline on their behalf.”

“I see,” Qu Yue said, glancing at him. “I’m sorry—I was being presumptuous.”     

“No harm done to those who don’t know; no harm done to those who don’t know,” Han Chengye chuckled, bowed slightly, and walked out.

As soon as the wooden door closed, Qu Yue slammed her fist down on the table. “Damn it, I want to rip his mouth off! He acts all polite and refined, but who knows what kind of shenanigans he’s pulling behind the scenes!”

Cen An shot her a helpless glance and picked up his cup—the water had spilled out from the shock just now.

He whispered, “Let’s not go out this afternoon. Tomorrow, we’ll leave the village and start by looking for the mutant beast the girl mentioned.” 

Wang Lie asked, “Brother Cen, aren’t you afraid there might be a plot?”                                

“I am,” Cen An replied. “That’s why we won’t split up tomorrow—we’ll stick together.”

He didn’t possess any supernatural abilities, but he knew exactly how strong his group was. If Dongying Village wanted to take them on, they’d have to resort to underhanded tactics—in a fair fight, even the entire village combined probably wouldn’t stand a chance against them.

Another night passed. Before they knew it, three days had already gone by since the group arrived in Dongying Village.

Early that morning, Xiao Shitou’s father came to take his son home. Cen An asked Xiao Shitou what he thought, then let him go with his father.

Xiao Shitou’s father didn’t seem to care much about the child; he didn’t look like he’d come of his own free will, but rather as if he were following someone else’s orders.

“It must be Han Chengye,” Qu Yue sneered. “He’s being quite cautious, afraid we might get some information out of the kid.” The group set out at about the same time as they had the previous two days.

Not long after they set out, Su Rui suddenly said, “Three people—one Level 3 ability-user, two Level 2 ability-users.” Cen An paused for a moment before realizing, “Are we being followed?”

He frowned; these unscrupulous types always resorted to such underhanded tactics. After a moment’s thought, he turned to Yu Fei and said, “Brother Fei, you go. Don’t let them get suspicious.” 

Yu Fei vanished in a flash.

Su Rui curled his lip and raised an eyebrow. “I can use psychic abilities too.”

Cen An was taken aback. “When did you learn that? Never mind… I won’t ask about that. You still need to help us find the mutant beast—no one else can do that but you.”

Su Rui’s ego was instantly stroked, and he said smugly, “See? I think I’m pretty awesome, too.” 

Cen An: …Wait, who complimented you?

That said, Su Rui was indeed skilled at tracking mutant beasts—probably thanks to his experiences living in the wild mountains… The group followed him as he made several loops through the wilderness until they found a waterfall.

It wasn’t the waterfall at the foot of the mountain near Dongying Village, but a more rugged one with a much greater flow. The roaring water crashed down from above, sounding just like thunder.

Su Rui sniffed the air and frowned. “I smell a large number of mutant beasts gathering below, along with some unpleasant odors.”

The spray from the waterfall rose so high that a hazy white mist completely obscured the view below. With the roar of the water ringing in their ears, everyone had to shout to be heard. Cen An yelled, “How many is ‘a large number’? Can we go down there?”

Su Rui simply took flight and circled low overhead. After landing, he said, “There’s a basin down there with a pond. At least a hundred mutant beasts are crammed in there, with the highest-ranked being Level 5.”

Wang Lie gasped. “A Level 5 mutant beast in a tiny place like Dongying Village? Have they never cleared the mountains?”

Dongying Village had a population of roughly five to six hundred (officially). The reason it was called a “small place” wasn’t because the village itself was small or the population was low, but because they lived on a mountain. Normally, only the mutant beasts from Dongying Mountain could disturb them. Unlike Yongning Village, which was situated among several mountains, where mutant beasts could gather from all directions and converge on them.

If this location were given to Yongning Village—and they’re not just bragging—the Ability Squad could keep this mountain so well-maintained that not even a single mosquito could fly in, let alone any mutant beasts.

That’s why Wang Lie was so surprised—how could a mountain like this possibly support a Level 5 mutant beast? What’s going on? Did the people of Dongying Village find their lives too boring and start feeding crystal cores to the mutant beasts?

But then he thought better of it: “If a Level 5 mutant beast has appeared, why hasn’t it ever attacked the village before?”

“Could it be that they’ve locked these mutant beasts away?” Xiao Ji shouted at the top of his lungs, gesturing wildly. “Didn’t they say there’s a small basin down there? Did they block off the entrance?”

Cen An’s head was buzzing from the noise; he couldn’t even hear his own voice. “Find a way down. Let’s go take a look…”

Suddenly, Su Rui’s ears twitched. He made a sharp hand gesture—raising two fingers and flicking them forward—and the entire waterfall was lifted by his water-based ability, arching through the air like a fully drawn bow… Gradually, the sound of the water grew fainter, and the flow ceased. The bow shattered, turning into a shower of rain that fell to the ground.

Cen An stared in astonishment. “Where did you send the water?”

Su Rui found his astonished expression somewhat endearing… Blushing slightly, he looked up. “I didn’t take it anywhere—it just stopped on its own.”

The muddy riverbed was now visible below the waterfall. Tian Yuan and Zhao Wu ventured forward a short distance and returned, saying, “It must be due to the terrain; the waterfall stops flowing for a while every so often.”

“The mutant beast down there seems to have left too,” Wang Lie said, peering over. “Did it come to drink?”

“That’s perfect—let’s go down and take a look.” Cen An deftly climbed onto Su Rui’s chest.

A mutant beast, women, a cave… What secrets does this village really hide?