Chapter 502 – The Beat of Drums and Caws of Crows—Returning, Yet No Longer Young - Part 3

Chapter 502 – The Beat of Drums and Caws of Crows—Returning, Yet No Longer Young - Part 3

Li Yuan and Xie Yu had officially entered Gemhill County and arrived in Silver Creek.

The former-town-turned-city was bustling, packed with people, lively chatter, and full markets. The streets were vibrant with color and movement.

Xie Yu looked around in awe, exclaiming, “Wow... The people here really do love Yan Yu. Look at this! So many have moved South!”

Li Yuan found himself a little surprised too. He’d passed through Gemhill County before, always in a rush. He’d never paid much attention. But somehow, quietly, the south had grown into a flourishing place.

Yan Yu's name had spread far and wide, known for rewarding the good and punishing the wicked. Refugees, exiles, the broken and the desperate...they’d all come here seeking a new life. And once they arrived, few wanted to leave.

Looking at the bustling streets, Xie Yu suddenly frowned. “Do you think...we might not be able to find a place to live?”

Li Yuan gave a light cough and said casually, “I’ve still got an old house here. No need to buy.”

“Huh?” Xie Yu stared at him, stunned.

Li Yuan grinned, said nothing, and after winding through a few turns, brought the carriage to a stop in front of a quiet, secluded home near Silver Creek.

The house was in an excellent location, right in the downtown area, one of the very few areas close enough to catch the residual blood energy of a third rank meat field.

This wasn’t just some lucky find.

The house had been left for him on purpose, a gift from Yan Yu.

And the moment the couple moved in, all around them, eyes turned, full of surprise and curiosity.

“Must be someone with real connections...powerful ones too.”

“That house finally has a new owner.”

“Wonder what kind of big shot they are?”

The whispers spread quickly among those in the know.

Xie Yu was sixth rank, and her hearing was sharp. Of course she heard it all. She scanned the area with her senses...and picked up nothing unusual.

But as she circled the property, she stopped beneath a blooming apricot tree in the southeast corner of the courtyard, her eyes widening in shock.

The blood energy here was surging, almost terrifying in intensity. Even in the grand Xie Clan estate in Bright Moon Prefecture, she’d never felt blood energy this potent.

It was unmistakable. This was the aura of a third rank meat field.

She turned, wide-eyed, and asked, “Husband...your

old house

is

this

good?”

Li Yuan pressed his hands together in mock prayer and looked up at the sky. “Thank you, oh merciful and generous Yan Yu! If not for your grace, this house would’ve been long gone!”

Then he turned to Xie Yu and smiled. “Tomorrow, let’s visit the temple and offer incense. Gotta show proper thanks.”

Xie Yu nodded immediately. Then, grinning like a girl decorating her first home, she began tidying up the place—moving this, rearranging that, talking non-stop about how they’d renovate this room, build out that corner, fix up the garden...

˙·٠✧🐗➶➴🏹✧٠·˙

The next morning.

Bright and early, Li Yuan took Xie Yu out for breakfast. But as they stepped out the door, they spotted a couple across the street waving at them warmly.

A friendly, smiling husband and wife, the neighbors.

As they continued walking, they noticed something peculiar. All the neighbors were unusually friendly.

Only once they were out of earshot did Xie Yu whisper, half-suspicious, half-amused, “Your

old house

really comes with some serious clout...”

Li Yuan replied with a chuckle, “All thanks to Yan Yu.”

“So,” she asked, “where are we having breakfast?”

“I’ve always heard good things about the Ginger Tavern,” Li Yuan said. “Let’s try there.”

“Ginger Tavern...” Xie Yu thought for a moment. “Oh! That place is

famous

. I remember a lot of major clans buy their wine there. My family did too. But can we really go there for

just

for breakfast?”

“We’ll find out,” Li Yuan said.

But when they arrived, the answer was pretty clear.

The place was packed. A massive crowd stretched outside the tavern, people sitting on benches, standing in line, even crouching by the door with bowls in hand.

Li Yuan looked up at the grand old building, now bursting with business, and felt a strange tug in his chest, like time itself had blurred. This used to be just another stop. Now it felt like something from another life.

He didn’t go in. Instead, he turned and took Xie Yu next door, where they found a quiet little noodle shop.

After a simple meal, they headed toward the temple.

The temple, too, was teeming with people.

They queued up like everyone else, burning incense, bowing before the statue of Yan Yu.

After paying her respects, Xie Yu’s curiosity was piqued. She lingered in front of the statue, eyeing the two smaller figures carved at Yan Yu’s feet.

One was a chubby, cheerful-looking boy. The other, a quiet and composed little girl.

Xie Yu tilted her head and asked, “I know that’s Yan Yu, but these two...are they her attendants?”

“Not sure,” Li Yuan replied. “Probably.”

Just then, something caught his eye. He turned his head and, through the red-lacquered temple window, saw two crows perched on branches of a young spring tree outside. They were tilting their heads, watching him.

Xie Yu followed his gaze, puzzled.

“Caw, caw, caw!” One of the crows suddenly flapped its wings, flew straight into the temple, and landed

right

on the shrine, then immediately started pecking at the offerings.

Xie Yu gasped. But when she looked around, she noticed the temple guards didn’t so much as blink. It seemed this was...normal.

Then, a murmur broke out among the worshippers, quickly turning into excited cries.

“It’s the divine crow!”

“A sign! It’s a sign from Yan Yu!”

“Hurry, make a wish! This is the most effective moment!”

The mood around them shifted into something electric and sacred. Even Xie Yu got swept up in it, tugging on Li Yuan’s sleeve.

“Come on, come on, let’s pray again!”

And outside the temple, drums began to beat in steady, ceremonial rhythm.

“What’s that?” Xie Yu asked.

A worshipper beside them explained, “That’s the daily drum used to honor Yan Yu. Happens every day!”

Xie Yu grabbed Li Yuan’s hand and pulled him to the red railing at the front, eager to watch. But there were already so many people crowding the space that she couldn’t get a clear view.

Li Yuan smiled, picked her up, and lifted her above the crowd.

From that height, she finally saw it clearly. It was a line of shirtless drummers, red sashes tied around their waists, muscles rippling as they struck enormous drums in sync.

BAM! BOOM! BAM!

“So festive,” she whispered. “And it’s like this

every day

?”

For the first time in a long while, her heart felt truly at ease.

In the days that followed, Li Yuan toured all over Gemhill County with Xie Yu.

Little Ink Village was their final stop.

Li Yuan took the reins again, guiding the horse-drawn cart through a familiar forest path. Spring wind rustled the leaves as they passed. It was a quiet, steady ride.

Eventually, they reached Little Ink Village, but it was no longer the same.

Because Silver Creek had become so crowded, people had started spilling over into Little Ink Village. The sleepy, rural look of the village was slowly being swept away by growth and development.

The once-empty dirt roads were now lined with peddlers and stalls.

Out in the nearby fields, a few farmers were carrying sloshing buckets of manure, fertilizing the land in preparation for the April planting. Soon, new crops would be rooted here, strong and full of life.

The carriage rolled on slowly, the wheels creaking softly. Xie Yu sat in quiet admiration, entranced by the scenery around her. It looked like something from a traditional ink painting, misty and tranquil, each field and tree brushed with the gentle strokes of spring.

Li Yuan, too, was lazily gazing out until suddenly, his pupils contracted sharply.

Because in the middle of a field, among the farmers spreading manure, he saw a thin man with short white hair, face completely disfigured and unrecognizable. But Li Yuan could never forget an enemy he had once studied so carefully.

Peng Mingyi.

His name screamed through Li Yuan’s mind.

Among the four cult leaders of the Lotus Cult, Peng Mingyi was always the most enigmatic, his whereabouts unknown for years.

Truthfully, if Peng Mingyi had stayed, the Lotus Cult wouldn’t have collapsed so quickly. The 3,000 ghost cavalry could have done much more. But it was precisely his disappearance that had left them so fragile and ultimately doomed.

And yet here he was—this infamous, ruthless figure, this nightmare of the battlefield—spreading manure in a rural field in Little Ink Village?

Just then, a woman wearing a headscarf ran over from the distance, calling from the edge of the field, “Hey! Time to come eat!”

Peng Mingyi didn’t stop. He kept working the field with practiced ease, completely unbothered by the stink. Without looking up, he called back, “I’ll be right there!”

But as he worked, he seemed to become aware of the carriage.

Though he was blind, he clearly had other ways to perceive the world around him, and he had already taken notice of the man in white on the driver’s bench.

He turned slightly, and the woman, Zhou Sanniang, turned as well. She looked directly at Li Yuan and, without hesitation, called out boldly, “Is there something you need?”

Li Yuan smiled, unfazed. “Nothing at all. Just looking at the field reminded me of when I used to help in the fields as a kid. Got a little lost in thought.”

“Fields are hard work these days. Nothing like before.” Zhou Sanniang sighed.

Li Yuan’s gaze drifted past her, back to the blind man in the distance. Then he called out, “Hey, brother, need a hand? Your eyes don’t seem to be doing so well.”

Zhou Sanniang blinked in surprise. “You don’t look like someone who’s ever worked a field. What help could you offer?”

But Peng Mingyi suddenly said, “Sanniang, go home.”

“Huh?” She turned, stunned. Something felt wrong. Her instincts flared with unease. She looked warily at Li Yuan and said sharply, “You...you...do you have some kind of grudge with my man? I’ll have you know, this is Gemhill County. Yan Yu watches over this place. My man is honest and hard-working. You’re not allowed to hurt him again!”

“Again?” Li Yuan repeated.

Zhou Sanniang bit her lip. “You people already drove him off a cliff once. What more do you want—”

“Sanniang!” Peng Mingyi suddenly cut her off, voice firm. “Go home.”

“No! I’m not going anywhere!” she shouted, voice trembling with defiance.

Her outburst quickly drew attention. In moments, nearby farmers stopped what they were doing and came over—some with hoes over their shoulders, others carrying buckets and yokes—forming a wall between her, Peng Mingyi, and Li Yuan.

Li Yuan raised his hands in a peaceful gesture and cupped his fists politely.

“A misunderstanding. All of it. I’ll leave now.”

Then, without another word, he snapped the reins and drove the carriage away.

Only after it had fully disappeared down the road did Zhou Sanniang finally let out a shaky breath of relief.

˙·٠✧🐗➶➴🏹✧٠·˙

That night.

After Xie Yu had fallen asleep, Li Yuan quietly left the house and returned to Little Ink Village.

Peng Mingyi was a walking disaster. Though technically still just an unawakened Heaven Soul, he carried strange and dangerous powers. If left unchecked, the consequences could be catastrophic.

At the very least, Li Yuan needed to know what he was dealing with.

It didn’t take long before he found the small farmhouse.

Moonlight spilled across the courtyard, bathing everything in a silvery glow. A silver-haired man sat alone beneath the trees, his posture calm, almost serene.

Li Yuan gently knocked on the wooden gate by the fence.

It creaked open almost immediately; Peng Mingyi had been expecting him. Without a word, he stepped outside and carefully closed the gate behind him.

The two of them began walking side by side in silence.

After a while, Li Yuan finally spoke, “If those villagers hadn’t stood in front of you today...I would’ve killed you.”

Peng Mingyi let out a soft laugh. “So, you

do

know who I am. I figured you were someone important. I’ve done enough evil to deserve a thousand deaths. If you bear a grudge, I won’t resist. I’ll give you my head. Just...give me three months. Let me set my affairs in order. Sanniang, my wife, she’s innocent. She knows nothing. Please...don’t drag her into this.”

Li Yuan gave him a long, strange look. “Can you tell me exactly what you’ve

done

these past few years?”

“Of course,” Peng Mingyi said, without hesitation.

And then, calmly and without shame, he began to recount it all.

He spoke openly, even cheerfully. Especially when talking about Zhou Sanniang, his voice softened, almost shy. There was no mistaking it; he truly loved that simple village woman.

By the time he finished, Li Yuan was left speechless. He never imagined that the former cult leader of the Black Lotus Cult—once a ruthless, fearsome demon—would end up a humble, hardworking farmer who helped others, lived simply, and smiled easily.

After a moment of quiet thought, Li Yuan said gravely, “I won’t kill you. But within seven days...you

must

visit the Ghost Prison.”

“Agreed,” Peng Mingyi answered without hesitation.

Then he added with a faint smile, “You know, I’m technically one of Yan Yu’s jade husks too. She’s not like the others...not like those monsters that awakened sentience. She’s a being who

should

become a god.

“We only moved here after hearing about her. There was a flood, everything was ruined, and then we heard her name. We’ve never once regretted coming. This place...it’s special. Or maybe it only became this way

because

Yan Yu is here. I’d be honored to meet her.”

Li Yuan smiled back. “Then go. Your wife’s waiting for you.”

“Alright.” Peng Mingyi smiled gently, turned to leave. But after two steps, he paused, looked back, and bowed deeply. “Thank you.”

“Mhm...” Li Yuan nodded, turned, and walked away.

The moon lit his path, long and quiet, and as he walked, his thoughts swirled with everything that had just passed.

Then, not far off, a familiar voice drifted from the edge of the fields.

“Come on, drink up!”

“Old Ding, I don’t know where your bones ended up. I couldn’t find them, so I built this mound. Hope you can still find your way here...I promised to care for you, but I never got the chance.”

Curious, Li Yuan followed the voice.

He arrived at a small clearing where the peach blossoms were in full bloom, petals drifting in the night breeze. Beneath the tree, five people were gathered around a table—two men, two women, and a pale, sickly-looking young boy.

Wine and food were spread out before them, modest but heartfelt.

As Li Yuan got closer, he recognized the faces, Tie Sha, Fang Jianlong, and Zhao Chunxin among them.

He couldn’t help but smile. His presence caught their attention.

Fang Jianlong tensed immediately, eyes narrowing at the white-robed stranger. But Tie Sha waved cheerfully and called out, “Hey, young master! You’ve got the look of someone who’s lived a life. Care to share a drink? We queued all morning in front of Ginger Tavern just to get this Springwater Brew!”

Li Yuan paused, smiled, then stepped forward. “Fate brought us together. Why not share a cup?”