Chapter 1346: The Village of No Return

“There’s news regarding Chief Fang and Nianjiu.”

Delight bloomed on Ye Qing’s face when the little paper doll was done gesturing.

“Did he find them?” Gu Suitang was overjoyed. “Where are they right now?”

Ye Qing shook his head. “Not yet. Someone reported having seen Chief Fang and Nianjiu before.”

“My companion is already on the way. It shouldn’t take him long to locate them.”

Gu Suitang and Lin Yuhuai cheered, “That’s wonderful!”

“Come, let’s go meet up with my companion.”

Ye Qing grabbed Gu Suitang and Lin Yuhuai’s shoulders and executed Flowing In The Six Places, flying to where Papersmith was.

Yes, Papersmith was the one who sent back the news.

About an hour later, Ye Qing reunited with Papersmith at the entrance of an abandoned village.

“So? Did you find them, Old Zhang?”

Papersmith shook his head. “No. However, someone saw them entering the Village of No Return while running away from a Stranger.”

“Is it this village? Let’s go!” Gu Suitang took off toward the abandoned village before the discussion was even finished.

“Calm down, chief.” Ye Qing stopped him before looking at Papersmith once more. “What is the intel regarding this village, Old Zhang?”

If this village was just an ordinary village, then Papersmith would have gone in and searched for them already. He would not be waiting at the entrance.

Besides, something about this abandoned village made him feel uneasy even though it looked ordinary from the outside. It could not be as ordinary as it looked.

“A wise decision, young master. This village is called the Village of No Return. As the name implies, you do not return the moment you set foot inside the village. No one knows if those who entered the village are dead or alive as no one has ever managed to leave it to this day.”

Papersmith explained, “I’ve already tried exploring the village with both paper puppets and real people, but as soon as they cross the threshold, they are immediately severed from both my senses and my control.”

“That is why I decided to play it safe and remain outside.”

“The Village of No Return, is it?” Ye Qing thought for a moment before ordering, “Let’s do it this way. I’ll enter the village alone, and you’ll stay behind to protect Chief Gu and Yuhuai and act as my lifeline.”

“That doesn’t sound right.” Papersmith shook his head. “I should go in, and you should act as my lifeline, young master.”

“You are strong, Old Zhang, but I’m better when it comes to dealing with evil and taint.” Ye Qing smiled. “So, allow me to do the honors.”

Gu Suitang said suddenly, “Can I come with you, Joyless? We can watch each other’s backs that way.”

“Thank you, but there’s no need. It’s easier to operate alone.”

Before Gu Suitang could say anything else, Ye Qing continued, “I know what you’re worried about, chief, but don’t worry. I have the Earthly Sovereign Bell, remember? There’s no way a shabby village like this can stop me.”

“I will bring Chief Fang and Nianjiu out safely and soundly. Trust me.”

“Very well.” Gu Suitang did not press the matter. He was aware that he might drag Ye Qing’s feet if he actually entered the Village of No Return with Ye Qing. “Still, you must prioritize your safety. If the mission looks impossible for whatever reason, withdraw immediately. Do not be reckless, and do not put your mission above your life. Understand?”

The fact that Ye Qing came all the way to rescue them was already the height of benevolence and duty. He could not ask for more.

“Don’t worry. I will return safely, and so will Chief Fang and Nianjiu.”

𝒇𝓻𝓮𝓮𝙬𝙚𝒃𝒏𝓸𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝓬𝓸𝒎

Ye Qing then said to Papersmith, “Take care of them, Old Zhang. I’ll be back in a moment.”

As soon as he was done talking, Ye Qing slowly disappeared into nothing like a mirage.

That was because he had already entered the Village of No Return.

The Village of No Return looked more or less the same from the outside. The houses were rundown, dead grass were everywhere, and not a speck of life could be found anywhere. It was as abandoned as it could get.

Something was different though. The village entrance and the path he used earlier were nowhere to be found.

Ye Qing’s demonic thought washed out in every direction like the tide.

From the outside, the Village of No Return looked pretty small. From the inside though, Ye Qing’s demonic thought had spread out in a circle with a radius of a dozen kilometers, and still he could not scan the village completely. It was as if the village stretched on infinitely without end.

Not only that, he still couldn’t scan a soul inside the village.

That’s right. Not a single one. Not the living or even the dead.

It was as if he was the first and only human to have set foot in the Village of No Return.

Ye Qing pondered for a moment before kicking off into the wind. He appeared several kilometers away from his original position in just the blink of an eye. He did not stop. He continued to execute Flowing In The Six Places and traveled in a fixed direction.

He wanted to check just how big the Village of No Return was, whether there was an exit, and whether there was anyone else in this place.

Ye Qing had traveled dozens of kilometers in just a teatime, but he was still trapped inside the Village no No Return. There was no exit, and there was no one besides him.

It was one thing if this place was endless and without an exit, but why was there no one here? What was going on?

Ye Qing stopped testing the boundaries and activated his Yin Yang Spell Eyes immediately. Hopefully, this would yield him some useful information.

Color faded from the world until only monochrome was left. In this black and white world, he saw many overlapping spaces and many silhouettes appearing all over the village.

Something was strange. These silhouettes didn’t look all that far from him, and yet they could not see him. Some of them walked right past him but could not seem to sense his presence at all.

Ye Qing dashed in front of a passerby and made a grab for his torso. However, his hand passed right through the man like he was a mirage.

Ye Qing knew that they were living, breathing people though. The only reason they couldn’t see or touch each other was because they currently existed in different spaces.

That’s right. The Village of No Return looked like a village, but it was really a bundle of countless overlapping spaces. If he wasn’t mistaken, each time someone entered the village of No Return, they would plunge into a different space. None of the spaces were connected to each other either.

Therefore, it wasn’t that there was no one in the Village of No Return. They simply existed in different spaces. Someone might be “right in front of him”, but they could not be seen or heard.

As for why the Village of No Return seemed to stretch infinitely, that was even easier to explain. Spatial arts had always been profound beyond measure, capable of containing entire worlds inside a single seed. It was nothing special.

Now that he had figured out the truth of the Village of No Return, Ye Qing decided to stop wasting time. With a thought, he summoned the Earthly Sovereign Bell and tapped it lightly with a finger.

Thang!

The bell rang softly and crisply. It was gentle and smooth like a gust of spring wind that smoothened the ripples of a disturbed pond.

The sky vibrated where the bell chime began, and space shuddered where the bell chime passed.