The Days of Being Forced to Become the Savior of a Cultivation Civilization

……

He walked in silence. Zhiyue walked towards the village, his arms held straight, his steps steady without a tremor.

A village came into view in the distance. As the village drew closer, Zhiyue's brows furrowed.

A scene of ruins.

The houses were almost completely destroyed; not a single intact wall could be found, and the ground was covered with broken tiles and shattered wooden stakes.

The air was filled with a pungent smell—a fishy odor, the earthy smell of sand and dust, or perhaps the smell of blood.

All was silent.

The roosters did not crow, the dogs did not bark. There was no sign of any living creature, only collapsed houses.

Upon seeing this scene, Zhiyue's pupils contracted slightly, and his steps quickened as he approached the dilapidated village before him. Then, he suddenly paused, startled:

"No, in this direction, we can still see... the sand control dam? What about the sand control dam at Pancun?"

Pan Village is located on the edge of the desolate desert. There should have been a large sand-proof dam here to help the villages behind it resist the wind and sand, making it a pioneering station for the surrounding villages.

But now the dam is nowhere to be seen, the village has become ruins, swallowed by yellow sand, and the villagers have disappeared without a trace.

As Zhiyue drew closer, he saw clearly. The ground was littered with severed limbs and remains, the blood and grime obscured by the sand and dust, barely visible from a distance. Some were mangled beyond recognition, smashed into a bloody pulp by the raging sand; others were pinned down by heavy objects, their faces preserved, their expressions filled with terror, forever etched with fear of nature.

Among them are many familiar faces.

A woman. Most of her body was trapped under the broken wall, one hand stretched out forcefully towards the direction away from the desert, her expression forever frozen in a moment of mingled despair and hope.

What is she hoping for?

"Auntie E..."

This woman was an old acquaintance of Zhiyue. Just a few days ago, he had "bullied" her seven-year-old son by flicking him on the head three times with his slingshot.

Zhiyue squatted down, put the girl down, and gently closed the woman's eyes with his hand, allowing her to die in peace.

"I wonder if the little brat managed to escape."

His expression was solemn, but there was no time for mourning; Zhiyue was now more eager to get back to the village. He picked the girl up again and quickened his pace to continue on his way.

"This place has already suffered; I hope Nijimura hasn't been affected..."

Zhiyue's breathing gradually quickened, his pace quickened, and soon he was running, no longer caring about the bumpy ride:

"Please, please don't let anything happen."

Even though Uncle Wang had confirmed that there was no problem in the village, the scene before him was still too terrible, and he wouldn't feel at ease until he saw him with his own eyes.

The scenery before him gradually became familiar, yet also strange—the terrain had changed. Soon after, Rainbow Village came into view. Unexpectedly, there was nothing unusual about it, except that the surrounding land seemed to have risen abnormally, making the entire village appear to have sunk slightly.

Upon seeing this, Zhiyue stopped his rapid pace. The huge weight that had been hanging in his heart suddenly lifted, and the sudden relaxation almost made his legs go weak. His rapid breathing gradually calmed down.

The village is still there, the sand walls are still there, the houses are still there, and the smoke from the chimneys is still there. He can even hear someone scolding their child in the distance.

Just being alive is good. He thought, just being alive is good.

He looked down at the girl in his arms, then weighed her back.

"Just being alive is good enough"—he himself couldn't even tell who he was saying that to.

Zhiyue walked slowly to the village gate. On the edge of the desert, it is often susceptible to sandstorms, so the villages here build a high wall facing the desert to protect against the sandstorms.

The gatekeeper saw someone coming and immediately went up to greet them:

"Oh, Xiao Yue, you're finally back! We were all so worried, afraid that something might have happened to you again."

"It's alright, Uncle Li. I already told you it's just a small matter, it'll be fine soon."

While responding, Zhiyue approached the door. In reality, the gatekeeper, Old Man Li, had extremely poor eyesight; he couldn't see who was coming at all, but he figured that in this desolate desert, hardly anyone would come here. However, an unexpected thing did happen:

"I was so worried this afternoon. A young man who's about your size just came by... but that's only in my opinion. I guess you'd have to call him 'uncle' by now."

Grandpa Wang smiled sheepishly. Seeing Zhiyue return safely, he felt much more relaxed and started joking around.

As Zhiyue's figure drew closer, Grandpa Wang's vision gradually cleared, and he could finally make out what Zhiyue was holding in his hands:

What you have in your hand is...

"Huh! What...what?"

"Hey! Shh! Time is of the essence, I need to find the village chief quickly to rescue them."

When Grandpa Wang saw the girl's body covered in bruises, his expression turned serious, and he swallowed back all the gossip he had in mind.

"Okay, okay, go quickly."

Grandpa Wang didn't dare delay and quickly opened the small door for Zhiyue to enter. As soon as he stepped inside, he was greeted by a group of children chasing and playing. A little boy, the leader, was about to greet him when he saw the woman in Zhiyue's arms and the little head drooping behind his shoulder. His joyful expression froze for a moment, then he opened his mouth wide and shouted:

"Brother Shan is back! He picked up a wife, and she even has a kid with her!"

"Damn it, now even jumping into Lake Eyre won't clear my name. You brat, you'll get what's coming to you."

Zhiyue thought to himself.

Zhiyue glared at the boy fiercely, then quickened his pace towards his home without making a sound. A "tail" seemed to grow out of his back, following him wherever he went.

As the pace quickened, so did the tail. With the help of the well-meaning elderly folks, the tail began to grow naturally.

The village chief then discovered this strange phenomenon:

"What's going on here, Xiao Yue?"

Zhiyue's steps were swift:

"Village chief, I've been looking for you. Come with me quickly."

The village chief's mouth opened slightly, as if he was about to say something, but upon seeing the horrifying wounds on the girl's body, he immediately became serious:

"Hurry up and go."

Back in his room, Zhiyue put the package and the "found child" aside. He first laid the girl flat on the bed and propped her feet up with a pillow. Then he "pulled" the child out of the package and laid it flat in the corner against the wall.

After a moment's hesitation, he found a hemp rope and tied it around his ankle, with the other end attached to the bed leg—a gesture of "respect" for the strong.

As for the girl, vigilance was equally important. After much thought, Zhiyue came up with a brilliant idea: he gathered the girl's hair together and tied it to the headboard to prevent further damage to her blood supply.

He found a towel, wet it, and first wiped away all the bloodstains from the girl's other parts.

Several scratches marred her fair face, making her look like a little kitten with a dirty face. Her brows furrowed occasionally, and she let out a weak groan, looking pitiful and evoking feelings of tenderness.

A decent person wouldn't strip someone of their clothes. Of course, there weren't any holes in the clothes, so there probably wasn't a problem.

There is still a problem. The problem is that this seemingly frail girl, even though she was not on either side of the battle, but only participated in this large-scale battle, only had abrasions on her body surface, apart from a penetrating wound to her abdomen; what's even more terrifying is that the sleeping child next to her was completely unharmed.

After being temporarily settled, Zhiyue looked at the village chief beside him who was leaning on a cane, and the latter nodded to him.

A pair of curious eyes peeked out from the window, staring intently at the four people inside.

Village Chief: "Alright, tell me, these two are... lost souls we found in the desert?"

Zhiyue smiled with satisfaction:

"You understand me so well, unlike those brats, who say things about me..."

The village chief carefully examined the child, then turned to look at Zhiyue, seemingly lost in thought, before interjecting:

"Could it be your child?"

Zhiyue was speechless for a moment, then choked back his words, utterly helpless:

"Village chief, your hearing loss is getting worse. Now, if you lose focus, you can't hear a whole sentence."