Elderly Martial Saint: Sixty Times the Cultivation Speed at the Start

Chapter 16 Zhang Village, the Village Chief in Panic

In the latter half of the night, in a shallow cave on a cliff in Qingmu Mountain, dampness clung to the stone walls and seeped into the cracks between people's bones.

Yi Yang leaned against the cave wall, closed his eyes, and began practicing the Yi Wood Health Preservation Exercise.

The blood and qi in the chest and abdomen flow along the skin and flesh, like an old millstone pushing open the chaff, round and round, slowly crushing away fatigue.

The several cuts on my back are still burning.

His body, now at the Body Refinement Realm, was no longer the dilapidated frame it once was.

The edges of the wound were itchy, the scabs were starting to tighten, and the bruises were fading from purplish-black to dark red.

After killing Yang Er, Yi Yang did not rush back to the village.

Running back from Qingmu Mountain in the middle of the night, an old man, his clothes tattered and covered in mud and blood, and with Wang Yue and the others missing, who wouldn't have some suspicions?

If you live to sixty, you may lack other skills, but you must cultivate the art of feigning death, misery, or confusion to perfection.

Returning too early would arouse suspicion, so he went back up the mountain and planned to return to the village the next morning.

The rooster crows for the third time, and as dawn breaks, the villagers who are fetching water begin to move. That's the perfect time to appear.

Yi Yang opened his eyes, and the gray-white sky outside the cave shone in.

He got up and checked the hidden items one last time.

Snake gall, snake molt, snake scales, silver, the Nine-Edged Blade, and the purple wood body are all safe and sound.

He went down the cliff, circled around to the scree slope at the foot of the mountain, and deliberately fell twice.

His clothes were torn by the sharp edges of the rocks, and mud and ash were stuck to his cuffs. His right leg had a few shallow marks from scraping against the slope.

It doesn't hurt, but it's humiliating.

Yi Yang grabbed a handful of wet mud and smeared it on his face, holding his breath and pressing the dough down until it turned ashen.

He tried to take a few steps.

His right leg dragged for half a beat, his waist bent down, his shoulders slumped, and his breathing became rough and short.

Ok.

That's authentic.

As dawn broke, Yiyang moved along the path behind the village toward the well at the village entrance.

This is the road that villagers often take to fetch water in the morning.

Sure enough, as soon as they arrived at the well, Aunt Zhang came out carrying buckets of water, followed by her son, who was about ten years old.

Aunt Zhang looked up and almost dropped the carrying pole in her hand.

"Grandpa Yi!"

Her shout was even more energetic than the rooster at the village entrance.

Half a bucket of water was spilled on the ground, and mud splattered all over her son's trouser leg.

The child shrank back in fright, his eyes wide open.

Yi Yang leaned against the stone pillar by the well, his body swaying, his broken wood-chopping knife supporting him on the ground, his chest heaving as he panted.

"Water...give me some water..."

Aunt Zhang hurriedly scooped up half a ladle of well water and handed it over.

Several nearby households heard the commotion, opened their doors, and soon seven or eight people gathered around.

"Grandpa Yi, how did you get back?"

"How's it going up the mountain?"

"Was the snake killed?"

"Where's Officer Wang? Where's Yang Dongxi?"

A multitude of mouths crowded around, asking questions as if they were at a market selling vegetables.

Yi Yang took a couple of sips of water, coughed so hard he bent over, and it took him a while to look up.

"Don't ask, it'll be quick. The old man hasn't caught his breath yet."

Aunt Zhang slapped her thigh in frustration. "Oh dear, move aside! Can't you see how badly she's fallen? Ask her questions, you're more talkative than the King of Hell!"

The villagers stepped back a bit.

Yi Yang wiped the mud off his face, his voice broken and intermittent.

"Yesterday, when I went up the mountain, I actually encountered that big snake halfway up."

The crowd surged forward.

Someone swallowed hard.

Yi Yang continued, "That beast was terrifyingly large; with a sweep of its tail, it could break trees. Constable Wang and the others went up to chop it down, while this old man was assigned to stay in the back."

He stopped catching his breath, his hand pressed against his ribs.

"Then the snake went berserk and rushed towards me. I couldn't run anymore, my feet slipped, and I rolled down the slope."

Aunt Zhang gasped.

"Roll down? That slope is too steep!"

"About ten or twenty feet."

Yi Yang pointed to the back of his head and then lifted a corner of his shirt at the back.

The scabbed wound, large bruises, and dirty old blood were all laid out before everyone's eyes.

This injury can't be faked.

Several villagers felt their skin tighten as they watched.

"I crashed into a crooked tree at the bottom of the slope and died instantly. In my dream, I heard two black and white figures calling my name several times. I was afraid they were the Black and White Impermanence, so I didn't dare to respond. When no one answered, the figures disappeared."

"I woke up in the morning."

Yi Yang swallowed hard, his face filled with lingering fear.

"I was afraid the snake was still there, so I didn't dare stay any longer. I felt my way up the tree roots and vines, falling and stumbling along the way, before I finally made it back to the village."

These words, a mixture of truth and myth, convinced the villagers to believe them without a doubt.

No one doubted it.

For a woodcutter nearing sixty to roll down a hillside and still make it back to the village, his ancestral graves must be incredibly strong.

Upon hearing his words, the surrounding villagers exclaimed that Yi Yang was lucky to have survived the clutches of the Black and White Impermanence.

Just then, Yang Shuyu, the village chief who had received the notification, rushed over.

His long gown wasn't fully buttoned, his beard was sticking up haphazardly, and he was wearing the wrong shoe.

"Brother Yi!"

Yang Shuyu squeezed through the crowd and breathed a sigh of relief when she saw that Yi Yang was still alive.

Then he caught his breath again. "Where's Officer Wang? Where are the others? Where's the snake?"

Yi Yang shook his head, his face full of innocence.

"I don't know, village chief. I don't remember anything after I fell. When I woke up, the mountain was quiet. I called out a few times, but no one answered."

"Think about it again!"

Yang Shuyu's forehead was beaded with sweat. "Officer Wang is from the county government; he was sent by Chief Yang!"

Yi Yang, with a bitter face and a look of helplessness, said, "Village chief, if I could remember, would I not have said anything? I'm an old man who almost died from a fall; how could I dare to go back and look for someone?"

Upon seeing this, Yang Shuyu's hands began to tremble.

Wang Yue has gone missing.

Three constables have gone missing.

Hunter Yang Dongxi also did not return.

A group of people went up the mountain, but only an old man who was half-dead returned.

If this matter is reported to the county, it's hard to say whether the village head can clear himself of any wrongdoing.

The discussion at the village entrance grew increasingly chaotic.

Just then, a person ran from the east of the village.

Zhang Xiaoshan.

He ran so fast his belt was askew, one of his shoes fell off and his face turned a frighteningly white, and before he even arrived, his voice cracked.

"Something terrible has happened! Master Yang is dead!"

Upon hearing his words, the people at the village entrance immediately fell silent, as if they had heard some earth-shattering news.

The next moment, the crowd descended into chaos.

"What? Yang Er is dead?"

"How did you die?"

"Who dares to kill him?"

Zhang Xiaoshan, supporting himself on his knees, was panting so hard his tongue was almost tied in knots. "I went to his house this morning to pick up the food box, and the door was open. When I went in, I saw Second Master Yang slumped in his armchair, his neck cut open, blood staining half the chair!"

He raised his hand to gesture, and even he was trembling with fear.

"There's a black iron plaque lying on the ground, with a ghost face engraved on it—it's really eerie!"

Yang Shuyu's legs went weak, and she reached out to support Zhang's son's shoulder to keep from sitting on the ground.

The child was pressed down so hard he was grimacing, but dared not move away.

Several men in the village who had been bullied by Yang Er in the past looked at each other.

Someone muttered under their breath.

"Good riddance."

The words were spoken very softly.

But the glee in the eyes of the people nearby couldn't be hidden.

Some women covered their mouths and pulled their children back home.

It's not scary for people to die in the village, but it's terrible that Yang Er was killed.

If Yang Da goes crazy, who can handle him?

Yang Shuyu had been the village chief for decades, and although he was afraid, his mind was still sharp.

He yelled at the top of his lungs, "Don't make a scene!" After yelling, he coughed twice.

"First, go to the county town and report! Tell Chief Yang that Yang Er is dead, and Constable Wang and the others have not returned from the mountain!"

"Secondly, go and call Zhou Liang to take a few hunters up the mountain to search for the person. We need to see him alive or dead, and get an explanation!"

"Thirdly, no one is allowed to leave the village or go up the mountain today! Anyone who dares to run around will have their legs broken when they return!"

His voice was trembling badly, but he managed to quell the situation with his words.

The men were called out by name and quickly dispersed.

Yang Shuyu led his men to Yang Er's house.

The crowd at the village entrance moved along with the flow of people, all their attention drawn to Yang Er's death.

Taking advantage of the chaos, Yi Yang bent over, dragging his injured leg, and moved away from the edge of the crowd.

No one stopped him.

An old man who had just escaped from the mountains was of negligible importance in the face of Yang Er's murder.

Yi Yang walked slowly, but his mind was very steady.

Nine evil cult tokens, Li Shun's sword technique marks, and Yang Er's wounds.

The death of Wang Yue in the mountains, and the identity of Li Shun in the cave.

The cable is connected.

If the government likes to investigate, then investigate accordingly.

In the end, the blame naturally fell on the Nine Evil Cult.

It's a cult, so it would be a disgrace not to take the blame for it.

As Yi Yang pushed open the gate to his courtyard, a small, thin figure rushed out of the house.

Jiang Yuexin's hair was disheveled, her tears had dried on her face, and her eyes were frighteningly red.

When she saw Yi Yang, she paused for a moment.

It was like someone from her dream suddenly standing at the door; she couldn't recognize them.

The next moment, she pounced on him, hugged Yi Yang's arm tightly, and buried her face in his shoulder.

His shoulders were shaking violently, but he didn't cry out.

This kind of suppressed discomfort is more agonizing than wailing.

Yi Yang, who had been as steady as an old tree root, now felt a soreness in his chest.

He reached out and ruffled her messy hair.

"I'm back. Grandpa said everything's alright."

Jiang Yuexin nestled against his shoulder, her voice hoarse.

"You're lying... You said everything was fine, but you haven't come back all night..."

Hearing the noise from the kitchen, Yang Hui quickly came out with a spatula in her hand.

She stayed at the Yi family's house last night, keeping Jiang Yuexin company until the wee hours, and then planned to cook porridge at dawn.

Upon seeing Yi Yang's muddy appearance, her eyes welled up with tears, and she slapped her thigh.

"God has eyes! It's good that you're back alive!"

She cursed fiercely. "If you really die on this mountain, I'll pull all the grass off your grave for Yuexin and I still won't be satisfied!"

After he finished cursing, his hands moved with surprising speed.

He fetched water, took a cloth, and cleaned the clothes, all while muttering to himself.

"Sit down! Don't try to be a hero! Don't you think your old bones are already failing you quickly enough?"

Jiang Yuexin squatted down beside him, gripping Yi Yang's sleeve tightly as if it were a lifeline.

Yi Yang sat down in the old rattan chair and let Yang Hui wipe his face.

After wiping away the grime, several scratches were revealed.

Yang Hui wrinkled her nose as she watched.

Yi Yang took the hot porridge that Jiang Yuexin handed him and drank two mouthfuls.

The aroma of rice filled my stomach, and the warmth soothed my fatigue.

He asked casually, "On my way back, I heard people at the village entrance say that Yang Er is dead?"

Upon hearing Yi Yang's words, Jiang Yuexin stopped holding the bowl.

She looked up, her eyes filled not with fear, but with a long-suppressed hatred.

"Good riddance."

Yang Hui tossed the cloth into the basin, and seeing that only the three of them were around, Gao Xin said, "Heavens have eyes! That fat worm was just wasting food while it was alive. Yuexin was right, it's good that it died, it's too good for him!"

Yi Yang lowered his head and drank his porridge, without replying.

His face showed only the exhaustion of surviving a disaster, nothing more.

After finishing his porridge, Yi Yang waved his hand.

"I'm going to sleep for a while. Yuexin, don't go out today."

Jiang Yuexin nodded immediately. "I won't go out. I'll get you some hot water and change your dressing when you wake up."

Yang Hui, concerned about the news outside, gave Jiang Yuexin a few more instructions before heading towards the courtyard gate.

Before leaving, she glanced back at Yi Yang, who was leaning back in the wicker chair with his eyes closed, and muttered, "This old man looks even more energetic than yesterday... No, I must be seeing things."

After saying that, she hurried off to the village entrance to gather information. Yang Er's death was a big deal; it must be quite a scene there now.

After being helped into the house, Yi Yang did not fall asleep.

Jiang Yuexin went to the kitchen to boil water.

The room fell silent.

Yi Yang lay on the bed, closing his eyes and practicing his internal energy.

If the wound on your back is itchy, it means the skin and flesh are healing.

With Qi and Blood at the second level, and the Body Refining Realm, his recovery ability has begun to show its formidable power.

As soon as the thought arose, small characters appeared before my eyes.

【Yi Wood Health Preservation Exercise Level 3: (360/6000)】

Three layers, Yi Jin.

Progress of 6,000.

Four repetitions of standing meditation daily, plus medicinal baths, totaling 240 repetitions a day, would take more than 20 days.