Chapter 7, The Village

At this moment, the knights parted to the sides, and from the midst emerged a tall young man in his early twenties, with a dark brown complexion, adorned with snake patterns on his neck and chest. His elongated, purple eyes fixed intently on Ouyang Yu. Noticing her standing there silently, her slender yet extremely petite figure remained motionless, while her eyes, hidden beneath her hat, were focused on the ground.

A faint wisp of smoke gradually rose between heaven and earth, and the flickering lights appeared hazy within the smoke. This sudden sight made Ouyang Yu, who was accustomed to the bustling life of the big city, feel a sense of loneliness.

The young man with the snake pattern smiled, leaped down from the horse, slightly bowed, pressed his right hand against his left chest, performed a gesture of respect, and politely said: "Respected master, your skills are remarkable. I would like to extend an invitation to you on behalf of the Tiger Ru Nation."

Ouyang Yu was taken aback, and her tense heart finally relaxed a little. She still kept her head down and said in a muffled voice, "What are the conditions?"

Name your price? This price is not low.

Behind this house, there are two particularly large dragon trees, their lush leaves completely covering the roof. The place chosen by Ouyang Yu is such that even when the sun is shining brightly, those below would not notice that there is a person sitting there.

Seeing Ouyang Yu沉默不语, the snake-patterned youth and Hu Wei exchanged glances. After a moment of silence, Ouyang Yu said in a hushed voice: "I have important matters to attend to"

In the stone house with a thatched roof, the main door is wide open. A tall man with disheveled hair stands, while behind him sits a woman with dark, coarse skin, who is combing his hair. Inside the room, a child of about five or six years old is sleeping soundly on a large bed. The child is sleeping deeply, with small hands and feet spread out, and the麻被 has been kicked to the side of the bed.

Thinking of her own inner strength, she recalled the incident of her crossing over, which felt very much like a cruel joke played by the heavens. Unable to help herself, she cursed the heavens a few times: "Damn the heavens!"

Ouyang Yu reached out to take the wooden plaque, placed it in his bosom without even looking at it, and then turned around to stride away. He walked until he turned a corner, and once the people behind him were no longer in sight, Ouyang Yu finally took out the wooden plaque from his bosom

At last, a forest appeared in sight, and within that dense woodland, faint lights emerged. Ouyang Yu felt a surge of joy in his heart, and his steps quickened even more.

Ouyang Yu secretly thought as he held the wooden plaque close to his chest: "To find a place to settle down, I must first understand this world. But where should I begin?"

Hu Wei sensed a hint of concession in her words, and his heart filled with joy. He quickly said, "Master, please feel free to attend to your matters. Once you have completed them, you can find me at the residence of the third prince of the Hu Ru Kingdom." After speaking, he gave a signal with his eyes. A young man in black nearby promptly stepped forward, respectfully performed a half-kneeling salute to Ouyang Yu, and presented a black wooden plaque with both hands.

The orderly sound of hooves shook the earth, creating a buzzing noise. Before long, a cloud of dust rushed towards Ouyang Yu. Immediately after, a hurried voice shouted: "Stop!"

In the stove, hot water was boiling, and within it, a plucked wild chicken was floating and sinking. Upon seeing the whole chicken, which had no ruptured belly, Ouyang Yu couldn't help but retch.

Upon hearing Ouyang Yu ask for conditions, the serpent-patterned youth could not help but feel delighted. At that moment, a boy with dark red skin jumped off his horse behind him. He walked up to the youth and similarly pressed his right hand against his left chest, politely saying: "Master, your skills are remarkable. We in the Kingdom of Huru hold individuals like you in the highest regard. It is I who wishes to invite you. I am His Highness, Prince Huwei, the third prince of the Kingdom of Huru. If you are willing to serve me, please feel free to express any needs you may have."

However, these matters have nothing to do with Ouyang Yu. Therefore, she turned around and prepared to leave. At that moment, the girl’s aunt began to cry softly: "If you do not marry, then you can only go to the altar. Being a priestess of the gods is not an easy task. Don’t you know that yesterday your father and brothers were still saying that the legendary demoness has appeared? As a result, this year the area for the priestess has to be expanded, and they are also performing blood sacrifices, claiming that this is the only way to drive the demoness away."

As soon as Ouyang Yu stepped out, a rustling sound came from below the house. Then, a desperate cry emerged: "Aunt, I don't want to go. They have four brothers in their family. That Suo has already been worn out. Aunt, if I marry over there, I won't last a month."

With three steps taken in two, Ouyang Yu had already jumped onto a large tree at the edge of the village. She was still somewhat afraid of the people in this world, so she leaned over, focusing intently on the lights, and looked towards the nearest household.

Looking around, he finally found a relatively better stone house. This is a cluster of stone houses, a total of eight, arranged together. In the bright light, the sounds of panting and moaning were incessant. Ouyang Yu noticed the neat and clean thatch on the roof of a house, so he plugged his ears with leaves, jumped onto the roof of a remote house, sat cross-legged, familiarizing himself with his internal breath while pretending to sleep

The one who is crying is a young girl. Upon hearing this, Ouyang Yu immediately understood that the family the girl is to marry into has four sons, and the four brothers are to share one wife. The previous wife has already been driven to death, and the girl is currently filled with fear.

Ouyang Yu could not help but sigh. Her greatest problem now was her complete ignorance of this world. If she could get to know these nobles, it would certainly bring her many benefits. But what about her appearance? If she accepted the other party's invitation, it would be somewhat unreasonable not to even glance at them.

After walking for an hour on Huangsha Road, the sun gradually sank in the west. Gazing at the still desolate distance, Ouyang Yu began to feel a hint of fatigue. Utilizing his lightness skill, Ouyang Yu continued to run forward in the direction of the official road. After running for another hour, a dark curtain hung over the sky, dotted with countless stars.

As soon as the sound emerged, all the riders came to a halt

The wooden plaque is of a dark golden color, with three characters inscribed on it. The characters are curved and somewhat resemble Chinese characters, yet are not entirely identical. Ouyang Yu cannot recognize a single character.

On the side of the room near the door, there lay a bloody whole cow. As if sensing the stench of blood in the room, Ouyang Yu looked up towards the stove on the left side

Forget it, it is better not to look for a place to stay. Instead, let’s find a spot at the edge of the village to rest for the night. Ouyang Yuguang could almost sense the foul smell emanating from that house in his imagination

A red sun hung high in the sky, its rays filtering through the gaps in the leaves and casting light upon Ouyang Yu. She slowly opened her eyes, and in that moment, her gaze was as bright as the flowing glow of dawn. It was not until Ouyang Yu blinked that the brilliance gradually faded away

She dashed forward like an arrow, and in no time at all, she rushed into the woods. It was only then that she discovered that beyond the forest lay a series of undulating mountains, with those houses nestled between them.

Standing up, Ouyang Yu, feeling invigorated, thought to himself: This skill of mine is rather peculiar. However, having it is better than not having it at all

Dozens of tall black horses were present, and Ouyang Yucai recognized these individuals at a glance