Swordholder

Chen Yuan and the others were taken aback and turned around.

Soon, a cacophony of noise and hurried footsteps arose, and one after another, gaunt figures emerged from all directions, surrounding the five people.

Their clothes were tattered, old, and yellowed, and they held simple weapons such as hoes, sickles, and wooden sticks.

"What are you doing?"

Chen Yuan spoke in astonishment.

He didn't expect that dozens of people from the village would rush out and surround them completely.

"What are you doing? You killed someone, don't think you can just get away with it!"

"Yes, we can't leave, otherwise the government of Wuqiao Town will definitely take their anger out on our entire village!"

One of them glanced furtively at Lu Chengfeng, suppressed his fear, brandished his hoe, and roared with a ferocious expression.

Chen Yuan: "..."

"Stop talking nonsense, you can't leave!"

"If you leave, everyone in Qingshan Village will die!"

The man in his sixties, who was leading the group, shouted fiercely.

"And that little girl and that chubby boy, they're both lucky pigs!"

"Catch them, and you can collect a huge bounty in Black Mountain!"

"Yes, once you enter our village, you become part of the village's resources; don't even think about leaving!"

……

The others also stared at Chen Zhaoning and Li Wei, their expressions completely changing.

They were clearly emaciated, weak, and pitiful, but at this moment they all transformed into bloodthirsty, hungry wolves.

"Two out of the five are lucky pigs, and three are murderers!"

"If we can just stall them, we'll be rich!"

"This can be exchanged for a lot of Star Bronze, and maybe even Moon Silver!"

"I've heard that anyone who becomes a 'lucky pig' is worth a fortune!"

"Some of them are worth several hundred star coppers. That kid's chubby and has soft skin; he might be worth a few moon silver!"

"If I could exchange that for dozens of Moon Silver coins, I'd be rich!"

……

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The emaciated villagers became more and more excited as they spoke, and their hands, gripping shovels, sickles, and wooden sticks, began to tremble.

Chen Yuan and Li Wei exchanged a glance, their hearts sinking.

Chen Yuan's feelings were even more complicated.

He lived in Qingshan Village for a year, but only met the villagers a handful of times.

Normally, Uncle Lu and Nuomi kept to themselves and had no contact with the villagers. They even regarded Lu Chengfeng and Nuomi as monsters.

"Get out of my way, or don't blame me for being impolite!"

Chen Zhaoning drew his sword with a clang!

Clang!

The narrow blade gleamed with a chilling light in the dim daylight!

The villagers felt a chill run down their spines and instinctively backed away.

Chen Zhaoning stepped forward, blocking the way for the crowd and the villagers blocking the intersection. They involuntarily made way for him.

She was, after all, a cultivator at the Spirit Aperture Realm, and the aura she exuded was something that ordinary people could not contend with.

Moreover, although they didn't witness Chen Yuan killing people, they could guess that the officials and thugs were killed by these people.

"We can't let them go..."

Just as the old man who had been shouting the loudest was about to speak, a flash of light suddenly appeared, and his head flew off instantly!

puff!

The headless corpse, spurting blood, fell to the ground, crashing heavily and instantly shocking everyone.

"We're all human beings, why be so aggressive?"

"You stood by and watched coldly before, but now you're blocking our way?!"

Chen Zhaoning's gaze was icy as he continued forward, knife in hand!

Her heart was burning with rage!

Just now, when she was almost disemboweled and had her heart ripped out, these people stayed at home without saying a word.

Now that she's leaving, she actually has the nerve to block his way?

Do you really think she dares to kill the officials but not them?

Suddenly, someone in the crowd shouted again, "Don't let them leave!"

"They have moon silver on them, and they escaped into the village in the middle of the night; they must be lucky pigs that escaped from Black Mountain!"

"If we let the lucky pig escape, not only will the town magistrate punish us, but Granny Black Mountain will also be furious, and the whole village will die!"

"Yes, living in this damned world, living like pigs and dogs, might as well give it a shot!"

Upon hearing this, the entire village went completely mad.

They, who were originally afraid of Chen Zhaoning's longsword, now had black glints in their eyes and surrounded him again.

An old woman, her hand trembling, gripped a sickle and brandished it at Chen Zhaoning, shouting sternly, "Girl, go back inside! Go into that monster Lu's house!"

"If you try to run away, you're killing us!!!"

A toothless old man next to her also roared menacingly, "That's right! Our village taking you in for one night is already a great kindness!"

"You can't leave, otherwise you'll be repaying kindness with enmity!!!"

A gaunt young man approached, wielding a wooden stick. His gaze swept over Chen Zhaoning's face beneath her disheveled bangs, and his eyes instantly lit up.

"Grandpa, Grandma, this girl is pretty. Since she's going to die anyway, I want to sleep with her!"

"I've never touched a woman before, not even once in my life! Especially not such a beautiful one!"

"Since she's going to die anyway, let's not waste her time!"

Upon hearing this, Chen Yuan took a deep breath and cursed inwardly: Good heavens, they really don't want to die fast enough!

He glanced at Chen Zhaoning and, sure enough, saw the murderous intent surge in her eyes!

Swish!

A blinding flash of light appeared, and the young man's head flew off!

puff!

Blood gushed from the smooth neck, splattering all over the faces of the old man and woman!

And on the head that rolled to the ground, there was still an expression of extreme greed!

Chen Yuan slowly closed his eyes and sighed inwardly.

It wasn't that the young man was reckless; rather, everyone was affected by the Black Moon in this environment.

Everyone harbors a resentment, or even a state of madness.

Therefore, once they unleash their fury, they become terrifying beasts, devoid of any humanity.

"what!"

At this moment, the old woman screamed, looked at her headless son, then suddenly turned to Chen Zhaoning, and charged forward like a madwoman, brandishing her sickle:

"Give me back my son! Give me back my son..."

puff!

Chen Zhaoning struck again, splitting the old woman in two!

"Get out of here!!!"

Chen Zhaoning roared like a raging lion.

She strode forward, her blade flashing, her killing intent palpable, and the temperature in the arena plummeted!

"Listen up, everyone! They're gone, and we're all going to die!"

"They all have to die!!"

"Since we're going to die anyway, we might as well take a gamble, defeat them, and seize wealth and power!"

……

Someone is inciting trouble again!

The villagers, who were already frightened, gradually developed a black glint in their eyes!

Those who survive in this world, even without cultivation, will be corrupted by the demonic energy, carrying a trace of malevolence and madness in their bones!

At that moment, filled with murderous intent, they charged forward recklessly.

Chen Zhaoning slowly closed her eyes, as if making a difficult decision.

A moment later, her eyes snapped open!

"It was...you...who...forced...me...to do it!!"

She spoke slowly and deliberately, her long sword flashing out with a sharp, piercing light!

Swish!

With a flash of the blade, several more heads flew off!

The surrounding area went completely mad; the villagers rushed forward recklessly, wielding sickles, hoes, and wooden sticks...

But these frail mortals, even though they were corrupted by the demonic spirits and were fearless, their bodies had long been corroded and were no match for Chen Zhaoning!

She charged left and right, taking down people one by one as easily as chopping melons and vegetables!

In the blink of an eye, there were already twenty or thirty corpses on the ground!

"Ah... Ah!!"

The remaining people finally panicked, screamed, and scattered like birds and beasts.

"They walked right into the line of fire."

Chen Yuan murmured softly.

Chen Zhaoning was already seething with anger, and these villagers, who didn't know what they were doing, still had to provoke him.

They really have a death wish!

"Hurry, they must have already gone to inform the garrison commander."

Chen Zhaoning stood with his knife in hand, slightly turned his head, and spoke to the group.

"Wow, so cool! Sister Ning is awesome!"

Li Wei's eyes lit up, and he immediately grabbed Nuomi and followed along.

Chen Yuan touched the iron spikes and kitchen knife at his waist, then glanced at Lu Chengfeng, who had disheveled hair and remained expressionless throughout.

"Uncle Lu, let's go."

Chen Yuan grabbed him and quickly followed.

------

Chen Yuan and his group left Qingshan Village and ran wildly through the mountains and forests.

Along the way, they hunted a few wild rabbits and pheasants to fill their stomachs, relying on Chen Yuan's iron spikes and Chen Zhaoning's long knife.

The wild beasts here are exceptionally ferocious. Even without absorbing spiritual energy, they grow up in a repressive environment and become violent and bloodthirsty.

Fortunately, Chen Yuan was fast enough to kill them one by one, swiftly and decisively.

……

Time flies, and before we knew it, it was night again when evil spirits roamed freely.

Chen Yuan and the others found a cave. The cave was dry and warm, just enough for the five of them to spend the night.

"There are no evil spirits here, so we can rest in peace for now."

Chen Yuan looked into the cave, then glanced at Lu Chengfeng, who was sitting silently at the entrance, and breathed a sigh of relief.

After a long day of running around, everyone was exhausted and decided to stay there for the night.

…………

Inside the cave.

Chen Zhaoning used a rubbing stick to start a fire and built a bonfire.

Chen Yuan and Li Wei quickly wrapped the rabbits and pheasants in wet mud and buried them in the fire to roast.

"Brother Yuan, Brother Li, will it cook through like this?"

Nuomi squatted to the side, blinking her big eyes, and asked curiously.

"Hehe, don't worry, I'll let you try Li's Beggar's Chicken later!"

Li Wei said proudly.

Chen Yuan didn't speak, but just poked at the fire with his iron spike.

The bright red firelight reflected on his handsome face. Although he still looked like a young man, his eyes revealed a sense of vicissitude and maturity beyond his years.

Chen Zhaoning looked at him and suddenly asked, "How do you know the swordsman's techniques and combat skills?"

"Could it be... that you are the Swordholder?"

Chen Yuan was taken aback, and asked blankly, "What sword wielder?"

These words seemed to touch Lu Chengfeng, who was sitting at the entrance of the cave.

He slowly turned his head, the crimson in his eyes fading little by little.

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