187: Chapter 187 Expulsion, Covert Investigation

Night fell, the waning moon obscured by thin clouds, making the village appear even more deathly silent.

The three lit an oil lamp in the main room and sat in a circle to regulate their breathing, all maintaining high vigilance.

Time passed bit by bit, yet there was still no movement in the village.

However, just as the Hour of the Rat approached, the once deathly silent village suddenly "came alive"!

Human voices, barking dogs, and the scent of cooking smoke...

The entire Muyin Village instantly transformed into a perfectly normal mountain village at night!

"They're here!"

Ye Tian and the others opened their eyes almost simultaneously!

They moved silently to the window and looked out through the gaps.

They saw that the street, which had been completely empty, was now filled with villagers in twos and threes!

Carrying lanterns, some hurried along, others gathered at doorways to chat, children chased and played, and dogs wagged their tails...

Everything seemed so natural, forming an extremely eerie contrast with the emptiness of the day!

"This... what is going on?"

Lei Zhen lowered his voice, his face full of disbelief, "Where did these people pop up from?"

Luo Qiushui's gaze was cold and clear as she whispered, "Pay attention to their... shadows."

Hearing this, Ye Tian felt a shiver in his heart and focused his gaze.

Under the flickering light of the lanterns in the villagers' hands, he was shocked to discover that these villagers had no shadows at their feet!

It was not a matter of lighting angles, but truly, absolutely no shadows!

The light shone on them, but behind them was only emptiness!

"People without shadows..."

Ye Tian's pupils constricted, and a chill rose up his spine.

He instantly remembered the Shadow Calamity Tower assassin with the dark purple hook mark embroidered on their shoulder who excelled in shadow assassination techniques back at the Outer Sect!

That organization was related to "shadows"!

Just then, the gate of the courtyard they were in was knocked upon.

An old man's voice, filled with displeasure, rang out from outside: "Outsiders inside! We know you are in there! Muyin Village does not welcome outsiders! Please leave immediately!"

Ye Tian and the others exchanged glances, their eyes filled with gravity.

They had considered themselves careful enough when sneaking in, but they hadn't expected to be discovered so quickly!

Moreover, the villagers' attitude was full of rejection.

Ye Tian signaled to Lei Zhen and Luo Qiushui, indicating for them to stay calm.

He straightened his clothes, stepped forward, and slowly opened the courtyard gate.

Outside the gate stood seven or eight villagers.

The leader was an old man leaning on a cane, his face deeply wrinkled, his eyes full of hostility.

Behind him followed several young and middle-aged men, all with unkind expressions, holding hoes, wooden sticks, and other farm tools. Although they possessed no Cultivator status, their eyes were fierce.

Every single villager, without exception, had no shadow at their feet, appearing exceptionally eerie.

"Greetings, elder."

Ye Tian cupped his hands in a salute, his tone calm, "We are Cultivators passing through. Seeing that it is late, we wished to borrow your esteemed grounds for a night's rest. We mean no harm."

The white-haired old man snorted coldly and stomped his cane heavily on the ground: "Cultivators? Hmph! Whether you are Cultivators or Mortals, Muyin Village does not welcome any outsiders! Please leave immediately! Otherwise, don't blame us for being impolite!"

The young men behind him also raised their "weapons" one after another, emitting threatening low growls.

Lei Zhen was somewhat displeased at the sight, but was stopped by Ye Tian's gaze.

Luo Qiushui quietly stepped forward, her cold, clear gaze sweeping over the crowd, her voice ethereal: "Elder, your village is empty during the day, yet bustling with noise at night, and the villagers have all lost their shadows. Such anomalies are by no means normal. We have been entrusted by our Sect to come and investigate, and perhaps we can offer some assistance."

Upon hearing the words "lost their shadows," a flash of pain crossed the old man's cloudy eyes, but he immediately rejected them even more strongly: "Our village's affairs do not need outsiders to manage! What anomalies? We have been like this for generations! We don't need you to meddle! Leave quickly! If you don't leave, we will take action!"

He was emotionally agitated, his cane banging loudly on the ground.

The other villagers were also indignant, shouting one after another: "Get out! Outsiders!" "Our village does not welcome you!" "If you don't leave, we'll set the dogs on you!"

These villagers were all ordinary people, not Cultivators.

But that Aura of shared hatred faintly coalesced into one, putting significant pressure on them.

Ye Tian frowned tightly.

The villagers' reactions were very abnormal.

If they were truly being controlled or coerced by evil spirits, they should have sought help upon seeing visiting Cultivators.

But they acted with such rejection, as if they were trying hard to hide something, or rather, were afraid of something being known by outsiders.

Moreover, they mentioned "for generations"? Could this shadowless state have persisted for a long time?

Forcing them to stay would inevitably lead to conflict.

Although these villagers had no Cultivator status, there were many of them, and their state was eerie. If a fight broke out, it would be difficult to avoid harming the innocent, which ran counter to the original intent of the Sect's investigation.

Ye Tian took a deep breath, suppressing the doubts in his heart, and said to the old man: "Elder, please calm down. Since your village does not welcome us, we shall take our leave. Sorry to have disturbed you."

After speaking, he nodded to Lei Zhen and Luo Qiushui.

Although Lei Zhen was unwilling, he knew it was not the time to force the issue.

Luo Qiushui's expression was calm, revealing neither joy nor anger.

The three said no more and, under the vigilant gazes of the villagers, left the courtyard and walked towards the outside of the village.

The villagers held lanterns and followed from a distance until they confirmed that they had truly left the scope of the village, at which point they stopped, their figures gradually disappearing at the village entrance.

After walking out of the scope of Muyin Village and returning to the small woods where they had landed earlier, Lei Zhen couldn't help but curse: "Unreasonable! This bunch of villagers is simply incomprehensible! We came here with good intentions to investigate, yet they treated us like thieves!"

Luo Qiushui said indifferently: "Their fear is not directed at us, but at the identity of being an outsider. They are afraid that the arrival of outsiders will seemingly bring about some kind of consequence they cannot bear."

Ye Tian nodded, looking back at the village with deep eyes: "Senior Sister Luo is absolutely right. Their rejection is more like a form of self-protection. Moreover, did you notice that although they drove us away, from beginning to end, they did not reveal any signs of being coerced; the determination in their eyes came from the heart."

"That makes it even stranger!" Lei Zhen frowned, "Could they have voluntarily turned into these shadowless monsters? And for generations?"

"Impossible." Ye Tian denied it flatly, "Losing one's shadow is by no means a natural phenomenon; it must be caused by some external force. The key lies in what power caused all of this? And why are the villagers so desperate to hide it?"

He pondered for a moment, a flash of wisdom in his eyes: "Although we were driven away, we did not come away empty-handed. At least we have determined a few key points: First, the villagers are not imprisoned or controlled; they retain their own consciousness. Second, they are extremely repulsed by outsiders, intending to hide the village's secrets. Third, this shadowless state is very likely to have a great connection with the word 'Shadow'."

"Shadow..." Luo Qiushui repeated softly, with a thoughtful look in her eyes.

"It seems we must change our method of investigation." Ye Tian's lips curled up, "If we can't do it openly, we'll do it covertly."

"What does Junior Brother Ye mean?" Lei Zhen looked at him.

"We will pretend to leave, then sneak back in secret, lurking on the outskirts of the village to observe carefully. Especially by finding villagers who are alone, or... the children in the village. Children have a pure Heart-Nature, perhaps we can extract some truth from them."

Hearing this, Lei Zhen and Luo Qiushui both felt it was feasible.

Thus, the three rode their spirit birds, pretending to fly into the distance. After making a large circle, they snuck back silently to the vicinity of Muyin Village, hiding on a high, densely wooded hillside outside the village, where they could clearly observe most of the situation in the village from a commanding height.

Under the night, Muyin Village had flickering lights and noisy human voices, indistinguishable from an ordinary mountain village.

If they hadn't seen the emptiness of the day and the shadowlessness of the villagers with their own eyes, no one would have imagined the eeriness of this place.

The three lurked patiently, their Divine Sense carefully probing.

Time passed, the villagers' activities gradually decreased, the lights in most houses were extinguished one after another, and the village became quiet again, with only sporadic barking of dogs.

It wasn't until the second half of the night that the moonlight became even dimmer.

Suddenly, Ye Tian's eyes narrowed, and he whispered: "Something is happening!"

They saw a thin, small figure sneak out of a relatively dilapidated thatched hut at the end of the village; judging by the figure, it was a seven or eight-year-old boy.

He looked around sneakily, then hurried towards the small river outside the village.

"The opportunity has arrived!" Ye Tian felt a surge of joy, "Senior Brother Lei, Senior Sister Luo, you stay here to provide support; I will go and return shortly."

After saying this, he utilized the Taixu Star-Shift Steps and snuck silently in the direction of the little boy.