188: Chapter 188 The Truth Under the Night

Ye Tian quickly approached the little boy running toward the riverbank.

He restrained all his presence, making not a sound.

The little boy ran to the riverbank and crouched down, not doing anything in particular, just staring blankly at the flowing water. His small hands unconsciously toyed with the pebbles on the shore, and his thin, small back looked exceptionally lonely under the faint moonlight.

What was especially striking was that, beneath his feet, there was likewise no shadow.

Ye Tian did not reveal himself immediately but hid behind a tree to observe carefully.

There were no fluctuations of cultivation on the boy; he was just an ordinary child.

There was no fear on his face, only a sense of confusion inconsistent with his age.

After waiting for about the time it takes to burn a stick of incense, the boy still showed no intention of leaving, only occasionally letting out a faint sigh.

Ye Tian felt the time was right; he gave a light cough and walked slowly from behind the tree, trying his best to show a kind smile.

Startled by the sudden sound of a voice, the boy jumped up, turned around, and looked at Ye Tian vigilantly, his small face filled with terror: "You... who are you? Are you one of those outsiders from the daytime?"

He recognized Ye Tian.

"Little brother, don't be afraid."

Ye Tian stopped, spread his hands to show he had no malice, "My name is Ye Tian, and I did indeed come during the day."

"We have no ill intentions; we just saw that the village was a bit unusual and wanted to understand the situation. Why did you run out alone in the middle of the night?"

The boy pursed his lips tightly, his eyes flickering, clearly full of wariness toward Ye Tian, but perhaps because Ye Tian looked young and his tone was gentle, he did not immediately run away or scream.

Ye Tian was not in a hurry; he took a bag of sweet-smelling spirit fruit preserves he had bought at the Sect from his storage ring and placed it gently on the ground: "Here, have this; it's very sweet."

The boy looked at the bag of preserves, swallowed, and a flash of desire appeared in his eyes, but he still did not move.

Ye Tian smiled, picked one up himself, put it in his mouth, acted as if it were delicious, and then pushed the preserves forward again: "It's really not poisoned, it's delicious. See, I ate one too."

Perhaps it was Ye Tian's action that dispelled some of his doubts, or perhaps the temptation of the preserves was too great, but after hesitating for a long time, the boy finally walked forward cautiously, quickly grabbed a preserve, and stuffed it into his mouth. As the sweetness melted in his mouth, his eyes brightened slightly.

"Is it good?" Ye Tian asked softly.

The boy nodded, his wariness seeming to lessen a little, but he still did not speak.

Ye Tian did not press him, just stood quietly with him, watching the river water.

After a while, he asked casually: "Little brother, why does everyone in your village... only come out to move about at night?"

"And, I don't seem to see anyone's shadow?"

Upon hearing the word "shadow," the boy's body trembled violently. The relaxed expression he had just shown because of the preserves was instantly replaced by fear. He retreated two steps abruptly, the preserve in his hand falling to the ground, and his voice carried a crying tone: "No... I can't say!"

"Grandpa said, if I say it, something very terrible will happen!!"

"Terrible things?"

Ye Tian's heart gave a jolt; he had captured the key information!

He tried to keep his voice as calm as possible: "Little brother, don't be afraid, take your time."

"Who took away your shadows?"

"Tell big brother, maybe big brother can help you."

The boy shook his head desperately, tears swirling in his eyes: "I can't say... really, I can't say!"

"Those bad people in black clothes... they will know!"

"They will punish everyone in our village!"

"Last time... last time, Er Gouzi at the head of the village just said one extra word, and the next day... he was so sick he couldn't get out of bed!"

His small body trembled with fear.

Bad people in black clothes!

Ye Tian's pupils suddenly contracted!

He was almost certain that this had to do with the Shadow Calamity Tower!

He suppressed the shock in his heart and continued to ask gently: "Bad people in black clothes? What do they look like? When did they come?"

The boy seemed to have been suppressing it for too long and needed to vent. He sobbed and said intermittently: "They... they always come at night, like shadows, I can't see their faces clearly..."

"On their shoulders... there seems to be a curved hook-like mark... it's very scary!"

"They... they come once every month and use a glowing black mirror to shine on everyone..."

"And then... then everyone's shadows were gone..."

"Grandpa said, without a shadow, we can't see the sun in the daytime anymore, otherwise we will... we will melt away!"

By the end, he was sobbing uncontrollably.

A curved hook mark!

A glowing black mirror!

Taking away shadows!

Fearing the sun!

All clues pointed to that mysterious assassin organization—the Shadow Calamity Tower!

Ye Tian finally understood!

The villagers of Muyin Village were not willing; they had been deprived of their shadows by the Shadow Calamity Tower using some kind of evil secret technique or Magic Treasure!

Having lost their shadows, they could not move about in the sunlight and could only become "shadowless people" living in the dark!

And the reason the villagers desperately excluded outsiders was that they were afraid that if the news leaked, it would bring even crueler punishment from the Shadow Calamity Tower!

The encounter of that Er Gouzi was a bloody example!

What a vicious method!

What a bizarre evil technique!

This Shadow Calamity Tower not only trained assassins but actually committed such heinous, heaven-defying acts, imprisoning the living beings of an entire village!

What on earth did they use the collected shadows for?

Ye Tian remembered the Shadow Calamity Tower assassin he encountered when he was in the Outer Sect; on his shoulder was exactly that dark purple hook mark!

It seemed that this Muyin Village was just a microcosm of the many sins of the Shadow Calamity Tower!

He took a deep breath, suppressed the anger in his heart, crouched down, gently patted the boy's shoulder, handed him a clean handkerchief, and said: "Little brother, thank you for telling me all this."

"Big brother promises you that I will definitely find a way to help you take back your shadows! So that you can live in the sunlight again!"

The boy raised his tear-blurred eyes, looked at Ye Tian's sincere gaze, and nodded vigorously.

Just then, from the direction of the village in the distance, faint calls could be heard, seemingly looking for this boy.

"Go back quickly, don't let your family worry."

Ye Tian stuffed the remaining preserves into the boy's hand, "Don't tell anyone about our conversation today, including your grandfather. This is our secret, okay?"

The boy nodded vigorously, wiped away his tears, turned, and ran quickly back to the village.

Ye Tian watched the boy disappear, his expression instantly becoming extremely solemn.

His figure flashed, and he quickly returned to the hillside to meet with Lei Zhen and Luo Qiushui.

"How is the situation?" Lei Zhen asked eagerly.

Luo Qiushui also cast an inquiring gaze.

Ye Tian told the two of them exactly what he had learned from the little boy.

"Shadow Calamity Tower?! Taking away shadows? Fearing the sun?"

After listening, Lei Zhen's tiger eyes widened, his anger burning, "Unreasonable! To have such a conscience-less evil technique! This Shadow Calamity Tower truly deserves to be hacked into a thousand pieces!"

Luo Qiushui frowned, and her cold face was covered with a layer of frost: "Using the shadows of living people as sacrificial resources, such methods are extremely vicious. It seems that this Muyin Village is a shadow pasture for the Shadow Calamity Tower."

"Shadow pasture..." Ye Tian repeated the word, a deeper chill rising in his heart.

Keeping living people in captivity like livestock, and harvesting their shadows regularly!

How cruel this is!

"The nature of the mission has changed."

Ye Tian said in a deep voice, "This is no longer just an investigation; it concerns the fate of the living beings of an entire village! We must find out the Shadow Calamity Tower's stronghold here, their personnel, and the purpose and methods of their shadow collection! We must find a way to rescue these villagers!"

Lei Zhen nodded heavily: "That's right! Such evil heretics must be killed on sight!"

Luo Qiushui also nodded: "This matter involves a great deal and needs to be discussed at length. The Shadow Calamity Tower acts secretly, and their strength is unfathomable. Acting rashly might alert the enemy, which would instead harm the villagers."

The three discussed and decided to hold off for the time being, continuing to observe in secret to figure out the patterns of the Shadow Calamity Tower members' appearances and the detailed situation inside the village.

At the same time, they transmitted the preliminary investigation results back via the Sect's secret method.

The night deepened. On the hillside, three pairs of eyes stared intently at the village shrouded in shadows, their hearts filled with gravity.

Ye Tian clenched his fists even tighter, new and old grudges welling up in his heart.

The Shadow Calamity Tower, this lingering organization, he would sooner or later uproot it completely!