12: town

Snow weighed down the forest branches, threatening to bend them lower.

"Creak."

The wooden courtyard gate was opened from the outside.

Chu Shengfan poked his head out of the Main Hall to check; who else could that old man wearing a straw raincoat be but Chu Jingyu?

He turned back and said to Chu Qinhui inside the room, "Grandfather is back."

Chu Qinhui's expression, which had been tense all night, relaxed significantly, with a trace of exhaustion showing on his face.

Chu Jingyu arrived at the doorway in a few steps, but he didn't rush to come inside, first brushing the accumulated snow off his body outside the door.

"Brother Chu, how is it over at the mine? Is it still, or has it already?" the impatient Village Chief asked with concern.

Chu Jingyu shook his head at him, poured himself a cup of water, and moistened his throat before saying, "Those people are not in danger for the time being, but it seems they have been bewitched by a fellow calling himself the Mountain God. When dawn comes, I need you to come with me to town to bring back reinforcements."

Hearing that there was no danger, the Village Chief breathed a sigh of relief. He had no objections to Chu Jingyu's request. "It should be so, it should be so. In any case, thank you, Brother Chu, for being willing to go take a look."

Looking at his rugged, furrowed face, even when he smiled, it seemed to carry a hint of bitterness.

"Village Chief, you go rest in my room first. We'll depart at dawn. If we drag this out too long, no one knows what might happen."

It was deep into the night, and the Village Chief couldn't very well ask them to take him back down the mountain, although he didn't know how he had managed to come up alone in the first place.

He glanced at a recliner nearby, walked over, pulled the recliner next to the stove, and then lay down on it. "I'll just rest like this for a while; there's no need to go to any trouble. Brother Chu, you should hurry and get some rest; going back and forth into the mountain is very tiring."

Seeing the Village Chief's determination, Chu Jingyu instructed Chu Shengfan, "Go get a quilt for the Village Chief."

Chu Shengfan followed instructions and went into the inner room, though his gaze towards Chu Qinhui was full of disapproval. "You haven't even been comfortable for a moment, yet you're already abusing your own body like this."

Facing his father's stern tone, Chu Qinhui immediately cowered and stood up. "I'm going to rest right now."

After settling the Village Chief, the Chu Family courtyard immediately fell into a deep slumber.

...

The next day, just as dawn was breaking, after finishing breakfast, they went into the village and hired an ox cart.

Chu Jingyu and the Village Chief hurried toward the town.

Heavy snow blocked the road, and pedestrians were rarely seen.

Upon arriving in town, the two headed straight for the Town Chief's Mansion.

It should be said that there were four major forces controlling Heyu Town: three families and one chief. The three families were the Liu Family, the Zhang Family, and the Shi Family, and the one chief was the Town Chief.

The Town Chief did not belong to any Family; he was transferred down from the county seat and seemed to come from some major Family.

Therefore, although he had no Foundation in town, the other three families usually held him in high esteem.

Chu Jingyu and the Village Chief arrived at the very center of the town, where the plaque of the Inspection Department hung high above the entrance.

The Village Chief took the initiative to negotiate with the Guards standing on both sides, stated his purpose, and presented the copper token representing his status as the Village Chief of Fuhe Village.

The two waited in the wind and snow for half a quarter of an hour before someone led them into the Inspection Department.

However, in the office building, the person receiving them was not the Town Chief, but a Guard Commander who handled security affairs.

The Guard Commander was a young man in his thirties, fair-skinned and clean-shaven, with a White Crane covered in white feathers and a long neck wandering around him.

The scene of the man and the crane together was beautiful and natural.

The moment Chu Jingyu and the Village Chief entered, the Guard Commander's gaze was fixed firmly on Chu Jingyu, evidently having sensed his identity as a Contract Master of the same Realm as himself.

"You say that a mysterious Source Beast appeared near Fuhe Village, calling itself the Mountain God, and bewitched the villagers into worshipping it? Is this true?"

The Village Chief answered proactively, "I guarantee it with my position as Village Chief. This matter is absolutely true. I implore you, my lord, to quickly send men to rescue them."

The Guard Commander fell into deep thought. "I remember that the border near Fuhe Village is the responsibility of the Liu Family, right? How could such a dangerous Source Beast have slipped in?"

The Guard who had led Chu Jingyu and the others in bowed and reported, "A few days ago, the Liu Family used the reason of the ancestral sacrifice to recall most of their dispatched Guards back to the Family, so it may have led to some fish slipping through the net."

Hearing that this matter involved the Liu Family, the Guard Commander, who came from the Zhang Family, looked a bit more solemn upon hearing this.

"You need to wait a little while for this matter; I will go report it to the Town Chief first."

After saying this to Chu Jingyu and the Village Chief, the Guard Commander straightened his clothes, then turned a few corners in the corridor and disappeared from sight.

The White Crane looked at Chu Jingyu and the Village Chief twice, then haughtily turned its head, walked into the courtyard, and slowly danced amidst the falling snow.

As its wings fluttered, a gentle breeze gathered throughout the courtyard, and the snowflakes on the ground all rose up in an instant, as if casting a high white wall, making it impossible for people to see the rest of the scenery.

Chu Jingyu watched this White Crane belonging to the Guard Commander. Through the energy intensity manifesting on its body, he could judge that it belonged to the Lower Stage of Exotic, one Realm lower than his own, but this did not mean that this Guard Commander did not have other, stronger Source Beasts.

After about ten minutes or so, the Guard Commander who had just left brought back a middle-aged man who looked to be in his fifties, with a square face and an air of dignity about him, into the courtyard.

This was the Town Chief, a figure who was extremely mysterious to most of the residents of Heyu Town.

Chu Jingyu only took a simple glance before lowering his head, not daring to investigate further.

Because the imposing Aura on the Town Chief, which far surpassed his own, indicated that his Realm was far above his.

Chu Jingyu was vaguely puzzled in his heart. No matter how much stronger Heyu Town was compared to other towns, it was still just a town. How could it not only have an Eighth-Grade Magnate Family residing here, but even the Town Chief had reached the Spirit Rank?

His mind was racing with thoughts, but the Town Chief had already sat on the main seat in the room and spoke,

"A foreign Source Beast is causing chaos in Fuhe Village, and the Liu Family has failed to Guard the border, violating the regulations of my Jingyuan Dynasty. This naturally requires some reckoning. The two of you are both witnesses. Zhang Yu, go assemble a team of Guard Soldiers and go deal with that trespassing Source Beast."

The Town Chief's voice was low, and his tone contained a firmness that brooked no questioning.

The person following the Town Chief, who was the Guard Commander from earlier, bowed and said yes.

Only after this did the Town Chief's gaze land on Chu Jingyu, his eyes softening slightly,

"I didn't expect there to be a person like you, old man, in that wilderness. There are still quite a few vacancies in my town. If you still have the energy, why not come here and achieve something?"

A trace of sadness flashed across Chu Jingyu's face. "It is not that I am unwilling, but there is still an unworthy son at home who is poisoned and cannot be without my care. Thank you for your kindness, my lord."

The Town Chief's expression was indifferent, making it impossible for people to see his true thoughts,

"That is indeed a pity. I have not been here as Town Chief for long, and this is exactly the time when I need my own helpers. If you change your mind, old man, I am always welcome."

Chu Jingyu's heart stirred. "If the Town Chief does not mind, this old man has an unworthy grandson who has just become a Contract Master. He cannot do the fighting and killing at the front, but he can barely help with logistics and healing."

"Oh, is that so? Young talents are easier to cultivate. Then I thank you, old man, for being willing to send your grandson over."

The two were complimenting each other here.

The Village Chief on the side listened with surging emotions. Just from this one trip out, the outsider Chu Family had climbed onto the Town Chief's thigh. For their village, this was already an incredibly big shot.

...

When they came, it was Chu Jingyu and the Village Chief, but when they left, they brought along a ten-man team of Guard Soldiers.

There were ten people in the team. Although nine of them were Contract Masters, they were all of the Mortal Rank, which was of little use for besieging that mysterious Source Beast.

As for the most crucial combatant, Chu Jingyu looked at the man walking at the very front,

Guard Commander, Zhang Yu.