538: The brutal cleansing of Lan Village

Before leaving, Fei Qingyan and Xiao Feng must have informed Wantong, after all, they were friends, and he had hosted them for so long; they couldn't just leave without a word.

After learning that Fei Qingyan and he were leaving, Wantong had already prepared many supplies for them.

Xiao Feng and Fei Qingyan kept declining, but under Wantong's overwhelming hospitality, they still took a good amount of supplies for their journey.

Wantong originally wanted to give them a good horse, but Xiao Feng and Fei Qingyan refused; Wantong saw that the two of them, master and disciple, were still riding the Yan Yu Sect's good horse together, and he smiled knowingly, no longer insisting, only giving them some silver for their journey before seeing them out of the city.

Wantong watched Xiao Feng and Fei Qingyan disappear into the distance, sighing softly, a hint of envy in his eyes, then shook his head slightly and turned back to the merchant association; there were still many things to coordinate and attend to.

Xiao Feng and Fei Qingyan embarked on the road to Tancheng.

This road was larger, wider, and smoother than the one they had taken from Huishan Town to Yuncheng previously, making for a more comfortable and likely faster journey.

Perhaps due to the efforts of the major sects in the Central Plains, Xiao Feng and Fei Qingyan noticed that the journey seemed much more "stable" along the way.

"It seems the Central Plains is showing signs of stability!" Xiao Feng said with a smile, leaning against Fei Qingyan.

"Hard to say..." Fei Qingyan shook her head slightly and said, "This is just an initial sign of 'counterattack'; whether it can truly stabilize depends on multi-faceted efforts."

"Yeah... hasn't it already started well!" Xiao Feng said with a smile.

"Hmm... I hope so!" Fei Qingyan nodded and said.

How things would truly turn out still depended on how the war progressed.

After all, the resistance in the Central Plains to the invasion by Qi Xiong and Yu-Han initially seemed not very "strong," only beginning to "resist" recently.

The flames of war had just ignited; who knew when they would reach Jiangnan area.

Fei Qingyan couldn't help but feel a little worried, but it was Xia Guo that was being invaded; whether it was the Central Plains or Jiangnan area, everyone had to contribute; the rise and fall of the world concerned every common person!

After this mission concluded, she would assess the situation in the Central Plains, and when she returned, she would have to discuss this matter with the sect leader.

Although it was one country, the three regions were actually "autonomous."

The Central Plains, Jiangnan area, and the Desert Region.

The Central Plains was the most important, largest, strongest, and most resource-rich area.

After all, it was the "center" + "imperial family."

Jiangnan area and the Desert Region could be understood as "feudal."

Of course, the overall governance was still under Xia Guo.

But in many aspects, it was still primarily autonomous.

Especially in terms of sects, they each had their own "circles," and generally, they would not cross boundaries.

They traveled tirelessly.

Thus, after three consecutive days of travel, thanks to Tang Ji Gourmet, Xiao Feng and Fei Qingyan not only avoided "travel fatigue" but were even more energetic.

"According to our route, after a bit more distance, ahead is Lancun, a place where we can rest along the way," Xiao Feng said, leaning against Fei Qingyan, holding the map Wantong had given him, examining it repeatedly.

"Hmm... occasional outdoor camping is fine, but we still need to be in a town," Fei Qingyan nodded and said.

As their horse galloped, about half an hour later, they saw a village appear ahead.

"Hmm? Something seems off!" Fei Qingyan gazed at the village, her brow furrowing involuntarily.

Upon hearing her, Xiao Feng sat up straight, his eyes narrowing slightly.

The village seemed too "quiet," and at this time, it was lunchtime; it might be understandable not to see people, but there wasn't even cooking smoke... which was very abnormal! With so many households, could there not even be one person cooking?

Impossible! Absolutely impossible!

Given that, something must have happened!

When they drew closer, sure enough, they smelled blood.

The thought that the entire Lancun might have suffered misfortune instantly made Fei Qingyan's brow furrow.

Fei Qingyan slowed down, and the horse beneath her trotted into the village.

Indeed, the first thing they saw were corpses.

Fei Qingyan remained silent, her lips tightly pressed, as her horse walked along the village road.

The scene was desolate, everywhere were darkened bloodstains and mutilated bodies.

And most of them had been killed inside their houses.

Evidently, the villagers were invaded during lunchtime... many died not far from their homes, unable to escape.

Men, women, old, and young, not a single survivor.

Not even a single animal could be seen.

"These guys..." Fei Qingyan gritted her teeth; the invaders from Qi Xiong and Yu-Han were too brutal!

Xiao Feng narrowed his eyes; this scene was quite shocking to them.

After all, although fighting and killing were common in the martial world, that kind of fighting and this kind of massacre could not be equated.

Walking the martial world meant having one's life hanging by a thread.

But these villagers, they were just ordinary people!

There hadn't been war for a long time, especially in Jiangnan area, which was inherently "peaceful"; Fei Qingyan and Xiao Feng were seeing this tiny, tragic microcosm of "war" for the first time, and it brought immense shock to their hearts.

"Master..." Xiao Feng looked at the silently standing Fei Qingyan and opened his mouth.

"I'm fine." Fei Qingyan shook her head: "But, I think we should do something."

"......" Xiao Feng nodded silently, do something... they couldn't do anything... just the two of them, could they really drive back all the invaders from Yu-Han and Qi Xiong?

Besides, others weren't without their strong individuals.

Unless they rallied people in the group, it would be difficult. Xiao Feng thought to himself... if Big Sister Head... no, even if Yi Xin, Lin Zifeng, Allie, and the others came, they might be able to do it...

But even if these big brothers came, it seemed they wouldn't be able to solve it too quickly... so it still had to be Big Sister Head...

Xiao Feng again thought of Big Sister Head's "might," and quickly shook his head to shake off that delusion.

If Big Sister Head were to "cause a ruckus" here... the world would surely boil over, wouldn't it?

Demon God descends! Big Sister Head could absolutely become a Demon God directly!

"Let's bury them," Fei Qingyan said to Xiao Feng.

"Okay!" Xiao Feng nodded.

The two dismounted and began collecting the bodies of the villagers.

They worked for several hours, spending an entire afternoon, to bury all the villagers.

Fei Qingyan erected a tombstone for them: "XX Year X Month X Day, Tomb of the villagers of Lancun, who tragically died in the invasion. — A Passerby."

After all this was done, it was late, and Fei Qingyan decided to stay here for the night.

"Everyone, I apologize for the disturbance! I'm borrowing your homes," Fei Qingyan bowed slightly towards the graves and said, "If there's an opportunity, I will return to offer you good wine and meat in sacrifice!"

Xiao Feng watched silently from the side.

The next day, they resumed their journey.

Perhaps due to yesterday's event, Fei Qingyan was somewhat down today, appearing much more subdued.