Chapter 28 | The Village

After fifteen minutes spent carefully picking up the flower, the trio managed to get their hands on the Stellar Lily. Fortunately, Theo had a vague idea about how to properly pick the thing. He dipped his hand under the soil with hardship, grabbed the flower by the roots, and pulled it out.

Surprisingly, that was it. They just took the flower and continued on their way as if they hadn’t stopped to steal the thing at all. Some part of Theo was sure that they would trigger some sort of alarm, but nothing of the sort happened.

The rest of the way to the village was uneventful. They passed what was mostly a thick forest with some amount of wildlife. No predators, however, as the place seemed mostly scoured clear of those.

The closer they got to their destination, the sparser the trees became, eventually completely dissolving into a lush plain. The village was a smudge on the horizon, but its muddy colors made it easy to spot for Theo’s eyes. Thin columns of smoke rose from this and that house.

They found there was a beaten path a couple of paces to their side, so they left the long grass stalks behind.

As they drew closer, the smudge resolved into a cluster of simple, thatched-roof cottages Theo couldn’t help but look wide-eyed at. The buildings in the tower were more brutalist in design, made of gray. The village, however, had pleasant earthy colors.

Surrounding the village were sprawling, untidy patchworks of farm plots that bustled with farmers and growing crops. Then those plots were circled by a low, stone-and-wattle fence that marked a vague perimeter.

Slightly further out, beyond the fence, however, were more orderly plots. Tilled strictly, but the crops growing on them were suffering and malnourished compared to the others. There didn’t seem to be any villagers working there, which was beyond strange.

The first building they passed, at the outer edge of the orderly plots, was a dilapidated shack, timber grayed by time. From the crevices broken into its walls, Theo could see that it was completely empty.

The villagers that saw them would shift. They would lean on their tools and squint their eyes under the scorching light of the sun to see. Some would wave and smile; others would quickly go back to their jobs.

Theo did catch some, however, sighing in relief at their sight. As if they were expecting something else. Something worse.

They followed the dusty track leading inward past the farms. Beyond appeared the first homes, with small herb gardens and laundry fluttering in the hot winds of summer. The air was filled with woodsmoke, earth, and a faint trace of dung. Long Tian slightly frowned at the backwardness of it. The lives of mortals were probably hidden from his eyes all this time, having only known endless mountains and flying cultivators.

Once they reached what Theo assumed to be the center of the village, Satou confidently approached one of the houses, one that looked slightly better maintained than the others. He knocked on the door and waited while tapping his boot on the ground. As Theo was busy inspecting his surroundings with the curiosity of a child, the door opened to reveal a shriveled old man.

His eyes, however, shone with an excitement uncharacteristic of an elder.

“Ahh.” He grabbed Satou’s hand and patted it. “You came back! Do you know how worried we got? That bundle of wrinkles and I thought you had kicked the bucket already.”

“I’m fine, Elder Willson,” Satou replied with a warm smile. He searched through his pockets and took out what looked like a necklace. Theo remembered seeing the man picking it up, but he couldn’t understand why back then. “Give this to Missus. She would like it.”

“Ah, Sonny, as thoughtful as always. What did your parents do to deserve a child like you!?” The old man seemed to get slightly angry. His hands grabbed Satou harder, but it had no effect on the assassin. “And that bastard is still gambling away his money at the capital, I bet. Beat his ass for me if you go there, okay?”

Satou nodded slightly, a wry smile on his face. He then held the old man by the arm and stepped to the side, bringing his attention to Theo and Long Tian.

“These two are my friends, lost just like me. Can you do that thing?” Satou asked. When the old man Willson heard the second part of the sentence, his eyes widened. He stepped forward and took Theo’s hand into his. Theo felt the elder’s callused hand. The man was feeling something, somehow. He squinted his eyes into slits, then went on to do the same to Long Tian.

His reaction for the cultivator was different. His face paled; he stifled a breath and stepped back. He coughed violently; a couple drops of blood stained his porch.

“That man.” He tipped his head at Theo, then went down on his knees to wipe the blood stains with a napkin he took out of his pocket. “He is normal; his fate is indeterminate.”

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Satou raised a brow and crossed his arms, leaning against one of the wooden columns holding the porch up. Mr. Willson, on the other hand, finished wiping the blood and got up.

“But him…” He jabbed a shaky finger at Long Tian. “His fate… It’s like the sun. No… Even the sun would be a dim candle next to it. I can’t— No one can read his fate.”

The man’s voice was weak. He seemed shaken to the core.

“Just who… Who is this man?” he asked. Satou looked Long Tian up and down before answering.

“He is a lost young man, that’s all you need to know,” he said. Willson wiped the sweat on his forehead with the napkin he had just used for the blood before looking at Satou with a frown.

“I thought you weren’t a trouble-maker like my son. But this…” He eyed Long Tian once again. “Be wary, lest his fate might burn yours alive. And you, young man.” He turned to Theo.

“You seem like a good fella, sheltered. Your fate is benign. You can work at our farm if you don’t have any notable skills.” The man coughed again; this one was dry, fortunately. Seeing him cough blood had worried Theo. “These two are a bad influence. Don’t hang out with them much, okay? We will find you a wife too—”

“Haha.” Theo stopped the old man with a wry smile. “Thank you for the offer,” he said before turning to Satou. “Can we talk about something else?”

“Yes.” Satou looked away to hide his smile. “Elder, we will be leaving for now. Thank you for helping us out. Tell Missus I said hi.”

“Mhm.”

After leaving behind the house, they started heading right back toward the outer edge of the village.

“What was all that?” Theo asked on the way.