Chapter 21: The Broken Village

All the senses were heightened, but only those attuned to wood-type abilities could perceive things most clearly. Watching as five or six grapevines rapidly grew and split, producing clusters of grapes, Sang Chu couldn’t help but burst out laughing.

Sang Chu took out a spirit jade to absorb energy.

...

Mu Xue sat idly in the inner room, chatting away, munching on watermelon and grapes, and boiling a lot of steamed buns.

Tu You hugged a bowl filled with buns, eating one after another without stopping.

Mu Xue watched him stuff his mouth full of crumbs and couldn’t help but scold, “Can’t you eat a little more gracefully?!”

“Pfft, you’re one to talk! Who was wolfing down food like crazy just now?!”

Mu Xue stubbornly denied it, “It was you! Only you! You big dumb bunny!”

“Hmph!”

Tu You turned his back to her, and in a childish fit, even stuck out his butt and farted at her!

“Are you nuts?! Just wait, I’ll beat you up, you big bunny! Don’t you dare run!”

Mu Xue chased after him, but Tu You’s ears were slippery—she’d barely caught hold before he slipped away.

Tu You said, “Give it up, Ah Chu said you can’t go out until she and Lu Minli come back! Nyah nyah!”

“Hmph! Then I’ll just go cultivate!”

...

Under the blood-red moon of the eternal night, the broken village looked especially eerie and terrifying.

Mu Xue was already small, and after cultivating her spiritual power, both her strength and perception had increased. The howls echoing around, the wind whistling through the broken walls, made her shiver uncontrollably.

“Sang Xiao Chu, why can’t we just turn on the lights or use a light source?”

Sang Chu replied, “There are survivors in the village. It’s best not to reveal these things in front of others.”

Before their wings were fully grown, they couldn’t afford to expose themselves easily. Otherwise, if everyone turned against them, even the three of them might not survive.

Lu Minli saw Mu Xue was scared and said, “Xiao Xue, why don’t you go back to the house with me?”

“Forget it, I’ll stick with you guys. Otherwise, if I suddenly pop up out of nowhere, how would you explain it?”

Mu Xue clung tightly to Sang Chu’s arm, but the constant, creepy noises kept pouring into her ears, making her even more frightened. She bit her lip, her little hands trembling.

Sang Chu asked, “Xiao Xue, what’s wrong?”

Even if Mu Xue had always been timid before the apocalypse and was afraid of ghosts, after so many years surviving, she’d toughened up a lot. But Lu Minli noticed too—he couldn’t bear to see her shivering in fear and gently asked, “Is it the noise?”

Mu Xue slowly looked up, her eyes stinging a little. She nodded, “It’s so noisy, so scary.”

Lu Minli had no other choice. He covered her ears with his hands and looked at Sang Chu, “It’s a side effect of cultivating spiritual power. There’s nothing we can do about it.”

Sang Chu looked at Tu You, who shrugged, “I’m just a little tool spirit, I don’t know anything about your abilities.”

Sang Chu then turned to Mu Xue, who was clutching her hands and trembling, “Xiao Xue, if you really can’t take it, don’t force yourself. I’ll take you back to the house.”

Lu Minli added, “Yeah, why don’t you go rest first?”

Mu Xue shook her head, “I’ll be fine after a bit. I can do this.”

She didn’t want to be a burden. Even if she always said she wanted to cling to Sang Chu’s golden thigh, she couldn’t really be a delicate flower in the apocalypse.

Lu Minli glanced at Sang Chu, “Should we find a place to rest for a while?”

“Alright.”

Sang Chu walked in front, holding a golden vine in one hand, while Mu Xue clung to his other arm. Lu Minli stayed by Mu Xue’s side, covering her ears and keeping his powers spread across the ground, ready to react to any disturbance within a hundred meters.

Up ahead was a large rock.

Mu Xue sat down on it, gasping for breath.

Suddenly,

She seemed to hear a faint cry for help?

There were too many sounds, too chaotic, and this cry was so weak it was almost nothing.

Lu Minli and Sang Chu had been watching Mu Xue closely. She frowned slightly and said, “Did you guys hear that?”

“Mu Xue, what did you hear?”

Lu Minli looked up, and Mu Xue glanced at Sang Chu. When she saw that neither of them had heard anything, she started to doubt herself—maybe she was just imagining things.

Lu Minli said, “What did you hear? Maybe it’s something I or Sang Chu missed.”

“Yeah, let’s check it out.”

Mu Xue said, “I think I heard someone calling for help?”

She wasn’t sure. In a group like this, her abilities were the weakest. If even Sang Chu and Lu Minli hadn’t heard it, maybe she was just imagining things.

Sang Chu said, “Should we go take a look?”

Lu Minli agreed, “Yeah, this village seems relatively safe. It’s worth checking out who’s calling for help.”

He hadn’t forgotten that Sang Chu chose this village because it was her hometown. If any of Lin Mu Xue’s family had survived, they might be here.

Mu Xue looked at Lu Minli in surprise, “Why do you say there’s no slope here? I didn’t hear any wind or movement.”

All around them was wind and noise, but why did Lu Minli say there was no slope nearby?

Lu Minli was surprised by Mu Xue’s words and looked at Sang Chu, who was just as confused, “Xiao Xue, you heard a slope?”

“Yeah, didn’t you... hear it?”

Tu You hopped in front of Mu Xue, tilting his head, then suddenly slapped his big ears and exclaimed, “I get it! She used to be a spatial ability user. After her power leveled up, she can now hear sounds from her entire space. It’s normal that you guys can’t hear it, because those sounds might not even be nearby!”

Mu Xue said, “Yeah, that’s probably it.”

Tu You asked, “Right? Are those sounds like they’re being poured directly into your ears, and you can’t block them out?”

“Exactly!”

“Then congratulations, your ability has leveled up! Your space is much bigger now. Haven’t you noticed?”

With Tu You’s reminder, Mu Xue suddenly realized she hadn’t checked her own space since her ability upgraded.

Now that she looked inside—

Whoa, it really was much bigger! It had doubled in size!

“Wow, it’s really much bigger than before!”

She tried reaching into her space with her hand and found it was much easier than before.

Using her spatial power used to require a lot of effort, but now, everything inside was clear at a glance.

At this moment, she finally saw how much stuff Sang Chu had actually stored for her.

But after a brief moment of excitement, Mu Xue wilted again, “But what about those noises? They’re so scary, and they just won’t stop!”

Tu You shrugged, “That I don’t know. Maybe there’s a way, but I’m not a cultivator or an ability user, so I don’t know how to deal with it.”

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