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"Fuck your mother."
As soon as Yang Ze saw that creepy smile on his face, his hair stood up. Never in his two lives had he encountered such a thing.
"What happened?"
However, before he could do something, the surprised voice of the man sounded in his ears again.
"Huh?"
Looking at the man who was standing there with a baffled expression, Yang Ze was stunned for a long time. Looking around, everything seemed as it was before. It was as if what he saw before was just his hallucination.
"Impossible." Yang Ze shook his head. How could someone like him who has already stepped into innate hallucinate or daydream? There was definitely something weird going on.
"Wow... You look like you have seen a ghost." Looking at Yang Ze, the man shook his head. "Well, you said you wanted to know something. You can ask now."
"Oh... Where is that village of Tugby you mentioned?" Yang Ze asked with a frown. He needed to make a decision whether to take a look at the thing that the Zi family have or to just go on his way.
"It's... It's about forty miles south-east." The man replied after a brief hesitation.
"Great."
Without wasting further time, Yang Ze made his way outside the village before stepping in the air and disappearing completely.
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The Tugby village which was surrounded by a lush green forest was located near a small stream. Just outside the village was small cultivated fields. By the time Yang Ze reached there, people were already out in the fields. Some were planting, some were weeding, while some were carrying water from the stream.
Yang Ze didn't speak a word, but just silent got on the ground before making his way towards the village on foot.
"Hey... I told you, that area around the forest is mine."
"No way. We should reallocate the area."
"I agree."
"I agree too."
"I disagree."
"Haaaah... You disagree because you have the best. I agree."
As soon as Yang Ze entered the village, there was a heated discussion going on in front of him.
Under a big fig tree, many people were shouting. On the stone platform below the tree, five old men were sitting silently; observing the crowd in front of them. Yang Ze didn't speak a word, but just find a spot under the shade and stood there.
Standing under the shade, Yang Ze slowly understood everything that was going on here. It seemed that the five old men sitting on the stone platform were like five judges. These were the five oldest men of the village. If the villagers have any conflict or needed to make any decisions, they would ask these five old men to be the judge. Any decision these five men make will be the final decision.
"Interesting." Yang Ze had seen courtrooms in his previous life and these were the same too. Except much more primitive and simple. As time passed, the clamor between the people started to die down. It seemed that the fuss was about the area distributed to them. Every year, they distribute the sections of the forest to every family. During that time, all the harvests including herbs, medicines, and animals are theirs.
So, some of the people who didn't get an area rich in resources wanted to change from yearly distribution to monthly distribution.
"After hearing you all and looking at the harvest that the majority of you had during the past few months, we have finally made the decision."
The old man in the middle stood up and spoke in a calm voice.
"This distribution has been our tradition for hundreds of years, and we are not going to change it just for the sake of measly profits. This is not just about making money, but also about preserving the area. If the area is distributed monthly, then many of you will just take harvest everything. This will be unfavorable to the next person being distributed the lands."
As the old man slowly spoke, the faces of many men in the crowd fell. Yet, even though they were not satisfied, no one dared to speak a word. The decision of the five heads was final and unshakable.
"Thank you."
"Thank you head."
"Thank you..."
Bowing to the five heads, the people took their leave.
Yang Ze who was standing in the shade didn't rush forward but silently observed the surroundings. In a small village, which has a population of less than a hundred people, he as a new face didn't attract any attention. Not to mention talking to him, the villagers didn't even look at him, it was as if for them he didn't even exist.
"Something's definitely not right." The more Yang Ze observed the more he found the situation to be weird. Taking a deep breath, Yang Ze slowly walked in front of the five heads who were sitting on the platform and discussing something in low voice.
After reaching in front of them, Yang Ze didn't speak, but just stood still. Yet even after half an hour passed, the five people in front of him remained the same. It was as if they didn't even notice his presence. After two hours when it was almost two hours past noon, the five men stood up and bid goodbye to each other before walking their own way.
Yang Ze who was standing still took a deep breath before following the old man who announced the decision to the villagers.
Both of them walked for a long time, before reaching a house in the left corner of the village. The house was just like all the other houses in the village, simple and crude.
After reaching the house, the old man washed his hands and feet outside before making his way inside.
"Do it or not?"
Yang Ze closed his eyes for a while before making a decision. "Let's do this."
Taking a deep breath, he took a step forward before entering the house.
The inside of the house was simple to extreme. There was a bed in the corner of the room which was made up of mud and stones. It was as if it were a part of the ground. In the middle of the room, was a small table and some small wooden chairs. Other than this, there was a small wooden chest.
Yang Ze didn't speak anything but silently observed the old man who walked up to the wooden chest and took out a set of clothes. After changing in it, he walked outside before picking up a small piece of wood and a knife and slowly started carving.
By the time it was evening, the old man finally carved a small tree in that piece of wood. After finishing it, he stood up and went inside the house. After a few minutes, a young man slowly made his way toward his house with a plate full of food.
"Head, your dinner."
After a small shout, the man made his way inside the house and placed the food on the ground.
"Aah. Thank you... If not for these old bones, I might have come there myself."
Shaking his head, the man sat on the ground before slowly eating his food.
"You don't have to worry about that grandpa. And, it is not something difficult for a young man like me."
"Okay... You should finish your dinner and go to sleep on time and please... please don't stay outside. We don't want you to get sick again."
"Hahahaha... Okay... Okay."
Shaking his head with a laugh, the old man waved his hand, telling him to leave.
An hour after the dinner, the old man took a deep breath and went to bed. Soon Yang Ze could hear the sound of his snores.
"Yeah... This is definitely not normal." Yang Ze who observed everything from the side was getting more and more worried.
Since the time he came here, no one seemed to perceive his existence. It was as if, he was invisible to them. Yang Ze was well aware of his own situation, even though he was strong, he wasn't so strong that people could not even perceive him.
"Screw the blessing left behind by the immortal. I am out." After making up his mind, Yang Ze walked out of the house and stepped in the air before taking a flight.
"Huh... Something's not right." As Yang Ze flew higher and farther from the village, he suddenly felt dizzy. Before he could even respond, his eyes suddenly went dark before he lost consciousness.
"Fuck..." These were his last thoughts before losing consciousness.
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"Aagh my head!" Waking up, Yang Ze felt like his head was going to burst open. Taking deep breaths, he circulated the Qi in his body before the feeling subsided.
"Where am I?" Looking around him, Yang Ze found himself to be in a familiar yet unfamiliar room.
"Everything's okay!?" After taking a look at his body and clothes, he sighed in relief.
"Just what happened last night?" Thinking about how he suddenly lost consciousness, Yang Ze frowned for a moment. Even now, he wasn't able to understand how it happened.
"It wasn't an attack, and I don't think I was poisoned." Placing his hand on his chin, Yang Ze began to analyze the events. Yet, even after thinking for a long time, he couldn't find an answer.
"Forget it... I shall ask the person who brought me into this room. Perhaps they might be able to tell me something."
After making up his mind, Yang Ze patted his clothes before making his way outside.
"This..."
Yang Ze's eyes went almost wide with disbelief. "How???"
With rugged breathing, he took a step forward. Yet, the more he walked, the more he found the situation to be inconvincible.
Within a few moments, Yang Ze reached the familiar place.
"Well... You look like a new face here..." A middle-aged man with a stall smiled at Yang Ze from the distance.
Looking at the familiar man who was standing with a wooden stall with some wild vegetables and fruits placed on it, Yang Ze's eyes went wide with disbelief.
"What brings you here young man?"
"Are you a traveler?"
"Hey... How about you tell me some of your traveling stories... You can take some vegetables from here."
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