Chapter 240: New Hope
The Heavenly Demon King strutted proudly, leading the old, weak, sick, and disabled of the Crippled Elderly Village forward.
“Many people in this village have all their limbs intact, so why is it called the Crippled Elderly Village?” the Heavenly Demon King wondered to himself.
Now, the Crippled Elderly Village could no longer truly be called the Crippled Elderly Village. With young people like Granny Si and Qin Mu in the village, the word “elderly” was somewhat debatable.
Horse Ye, the Butcher, and the Cripple had all recovered their limbs. Although Granny Si had a damaged Dao heart, her body was fine.
In the Crippled Elderly Village, only the Blind Man, the Apothecary, the Village Chief, the Mute, and the Deaf Man had physical impairments.
However, the Heavenly Demon King did not know that for the people of the Crippled Elderly Village, physical disabilities were not true disabilities. The disabilities of the heart were their real afflictions.
The Village Chief was trapped by his own ideals and responsibilities, unable to fulfill them, disheartened and cold. Even if his limbs were whole, he would not leave the Great Ruins.
The Apothecary had been forced by too many emotional debts to cut off his own face. Even if he restored his former glorious appearance, he probably wouldn’t dare to show himself to others.
The Blind Man’s downfall was not merely due to his blindness. Even if Horse Ye’s hands were restored, he would remain sunk in the death of his wife and child, unable to pull himself out or forgive himself.
Granny Si’s inner demons, the Cripple’s past, the Deaf Man’s homeland, the Mute’s mysterious history, and the Butcher’s reason for swinging his blade at the sky—all were shackles that bound them.
Their inner disabilities were the true disabilities. Each of them was immersed in their own sorrowful history, unable to break free. That was the reason the Crippled Elderly Village existed.
If the child they had raised hadn’t run away, the people of the Crippled Elderly Village would have quietly stayed in the village, waiting to die there, then dug a hole and buried themselves.
Qin Mu’s arrival had gradually revived their hearts, but he could not make them walk out of the past that had crippled them.
A body crippled, a heart broken—that was true disability.
To walk out, one could only rely on oneself.
The Heavenly Demon King, worthy of being a demon king from another world, knew far too much. Even the Blind Man admired his depth of knowledge, especially in mathematics, where the Heavenly Demon King had completely won him over.
They had reached the edge of the forest, almost at its end. Only about two li of road remained, but that short distance had taken the Heavenly Demon King most of the day to traverse.
“It’s New Year’s Eve,” Granny Si suddenly said.
Horse Ye shook his head. “If everyone in the village isn’t gathered, it’s not the New Year.”
The Butcher’s voice boomed like a bell: “We must find the Village Chief, the Mute, and the Apothecary! See them alive or see their corpses! Even if they’re dead, we drag them back for the New Year!”
Ahead, there was no more road—only the shattered state of Carefree Village.
The ground had disappeared. At the edge of the forest was a clean cross-section. Qin Mu stood at the cliff’s edge and looked down, seeing another forest below.
He was momentarily stunned.
“Another forest?”
Qin Mu exclaimed in surprise, “This forest grows on a cliff face. How can the trees be perpendicular to the ground?”
The Heavenly Demon King leaped down toward the cliff. With a thud, he landed steadily on the vertical wall, his body perpendicular to Qin Mu’s, and walked around on the cliff face. “The seal here is more complex than I imagined. It’s composed of cubes, sealing Carefree Village within them and controlling the geomagnetic force here. Come over and see for yourselves.”
Qin Mu cautiously extended his foot. Suddenly, he felt a pull of gravity beneath his sole. As his foot landed and he lifted the other, he found himself standing on the cliff face without any discomfort.
Not only that, but in his vision, he felt as if he were standing at the cliff’s edge, with Granny Si, Horse Ye, and the others standing vertically on the cliff face, while he and the Heavenly Demon King stood on flat ground.
He looked around, his heart trembling. He saw another forest opposite him, perpendicular to the ground.
Beyond that, vast forests filled the sky in other directions.
This situation resembled pieces of land surrounding Carefree Village, forming a giant hollow sphere.
But from a geographical perspective, it didn’t seem like a simple hollow sphere. It was more like hundreds of cubes of varying heights pieced together into a giant hollow sphere, with Carefree Village at its center.
Each cube folded hundreds of li of forest space, and every face of each cube was a front side.
This level of divine ability was beyond his imagination. Even someone like the Yan Kang National Teacher probably couldn’t conceive of such a technique existing in the world!
“The geomagnetic force here has been altered.”
The Blind Man also walked over, sensing the gravity. “This kind of great divine ability is extraordinary. It envelops all of Carefree Village. The only exit is probably the path we came from.”
“Countless seals, all to prevent the people of Carefree Village from leaving.”
Granny Si also came over, looking up. The shattered Carefree Village floated quietly, still a great distance away. “The Village Chief and the Ancestor are immensely powerful. They must have entered there, right?”
The Heavenly Demon King looked up, then walked back along the path, shaking his head. “There are many prohibitions in the air. It’s very hard to avoid the divine seals and fly over. I need some time to calculate the safe path. Probably thirty to fifty years. If my true body were here, it would be faster, but still need one or two years. The gods and demons who left these seals are too strong for you to handle. If they tried to fly into Carefree Village, they’re most likely dead already…”
He murmured, “The entire Great Ruins is a cursed land, with strange rules covering it. Living in such a world is truly difficult. Chief Qin, if you invite me to this world again, I won’t come. This world is too twisted!”
The Blind Man muttered, “The Village Chief must have survived. That old man never takes anything seriously, but when he does, he always gets it done… Wait, look at the shape of Carefree Village. Doesn’t it look like a ship?”
Everyone looked up. Carefree Village was enormous, even in its ruined state, still showing its former glory and grandeur. A sun, about to sink into darkness, hung there.
But if you pieced together the broken peaks, massive machines, and destroyed cities, the shape did indeed resemble an unimaginably huge and magnificent ship!
Compared to it, the Sun Ship and Moon Ship were nothing.
“Carefree Village is a ship?”
Qin Mu’s mind struggled to keep up. Although the sun in the sky was artificial, it was still enormous. The cities and mountain ranges of Carefree Village combined were even larger, thousands of times bigger than the Sun Ship or Moon Ship.
Could such a massive ship exist in the world?
“Good eyes, Blind Man!”
The Cripple’s eyes lit up, his breathing quickening as he pointed at the sun, mostly devoured by darkness. “That sun should be the ship’s energy source! It’s a great furnace! An unimaginably great furnace…”
Granny Si shot him a look. “You can’t carry it home.”
Even the Heavenly Demon King was somewhat awed, muttering, “Such a massive furnace… What was this ship used for? Why was it sealed here? Could it be… Ha, I’m overthinking.”
He gave a dry laugh and fell silent.
Horse Ye said, “A ship is for carrying people. A ship carries people to reach a destination. This ship has its destination.”
The Deaf Man had been silent all along but suddenly spoke up, “Isn’t it Carefree Village? A carefree, worry-free place has no need for a destination. If it has a destination, it’s not Carefree Village. If it’s not Carefree Village, then where is its destination?”
Everyone exchanged glances and said in unison, “The true Carefree Village!”
Qin Mu was stunned. The guesses of the village elders only confused him more. Carefree Village—wasn’t this it?
But Horse Ye and the others made good sense. Since such a huge ship was built, it must have had a destination. That destination might be the true Carefree Village.
However, the ship was discovered by enemies, shattered, and sealed. The survivors tried to escape the seal, suffering heavy casualties, spending countless years to carve out a path.
The dark creatures were also searching for Carefree Village, even believing this was it, but it was only the ship heading there.
“This isn’t Carefree Village. Where is the true Carefree Village?”
Qin Mu felt lost. “Where is my true homeland? Are any of my people still alive?”
His mind was in turmoil. Just then, a silver light flashed in the sky. A silver boat flew out from that city. On the boat stood the Mute, holding a wooden box. In the boat were two white-haired elders, a faceless man, and a youth.
The Mute controlled the silver boat, flying nimbly through the air, dodging the divine prohibitions.
The Heavenly Demon King watched, dumbfounded. The silver boat’s path was exactly the safe route he had calculated would take decades to find!
The silver boat carried them, darting through the prohibitions like a clever fish swimming through water, avoiding all dangers.
After a moment, the silver boat descended and landed before them. The Apothecary lifted the Village Chief and carried him off the boat. The young Ancestor shook his head. “Why carry him? He can fly down himself.”
The Apothecary was startled, then set the Village Chief on the ground, laughing. “I’ve gotten used to it.”
Qin Mu and the others hurried over. The Mute opened the wooden box, and the silver boat dissolved into silver pellets that clinked and fell into the box.
The Mute skillfully closed the box and held it in his hand. Seeing everyone approach, he smiled and raised his hand, “Ah ah!”
Everyone gathered around, with countless questions for them, especially the Mute.
Even the Heavenly Demon King, with his vast knowledge, needed decades to calculate the safe path. How did the Mute know it?
And what had they seen in that city in the sky?
Was it truly Carefree Village? Were there any survivors?
Just as they were about to speak, the Village Chief floated up and smiled at Qin Mu. “Mu’er, I have good news for you. We finally know your surname. Apothecary, give him the things.”
The Apothecary poured many items from his bag: a waist token, a bronze mirror, a plaque, a seal, a jade pendant, clothing, and more. Every item bore the same character.
Qin.
“Your surname is Qin.”
The Apothecary smiled. “There were many such things in that city. The Village Chief had me collect some. Look at the characters—are they the same as the one on your jade pendant?”
Qin Mu’s mind exploded. He turned to look back at the small village along the path.
A glimmer of hope arose in his heart.
The Village Chief seemed to read his thoughts and said, “That place might not be where you were born. Those people might not be your parents. Your parents… they might still be alive.”
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