Stranger Danger

“Heh, it looks like you know your manners, so I’ll be the bigger man this time and forgive you.” The boy laughed boisterously before waving his hand. “My name is Mu Qing. You may call me Old Mu. This is my wife Qin Fang, my son Mu Lin, and my daughter-in-law Ding Rui.”

What a coincidence. My name has a Qing in it as well. Ye Qing chuckled and replied, “My name is Joyless Ye. Nice to meet you all, Old Mu, Mrs. Mu, uncle, auntie.”

Oh man, that sounds both weird and embarrassing for some reason.

“Nice to meet you too.” They returned the greeting with a nod before Mu Qing asked, “So, why have you come to Longevity Village, boy? Are you here to extend your lifespan as well?”

Ye Qing shook his head. “No, I’m here to find someone.”

“Find someone? Who?” Mu Qing asked, puzzled.

Ye Qing replied, “A group of people should’ve entered Longevity Village about two or three days ago. I’m looking for them.”

Yi Pin and his unwanted companions had departed for Longevity Village about three days ago, but he didn’t know when they entered the village exactly. He could only give Mu Qing a vague answer.

“Two or three days ago?” Mu Qing looked confused. He glanced at his wife, son and daughter-in-law and asked, “Did our village welcome a group of visitors in the past couple days?”

They all shook their heads in unison. “Not at all. In fact, we haven’t received any visitors for a very long time.”

Mu Qing looked back at Ye Qing and asked, “Are you sure you got the right place, boy?”

Ye Qing frowned. He knew there could be no mistake because the Annon Sutra was the one who told him that Yi Pin was at Longevity Village. Either Mu Qing and his family were lying to him, or something else was going on here.

He didn’t think that they were lying to him. Besides their unnatural longevity, Mu Qing and his family felt perfectly ordinary to him. He had also been examining their expression and emotion using his demonic thought while he shot them questions. As far as he could tell, no one was lying to him.

A skilled liar might be able to control their expression perfectly on the outside, but they had to experience some level of turmoil on the inside. Even if he presumed that some of them possessed the exceptional skill to conceal their expression and their emotions perfectly from scrutiny, it was unlikely that all five of them could pull off the same feat. That was why he did not think that Mu Qing and his family were lying to him.

That said, reality cared nothing for his opinions, so just in case Ye Qing continued his line of questioning, “I’m sure they’ve arrived at Longevity Village. Are you sure you haven’t missed them? Perhaps you have a faulty memory or something?”

“Screw you! I’m nowhere old enough to have blurry eyes or declining memory! There is no way I would miss it if an outsider really has come to our village, much less a whole group!” Mu Qing huffed.

“Ahem... that’s not what I meant, Old Mu.” Bro, you’re almost seventy years old. If you’re not an old man, then who is?

Then, Ye Qing noticed Mu Qing’s youthful appearance and changed his mind. On second thought, he has a very good reason to say he’s not old.

“Hmph! I can tell you don’t believe me. Come! I’ll take you to the others. Maybe one of them has seen your mysterious group, or maybe I’m right! We’ll know in a moment!” Mu Qing grunted.

“Apologies for the trouble, Old Mu.” Ye Qing saluted him. He was planning to explore the village anyway, and Mu Qing as a guide would make things much simpler.

“Can you prepare an extra meal for this boy while I take him around the village, woman? I promise we won’t take too long!” Mu Qing instructed.

Ye Qing tried to decline their invitation. “It’s fine. I’m not hungry.”

Mu Qing’s wife, Qin Fang merely waved him off and said in a warm tone, “Spare me the courtesy, will you? You must have traveled long and far to come here. No way I’m going to let you starve! Come back soon, you two!”

“I already said we won’t take too long,” Mu Qing mumbled before beckoning for Ye Qing to follow him. “Come on!”

And so Mu Qing began leading Ye Qing around the village and introducing him to various villagers. To Ye Qing’s surprise, not only was Mu Qing not the oldest man in the village, he was among the younger generation. Nearly everyone they met was his senior, and it was awkward to hear him addressing them as big bro, big sis, uncle, auntie and more. If Mu Qing is “Old Mu” to me, then what about the others? Should I address them as great uncle A or great auntie B? Maybe even grand uncle C?

Just like Mu Qing, his uncle and auntie all looked ridiculously young. If you judged them by their appearance alone, you would think that they were only several years apart from each other.

One thing he noticed while touring the village was that they were exceptionally friendly. Although he was an outsider, they never failed to enquire solicitously about his wellbeing and invited him to take a seat at their houses.

The village wasn’t big, but it wasn’t too small either. It took him over two hours before he finally met with everyone in the village. Ye Qing’s impression after the tour had come to an end was that one word: paradise.

Longevity Village felt like a paradise that should only exist in one’s dreams. Everyone here was freed from pain, anxiety and depression, and everyone was kind, happy and peaceful. If there was such a place as a utopia, then this was it.

Despite this, there were oddities that Ye Qing couldn’t help but notice. For example, not even the oldest people in this village looked particularly old. Two, everyone was walking about and doing things even thought it was past midnight. And three, he was the only outsider they had met since a very, very long time.

One person could concoct a perfect lie. Two people could concoct a perfect lie. It was possible for five or even ten people to concoct a perfect lie. But the entire village?

Not only that, Ye Qing had been scanning the village non-stop while he and Mu Qing traveled from house to house. He was unable to find a trace of Yi Pin anywhere no matter how hard he searched. It was almost as if Yi Pin wasn’t at Longevity Village, except it couldn’t be. The Annon Sutra had spoken, and its word was law. He just couldn’t find the old Taoist for some reason.

Ye Qing was dazed and feeling he had a small headache by the time Mu Qing finally took him back to his house. Not long after, he joined them at the dining table and enjoyed a delicious meal.

Yi Pin was still nowhere to be found, and he was worried that the food might be drugged or something. He honestly didn’t feel like eating anything. However, he couldn’t bring himself to spurn the family’s invitation for the tenth time, so he ultimately gave in and... ate so much food that he nearly burst his belly.

Normally, he was a cautious, highly disciplined professional who would not succumb to temptation. When he did, it was because the temptation was too much. The food itself was nothing special, and there wasn’t even a plate of meat on the table. It was just some all-natural honey, fungus, wild vegetables and more. But for some reason, they were some of the most delicious-smelling and tasting food he had ever eaten in his life. Literally, it was better than even the strange food he had eaten at Food Is Heaven some time ago.

So, yes, he couldn’t hold back—but he made sure to check that the food was safe, of course. He wasn’t that far gone that he would risk his life over some food.

After a fulfilling dinner—or was it supper?—he spent the rest of the night chatting with Mu Qing and his family. Before he knew it, weak beams of sunlight were shining into the living room. Dawn was coming.

“Oh my, it’s almost morning?”

When Mu Qing noticed this, he suddenly yawned and said tiredly, “It’s been a long time since we welcomed a visitor, so I couldn’t help but speak a little more than I meant to. I hope you won’t mind.”

“Of course not, Old Mu. I’m happy to make your acquaintance,” Ye Qing replied.

“Hahaha! I’m glad you don’t find me long-winded,” Mu Qing chirped happily. “Alright, it’s getting late. You should go to bed soon.”

It’s getting late? Shouldn’t it be the other way around? Ye Qing blinked in confusion as he glanced at the growing light.

“Old Mu, do you guys... sleep in the morning?” Ye Qing asked after deciding that there was no point holding back his question.

“What else?” replied Mu Qing while he was halfway to his room. He then added, “Seriously, boy, go catch some sleep.”

“Remember, you must never, ever leave the house when it’s daytime.”

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