Stranger Danger

“Ahem... let’s not get bogged down with the details, shall we?” Ye Qing coughed awkwardly before saying, “I’m telling you the truth this time. There really is a Stranger on top of you. It’s about the size of a child, but it has bluish black skin, old face and hair, and a long white beard that’s currently stuck inside your brain like tentacles.”

“It’s not just you. Xue Hanshan, Tiger, Hawk and Zuo Ming all had one on their shoulders as well.”

“Hmm? The Stranger has a child-like appearance, old face and hair, and a long white beard?!” Yi Pin’s expression suddenly turned ugly as if he just realized something.

“Do you know what it is, brother?” Ye Qing asked curiously.

“Now I get it!” Yi Pin mumbled to himself as if he couldn’t hear Ye Qing.

“What did you get, brother?” Ye Qing urged. “Come on, man. Don’t keep me in suspense!”

Yi Pin snapped back to reality and said seriously, “I’ve figured out the truth behind Longevity Village’s longevity.”

“Is it because of these Strangers?” Ye Qing asked.

“That’s right.” Yi Pin nodded. “They are a type of Phenomenon-class Stranger called the Life Leech. A life-leeching Stranger, it consumes the lifespan of anyone who interacts with the host to grow stronger and shares a portion of that lifespan with its host. That is why its host lives exponentially longer than a normal human being, whereas those related to them die several times quicker than usual.”

“‘Anyone who interacts with the host’? I thought it only affected the friends and family of the host?” Ye Qing voiced his puzzlement.

“That is just a rumor based on a collection of poor and incomprehensive observations.” Yi Pin scoffed in disdain. “Do you know why the Life Leech shares a portion of its consumed lifespan with its host? It certainly wasn’t out of the goodness of its heart. There is no human in the world who can avoid interacting with other humans while they’re still alive, and everyone who interacts with the host would inevitably become the Life Leech’s prey.”

“That is why the Life Leech keeps its host alive. It allowed it to extend its reach to much, much more prey than otherwise.”

“As for why the general public misunderstood that the Life Leech only consumes the lifespan of one’s friends and family, that’s because those who share a deep bond with the host naturally interact with them a lot more frequently than, say, a random stranger they encountered only once or twice in a lifetime. It takes time for the Life Leech to increase its influence after all. That is why it seems like the Life Leech only targets the family and friends of the host.”

“I see!” Ye Qing exclaimed in realization. As it turned out, the secret behind Longevity Village’s longevity was neither a curse nor a natural treasure of some sort. It was a Stranger.

The young man suddenly glanced at the Life Leech again and asked, “Brother, I noticed that the Life Leech possesses a certain level of intelligence. Are you sure it’s okay to talk about them in their face?”

“Don’t worry,” Yi Pin assured him, “the Life Leech does possess some semblance of intelligence, but it’s only as smart as a five or six years old child. Not only that, they exist in the illusory world and thus can only see our actions but not hear our words.”

“Wait a second.” Yi Pin suddenly realized something. “The Life Leech has a form but no substance as it exists in the illusory world. It is undetectable by the eye or the mind, and it cannot be hurt by ordinary means. In a sense, it’s a more annoying foe than even a Disaster-class Stranger, so how on earth did you discover it?”

“Would you believe me if I tell you that I’m seeing it with my own eyes?” Ye Qing asked.

“You saw it? How’s that possible?” Yi Pin sounded dubious. “Did you recently gain something like, say, the Delusion Piercing Godeye, the All-Seeing Eye, or the Sky Patrolling Pupils?”

He just couldn’t believe that someone could see the Life Leech with their naked eye otherwise.

The Life Leech was one of the most mysterious and anomalous Strangers of the world. Having no substance and existing in the illusory world, it was normally imperceptible and untouchable. Otherwise, the truth behind Longevity Village would’ve been exposed a long time ago.

“No, I have not.” Ye Qing shook his head and guessed, “Maybe it has something to do with the fact that I entered a different Longevity Village earlier?”

“Excuse me?” Yi Pin’s confusion only grew with each word Ye Qing spouted. Since when there are two Longevity Villages?

“It’s like this.” Ye Qing began telling Yi Pin his experience when he first entered the Longevity Village, his encounter with Mu Qing and the villagers and so on.

Of course, he didn’t breathe a single word about the Annon Sutra.

“A Longevity Village that only exists at night? Are there really two Longevity Villages?” Yi Pin was stunned when he listened to Ye Qing’s story to the end.

Although the way he and Xue Hanshan’s group had entered the Longevity Village was exactly the same, their experiences were completely different to say the least.

The nighttime Longevity Village Ye Qing visited was a peaceful and quiet place. It was also inhabited by kind, good-hearted villagers with not a shred of malice in their hearts.

However, the daytime Longevity Village he and Xue Hanshan’s group visited was dead and abandoned. Only the Life Leeches inhabited the place.

Not only that, Ye Qing claimed that he had transitioned from the nighttime Longevity Village to the daytime Longevity Village by staying awake until dawn broke, but in his case, the sun never fell during the two days he was here. That’s right. He hadn’t experienced nighttime since the day he entered Longevity Village. Did this mean that one could never return to the nighttime Longevity Village once they entered the daytime Longevity Village?

“A Longevity Village that exists during the day, and another during the night? Why are there two Longevity Villages?” Yi Pin frowned deeply as he moved his fingers rapidly. He seemed to be performing a divination.

A short while later, Yi Pin stopped doing whatever he was doing and turned as white as a sheet. Then, he spat out a mouthful of fresh blood.

“Brother! Are you alright?” Ye Qing asked urgently. For some reason, he felt that Yi Pin had grown a tad older than before.

“It’s nothing. Divining the threads of fate cost me a few years of lifespan, that’s all,” Yi Pin replied tiredly, though his eyes were glimmering with smugness. “I figured out why there are two Longevity Villages.”

“That’s what you were doing?” Ye Qing was speechless. I could’ve asked the Annon Sutra and given you the answer myself, and all it would cost me is a few mouthfuls of blood! What kind of idiot spends their lifespan to satisfy their curiosity? It’s not like you have many years left!

“Why are you looking at me like that?” Yi Pin noticed Ye Qing’s look and complained.

“I was just admiring your uh, courage. Please continue, brother.” He wasn’t going to voice his thoughts of course. There was no telling if the guy would keel over and die if he pissed him off and shaved a couple more years off his lifespan.

“Yeah, I don’t believe you. You’re as bad as they get.”

Yi Pin did not believe a single word that came out of Ye Qing’s mouth, but he couldn’t be bothered to press him about it. “There is only one Longevity Village. The so-called daytime and nighttime Longevity Village is really its good and evil side.”

“Good and evil side?” Ye Qing asked curiously. “Explain.”

Yi Pin began, “The nighttime Longevity Village you encountered is its good side, whereas the daytime Longevity Village we’re currently in is its evil side.”

“If someone harbors ill intent or greed when they visit the Longevity Village—that is to say, they are here specifically to extend their lifespan—then they would automatically enter the daytime Longevity Village and become infested with the Life Leech. They will obtain their wish, but it comes at the cost of everyone around them.”

“But if someone visits the Longevity Village not to increase their lifespan, and they didn’t harbor evil in their heart, then they would enter the nighttime Longevity Village and encounter its good-hearted villagers. Their lifespan wouldn’t change, but they will receive a different reward.”

“Wow.” Ye Qing blinked in amazement. This reminded him of a saying that went something like this, “Hard work isn’t always rewarded, accidents aren’t always negative.”

On second thought, the saying didn’t really match his situation. Entering the nighttime Longevity Village wouldn’t increase his lifespan, and it also caused him to miss Yi Pin for a time.

“Do you know what that reward is, brother?”

“I can’t say.” Yi Pin shook his head. “It could be a natural treasure, a Strange Artifact, a martial arts manual, anything.”

“But since you didn’t listen to the villagers’ advice and stayed awake until dawn, I’m afraid that...”

Ye Qing caught on his meaning immediately and grimaced. In other words, I got absolutely nada out of this? Come on!

“I know this is a stupid question, but is there a chance I can return to the nighttime Longevity Village?”

Yi Pin chuckled with a tinge of schadenfreude. “I’m sorry, but night never falls in the daytime Longevity Village, which means that the process is irreversible.”

“Well, what can I do? Your life is more important than some reward after all.” Ye Qing smirked at Yi Pin. “Isn’t that right, brother?”

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