The Possessive Villain Is Too Clingy [Quick Transmigration] - Chapter 56

Outside Qinlin Town, lush vegetation thrived, with warblers flitting about and birds singing, painting a scene of vibrant vitality.

Xiao Mi remained invisible but couldn’t resist pouncing at the butterflies fluttering among the flowers.

The beautiful weather reminded Ye Zhixia of the sweet days she had spent with Ningning in her past two lives.

She turned her gaze to Ruan Ning beside her.

A gentle breeze tousled Ruan Ning’s hair, complementing her sparkling, spring-like eyes, making her appear even more lively and delicate.

Such a day was perfect for holding hands and strolling through nature.

“Why are you looking at me?” Ruan Ning’s voice shattered the tender scene Ye Zhixia had been envisioning in her mind.

Flustered, Ye Zhixia quickly turned her head forward.

Only to see a withered corpse lying in plain sight.

Ye Zhixia glanced sideways at Ruan Ning and noticed her expression remained unchanged. She wondered inwardly: Can only I see this corpse?

She moved a little closer to Ruan Ning and took two more steps forward with her.

“Ah! What is that?!” Ruan Ning suddenly screamed.

Ye Zhixia quickly grasped her hand. It turned out that because the grass was so thick and she was a head taller than Ruan Ning, she had spotted the corpse in the undergrowth earlier.

Hearing the scream, Xiao Mi immediately covered her eyes and retreated into the spatial realm with Liuli Caiyun.

Ruan Ning, terrified, threw herself into Ye Zhixia’s arms. After a few comforting words, she finally calmed down.

Once they confirmed the dried-up corpse showed no signs of movement, the two cautiously approached to examine it.

Because the body was so desiccated, Ruan Ning had to use her demonic energy to investigate.

“Something’s wrong. This corpse isn’t right,” Ruan Ning muttered to herself.

Ye Zhixia, of course, knew that a dried-up corpse appearing out of nowhere in broad daylight was suspicious, but Ruan Ning’s “not right” clearly referred to something else.

“What is it?” she asked, focusing intently on Ruan Ning’s profile.

Ruan Ning pointed at the corpse, her expression unusually grave. “The subcutaneous fat and moisture in this body have completely vanished, but that usually only happens to elderly people.”

“Yet, I just sensed that this corpse belonged to a human in their twenties.”

Ye Zhixia quickly asked, “Can you still detect any life energy on the body?”

Ruan Ning shook her head.

Ye Zhixia hurriedly explained, “For humans, life energy dissipates within three months after death. As it fades, the flesh and fat beneath the skin disappear, causing the skin to shrivel and collapse.”

Ruan Ning turned to look into Ye Zhixia’s eyes and said seriously, “Though this corpse is withered, there are no signs of decay. This person must have died less than two days ago.”

Only then did Ye Zhixia shift her gaze from Ruan Ning’s face and step forward to study the dried-up corpse more closely.

“There are no external injuries on this body, and this place is somewhat far from the main road. The nearest village is Danyun Village, but Danyun Village is known for being a place where people only enter and never leave…”

Ruan Ning glanced at the corpse again and instinctively pressed closer to Ye Zhixia, her arm tightly pressed against Ye Zhixia’s back.

Feeling her touch, Ye Zhixia knew she was frightened. She turned slightly, took Ruan Ning’s hand, and led her around the corpse, heading toward Danyun Village.

As they walked, she analyzed, “If death occurred only two days ago, the life energy wouldn’t have dissipated naturally. It’s highly likely that an evil cultivator is at work in Danyun Village, draining the life energy of the living to enhance their own cultivation.”

Ruan Ning allowed herself to be pulled along by Ye Zhixia but couldn’t resist occasionally glancing back at the corpse.

Suddenly, Ye Zhixia stopped in her tracks, her gaze tinged with melancholy. “Ningning, would you like to enter the village with me? If you’re scared, we don’t have to go.”

Ruan Ning gripped Ye Zhixia’s hand tightly, but her voice was unwavering. “Let’s go!”

–

Heading eastward, they suddenly came upon a grove of pink peach blossoms.

The branches were laden with layers upon layers of flowers, swaying gently in the breeze. Petals cascaded down like a delicate rain, blanketing the ground in a thick, colorful carpet.

Nervous, Ruan Ning kept her eyes fixed straight ahead as she held onto Ye Zhixia’s hand, pressing forward through the peach grove.

Seeing Ruan Ning’s brave front despite her obvious fear, Ye Zhixia felt her heart soften with tenderness.

This version of Ningning in this world, adorably foolish.

At the end of the peach grove lay the entrance to Danyun Village.

Flanking the village gate were two small earthen mounds.

“Shall we go in?” Ye Zhixia asked again, seeking Ruan Ning’s opinion.

Ruan Ning suddenly tilted her head back, though her body remained pressed close to Ye Zhixia’s arm.

“Actually, I’m the one with formidable inner strength,” she realized belatedly that she shouldn’t be the one afraid. “If anything, the villagers should be scared of me.”

Ye Zhixia looked at Ruan Ning’s flushed cheeks still tinged pink from her earlier tension and smiled gently. “If you’re not afraid, then let’s go in.”

She didn’t let go of Ruan Ning’s hand. Instead, she adjusted her grip, holding it even tighter.

Together, they stepped into the boundaries of Danyun Village.

Unbeknownst to them, the air at the village entrance rippled slightly as they inadvertently crossed the village’s protective barrier.

A scene of serene harmony unfolded before their eyes.

Houses and streets clustered in the southern part of the village, with scattered patches of vegetable gardens here and there.

To the north of the flatland stood a dense forest, its interior pitch-black, revealing nothing of what lay within.

“Can you sense what’s in that forest?” Ye Zhixia gently squeezed Ruan Ning’s hand as she asked.

Ruan Ning steadied her breath, closed her eyes, and focused, reaching out with her senses toward the distant aura.

After a moment, she frowned and opened her eyes. “Demonic energy, extremely strong demonic energy.”

Hearing this, Ye Zhixia’s expression turned grave. “Could this be the Abyss of Ten Thousand Realms that the storyteller mentioned?”

Ruan Ning followed her train of thought. “The storyteller said the Abyss of Ten Thousand Realms had been quiet for a long time. But now, it doesn’t seem so peaceful after all.”

The two first headed south, wanting to check if the villagers had been affected in any way and to see if the girl they were looking for was in Danyun Village.

As they approached the first house, a little boy playing kickball by the roadside ran up to them. “Are you two sisters new here?”

Ruan Ning curved her eyes into crescents, her tone cheerful. “Yes! We were passing by and decided to take a look.”

A passing farmer, shouldering a hoe, also greeted them warmly. “Welcome, you two! It’s been ages since we had visitors in our village and now two at once!”

Seizing the opportunity, Ye Zhixia clasped her hands in greeting. “We got lost while traveling and stumbled upon your village. Seeing that it’s getting late, we were hoping to stay the night.”

The farmer gave them a quick once-over before smiling broadly. “Since you’re here, make yourselves at home.”

Then he turned and called out toward the village, “We’ve got newcomers!”

Before long, villagers trickled in one after another to welcome them. Eventually, even the village chief and his wife came to greet the two.

The villagers showed no resistance toward the two intruders; instead, they were brimming with enthusiasm and joy.

The older residents, in particular, greeted them with warm smiles.

A middle-aged woman stepped forward, took Ye Zhixia’s hand, and patted the back of it affectionately, saying with a laugh, “These hands, they clearly belong to a well-bred young lady from a good family.”

But when her fingers brushed against the calluses on Ye Zhixia’s palms hardened from years of sword practice her brow furrowed slightly.

This subtle reaction did not escape Ruan Ning’s notice.

The village chief called out to the others, announcing that they would slaughter chickens and geese to prepare a feast for their guests.

Ye Zhixia quickly intervened, “Thank you for your kindness, Chief, but we’ve already imposed by staying here. We couldn’t possibly trouble you further.”

The chief, however, insisted, “Nonsense! Guests must be treated with hospitality. This feast is for our own enjoyment, consider it a village celebration in your honor. Please don’t stand on ceremony.”

As night fell, the villagers lit a bonfire, singing and dancing in celebration of the newcomers’ arrival.

Having traveled all day and eaten only two small dishes at noon, Ye Zhixia and Ruan Ning were starving by now, so they eagerly joined in and ate their fill of roasted meat.

The feast lasted well into the night, and the village chief arranged a small cottage for the two of them.

The moment they entered, they wordlessly collapsed onto the bed without even changing their clothes.

The villagers had been excessively warm, and the middle-aged woman’s words had been particularly odd. Already on high alert, Ye Zhixia and Ruan Ning sensed something amiss.

Ye Zhixia lay down first, and to whisper discreetly, Ruan Ning settled unusually close to her.

Propping herself up on one arm, Ruan Ning leaned in and murmured into Ye Zhixia’s ear, “This village has only one child, the rest are all middle-aged. That age distribution is suspicious.”

Ye Zhixia, realizing how uncomfortable it must be for Ruan Ning to keep her head raised, gently pressed it down onto the pillow before leaning in herself. “I may not have spiritual power, but I’m highly sensitive to the auras of living beings,” she whispered.

“That child we first met, the way he looked at you was strange. So I observed him closely and realized he carried only demonic energy, no life force. The other villagers are the same.”

Ruan Ning had initially thought the villagers merely had impure intentions, she hadn’t expected their very nature to be impure.

“Are they demons? Or dark cultivators?” she asked urgently.

Ye Zhixia didn’t answer immediately, biting her lip in thought.

Ruan Ning waited patiently.

After a long pause, Ye Zhixia’s brows knitted together before she finally organized her thoughts and spoke. “Once, there was a cultivator whose beloved wife could not cultivate. Fearing they would be separated by life and death, he devoted his life to creating what is known as the ‘Heartbound Corpse.'”

Ruan Ning asked softly, “What is a Heartbound Corpse?”

Ye Zhixia shifted slightly, drawing even closer. “After a mortal dies, an immense amount of demonic energy is infused into their body to sustain its functions. Within a designated boundary, they appear no different from the living. That is the Heartbound Corpse.”

Ruan Ning pressed further, “Why use demonic energy instead of spiritual energy?”

Ye Zhixia wasn’t entirely sure either. “From what I understand, the technique only works with demonic energy spiritual or yao energy won’t suffice. So, this cultivator captured many ordinary demons to ensure a steady supply of demonic energy for his wife.”

“However, later on, this cultivator was captured and executed for his heavy sins of killing. His wife, deprived of the demonic energy that sustained her, followed him in death.”

“Demonic energy… That doesn’t make sense!” Ruan Ning suddenly realized. “Where would the villagers get demonic energy to sustain themselves?”

“Even the missing young people mentioned by the storyteller were ordinary mortals, they couldn’t have supplied them with demonic energy, right?” Ruan Ning added.

Ye Zhixia raised her hand and pointed north.

Ruan Ning immediately understood Ye Zhixia meant this had to be connected to the Abyss of Ten Thousand Realms, which was spewing demonic energy in the north.

“How about we go out and investigate?” Ruan Ning suggested.

Ye Zhixia nodded. “Where do you want to check first?”

Ruan Ning thought back to the incident that afternoon, her eyes practically blazing with anger. “Let’s start with that woman who touched your hand today!”

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