Chapter Eighty-Five: Qin Family Ridge

Yange, remembering events of the past, told Lu Qing and Bai Lun what he had once heard from the gate guards of Yuyang City. After learning of it, the two were both quite taken aback. So this drought had lasted this long after all.

Yange shook his head. Now that he thought about it, the drought was filled with strange and unsettling features everywhere; with their abilities, there was simply no way they could solve it. It would be better to leave it to the people of the Martial Academy of Wuyang.

...

Qin Family Ridge lay a hundred miles south of Yuyang City. Surrounded on three sides by mountains, it was home to more than a thousand people.

This place could not be compared with Yuyang City, of course, but within a radius of several dozen miles, it was still a well-known village. Yet over the past half year, because of the drought, Qin Family Ridge had undergone tremendous changes.

By the time Yange and the others arrived, night had already fallen. Beneath the shadow of the three great mountains, Qin Family Ridge looked especially desolate in the darkness.

"Qin Family Ridge used to have quite a population, but looking at it now, if this drought goes on without being resolved, it would be very good indeed if half of them remain." Looking out the carriage window, Yange could see the fields on both sides of the road had dried up and cracked.

"Let’s wait and see. I keep feeling that this place is a little eerie." Lu Qing withdrew his gaze from outside, his expression somewhat grave.

Yange was still surveying the scene beyond. This was the first time he had seen, in this world, a village with not a single point of light, a mass of blackness as though it concealed deadly danger.

Only far away could one see a faint red glow; that should have been the households of Qin Family Ridge.

The wheels creaked and rolled. After the time it takes to burn one stick of incense, they finally reached the entrance to the village. Yet the village was now utterly quiet, with not a soul coming out.

Zhang Yongxu and Ye Yinling had already come out, and Qin An stood beside them, looking somewhat at a loss.

"How could it be like this? When I left three days ago, there were still more than four hundred people in the village. The village head had already said that people would be posted on guard every night. Why is there not a single person here tonight?" Qin An could hardly believe it, and he shouted hysterically.

"You’re saying that when you left, Qin Family Ridge was not like this?" Ye Yinling demanded of Qin An. Surrounded by utter darkness, even she felt a chill.

Qin An nodded. "Of course there were people. Although many had died in the village, there were still a dozen or so martial artists left. To guard against wild beasts attacking the village, we have to post sentries every night before we can feel at ease."

"Junior Sister, the resentment and deathly aura here are very heavy. Tell everyone to be careful." Zhang Yongxu stared at Qin An while speaking to Ye Yinling.

Ye Yinling nodded and withdrew. But the moment she moved away, a blaze of brilliant fire suddenly shot up from within the village.

Seeing the flames, Qin An cried out, "That, that’s Big Qin’s house. Why has it caught such a huge fire? Right, it’s on fire. There must be people over there. Let’s hurry and go see!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Qin An ran into the village without regard for anything. Zhang Yongxu paused, looked back at the convoy, and then rushed out.

Seeing Zhang Yongxu run off, Ye Yinling’s expression flickered. In the end, she too ran out, and before long she was gone from sight.

Elder Ma, seated in a carriage, could not help sighing. "These two have spent too long in the academy. They have too little experience and act far too impulsively."

"Haha, since they want to go, let them. With you here to hold the line, nothing will go wrong. I think you might as well let everyone go out for a look. It just so happens we can see what these seedlings are made of, and whether this generation’s outer disciples are up to standard."

Beside Elder Ma was another old man in white robes. He sat there with a long beard, completely unconcerned.

"Go on then. Everyone may enter Qin Family Ridge to investigate the situation. Remember not to leave the village limits." Elder Ma’s voice echoed through the convoy.

With Elder Ma’s order, the convoy stirred as everyone went out.

Yange and the other two got down from the carriage. Looking at the fire soaring up from within the village, the three exchanged glances. Lu Qing and Bai Lun said nothing, clearly leaving Yange to make the decision.

"Don’t act rashly. We’ll mingle with the crowd for now and take action as circumstances demand," Yange decided quickly. By then, their group had already entered the village under the lead of several outer disciples.

Walking along the muddy roads of the village, they suddenly saw the people ahead start running. Those behind had no choice but to follow. Before long, they could already hear the uproar of the crowd; they had reached the place where the fire had broken out.

In an instant, as Yange looked at the scene before him, his eyes contracted sharply.

He saw that the house ahead had already been burned to ashes, leaving only a heap of embers and wreckage. The flames had not stopped, but were spreading to both sides; nearby houses were catching fire as well.

Many villagers were gathered around, but because of the drought there was no water. They could only watch helplessly as the blaze grew larger and larger.

Through the gaps in the crowd, Yange could see that at the very front, Qin An was standing there, wailing nonstop, while Zhang Yongxu and Ye Yinling stood beside him.

"Immortals, why won’t you act? Hurry and save our village!" Qin An cried out as the fire grew ever fiercer.

At his cry, the villagers all dropped to their knees and shouted for help toward Zhang Yongxu and Ye Yinling.

Ye Yinling’s face was extremely grim. She had never imagined that matters would come to this.

"Junior Sister, strike first and bring the fire under control. I refuse to believe that whatever is inside won’t come out once the flames are extinguished," Zhang Yongxu said coldly. A sharp glint flashed in his eyes as he leaped up into the air.

Rising into the sky, Zhang Yongxu thrust out his right palm. A fierce wind swept forth, pressing down the entire blaze.

Beside him, Ye Yinling also made a bold move. Her jade-like fingers flicked continuously, sending streams of finger-force shooting out to create a firebreak in the unburned areas.

Zhang Yongxu landed on the ground. As the palm wind dispersed, the flames he had suppressed actually began to surge up again.

"Just now, I wanted to wait and see what tricks you had. But since you refuse to come out, I can only force you out." As Zhang Yongxu muttered under his breath, he pressed his right hand directly to the ground. Power erupted from his palm, extinguishing the fire outright.