In a moderate-sized hut made of dirt and wood in the remote village, there was an old man who looked like he was in his fifties, but was actually seventy years old.
Seated on a thin futon across from him was a nineteen-year-old young man. Though he sat respectfully with his hands on his knees, a glint of quiet ambition flashed in his eyes.
The old man, seated in a sturdy wooden chair, studied him carefully.
"A-Yi, how much did you understand about the Yellow-grade low-tier cultivation technique I gave you?" the village chief asked with a calm but expectant tone.
"Master, I think with two more days I would be able to gather the qi into my body," said Chen yi as respectfully as possible.
"No need to call me Master," the village chief said with a warm chuckle as he stroked his beard. "Just call me Grandpa."
"Your father was a real talent, he was one of the finest martial artists I'd ever seen," he said.
He then leaned back in his chair, his eyes glinting with satisfaction. "But you, you're even better. Your father walked the martial path, but you? You have the potential to become a powerful immortal cultivator."
He laughed, pleased with himself. "Who would've thought our little village would raise another seedling cultivator? It's fate, truly fate."
Chen Yi lowered his head slightly and lifted the corners of his mouth into a perfect, grateful smile.
"Okay, Grandpa," he said softly, his voice full of apparent affection.
But his thoughts were different, "Damn old man. If it weren't for the spirit stone, you'd never have looked at me twice."
"If I hadn't been so quick to give him the spirit stone, it would have been mine now," Chen Yi thought. "By now, I could have used its spirit energy to become a cultivator easily. What bad luck!"
Back then, he didn't know the ins and outs of cultivation. On the day he killed Yin Li, the owner of the body now possessed by Ye Wuji, the village chief tested for spirit roots and found that only Chen Yi and one other boy had them.
Now that he had spirit root he became cultivator easily, wanting to please the chief, he had offered up the spirit stone immediately, thinking it would guarantee him favor.
But the real sting was that, even the other boy, who gave nothing, received the same low-tier technique, making his offer seem like a joke. But know that he learned what it is used for he became so angry with himself.
That memory still burned in him. "How stupid of me, I handed him the spirit stone before knowing its true value,"
Putting on a sheepish expression, Chen Yi lowered his head.
"Grandpa, what should I do about Yin li?" he asked, feigning embarrassment.
The village chief waved his hand dismissively. His voice was warm and confident.
"Don't worry. You did nothing wrong. The elders will ask questions, but only out of formality. With me here, no one will dare speak against you."
He leaned forward slightly, his eyes narrowing with intent.
"And as you told me, you were sure he was dead, weren't you?"
"Yes," Chen Yi said coolly. "I sent the other two to monitor his little sister. A while back, they reported seeing her drag his corpse into the forest alone."
The village chief nodded, the corners of his mouth twitching in satisfaction.
"Good. That's enough of these trivial matters," he said, waving his hand.
"Focus on your cultivation. In two months, the sect scouts will arrive to evaluate the village for potential recruits. By then, you must reach the peak of the first stage of the Qi Refinement realm. Passing the sect's test will be simple with that."
He leaned back his eyes growing distant, filled with an almost hungry yearning.
Looking at Chen Yi, he saw something familiar in his eyes he saw ambition burning hot behind the young man's composed face.
He had once carried that same fire, but reality had been cruel to him.
Despite all his efforts, he had barely reached peak Stage Two of the Qi Refinement realm in fifty years, it was not enough to become disciple and never enough for him to go outside to seek opportunities.
The others of his generation had surpassed him, leaving him in the dust, the only thing he could do now was wait for death, then he found the spirit stone.
That day felt like a gift from the heavens. A second chance. One last push before death claimed what age had already begun to rot.
Now, as he watched Chen Yi sit before him, calm and focused, brimming with potential, he felt a strange mixture of pride and dependency.
"Okay, go train alone. I'll teach the other one later," he said as he waved Chen Yi off with a casual flick of his hand.
Chen Yi stood up, adjusted his robe, and turned to leave, just as he stepped outside the hut, a shrill cry echoed through the village courtyard.
"Ghost! A ghost walking in broad daylight!"
Chen Yi rolled his eyes. "A ghost? In this village? Nonsense," he thought.
"Who's the coward screaming like a child—!" his barking was caught in his throat and his expression twisted when he saw Ye Wuji and Meiyin standing at the entrance of the village.
He was limping slightly, and dirt still clung to his robes. His eyes were sharp and alive. Behind him, Meiyin trailed, her small hand lightly touching his arm, her face clear with worry.
The gathered villagers stared in stunned silence.
Ye Wuji looked around and in a calm but mocking tone, said dryly, "Never seen a walking corpse before?"
Then, his gaze locked onto Chen Yi, who stood frozen just outside the chief's hut.
His lips curled into a mocking smile and said, "Chen Yi... oh, Chen Yi," his voice rising slightly for the crowd to hear. "Why is your face so ugly now? You look like you just swallowed pig shit."
A ripple of awkward laughter and gasps rolled through the onlookers. Chen Yi's face first turned pale, then red, and then twisted with fury.
One of the villagers said loudly in a trembling voice, "Wasn't he dead? I saw his sister dragging his coffin into the forest less than an hour ago."
"What do you mean by dead. Are we seeing a ghost now?" said another.
Another person muttered, "If that's a ghost, then we have wronged the dead."
Ye Wuji limped forward step by step until he reached the center of the gathering. The villagers parted for him instinctively.
Dust swirled gently at his feet, and now all eyes were on him.
He took a deep breath and began to speak in a voice full of conviction.
"To my fellow villagers, my brothers and sisters, and my elders who once stood in place of my parents, I stand before you today seeking only one thing: justice."
He paused, letting the words settle. His eyes swept the crowd slowly.
"Some of you watched me grow up. Some of you watched me bleed."
His gaze turned to the village chief, who had just stepped beside Chen Yi.
"And some of you watched me die."
The air grew heavier.
"Chen Yi and his two friends, people I once called brothers, came to me. They beat me until I lost consciousness and ransacked our hut."
His voice stayed calm, but the words cut deeper with each one.
"They took everything from our little, shabby hut. They didn't stop at food. They didn't even spare the little dress I bought for my sister with money I earned from backbreaking work in town."
He turned slightly, his eyes softening as he looked at Meiyin standing behind him.
"Oh, Yinyin...how much you've suffered at the hands of our closest kin."
He stepped back and gently patted her head. She clutched his sleeve, tears brimming on her face.
The villagers erupted into an uproar, their voices rising like a swarm of buzzing insects.
"What? He was beaten to unconsciousness?" gasped a chubby old woman who was balancing a basket on her head.
"I heard he was eaten by a beast in the forest!" Another man stepped forward, scratching his head with a troubled frown
"I thought the coffin was empty. People said the body was gone, but the little girl was carrying her unconscious brother the whole time?" he said shaking his head.
"I would've helped her if I'd known. I thought it was just a ritual."
Murmurs swept through the crowd.
"Is that why she was crying like that?"
"Those boys, Chen Yi were always a bit wild, but weren't they friends?"
"And the chief..."
The public opinion was shifting, doubt took root in the villagers.
Then the village chief stepped forward. His face was calm, but his jaw was tight.
He raised a hand. "Enough." His voice cut through the noise, then he barked again, "Silence!"
The crowd fell silent. One by one, heads turned toward him as they waited. Some looked at him with confusion, others with suspicion.
The village chief folded his arms and spoke evenly, though his tone carried a subtle bite.
"Who saw Chen Yi and his friends beat you? We can't just take your word for it."
"Damn it," he thought. "This Chen Yi brat still has much to learn. If you're going to silence someone, make sure they stay down. Forever."
Murmurs rippled through the villagers. Faces turned to Ye Wuji; his eyes were now filled with doubt.
Wuji took a slow step forward and lifted his chin. His voice was calm but sharp.
"So that's how you want to play?" he thought as his gaze swept across the crowd.
"Look at me. Look at my legs, my body. Do you think I'd cripple myself just to throw mud on their names?"
A few villagers glanced down, others turned to Chen Yi.
"I shouldn't have healed so quickly, now my wounds don't look that threatening," Wuji thought. "But if I hadn't, I wouldn't have made it here alive. Still, they look bad enough to draw sympathy."
He opened his mouth to speak again, but was cut off.
"How would we know?" Chen Yi interjected, "What if it was a beast that attacked you? Maybe you stumbled into the forest and panicked. It's not like anyone saw us do anything."
"Why didn't those two confirm he was buried Now I have to deal with this mess," he thought.
Ye Wuji stood firm, his voice flat but cutting then said, "Sure, it must've been a really polite beast. Gave me a beating, let me limp home, even folded my clothes on the way out. Don't insult our intelligence if yours is non-existent."
Some villagers frowned and murmured.
"He's right," a few of them thought.
But the village chief stepped forward, his voice as calm as ever.
"Your reasoning is sound," the chief said with a nod. "But you're wrong about one thing. It wasn't a beast."
He paused, then continued, "It was a bandit."
That turned the crowd to Wuji to closely examine him, a few villagers nodded.
"Yes, that makes sense."
"Indeed, a bandit's wounds would look like that..." said another.
"There have been rumors of raiders near the forest anyway," said a village merchant.
Public opinion shifted once again.
He watched them nod along to the chief's explanation as if they were cattle accepting a new feeding time.
Then he chuckled slightly and said, "A bandit? Right. Of course. Makes perfect sense."
He turned to the group and addressed them not with anger but with something colder.
"So, a bandit broke into my home. Called me by my name. He knew where we kept our last scraps of food. He took my sister's dress. He beat me until I couldn't walk and left no witnesses."
He raised an eyebrow. "Quite the professional, that bandit must've grown up around here."
A few villagers shifted uncomfortably as they understood how illogical the chiefs words sounded.
Beside Wuji, Meiyin stepped closer and tugged lightly at his robe.
She said with a low and and shaky voice, "Brother, they won't believe you no matter what you say. Why are you still trying?"
Ye Wuji didn't answer right away.
He watched the crowd. Their fickle eyes had already moved on, filing him back under "uncertain," "maybe lying," or "just unlucky."
Ye Wuji leaned down slightly toward Meiyin. His voice was low and steady, and his eyes were colder than before.
"I know. They're fools." He looked out at the smiling, murmuring villagers.
"They're like sheep, clapping for the butcher because he promised to protect them from the wolf."
He turned his gaze back to her, quiet but cutting. "Keep this in mind: don't ever expect truth from a crowd, Yinyin. They'll sell it for comfort every time."
"And they don't care who's right. They care who's useful."
"Understood, brother," Meiyin replied.
His calm, piercing eyes turned first to the village chief and then to her. "Well, it's not like you would understand without experience. As for your question, I wasn't trying to convince them."
"I was watching the chief."
A faint, cold, sharp, and knowing smile tugged at his lips.
"If the village chief truly believed that bandits had attacked me, then he should have been surprised when I said that Chen Yi and his friends had beaten me unconscious."
Meiyin blinked, her eyes widening.
"He wasn't?" she asked.
Wuji shook his head. "No, he didn't even flinch. It was like he already knew what Chen Yi did."
She looked up at him, her voice barely a whisper, and asked, "What do we do now?"
He straightened slowly, the faint, exhausted smile never leaving his face.
"We stir the pot," he said as he looked at the village elders.