The Extreme Alchemist of the Mighty Cauldron

Chapter 1717: Chapter 1814: Human or Ghost

Inside the house, the old man and the little girl exchanged nervous glances.

Everyone living in the mountains were hunters. The old man and the little girl were well acquainted with the other hunter families, but this voice was completely unfamiliar.

“What do you want?” The old man asked gruffly, frowning.

“A traveler from beyond the mountains, seeking to ask a few questions,” Fang Lin said calmly.

Hearing that it was someone from outside the mountains, the old man grew even more alert. He gave the little girl a meaningful look, and she immediately understood her grandfather’s intent. Quietly, she handed him a hatchet.

The old man grasped the hatchet and moved to stand behind the door. Using the small crack between the wooden planks, he peeked outside.

However, the crack was positioned too low, and the old man could only see a single muddy figure standing there.

Seeing it was just one person, the old man relaxed slightly but refrained from opening the door. After all, he had no way of knowing what this stranger was up to. What if he had ill intentions?

“What do you want to ask? Just speak through the door,” the old man replied, unwilling to open it.

Fang Lin felt a bit helpless. These people were certainly cautious.

“May I ask, what is this place? And which kingdom are we in?” Fang Lin asked directly. He had no idea where he was and needed local information to figure out his next steps.

The old man’s expression turned odd as he replied, “This is Purple Deer Mountain, near the Meng Kingdom’s border. It doesn’t belong to any kingdom.”

Upon hearing that this was the Meng Kingdom’s border, Fang Lin’s thoughts clicked into place. If he headed northwest from here, he could reach the Extreme North Icefield. Once there, he could find someone from the Sky Swallowing Palace, and everything would fall into place.

“Thank you.” Fang Lin expressed his gratitude, preparing to turn and leave. But when he looked down at his filthy appearance, he couldn’t help but smile bitterly.

The old man inside the house noticed that Fang Lin, who had been about to leave, turned back abruptly. Suspicion crept into his mind.

“Old sir, might I trouble you for a clean set of clothing? I’m willing to trade something for it,” Fang Lin said. His current clothes were in such a state that it was beyond embarrassing, and unfortunately, the Nine Palace Bag had no spare garments. This situation was truly awkward.

In the past, Fang Lin would always keep two spare sets of clean clothes in the Nine Palace Bag. But at his current level of cultivation, a brief circulation of energy would render his garments immaculate, making spare outfits unnecessary.

However, with his cultivation now sealed, he was no different from an ordinary mortal. He couldn’t do that anymore.

Even if he wanted to take off his clothes to wash them, he would still need something else to wear in the meantime. Surely, running around stark naked was out of the question?

The old man hesitated, skeptical for quite some time before slowly cracking the door open. Fang Lin was just about to clasp his hands in a polite gesture when the old man, upon seeing him, let out a bloodcurdling scream and slammed the door shut with a loud bang, startling Fang Lin.

Fang Lin touched his face. Though it was dirty, it shouldn’t be anything grotesque. Why was the old man so terrified at the sight of him?

The old man was truly shaken. After slamming the door shut, his legs went weak, and he trembled so much he could barely stand.

His granddaughter, Ping’an, grew worried seeing her grandfather like this and rushed over.

The old man’s eyes were wide with fear as he stammered to Ping’an, “Granddaughter… there’s a ghost.”

The moment the word “ghost” left his mouth, the old man immediately regretted it. He wished he could slap himself. This was his precious granddaughter. What if he scared her too? If she ended up harmed from the shock, wouldn’t his heart ache to death?

Ping’an froze for a moment, then turned visibly pale.

The old man couldn’t bear to see his granddaughter like this and, in a flash, his fear dissipated. He steeled his resolve and thought to himself, “Damn it! No matter if that thing outside is human or ghost, if it dares to harm my granddaughter, I’ll fight it with my life!”

With this in mind, the old man hid Ping’an in the inner room, grabbed the hatchet tightly, and flung the door open.

“I’ll kill you!” Without waiting for an explanation, the old man swung the hatchet at Fang Lin.

Though the old man was quite elderly, his strength was impressive. The hatchet struck fast and hard. For an ordinary person without cultivation, there would hardly have been time to react, and they’d likely end up bloodied and injured.

Fang Lin shifted his feet and retreated a few steps, easily dodging the blow. The old man’s swing missed, and the excessive force caused him to stumble back, nearly falling to the ground.

“Old sir,” Fang Lin said with a wry smile. “We have no enmity, and I’m grateful to you for burying me—but now you take me for a ghost, trying to harm you? It’s broad daylight, and you think this wandering spirit can overturn the heavens?”

The old man took another swing, but Fang Lin evaded it with ease. Hearing the old man’s words, he finally understood. So, the reason he’d been buried alive with a nameless stele was due to this old man. No wonder the misunderstanding.

“Old sir, I’m very much alive!” Fang Lin declared. There was no way he’d knock out the old man with a punch, even though his cultivation was sealed. His physical strength alone would be enough to completely shatter the old man’s frail body.

The old man, hearing this, noticed Fang Lin’s shadow behind him and finally calmed down.

“So… you’re not dead?” The old man stared at Fang Lin’s face in disbelief.

Fang Lin nodded and chuckled. “I never died. I don’t know who buried me in the earth, though. Nearly suffocated to death.”

The old man flushed with embarrassment, scratching his head awkwardly. Unsure of what to say, he tucked the hatchet back into his belt.

“Er… Old man here was a bit rude earlier. My apologies, my apologies. Young man, don’t hold it against me,” the old man said, fumbling over his words. He wasn’t very literate, and those fancy apologies were just phrases he’d picked up from others when he was younger.

Fang Lin waved his hand dismissively. “No problem. I just hope to borrow a clean set of clothes from you.”

The old man hurriedly led Fang Lin into the house. Ping’an peeked curiously at Fang Lin. When she realized he was the “dead man” from yesterday, she gasped in fright.

However, the girl was braver than her grandfather. She edged closer and poked Fang Lin playfully.

“Don’t be rude!” The old man snapped at Ping’an, worrying she might upset Fang Lin.

Although the old man now knew Fang Lin wasn’t a ghost but a living person, he still harbored some suspicion. Whether this stranger was good or bad remained unknown.

Fang Lin didn’t mind. He smiled at the little girl, who returned a sweet smile, appearing quite adorable.

Fang Lin cleaned himself up in the old man’s home, changing into an older but clean set of clothes. He didn’t care about their aged appearance; cleanliness was all that mattered.

“Thank you for the trouble. I’ll take my leave now.” Fang Lin left a jade token for the old man and departed the wooden house, heading straight down the mountain.

ps: The second chapter is up. Back to writing!

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