After the path was cut off

Chapter 62 Are You Dead or Alive?

The midday sun scorched the earth.

Outside Baixi Town, in the center of Qiuye Village, a relatively "prosperous" village, the atmosphere inside the only large brick and tile house is even more scorching than the sunlight outside.

The doors and windows were tightly closed, and the room was dark.

Village chief Ye Xingwen sat in the main seat, his face so gloomy it looked like it could drip water. Every wrinkle on his deeply lined old face seemed taut.

His two younger brothers sat at the lower end of the table.

The second brother, Ye Xingwu, was burly with a fierce face and was usually the most daring and aggressive. The third brother, Ye Xingnong, was lean and wiry with sharp eyes. He was the one who usually handled all the communication with other villages and the gathering of information.

Below them were several adult nephews and nieces of the Ye family, all of them tense and not daring to utter a sound.

Almost all of the core male members of the Ye family were gathered here.

Qiuye Village has developed extremely rapidly in recent years. In just over 20 years, it has grown from a dozen or so displaced households to more than 2,000 households and over 10,000 people, making it one of the more prominent villages under Baixi Town.

But everyone in Baixi Town knows—

This place is corruptly wealthy.

In his efforts to eradicate this cancerous growth, Li Wangchuan had killed five village chiefs of Qiuye Village in previous years, but in the end, he still failed to completely eliminate the village. Since then, Qiuye Village has become the most untouchable piece of rotten meat in the town, filthy, yet somehow able to maintain a strange balance.

Ye Xingwen knew very well that the reason why the Ye family had been able to gain a foothold in Qiuye Village over the years was never just because of their boldness and ruthlessness.

It's even more about knowing when to bow your head, when to play dead, and when... to betray someone.

But he never expected that the legendary immortal from the Li family would suddenly return at this critical juncture.

After a long silence in the room, Ye Xingwen finally spoke first.

"Promote military strength."

His voice was terribly hoarse.

"Have you heard back from Wang the blacksmith?"

Ye Xingwu wiped the sweat from his brow and said in a low voice:

"I went to look for him and ran into Mei Hongming from Meiling Village and Liu Xiaosi from Qingliu Village who were also looking for him. The blacksmith's house was closed, and no one answered."

"I flipped through it and looked at it later—"

At this point, his voice noticeably lowered.

"Nothing is missing from the house, but the person is gone; they probably ran away a long time ago."

A suppressed gasp filled the room.

Ye Xingwen slowly closed his eyes.

"They ran away?"

"not necessarily."

He opened his eyes, his gaze filled with coldness.

"It's also possible that the Li family struck first and eliminated them."

Upon hearing this, the air in the room suddenly became even heavier.

Qiuye Village was never clean to begin with, and the Ye family was even less so. If the Li family immortal had truly returned to town, then people like them would be most afraid of being investigated.

Others might be able to wait. But they can't.

"Big brother..."

The middle-aged man at the next table finally couldn't hold back any longer, his voice trembling, "Then, what should we do? Should we...?"

"First what? Escape first?"

Ye Xingwen suddenly looked up, his gaze sweeping over like a knife.

The man immediately fell silent.

Ye Xingwen sneered, his voice low but each word sharp and menacing:

"What are we if we leave Baixi Town?"

"Counting rats, counting hostages, counting stray dogs that anyone can step on!"

"Only by staying in the village, by staying under the Ye family's skin, can we barely be considered useful enough to live."

He paused here, then turned to look at Ye Xingnong.

"Third brother."

"Any movement from 'Dream Guide'?"

Ye Xingnong's throat bobbed, and he said in a low voice:

"have."

"As my elder brother instructed, I selected ten of the most innocent children, lit incense, and sent them to sleep. Two of them, after waking up, said they had received a message from 'above'."

He glanced at the doorway subconsciously as he spoke, as if even mentioning the thing made him feel uneasy.

"They want us to stir up trouble in the town at all costs."

"Inciting panic, spreading rumors that the Li family colluded with evil spirits, and that the returned immortal was not an immortal at all..."

"And you also said—"

"If we delay for two more days, an important official will descend upon Baixi Town, execute Li Wangxiang, and reinstate the town mayor."

"Two days later?"

Upon hearing this, Ye Xingwen slowly began to laugh. But that laugh was more chilling than a cry.

"Two days later..."

"They really treat us like pigs and dogs."

He tapped his fingers lightly twice on the table, his gaze gradually darkening.

For others, two days might still be enough time to maneuver.

But for Qiuye Village and the Ye family, whose hands were already stained with dirty deeds, the return of the Li family immortal to the town was tantamount to a knife being held to their throats.

Wait for those two days?

What awaits them will not be any "adult," but rather the death of the Ye family.

Ye Xingwen slowly raised his head and looked at Ye Xingwu.

"Second son."

"I'm asking you."

"If your life could give these younger generations a chance to live—would you rather die?"

Ye Xingwu was taken aback at first, then the fat on his face suddenly tightened, and a fierce light flashed in his eyes.

"Brother, is that even a question?"

"I've lived long enough to live a fulfilling life! As long as I can leave a legacy for the Ye family, what is there to fear in death!"

Ye Xingwen nodded and then looked at Ye Xingnong.

"The third son?"

A struggle flashed in Ye Xingnong's eyes, but it was very brief and was quickly suppressed by a fierce determination.

"We'll see how many of them survive."

"I agree."

"it is good."

Ye Xingwen slammed his hand on the table and stood up abruptly.

"This is the true bloodline of the Ye family!"

He looked around at everyone in the room, his voice suddenly rising, carrying a ruthless, desperate intent.

"Listen up, everyone!"

"Today, it's not a question of whether the Ye family should take a gamble; it's that the Ye family has no other choice!"

"Everyone knows we've got something to hide. If the Li family investigates, none of the Ye family members will escape."

"Since that's the case, then let's not wait for others to judge us!"

"Let's do it ourselves first—"

"Using other people's heads to save the Ye family's lives!"