Chapter 2683 - Village Tyrant
Creektown had a somewhat larger population, but it was still only around ten thousand people, all of them specters of various kinds. The Silverfoxes were considered rather ordinary among them. But to Tianming, their bloodlines felt even more formidable than the plant specters he had encountered at the Skyhold Bridge. This ancient and marvelous world was truly intriguing.
Three days later, Yin Chen hadn’t seen a second living person, but had done a great job finding the clear spirit grass.
According to Beibei, her mother had ventured outside of Creektown’s area when she was young and had a high level of knowledge, so Tianming planned to pay her a visit.
This place was exceptionally primitive, lacking even transmission stones, and there were no signs of any formations, let alone astralguard formations and astralships. Having just gone through a nova source war, Tianming found it hard to believe that such places still existed in the world.
"It's clear spirit grass!" Guided by Yin Chen, Beibei was excited, her eyes shining as she picked a snow-white flower nearly a hundred meters wide.
"Thank you, Tiny Big Brother!" Beibei set Tianming on the flower's petal and said, "Tiny Big Brother, you can hide here. I'll take you home and you can come out then!"
"Alright," Tianming nodded.
"I'm going home. Mom must be missing me," the girl said, skipping off in a certain direction at a rapid pace. As she ran, Tianming felt the earth tremble and shake, but for her it didn't seem like such a big disturbance.
Long lifespans and equally long cultivation paths made cultivators’ perception of time different from regular people. Ten days of travel for Beibei seemed no different to her than an hour in Tianming's experience. His cultivation had also reached the astral god stage, and he felt time passing faster as well.
No wonder Yin Chen hadn't found anyone yet—going to Silverfox Village took ten days! Ten days later, Tianming stood in front of the village and was utterly amazed. The huts built from piled rocks were like towering mountains. Each grass hut was over two thousand meters high, and that was the norm.
It really was a village, a village of giants! He felt like an ant standing at the entrance. Everything he saw was gigantic.
Inside the village, specters moved and ran, causing a deafening rumble for Tianming.
"Tiny Big Brother, don't move around!" Beibei, holding the clear spirit grass, rushed into the village. She was agile, and since there weren't many people in Silverfox Village at the moment, hardly anyone saw her.
Tianming looked at the others and found that they were all silverfoxes, ranging in height from two hundred to five hundred meters. The tallest one was twice Beibei's height and more like a small mountain on the move. He was accustomed to the massive size of his lifebound beasts, but he found it hard to adjust to the sheer size of these specters. What kind of secrets were hidden in this world, and what did it have to do with Qingyu and Lingfeng? Tianming was eager to find out.
Finally, they arrived at Beibei's home. It was a dilapidated grass hut with no protective formations, built with haphazardly piled rocks and had no aesthetic appeal.
"We're here, Tiny Big Brother. Mother might be asleep. Shh! I want to give her a surprise!" Beibei blinked at the clear spirit grass.
"Sure," Tianming chuckled. This lady was truly adorable.
She tiptoed, preparing to go inside, but suddenly, a thunderous voice sounded from behind her.
"Qian Beibei! Stop right there!"
Beibei was startled and quickly turned around, her eyes slightly panicked. "Shi Xiu, don't wake up my mom."
Tianming followed her gaze and saw a young silverfox man. He was over three hundred meters tall, a whole head taller than Beibei. He had narrow eyes and thin lips, and a faint sneer on his face made him look quite formidable. As he strode over, the earth seemed to tremble beneath Tianming.
However, to Beibei and Shi Xiu, it was just an ordinary encounter.
"Qian Beibei, debts must be repaid, that's only right! Your deadline passed, and you must pay today. Otherwise, don't blame me for not being polite," Shi Xiu said. He stood before her with his arms crossed, looking down at her. His gaze landed on her recently developed figure as he gave her a somewhat licentious look.
"Shut up!" Qian Beibei's eyes welled up with tears. She stepped back, almost bumping into her grass hut. She glared at Shi Xiu and said, "I've said it a thousand, even ten thousand times: we, my mother and I, never heard my father say he borrowed soulstones from you. Now that my father is gone, you can't just accuse us without evidence. I don't have any soulstones to give you!"
"Heh, you're only saying that now? Where were you before? How can you claim ignorance after all this time? Saying you didn't know to avoid paying? It's only natural to repay your father's debts. You don't have any soulstones, right? Well, that's simple. From today, you'll enter my Shi Xiu family, be my concubine, and bear me children. If we don't consider the interest, have three kids and that'll clear the debt." With that, Shi Xiu reached out to grab her.
Tianming was utterly shocked by the scene. A village tyrant in a higher world? So, even in top-tier worlds, things like this could happen! This was a world with a small population and high combat strength, but an underdeveloped civilization.
Under Shi Xiu's pressure, Beibei was getting anxious. She quickly stepped back and nearly collided with her grass hut. "I don't want to! I don't like you!" she cried.
"Whether you like me or not is none of my business. Your father lost you to me. Blame no one but him. Besides, you're lucky to be able to enter my village chief's family as a concubine. Under my protection, who in the village would dare to bully you? Be sensible, and don't make a scene. You should know that in Silverfox Village, I, Shi Xiu, am unquestionably the king!" Shi Xiu brazenly laughed.
The world was vast, yet it seemed so small. It was a place with immense dimensions, but the world of mortals was tiny. So small, in fact, that even a village chief's son could be a king. All of it gave Tianming an extremely strange feeling, but he knew that Beibei must be in despair. The world of mortals was too small, and there would be no one to stand up for her and seek justice.
Some people heard the commotion but kept their distance.
"Beibei, I've taken an interest in you because I think highly of you. If you didn’t have your looks, I'd have chopped you up by now, and your family wouldn't even have enough to repay the debt. Got it?" Shi Xiu came closer, reaching out to lift Beibei's chin. He was about to reach into her clothes with his other hand.
Beibei could only sob; she was truly frightened. Seeing that, Tianming couldn't bear it any longer. He suddenly appeared between the two, and when Shi Xiu's fingers extended, they were unexpectedly pricked. Blood dripped from his hand.
"What the hell?" Shi Xiu looked down and saw a tiny figure holding a black and gold toothpick. He was first stunned, then couldn't help but laugh. "A little exotic snack. It looks delicious."