Chapter 3

Wang Feizi was momentarily stunned, then let out a loud cry and pushed hard, falling to the ground. He immediately got up and ran away quickly, looking at his bewildered and stunned senior brother with fear. "You, you..."

After a while, seeing that he just stood there dumbly without chasing, and recalling his senior brother's strange background, Wang Feizi was less afraid and calmed down. "Senior Brother, what you talked about can only be done by a married couple! How can we do it?"

Heng Yi, dazed and curious, asked, "What does getting married mean?"

"It means two people who like each other bow to heaven and earth, and from then on, they will never part, loving each other and living together." Wang Feizi explained in the best way he remembered.

"Then I like Master, and Master likes me, so if we bow to heaven and earth..."

"Ugh, ugh, ugh!" Before Heng Yi could finish, Wang Feizi interrupted, laughing and crying at the same time. "Silly Senior Brother! It must be one man and one woman, and it's not the kind of liking you're talking about!"

"Then what kind of liking is it?" Heng Yi was confused, wondering how many kinds of liking there could be.

"Oh! How can I explain it clearly! Anyway, you'll know when you grow up, and it's not the kind of liking for Master and family members!" Wang Feizi stomped his feet, almost driven mad by Heng Yi's questions.

Heng Yi stopped asking. He had heard the phrase "you'll know when you grow up" many times from his three masters. "Then let's continue looking for the snow wolves to practice our skills."

Wang Feizi saw Heng Yi squatting with his back to him and asked cautiously, "Senior Brother, you mustn't think about... pressing, pressing me again!"

"I won't."

"Really?"

"Really."

Wang Feizi felt much more relieved and let Heng Yi carry him to continue looking for the snow wolves to practice. Putting aside this matter, Wang Feizi returned to his usual enthusiasm, his eyes sparkling with excitement. "Senior Brother, the skills we are learning are really amazing! Who would have thought we could learn the abilities of immortals one day! When we channel our energy, the sword flies so far. Will we become gods in the future?"

"Second Master and Third Master always want to be gods, and you want to be one too. Is being a god good?" Heng Yi felt that although he was called a god in his dreams, he was clearly not at ease.

"Of course it's good! The village god Wang Ba has many pigs, cows, and sheep, and a lot of money. He has nothing to worry about, and everyone in the village calls him the village god. He can hit and scold anyone he wants! If we become the village god, I don't want to hit or scold anyone, but I want our parents and sisters to have no worries about food and drink, and to live a better life." Wang Feizi spoke with great enthusiasm and expectation, but after a long time without a response from Heng Yi, he stopped and asked curiously, "Senior Brother, why aren't you answering me?"

Heng Yi looked puzzled, his star-like eyes showing worry, which, combined with his young face, would have made Er Yuan say, "What's a little brat doing with a worried face, he hasn't even grown up yet!" But Heng Yi was truly worried. "Little Sister, I don't think gods are like what you said."

"Senior Brother, gods are just like that! The village god Wang Ba is, the village god of other villages is, the town god Wang Laohu is, and the city god is too!" Wang Feizi was firmly convinced, knowing that his senior brother had never seen or known, and repeatedly emphasized to make him believe.

"The gods in my dreams are not like that. Gods are very powerful, using their strength to create a good future for many people, making everyone like, happy, and admire them. That's what a god is."

"That's only in dreams. Gods are all powerful and evil bullies. Good people have no chance to become gods!" Wang Feizi laughed, thinking that the gods in his senior brother's words were completely different from the gods she had seen and heard about for over ten years. But she also thought that if gods were like what his senior brother said, how wonderful it would be... "Senior Brother, when we become powerful and the village god, we'll be the good gods you described."

"Only those who are like that can be called gods..." Heng Yi looked at the snowy sky ahead, his mind filled with the dreams he had had countless times since he could remember. Gods are like that, only those who are like that can be called gods!

San Yuan's sect had a large group of cows, sheep, and pigs. Da Yuan was planning to dig the land and plant vegetables and grains in the spring, so they wouldn't have to worry about food in the future.

Er Yuan raised his hand cautiously and asked only after Da Yuan nodded. "Master, planting and raising pigs is just like living in the village. Where will we have the energy to practice?"

Da Yuan, unusually, did not scold Er Yuan for interrupting. "I've thought about this problem for a long time. Starting tomorrow, we'll go to the city and the town to bring back a few homeless children, and Old Wang from the three villages. He wanted a son but had three daughters, and couldn't afford to raise them. Wang Feizi was sold by him, and his wife is pregnant and will have to sell her daughter sooner or later. We might as well trade some sheep for his daughters. The ones with good potential can be apprentices, and the others can help with the chores. It's better than selling them to scoundrels like Wang Ba."

"Master is wise! No wonder you built seven houses! You had it all planned out!" San Yuan, as if he had just met Da Yuan, was completely convinced by his foresight.

"Otherwise, how could the divine book have chosen me?" Da Yuan was proud and then said to Heng Yi, "Starting tomorrow, you'll have more junior brothers and sisters. You need to act like a senior brother."

Heng Yi nodded quickly, and Da Yuan frowned slightly. "What should you say?"

"Yes! Disciple will follow Master's orders!" Heng Yi responded loudly, and Da Yuan smiled in satisfaction.

The next day, the four of them set out.

Heng Yi followed Da Yuan directly to Old Wang's house.

Da Yuan explained the situation, and Old Wang's wife initially refused, fearing that the three brothers might do something to the girls. No matter how Old Wang scolded and hit her, she guarded the door and wouldn't let him take the children.

"You scoundrel! I promised to give you a son no matter how many I had, and you sold Feizi and now want to sell my children!"

"What else can we eat? One sheep for one child! Do you want them to starve to death? Sell them so they can have food in the future! You're a fool! Move or I'll hit you!"

Da Yuan waited for a long time, seeing the couple arguing, and felt guilty. If he had known, he wouldn't have left Wang Feizi at the sect to save effort. If he had brought him along, it would have been easier. He said, "I see potential in them. I'll be honest with you, we three brothers met a god and are now practicing divine skills!"

Old Wang and his wife were stunned. Seeing that Old Wang's wife didn't believe him, Da Yuan immediately demonstrated his wind-riding skill, floating in the air. The couple fell to the ground in shock, speechless.

Da Yuan didn't waste any more words, called Heng Yi to go in and carry out the two thirteen-year-old and nine-year-old girls, and left. This time, Old Wang's wife didn't stop them...

Er Yuan and San Yuan also brought back two homeless boys each. The sect's base suddenly had six more people.

Heng Yi became the true senior brother. These children didn't need to be taught; they already knew how to do farm work. After finishing their chores each day, they followed the four of them to practice their skills.

Every morning, after waking up and having breakfast, Senior Brother Heng Yi led the six junior brothers and sisters to the forest to practice their energy and techniques. Over time, Heng Yi found that the junior brothers and sisters' skills couldn't hurt him when he was absorbing the natural energy from the surroundings, so he didn't waste time looking for wild animals and let them practice their techniques.

"Everyone, remember what Master said. We have the opportunity to practice the skills of the immortals. Only by practicing well can we become village gods, town gods, and city gods in the future. Don't forget Master's teachings. Our San Yuan sect is a righteous sect, and you must all be good gods..."

The junior brothers and sisters listened to the teachings every day, practiced the true energy techniques from the divine book, and practiced the techniques. After two hours of practice, they all needed to rest and repair their meridians. Continuous practice would damage their meridians with the true energy in their bodies. At this time, they would do the sect's chores. Wang Feizi was responsible for teaching the junior brothers and sisters who hadn't yet practiced their energy at night, while Heng Yi went out to practice alone.

Heng Yi had always failed to practice his energy, but the natural energy he absorbed was increasing. The true energy techniques in the divine book were not useful to him. He felt that the techniques in his dreams didn't make his body absorb energy as quickly. Da Yuan speculated that the techniques in the divine book were helping.

As long as Heng Yi understood the meaning of the techniques in the divine book, he could immediately grasp the first level of the technique.

To practice his techniques, he went out alone every day to find fierce wild animals. Most of the day, he practiced alone and was also responsible for looking for orphans in the villages and towns outside the Qian Shan Snow Ridge.

One day, Heng Yi flew out of the Qian Shan Snow Ridge and entered the nearest Linjia Town to the north, asking around for news of homeless orphans in the town.

"Sir, would you like to eat?" As he passed a tavern, the waiter outside saw his decent clothes and mistook him for a child from a wealthy family, quickly approaching.

"Have you seen any homeless orphans in the town?" Heng Yi politely bowed.

The waiter lost interest, threw the cloth over his shoulder, and put his hands in his sleeves. "If there were, they would have been taken in long ago! There are always people around here looking for orphans to work. If you really want to find them, go to the Linjia Eight Villages! There's been an epidemic there recently, and people have died. If you're not afraid of catching it, you might find some."

Heng Yi thanked the waiter, asked for directions, and set off.

The Linjia Eight Villages were about thirty miles from Linjia Town, in a remote location at the foot of the mountain. There were only a few scattered households on the mountain, and about twenty households at the foot of the mountain.

From a distance, Heng Yi saw the village enveloped in a light green mist. Under the snow, the green mist added a eerie and terrifying atmosphere.

Unfortunately, Heng Yi was naive and didn't know, so he was fearless.

Despite the strange sight, he still flew over.

The doors of the houses were all open, but there was not a single moving figure to be seen. The usual sounds of children playing in the snow and the sounds from the pigpens were absent, creating a strange and eerie silence.

Heng Yi walked along the icy and muddy village road, and after passing about seven or eight houses, he finally heard people talking.

Following the sound, Heng Yi jumped onto a house and saw four men in the yard behind it. The man in the middle was wearing a luxurious robe with silver threads and gold edges, and the others stood coldly on either side of him.

Another fat middle-aged man in rough leather clothes was walking among the villagers on the ground.

On the ground, several elderly men and women lay scattered among the adults, their skin a dark green. In front of them stood a row of sixteen children of various ages, the youngest being about five or six years old.

Heng Yi found it strange that the children were standing still, their expressions blank and their eyes lifeless, while dark green light beams continuously flowed from the bodies of the motionless villagers into the children's bodies.

'What kind of activity is this village having? No singing, no dancing, what a strange activity...' Heng Yi was completely puzzled and could only continue to watch from the roof.