"Please, have some tea."
Three pristine white porcelain cups, filled with warm tea, were placed before the three of them.
The three of them sat around a round table. The girl they had met earlier was the one attending to them.
The girl had very unusual hair and eye colors, but she gave off a very comfortable feeling.
"Thank you. Miss, we are travelers exploring the Extreme North Land. We happened to pass through here. May we ask where this place is? And how far are we from the Extreme North Land?"
Meng Qianji exchanged glances with the other two. He chatted with the girl and secretly tested the tea with his soul power, finding nothing amiss. He nodded to the other two, signaling that they could drink it.
The tea was fine. They had been walking for a while and were thirsty, so Meng Tian and Yan Qingwan took a sip, savoring it.
Hearing Meng Qianji's question, the girl slowly replied:
"This place was built in the last few years. We are the outcasts of Langyier City. Pregnant women and the elderly who are about to die are brought here every year, because Langyier City does not allow birth or death. So we were brought out. Without a city, we had nowhere to go, so we built a town ourselves."
"Every year, children are born and the elderly are buried here. Birth and death happen simultaneously, so we call this place Wulato."
"My name is Xue Cheya. My mother gave birth to me safely in this town. I don't know who my father is. Later, my mother died in an accident, so I lived alone."
Xue Cheya quietly recounted the origins of the place, as if telling a calm story. The tea steamed as it was poured from the pot into the cups, making a slurping sound.
"I see. Birth and death are not allowed, so pregnant women and the elderly are driven out of the city?"
A hint of anger appeared on Meng Qianji's face. Such a practice was indeed quite infuriating.
"After all, Langyier is a cursed city. Those who die and are born in Langyier City are treated as food for the guardian beast. The guardian beast only eats those who have just died and those who are born. People don't want their wives and family members to be eaten by the guardian beast, so they send them out."
"It's more accurate to say that the young and strong in Langyier City are providing for the guardian beast. Everyone in Langyier City does the same job every day."
"What job?"
"Casting knives."
"Casting knives?!"
"That's right. Hundreds or thousands of people cast a single knife, named Ice Arctic Fox Snow Tail. It's a god's knife."
"The guardian beast is a Snow Tail Ice Arctic Fox with a hundred thousand years of cultivation. It looks like a fox with fur like ice and snow, and it has six large white tails. The tails are sharp, and they are its weapons. It is said that it is the mount of a god in the God Realm. Because the God Realm is not suitable for casting knives, the god sent it to the Douluo Continent to cast the knife with the fur that falls from its tails. When the divine weapon is completed, it will return to the God Realm."
Xue Cheya was still very calm when she spoke, as if she was just telling an ancient myth. But the reality was that near Langyier City not far away was a creature with a hundred thousand years of cultivation. A creature that was immortal among soul beasts! It lay on its paws, watching Langyier City, as if watching its own toy. The people inside were casting a knife that would not be completed for who knows how long, and these people to it were like ants that could be crushed at will. Once someone disturbed it, it would unleash terrifying fury and combat power!
Meng Qianji's hand holding the teacup was trembling slightly.
"Uh, Miss Xue Cheya, are there any other ways to enter the Extreme North Land?"
"The Star Luo Empire is closer to the Extreme North Land. You only need to cross an ice sea. Those who want to enter the Extreme North Land will go to Dongyang City in the Star Luo Empire to take a ship. Even people from the Heaven Dou Empire are no exception. Few people go from Langyier. You three shouldn't have come here voluntarily, I guess you fled here in a hurry."
Xue Cheya's blue eyes looked at the three of them. Hearing this, their faces were shocked. Meng Tian and Meng Qianji were ready to take action at any time.
"You don't need to be so wary of me. I just want to live peacefully here. Spend the night here. If you still want to go to Langyier City, then go. The Extreme North Land is very dangerous. If you don't want to go, it's not too late to turn back now."
"I'll go prepare dinner for tonight."
Xue Cheya bowed slightly and nodded, then left without further acknowledging them.
"Master, this..."
"Is she telling the truth or a lie?"
Meng Tian looked at Meng Qianji and asked.
Meng Qianji's voice was trembling at this moment, his face filled with terror.
"It's true. I went to Langyier City with the former head of our Sacred Spirit Cult. At that time, we faced a snow-white creature that looked like a fox and a raccoon. Its six long tails were very sharp. We were no match, and the Sacred Spirit Cult suffered heavy losses in that battle. In the end, less than ten people escaped."
"Then Master, can you beat it now?"
"Hard to say."
Meng Qianji swallowed, then drank the tea in his cup in one gulp.
The Extreme North Land is in a state of perpetual daylight, but this place is still some distance from the Extreme North Land. There are four hours of night every day. After the night passes, there is a long day of twenty hours.
After the meal, Meng Qianji, Meng Tian, and Yan Qingwan were settled in a room by Xue Cheya. Her place was small, and she didn't have many rooms, and the people in this village didn't have anyone else who could accommodate them.
Meng Qianji lay on the ground thinking, Yan Qingwan was lying quietly on the bed asleep, and Meng Tian looked out the window, worried.
"Master, are you asleep?"
"No, I'm not."
"What's wrong, Meng Tian?"
"I think this town is a bit strange. That Xue Cheya also seems to be hiding something from us."
Meng Tian said to Meng Qianji.
"Yeah, I noticed that too. Most of what she said is true, but there must be something hidden beneath the surface of these truths."
"What do you think? Should we go and investigate the town?"
"Now?"
"Yes, I'll go. Master, you take care of Xiao Wan. Xiao Wan can't be without a strong person to take care of her. If you sense something is wrong, I'll withdraw immediately."
Meng Tian said to Meng Qianji.
"Okay, be careful."
"Dream Demon!"
"Hah!"
Meng Qianji released his soul mark, and his martial spirit, the Dream Demon, appeared in the small room.
"Follow Meng Tian, protect him. If there's danger, come back immediately."
"Hah!"
The Dream Demon nodded to Meng Qianji, signaling Meng Tian to sit on its back. Meng Tian sat on the Dream Demon's back, and in the next moment, they burst out of the window and came to the street.
The street was quiet, everyone was asleep, and the sparse moonlight was falling from the clouds, shining on the street.
The Dream Demon carried Meng Tian, sniffing with its nose, as if it had discovered something.
"What is it?"
Meng Tian asked the Dream Demon. The Dream Demon didn't speak and carried Meng Tian towards a corner.
In the moonlight, Meng Tian saw that it was a child, the little girl who had asked Yan Qingwan for directions during the day!
Strange, how could such a young child be here, instead of staying at home?
Meng Tian and the Dream Demon carefully approached the child and found that the child was crying.
Meng Tian immediately got goosebumps. Midnight, mysterious town, a crying child, how strange!
He was also a little scared. What exactly was going on?
He was just a child, and he would also be afraid of the scary.
Meng Tian swallowed, and still carefully approached the child with the Dream Demon.
The child noticed that there was a big guy approaching her, looked up, and saw the Dream Demon and Meng Tian riding on the Dream Demon's back.
"Ah!"
The little girl screamed in fright, fell to the ground, and wanted to run.
"Shh! Don't be afraid! I'm not a bad person! I came here during the day, my name is Meng Tian."
Meng Tian hushed and said to the little girl, reaching out to her, and asked:
"What's wrong with you? Why are you crying? Why are you alone?"
The little girl looked at Meng Tian, her eyes gradually became happy, then terrified, and shouted:
"No! Quick, leave here! They will kill you! Run!"
"They? What are they?"
"It's..."
Before the little girl could finish speaking, in the shadows behind her, a strange creature that looked like a puppet raised its spiky arm, expressionless, and stabbed at the little girl's neck!
"Pa da..."
Blood flowed from the little girl's neck, and she died in front of Meng Tian. In front of Meng Tian, something like a puppet and a puppet, with a clicking mouth, as if mocking, expressionless, extremely strange...