Chapter 69: Dividing Forces

Yun Qing hurriedly stepped in front of him, saying, “Little Wolf, let me handle this minor task!” With a thought, the blacksmith’s hammer appeared in her hand, and she struck the village wall again and again. To her surprise, the wall also had a health bar; with each blow, she saw it drop by forty points, but, unfortunately, there was no experience awarded.

A hammer was ultimately no match for an axe, and Yun Qing could only chip away at the wall, forty by forty, with each swing. When the wall’s health bar finally reached zero, it collapsed with a resounding crash, leaving a gap.

Villager One was the first to slip through the opening, followed closely by Yun Qing. Ye Xiaolang, however, refused to use the breach Yun Qing had made; he wanted to jump in from another side to impress Villager One.

He leaped toward the wall, which was over four feet high. His jump easily cleared the height, but he couldn’t move forward—as if he’d struck something invisible, he plummeted back to the ground.

“How can this be?” Ye Xiaolang muttered to himself.

He stared, thoroughly shocked, at the empty air above—there was nothing there, not even the faintest change in the atmosphere, yet he could not pass. It was unheard of.

Yun Qing glanced back at him, tempted to say, “In games, there’s something called an air wall. If it won’t let you through, it won’t let you through—there’s no reasoning with it.”

The illusion was too advanced. Ye Xiaolang resignedly followed behind Villager One, walking the path Yun Qing had opened.

Villager One continued to fret—now about monsters ahead, now about poison on the path—and would refuse to move until the problems were dealt with.

Having experienced the air wall, Ye Xiaolang’s temperament and patience improved somewhat, letting the village woman fuss as she pleased.

The two went about their tasks: slaying monsters, purifying areas, filling holes, tearing down walls.

Yun Qing observed Ye Xiaolang, who at first seemed ready to explode but then helplessly gave in to Villager One’s antics. Yet the confusion in his eyes deepened.

She did not want him to suspect that the dungeon was somehow tied to her, so she started a conversation: “Perhaps this illusion is meant to test our temperament, set by some senior cultivator.”

Everyone experienced emotional fluctuations. Ye Xiaolang could sense Yun Qing’s emotions—but apart from her joy, there was nothing else.

Unlike him, who felt fear of the unknown, impatience with the villagers, and awe toward the mysterious illusion. Yun Qing, having not even reached the acquired stage, faced every oddity—including soul corpses—calmly. He genuinely wondered if he was the only one in this illusion.

This Yun Qing might be a fraud!

He took a deep breath, his gaze darkening further, and replied simply, “That makes sense.”

Villager One stopped yet again. Just as Yun Qing was about to curse the game designers, Villager One said, “Thank you, brave heroes, for escorting me to safety. Please help bring the other villagers here as well.”

Ye Xiaolang replied succinctly, “Alright!”

Finally, they had reached their goal. Yun Qing watched as Villager One entered a white circle.

Her quest updated: Find and rescue the trapped villagers—1 out of 4.

But after all this fuss, more than an hour had passed. Now, less than ninety minutes remained before the dungeon’s time limit.

Yun Qing hoped Villagers Two, Three, and Four wouldn’t be so troublesome; otherwise, completing this dungeon would be nearly impossible. Ideally, she’d rescue all three at once.

The two returned to the village. The soul corpses along the path had already been dealt with when escorting Villager One.

They reached the area filled with clay houses. After all the commotion, Yun Qing was unsure which house contained the other villagers.

“Little Wolf, I think the villagers’ breathing is linked to the firewood. Earlier, I saw firewood and instinctively lit it, just as I would in an illusion. Once it’s lit, you’ll sense where the villagers needing rescue are.”

In this bizarre illusion, Ye Xiaolang felt it best to follow the villagers’ instructions first. He could always return later to slay soul corpses and absorb their vitality, so he nodded. “Let’s find the firewood and ignite it.”

Soon, they lit the firewood. Yun Qing spotted the locations of three villagers, while Ye Xiaolang sensed life thirty meters away in a house.

He deliberately avoided nearby soul corpses and, together with Yun Qing, went to rescue Villager Two, who was trapped inside. This time, when Yun Qing split the door with her axe, Villager Two jumped out immediately, since there was no poison outside.

Villager Two was a man with the same features as Villager One, but a different hairstyle—a buzz cut. His handsome face was expressionless, despite his fearful voice.

Ye Xiaolang couldn’t help but scoff, “Hmph! This monk is quite odd.”

Villager Two did not respond. Yun Qing knew that NPCs only spoke predetermined lines in set scenarios; nothing Ye Xiaolang said could change what the NPC had to say.

After escorting Villager Two a certain distance toward the safe zone, Yun Qing saw on the mini-map another villager in a nearby house, with no soul corpses around.

Because Ye Xiaolang hadn’t fought soul corpses this time, the bonfire hadn’t burned out as quickly, and Ye Xiaolang could sense it too.

Ye Xiaolang pointed to the house, his tone a bit chilly. “Yun Qing, I’ll protect him. You go rescue the other trapped villager in that house.”

“Alright!” Rescuing several villagers together was exactly what Yun Qing hoped for, and Ye Xiaolang’s suggestion fit perfectly. She had been unsure how to steer him in that direction.

Yun Qing swung her axe, eighty by eighty, at the wooden door. As long as someone escorted him, Villager Two advanced toward the goal.

In truth, Yun Qing wanted to tell Ye Xiaolang that if he didn’t stay within a certain range of Villager Two, the latter would freeze in place, claiming he was too scared to move.

She intended to rescue Villager Three before regrouping, but sensing Ye Xiaolang’s unusual mood, she dared not reveal more dungeon secrets, for fear of arousing suspicion.

Ye Xiaolang followed behind Villager Two as they headed toward the safe area.

Villager Three was a child of about ten, with the same features and hairstyle as Villager Two—the only difference was his height.

As Yun Qing rescued Villager Three, Ye Xiaolang led Villager Two far down the path—the same route Villager One had taken, with all obstacles already cleared.

Yun Qing had barely led Villager Three a short distance when a red dot appeared, approaching them.

Things were not looking good. With Ye Xiaolang gone, Yun Qing would have to face the soul corpse alone.

Villager Three was crouched on the ground, shivering. Yun Qing quickly laid stone foundations and clay bricks around him, barely managing to encircle him.

She was glad Villager Three was a child. If he’d been an adult, she wouldn’t have been able to place enough materials in such a short time to build a stable wall.

Holding a two-hundred-pound stone, Yun Qing stood atop her makeshift wall, hoping Villager Three wouldn’t foolishly stand up—the low wall couldn’t stop him—and praying his health bar could withstand a few hits, not crumple at the slightest touch.

The soul corpse charged toward her and Villager Three, roaring. When it entered range, Yun Qing hurled her heavy stone.

Minus sixty.

“Combat experience +15!”

The soul corpse halted, unable to step forward—the giant stone had landed in front of it, forcing it to stop.

Yun Qing, thinking quickly, grabbed a stone brick weighing several dozen pounds and threw it.

Minus forty.

“Combat experience +10!”