"What's wrong? Are you okay?"
Yvette Ye could tell that Evan Lin wasn't quite himself and asked.
Evan Lin shook his head and didn't say much.
"This place looks like something straight out of ancient times, but I can't tell which dynasty it is."
Kevin Qin frowned, scanning the surroundings. "When we got here, didn't you notice? It's like none of the people around can see us at all."
"They just ignore us completely—it's way too weird."
As soon as Kevin Qin said this, Jenna Jiang and the others fell silent. Everyone had felt a strange vibe ever since they entered the village, but nobody mentioned it until now.
Now that Kevin had pointed it out, a chill ran through the group.
Meanwhile, Noah the Cowherd's old yellow ox was already moving ahead. Up ahead, there looked to be a temple.
In front of the temple stood a furnace; inside, three giant incense sticks burned, sending up rings of pale blue smoke.
The two children had already wandered off, disappearing down the street.
In front of the temple's furnace, people burned incense and prayed, murmuring for blessings or for children.
Once inside the temple, the old yellow ox stopped under a tree by the plaza, lying there quietly and not moving anymore.
"What does this mean?"
Kevin Qin wanted to talk to Noah the Cowherd, but the boy lying on the ox's back didn't seem interested in responding at all.
He stayed sprawled there, saying nothing, his gaze fixed on the sky as if he'd suddenly gone silent.
"Let's not split up."
Kevin reminded everyone, and the group carefully circled the temple. Plenty of people came and went, all busy burning incense and praying, but none paid any attention to Kevin Qin's group.
They entered the temple and saw monks striking wooden fish and chanting scriptures. In front of the Buddha statue, the abbot sat with closed eyes, radiating a peaceful aura.
"Hello?"
Jenna Jiang softly called out next to the monk, but he didn't respond.
"What is even going on here? Just finding a village and villagers inside a Mysterious Ruins is weird enough, but now none of them pay any attention to us?"
As Jenna was speaking, she suddenly heard someone outside shout, "It's raining!"
The moment the voice sounded, Evan Lin and the others looked outside and saw the once clear sky suddenly covered in dark clouds.
A torrential rain poured down, with clouds so thick they blocked out the sun and shrouded the entire village.
A biting cold wind swept through.
"Let's wait here for now. We'll leave when the rain stops—at least this place keeps us dry."
Kevin Qin handed out water and food, and the group shared the meal.
Fewer and fewer people remained in the temple praying; as soon as the rain started, people in the distant village market scattered, ducking for cover.
The sky grew darker and darker.
"Can we even find our way back?"
Jenna Jiang and the others sat by the temple entrance, staring out at the pouring rain. The cold wind cut to the bone—it felt like this storm had been building up for ages.
Evan Lin glanced outside for a moment, then turned and walked deeper into the temple. After a few steps, he spotted a long table with a book laid out on top.
It looked like something someone had left behind, and on the cover, four characters were written.
Peacebrook County Chronicle.
"Peacebrook..."
When Evan Lin saw those words, he frowned slightly and opened the county chronicle. It listed all the big names that had come from this county—someone who once became a first-rank minister in the Divine Wind Dynasty, reaching the highest ranks and helping the emperor rule, and a few who had entered the Immortal Gate as cultivators. All of this was recorded in the chronicle.
The handwriting was lively, and whoever wrote it was clearly proud of these achievements.
"Divine Wind Dynasty? Which dynasty is that supposed to be?"
At some point, Yvette Ye had appeared beside Evan Lin. She'd seen him walk in and, worried something might happen to him, followed after.