Chapter 2: The Cursed Script(2/2)

Ye Qing rubbed his head, feeling a slight headache. The excitement and thrill in his heart slowly faded, replaced by a cloud of unease.

“Forget it, no point thinking too much. One step at a time! The immediate priority is to deal with the problem in front of me!”

He massaged his forehead, and when he couldn’t come to a conclusion, he decided not to dwell on it anymore. Whether the wandering Taoist had some hidden agenda or the Strange Scripture was dangerous—right now, the existence of the Strange Scripture seemed to only bring benefits and no harm to him!

The priority was to survive the immediate crisis first!

Looking at the solution suggested by the Strange Scripture, it indeed seemed like a good way out.

The patrol team was responsible for guarding the village, and their position was very important. Even though Chen Zheng was one of the three great martial masters of Junshan Village, he had no power to intervene in the affairs of the patrol team. Moreover, the patrol team had martial masters in charge, so they weren’t afraid of Chen Zheng.

Of course, joining the patrol team didn’t mean everything would be smooth sailing. It could be even more dangerous because joining the patrol team meant facing the eerie and dangerous spirits outside the village. But it was better than dying miserably at Chen Zheng’s hands.

Besides, joining the patrol team would allow him to practice martial arts, which was the only way for him to become stronger and escape his predicament.

With the Strange Scripture in hand, he wasn’t entirely without hope of turning things around.

“Alright, tomorrow I’ll go apply to join the patrol team!” Once Ye Qing had made up his mind, he immediately felt more relaxed.

At this point, he suddenly realized he was both exhausted and hungry, and his body ached all over.

He put away the Strange Scripture, endured the pain, and went to the kitchen to make something to eat, barely filling his stomach before crawling into bed and falling into a deep sleep.

…

The next day, as soon as the sky lightened, Ye Qing got up and headed to the patrol team’s training ground.

At the training ground, a dozen or so young people were practicing with swords and knives, sweat dripping down their foreheads, gleaming brightly in the morning sun.

“Your horse stance needs to be steady, your waist straight, punch with power—each punch should be like a fierce tiger descending the mountain, powerful and full of momentum! You’re all soft as tofu, no strength at all. How can you kill those eerie spirits like this?” A burly man in his forties stood with his hands behind his back, sternly scolding the young people as he watched their training.

This man was Lin Hu, the captain of the patrol team and one of the three great martial masters of Junshan Village.

“Ye Qing, are you feeling better?” When Lin Hu saw Ye Qing, he greeted him first.

“Much better, thanks for your concern, Captain Lin!” As Ye Qing walked over to Lin Hu, he immediately felt a strong sense of pressure and danger, like facing a fierce tiger. His face turned pale, and he couldn’t help but cough lightly.

Noticing this, Lin Hu furrowed his brows. “You’re still not fully recovered, so why are you out here running around?”

The booming voice made Ye Qing’s ears ring. He rubbed his ears and quietly said, “I came to find you, Captain Lin!”

Lin Hu looked puzzled. “What do you need me for?”

Ye Qing cut straight to the point: “I want to join the patrol team!”

“What? You want to join the patrol team?” Lin Hu was stunned, clearly not understanding.

The work of the patrol team was extremely dangerous. Almost every day someone got injured or died, so normally, very few people would voluntarily choose to join the patrol team. The patrol team had a few fixed members, and the rest of the members were rotated from each household, temporarily filling in.

So it was really surprising that Ye Qing would come forward and ask to join the patrol team.

The young people training nearby also stopped and began to stare at Ye Qing, whispering and pointing at him.

“What are you looking at? Keep training! If anyone can’t learn the ‘Seven Demon-Slaying Styles’ today, they won’t get to rest!” Lin Hu suddenly yelled, startling everyone. They immediately shrank back like quails and obediently returned to their training.

“Have you thought this through? Do you know what it means to join the patrol team?” Lin Hu asked.

Ye Qing nodded, “I’ve thought it through. I understand joining the patrol team means danger and death, but I’m not afraid. Please allow me, Captain Lin.”

Lin Hu pondered for a moment before agreeing. “As long as you’re sure, the patrol team is short-handed, so since you want to join, I don’t have a reason to refuse.”

He also vaguely understood why Ye Qing wanted to join the patrol team. He had heard about the conflict between Ye Qing and Chen Zheng. Although Lin Hu had little respect for Chen Zheng’s actions, as one of the three great martial masters of Junshan Village, he couldn’t openly speak out against him. He could only turn a blind eye.

But now, if he could help Ye Qing, he wouldn’t mind lending a hand.

Moreover, the patrol team was truly short of people. In recent months, the eerie spirits outside the village had been attacking humans like crazy, and many patrol members had been seriously injured or killed. The team had suffered heavy losses and urgently needed reinforcements.

The young people in training were part of the new recruits, who, after only a few days of basic training, would join the patrol and village protection duties.

“Thank you, Captain Lin!” Ye Qing cupped his hands in gratitude.

Lin Hu nodded, “Since you’ve joined the patrol team, you should’ve started training today. But considering you’re still recovering, I won’t push you. When you’re better, come back for training!”

“However, don’t slack off in the meantime. Here’s a manual for the ‘Seven Demon-Slaying Styles,’ a body-tempering technique. Take it back and familiarize yourself with it. When you’re recovered, I’ll explain it to you in detail.”

“Thank you, Captain Lin!” Ye Qing took the manual from Lin Hu, feeling quite excited inside.

“Alright, go home. Don’t worry, now that you’re part of the patrol team, no one will harm you for the next few days. You can rest and recover in peace!” Lin Hu nodded and didn’t say anything more, turning to walk back into the training ground.

Hearing this, Ye Qing clenched his fists. Lin Hu’s words meant that for the time being, he would be safe. His goal had been achieved.

“Great!”

After Lin Hu left, Ye Qing was about to go home with the manual, but just as he took a few steps, a commotion and cries of alarm came from the village entrance.

“What’s going on?” Ye Qing looked up toward the village entrance and saw a few patrol members supporting four injured people, urgently running toward the village while shouting loudly:

“Captain, something’s wrong!”

“Something’s wrong!”