Reason Behind the Refugees

Xiang Ling stood frozen after hearing Little Pink's words. Her mind was struggling to accept what her ears had just heard. The Crown Prince of the Heavenly Realm was in Shengdu Village. Why?

She tilted her face up to stare at the sky above while her inner voice called out to the heavens. She did want to find the Crown Prince because it was a special task assigned by the Heavenly Empress but wasn't it just too early for her to find him?

"Master, what are you waiting for? Go and find him!" Little Pink shouted from inside her space when it noticed that Xiang Ling hadn't moved even an inch.

A sigh of disappointment left her lips but Xiang Ling followed Little Pink's advice. Since fate already pushed the man to her, it was better for her to accept him before something went wrong.

"I'm going to look for him." She told her husbands before she started walking toward the entrance. Though she didn't specify exactly whom she was going to look for, the men understood that she was talking about Li Xian.

Wei Guang: "Let me accompany you."

Wen ZheYuan: "I'm also coming."

"..."

Xiang Ling stared at the four men who were ready to follow her to look for Li Xian. It was true that Xin Cheng and Dao Ming didn't speak but one look in their direction and she knew that she wouldn't be getting rid of those two either. If it had been only one man, she would have thought of a way to stop him from following her but considering there were four of them and all preferred to not listen to her, there was no chance she would be able to change their mind.

Without replying, she turned away from them and stepped out of the manor.

"Can you find his exact location?" She whispered to Little Pink when she thought the men weren't close enough to listen.

"Master, you have seven thousand years of more cultivation than me and you are an immortal deity. You can sense his divine energy much better than me." Little Pink quickly pointed out.

Xiang Ling remained silent for a moment or two before she turned to face her husbands. "Let's split up and look for him."

Thankfully, the men nodded their heads in agreement but just when she thought that she would finally be able to get rid of them to look for the Heavenly Crown Prince, Xin Cheng popped her happy bubble and announced - "I will come with you."

"..."

Xiang Ling glared at the man as he moved toward her. If eyes could kill, that man would have been dead by now. She watched as the other three split up and headed in different directions.

"Get moving." Xin Cheng said as he signaled for her to start walking. Not wanting to speak to him at all, Xiang Ling silently started walking.

Shengdu Village was located at the foot of the mountains with a stream passing through the center of the village, dividing it into two parts. The Chen Manor was located in the secluded north end, the closest to the mountains. It was a ten-minute walk before the regular houses started appearing in sight.

The doors of the houses were closed and barely anyone was seen on the street. There weren't many shops at the north end of the village and the few that Xiang Ling noticed, were already closed. Looking at the state of the village, it felt like the people there weren't living a good life.

After walking for another five minutes, they finally noticed more villagers on the street. Xiang Ling noticed that all the refugees in sight were scurrying in a certain direction.

She stopped an old woman who was passing by and asked, "My apologies for bothering you but can I ask why there are so many refugees here?"

The old woman inspected her from top to bottom before her eyes landed on Xiang Ling's face. "You aren't from our village. Are you a passerby?" She asked while taking a quick curious look in Xin Cheng's direction who was silently listening. Before Xiang Ling could have answered, the woman continued - "You should leave quickly. The villages here are all unstable these days. This is not a good place for rich people to stay. Leave as quickly as possible."

Xiang Ling exchanged a quick look with Xin Cheng before she returned her attention to the old woman. "Why are you saying so?"

The woman seemed dejected as she shook her head and answered, "There are only three villages in this area and one of them was burnt down a few weeks ago. That's why you are seeing so many refugees here. These poor people have lost everything and are struggling to even fill their bellies to stay alive. It wouldn't be long before they will attack our village as well."

The fear and misery were heard in the old woman's voice as she talked about the horrors they all had been experiencing or hearing about for nearly a month now.

"They? Who are you talking about? Who's attacking the villages?" It was Xin Cheng who asked the questions this time as he walked closer to look at the old woman who just turned her terrified gazes at him and Xiang Ling.

Her lips quivered as she struggled to speak, "D-Demons."

Demons?

Of course, it was them. Who else would be causing chaos in the Mortal Realm other than them? Xiang Ling thought as she watched the old woman scurrying away as if she was afraid to be chased by a demon for mentioning them out loud.

She turned to face Xin Cheng and was surprised to see the intense look on his face as he was lost deep in his thoughts. She opened her mouth to ask what was wrong but the man spoke up before she could.

"You go ahead and look for Li Xian on your own. I have something to do."

He didn't even wait for a second for her to respond before he hurriedly walked away, leaving a very puzzled Xiang Ling behind.