A Yin Beast!

Thanks to Su Zixin's memories, Krune figured out the identity of the creature standing beyond the house. In this world, there were two forms of threat to the inhabitants.

First were the Nightmares, incredibly scary existences that could only be killed by the Imperial Meisters.

Second were the Yin Beasts, denizens of the night that appeared mysteriously to cause disasters. Unlike Nightmares, a Yin Beast could be injured with regular means.

The only problem was the fact that they possessed a tough body, capable of fending off a group of people easily. So, the moment a Yin Beast was spotted, a team of soldiers would be dispatched to kill it.

The beast that pulled Su Daiyu's carriage was also a Yin Beast, one of the few Yin Beasts domesticated by the Su Family.

Even for such a prominent family, it was hard to domesticate Yin Beasts. So, for a regular household, coming across a Yin Beast was a guaranteed death sentence.

The moment Krune understood his identity, his figure trembled from fright. At present, even after fighting with all he had, he wouldn't be able to win against a Yin Beast.

Had he been a youth possessing a healthy, trained physique, as long as he was equipped enough, he had a fighting chance.

If at all, he could use the Cloud Whale to constantly injure it when he evaded its attacks, also using the Soul Needle to burn it little by little.

He could pour oil on it and set it on fire and perform a variety of tactics. However, everything needed him to move. As an old man, that was impossible.

The moment he attacked it once and garnered the Yin Beast's attention, his life was forfeit. Moreover, Wang Hu's ego caused a strong sense of hesitation in him to not take action, unwilling to implicate Wang Hao in his reckless endeavor.

After realizing that it would be a lost cause in his current state of mind, Krune didn't take any action, pressing his ears close to the window to sense the position of the Yin Beast.

As he was only relying on the sounds of his breathing to probe around, Krune was unable to make out the opponent's figure. All he could sense was that there was something standing a faint distance away.

Once the creature entered the other house, there was a muffled scream for an instant before everything returned to a tranquil silence once again.

After that, Krune noticed the creature beginning to move in a certain direction. And for some reason, it seemed heavier than before.

Time passed in such a manner as Krune was on his toes all along, perspiring with sweat enough to get his rough clothes drenched.

It was unknown as to how long he was in such a state, but before he realized it, he had fallen asleep. An old man's body wasn't convenient to remain in such a tense state for so long.

"Grandpa, grandpa!" It was morning as Krune woke up at the sounds of his grandson's voice, looking around in alarm before he sighed in relief, realizing that it was daytime already.

All Yin Beasts were nocturnal creatures. They hunted during the night while sleeping during the day.

"Hao'er" Krune muttered his name, feeling how familiar it was to him, sighing mentally as he patted him, seeing the child tearing up before hugging him.

Right at this moment, through his echolocation, he heard faint murmurs. Wishing to see what had happened, he patted Wang Hao and told him, "Stay here. Grandpa will take a look outside."

"Eat first, grandpa," Wang Hao said, bringing him a packet of rice. "I got this yesterday, so it's still good enough to eat."

"It's fine, child. I'm not hungry." Krune flashed a gentle smile as he told him, "You eat this first. Tonight, we'll have a feast."

"But" Wang Hao frowned gently, worry evident on his face. He no longer had a childlike innocence, having matured early due to their hardship.

"It's fine. Go ahead and eat all the rice. Grandpa will bring more food for you soon." Saying so, Krune got up slowly and first headed to their backyard. Then again, it was a backyard only in name.

In actuality, it was an open patch of land, and the closest patch belonged to him.

Even though it was called a village, there were less than a hundred houses here. Among thirty of them faced each other, forming a line through the center of which a mud road spanned.

There were similar arrangements in a couple more locations, with the backyards of each house connected to their respective plantations. Then again, the fields of some households were situated farther away, and they had to travel across the areas belonging to their neighbors.

There were paths designated for travel, so it wasn't an issue.

Having sold off most of their lands, the patch connected to their house's back was the only piece of land left to their property. Krune looked at it, sighing upon seeing the pitiful area it had. Even the bathroom he had in the Mountain Sect was bigger than this.

On top of that, he didn't even have to use a bathroom. Such disparity caused him unable to decide whether he had to laugh or cry.

But, that wasn't his intention now as Krune summoned his Soul Needle, watching the glow on it begin to recover once the sun rays fell on it. 'As expected, this property of it as a Sun Stone is still there.'

A Sun Stone was formed as a result of the sun rays being concentrated at a place for long enough for the material there to absorb it and become one. Other than that, a Sun Stone continued to absorb heat from the sun during the day,

That was its characteristic. It would then constantly emit it during the night.

Krune gently planted it in one corner of the field, inserting the back end of the Soul Needle into the soul to hold it up firmly.

He then entered the house and exited through its front, arriving on the road to see a small group of people congregated around their neighbor's house, also hearing the topic of their hushed discussions.

"Old Leaf has disappeared."

"He's not at an age to travel afar."

"Did a beast attack him?"

"There are no traces of such beasts here.. It's like he has vanished into thin air."