The deaf blacksmith wore a device around his neck.
According to the village chief, it connected directly to his consciousness, allowing sounds to transmit straight into his mind.
No one knew what the man consumed to develop such intellect, but in the village of Sickos, many things were his creations. For instance, the iron plowmen and iron oxen working the fields were his inventions. Thanks to them, the village could cultivate rice at night, bypassing the strict laws of the Dry Sea.
Without these innovations, traditional farming methods would have required every villager to toil in the fields just to survive.
It had been half a month since Lạc Trần arrived in the village.
He could now manage to walk to Star Fell Lake, soak his feet in the water, and admire the scenery.
The villagers didn't assign him any tasks.
He gradually learned not to assert himself unnecessarily with them.
Having lost his heart and celestial meridians, Lạc Trần's cultivation was gone, his aura diminished. He was now frailer than an old man nearing his grave, according to them.
The village chief's only request was that if Lạc Trần went to Star Fell Lake, he should push the old man's wheelchair along.
Lake Star Fell was vast, even larger than the Snow Fall Pond he had seen at the Cloudspike sect. The village chief mentioned that several villages surrounded the lake, all relying on its waters for irrigation and daily life.
At the center of Star Fell Lake stood a temple built atop a massive peach tree. The tree's branches extended over the lake, with peach blossoms gently falling into the water.
Lạc Trần clutched his chest; the iron heart was undeniably heavier than his original. He still hadn't acclimated to its weight. Truly, he couldn't fathom how the deaf man managed to implant it into his chest and ensure it didn't sink into his abdomen due to its heft.
The village chief used two fingers to draw water from the lake, bringing it before Lạc Trần to drink.
"No need to feel guilty. You wouldn't know, but when the others first ventured into the dry sea, they all struggled like you. It's thanks to this old man that the village of Sickos retains a semblance of vitality."
"Chief, why is this lake called Star Fell? Was it formed by a falling star?"
The chief squinted, gazing up at the sky...
"Sick Boy, do you believe in gods?"
"Perhaps I did once. But now, I've pondered some principles that might seem heretical. So, I wanted to ask you first."
"I'm all ears."
"How do you define a god?"
"A god commands the great Dao, stands supreme, invincible in the world."
"But by that definition, even a powerful demon could be called a god. With such an interpretation, how many false, self-serving bastards in this world parade themselves as gods?"
"Oh? Then, in your view, what is a god?"
"One who rescues beings from calamity. A god serves humanity. Humans offer prayers to gods out of gratitude - not out of fear, not by bowing or grovelling."
"Such words, if heard in the Western Continent, would make the world see you as an enemy."
"Perhaps losing my heart caused all notions of gods, demons, immortals, and Buddhas to collapse within me."
"Well said."
The village chief laughed heartily, then shook his head:
"But Star Fell Lake wasn't formed by a falling star. On the contrary... a god once looked into the lake, was overwhelmed with fear, and died. The god's corpse fell, forming a small island; its spine grew into a peach tree. That day, stars fell across the four continents, hence the name Star Fell."
"A god died here?"
"In the Dry Sea, where hasn't a god perished? Why be surprised?"
Lạc Trần noticed the chief spoke of a god's death lightly, as if he had witnessed it himself.
Perhaps even slain a god with his own hands.
However, given the village of Sickos' rules, he refrained from probing further and changed the subject.
"Chief, are there fish in this lake?"
"There are, but no one usually catches them."
The chief coughed, then waved his hand.
"You should ask the cripple about this."
---the separator line comes to the rescue---
The cripple explained that the fish in Star Fell Lake weren't for eating but for amusement.
It's said that the god who perished here dropped a certain part into the lake, leading to the emergence of a peculiar fish species called "Fish Wives. They weigh over a hundred pounds, with the upper half resembling a fish and the lower half resembling a human. Soon, they overran other fish population in Star Fell Lake and became the only species man could fish out of the lake's murky water.
In the Dry Sea, Fish Wives were the most affordable means to... relieve desires.
After explaining, the cripple patted Lạc Trần's shoulder, saying:
"Relax. We may not be rich, but we've got a few dozen coins to our name. No need for you to stoop that low."
Lạc Trần ran like hell.
Yet, the words of the cripple and the village chief piqued Lạc Trần's curiosity about Star Fell Lake.
After all, there wasn't much else to do in the village of Sickos...
Following the womanizer was out of the question. Lạc Trần was quite traditional; without intentions of marriage, he wouldn't engage in such acts.
The blind man spent his days carving statues of the same woman, over and over again. Though he claimed he'd teach Lạc Trần woodworking, when approached at his woodshop, there was no meaningful interaction.
The butcher? Don't even ask. Three sentences in and he was itching to throw punches. Moreover, he was notorious for his lack of restraint. Madame Mute had warned multiple times that if Lạc Trần accepted, he might be accidentally killed.
Madame Mute was indeed approachable, but she preferred embroidery. Every time they conversed, she'd have to pause her needlework to write in the air. Thus, unless one could sit idly like the village chief or remain silent like the deaf man, interactions with her would soon test her patience.
When Madame Mute got angry, she'd pierce 81 sewing needles into the culprit's buttocks - 40 on each side, with the final one right at the tailbone.
Aside from the village chief, only three people had ever escaped Madame Mute's wrath. One was the bald man who brewed wine, another was the one-armed butcher, and the last was the cripple. But the cripple was a special case; he had fled to another village for over a month.
From that day, Lạc Trần found his own pastime.
He focused on inquiring about Star Fell Lake.
The blind man said the temple in the middle of the lake wasn't a peaceful place. Unless one had the strength to cross the lake in a single step, it was best to stay away.
Madame Mute mentioned that on the 3rd, 9th, 17th, and 25th of each month, a wooden boat would appear on the lake. The boat had no bottom, no sail, and no oars. Beneath the water, four skeletons would push the boat from the lake's edge to the temple at its center. Ordinary people could only reach the temple this way.
After that, she resumed her embroidery and said no more.
The butcher recounted that traveling to the temple in this manner could earn one fish - regular river fish, not the usual Fish Wives. Inside the main hall, there was a bronze statue covered by a black veil, with green flames burning candles and chants echoing all around. If one knelt before the statue and endured the chants for two hours, a basket of fish would appear beside them.
Of course, nine out of ten who attempted this would go mad. The butcher didn't recommend Lạc Trần give it a go. In any case, with him around, the village never lacked for meat.
On the 3rd of that month, Lạc Trần held a torch and accompanied the village chief to the lake's edge, witnessing the bottomless boat first hand.
He saw a gaunt man step onto the boat; the water beneath was as solid as wood or stone, preventing him from sinking. The chief said the man was a beggar from a neighboring village, likely driven by famine to risk seeking fish from the ancient temple.
The next day, Lạc Trần asked the cripple to accompany him to the beggar's village.
They traveled there, traded animal hides for some seeds, and inquired about the beggar. Since the previous night, he hadn't returned. The village guard had already informed the villagers of his death. That day, they exchanged hides to prepare a clothing grave for him, sewing a mourning flag in place of a memorial tablet to hang in the ancestral hall.
This was the farthest Lạc Trần had ventured from the village of Sickos.
The village they visited was named Phù Trúc. At its center stood a horizontal bamboo tree, floating in mid-air. The villagers relied on bamboo shoots and crafted bamboo items to sustain themselves. The beggar had a hand deformity, preventing him from making tables or chairs, or even chopsticks and spoons, so he wasn't allocated any bamboo shoots to eat.
Lạc Trần also learned that in the dry sea, each village had a guardian. They stood at the village gates, preventing darkness from encroaching, maintaining peace in their exiled land. The specifics of their duties were unknown, as each village had its own secrets.
The cripple seized the opportunity to gossip, revealing that their village chief was their guardian. Unfortunately, the old man loved to nap and shirk responsibilities, so occasionally, darkness would wander into the village.
Perhaps noticing Lạc Trần's fear, the cripple draped an arm over his shoulder and said:
"Don't worry. Your room is north of the butcher's, south of the blind man's, west of Madame Mute's, and east of mine. Even if darkness enters the village, it'll encounter us first."
Lạc Trần nodded.
Unlike his time at the Cloudspike sect, the village of Sickos offered him a sense of informality, sincerity, and simplicity.