Mainline Big Boss: “Lala, enter the village first and keep in contact with us. Tell us whatever you find out.”
Lala’s Mainline: “Understood, Big Boss!”
Lan Tian: “Ouch, ouch, my legs are numb.”
Mainline Big Boss: “Little Anti, you should be able to wake up now.”
Lan Tian: “That’s good. Since I was so easily taken advantage of by the protagonist, I’ll have to get it back later!”
Mainline Big Boss: “…”
Lala’s Mainline: “What? What?”
Slap! The first thing Lan Tian did upon waking up was to push Yu Shengyan away. Yu Shengyan was caught off guard, and since Lan Tian had used force, he ended up falling to the ground.
Lan Tian sat on the ground with a thud. Hmm… the ground is really hard.
“What kind of ‘righteous person’ are you?! Is this how you conduct a sneak attack?” Lan Tian appeared extremely angry. He stood up and scanned his surroundings.
“Senior Brother.” Yu Shengyan clenched his fists. He had been worried that Lan Tian might have been injured from the fall earlier, but looking at him now, it seemed like he didn’t care at all. In fact, Yu Shengyan could understand—that bloodthirsty desire must have made him extremely irritable.
Lan Tian: No, no, you definitely don’t understand.
Lan Tian turned his head and saw the Divine Hidden Village (Shenyin Village) behind them. He suddenly froze as he stared at the sign. Yu Shengyan watched him, feeling a bit tense, fearing that as soon as they entered, Lan Tian would go on a killing spree. However, Lan Tian just remained in that posture, not moving an inch. He looked as if he were entranced.
“Senior Brother?”
Sensing something was wrong, Yu Shengyan moved in front of him. When he looked, he was stunned. Lan Tian was actually crying. He stood before the gate, eyes fixed on the wooden plaque, filled with tears. His red pupils reflected the tears, making them look like blood.
Lan Tian: “Little Mengmeng, what’s going on? Why can’t I control myself?”
Little Mengmeng: “The plot, it’s the plot. This happens occasionally.”
Lan Tian: “So it’s a bug, then.”
After a while, he was finally able to move again. However, the moment he turned around, he saw Yu Shengyan placing his hand on his face, gently wiping the tears from the corners of his eyes. Instinctively, Lan Tian wanted to swat his hand away, but as soon as he reached out, Yu Shengyan grabbed his wrist and held it tightly. His other hand stubbornly wiped the tears from Lan Tian’s other eye; his expression was far from pleasant.
“Venerable Master, what is wrong with you?” Jialuo walked forward and asked with a puzzled expression.
How would I know what’s wrong with me! And… it seems I’ve been misunderstood again…
“Nothing! Just sand in my eyes. Let go of my hand.” Lan Tian reverted to his previous disdainful demeanor and looked at Yu Shengyan coldly. After wiping the tears, Yu Shengyan immediately released his wrist, no longer looking at him or speaking to him.
People from the village soon arrived and opened the gate for them.
“Oh! Little Jialuo is back! My, Lord Saint is back too, and so many guests! Come, come, quickly inside.” An elderly man with white hair called Jialuo by name in a familiar tone, and Jialuo responded with a smile.
“Uncle Hu, is everyone here?”
“Yes, yes, we are all here.”
Uncle Hu pushed the door open tremblingly, his back hunched over like a shrimp. Lan Tian was the first to enter, followed by Jialuo, then Min Yue, and finally, Yu Shengyan.
As new guests arrived in the village, children and elders approached them with enthusiasm. Within minutes, they were completely surrounded. Lan Tian remained expressionless, cool and aloof. Jialuo, knowing they disliked crowds, apologized apologetically, “Sorry, people rarely visit Divine Hidden Village, so they are very excited whenever they see strangers.”
Min Yue was the first to speak: “It is fine.” He glanced at the entrance and then at the buildings in the village; they were all thatched huts, appearing unremarkable.
Wait, something feels wrong. As Min Yue scanned the village scene, his peripheral vision caught something. He hurriedly looked up, but there was nothing in the sky. Did I see it wrong? If he weren’t an actor, he might have believed he was mistaken, but they had known from the start that this place was peculiar. Min Yue silently made a note of it: there was something in the sky above this village.
Ever since entering the gate, Yu Shengyan had felt a stifling sensation in his chest. However, it faded as he grew slightly accustomed to the environment, though strange thoughts kept plaguing his mind. He even forgot to ask Jialuo what kind of help they needed.
“Oh dear, none of you have eaten yet, have you?” An old woman smiled kindly. Assuming they hadn’t eaten on the journey, she didn’t say a word and pulled Lan Tian away. Yu Shengyan noticed and hurriedly followed.
Min Yue also wanted to follow, but a young child suddenly grabbed his hand: “Big Brother, we have food at my house, come eat at my place.” Looking at the child’s expectant, wide eyes, Min Yue didn’t know how to refuse.
Jialuo smiled directly: “Master, do not worry. Just now, Venerable Master and Lord Saint went to Granny Liu’s house. Granny Liu’s cooking is delicious. But since there are too many people, Granny Liu’s food won’t be enough. Please eat with me first, Master, and then we can find them.”
Min Yue frowned slightly. He thought of Jialuo’s grave on the outer mountain and hesitated.
“Ugh, what a dump. Can we really find anything here?”
A slightly unfamiliar voice suddenly came from the entrance, followed by a few more sounds.
“Weren’t you the one who insisted on following?” This voice was laced with suppressed impatience. Min Yue recognized it immediately it was his second disciple, Yu Qiu.
Is it Lala and the others?
He looked at Jialuo and the villagers and realized they were all pricking up their ears; they heard it too!
“How did I just hear other people’s voices?”
“Yes, it’s not just me, an old man, hearing things. I heard it too.”
“Is someone else coming? It’s been so lively lately.”
“Look, there’s no one there. I guess we’re all having hallucinations.”
Uncle Hu rubbed his ears and shook his head with a smile. However, just as he finished speaking, a person suddenly appeared outside the gate.
“Ouch, what kind of stupid rock is that? It made this young master fall!” Fan Ren sat on the ground, clutching his knee with an expression of pain. He blew on it a few times and then extended a hand in the air, seemingly waiting for someone to help him up. No one came to his aid, so he retracted his hand, looking bored, and slowly pushed himself up.
When he looked ahead, he was shocked to find that the dilapidated village had suddenly been renovated, and many people had appeared inside. The villagers and Min Yue stared at him in astonishment; they had never seen a person appear out of thin air. Min Yue’s eyes widened for a different reason: Why did this fool show up?
Just as Min Yue was about to be disappointed, one person after another appeared out of thin air at the gate. They were Yu Qiu, Yu Lu, and Li Zi…
Lala! And our silly Li Zi! And… that dull disciple of mine…
“I told you not to walk so fast…” Yu Qiu started scolding Fan Ren the moment he arrived; he had been wanting to do that for a while. However, when he saw Fan Ren standing still, he followed his gaze.
“Master!”
Upon seeing his Master’s face, Yu Qiu shouted happily. Li Zi heard his voice and quickly looked up. It was true… it was Min Yue…
Because Min Yue had been dragged around by Lan Tian earlier, his hair and clothes were somewhat disheveled. Furthermore, when Li Zi saw the tear in his robe over his abdomen and the dried bloodstains, his pupils shrank to the size of needles.
Min Yue saw the intense gaze from Li Zi and remembered he hadn’t tidied himself up… being this messy… Ah, I remember one of my settings is having mysophobia (germaphobia).
Oh no, oh no. Too many things happened and I didn’t have a mirror; I completely forgot about that.
Cough, forget it. They shouldn’t care about this after a long-awaited reunion…
Min Yue said to Uncle Hu, “Old sir, those outside are our friends; please let them in as well.”
The villagers were shocked to see people appearing out of thin air, their jaws nearly dropping. Hearing that they were Min Yue’s friends, Uncle Hu relaxed; a friend’s friend was also a friend of theirs. He replied with an “Aye,” and hunched over to open the gate.
“Ghost… ghosts!” The moment Fan Ren saw Uncle Hu approaching, he let out a sky-shattering scream. Although Yu Qiu was also surprised, he had already seen his Master and didn’t lose his composure or manners. He quickly covered Fan Ren’s mouth to prevent the villagers from getting a bad impression of them because of him.
As the gate opened, the first one to rush in was Li Zi…