Lan Tian turned to look at Yu Shengyan and found him with his head bowed, his expression tense, deep in thought. It seems the protagonist hasn’t noticed those anomalies.
By the way, haven’t the “Big Boss” and the others caught up yet? But if they haven’t sent a message, nothing serious should have happened.
However, things here were becoming quite strange, and he needed to investigate thoroughly. The first step: get close.
“Granny, what is your name?” Lan Tian asked, arms crossed over his chest, his expression impassive.
Yu Shengyan glanced at him; it was clear he didn’t recognize her…
“Oh, just call me Granny Liu! Say… have you been here before? You look so familiar, young man…” As Granny Liu chopped vegetables, she finished preparing, opened the large iron pot, and poured in some oil.
Lan Tian leaned forward to peek inside. He saw Granny Liu take a piece of meat from a black bag, chop it twice, and toss it into the pot. Slowly, a strange, savory fragrance wafted out. Lan Tian sniffed the scent and silently swallowed. Strange, I didn’t eat anything before, but I wasn’t hungry either…
“All done”
Granny Liu slowly dished the food out of the large pot. She wiped her hands casually on her clothes and brought out the stir-fried greens with meat, which smelled incredibly sweet and fragrant.
So… so fragrant… Lan Tian’s heart thumped. He stared at the vibrant stir-fry, stunned for a split second… What kind of meat is that? Why is it so attractive to me?
“Senior Brother?” Yu Shengyan had been watching the door, thinking they should help Jialuo finish his business quickly so he could help his Senior Brother recover. Seeing the dish brought out, his Senior Brother seemed entranced once again.
Lan Tian gulped, trying to tear his gaze away from the glistening dish. Cannot, must not eat! This food is too strange.
To Yu Shengyan, Lan Tian was still staring at the food, looking eager to eat. So he is hungry after all… “Senior Brother? If you’re hungry, just eat…”
The moment Yu Shengyan spoke, Lan Tian turned his head sharply, staring right at him. Lan Tian’s eyes were even more vividly red, and they were filled with hesitation… Can I eat this now? Will it trigger some plot point?
Lan Tian called out to “Little Mengmeng” in his mind.
Lan Tian: “Little Mengmeng, I’m not lagging again, am I?”
Silence.
Lan Tian: “Little Mengmeng? Where are you?”
Lan Tian: “Little Mengmeng! Don’t scare me!”
Lan Tian called out repeatedly, but there was no answer. He felt something was off and tried to reach the “Big Boss.” What was going on? Why couldn’t he connect to anyone? He didn’t know if this was normal, but for him, it was like a bolt from the blue.
“The rice is ready too,” Granny Liu said hauntingly from inside the room as she brought out several bowls of rice.
This time, Lan Tian focused tightly on the bottom of Granny Liu’s feet. After just one look, his eyes widened, and cold sweat broke out on his back. When Granny Liu walked, he couldn’t see any sign of her lifting her feet. But how can one walk without lifting their feet? Could she be floating? Is she a ghost? Does this fit the laws of this world?
Lan Tian suddenly realized that ever since Jialuo began to show signs of life again, everything that should have been expected was now filled with doubts: the strange maze, the two identical locations, and the tombstones related to them… Even he himself had been “lagging” periodically…
His current mission was to investigate Jialuo’s background and increase the protagonist’s resentment value. But now…
Granny Liu had already placed the rice in front of him, and he had picked up his wooden chopsticks as if on autopilot…
My current form is a demon… logically speaking, what kind of meat would interest me? Therefore, this meat cannot be eaten! But… it’s too attractive…
Lan Tian picked up his chopsticks, trembling. Beside him, Yu Shengyan was urged by Granny Liu and picked up his own, tentatively reaching for a piece of meat. Just as he was about to put it into his mouth, Lan Tian’s hand shot out with lightning speed, knocking the chopsticks away, causing the meat to fall to the floor.
Yu Shengyan looked up at him, stunned. “That’s truly hateful…”
Taking advantage of the moment he knocked away Yu Shengyan’s chopsticks, Lan Tian dropped his own as well.
“Why won’t you eat?” Granny Liu kept her previous smile, yet now it made Lan Tian feel a tremor of fear… Wait, cheer up! At least I’m a demon… Demons shouldn’t be afraid of ghosts, right?
However… he had guessed wrong again…
A brilliant light suddenly erupted. Lan Tian quickly shielded his eyes. No way…
Indeed, that light was radiating from Granny Liu’s body… She’s not a ghost!
What is going on here?! My status as the Demon King seems completely useless…
Yu Shengyan was also startled. He stared at the rising white light, feeling a sense of familiarity it felt like a peer, but not a pure power like his own… it felt like… a subordinate.
“Children who don’t eat must be punished… I’ll just chop off your feet!”
Granny Liu’s facade suddenly shattered. She shrieked, laughing, and then a powerful force ripped a massive hole in the roof. Sand and straw cascaded down. Lan Tian jumped in shock and hid to the side, looking up. Above their heads in the sky… was a pair of gigantic eyes!
The pupils were pure black, and in the next second, the eyeballs rotated 180 degrees to lock onto him…
“Senior Brother! Look out!” Yu Shengyan shouted, lunging at him to push him out of the way.
Caught off guard, Lan Tian fell to the ground with him. He lifted his head to look where he had been standing, only to find a massive crater. An invisible attack!
Wasn’t I raised here? And all I did was throw a pair of chopsticks! Why did the attack start suddenly? No… I need to think… What happened to this village? And Jialuo… why did he bring them here? And… why can’t I reach the others!
“Boom”
Min Yue heard a faint, chaotic noise in his ears. He looked up, peering in the direction Lan Tian had gone, but nothing was happening there. Was it an auditory hallucination?
“Jialuo… I’ve been meaning to ask you, what exactly happened in your village? Why did you need Yu Shengyan’s help?”
Min Yue stared at Jialuo. Jialuo hesitated for a moment and frowned. Strangely, he really had felt that it was a matter of life and death, but upon returning, nothing seemed wrong at all. Thinking about it further, it really did seem like he had been overthinking. That sense of extreme urgency was fading, replaced by a feeling of deep, lethargic relaxation, making him want to return to his bed and sleep.
Thinking of this, he decided he had indeed been overthinking. He felt a wave of guilt toward the Lord Saint for dragging them all here for nothing, so he wasn’t at all worried that Granny Liu had taken them away. It’s time for them to rest anyway.
“Actually, I think I forgot… it wouldn’t be good to let you come all this way for nothing. Why don’t you all just rest for a while?” Jialuo said with a sheepish, apologetic smile.
“Rest?! That sounds great!” Upon hearing the word “rest,” Fan Ren relaxed, also noticing the soreness in his feet. Li Zi realized Min Yue and the others had just arrived as well. He grabbed Min Yue’s shoulder. “Resting sounds nice.” Min Yue must be tired…
Min Yue frowned and exchanged a look with Yu Lu. Yu Lu pursed her lips. Let’s just play it by ear…
The young child holding onto Min Yue’s sleeve cheered, his voice crisp: “Then let’s go, hurry!” Seeing that so many others agreed, Min Yue had to accept. However, since he couldn’t reach the “Little Anti,” Yu Lu stayed with them.
When other villagers tried to invite them, Min Yue declined. The villagers didn’t say anything, merely keeping those same smiles. Min Yue studied their eyes and noticed they had a habit of looking downward frequently. He looked at his own feet—nothing there, just some dirt. He looked at the villagers and realized their pants were strangely long, completely covering their feet. A strange custom?
Right. Min Yue pretended not to care as he looked up again, but he still couldn’t see anything in the sky… However… I know something is there.
Mainline Big Boss: “Lala, remember to check the sky every so often.” Lala’s Mainline: “Hmm? Why?” Mainline Big Boss: “There’s something in the sky.” Lala’s Mainline: “Gasp! How did you know?” Mainline Big Boss: “An ‘expert’s’ intuition. This world is getting really fun.” Lala’s Mainline: “Big Boss, you’re showing off again…”
Buzz, buzz,
Yu Lu suddenly felt a vibration. She paused and touched herself—Oh, it’s the Book of Heaven… is there a prompt again? Strange, this book was clearly just a prop… Even the text appearing before had been Little Mengmeng’s doing…
Still, she took the book out. This time, it was the second blank page. Just like last time, two characters appeared:
Eternity