Longyin Village.
Grandma Zhang's house.
The doorway was packed with disciples from Biliu Sect.
Yao Ranran was momentarily dazed, thinking she might have come to the wrong place.
"What is going on?"
Confirming she was indeed at the right location, she walked in, confused.
Inside, more cultivators emerged from the inner rooms, their expressions grave, shaking their heads and sighing. A thick herbal scent filled the air, and Yao Ranran pinched her nose nervously. "Could it be that Grandma Zhang is sick?"
She quickened her steps and entered the inner room. A group of people had formed a circle. She immediately recognized the backs of Zhou Lili and her father.
"What's happening? Did something happen to Grandma Zhang?"
Zhou Lili turned around, her eyes rimmed with dark circles. She paused in shock, rubbing her eyes. "Fairy Yao Ranran? Fairy Yao Ranran!!!"
She suddenly snapped awake, her eyes wide, her voice raised, startling everyone around.
Jiang Shengxiang pushed through the crowd and emerged. "Fairy, why are you here? We didn't want to worry you…"
"After all this, I wouldn't come? Did you plan to wait until the feast to invite me? Tell me honestly, how many days does Grandma Zhang have left?" Yao Ranran demanded.
Seeing Zhou Lili exhausted and worried, Yao Ranran immediately understood.
This illness was serious.
Jiang Shengxiang froze. "I don't know how long my mother will live…"
Grandma Zhang, having just brought two bowls of chicken soup from the kitchen, set them down, picked up her cane, and struck him. "I am going to cook the soup, and you sit here cursing me to death!?"
Jiang Shengxiang cowered, "I didn't, I wouldn't dare…"
Yao Ranran was shocked. "Sorry, my fault!"
Who was about to die here?
Zhou Lili and her father cleared a path for her.
"Boss…"
"Fairy Yao Ranran…"
Yao Ranran's face fell. "Xiao Rong, Tang Xiangyin, what's happened to you? Why do you look like all your yang energy has been drained?"
Xiao Rong and Tang Xiangyin each lay on a bed, covered in three layers of blankets. Their cheeks hollowed, their eyes dim, spirits low, voices feeble.
This was horrifying.
Xiao Rong struggled to extend a hand. "Boss… save me…"
"Fairy… save me too…"
"Okay, okay, I understand. You both rest first…" Yao Ranran grasped their outstretched hands, utterly confused.
What had happened in the past few days???
…
One-Eyed Daoist, under the alias Zuo Xia, entered Longyin Village wearing a blue robe. He carried the aura of a scholarly gentleman, attracting many villagers' attention.
Inside, he quietly laughed to himself, scanning the villagers as though evaluating raw materials. After years of demon cultivation, his heart was colder than any sword.
See, if that unlucky spirit hadn't been pursued by enemies, fallen into a bottomless abyss, and tortured by venomous ants, snakes, and insects, he wouldn't have taken so long to reach this vibrant village.
The days of peace and tranquility would soon be shattered.
Into blood and ruin.
Heh heh heh…
"According to Xiao Rong and Tang Xiangyin, after leaving Gu Ling Mountain, they spoke briefly with Lu Ziqian and then came to Grandma Zhang's house.
"By coincidence, Grandma Wang was there drinking tea. Seeing them arrive, she prepared a table of good dishes. Later, due to her age and mobility issues, she asked Xiao Rong and Tang Xiangyin to deliver the rice cakes she made to the Nameless Peak.
The two continued chatting with Lu Ziqian until sunset and did not wish to return home, so they returned to the village.
From the moment they arrived back, Xiao Rong and Tang Xiangyin felt a chill on their backs. Confused, they went to Sun Dabao's house. To prove their courage, they overturned the ruins and fought until exhausted, eventually falling asleep in the wreckage.
The next morning, a villager found them and carried them back to Grandma Zhang's house. Despite lying there for a full day and night, Xiao Rong and Tang Xiangyin showed no signs of waking. Xiao Jiang sensed something was wrong and promptly called Zhou Lili.
Even Zhou Lili was helpless!
She could not determine what had afflicted them. Their seventh-grade pills had been used up the day before yesterday. The Baibao Pavilion could not provide more, and seventh-grade or higher pills in Shiyan City had all been bought by a mysterious organization, causing prices to skyrocket. Ordinary pills were now difficult to obtain in the short term…"
As Yao Ranran considered this, a chill ran down her spine, sweat beading on her forehead. "Isn't all of this too coincidental, as if some invisible hand is pushing Xiao Rong and Tang Xiangyin toward death? Someone is targeting them!"
The thought sent Yao Ranran into a cold sweat.
This village had been under surveillance.
Who had gone to such lengths to track Xiao Rong and Tang Xiangyin's route? Who monopolized the seventh-grade pills with such huge amounts of spirit stones?
There had to be a hidden hand in the village.
But why target Xiao Rong and Tang Xiangyin and not her directly?
Yao Ranran's gaze swept over the half-familiar, cheerful faces. Her eyes suddenly fixed on a unique figure in a blue robe.
Only this young scholar had not smiled at her.
His eyes were full of a rare, almost stunning curiosity.
Curiosity could be understood.
Yao Ranran rarely descended the mountain. Whenever she appeared, she drew all eyes. Not exaggerating, when she first came down, farmers abandoned their plows, hoes forgotten, causing a stir. After that, she rarely went out.
Most villagers had seen her from afar and would not be frozen in awe like this scholar.
"Scholar, wipe your drool!" A simple villager patted Zuo Xia on the shoulder, shaking his head.
Another outsider captivated by the Fairy! People say scholars only love the classics, but clearly they haven't met Fairy Yao Ranran.
Zuo Xia awkwardly hid his face with his sleeve, wiping the drool.
"This girl is impressive. When I refine this village, I could spare her life! A beauty like this would be far more valuable than blood money for the top." Zuo Xia secretly calculated, then turned and headed toward the Nameless Peak.
Yao Ranran paused and followed him.
Zuo Xia's eyes flicked to the side, surprised.
Why was this woman following so closely? He quietly sent his divine sense to cover the surrounding village, scanning the faces of male villagers aged twelve to forty-five. Gently stroking his flawless face, he noted that the woman was of marriageable age.
The village had few men, and most were of uneven quality. A fair-skinned, slightly handsome face was a rare treasure here.
But the Yinsha Blood Soul Pearl was more important. First, he would deal with the scholar, then handle this woman's infatuation.