Zhang Nu didn't have much time to ponder; he could only inch closer to the village chief's house, eager to uncover the truth hidden there. As he approached, a figure suddenly appeared ahead---a woman, dressed in a flowing white gown, with an air of icy beauty surrounding her.
Instinctively, Zhang Nu hid himself, though he wasn't sure why. It was just his immediate reaction. A moment later, he realized he didn't really need to hide. After all, he hadn't wronged this person, nor had they met before, so there was no reason for him to feel nervous. However, since he had already concealed himself, there seemed little reason to reveal his presence now. If he did, he might alarm her and alert the village chief.
As the woman moved closer to the village chief's house, Zhang Nu found himself wanting to follow her. However, before he could move further, villagers suddenly appeared around him, as if they had materialized from thin air. Zhang Nu tensed, scanning the faces around him. Who were these villagers? How had they managed to arrive so quickly without him noticing?
"Who are you? Didn't we already tell you that this area is forbidden in our village? Why are you here?"
After hearing the villager's words, Zhang Nu was momentarily at a loss, unsure how to respond. Though he wore Liu Hai's clothing, the fact remained that he was an outsider to the village. However, it was clear that the villagers hadn't recognized this and seemed to judge him solely based on his attire.
"Sorry, uncle, I was just here to retrieve something I dropped. I didn't mean to trespass into the forbidden area."
The villager seemed to take his excuse at face value and waved him off dismissively.
"Hurry up and get your things, then leave. Next time I catch you here, it won't matter whose kid you are---I won't let you off."
Nodding and bowing slightly, Zhang Nu quickly gathered his things and made a hasty exit. Just as he left, he caught a glimpse of the cold woman's mocking gaze. She was standing right behind the villagers, yet it was as though they couldn't see her at all, completely ignoring her presence.
This baffled Zhang Nu even more. What was going on? Why did the villagers seem blind to the woman, yet be so focused on him? Could it be that they could only see men?
Slowly retreating, Zhang Nu made his way back to where Liu Hai had been waiting. As soon as he saw Zhang Nu, Liu Hai leapt down from the tree he was perched in.
"So, did you find anything?"
Shaking his head, Zhang Nu explained, "I didn't get close enough to the village chief's house before the villagers spotted me. You were right---they appeared out of nowhere, as if they materialized from thin air. They surrounded me in an instant, and I didn't hear a single footstep."
After listening to Zhang Nu's explanation, Liu Hai nodded, realizing that he had experienced a similar situation before. He too was baffled by how the villagers seemed to appear out of nowhere and why they possessed such strange abilities.
"I suspected something was off with these villagers from the beginning," Liu Hai remarked. "But I couldn't quite figure out how to explain it---they just seem to appear from thin air. What do you think is going on? Why is this village so strange?"
Zhang Nu, equally perplexed, shook his head. But what unsettled him the most was the mysterious woman. She had calmly walked toward the village chief's house without any of the villagers attempting to stop her.
"After I entered the village, I saw a woman ahead of me," Zhang Nu said. "She was a graceful, young woman, but the villagers acted as if they couldn't see her. They didn't try to stop her at all, as if she belonged there."
Liu Hai was even more shocked upon hearing this. He had never encountered someone with such a high cultivation level. Based on his understanding, only someone with immense power could approach the village chief's house. But Zhang Nu already had the highest cultivation level he had ever seen, and even he couldn't get close. So, just how powerful was this woman that the villagers were entirely unaware of her presence?