However, Wu Qiyi and Xian Qianling were completely different.
Wu Qiyi knew everything about you, but she never used that to force her way into your life or disrupt your way of living in order to achieve her goals.
She existed by your side just like a childhood friend, like a confidant who knows you inside out, ready to offer help whenever you needed it.
You looked at her and laughed, "It just occurred to me while cooking, based on the natural Five Elements, mutually enhancing each other. Theoretically speaking, unless forcibly destroyed, it should persist indefinitely."
Wu Qiyi nodded, then winked at you and asked, "This thing can only defend against ghosts and evil creatures, right?"
"What if bad people come? We’re in the wilderness, and it might be very dangerous for three girls to spend the night outside, right?"
You sized up Wu Qiyi from head to toe, your eyelids almost flipping to Siberia.
"What’s with that expression?" Wu Qiyi blinked her mesmerizing almond-shaped eyes somewhat speechlessly.
"Not to mention Xi Yu’s abilities that I can’t even begin to comprehend, just your fighting ability alone could lay out ten grown men. Who would be foolish enough to mess with you?"
Wu Qiyi unusually pouted her sexy lips and turned to Little Qinniang, "Little Yan, shall we go take a hot shower at the dorm first, and then come back, okay?"
Saying this, Wu Qiyi took Little Qinniang’s hand, leading her in the direction they had come from.
As they passed by you, Little Qinniang casually grabbed your arm, looking up at you, "Brother, we’ll bathe together."
Wu Qiyi also half-turned, giving you a meaningful look.
Scratching your head, you said awkwardly to Little Qinniang, "Little Yan, be good. Brother is a boy, how can I take a bath with you? You go with elder sister; brother has some other things to do."
Little Qinniang nodded, seemingly understanding.
After Wu Qiyi took Little Qinniang away, you sat down cross-legged beside the fire, your eyes slowly closing.
Soon, your vision became like a dandelion in the wind, soaring up with it.
Your gaze continued to ascend, passing through the treetops, skimming over the canopy, climbing higher and higher.
As your view ascended, the whole outline of Qingfeng Village gradually expanded into view.
From this angle, it looked no different from the view from the hilltop; you needed a higher position, so you kept rising.
When your vision was about a hundred meters above the ground, you couldn’t help but look towards Blackwater Village, which Wu Qiyi had pointed out earlier.
Blackwater Village was located on the other side of the mountain, accessible only via a rugged mountain path from Qingfeng Village.
Compared to Qingfeng Village, Blackwater Village seemed larger, but its buildings were orderly arranged, unlike Qingfeng Village, which was built haphazardly without any apparent plan.
Your gaze immediately flew above Blackwater Village, and you stared at the houses of Blackwater Village. As you watched, a slight illusion appeared in your vision, and it was precisely this illusion that led you to suddenly discover that the arrangements of the houses in Blackwater Village formed an inverted Eight Trigrams Array!
Seeing this, you couldn’t help but inhale a cold breath!
The so-called inverted Eight Trigrams Array is a method of arrangement used when the living construct Yin Houses, that is, graves. No one had ever heard of normal people arranging the houses of a village in such a taboo manner.
Looking around Blackwater Village, you noticed that, like Qingfeng Village, it was also surrounded by two mountain streams. However, these streams didn’t flow toward Qingfeng Village but followed the mountain’s edge to another valley.
You glanced at that valley and saw that the terrain was flat, and the water and grass were lush. Compared with the current environment of Qingfeng Village, this valley was actually more suitable for habitation.
Seeing this, you fell into deep thought.
After much pondering, you, unable to understand, eventually gave up and slowly opened your eyes.
At this time, the sky was gradually darkening, and you saw three figures slowly walking towards you.
Wu Qiyi had changed Little Qinniang’s clothes and had tied two cute little braids for her. Although Little Qinniang’s face was still as pale as wax, her delicate features had already become apparent,
Little Qinniang, who had put on new clothes and shoes, seemed very happy and hopped and skipped over to you.
You looked at your little sister and smiled.
She was a very strong little girl. Others might not be able to tell, but you could feel the sorrow deeply hidden in her heart.
The death of her mother had made Little Qinniang experience the deepest, inexpressible pain and sadness of this world. However, she didn’t show too much of it on her face, keeping it deep inside instead. Moreover, she knew that only if she lived well would her mother be happy in heaven.
"Master Li, forgive my bluntness, but Miss and I have come to Qingfeng Village five times already, and all together it has been about a month. During this time, we have never felt any unusual presence. I don’t know how Master Li determined that place was dangerous."
You looked at Xi Yu, who was quite serious, and smiled, "Intuition."
Xi Yu was obviously not satisfied with your answer, "Master Li, please tell me! Protecting the Miss is my duty and responsibility. I know that given your relationship with the Miss, you would not speak without reason, but I want to know the method behind your judgment to prevent such things from happening again."
Seeing Xi Yu’s serious demeanor, you couldn’t help scratching your head, "Well, Miss Xi Yu, this really is just a feeling. Plus, I heard about it from the middle-aged uncle who delivered things to me earlier. The dormitory where you are staying now used to be Little Yan and her mother’s house. That was deliberately arranged by the former village chief, and it wasn’t until before you arrived that the current chief had the old house demolished and two new floors built on top."
Xi Yu furrowed her pretty eyebrows, musing, "Demolish the old house and build a new one? There are many solid empty spaces on the edge of Qingfeng Village, easy to come by, there really is no need to demolish and rebuild."
Shrugging your shoulders, you smiled, "Yeah, I think so too. That’s why I feel like there’s something strange about this matter, and this Qingfeng Village always gives me a very strange feeling."
At this point, you seemed to have a thought and asked Xi Yu, "Having come to Qingfeng Village so many times, do you know everyone in the village?"
Xi Yu and Wu Qiyi looked at each other upon hearing this.
Wu Qiyi thought for a moment, "Most of our focus has been on the children, we haven’t had much interaction with the adults in the village."
"No, what I mean to ask is, have you seen all the children here?"
"Yes, we’ve been in contact with all the children in the village."
"What do you mean, ’and’?" Xi Yu asked.
Ultimately, it was Wu Qiyi who understood what you were getting at. As soon as you asked that, Wu Qiyi suddenly spoke up, "There’s a problem!"