Now let's talk about this other side.

After walking a little further away, Nan Xian immediately pulled Diao Yu aside, looked back, and asked, "What did Sheng Zhicheng want with you just now?"

Diao Yu honestly recounted the whole story, even repeating their conversation word for word.

After listening, Nan Xian pondered for a moment, a hint of worry appearing on her face: "I don't know what his intentions are, but it's better to be careful. You should try not to have any contact with him, so as not to reveal any flaws."

Diao Yu obediently replied, "Yes, yes, I'll do whatever you say!"

"Let's not talk about that. Have you found any useful clues?"

Diao Yu nodded hurriedly, "Just now I caught—cough, I called over a few grass spirits and questioned them. They said they hadn't seen any puppeteers, but there's an old woman who knows a little magic at the far east end of the village, though she's often acting crazy. I think we can go find that old woman and see if she knows anything."

Nan Xian was taken aback. "I know the person you're talking about."

**

The recording ended in the evening, and after having dinner, the two immediately rushed to the silly woman's house.

When they were still a few dozen meters from their destination, the two of them suddenly heard a commotion coming from the direction of the small, dilapidated house. They exchanged a glance and quickly quickened their pace.

The door was wide open, and the dim light revealed three figures, two tall and one short.

"Who else could it be but you! My family has always been on good terms with the whole village, we've never even had a fight, what reason do they have to kill my chickens and ducks!"

"You're not from our village. The village chief only let you stay here because he felt sorry for you, and he always brings you food and groceries. Yet you repay kindness with such ingratitude... it's truly..."

The two voices sounded somewhat familiar. Nan Xian was slightly taken aback, and connecting their conversation, she quickly recalled something that had happened during the first loop—

One morning when she woke up, she saw several villagers arguing loudly with the village chief. Upon asking, she learned that their chickens and ducks had been maliciously killed the night before, and they all suspected that the idiot woman was responsible.

In this cycle, many things have changed. She hadn't heard of any villagers seeking justice from the village chief before, so she assumed that the course of history had been altered. But to her surprise, it still happened, just a little later.

No sound came from inside the house, but the two accusing voices continued. Nan Xian's face darkened slightly, and she stepped across the threshold and into the house.

She made quite a commotion, and the two people talking inside stopped talking and turned to look at her.

"Hey, isn't that the celebrity who came to our village to film a show?" one of them whispered to his companion.

The other person nodded, his angry expression softening slightly, and said to Nan Xian, "Little girl, have you come to the wrong place? This is not a place for you!"

Nan Xian immediately spotted the mentally challenged woman squatting by the dilapidated table in the center of the room, head down, knees tucked in her arms, motionless. Her heart clenched instantly. Ignoring the two villagers, she went over and helped the woman sit down in a chair.

"Grandma, are you alright?"

The old woman slowly raised her head, her expression blank and her eyes unfocused. She stared at Nan Xian for a few seconds before lowering her head again, muttering something unintelligible.

Nan Xian thought to herself, "This is bad: Could it be that the silly woman doesn't remember me or recognize me again?"

She tentatively asked in a low voice, "Grandma, I'm Nan Xian. We just met yesterday morning, don't you remember me?"

The simple-minded woman seemed not to hear her words. Suddenly, she stopped muttering, raised her head and looked around. Then, she made a few anxious "ah-woo-ah-woo" sounds, stood up abruptly, and began circling the table, as if searching for something.