"There are so many houses here, but no one is here. It's really creepy."

Shu Qingqing looked at one empty house after another, touched the sweltering sky, and got goosebumps all over her arm.

The surrounding woods are shady, and the occasional breeze carries a coolness from deep within the forest.

The incessant chirping of cicadas only added to the restlessness in one's heart.

The wind was cool, but the sunlight was scorching.

For Lei Ting's sake, Shang Duojin had to keep up with Shu Qingqing's every move.

He awkwardly struck up a conversation with her: "Something does seem off, but there are large numbers of civilian houses nearby. Thinking about that makes it less scary."

Besides, they also have their familiars with them, so if anything unexpected happens, they won't be alone.

Shu Qingqing thought so too, and her unease quickly subsided. She then asked Shang Duojin, "So what are your plans after you find Wan Shishi is abnormal? Without her as your childhood betrothed, as the only son in your family, you will definitely need to find another marriage partner."

That is indeed the case.

Shang Duojin scratched his head in frustration and said dejectedly, "You don't need to worry about this. I'm only eighteen years old, still young, not twenty-eight. There's no need to be in such a hurry."

Although he said that, Shang Duojin felt inexplicably annoyed at the thought that when he reached a certain age, he might have to find a woman to be with under the pressure of his parents and sisters.

When that time really comes, he at least hopes that the girl he's with is someone he likes and who likes him back.

For example, someone like Shu Qingqing...

The moment the thought popped into his mind, Shang Duojin's pupils widened instantly, and a cold sweat broke out on his back.

What's wrong with him? Why is he thinking about these strange things again...?

Shu Qingqing was immediately annoyed when she saw Shang Duojin suddenly distance himself from her and look at her with the eyes of someone who looked like a dangerous person.

"Young Master Shang, what's wrong with you now? You..."

"Thud!!"

Before Shu Qingqing could finish speaking, her attention was drawn to the sound of a porcelain jar shattering coming from the empty room to the south.

She frowned at Shang Duojin and got down to business: "Was there a sound coming from over there just now?"

Shang Duojin heard it too, and after clearing his mind of all sorts of thoughts, he nodded: "There is indeed a sound, shall we go and take a look?"

Maybe someone lives in the room where the sound is coming from.

"Is that even a question? We're here to find someone, aren't we?"

The two agreed, and Shu Qingqing focused her gaze on the house where the strange noise was coming from, leading Shang Duojin along the gravel path to the place.

The house in front of me is a three-story old villa, surrounded by ivy.

The house was overgrown with weeds, and there were signs that wild animals had made their home there.

No matter how you look at it, it doesn't seem like anyone still lives there.

Noticing this, Shu Qingqing grabbed the collar of the boy who was still trying to go inside, her expression solemn: "Something's not right. Don't make any rash moves. I'll call Qiaoqiao on my personal terminal and ask her."

As the two were talking, they did not notice two wisps of black energy slowly approaching from behind them.

The little green snake, Thunder, is a familiar beast, and its senses are much stronger than those of humans like Shang Duojin and Shu Qingqing.

They quickly noticed something was wrong when the black mist was about twenty paces away from them, and warned, "It looks like something's coming, Master, be careful!"

As soon as it finished speaking, the black mist, which had been moving at a steady pace, suddenly began to accelerate and also decreased its altitude considerably.

Shang Duojin and Shu Qingqing turned around at the same time upon hearing the sound, but saw nothing.

But I did get a lot of goosebumps for no reason, and my back felt cold.

"Thunder, where did you sense that? Could you be mistaken?"

Shang Duojin shuddered, feeling a sudden urge to run away and leave this place.

No sooner had they finished asking than the black mist, which was only five steps away from them, burrowed underground and then locked onto two heat sources on the ground, penetrating them from beneath their feet.

Just as Lei Ting was about to speak, he saw Shang Duojin and Shu Qingqing freeze at the same time, and then both of them went limp and fainted.

It tried to call for help, but the next moment, the black mist that emerged from Shang Duojin and the others rushed straight towards it, knocking it unconscious.

...

When Qiao Mei and Ao Cang returned, they looked around but couldn't find Shang Duojin and Shu Qingqing, and their worries grew.

She glanced down at the personal cell phone she had called for the two of them, but it remained unanswered.

The two of them didn't reply to the messages I sent in the group chat.

Once she got here, she was pretty sure that something had happened to the two of them.

The girl pursed her lips and looked worriedly to her side, asking Ao Cang, "Cang Cang, do you have a way to find their location?"

He is a god, so he should be able to know where Shang Duojin and the others are.

Ao Cang did not give a definite answer at first, but simply said that he should try it first.

Lai Tan is a god just like him. Judging from the current situation, if we find Lai Tan, we can probably find Shu Qingqing and the others.

Having figured this out, Ao Cang began to unleash his divine power to search for Lai Tan's whereabouts.

Sure enough, he discovered some death energy belonging to Lai Tan left at the scene.

"Found it, An'an, give me your hand."

The places where Raitan left his mark can now only be seen by him.

But once Qiao Mei's hand was in his, both of them could see each other.

Qiao Mei placed her hand on Ao Cang's large hand, and as he led her to interlock her fingers, she instantly noticed some scattered traces of black energy in front of her.

The trail stretched into the deep forest behind, suggesting that Lai Tan had led Shang Duojin and the others in this direction.

In this situation, rushing over recklessly would definitely lead to falling into Lai Tan's trap.

If they don't follow, the chances of Shang Duojin and Shu Qingqing's lives being in danger will increase.

After weighing the options, Qiao Mei decided to go with them.

But before that, she didn't forget to call in a few reinforcements.

She called Xu Heyu and Zuo Chenxing respectively. Not only did the two of them happen to be on the Imperial Star, but their strength was also not too bad.

Especially Xu Heyu.

He is the male protagonist of the book's world. With him around, the protagonist's halo might kick in and bless Shang Duojin and the others to get through this ordeal.

As for Xu Wenfeng and Xu Hui, Qiao Mei didn't plan to tell them the news too soon, so as not to worry them.

Ao Cang looked at the locations she sent to Xu Heyu and Zuo Chenxing, his golden eyes flashed, and he shook her arm: "An'an, you don't actually need to look for them. I can protect you and your friends."

His own safety was not something he was considering.

Qiao Mei paused for a moment, looked at Ao Cang who seemed a little sullen, and instantly guessed what had happened.