"If you're so scared, how can you still laugh?" Xu Liang held a sharp blade against the man's throat.

The man's eyes were filled with terror as he shook his head frantically, but he still smiled, saying, "I can't tell, I can't tell! If I tell, I'll die!"

"Believe it or not, I can kill you right now. Speak!" Xu Liang threatened him fiercely.

The man stared at the powerful Xu Liang before him, and at the cold blade pressed against his neck, terrified. He hesitated for a long time, then finally steeled himself and opened his mouth: "We've been controlled..." He only managed to utter a few words before suddenly falling silent.

His eyes were wide open, the veins in his neck bulged, his whole body began to convulse violently, and he stretched out his hands in fear, as if begging.

In an instant, countless branches emerged from his mouth, piercing his entire body like venomous snakes. He instantly lost his breath, and the branches greedily sucked his blood, taking deep root in the ground.

Xu Anran and the others were all shocked by what they saw. They all retreated one after another. After confirming that there was no danger, Luo Xi stepped forward, cut off a part of the tree trunk and put it away for research.

Looking at the scene, Xiaoyue asked, "He's dead. What should we do next?"

Zhao Chang'an suggested, "Judging from the current situation, we probably won't get any information out of them. Why don't we split into two groups? One group will go to the town to investigate, while the other group will explore the villages outside the town. What do you think?"

Xu Anran nodded: "Okay, then let's divide it up. Raise your hand if you want to go to the town."

Xu Anran raised her hand first, and Qi Ziqi followed suit. Zhao Chang'an, Luo Xi, Uncle Li… everyone raised their hands. Xu Anran then decided to make the arrangements herself: “Xiao Qi, Yi Yi, and I will go into the city. The rest of you will stay outside to investigate. If anything happens, Xiao Qi has strong superpowers, and Yi Yi can fly, so it will be easy for us to escape.”

On the street, Xu Anran and Yi Yi were sitting on the second floor of the teahouse, while Qi Ziqi went to find the restroom.

Qi Ziqi had just come out of the restroom on the first floor of the teahouse when he caught sight of someone acting suspiciously, so he tiptoed after the person.

The man sneaked into the kitchen. He was unusual, not because he was stealing food, but because of his expression.

He started with a warm smile, but when he entered the kitchen and saw that no one was around, the smile vanished instantly. He quickly packed all kinds of pastries into cloth bags.

Taking advantage of his momentary lapse in attention, Qi Ziqi swiftly knocked him unconscious from behind, then hoisted him onto her back like a sack of rice and hurriedly went upstairs to find Xu Anran.

Xu Anran and Yi Yi were observing the pedestrians outside the window when they turned around and saw Qi Ziqi returning with something on his back. Xu Anran asked with curiosity, "What's going on?"

Qi Ziqi smiled mysteriously, walked to Xu Anran's side, and said in a low voice, "Sister Anran, I found someone. Let's find a quiet place."

Xu Anran understood that there should be some clues about this person. So the three of them left the teahouse and found a secluded spot where no one was around.

Xu Anran picked up the water and splashed it on the man. The man slowly woke up, and as soon as he opened his eyes, he tried to run away, but Yi Yi grabbed him. When he saw Yi Yi's appearance, he was so frightened that he collapsed to the ground, screaming, "A monster!"

Xu Anran stepped forward and said sternly, "You'd better shut up right now and answer whatever I ask!"

Holding a sharp blade, she squatted in front of the man, looking like a cold-faced demon: "If you behave, we will release you. If you don't cooperate, don't blame us for being ruthless!"

The man looked at the group of people in front of him and nodded nervously.

Xu Anran turned to look at Qi Ziqi, who understood immediately. She walked up to the man and asked in a deep voice, "Why aren't you smiling? I've seen everyone in town with smiles on their faces."

The man stammered, "I am not from the town, but from the neighboring Niujia Village. A few days ago, everyone in our village disappeared overnight, so I brought my sister here. I saw that the people here were always laughing, and I was terrified, so I pretended to laugh too."

"Do you know why they keep laughing?" Xu Anran pressed.

The man shook his head blankly: "I don't know either. I only know that there is a group of people nearby who are hiding in a cave. They warned me not to let anyone notice that I wasn't smiling in town. If I attract attention, I must escape immediately! They said that town is full of dangers."

Qi Ziqi then asked, "Do you usually make a living by stealing?"

"Alas, I have no choice but to do this; I am truly starving. The people in the cave have very little food left of their own. They usually put on a smiling face and go to town to work in exchange for food."

The nearby villages were extremely hostile to outsiders, forbidding them from entering. I was desperate, and being a coward, I had no choice but to steal.

"But if you're a coward, how could you dare to steal things? Aren't you afraid of being discovered?" Yi Yi asked, looking puzzled.

"Because I am not human." With that, the man chuckled and instantly turned into a cloud of smoke.

They're gone!

Xu Anran and her two companions searched around, but the man had vanished. Although they had found the man, more and more suspicious things were happening, so they decided to look for the others first.

Xu Anran used a special communicator to contact Luo Xi, find out their location, and then rushed over.

Upon arriving at an empty village, they saw them binding a woman. Seeing Xu Anran and her companions arrive, Uncle Li explained the reason to them.

They wanted to enter the village to inquire, but the villagers would walk away as soon as they saw them. Whenever they approached the village, the villagers would use things to drive them away.

With no other option, they wandered around the neighborhood. Zhao Chang'an, on the way, heard a woman crying for help and ran over to investigate.

In the woods, a girl was sitting on the ground with a bamboo basket next to her containing freshly picked mushrooms.

The girl's fair face had slightly parted red lips and tearful eyes, making her look pitiful. Her ankles were red and swollen.

Seeing Zhao Chang'an arrive, she said pitifully, "Big brother, can you help me? I twisted my ankle and can't stand up."

Zhao Chang'an walked over gently: "How can I help you?"

"Can you carry me home? My family is waiting for me," the little girl said softly.

Zhao Chang'an smiled and squatted down, getting closer to her, and said gently, "Okay, where do you live?"

As he spoke, he put his hand on the little girl's shoulder, and the little girl replied, "My home is in Sunjia Village just ahead, it'll be there soon."

“No problem.” Zhao Chang’an placed his other hand on the girl’s wrist, smiling broadly.

The little girl was also smiling. She thought that her prey was easy to catch today, and she was just waiting for the man to carry her on his back before she made her move.

But suddenly, she felt a pain in her neck and lost consciousness.

The woman is currently tied to a pillar of the house and is still unconscious.