An Moxue overheard a bit of gossip from the new educated youth and summed it up in one sentence: "No zuo no die, just a few young people who don't know their place."

An Moxue silently thought that she must stay away from these troublemakers.

She stayed at the village chief's house for a while and then came out, leisurely returning home with the sticky rice cakes that Aunt Guo had given her.

The next morning, when An Moxue arrived at Old Ma's house, Old Ma and Aunt Ma were no longer the same as usual, and there was no longer any sign of Aunt Ma's extreme joy or sorrow.

After finishing the dumplings at Old Ma's house, An Moxue said to Old Ma, "Uncle Ma, Uncle Guo gave me two days off. I'm going to go into the mountains. I won't be back tomorrow night, but I'll be back the day after tomorrow morning."

"Okay, be careful. Here, take your things back." After saying that, Old Ma got up, opened a cabinet, took out a stack of letters and several packages, and handed them to An Moxue one by one.

"So many!" An Moxue exclaimed in surprise.

Old Ma said irritably, "It's mostly that wolf cub surnamed Wu who has the most. I even took out his food! Otherwise, there would be even more. There are a few others, but they're all smaller. You'll see when you get there. When you go back, carry some people with you, so that some people don't get jealous and cause trouble."

"Okay. I'll bring you something delicious when I get back." An Moxue left Old Ma's house with bags and packages. When she was out of sight, she put all the inconspicuous small packages into her spatial storage and carried only a few large packages home.

As soon as she entered the house, An Moxue threw all her things into her spatial storage, changed into her mountain gear, locked the door, and led the two little ones away into the back mountains.

The person who topped the gossip list in Anle Village for half a year last year is back, immediately setting off a small gossip frenzy in Anle Village. An Moxue has once again taken the top spot.

From what clothes she wore when she returned, to what shoes she wore, to who she met and what she said when she entered the village, every detail was meticulously recorded.

In the end, everyone reminisced about her past. The common people chatted about it casually, but the educated youth who had never met her were not so lucky. They were filled with mixed feelings, thinking, "Is there really such a powerful person? Or is it just a fabrication?"

The female educated youth were envious and jealous, while the male educated youth each had their own ulterior motives. However, they waited and waited, but no one came to work, and they couldn't find anyone after work either.

An Moxue had no time to pay attention to the petty thoughts of unimportant people.

She led the two little ones into the mountains, like birds that had been caged finally flying out of their cages and returning home.

"Come on, let's see who reaches the destination first! There's a reward for whoever catches me!" An Moxue called out to the two little ones cheerfully.

Upon hearing An Moxue's words, the two little ones let out two "woofs," leaped past her with a few bounds, and even glanced back at her, as if to say, "That's easy, just wait for your reward!"

An Moxue smiled and chased after him. And so, deep in the mountains and forests, An Moxue's laughter and the cries of the two little ones could be heard from time to time.

An Moxue's purpose this time was to pay respects at her ancestral graves and, incidentally, check whether her guesses were correct and whether there were any secrets at the bottom of the lake near the ancestral graves.

Therefore, she did not hunt along the way, but sped towards the ancestral graves.

As her lightness skill improved, the time it took her to reach the ancestral graves was shortened.

An Moxue held a large bunch of wildflowers she had picked at random, and checked the graveyard for any holes where rats or snakes might have crawled. She placed a few flowers and fruits in front of each grave, added a few shovelfuls of soil, lit an incense stick, and murmured a few words, asking her ancestors for blessings. After all that work, it was noon.

An Moxue took out a picnic blanket and table and chairs from her space, and also took out a large cup of fruit tea and a plate of grilled fish. She remembered that she had caught the fish here last year. She sat on the chair, eating the grilled fish and drinking the cold fruit tea.

The two little ones have disappeared without a trace.

As An Moxue ate her lunch, she observed the lake. The more she looked, the more convinced she became that there was something beneath the lake, but where should she begin?

I don't know how deep this lake is, whether the bottom of the lake is connected to an underground river, or whether there are turbulent undercurrents at the bottom of the lake!

She thought that although it was summer, the temperature in the forest was lower than outside, and even lower by the lake. The temperature in the lake would also be lower than that of other rivers. Just to be on the safe side, An Moxue decided to find a diving suit, an oxygen tank, and a deep-sea detector.

After eating and drinking to their hearts' content, An Moxue rested for a while. Once everything was ready, she launched the kayak, put on her diving suit, and paddled toward the center of the lake.

She reasoned that, in the typical landscape of lakes and mountains, the very center is usually the deepest and the most likely place to hide things.

As she rowed to the middle of the lake, An Moxue prayed in her heart, "Dear ancestors of the Nalan family, please protect me and keep me safe!"

Then, after putting on an oxygen mask and breathing oxygen for a few minutes, I packed up the kayak and dived underwater.

As Hu Anmoxue went deeper into the lake, the water temperature became lower and lower than she had anticipated. She was glad that she hadn't swum down rashly, but instead had gone down in a diving suit.

On her first dive, she only stayed underwater for twenty minutes before coming up, launching her kayak, resting on it for half an hour, thinking about the underwater situation, taking a few more minutes of oxygen, and then diving back down to continue the search.

She repeated this process without finding anything. Lying on the kayak, she wondered if her guess was wrong. Shouldn't it be like this?

What exactly is wrong?

The ancestral graves are protected by formations, and only those of the Nalan family bloodline are allowed to enter. If there is treasure at the bottom of the lake, are there any conditions required to obtain it?

An Moxue never considered what would happen if there was nothing in the lake.

Because it was an intuition, a very strong intuition, she felt she couldn't be wrong.

She lay on the kayak, no longer going down the lake, reflecting on every little detail, every possible connection.

She took the little fox out from around her neck, placed it in her hand, and slowly stroked it. She thought of the treasure she had accidentally found in the Nalan family's ancestral home. Was it the same as that one?

She slowly recalled the nursery rhymes her mother had taught her.

She pondered little by little, comparing each detail one by one, when suddenly, a nursery rhyme slowed down her memory—

In a faraway green forest, there lived a little cutie. She was mischievous yet adorable. She was an excellent swimmer and loved wearing her little green swimsuit. She had a clever little fox who always loved to perch on her shoulder.

The little cutie was naughty and hurt the little fox. The little cutie cried loudly and had snot running down her nose.

She felt this must be referring to this place, but what exactly is "little cutie"?

Where is it?

Is it something green underwater?

An Moxue felt that she must have overlooked something during her several underwater encounters. What was it?

No, I need to explore underwater first, or maybe I haven't found the place yet.

Without hesitation, An Moxue put on an oxygen mask, stowed the kayak, and dived back into the water.

......