Three days later, in the mortal realm.

The hurried knight-errant, wearing a bamboo hat and covered in dust, entered a small inn along the way. He had just called out "Waiter" when he found the entire inn eerily quiet.

He paused, realizing that everyone in the inn had involuntarily turned their gaze in the same direction.

Seeing this, the young swordsman also subconsciously looked over.

The next moment, his breath hitched.

The woman was sitting by the window. She was tall and slender, like a willow swaying in the breeze, but she was upright and had an air of otherworldly elegance. Her plain white dress was simple and conservative, and a dark blue jade pendant hung from her slender waist.

The woman turned to look out the window, and the young swordsman could only see her beautiful profile, as elegant and graceful as the bright moon.

Her features weren't particularly striking, but she possessed an ethereal beauty, so exquisite that no desire seemed to exist in her presence.

Ruan Qing'an had noticed their gazes long ago, but she didn't pay them any mind. Instead, she was thinking about the situation of the male protagonist, Shen Changlin.

"A strange phenomenon occurred in the heavens and earth, and all the saints paid homage. In the original story, when the male protagonist was alive, his village was massacred by bandits. He was born with a Daoist body and sensed the fortune of heaven and earth. In the dark, a divine miracle descended to protect Shen Changlin."

037: [So, doesn't that mean the male lead is in a very dangerous situation?]

Ruan Qing'an shook his head: "Probably not. In the original story, Shen Changlin took advantage of the strange celestial phenomenon to hide in the cellar, which allowed him to escape the bandits' massacre. After the bandits left the village, he encountered the elders of various sects, so he wouldn't have been in any trouble."

Just as Ruan Qing'an was sorting through this plot, he suddenly heard the voice of a young swordsman beside him.

"May I ask your name, young lady?"

Before the young swordsman could get close, as if an invisible barrier blocked his way, Ruan Qing'an turned her head, her elegant and beautiful eyes filled with a cold and indifferent expression, dispelling any trace of fragility.

Seeing the young swordsman's dazed expression, Ruan Qing'an stood up, shook his head secretly, and took a step forward—

The next moment, his figure vanished from the inn.

The young swordsman exclaimed in surprise: "What a formidable master!"

Meanwhile, not far from the inn.

Ruan Qing'an appeared silently, without alerting anyone. She looked up at the distance and said, "It's been three days..."

037: [Are we going to pick up the male lead?]

"Sigh... I've pretty much found my direction."

Ruan Qing'an sighed softly, "If there's a way, I really don't want to go. If I bring him back, he'll most likely become my apprentice."

The end was one of utter destruction, with bones reduced to ashes and the soul annihilated.

Even Ruan Qing'an, who only possessed the original owner's memories, felt a headache.

Three days have passed since Zhan Hongyuan gave the order. Ruan Qing'an found this place by following the clues in the original text. The male protagonist, Shen Changlin, who will kill her in the future, is not far away.

Holding his breath, Ruan Qing'an said, "Let's go, little system. We need to do the mission, and this disciple can't be given to anyone!"

If it's hers, then it can only be hers.

No one can take it from us!

A moment later, it was late at night.

The rising darkness was shattered by the towering flames, which almost illuminated the entire night sky, making it as bright as day, as if a natural disaster had struck, inspiring awe and fear.

The place where the fire started was, surprisingly, a village.

But now, it has all been reduced to ruins, and a strong smell of blood hangs in the air. Even the small river flowing from outside the village is now almost completely stained red, which is extremely horrifying to look at.

When Nguyen Thanh An set foot on this land, he couldn't help but frown.

"Hundreds, if not thousands, of people have died here!"

037: [Strange, the original text didn't mention that the original owner encountered this situation when she came to pick up the male lead!]

Upon hearing this, Ruan Qing'an shook his head slightly: "It's different. In the original story, the original owner didn't want to come to the mortal world at all, and he didn't care about Shen Changlin at all. So he only came here after being urged by Zhan Hongyuan to cultivate at the Wandao Sect for a few days."

"By the time the original owner arrived here, it was already too late. Elders from other sects had also arrived. The only reason the original owner was able to bring Shen Changlin back was because he had scared everyone else away."

"Therefore, anything could have happened during the days the original owner was late, but..."

Thinking about this, Ruan Qing'an couldn't help but feel a little doubtful. No matter how outrageous the butterfly effect was, there was no such big change in the original text, not even a trace of it.

Even as she pondered, her steps did not falter.

With a light, graceful step, her tall, slender figure appeared not far away.

Just then, 037 said: "Ancestor, we've arrived!"

Ruan Qing'an came to her senses and found herself already in front of the village.

But the village in front of them had already been engulfed by flames. Not only that, but the ground was littered with broken arms and limbs, a scene of carnage and blood, a terrifying sight like a living hell!

Scattered weapons, scenes after the battle—it's likely that not only villagers died, but also countless bandits.

"Oh no, could something have happened to Shen Changlin?!"

Ruan Qing'an was startled. His immense divine sense spread out, rapidly exploring the surrounding scenery and moving towards the village.

...

And at this moment, amidst the ruins of the village—

A young man covered in blood sat on the ground, his blue robe soaked with blood, his face stained with specks of blood. He stared blankly at the dilapidated house and the mountain of corpses inside, his eyes filled with confusion and helplessness.

how so?

Why did everyone die?!

Apart from the crackling sound of the flames, Shen Changlin heard no other sound. Everything from the past had vanished, and it seemed as if he was the only person left in the world...

For a moment, he silently shed tears.

As Shen Changlin was at a loss, he suddenly heard footsteps. He subconsciously looked up, wiped away his tears, and found that another group of bandits was walking towards him with knives not far away.

Startled, Shen Changlin scrambled to his feet and hid behind the ruins, anxiously watching the situation in the distance.

If we are found, it's a dead end!

In the distance, there were only about a dozen bandits, and they seemed to have come here after the chaos.

The leader of the thugs cursed viciously, "Damn it, what the hell is going on in this godforsaken place?! All our men have been thrown into this place, and we're the only ones left to guard the place!"

"Damn it, if we really can't find our brothers and can't figure out what's going on, we might as well just leave!"

"Yeah, this place is really creepy!"

The voices of the group reached Shen Changlin's ears.

He couldn't help but clench his fists. It seemed that apart from these bandits who came later, there wasn't a single living person left in the entire village!

Overwhelmed with grief, Shen Changlin could only grit his teeth and cover his mouth tightly, daring not to utter a single sob. He was so sad that he dared not show it in the slightest...

We have to escape!

Shen Changlin made up his mind and, taking advantage of the dozen or so bandits resting, he carefully moved his feet.

But at that moment—

"Who's there!"

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