Drawn by the smell of blood, Ruan Qing'an drifted toward the herb garden and saw the servants watering the herbs.

Hua Yan, who followed, explained, "Miss, you may not know this, but the higher the quality of the immortal herb, the more difficult it is to cultivate. The blood of the strong and the ferocious beasts is the best fodder."

While they were talking, the steward and the medicine servants not far away did not notice what was happening. Seeing one of the medicine servants clumsily handling the task, the steward raised his whip and lashed the servant: "Useless! You can't even water a plant properly!"

'Snap—'

As the air whistled and the whip cracked, the medicine servant's pale skin split open, but not a drop of blood flowed. Most importantly—

The supervisor's whip went astray.

The whip landed squarely on the servant's neck, and then his bowed head, as if unable to bear the weight, rolled to the ground with a 'thud,' without shedding a single drop of blood.

Ruan Qing'an, who was just browsing casually: ...

Isn't this a little creepy?!

But the person in charge didn't react much, only kicking the head that was rolling on the ground with disgust: "Hurry up and pick it up and get back to work, what are you waiting here for!"

"Yes, yes, yes, I'll get up right away."

The head on the ground quickly spoke.

Immediately afterwards, the headless medicine servant, who was bent over, groped to pick up the head, and then put the severed head back on the neck, even adjusting its direction to align with the broken end of the neck, before continuing to diligently water the plants.

Ruan Qingan, who watched this scene unfold, was speechless: ...

She and 037 fell silent for a moment.

Noticing that Ruan Qing'an had stopped speaking, Hua Yan panicked and asked, "Miss, what's wrong? Have you been disturbed?"

Ruan Qing'an felt that Mu Cangwu's place was so gloomy that it disturbed her. She felt uneasy even while floating in mid-air, and pointed to the steward and medicine servant not far away.

Hua Yan then realized what was happening and turned to look at the steward and medicine servants, coldly ordering, "Come here."

"We've disturbed you, miss! Quickly apologize!"

The steward snapped out of his daze, cracked his whip, and led a line of medicine servants to approach him obsequiously: "We didn't know Miss was coming. We have been impolite. Please forgive us."

"Miss, how about this?"

Hua Yan also asked in a gentle and soft voice.

But no matter how gentle her voice was, or how obsequious the steward's tone was, when they and the medicine servants behind them looked at Ruan Qing'an with their pale, bloodless faces, a chilling feeling lingered.

Even Ruan Qing'an, who was floating in mid-air, couldn't help but take a few steps back.

Before Hua Yan could speak, Ruan Qing'an raised her hand and said, "No need, you guys continue with your work, I'll just float around for a while."

"Miss, then I—"

Just as Hua Yan was about to follow, Ruan Qing'an interrupted her again: "You don't need to follow me, I can take a look by myself."

After saying that, Ruan Qing'an drifted away into the distance on his own.

Even when she was far away from the herb garden, Ruan Qing'an felt a chill run down her spine whenever she thought of the identical pale faces of the maids in the waterside cottage.

No wonder Mu Cangwu ignored her and let her wander around—it turns out, it was a question of whether there were any living people around her!

What exactly are these "people"?!

037: [So, was Hua Yan's sudden change of attitude just now also because of Mu Cangwu's existence?]

Ruan Qingan rested his chin on his hand and thought for a moment: "Possibly."

037: [Then what do we do—]

"In that case, let's take one apart and see!"

Ruan Qingan casually remarked, and before 037 could react, he was already rubbing his hands together, ready to put it into action, as he drifted towards the waterside cottage.

Hua Yan, who was about to return to Xiaozhu for work, felt a chill run down her spine.

Strange, why did she have a bad feeling?

...

Meanwhile, at the entrance to the Lush Secret Realm.

The pure killing power and the cold and eerie spiritual power clashed. The two figures stood in place, only a few meters apart, yet they stirred up an aura of destruction that seemed to shake the heavens and earth.

Mu Cangwu, dressed in a green robe and holding a guqin, exuded a refined and gentle air.

Opposite him stood Lou Yunqi, dressed in a black robe, exuding a chilling and murderous aura, filled with a bloody atmosphere.

The two sides were locked in a stalemate, but as time passed, the cyan spiritual power, which carried a chilling aura, began to show signs of weakness. Mu Cangwu, who was not known for his direct combat skills, frowned.

"We can barely be considered friends, so why the need to draw swords and spears every time we meet? You crazy guy, don't go crazy here."

"Where is he? Hand him over."

Lou Yunqi took a step forward, his momentum growing even stronger.

Mu Cangwu asked without changing his expression, "Who is it?"

"Don't play dumb with me, Mu Cangwu. I just told you about her. Right after, she used her soul power in the fight with that old woman from the Yang family. If nothing unexpected happens, her soul will leave her body and she will be injured. She may have even more serious problems."

Lou Yunqi paused: "With your character, you might have summoned her soul here long ago. If I hadn't been dealing with the Yang family at the time, do you think you would have had the chance to bring her here?"

Upon hearing this, Mu Cangwu's eyes darkened slightly. Just as he was about to speak, his figure suddenly retreated rapidly. He blocked with his azure spiritual power, and the aftershocks of his confrontation with Lou Yunqi exploded, almost instantly unleashing a destructive wave.

But he didn't speak; instead, his face remained somber, and his fingertips twitched slightly.

The transparent, invisible threads, as thin as hair, are densely packed and extend outwards, with a few trembling slightly as if conveying something.

Seeing this, Lou Yunqi stopped attacking: "What's going on? Or did something happen to you?"

"Tsk, she's noticed something's wrong."

Although Mu Cangwu said this, he didn't seem to be in a hurry: "But it's not a big problem. She'll find out sooner or later that there are only two of us alive in this Lush Secret Realm."

"And me too."

Lou Yunqi's sinister voice came over.

Having found direct combat to be truly difficult, Mu Cangwu paused for a moment before saying, "Well, there are only the three of us alive."

At this moment, Lou Yunqi's expression softened a bit. He chuckled and said, "The things you've been messing around with are really grotesque. Give her to me, so she won't scare people."

"I've said it before, show some respect for my artwork."

Mu Cangwu glanced at him with disgust, and just as he was about to speak, his expression suddenly changed drastically, and he rushed towards Linshui Xiaozhu!

Lou Yunqi instinctively followed, asking, "What's wrong?"

"She tore my corpse puppet maid apart. If she finds out something's wrong, would she dare stay here?!"

\u0001