Seeing the atmosphere growing increasingly tense, Shangguan Xi realized this wasn't going to work. She glanced discreetly at Xu Yuehuai beside her and noticed he was even more expressionless, as if he wasn't being spoken of as her brother at all. She swallowed the fruit she was eating and then stepped in to smooth things over, "Oh, I've already said it, it's all trivial, trivial. Why ruin the harmony over such things? Since everything has been explained clearly, it shows that Brother Yuanshui does have some ability; at least he didn't drag everyone down, so this matter..."

Before Shangguan Xi could finish speaking, Fu Ziyi turned and left. Baili Xiuwen glanced at his retreating figure, then at Shangguan Xi, who had come to smooth things over but had now stopped talking. He comforted him, saying, "Don't worry, that's just how he is. He's unreasonable. Once he calms down and thinks things through, he'll naturally come back. Ultimately, this is his fault, so Yuan Shui, please don't take it to heart. Just continue as you always have. Don't let these few words affect your judgment."

Yuan Shui then lazily glanced at Baili Xiuwen across from him. Upon seeing this, Baili Xiuwen smiled slightly and nodded in response.

Xu Yuehuai didn't stay there for long before standing up and saying, "I'll go check the area to see if there are any other dangers."

"You don't need to come with me, you can go by yourself." She said this before Shangguan Xi could ask to come with her, thus dissuading Shangguan Xi from the idea.

So, of the eight people, six were still sitting around the fire, but then it became five. Not long after Xu Yuehuai left, Yuan Shui also left without a word. The others were preoccupied with their own thoughts and didn't pay much attention. This was everyone's first time acting as a team, so some awkwardness and discomfort were understandable.

The three left for a short while, and Xixi came back again with a cart full of firewood. The wheels made a rumbling sound on the ground. Xuan Chi looked up and realized that three people were missing, but he didn't think much of it.

When Xixi saw them, he was clearly taken aback. He really hadn't expected these people to have such a temperament. But when he got closer, he realized that three of them were missing. He chuckled and said, "It seems that you guys aren't as resilient as I thought. In just a short while, three of your companions have disappeared. The days ahead will be even tougher. You'd better try your best to survive and not disappoint me."

After saying this nonsensical thing, Xixi pulled the firewood and continued walking towards the village. Xuan Chi called out to stop her, "Young brother, wait a moment. This is the third time we've met. We must have some kind of fate. May I ask your name, young brother?"

"If you still want to go up the mountain tomorrow and survive, I will tell you my name then," Xixi said, and then prepared to continue walking forward.

Xuan Chi had other questions he didn't ask, but Baili Xiuwen said, "Don't ask, he won't tell you. This village is truly eerie."

Seeing this, Xuan Chi watched Xi Xi's departing figure before finally sitting down. Nangong Yu asked worriedly, "What should we do now? We haven't found out any information. How are we going to face those spirit beasts tomorrow?"

This was Nangong Yu's biggest worry. Their mission had a time limit of one month to bring back the Beast Lion's crystal. More than five days had already passed. If they didn't hurry, the rest of the mission would be much more difficult.

Nangong Yu's question silenced everyone; silence was the best answer.

...

Xixi carried the firewood to another old woman's house, chatted for a bit, and came out of the house. Before going back inside, she was worried about Grandma Chen's condition, so she went to Grandma Chen's room. She saw Grandma Chen sitting at the table, her eyes were very cloudy, and she couldn't see very clearly. Hearing the familiar voice, she immediately recognized her. "Xixi, you're here. It's so late, why aren't you resting? Go and rest quickly. You're so busy all day long, taking care of your health is the most important thing. Remember not to overwork yourself."

Xixi sat down next to Grandma Chen. "Don't worry, Grandma, I just went to get some firewood. I'm not that tired. I just wanted to come see you before I went to sleep."

"Did anyone come outside today?" When Grandma Chen asked this, Xixi paused in her attempt to help her up, then quickly resumed her normal tone and said, "Why do you ask? Did you hear something?"

“There’s been quite a commotion outside today. I think it’s coming from the village entrance, but my legs and eyes aren’t doing well enough to see anything outside, so I’m just staying inside. Are those people outside trying to go up the mountain?” After saying a few words, Grandma Chen steered the conversation back on track. Xixi’s hesitation to answer made Grandma Chen realize her mistake. She took Xixi’s hand and said earnestly, “Xixi, we can’t let any more lives be lost on this mountain. You must remember to stop them from going up! Autumn is a turbulent season. You have to think things through and try to persuade them not to go up.”

Grandma Chen was worried. Seeing that Xixi didn't answer her and refused to move, Xixi compromised and said, "Okay, I understand, Grandma. I'll go and remind them first thing tomorrow morning, but if they insist on courting death, then it's not Xixi's fault, is it?"

Grandma Chen nodded in relief after receiving Xixi's promise, and even smiled. "What's strange about it? I'm relieved to hear you say that. Okay, go back and rest early, don't worry about me."

After helping Grandma Chen to bed, Xixi extinguished the candle and returned to his own courtyard. His courtyard was less than five meters away from Grandma Chen's, very close. Before going back into the house, he glanced towards the village entrance, where he could still vaguely see some flames and sparks. He pursed his lips.

He would naturally keep his promise to Grandma Chen. After glancing at her for a while, he went back to his room to rest and stopped paying attention to those things.

When Xu Yuehuai returned, Fu Ziyi was still not back. Nangong Yu was a little worried. "Could they have encountered some danger? And Yuan Shui, he went out and didn't come back either. Could something have happened to them?"

Shangguan Xi couldn't stand these words, especially after witnessing Ji Yuanchi's tragic death. She couldn't accept that someone close to her had met with such misfortune. "Pah, pah, pah, what unlucky things you say. It's probably just that the two of them were in a bad mood and stayed outside for a while, and forgot the time to come back. Let's split up and look for them. This place isn't that big, it won't be difficult to find them."

Xu Yuehuai lowered her eyelids and said with an inscrutable expression, "There's no need to look for Yuan Shui anymore. He went back and said this place was boring, so he won't be with us. He didn't say hello to you because he didn't want to cause any trouble."