Lin Qingtong's expression changed immediately upon seeing the message displayed online.
Tan Hui's mother's words were clearly inappropriate.
Perhaps she knows something?
But Lin Qingtong couldn't figure out the reason either, so she could only rest for now.
She was woken up by Tan Hui the next morning, just as dawn was breaking.
Lin Qingtong opened the door and saw Tan Hui dressed neatly, and greeted her with a smile.
"Good morning, can we go to the market now? It'll be too late if we don't go soon."
So Lin Qingtong could only get herself ready as quickly as possible, and a dozen minutes later she followed Tan Hui to the market.
After walking a short distance, she turned back to look at Tan Hui's house.
Her mother was standing on the second floor watching them, her eyes filled with an ambiguous light.
Lin Qingtong felt a tightness in her chest, sensing that something was amiss.
While Tan Hui was leading the way, Lin Qingtong sent a message and turned on her phone's location services.
The morning sun was still a bit chilly, making you shiver when it shone on you.
Driving up the mountain road, there were hardly any people around, but as soon as you rounded a bend in the hill, a bustling and prosperous market came into view.
The steaming smoke rose continuously from the mountains, and the vendors were shouting their wares with all their might.
Seeing this, Lin Qingtong relaxed a little.
Perhaps I'm just overthinking things; I can still trust Tan Hui.
Once inside the market, the two completely blended into the crowd and were constantly being pushed around.
Lin Qingtong looked around, trying to find something amiss.
But the people here are too normal; there's nothing wrong with them at all.
She pulled Tan Hui to a breakfast stall and sat down.
"Let's have a bowl of noodles first, we're a little hungry."
Because they left in a hurry, they didn't have breakfast.
The steaming hot noodles were served. Lin Qingtong glanced at them, then turned to look in Tan Hui's direction.
Is this all you're going to eat?
She was holding a bottle of milk and some bread, which she probably brought from home.
Tan Hui smiled shyly and replied, "This is fine for me. My mother gave it to me before she left home. It'll save me some money. It's not easy for my family to earn money."
Lin Qingtong didn't doubt it much when she heard this, after all, students in mountainous areas are always very frugal.
After she finished eating her noodles, she got up to leave, but suddenly felt a dizzying sensation and grabbed the table for support.
In a blur, she saw Tan Hui put down the milk and smile sweetly.
"You shouldn't have come here."
Seeing her like this, Lin Qingtong immediately understood what was going on, and her expression changed.
Why did you do that?
Tan Hui slowly stood up and reached out to support Lin Qingtong.
"There are no so many whys. Our family has been doing this for generations. When the Heavenly Immortal Village needed people, we found a way to bring them over."
“Especially for people like you who are very interested in Tianxian Village, their prices are even higher.”
Lin Qingtong immediately understood the meaning of the note that Tan Hui's mother had given her.
She reached out to try to break free from Tan Hui's hand, but the breakfast stall owner stopped her with a smile.
"Tan Hui, is your friend not feeling well? Why don't you come to our room to rest?"
Lin Qingtong looked up and immediately recognized the breakfast stall owner as a ticket seller.
Tan Hui said coquettishly, "Okay, Mom, I'll take her in now."
At this point, Lin Qingtong finally understood that she had fallen into the trap of the Dark Cult the moment she boarded the bus to Gejia Village.
Her gaze swept across the bustling market behind her, and she realized that almost everyone's eyes were fixed on this side.
Lin Qingtong immediately found it ridiculous that she was still looking for someone connected to Tianxian Village.
But she didn't expect that everyone here was like that.
The next second, Lin Qingtong completely fainted and lost consciousness.
When she woke up again, she was in an old room with antique furnishings, except for the symbol of the Dark Cult hanging in the middle of the wall.
Those eyes seemed to be staring intently at her, exuding a cold and eerie aura.
The warm afternoon sun streamed into the room, casting beams of light.
Lin Qingtong staggered to her feet, went to the window, and opened it to find sunlight streaming in, revealing a scene of birdsong and fragrant flowers.
Everywhere you look there are rustic two-story wooden buildings and stone roads, with a circular square in the very center.
Beyond the stone path, there are all kinds of flowers, like a fairyland.
But upon closer inspection, one can discover some poisonous insects, snakes, and ants lying in the grass.
Most importantly, the children here play freely in the grass, showing no fear of these poisonous insects and snakes.
Looking at the scene before her, Lin Qingtong felt a chill run through her body. This was probably the Celestial Village she had been searching for.
She never imagined she would arrive at Tianxian Village in this way.
Lin Qingtong touched her phone, only to find it empty; there was nothing there.
Her face darkened, and she lifted her foot to walk towards the door.
I must leave here first, and then find someone to rescue my mother.
The door opened first, and Tan Hui walked in, holding her cell phone in her hand.
"I guess you're here to see your mother. She is indeed here, but she's not under my jurisdiction."
Lin Qingtong's expression was extremely serious. "Huo Cheng, is that right?"
Tan Hui waved her phone, raised an eyebrow, and smiled as she answered.
"You're pretty clever, you guessed it right away. But you can't escape now, this is my home."
Welcome to my home.
She slightly opened her arms, exuding an air of arrogance and wickedness.
Lin Qingtong coldly stared at the scene before her and began to question it.
"And who is the mother of Gejia Village?"
After hearing this, Tan Hui curled her lip indifferently.
"She was a member of the Dark Cult and worked for us all along. But one day she suddenly rebelled and tried to escape, but she was caught and poisoned to the point of being mute."
"It's already an act of mercy that we spared her life."
She said this as if it were something trivial.
Lin Qingtong's expression darkened. "You will be punished for what you've done."
Tan Hui replied with a smile, "We've been doing this for generations, how could we possibly suffer retribution? Anyway, once you're in, don't even think about leaving."
Lin Qingtong stared at her phone and reached out her hand.
"You want money, don't you? I have money, I can give you money, just let me go."
Tan Hui took a few steps back to avoid him, her eyes full of mocking laughter.
"Do you think I would believe that? I investigated you before. You're just the owner of two small companies. You're not very rich."
"At most, his assets are only tens of millions."
Upon hearing her words, Lin Qingtong's eyes flickered slightly, which meant that this matter was open to discussion.
So Lin Qingtong spoke up directly and decisively.
"What if it's 1.5 billion?"
When these words reached Tan Hui's ears, she immediately stared at Lin Qingtong with wide eyes and exclaimed in shock.
"Where did you get 1.5 billion? You must be joking."
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