On a quiet path, a group of people walked in silence, with only the sound of their footsteps and breathing echoing in the air.
Suddenly, a piercing cawing of crows shattered the silence. Immediately afterward, a flock of crows flew overhead and perched on a nearby branch, coldly staring at the group with their bright red eyes.
The group consisted of six people. Two girls followed closely behind, while the team leader led the way with four men. Xu Anran walked quietly at the back, silently keeping pace with the others.
The girls stared nervously at the crows, a sense of unease rising within them. One of them, Qi Meng, whispered to the girl beside her, "Don't you feel a chilling aura? These crows are making me very uncomfortable."
However, when she turned around, she was surprised to find that there was no one beside her!
Qi Meng looked around in terror, only to find herself in complete darkness, unable to see her own hand in front of her face. She felt as if she were in a lonely world, utterly alone.
Fear washed over her like a tidal wave; she trembled all over, her legs gave way, and she finally collapsed to the ground. Sobbing and crying, her voice trembling, she cried out, "Help! Is anyone there? Please help me! Waaah..."
In the darkness, countless red eyes appeared like twinkling stars, densely surrounding Qi Meng. Her cries for help sounded especially desolate in the silent night, but received no response. Fear gripped her; she could only weep helplessly, hoping for a glimmer of hope.
Just as Qi Meng was still immersed in fear, a hand suddenly reached out from the depths of darkness and gently patted her shoulder, while a voice reached her ears: "What's wrong? Why are you crying?"
Qi Meng was startled, her body trembling violently. But when she opened her eyes, she found that the person standing in front of her was Xu Anran. She stared wide-eyed at the familiar face before her, a strange sense of relief welling up inside her.
Qi Meng looked around and found that the terrifying eyes had disappeared, and she was still on the same path, but she had unknowingly run into the woods.
Just then, the anxious calls of his teammates came from afar: "Qi Meng, Qi Meng—"
Xu Anran quickly helped Qi Meng up, led her towards the direction of the sound, and shouted back, "Found it, it's here!"
Qi Meng followed Xu Anran with lingering fear, completely unaware that several dead crows lay silently under the tree where Xu Anran had just left...
"Are you alright? How did you end up in the woods?" the team asked Qi Meng with concern. Qi Meng was also confused, and she recounted what had just happened.
After hearing this, everyone was shocked. Team leader Liu Yong looked at Xu Anran and asked, "Thank you for finding her. How did you find her?"
"I was just walking around randomly when I saw what looked like a figure under a tree, so I ran over to check it out. Sure enough, it was her. Her eyes were closed, and she seemed to be having a nightmare, so I woke her up," Xu Anran answered honestly.
What she didn't say was that she killed all the crows around Qi Meng. After the crows died, she found a ticket for a high-speed train waiting room and quietly put it into her spatial storage.
She felt that this train ticket was very important to her right now.
Xu Anran didn't plan to tell anyone about this, as it might cause unnecessary trouble if others found out.
Continuing onward, they heard sounds of fighting ahead. They stopped and slowly moved forward, secretly finding a house to hide behind and peering over.
A person stood in front, surrounded by silver threads, each thread connected to a person at the other end; there were about ten people in total.
In front of the man were about a dozen burnt paper figures, and many more paper figures that had not fallen were standing around him. In the very center was a red bridal sedan chair directly opposite him.
A red curtain obscures the view, concealing what lies inside. Only a seductive woman's voice can be heard from within: "My lord, I've come to fetch you. Why are you doing this? Just come with me obediently!"
The little girls sang along with Fu He: "...The female ghost seeks her lover...Accompanying the female ghost, secretly worshipping the moonlight in the dead of night..."
The group watched silently from behind, and one of them couldn't help but exclaim in surprise, "Isn't that the puppeteer Su Shuzhi?"
"It's him! I've seen him before. He's incredibly strong. I heard many guilds wanted to recruit him, but he refused, insisting on going it alone, saying he could take on an entire team by himself. I never expected him to come to this world!"
Everyone turned to look at the man, whispering among themselves, "I heard Su Shuzhi is a famous puppeteer who can manipulate threads to control people's movements. He's really amazing!" Another person chimed in, "Yeah, I didn't expect to run into him here. I wonder why he's fighting with these paper figures."
Everyone watched the scene with curiosity, wondering what would happen next. Suddenly, someone pointed at Su Shuzhi and said, "He seems to be injured; look, he's covered in blood." The others noticed this as well.
Their voices seemed to have attracted the attention of the people on the other side, and Su Shuzhi shouted, "Since you're here, come out! What are you hiding for?"
"Who is it that wishes to come and drink at my wedding?" the female ghost inside the sedan chair also invited.
Upon hearing this, Liu Yong, the very gossipy team leader, felt a chill run down his spine, realizing he had been discovered.
He sighed helplessly, thinking that this operation might be getting complicated. He took a deep breath and then led his team slowly out from behind the house.
Just then, something unexpected happened—a ten-person squad emerged from the bushes in another direction. Liu Yong looked closely and realized that this squad was none other than the renowned Xuanwu Squad of the Flying Leap Guild.
Liu Yong cursed inwardly, thinking to himself, "I should have known better than to come out!"
Xu Anran silently followed behind the crowd, looking at the red sedan chair, which seemed very familiar.
The ghost bride inside the bridal sedan chair murmured in confusion, "Huh?"
She looked at Xu Anran, who was standing at the back: "Miss, why are you still here? Why do you still look so young after all these years?"
She was practically saying, "How come you're still alive after all these years? And how come you haven't aged?"
Everyone looked left and right, wondering who the female ghost was talking to. Xu Anran reacted the same way as the others; she didn't realize the female ghost was asking her a question.
"Why don't you answer me, young lady? Have you forgotten me?" After thinking for a moment, she added, "That's true. So many years have passed. We only met once at that temple. It's possible that you've forgotten me."
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