"LIN MEILIN." Yang Ze didn't know what she was thinking by sending him here. She wanted him to explore the secrets of this place, but it was simply a death trap. What if he didn't have the clone but instead directly jumped into the well? In that case, she would have been the one responsible for his death.

For a while, Yang Ze was cursing Lin Meilin and her eighteen generations. He had no idea what this woman was even thinking about. He had almost forgotten about the fact that he had taken her as his master… to learn from her, and this was Lin Meilin's method of teaching things.

Of course, if Lin Meilin had heard his thoughts, she would have personally stripped him naked before hanging him upside down and giving him a good spanking.

Even in her wildest imagination, she didn't think this brat would be stupid enough to directly jump into the most dangerous places without even trying to gather intelligence first. Besides, she had personally checked it before and knew that it would give off an intense warning and even pressure to cultivators who tried to get close to it. This was why she wasn't worried about his safety.

Had she known that he would try to jump into those places enveloped in dark fog, she would have personally taken him back to Yuyang City.

Yang Ze, of course, didn't know about it. He merely thought that Lin Meilin was purposefully trying to push him into this abyss, and for a while, his heart grew wary of her.

"Now is not the time." Shaking his head, Yang Ze cleared all those distracting thoughts. He would have plenty of time in the future to think about it once he got out of this situation.

He had already explored the well, and the only thing that remained to be explored was the cave where the girls threw the rabbit for some white powder. He thought about going there, but the shock he felt after watching such a behemoth creature swallow him was too much. Though he was trying to act tough, Yang Ze's legs were still shaking from that brief encounter. It was the most terrifying thing he had ever seen, something that came straight out of nightmares.

"The well is an absolute no-go zone." Yang Ze immediately made up his mind to never go near that place. What if that dark fog suddenly erupted and dragged him into the well? He didn't want to face something like that ever again, especially not with his true body.

"What should I do? What should I do?" Yang Ze kept on thinking for a long time. Since he was acting like a mute to stay in this village, it was impossible for him to directly ask them. He had explored every single house one way or another, but hadn't found anything significant. And he couldn't directly rush into the cave and the well.

In that case, his only option was to get the truth out of the girls. But since he couldn't ask them, and they wouldn't tell him anything even if he forced them, he could only find another way.

"Geez. What a troublesome situation." With a forced smile, Yang Ze shook his head as a crude plan began to slowly form in his head.

—----------------

By the time it was evening, Yang Ze finally saw the group of five girls entering the village, but this time, their faces were full of worry and dismay. Just one glance and Yang Ze knew why they were like that…

They didn't manage to catch any prey.

Yang Ze quietly watched as the five girls discussed amongst themselves for quite a while before walking into their own respective houses.

*Creaakk…

The door behind him slowly opened as the small, frail figure of Qing Cao entered before shutting the door.

Even though the room was enveloped in darkness, Yang Ze could clearly see her malnourished, thin face that had a firm expression and weary eyes which has wisdom beyond her age. The girl's appearance wasn't extraordinary. One look at her and she was just like any other girl next door. Her hair was in a mess, and there was dirt all over her body as if she had been rolling around in the ground for an entire day.

After entering the house, Qing Cao simply reached inside her clothes before picking out two small stones. She then walked to the corner of the house where a small pile of black wood was placed before hitting the two stones together, and in no time, the pile of wood in front of her began to burn, giving off the much-needed warmth and light to the dark house.

It was only then that she turned around to face Yang Ze, and after seeing that he was still there, did she let out a sigh of breath.

"You didn't go anywhere, did you?"

Listening to her commanding tone, Yang Ze was speechless for a moment before shaking his head in response.

"Good." Qing Cao nodded in response before speaking further. "The last time we brought someone from the outside, they tried to explore the village even after the warning…"

"And then…" Her voice trembled for a moment with a hint of fear in it. "And then, we never saw her again."

"..." Yang Ze merely opened his mouth in response, as if shocked by what she just said.

"Don't do something stupid." Qing Cao muttered to Yang Ze before walking out of the house, leaving behind the figure of Yang Ze.

It wasn't until fifteen minutes passed that she entered the house again, but this time, the dirt on her body was no longer there. Her face was clean, and her hair was damp. It was clear that she had taken a bath. Though her appearance didn't change much, Yang Ze could feel a faint trace of naivety.

For a moment, he couldn't help but let out a gentle smile.

Qing Cao, upon seeing his smile for no reason, was stunned for a moment before she shut the door behind her, sat in front of the fire to dry herself and then spoke to Yang Ze in a soft voice.

"So… where did you come from?"

Her question confused Yang Ze, who couldn't help but slightly tilt his head. He didn't know why she was asking him this question again, but this didn't stop him from raising his hand and pointing in a random direction.

"...."

"...."

Qing Cao looked at him for a while before letting out a soft sigh.

"You can tell me the truth now, it's just the two of us here."

Yang Ze merely raised an eyebrow in response before simply pointing in another direction. Since he was acting mute, this was all he could do.

"...."

"...."

Qing Cao didn't say anything but quietly kept looking at Yang Ze while slowly spreading her hair out, letting the heat dry it out.

Yang Ze saw her sparkling eyes and the mist that was rising from her hair and body before hearing her speak.

"Do you know why I am in the hunting team?"

Her question caught Yang Ze by surprise, who, in turn, shook his head in response.

"Even though there are others older than me, smarter than me and even stronger than me. And yet, I am the one in the hunting team, not them."

"Do you know why?"

Yang Ze thought for a moment but couldn't think of a reason. He once again looked at her personal panel, but there were still only three rows of text in it, displaying her name, age and the single talent.

Previously, during the day, he had checked every single child's personal panel and realised that none of them were older than sixteen and had the exact same talent of Withering Year Mark. At that time, he didn't think about why the older children didn't go out to hunt, but instead let this small group of five do it. But now that Qing Cao mentioned it, he couldn't help but be curious about it.

"I have a special talent." Noticing Yang Ze's confusion, Qing Cao spoke in a soft voice.

"Once I smell something, I can remember its scent and even find it if there are enough traces."

"It is how we usually catch the rabbits."

Her eyes gleamed as she looked at Yang Ze, letting him digest everything she just said.

Initially, Yang Ze didn't think too much about it. What a joke… if she had some kind of talent, it would have been visible in the personal panel. Since it wasn't there, what kind of talent was she even talking about?

But once she finished speaking, Yang Ze's eyes narrowed into slits as he gazed deeply at the young girl sitting beside the fire. Even though her face was somewhat shrouded in darkness because of her back towards the fire, Yang Ze was still able to see it clearly. He saw the nervousness on her face as well as the occasional trembling of her body, clearly displaying her fear.

It was only now that Yang Ze realised that she was putting on a false bravado. The girl was afraid of him and knew about his identity the moment he entered the village. And yet, instead of exposing him or attacking him, she chose to bring him with her and now even revealed the truth to him.

"....."

"....."

The two of them stared at each other for a while before Yang Ze broke the silence.

"Why?"

It was a single word, but it was enough to make Qing Cao's body tremble even more violently than before, with her hands clutched tightly at her hair.

She herself didn't know why she did it. Maybe it was because he was strong. Or maybe it was because of the fact that even with his strength, he didn't harm them after capturing them, but instead chose to release them.

Previously, she was afraid that he did it purposefully to follow them to the village… after all, she could occasionally smell his scent following behind the team, but she was afraid. Afraid that if she dared to voice it out, he would take action to harm everyone.

And when she saw him this morning with a disguise, pretending to be a mute, she knew she had to do something. If he were rejected, perhaps he might fly into a rage and attack them. So, she asked her teammates to allow him to stay in the village. And if that wasn't enough, she even brought him with her so that she could keep an eye on him.

She had a feeling that if things didn't turn sour, he could be of extreme help to them.

"....."

"....."

After not receiving any reply from Qing Cao and seeing her tremble in fear, Yang Ze's heart softened as he slowly lifted his hand, placed it on the top of her head, and then rubbed it gently.

"Don't be afraid… I am not here to harm you."

Yang Ze's incomparable soft voice finally eased the heart of the girl.

She knew that the person in front of her had no reason to speak a lie. She had seen with her own eyes how their arrows were ineffective against him. If he wanted to, he could do anything, and there wouldn't be anyone to stop him. In that case, there was no need for him to be this gentle with her.

It took every ounce of her strength for her to calm down and ask him the question.

"Why are you here?"

Yang Ze thought for a while before giving her a direct reply. "I just thought this place looked special, so I came here to take a look."

"You came here to take a look…" Qing Cao muttered to herself as her eyes suddenly burst with brilliance.

"YOU ARE FROM THE OUTSIDE WORLD?"

It was only after speaking this sentence that she realised that her voice had been a pitch higher than before. Thankfully, everyone was asleep, so she didn't have to worry about it.

Though she immediately put her hands on her mouth, preventing herself from making a noise, her eyes were gleaming with excitement as she gazed intently at Yang Ze, waiting for him to answer.

"Umm…" Yang Ze had a rough idea what 'Outside World' she was talking about, so he simply nodded in response. "You can say that."

"WOW." Qing Cao's whisper rang in Yang Ze's ears as she immediately rushed forward before grabbing his wrists tightly.

"Can you help us?"

"Can you bring us out of this place?"

The more she spoke, the more excited she got. Her grip around Yang Ze's wrists only tightened as if she was afraid that he would disappear in the very next moment.

"Calm down." Yang Ze gently nodded in response before freeing his right hand and gently patting her on the head.

"Calm down and tell me what is going on."

The girl immediately nodded in response.

"What do you want to know?" She asked in a hurry, afraid that Yang Ze might change his mind.

Yang Ze thought for a moment before asking what he wanted to know the most.

"What is going on in this village?"

"What is this place, and why are there only children here? Where are the adults?"

Yang Ze's question caused Qing Cao's body to tremble as fear filled her face. It took her a great deal of courage to give Yang Ze the answer.

"Gone…"

"Taken into the cave."

Speaking till there, she simply raised her hand and pointed in the direction of the cave that was filled with black smoke as the room drifted into an eerie silence.

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