“Lin Wan, are you thinking of ruining their plan?”

“Yeah. What do you think if we launch an attack and destroy Shen Xingyue's longevity tablet so that they can't increase her lifespan?”

“It's not a good idea. I don't suggest you do that!” Mrs. Hong rejected Lin Wan's proposal.

Lin Wan did not seem happy about it. Apparently, she was not satisfied with her answer.

“Lin Wan, I've thought about that before but I felt that it was not a good idea. Think about it. The way the Shen Family works is strange and immoral. What if they kill Li Mu after we kill their girl?”

“If she gets to increase her lifespan, then...”

Lin Wan did not finish her line. But everyone knew what she was about to say. Li Mu and Shen Xingyue were each other's first love. And now they got to be together again. If Shen Xingyue was not going to die, it might rekindle their relationship. Then, what about Lin Wan?

Mrs. Hong did not say anything because she was in a dilemma either. To be honest, they were at fault. They had no right to interfere in Li Mu and Shen Xingyue’s relationship if Li Mu decided to live a new life and accept Shen Xingyue again.

However, Mrs. Hong knew that she should not say this to Lin Wan. They had to help Miss Lin look for Li Mu even if the process and outcome of the search were unpleasant.

After finding him, they would either threaten him or reason with him so that he would follow Lin Wan's heart desire and live together with her again. Otherwise, Miss Lin might go to extremes.

Mrs. Hong had been very guilty ever since Li Mu left Lin Wan. She always felt that she did not help Lin Wan, but brought her many troubles. Things became so complicated and troublesome because of all her bad ideas.

She had made vows that even if she was to lose her life, she would help this couple to reunite with each other. No matter how big the sacrifice would be, she would bring Li Mu back to Lin Wan.

“Lin Wan, don't panic. Let's find a place to stay first and wait for Third Uncle and the rest of them to come to us. Don't worry. The ritual will last for forty-nine days. We still have some time to plan our strategy. Once everyone is here, we'll find out the Shen Family's whereabouts by tracing their Qi and bring Li Mu back to you.”

Lin Wan gave a sigh and felt that Mrs. Hong's idea might be the best one since she could not think of any at the moment. If Li Mu was with them, any rash action might cause serious consequences. It was better to be patient and wait for the best time to act!

Senior Village Chief and Fourth grandfather were called out by the people. They looked exhausted and not that energetic compared to a few days ago.

“What's the matter?” Senior Village Chief asked.

The messenger said nervously, “Second Uncle, something bad has happened. Fifth Brother and Eighth Sister were murdered, together with a dozen of our people!”

“What?” Both of them were shocked and asked about the whole incident.

The messenger explained, “An unknown group came to Zhou Feng district a few days ago. Three of them wanted to trespass the red building. Third Brother was worried that they would affect the ritual so he blocked them from entering the building. They did not retaliate and left Zhou Feng district at once.”

“They left the place?” Fourth grandfather asked.

“Yeah, they left immediately!” The messenger replied.

“How could the tragedy happen if they left the place immediately?”

“After Third Brother came back, he was suspicious with their identity and worried that they wanted to harm us. So, he sent Fifth Brother and Eighth sister with a group of juniors to explore their territory. However, they did not come back after that. Second Brother practiced divination this morning and found out that all of them were dead!”

Senior Village Chief put his hands at the back and paced around the room. Fourth grandfather asked, “Second Brother, what do you think?”

Senior Village Chief waved his hand and asked the messenger, “Fourth Nephew, what exactly did your Fifth Brother and Eighth Sister do? Did they attack the group?”

Fourth Nephew shook his head and said, “I'm not sure. Third Brother asked them to spy around only. We're not sure whether they had attacked them or not.”

“Second Brother, you suspect they had attacked the group?”

“Yeah. They must be cultivators who came over to get some information but were blocked by Third Nephew. That's why they withdrew to show us that they were not our enemy. Since they knew the etiquette, they wouldn't simply kill our people. They had no reason to do it if we didn't initiate the attack!”

Fourth grandfather nodded as he took out a tobacco pipe and lit the tobacco. Subsequently, he started smoking. Senior Village Chief also did the same, sitting at the corner, thinking about the countermeasures. They remained silent for a while.

Fourth Nephew knew that the elders were weighing the pros and cons. Therefore, he did not disturb them and stood by their side quietly and respectfully.

After a while, Fourth grandfather asked, “Did any of you explore the enemy territory again after that?”

“We did. But they have left the place. We can't trace their whereabouts after that.” Fourth Nephew answered honestly.

Fourth grandfather nodded and spoke to Senior Village Chief, “Let's forget about it, Second Brother!”

“Forget about it?”

“Yeah. We have to prioritize Yueni for now. We got no choice but to forget about it this time. Besides, we did not know the whole story. If Fifth Nephew trespassed their territory, it was fair for the enemy to kill him because he was weaker than them.”

Senior Village Chief hesitated for a while but felt that what his brother said was reasonable. For the Shen Family, their top priority was to increase Yueni's lifespan. For now, other things could be brushed aside and settled next time.

After this was over, they could always investigate the case and take revenge for Fifth Nephew and the group if they were innocent.

Senior Village Chief was quite sure of his speculation. Fifth Nephew and the group must have thought that the enemy was weak. So they attacked them without bothering the rules. In the end, they were wrong and murdered by the enemy.

He could not help but sigh. The Shen Family had lived in seclusion for nearly two hundred years, and many young people had never gone out to experience the underworld. They had become ignorant of many things out there after staying among themselves for so long.

It seemed like it was time for them to go out for some training. It was good for young people to experience some defeats. It would help them be more careful in dealing with other matters next time.

“Second Brother, what do you think?” Fourth grandfather asked.

“We’ll do as you said. Let’s settle Yueni’s affair first. After increasing her lifespan, we’ll investigate this again.”

Senior village chief ordered Fourth Nephew, “Go and tell Second Nephew and Third Nephew to protect the formation carefully. Ask them not to take any rash action that will ruin the plan. Family punishment will be executed upon them if anything happens!”

“I will tell them now!” Fourth Nephew bowed to the two elders and left the house.

After he went off, Fourth grandfather asked, “Fifth Nephew and Eighth Niece were good fighters and yet the enemy murdered all of them. It seems like they are quite skillful. Second Brother, do you think they accidentally passed by or explored our territory on purpose?”

“I'm not sure. Both are possible. Fourth Brother, I would like you to be the guardian there. We got to be more careful since cultivators were exploring our territory. I'm worried about just having the younger ones to guard the house!”

“Alright. I'll get going now!” Without any hesitation, Fourth grandfather got up and knocked the smoking pipe on the sole of his shoes. Subsequently, he walked out of the house with his hands at the back.

…

Li Mu had not seen Shen Xingyue for many days. The villagers were busy making preparation for their wedding every day. Everyone was rejoicing and excited whenever they saw him.

Mr. Li responded passionately to their excitement as well. However, he was clueless about the whereabouts of his bride after so many days had passed.

He had tried to ask many people. But nobody answered his question. The people talked to him casually most of the time. However, they would not say anything about Shen Xingyue whenever he asked them about her. Besides, they would never tell by mistake anything about her, even if he tried to trick them.

Mr. Li used to be a university graduate and a general manager. Though he might not be experienced in dealing with conflicts, he knew very well how to interact and deal with other people. He knew that something serious must have happened. That was why everyone was trying to hide from him the whereabouts of Shen Xingyue.

Li Mu could not comprehend what the villagers were thinking. He was informed about Shen Xingyue's background and knew that she had few days left. For her, every single minute was precious now. He was willing to spend time with her and walked with her during her last days.

However, this wish had almost become an extravagant hope. They always stopped him from meeting with her. Li Mu felt that since he could not ask anything from the villagers, he would switch his attention to the two girls and see whether he could trick them into telling him something.

Shen Zixing and Shen Ming'er had been following him wherever he went. They would even sleep with him at night. Mr. Li was very embarrassed about it. Also, the girls might have stood by his side in the toilet if he did not chase them away with a stick.

In the beginning, Li Mu thought that they were clingy. But after some time, he felt that they were treating him as a prisoner. He felt as if he was followed by two guards all the time.

This place gave him a weird feeling compared to when he first came here. He thought it was a simple village. The village, the villagers, the girls, and their hair were weird! And, not to forget the most important thing of all, where was Shen Xingyue?

Li Mu was not stupid though he looked kind. To be honest, he was astonished the night when he cut the girls’ hair. He was trying to keep calm, not wanting to trigger their vigilance. He was worried that they would restrict his movement if he confronted them.

He was thinking of an escape plan!

Anyone who saw how their hair grew would have thought of running away. Besides, all the families here did not use any electricity supply. Li Mu was pretty sure that this was not a safe place to live in and people living here were not simple at all!

The first thing that he had to do was to find out where Shen Xingyue was and run away together with her. If only he could confirm her death, he would leave this place without regret.

The key was the girls. Li Mu tried to be close to them by spending a lot of time with them. Slowly, they became good friends.

One day, they strolled by the stream. Both of them followed behind him. Both of them looked pretty and innocent with their shoulder-length hair.