Martial arts have become extinct worldwide, yet I am forced to have a large family.

During their free time before lunch, Xu Huanhuan took Yang Xian for a stroll near her grandmother's house.

Everything here was almost exactly as she remembered it.

"This is where I lived when I was a child. I didn't feel as constrained as I did at the Xu family's house. It's nice to come back and visit occasionally."

Xu Huanhuan kicked a small pebble at her feet, tilted her head, and asked Yang Xian, "How are you feeling?"

Yang Xian surveyed the surrounding field ridges and old houses:

"Compared to the concrete jungle of big cities, the earthy fragrance of the countryside has a unique charm."

"Besides, this is your safe haven..."

"A place where you can take off all your masks and be yourself again."

From the girl's sudden confession to now personally stepping into the place where she grew up.

Yang Xian got to know the real Xu Huanhuan.

After being confessed to so openly by such a girl, his initial resistance gradually eased.

A faint, unfamiliar feeling was quietly taking root and sprouting in his heart.

"Just like you said, wearing a mask for too long can get stuffy."

Xu Huanhuan stopped and looked up at the sky. "Suppressing one's true nature for so long has a huge impact on one's state of mind. Who knows, it might even cause inner demons in future cultivation..."

As she spoke, she playfully made a face at Yang Xian.

Just then, Grandma's voice came from the small courtyard not far away.

"Huanhuan! Yang Xian! Come back for dinner!"

"Coming!" Xu Huanhuan responded crisply, grabbed Yang Xian's hand, and ran back.

…………

The two returned to the courtyard.

Grandma came out of the kitchen carrying a plate of freshly stir-fried vegetables: "Huanhuan, did you see your grandpa when you went out just now?"

Xu Huanhuan shook her head: "No, why?"

"Sigh, that old man!" Grandma placed the dishes on the table in the main room and muttered a complaint, "It's almost dinnertime and he still hasn't come back. He doesn't even take his phone with him when he goes out. He's getting more and more of a worry as he gets older..."

Gone?

Yang Xian's gaze sharpened.

The image of Aunt Lan's sharp and mean face flashed through his mind instantly.

He could have disappeared earlier or later, but he just happened to disappear after having a conflict with Aunt Lan.

The timing is just too coincidental.

The coincidences are so striking that it's hard not to be suspicious.

Yang Xian and Xu Huanhuan exchanged a glance.

The two were clearly thinking the same thing.

"Grandma, you wait at home first. Yang Xian and I will go out to look for Grandpa," Xu Huanhuan said immediately.

"No, I'll look for it with you." Grandma refused without thinking and made a move to take off her apron.

"Grandma, it's not convenient for you to do this, and the sun is so strong outside. We young people can handle these errands," Xu Huanhuan tried to persuade her.

"I'm perfectly healthy!" Grandma clearly wouldn't listen to reason.

Seeing this, Yang Xian had no choice but to step forward and speak gently:

"Grandma, just wait at home."

"Think about it, if Grandpa wanders back by himself and finds you're not home, he'll definitely be worried."

"What if he goes out looking for you again? Wouldn't we miss our chance?"

Grandma stopped moving.

She thought about it and felt that Yang Xian's words made a lot of sense.

"Well... alright then." The old man finally nodded. "You two be careful too, don't go too far, and come back early if you can't find your way."

"Okay, Grandma."

The two agreed and turned to leave the courtyard.

As soon as they walked away, Xu Huanhuan nudged Yang Xian lightly with her elbow.

"Wow, you're quite the charmer when it comes to dealing with the elderly!"

She knew in her heart that her few words just now wouldn't be enough to persuade her stubborn grandmother.

"Older people can be inexplicably stubborn sometimes. If you tell them not to do something, they'll insist on doing it." Yang Xian glanced at her. "So you have to go along with their train of thought and give them a reason they can't argue with."

"Wow! That's a very insightful analysis!" Xu Huanhuan giggled and took his arm. "I knew it! You really are a great boyfriend!"

"..."

Upon hearing the word "boyfriend," Yang Xian hadn't felt anything before, but a hint of panic flashed across his face at this moment.

He turned his head slightly, subconsciously avoiding the girl's gaze: "Alright, let's get down to business first. Tell me your thoughts."

"What other ideas could we have? Let's split up and go look for them!" Xu Huanhuan shrugged.

Martial artists below the fourth realm cannot project their spiritual power to probe outwards; otherwise, they wouldn't need to go through the trouble of personally searching for people.

But this little problem is nothing to Xu Huanhuan.

She casually pulled a few playing cards from her pocket, flicked them with her fingertips, and the cards spun and danced in mid-air, transforming into more than a dozen figures when they landed.

There were men and women, young and old, and their clothing and appearance were completely different.

"Go ahead," Xu Huanhuan gave a simple instruction.

The dozen or so clones immediately nodded and scattered, running off in different directions from the village.

Xu Huanhuan clapped her hands: "The village is only so big, we'll find them soon, just wait."

Of course, Xu Huanhuan didn't forget to send a clone back to protect her grandmother.

--------

at the same time.

In a long-abandoned temple.

An elderly man with gray hair was tied to a pillar with a rope and a rag stuffed in his mouth; he was Xu Huanhuan's maternal grandfather.

He was surrounded by a group of shady thugs.

"Brother Xiang, how long have we been waiting here? Why hasn't that woman Xu Huanhuan arrived yet?"

One of the thugs spoke up, sounding somewhat impatient.

The man called Brother Xiang is none other than Aunt Lan's beloved son, Wang Xiang.

He was a bully in the village since he was a child, and later became a notorious gang leader.

Today, after hearing his mother crying about how she was bullied by Xu Huanhuan, he immediately called for people to tie up Xu Huanhuan's grandfather.

"Damn it!" Wang Xiang spat on the ground, holding a rusty iron rod. "That woman's a real pain in the ass! Hei Zi, did you go and tell her?"

The henchman named Heizi paused, looking bewildered: "A notification? Brother Xiang, didn't you just tell me to bring this old man back?"

"..."

The entire dilapidated temple fell into a deathly silence in an instant.

All the thugs looked at Hei Zi with the eyes of someone looking at an idiot.

No wonder I've been waiting for almost an hour and there's been no response from the other party. It turns out no one went to notify them at all!

"Fuck your mother!"

Wang Xiang grabbed Hei Zi's head hard, yelling, "Are you a pig?! You can't even handle this simple thing!"

Then he pointed to another thin young man.

"Shorty! Go and call her over here right now!"

However, he had barely finished speaking.

A crisp yet cold voice drifted from the dilapidated gate of the temple.

"No need to call anymore."

"I'm here!"