He sat there, took out some food and water to fill his stomach and replenish his strength.

As time went on.

As evening approached, the sun began to set in the west, and the remaining clouds on the horizon resembled blood.

The sky gradually darkened.

Upon seeing this, Hu Long, who was lying on the rock pretending to sleep and sunbathing, suddenly opened his eyes, then picked up his backpack and went down.

……

"Slower!"

"Okay, no need to see me off!"

"Cough cough..."

Xue Hai waved his hand and walked out from the family.

He reeked of alcohol, a half-smoked cigarette dangling from his mouth, and his white mandarin jacket gleamed with grease in the dim light.

With his hands behind his back, he staggered to his front door.

The key turned a few times, and the door opened.

The room was quiet and there were no lights on.

"Old woman! Old woman!"

See here.

He called out twice, but no one answered.

He was used to this situation.

He mumbled something under his breath and locked the door from the inside.

He turned and walked towards the kitchen.

The kitchen had a brick stove, and a pile of dry firewood and straw was haphazardly stacked in the corner on one side.

He crouched down, parted the withered grass, and hooked a heavy iron ring with his finger.

—Bang!

A square iron plate was lifted, revealing a dark hole.

Looking down, there was a steep earthen staircase. The moment it opened, a damp and chilly aura rushed out.

It made him shiver involuntarily.

Then, he bent down and went inside.

However, he did not realize that right after he went down...

A figure appeared silently on one side, gazing thoughtfully at the steps below.

……

The cellar was a fairly large space.

A chilling, damp air, mixed with a faint, putrid smell, floated silently in the air.

The white candles burning brightly on the four walls cast a dim, yellowish light, making the shadows cast on the walls appear to grow longer and shorter, creating an unpredictable and eerie atmosphere.

After bending down, Xue Hai turned a corner and, after taking only a few steps, his gaze swept across the room and landed on the figure sitting cross-legged in the center.

Around the figure were several white, withered bones scattered about. When the candlelight shone on them, they glowed faintly with phosphorescence, creating an indescribably strange and eerie atmosphere.

"You went drinking again?"

Hearing the noise, the old woman who was meditating lifted her eyelids and saw Xue Hai's appearance. When she smelled the lingering smell of alcohol on him, her brows furrowed.

"Sigh, with this title of village chief, how can I refuse social obligations? I can't refuse to drink."

Xue Hai waved his hand, walked closer, and carefully examined the woman's face by candlelight.

"Any progress on your end?"

Liu's face was very pale, even somewhat ashen.

Hearing this, he slowly shook his head, his voice somewhat hoarse.

"I have gathered some Yin energy and tried to draw it in... but no matter what I do, I can't get it into my body."

According to the fragments, this is an excellent feng shui site for gathering yin energy.

If it can't be repaired here, then... this road is truly doomed.

"If you ask me, don't push yourself too hard."

Xue Hai sighed, his tone softening.

"After so many years of hard work, there has been no improvement."

If it can't be repaired, it can't be repaired. We're doing alright for now, aren't we?

It's good to visit and chat with your neighbors from time to time.

On the other hand, didn't the son also manage to snag a rich family's daughter?

There are many good days ahead, why insist on taking this endless, dark path?

"But I'm not willing to accept this!"

Liu's chilling voice echoed in the cellar.

Seeing this scene.

Xue Hai's Adam's apple bobbed, but he swallowed the words that were on the tip of his tongue.

After decades of marriage, he knew her temperament all too well; once she made up her mind, nothing could sway her.

Further persuasion will only increase the argument.

He sighed, propped himself up on his knees, and reached out his hand to her.

"Alright, go upstairs first. You haven't had dinner yet, have you? I'll go heat up the food on the stove."

The candlelight cast their shadows long and distorted on the wall covered with withered bones.

Liu did not take his hand, but slowly stood up by supporting herself on the ground.

The two climbed the steps one after the other.

He had just peeked out of the cellar.

Bang!

Before I could even take a breath of fresh air, a sudden numbness shot through the back of my neck.

The two of them fell directly to the ground.

Snapped!

The incandescent light suddenly turned on, illuminating the dimly lit kitchen in a stark white light.

This also allowed them to see clearly what Xue Hai and Liu looked like.

The two men looked to be in their fifties, with gray hair, much like most of the elderly people in the village.

At this moment, they had not actually fainted.

Instead, he was writhing on the ground in pain, convulsing and rolling around, suppressing intermittent groans in his throat.

Liu had just slammed her head on the hard ground, and blood was gushing from her nose.

"--ah!"

She was about to cry out when the sound suddenly caught in her throat.

A cold dagger silently pressed against her neck.

The blade pressed against my skin, sending a sharp, chilling sensation through me.

"Shut up!"

A hoarse voice rang in their ears.

Hu Long said this, feeling somewhat speechless as well.

Despite all the preparation and mental preparation he had made, he never expected that these two old guys were no different from ordinary people and were taken down with a single blow.

However, controlling the force to knock someone unconscious is very difficult, much more difficult than in those movies.

Even with his master-level unarmed combat skills, he failed the first time, not because he couldn't find the right position.

It's because everyone's physical condition is different; hitting too hard can kill someone, while hitting too lightly won't knock them out.

"Now, I will ask, and you will answer. Anyone who dares to shout or lie to me—"

He paused, then let out a cold laugh.

"I'll send both of you on your way."

The threat of death, like an invisible hand, gripped Liu's throat tightly.

Her eyes widened, blood dripped from her nose onto the ground, but she dared not utter a sound.

Xue Hai, who was standing to the side, also froze, even his breathing became extremely shallow.

Only then did the two of them truly see the person standing in the dim light.

This was a strange man with a messy, thick beard and cold eyes; he looked like someone you didn't want to mess with.

"Friend... let's talk this out..."

Xue Hai's voice trembled as he stammered out the words.

"You want money, right? We'll give you all of it..."

Bang!

Before he could finish speaking, he felt a numbness in the back of his neck, and collapsed to the ground, fainting on the spot.

"Looks like I didn't use enough force."

After kicking it, there was no reaction.

Hu Longcai withdrew his hand and looked at Liu, who was still bleeding from her nose.

"Liu Lingge, now I'll ask you a question, and you'll answer it."

He slowly crouched down, looking directly into the other person's panicked eyes.

"I know far more than you think, don't try to fool me. If I'm lying... hehe."

Upon hearing this...

Liu trembled and looked at Hu Long in horror.

Liu Lingge was her original name. She had been using the name Liu Shi for over twenty years since she came here, but her real name was not.

Even Xue Hai and Xue Wu, who were closest to him, didn't know.

Then, as if she had thought of something.

He seemed to have been completely drained of energy, and his face instantly lost all color.

"You came for that thing, didn't you? I didn't expect that after hiding it for so long, you would still find it in the end."

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