Chapter 105: Hidden Mist Village

Ning Xianyu felt that the Great Demon Lord had lost his mind.

"I shall dote on you alone?"

"Forget it. I'm not a cat or a dog."

"N-no... that shouldn't be necessary, haha. Old Ancestor, with your vast divine powers, you can surely spread your favor equally. There's no need to be so polite, haha."

Besides, she didn't see any "doting" at all; she only felt as if her life were constantly hanging on the edge of a precipice.

Xuanyuan Tunhan’s grip on her hand tightened, then slid down to grab her by the back of her collar, hoisting her up just like a puppy.

"What I say is final. You are not allowed to have an opinion."

"...Understood, Old Ancestor."

[Help! White Lotus, hurry up and get here! The golden thigh you've been dying to hug has gone insane.]

The System watched the spectacle, amused: [The Great Demon Lord must have fallen for you.]

[Get lost. A possessive, twisted love like this—you want it? You take it!]

Ning Xianyu was on the verge of tears. As she was hauled outside, she happened to run into White Lotus.

Seeing the pair, White Lotus’s eyes flickered. She stepped forward, feigning surprise. "Sister, you’re awake?"

[Look at that. Pure nonsense. That’s how ordinary people make small talk, but someone like the Great Demon Lord wouldn't usually bother with such pleasantries.]

The System ignored her.

Ning Xianyu pointed directly at White Lotus. "You were the one who pushed me into the tree, you wicked woman!"

*Fight back, fight back! Come on, White Lotus, fight back!*

But to her surprise, White Lotus said nothing. Ning Xianyu struggled to get down, then lunged forward to shove her.

Before she could land the push, a burly man jumped out from nowhere and shoved her back instead.

"Who are you? Why are you bullying Lotus?"

Ning Xianyu was stunned as she fell to the ground. Where did this person come from? What kind of place was this?

The man shielded White Lotus behind him, glaring at Xuanyuan Tunhan and Ning Xianyu. "Aren't you two Lotus's friends? Why are you bullying her?"

Xuanyuan Tunhan raised an eyebrow.

Ning Xianyu scrambled up and looked around. They seemed to be in the backyard of an inn. The front was bustling with noise, and one could hear the clattering of bowls, dishes, and chopsticks. A kitchen was nearby, where a cook was preparing food while a waiter served dishes to the front.

"Where is this place?"

Seeing they were silent, the man said disdainfully, "This is Mist-Hidden Village. Where did you lot come from?"

Ning Xianyu leaned toward the Great Demon Lord and whispered, "Why is there a village here?"

Wasn't this supposed to be a magic formation? Why would there be a village?

Could it be that so many people had come to break the formation and failed to leave that they just ended up living here together?

Xuanyuan Tunhan dismissed the idea. "This is an illusion."

An illusion? Were the people here all fake?

"Then how do we get out?"

Xuanyuan Tunhan remained silent. White Lotus stepped forward and said, "This is not an illusion; it is merely another space. They are all real, just trapped within this realm."

"Senior, Sister, let us not harm them. They are all kind, ordinary people. It is we who have intruded upon them."

Xuanyuan Tunhan frowned. "You have been here before?"

White Lotus confirmed she had.

"Then how did you leave?" If she had been here, she must have escaped.

White Lotus replied, "The process of leaving is complex. We must wait. On the fifteenth of the month, we must go into the forest to find a kind of glowing insect. Where they gather, that is the exit."

So complicated.

Ning Xianyu asked, "What day is it today?"

"The sixteenth," White Lotus replied.

"I..."

How unlucky could she be? Yesterday was the fifteenth, and they happened to arrive on the sixteenth?

White Lotus continued, "Let’s find a place to stay first. People occasionally wander in here, so they have prepared a house specifically for outsiders."

With that, she pacified the man, told him to leave, and led the way.

Ning Xianyu found it strange. Why was she being so proactive this time, explaining everything without holding anything back?

Xuanyuan Tunhan raised no objections, dragging Ning Xianyu along as they followed.

The people here merely cast a few glances at them before returning to their business, as if they were already accustomed to strangers arriving.

As they walked, Ning Xianyu suddenly felt that someone looked familiar. She couldn't help but chase after them. "Mom? Dad?"

The two people looked exactly like her parents and were even a married couple. But as she chased after them, they vanished.

Xuanyuan Tunhan stood behind her. "Did you see someone you know?"

Ning Xianyu shook her head. "I was mistaken."

She had clearly seen someone, yet she wouldn't admit it. Xuanyuan Tunhan gazed at the surrounding crowd, his eyes deep and unreadable.

Ning Xianyu suddenly recalled something. "Old Ancestor, you must have been here before, right?"

Having lived for over a hundred thousand years, he must have seen that stone tablet and surely experienced everything here long ago.

But Xuanyuan Tunhan shook his head. "I have never been here."

In his long life of cultivation, he had never visited this place? Because he hadn't, they would have to rely on trial and error and White Lotus to break the formation.

Just as she was about to move on, she encountered another familiar face. "Mr. Liu?"

This time, she grabbed the person, certain she hadn't seen wrong. This man looked identical to her middle school homeroom teacher. She used to sit by the window and would often glance at his face, which always startled her, leaving a deep impression.

The man frowned, his expression stern—exactly like Mr. Liu.

He shook off Ning Xianyu’s hand. "Young woman, why are you grabbing people on the street? Where are your manners?"

With a flick of his sleeves, he walked away quickly.

Ning Xianyu stared blankly at his back, feeling even more surreal. How could she encounter so many familiar-looking people?

A while later, she ran into several more: her supermarket owner, the school gatekeeper, her seatmate, the person in front of her in class, and several good friends. They all had the faces and builds of people she knew, yet none of them recognized her.

Feeling disoriented, Ning Xianyu gripped Xuanyuan Tunhan’s arm tightly. "Is something wrong with my brain? Why does everyone look so familiar?"

Xuanyuan Tunhan shook his head. "No, the barrier here is the problem."

He looked at White Lotus. "What other characteristics does this place have?"

White Lotus looked puzzled. "I have already told you everything I know, disciple. You two have been acting very strange since a moment ago. Has something happened?"

Seeing her blank expression, Xuanyuan Tunhan asked no further questions.

The accommodation arranged for them was on a hillside outside the town, offering a view of the entire town below. Standing by the window, one could see people coming and going—busy, yet mundane.

No matter how she looked at it, it was an ordinary mortal town with nothing special about it. Yet, for some reason, Ning Xianyu felt that something was deeply wrong.

"White Lotus, why are they in this separate space? Have they never tried to leave?"

Why would so many people choose to live in such an isolated place? Wasn't that too strange?