This matter sounds extremely bizarre, traceless, and shrouded in mystery.
Ji Nanshan frowned and asked, "But we have no enmity with that person, why would he target us? After all, we are all outsiders."
If he had acted against the villagers, it would have been understandable; perhaps there had been some unpleasant incident between them. But they were all outsiders, arriving in East Village only today, so why would he want to kill them?
Xu Sanhu also shook his head blankly, "I don't know what's going on, but I'm sure it's that person who returned. Otherwise, who could kill people so stealthily and then place them at the village entrance without anyone noticing?"
Everyone was unable to refute Xu Sanhu's words.
Only Ye Fan remained silent, sitting calmly, his expression peaceful, as if deep in thought.
"Ye Fan, do you have any thoughts?"
Shen Tianyin nudged Ye Fan's arm and asked in a low voice.
Ye Fan shook his head and looked at Xu Sanhu, "Let's go take a look at that person's residence first."
For now, Xue Tao's death meant they had to stay put and couldn't leave.
After all, Xue Tao was their companion, and they couldn't just let him die mysteriously.
The person lived at the end of the village, with only two dilapidated thatched huts. Three years had passed, and they were in disrepair.
Pushing open the decayed courtyard gate, the yard was overgrown with weeds.
It had been three years since anyone had entered, so it was already a feat that it had survived.
Ye Fan stepped into the courtyard and began to look around.
"The courtyard is arranged according to the Nine Palaces and Eight Trigrams. The stone mill, grinding slab, and trees in the courtyard are all important components of the Nine Palaces and Eight Trigrams. Using these natural elements to arrange the Nine Palaces and Eight Trigrams array not only makes it hard to detect but also enhances the array's effectiveness."
Ye Fan thought to himself.
The Nine Palaces and Eight Trigrams array was a defensive formation from ancient times, with arrays within arrays, forming nine palaces and combined with the eight trigrams. The array was set up with numerous traps, capable of maximally hindering enemies.
A true Nine Palaces and Eight Trigrams array required a vast area and hundreds or thousands of people to complete.
Therefore, what was arranged in this courtyard was merely a simplified version of the Nine Palaces and Eight Trigrams array.
However, even so, once the array was activated, by shifting the positions of trees and flowers, it could still effectively prevent outsiders from entering.
Moreover, the person who set up the array could know immediately if someone had entered.
Someone capable of setting up such an array was no ordinary individual.
"Follow me."
Ye Fan said coldly, then stepped forward and quickly walked into the courtyard.
Elder Lei, Xu Sanhu, and the others exchanged glances, puzzled.
It was just an ordinary courtyard, so why was Ye Fan so tense? And judging by Ye Fan's steps, he wasn't walking in a straight line, but following some pattern.
Shen Tianyin and Ji Nanshan trusted Ye Fan unconditionally. After hearing his words, they quickly followed.
Elder Lei sighed and also chose to believe Ye Fan.
As for Xu Sanhu, after a moment of thought, he also followed their footsteps.
Only a middle-aged man brought by Elder Lei glanced at Ye Fan dismissively, snorted coldly, and then strode in directly, heading towards the entrance.
"The shortest distance between two points is a straight line, yet they have to be so pretentious here, treating us all like fools?"
The man muttered as he walked. His name was Xue Zhonglong, Xue Tao's uncle, and he had long disliked Ye Fan.
He dared not act against Ye Fan directly due to Elder Lei's presence.
And Xue Tao's death only increased his hatred for Ye Fan.
It seemed as if everything stemmed from Ye Fan; if not for him, how could his nephew have died here tragically?
Ye Fan and the others soon crossed the courtyard and arrived at the door. But when they turned to look, they saw Xue Zhonglong repeatedly circling the grinding slab, muttering to himself as if driven mad.
"Zhonglong, what are you doing?"
Elder Lei was furious and reprimanded Xue Zhonglong loudly.
But Xue Zhonglong seemed not to hear, continuing to spin around the grinding slab.
"Why haven't I reached the end yet? Why is this path so long?"
Xue Zhonglong mumbled, sweat already appearing on his forehead.
"Brother Ye, what's wrong with Zhonglong? Has he been possessed?"
Elder Lei quickly looked at Ye Fan and asked.
However, Ye Fan snorted coldly, "I told him to follow me, but he insisted on going his own way. I advise you all to follow my instructions from now on, otherwise, if something happens, no one can save you."
Ye Fan's voice grew colder. His words sounded less like advice and more like an order.
No one argued with him; after all, Xue Zhonglong was currently trapped, and the courtyard was indeed somewhat strange.
"Ye Fan, please go save him quickly. After all, we are all companions."
Shen Tianyin shook Ye Fan's arm, her face full of pleading.
This woman was always so kind, unable to bear killing even an enemy.
But just because she was kind, it didn't mean others would be. Even those she helped might not be grateful.
Seeing Shen Tianyin's pleading gaze, Ye Fan relented and nodded, then quickly walked towards where Xue Zhonglong was.
Ye Fan seemed to be walking leisurely, but with every step, he would stop and survey his surroundings, carefully calculating before taking another step.
After repeating this for over ten minutes, Ye Fan finally got close to Xue Zhonglong.
Xue Zhonglong, who had been walking briskly, suddenly heard a sound behind him and saw Ye Fan appear in his line of sight, as if descending from the sky.
Indeed, to Xue Zhonglong, Ye Fan seemed to descend from the sky because they were not in the same space at all.
"Ye Fan, why are you here? Did you not find any valuable clues, so you came here to try your luck?"
Ye Fan frowned and coldly looked at Xue Zhonglong, this fool. Even now, he didn't realize he was trapped in the illusion of the array.
Grabbing his hand abruptly, Ye Fan said angrily, "Stop talking nonsense and come out with me."
Unexpectedly, Xue Zhonglong violently shook off Ye Fan's hand, "You want to trick me into leaving here so you can hoard the treasure for yourself? Let me tell you, as long as I'm here, no one will hoard it, unless you step over my corpse."
This Xue Zhonglong was becoming utterly unreasonable.
Ye Fan's expression grew even more somber. This scoundrel was truly detestable.
Helplessly, Ye Fan suddenly raised his hand and struck Xue Zhonglong hard on the neck.
Instantly, Xue Zhonglong fell to the ground as if struck by lightning, knocked unconscious.
Then, Ye Fan picked him up on his back and quickly left the place.