This world had been undisturbed for a thousand years, but after the principal's last visit, Fang Ming entered it again.
The middle-aged man's expression was grave. As the patriarch of the Liu family and the right-hand man of the master, he had to admit his negligence when such a major oversight occurred in the world.
"Butler, pass down the order. From today onwards, all the hidden guards are to remain concealed and be ready to respond to any potential enemy attacks," the Liu family patriarch said in a deep voice.
"Yes, Patriarch," the butler replied.
"Also, instruct two hidden guards to investigate the three people the woman mentioned. If possible, test their strength."
"Understood, I will arrange it now."
The Liu family patriarch waved the butler away and left alone. He soon arrived at the backyard of the ancestral residence, an area reserved for direct descendants of the Liu family.
The Liu family patriarch passed through several pavilions and arrived at a secluded courtyard.
A young man was sitting in the courtyard, with a stone table in front of him. A freshly painted landscape scroll was spread on the table. The Liu family patriarch glanced at it – it was as ugly as ever.
"What is it?" Young Master Liu stopped what he was doing and looked up.
"Another outsider has broken in. Three this time," the Liu family patriarch said.
"What?" Young Master Liu was surprised, then chided, "How do you guard this world? How did people sneak in without anyone noticing?"
"It is my fault. I have already sent people to investigate," the Liu family patriarch admitted. "According to the intelligence gathered, those three may make a move against the Liu family soon."
Young Master Liu remained silent, lost in thought. They had lived in this world for a thousand years, and its stability was self-evident. When the person who called himself the principal broke in last time, they were utterly powerless to resist. This time, the strength of these three people was likely not to be underestimated.
After a moment, Young Master Liu said gravely, "Quickly find the hiding place of these three people. Do not alert them for now. I will go and meet them."
"..." The Liu family patriarch remained silent. He had just given orders for someone to go and test them.
"Alright, I will arrange it now." The Liu family patriarch turned and left. Young Master Liu glanced at the sky and continued with his painting. He truly lacked artistic talent, but he enjoyed it nonetheless.
The Liu family's actions were swift. As soon as Xiao Nian returned to the inn, a servant-like individual contacted her, confirmed the location of Fang Ming and the other two, and immediately reported it to the Liu family patriarch.
Fang Ming was in his room, accompanying Nian Nian as she ate some delicacies of the era. Qing Mian would occasionally try some, but more than eating, Qing Mian was curious about the cooking methods.
"Fang Ming, a fiend just went to the door of the next room," Nian Nian suddenly said.
"What?" Fang Ming was startled and quickly went out of his room to knock on Xiao Nian's door.
"Xiao Nian, are you alright?" Fang Ming asked.
Xiao Nian, who was sitting restlessly in her room, was startled by Fang Ming's call. She quickly said, "I'm fine, just feeling a bit unwell. I'll be fine after a rest."
"Then rest well." Fang Ming sensed Xiao Nian's condition and found that she was indeed alright. He turned and returned to his own room.
As Fang Ming sat down, Nian Nian spoke again, "That woman seems a bit strange."
"What's wrong?" Fang Ming asked curiously.
"She seems very afraid of something, especially when she sees me," Nian Nian said.
Fang Ming was speechless. You're practically acting like a wicked mother-in-law; wouldn't she be scared seeing you?
"You scared her," Fang Ming said helplessly, patting Nian Nian's head. "She's just a normal person. After we leave this world, we won't have any contact with her, so there's no need to make things difficult for her."
Xiao Nian, as the first and only person Fang Ming met in this world, had a rather good impression of her.
"Oh," Nian Nian said unhappily and popped a pastry into Fang Ming's mouth, silencing him.
Fang Ming gave a wry smile, chewed, and swallowed the pastry.
The three chatted idly for a while, then took another nap. Soon, the sky began to darken, and night fell.
"There's no one on the streets now. Let's get ready to go," Fang Ming got off the bed, put on his jacket, and leaned out the window to observe the situation outside.
There was little activity on the streets, with only a few late-night food stalls open. Occasionally, people passed by, but the street appeared very empty.
To avoid attracting attention, Nian Nian and Qing Mian transformed into fiend markings and attached themselves to Fang Ming. Fang Ming, alone, traversed the streets. Following his memory, he soon arrived near the Liu family ancestral residence again.
Qing Mian and Nian Nian reappeared, and the three of them cautiously hid in a secluded corner.
"Nian Nian, which way now?"
"Follow me." Nian Nian led the way, with Fang Ming and the other following.
Under Nian Nian's guidance, the three arrived at a bamboo forest near the Liu family ancestral residence.
The bamboo forest was dense, likely planted by the Liu family to decorate the surrounding environment.
Nian Nian entered the bamboo forest and walked to a withered bamboo plant. She reached out and pulled the bamboo from the root, along with its stem. To her surprise, the roots brought out a clump of hard soil, and a large hole appeared where the bamboo had been.
"Wow, who dug this? They managed to make such a big hole from the Liu family," Fang Ming exclaimed, wondering if it was those hooligans.
"We can go directly into the Liu family's interior from here," Nian Nian said.
"Let's go. Be careful." Fang Ming jumped down first, followed by Nian Nian and the other.
The cave was narrow, and Fang Ming and Qing Mian had to bend their backs to fit. Fang Ming observed the cave walls, noting clear signs of tool marks.
"This was dug by humans," Fang Ming said, a question slowly arising in his mind.
Since the Liu family was a nest of malevolent spirits, there should be no need to use human labor to dig this passage. So, the question arose: who dug this passage? And why was it dug?
"Nian Nian, does the hooligan's memory have any information about the origin of this passage?" Fang Ming asked.
Nian Nian shook her head. "That hooligan just knew about the existence of this passage by chance. He had no idea how it came to be."
Fang Ming pondered for a while, finding no clue, and decided to consider it later.
The three soon reached the end of the passage, where another upward passage was sealed.
Nian Nian controlled her hair to push open the seal, and the three crawled up, successfully entering the interior of the Liu family ancestral residence.
The exit was also a bamboo forest, with the arrangement almost identical to the one outside.
The three cautiously emerged from the bamboo forest and were met with an artificial lake about thirty meters in diameter, with a small pavilion built in the center. Around the lake were intricately decorated houses. In the distance, lights flickered, and the laughter of adults and children could be heard.
What a picturesque scene, like a hidden paradise.
However, to Fang Ming and the other two, this beautiful scene was anything but ordinary; it was terrifying!
"Is this Liu family ancestral residence entirely filled with malevolent spirits?" Fang Ming was shocked.
In their eyes, the entire Liu family ancestral residence was shrouded in dense resentment. The resentment surrounding Bai Mu Village was probably not even a tenth of what they saw here!
Some of the resentments were so potent that they reached the level of the most fearsome fiends.
Compared to the Liu family ancestral residence, Bai Mu Village was a mere speck of dust, not worth mentioning.
"No wonder my diary could only predict the future for twenty minutes," Fang Ming's heart grew solemn. Although Qing Mian had told him about the situation of the Liu family ancestral residence before, it was nowhere as shocking as seeing it with his own eyes!
"Everyone be careful. Let's get closer and observe, but do not release any detection methods, lest they discover us," Fang Ming instructed. The three cautiously moved along the shadowed areas towards some tall buildings.
The moment Fang Ming and the other two appeared in the Liu family ancestral residence, the Liu family patriarch received a report from the hidden guards.
"Pass down the order. Everything remains as usual. Do not disturb them. Increase the guards around the study. Do not engage them unless absolutely necessary," the Liu family patriarch arranged.
"Received." Several dark-clad hidden guards melted into the darkness and disappeared. The Liu family patriarch looked out the window, pondering what these three strangers were trying to achieve.
Meanwhile, Fang Ming and the other two crept into the kitchen area of the Liu family ancestral residence. Looking at the food ingredients filling the room, they were all normal. There was no human flesh or blood as they had imagined.
"Are these malevolent spirits so disciplined?" Fang Ming was somewhat puzzled by the Liu family's situation. Normally, when encountering such malevolent spirits, they were mindless monsters. Only when they reached the semi-fiend stage did some malevolent spirits gain sentience.
However, in the current state of the Liu family, it seemed that all the malevolent spirits, from top to bottom, possessed high intelligence. It was less like they were malevolent spirits and more like another intelligent race distinct from humans.
"Did you discover anything?" Fang Ming asked Nian Nian and Qing Mian. They both shook their heads, having found nothing.
"Let's go to the next area."
The three soon moved to the Liu family's residential area.
The resentment here was even thicker. Fang Ming and the other two hid in the shadows and observed secretly. Liu family members came and went, including ordinary people, fiends, and fierce fiends.
But without exception, they all behaved like ordinary people!
The Liu family actually allowed malevolent spirits and humans to live together in perfect harmony. How was this possible?
Fang Ming was inwardly shocked. He felt that the Liu family must have a great secret, and the ultimate malevolent spirit behind the creation of this world was definitely related to the Liu family in some way! Or perhaps, it was the leader of the Liu family.
"Let's go." After observing the interaction between these people and malevolent spirits, Fang Ming and the other two continued to explore other areas.
"Fang Ming," Nian Nian suddenly called out.
"What is it?" Fang Ming stopped and asked.
"There is a very special human beneath our feet," Nian Nian said.
"Human?" Fang Ming looked at his feet, at the flat ground. Of course, he understood that Nian Nian was referring to underground.
"What's special about him?" Fang Ming asked.
"His aura is a bit like Zheng Zhu Liu."
"What? Sixth Master is also in this world?" Fang Ming was surprised. How could Zheng Zhu Liu be here? Wasn't he a tomb raider?
Nian Nian shook her head and explained, "Not Zheng Zhu Liu, but someone like him, someone who knows various strange Taoist arts."
"So that's how it is."
Fang Ming breathed a sigh of relief. He thought Zheng Zhu Liu had arrived. However, there was a Taoist priest imprisoned here. Hearing this, Fang Ming became interested.
"Let's go save him. Perhaps we can get some information from him."