Ou Xiaoxue hesitated, glancing at Ye Tiancheng and the little fox a few times. She was actually quite scared, but from what the little fox implied, they wouldn't be bringing her along for the next reconnaissance mission.
This made her feel an indescribable discomfort. The events happening here were her own affairs, and Ye Tiancheng and the little fox were merely helping her out of kindness. Yet, they were putting themselves in danger because of her. The thought of staying in a safe place all by herself made her feel guilty.
So, after a long pause, Ou Xiaoxue hesitantly said, "Then after we get the things, I'll accompany you next time."
However, Ye Tiancheng clearly refused her, "No need. Neither the little fox nor I have made a move yet, and we're still in a state of mutual non-aggression with these malevolent spirits. They can sense our power and will likely hold back for a while, not initiating trouble."
"Therefore, even on our next visit, the little fox and I might not necessarily confront these spirits; we're just here to gather more detailed information."
"But if you were to come, the situation would be different. They might not have the same restraint towards you, as you've been their target from the beginning."
Ou Xiaoxue lowered her head dejectedly. Ye Tiancheng then patted her head comfortingly, "I understand what you're thinking, but don't worry about it. It's brave to be willing to face danger with us, but it's not wise. No matter what, the little fox and I have the ability to protect ourselves. But if we bring you along, we might not be able to look after you. Do you understand?"
"The little fox and I are standing here now, choosing to do all this for your survival. If something were to happen to you in the end, what would be the point of us doing all this?"
Ou Xiaoxue was naturally touched and quietly conceded, "I understand, Brother Ye. I won't act impulsively. I'll do as you say."
Ye Tiancheng smiled. He had spoken rather nobly, but both he and the little fox knew that while they couldn't stand to see Ou Xiaoxue's predicament, their ultimate goal was still the fragments of the Fuxi Qin.
This was something neither Ye Tiancheng nor the little fox would ever forget; they wouldn't lose sight of their original intention because of it.
Compared to the little fox, Ye Tiancheng had some other conjectures. For instance, where were the fragments of the Fuxi Qin? Why hadn't the malevolent spirits directly harmed Ou Xiaoxue's life? Was it because Ou Xiaoxue herself was special, or because the fragments of the Fuxi Qin were in Ou Xiaoxue's villa?
Ou Xiaoxue had quite a few belongings, and she was a rather meticulous girl. The reason she looked so disheveled when Ye Tiancheng first met her yesterday was that she had been dealing with malevolent spirits for two days and hadn't had the chance to tidy herself up.
With Ye Tiancheng and the little fox present, and the little fox periodically stuffing folded triangular talismans into Ou Xiaoxue's bag, it was during these moments that Ou Xiaoxue would feel most acutely that her life was hanging by a thread.
This was because the sachet she wore around her neck, which contained the talismans, kept getting hot. When she opened it, the talismans previously placed inside had all turned to ash.
At such times, the little fox would ask her to pour out all the ash and put in new ones.
However, overall, setting aside this point, the group was as calm as if they weren't in a villa haunted by spirits, but rather as if Ye Tiancheng and the little fox were helping Ou Xiaoxue pack for a trip.
The calmness was only on the surface; the unrest was all reflected in the talismans' ashes that Ou Xiaoxue poured out.
As Ou Xiaoxue packed, she would also hand each item to the little fox for inspection. Once confirmed to be problem-free, she would pack it into the backpack filled with talismans, to avoid taking any problematic items back.
Although even if a few small things followed them back, they wouldn't pose a threat to Ye Tiancheng and the little fox, their greater concern was what would happen if these small things threatened Ou Xiaoxue and they couldn't react in time. Therefore, it was better to be prepared and leave no room for those things.
Ou Xiaoxue spent another hour packing her backpack. Only then did she realize how much time had passed and looked at her phone with confusion.
"Huh? This is strange. A long time ago, before we arrived, my homeroom teacher and my friends told me they had already set off. Why haven't they arrived yet? And they haven't even sent a message..."
Ou Xiaoxue subconsciously looked at Ye Tiancheng and asked for his opinion. Ye Tiancheng told her, "Call them and ask. It might be a ghost wall."
Ou Xiaoxue froze, remembering what happened to the property manager yesterday. She then thought that since her homeroom teacher was also coming to see her, the teacher would surely be leading the group. So, she directly called her teacher's phone.
After one ring, the call was immediately answered. Ou Xiaoxue heard her homeroom teacher's voice trembling, "Hello? Is that Xiaoxue? Did you call the teacher?"
Ou Xiaoxue replied, "Yes, Teacher, it's me. Did you and your friends get lost like the property manager yesterday? You said you set off a long time ago, but there's been no news, so I called to ask."
"Xiaoxue, the teacher and students are indeed lost. After we entered, for some reason, we kept circling back to the same spot. We can't leave, and we can't find your house. What's going on?"
As expected, Ou Xiaoxue's homeroom teacher gave an answer that surprised neither Ye Tiancheng nor the little fox, the culprits behind it.
Ou Xiaoxue immediately looked at Ye Tiancheng and asked for his help again, "Brother Ye, my teacher and classmates are also lost, and it seems they're even more lost than the property manager yesterday. At least the property manager could return the way he came, but your teacher and classmates can't even get out. How can this be? What should we do?"
Ye Tiancheng and the little fox exchanged glances. They hadn't expected Ou Xiaoxue's teacher and classmates to have ventured so deep by accident, otherwise, they wouldn't have been so easily unable to find their way out.
Ye Tiancheng said, "Then let's go out together and take a look. Your teacher and classmates might be circling outside the air wall in front of your house. This means they've gone quite deep, and are so close to here that they can't find the way out."
"Is that so? Then let's hurry out and see." Ou Xiaoxue said eagerly, explaining the situation to her teacher over the phone.
"Teacher, Brother Ye told me that it might be because you're very close. I'll come out to see where you are. Wait a moment, I'll be right there. Can you make a video call?"
Ou Xiaoxue's homeroom teacher quickly replied, "Okay, Xiaoxue, the teacher and students will wait for you here."
Afterward, the call ended. Ou Xiaoxue went out and waited for a while, but when she didn't receive a video call from her teacher, she initiated one herself. When it connected, she saw her teacher's rather shaken face.
Her teacher told her, "Xiaoxue, thank goodness you called. When we couldn't find the way before, we also tried calling you, but our phones had no signal. When you called just now, we thought it was working again, but there was still no signal, and we couldn't make calls."
Ye Tiancheng explained from the side, "It might be due to magnetic field issues. Because you were lost over there, you couldn't make calls. Xiaoxue is not within that range, so she's not affected."
Ou Xiaoxue said thoughtfully, "Is it like how I couldn't make calls when I was inside the villa before escaping?"
Ye Tiancheng nodded. Theoretically, that was the case. However, in reality, the reason Ou Xiaoxue could make calls was because he and the little fox were present, and Ye Tiancheng had the Nuwa Stone, while the little fox had also given her many talismans.
Ou Xiaoxue's case couldn't be viewed under normal circumstances. However, ordinary people would rarely encounter such things in their lifetime, so there was no need to explain it too clearly.
As a result, after walking out of the villa, all three of them discovered that as soon as they stepped out of the villa's main entrance, they saw Ou Xiaoxue's teacher and classmates. They were circling outside the air wall not far from Ou Xiaoxue's villa entrance. However, even in the video call, Ou Xiaoxue couldn't pinpoint their exact location.
Ou Xiaoxue fell silent for a long time. She flipped the camera lens. Her camera could indeed see her teacher and classmates. "Teacher, I see you. You're very close to me, circling just outside that air wall in front of my house."
The camera didn't lie, and everyone saw what they looked like in Ou Xiaoxue's footage.
It could be said that the experience of this morning had shattered everyone's worldview. Ou Xiaoxue's teacher was silent for a moment before saying, "Then how can the teacher get in touch with you? Does this... Mr. Ye know?"
Seeing that the question was directed at him, Ye Tiancheng blurted out a fabrication, "Contacting is definitely impossible. If there were such a way, my brother and I would have gotten out long ago. Only inanimate objects can pass through the air wall."
Ou Xiaoxue's teacher could only retreat, "Then how can we deliver the things we brought for Xiaoxue?"
Ye Tiancheng instructed from the side, "Using the footage from Xiaoxue's camera, you can discern the direction you are facing. Once you confirm the direction facing Xiaoxue, push the trolley you are holding forward with all your might. The trolley will enter the air wall."
"After that, I will give you a talisman. Then, one of you will hold the talisman, and I will point you in a direction. You will all hold hands, close your eyes, and walk straight forward. After ten steps, you will be able to leave."
Ou Xiaoxue's teacher had no other choice but to follow Ye Tiancheng's instructions. Because they had brought many things for Ou Xiaoxue, they had arrived with a trolley, with all the items piled on it.
After finding the correct direction, they pushed the trolley forward with all their might. Indeed, they saw the trolley pass through an invisible wall and disappear from their sight, leaving them with a completely shattered worldview.
Then, the little fox quickly folded a few talismans and threw them out. Ou Xiaoxue's teacher and classmates soon saw a yellow triangular shape fly over and land at their feet.
After that, Ou Xiaoxue communicated with her teacher and classmates. Ye Tiancheng and the little fox had no interest in participating and didn't want to be questioned, so they left the space to Ou Xiaoxue.
Ou Xiaoxue used the video call to explain her situation to her teacher and classmates, and then temporarily took leave, as she was trapped in this place and couldn't leave to attend classes as usual.