“Let’s head back first! You will understand why in a short while!” Xu Lan urged impatiently for everyone to turn back. However, the villagers were quite hesitant. The village chief kept his head down and remained silent.

“Village chief, why not you go ahead first? We still have something to clarify. We’ll catch up in a bit,” Bai Wu asked the village chief. Although Bai Wu could not comprehend why did Xu Lan insisted of going back, he still supported him without any hesitation.

“… No, I shall follow you and head back. The others should return to the village,” the village chief mentioned in all seriousness after a long pause. The villagers looked at each other puzzledly and finally they returned to the village by following the path of the mountain roads.

At first, Xu Lan thought that Wu Ling was the problem. After looking at the villagers’ reaction, he could sense that it was not as simple as what he had expected initially. They returned shortly to the same place that they just left moments ago. A brawny man hurried over like wild rabbits.

“What are you doing back here! You’re not welcomed here!” The brawny man growled gruffly.

“Why are you being so fierce. The scenery here is amazing, can’t we return to take a second look at it!” Fang Lingzi curled her upper lip in disdain and refuted.

The brawny guy clenched his fist as he did not know how to deal with Fang Lingzi. It was as if he had an instinctive respect for women and any form of retortion would be considered sacrilege. Xu Lan secretly gave a thumbs up and remained his composure when he saw another muscular man came over being caught in the same awkward situation.

Fang Lingzi laughed gleefully as she never thought that her random complaint could render a helping hand to the others. She became more audacious toward the two brawny man.

“Where’s Wu Ling?” Xu Lan asked politely as he did not want to taut the tension any further.

“She’s asleep! She mentioned that she couldn’t sleep well last night and went to bed right after you left.” The brawny man turned away and ignored Fang Lingzi. The way he treated Xu Lan was as if he had transformed into a different being entirely.

“…” As a matter of fact, Wu Ling had a restless night. She was worried that they might destroy the bamboo basket near the cliff and she was anxious that these two would notice something. Although it was a casual remark, the listener took it to his heart. Xu Lan’s neck flushed immediately after hearing his words.

“We would like to have a look near the cliff, perhaps we’ll find some clues about the dragon,” Xu Lan blabbered with a poker face, flattering the doubts in his heart shamelessly.

“… No! We’ve been there last night, there’s nothing there.” The darker-skinned guy rejected after giving a thought.

At that moment, a loud noise echoed from the sky above the cliff. Soon after, three flares exploded in the sky. The brawny men became anxious after seeing the situation. The fairer-skinned guy darted toward the cliff instantly. The darker-skinned man berated Xu Lan and the others and told them to leave at once. It was obvious that his tone was much more agitated than before.

Xu Lan whispered into Zhang Fei’s ears and used mind control on the dark-skinned man. All of them started running toward the cliff.

“Expert Xu, surely you can explain why did we return here. You should at least tell everyone why are we running!” the mayor asked while he gasped for breath.

“Village chief, there’s nothing strange about Wu Ling came looking for shelter in the mountains since the villagers resented her. The odd thing is that two brawny man obeyed her with unswerving loyalty. We discovered bamboo baskets that were arranged in an orderly manner when the giant dragon threw us to the cliff. I think there are living beings in it. Moreover, Wu Ling cared a lot about that place. She even went there alone last night. Why would an old lady like her build something similar to a cultivation base at such a deserted place?”

Although this matter seemed peculiar, it was not enough to draw Xu Lan’s attention. After all, they were in the middle of a mission. It was impossible for them to manage everything. More importantly, Xu Lan once heard about something mentioned by the brawny man.