Siheyuan, integrating everything, cultivating the city

"How could this happen?" Li Xiangqian whispered to himself, his eyes fixed on his shoes. The mud on the soles of his shoes was getting thicker and thicker, and his heart was getting more and more restless. It seemed that every step he took was sending him an inexplicable warning, as if some invisible force was secretly controlling everything and quietly leading him towards an unknown abyss.

He didn't think any more, quickly took off his shoes, wiped off the mud, took a deep breath, and turned to leave. But at this moment, a very clear sound of footsteps came from behind, as if there was a shadow following behind him. He turned his head suddenly and saw a figure quietly appearing at the corner of the street. The shadow appeared in the evening light, blurry and unrecognizable.

Li Xiangqian's heart skipped a beat, and every nerve in his body was twitching in alertness, as if it was tightly bound by something. He didn't dare to act rashly, and every pore in his body was tense, unable to suppress the panic in his heart.

He held his breath, stood there quietly, his eyes fixed on the figure. The man didn't speak, but his footsteps gradually approached. Li Xiangqian felt like a small animal being targeted by its prey, and everything around him was becoming more and more dangerous. The figure walked slowly, and his pace seemed to be deliberately slow, as if he was waiting for a certain moment, ready to launch some decisive action.

Suddenly, the man stopped. Li Xiangqian's heart almost jumped out of his chest. He subconsciously clenched the sweet potato bag in his hand and his breathing became rapid. At this moment, the man turned around, and Li Xiangqian finally saw his appearance clearly - a middle-aged man with a cold expression on his face and his eyes fixed on him.

"Li Xiangqian," the man began, his voice low and hoarse, "have you been looking for something?"

That sentence made Li Xiangqian's heart fluctuate violently. He suddenly realized that he was not fighting alone. There seemed to be many people in the courtyard who were secretly observing him. That person seemed to have known the confusion in his heart for a long time, and even his every action was recorded silently.

"Who are you?" Li Xiangqian suppressed the fear in his heart, but his tone was surprisingly calm.

The man smiled slightly, but there was no warmth in his smile. "Me? I'm just a person who knows a little bit. I know that you bought potatoes, and I also know that you are going to make sweet potatoes." He paused, and a sneer appeared at the corner of his mouth. "Do you feel that you are trapped?"

Li Xiangqian's heart suddenly tightened. He couldn't believe that the person in front of him knew his whereabouts so well, as if everything about him was under his control. That feeling was like an invisible net that gradually bound him and left him with nowhere to escape.

"Who are you?" Li Xiangqian's tone was already filled with suppressed anger. He wanted to force more answers out of this person and dig out the truth.

The man looked at Li Xiangqian without any emotion in his eyes. He just said calmly, "You don't need to know who I am. You just need to know that you have fallen into the rules of this land. You think you are still in control of everything, but in fact, you have been chosen by it a long time ago." He paused for a moment, as if he was deeply satisfied with his words. "Whether you want to accept it or not, everything here will revolve around you."

Li Xiangqian's mind went blank. The man's last words exploded like a heavy bomb, tearing through all his defenses. He felt dizzy, as if the land beneath his feet was slowly swallowing him up, and he had already become part of this invisible force.

"It's too late for you to escape, Li Xiangqian." After saying this, the man turned around and disappeared into the dim street corner, leaving Li Xiangqian alone, standing in the mud, his heart filled with unspeakable fear and confusion.

Li Xiangqian stood on the street that was gradually swallowed by the night, and the surging emotions in his heart were difficult to calm down for a while. The words of that person just now were like a huge rock hitting his chest, shattering the calmness that he thought he could control everything. His mind was blank, as if all his thoughts were suppressed by an indescribable force and he couldn't breathe. The scene around him was still hazy and unclear, and the moisture in the air made his clothes stick to his skin lightly, which was cold and uncomfortable.

He rubbed his eyes hard, trying to dispel the vague feeling. However, the last words left by the man in his mind, "You have fallen into the rules of this land", pierced his brain like a fine needle, circling deeply, making him unable to escape. Li Xiangqian's heart was filled with a sense of powerlessness, as if his hands were bound, and all his hopes were torn into pieces at this moment.

He felt a splitting headache, and almost subconsciously raised his hand to touch his hair, and then froze. His fingertips touched an unusually cool feeling. He lowered his head and found that his fingers were covered with some white powder, which was the fallen hair. Li Xiangqian was stunned for a moment, unable to believe his eyes, and then he scratched his hair hard again. One by one, the hair fell uncontrollably from his scalp like a broken thread, and fell on his shoulders, collar, and even in his palm.

His heartbeat accelerated, and his vision became blurry. Hair loss was something he had never experienced before. Even on the worst days, his hair was still thick and strong. But now, as an inexplicable force spread through his body, his body seemed to be reacting uncontrollably, and the loss of hair was the most direct proof of this.

"How could this happen..." Li Xiangqian whispered to himself, his voice trembling. He pressed his fingers against his scalp, trying to feel the growing discomfort, but his fingertips only touched sparse hair. At that moment, he felt an unprecedented fear sweeping over him, as if everything was beginning to get out of control, and all common sense and order were collapsing.

He was filled with helplessness and anger. He wanted to know what force was behind all this and why he was experiencing these inexplicable changes. Was it that person's conspiracy? Or did he miss a key detail that led to all this?

"Damn it!" Li Xiangqian finally couldn't help but curse in a low voice, and angrily shook off the hair he had pulled out. His eyes gradually became empty, as if he was in some kind of deep confusion. All his thoughts were in a mess, and he felt like a trapped chess piece. No matter how hard he struggled, he couldn't escape the terrifying situation before him.