Bound to Mary Sue, I am against involution in the world of immortal cultivation

"Just wait here."

What are you waiting for? Fan Ning didn’t say.

She only left a mysterious message, saying, "I'm getting a little bored solving puzzles. I need to do something sociable."

Fan Ning didn't say whose group he joined, but about a quarter of an hour later, an old man with a hunched back knocked on the closed door.

"You broke the rules," his dark eyes raised and swept across the room without any obstruction.

Shen Shuzhi shrank his neck, stood in front of Ling You, and timidly called out "Village Chief."

"What do you want from us?" Ling You followed the local customs. He rolled his eyes and blocked the haystack where the person was hiding without any expression on his face.

"Hmph," the old man known as the village chief had never learned to speak with his head held high. His gloomy eyes were fixed on Shen Shuzhi's small body. "The woman in your family ran out when she shouldn't have..."

Ling You's heart tightened, and he interrupted her and asked, "How is she?"

The village chief lowered his eyes and said nothing.

He seemed to be haunted by countless resentful spirits. His eyelids moved, and he turned around, revealing his frail shoulders, which were caused by old age.

"Well, a woman who breaks the rules...even if she's a little clever, she won't live long."

Ling You found it difficult to give such an evaluation to Fan Ning.

But when he thought of the strangeness of this village, his trust in Fan Ning was eroded by the cold breeze.

...Maybe, she really made a mistake?

He thought so until he saw the group of people imprisoned underground.

But Ling You soon found out that he was wrong.

There was no control, no imprisonment, and no delirious looks.

What Ling You saw was Fan Ning sitting on a rattan chair holding several branches. Her unruly long hair was also gently tied up by the branches. When she raised her hand, one could vaguely see some ease in her movements.

"Hmph," the village chief snorted again, staring straight at Fan Ning's smiling face. The pair of old hands tucked into his sleeves opened and closed several times, with no trace of malice at all.

But that's all.

"Oh, you still remember to come back?" Fan Ning waved the branch in his hand and stretched out his hand to hold Shen Shuzhi, who was running towards him. After thinking for a few seconds, the smile on his face became even more malicious. "Oh, you're late. I was just chatting with others."

The village chief looked extremely unhappy, and his voice seemed to be squeezed out from between his teeth. "It's a lie to confuse the people."

"As long as it works."

Fan Ning jumped down from the chair, waved his hand and said with a smile: "If you want to do anything to me now, others will not agree."

"Maybe he'll eat you alive...don't be so stubborn, old man."

Shen Shuzhi fell behind her timidly, and her body trembled unconsciously when she heard certain words.

Ling You didn't understand the situation at first, but after listening to all the conversations, he felt that everything was rushing towards a strange place.

From the time it started to rain until it stopped, it seemed that Fan Ning had completed an outstanding step that would be recorded in the history of this village in just such a short period of time.

Not only did she join in the group, she even suspected she was going to usurp the position of village chief.

...Okay, Ling You walked to Fan Ning in despair, thinking with a heavy heart, it seems that she has done this kind of thing more than once or twice, the worst that can happen is that no one will have an easy time.

At least it's easier to get used to than indiscriminate mental pollution.

"What kind of rude things are you thinking about?" Fan Ning tugged at his hand, half-smiled, "We're about to touch upon a corner of the truth. Aren't you curious at all?"

Ling You crossed his arms over his chest and grumbled, "Are you terribly curious? Forget it, though. Besides, is the truth really that important?"

"That's true. After all, I'm half a party to this matter."

Fan Ning shrugged under the village chief's sinister gaze and pushed open the closed door.

Ling You, who was not mentally prepared yet, saw the yard full of "ghosts" when he looked up.

It might be biased to say it was a ghost, but to say it was a living person was definitely inappropriate.

"Wouldn't you all like to come and see our new ally? We should be more friendly."

No one spoke.

A pair of eyes filled with black turned straight and at the same time.

Ling You: “…”

Ling You: "Such an introduction is really unnecessary."

"How can that be done?"

Fan Ning grabbed Ling You's shoulders, although it was theoretically a bit difficult due to the subtle height difference.

But Lingyou will take the initiative to lower his posture.

It is precisely because of this that the scene is not too funny.

"Everyone, are you guys going to stop talking? It's hard for me to continue like this."

Fan Ning raised the corner of his mouth, showing no intention of completely breaking up with the other party for the time being, and even put on a symbolic smile.

She has always been patient with her prey.

There was silence again, but this time, suppressed by Fan Ning's smiling eyes, the people gathered in the yard suddenly all looked at Ling You, who was feeling a little unnatural, and nodded quickly.

I just can't figure out how to play Lingyou.

Considering Fan Ning's plan, he coughed a little awkwardly.

"What's going on?" Ling You asked Fan Ning in a low voice, trying hard to maintain just the right amount of calm on his face.

"I just did a business deal with these people," Fan Ning did not lower her tone. She held Shen Shuzhi's hand as if she was strolling leisurely. The guide looked back several times, and the next second his lazy voice attracted all his attention.

"Should I get you a position? Is there an age limit for the village chief? If you are young, wouldn't it be better to arrange someone to look after you?" she asked Shen Shuzhi.

Shen Shuzhi looked bewildered, but it was the guide who had been listening the entire time who lost his temper first.

"arrive."

He brought the three of them to a stop in front of a straw-covered cellar. As they bent down and fiddled with it, the damp and stagnant smell of rain hit their faces.

Fan Ning pinched his nose in disdain, his voice becoming increasingly angry. "They're using this kind of place to hide people. Do they have to dig it out and eat it when they're hungry?"

"Eh—it's not like there's only rotting flesh left."

The guide paused for a second and then directly lifted the tightly sealed lid.

"Don't forget how you survived," he turned his head to look at Fan Ning, his voice sounding like a rat had just crawled over it in a gutter, and it made him feel sick just by listening to it.

"Of course, I'm a man of my word," Fan Ning nodded, yawning lazily. "But you never know. If you can't even do something as simple as preserving the sacrifice, then no matter how many methods I have, it won't be enough to save the situation."

"Let's go, Lingyou, Xiaoshuzhi, don't come over here. Go back to the original place and wait for me."

Fan Ning crawled into the cave headfirst. Ling You, who was following behind him, finally understood what was going on. He couldn't help but look down - there were monks lying all over the ground.

The few faces that were revealed were all pale, and some of them stared with eyes that refused to close...

No matter how you look at it, this looks like a corpse dumping scene.

"Is this the content of your deal?" He retreated tactically. "Can this be used again?"

Fan Ning said it as if it was a matter of course, "Haven't you ever seen how food is processed? The edible parts are eaten up, and the dry parts are left to be processed and pickled... Oh, even the discarded ones can be put back into the fire to emit residual heat."

"So—why can't they reuse it?"