Led by the uncle, Xi and Wu entered the village, and he purposely knocked on the door of a certain house.
"Haya!" the uncle called out toward the house.
A young girl hurried out, wearing an apron and holding a spatula.
"Oh, it's Uncle Lak! What brings you here?" Catching sight of Xi and Wu, Haya couldn't help pausing—aren't these some young masters and misses from a wealthy family? They looked like travelers and shepherds!
In Haya's mind, such extraordinary-looking youths dressed in fine clothes were bound to be the children of the rich, just like the son of the village tycoon.
"Ha, well, I'd like to ask you for a favor." Uncle Lak leaned in close to Haya and whispered something inaudible to the others.
"Ah, how tragic..." The look in Haya's eyes as she glanced at Xi and Wu instantly changed.
There was a sense of disillusionment, but mostly sympathy.
"Don't worry, I will definitely bring them back alive!" Haya patted her chest with confidence.
"Good, with you on it, I can rest easy," said the uncle.
"Then let's set off right now—"
"No, no, no! Have something to eat first! You need a full stomach to have the strength."
Hearing this, Haya laughed heartily. "Fair enough, I happen to be hungry myself. Would you two like to try my cooking?" Learning their true identities made Haya much more enthusiastic.
"No, thank you, no, thank you." The aroma had already made Wu drool, but Wu was a sensible cat—didn't she see that Xi's eyes were practically popping out of his head? She certainly knew better!
So Wu quietly swallowed her saliva and made a firm (yet difficult) refusal.
Though refused, Haya still invited them inside to sit for a while. Xi and Wu could hardly refuse again, so they went inside.
The interior decoration was very simple. A few common pieces of furniture were neatly arranged in the living room, and the television was broadcasting the evening news.
Haya brought over a few cups of water and then turned back into the kitchen.
"Evening News Broadcast: Yesterday, our country's Three Gorges region experienced torrential downpours, triggering a once-in-a-century massive flood."
"An expert panel has named it the 'Flood Dragon'. The 'Flood Dragon' came and went quickly, subsiding in just a single day, as if it had never happened at all."
The screen then cut to an expert.
"Um, well... Through investigation and research, we discovered the root of the problem in advance, and therefore made preparations early... Moving forward, we will continue our hard work..."
The expert spoke haltingly, giving a rather stiff impression.
Hahahaha... Isn't this Yujie? Who would have thought he'd become an "expert" so quickly.
Xi's sudden laughter caught everyone's attention, but since the uncle already knew about Xi's condition, he simply assumed Xi was having another episode. Otherwise, who could possibly laugh in a situation like this...
Xi: Aba aba... Exactly, just like that. But this matter is truly full of doubts. It was clearly a massive disaster, yet no casualties were reported. And as far as Xi knew, this earth-shattering disaster hadn't caused many casualties at all.
"Uncle, I want to ask..." Wu's words were cut short by the uncle.
"I know what you want to ask," the uncle said, glancing toward the kitchen before continuing, "Haya's parents were forest rangers. Two years ago, they left Haya to enter the Tian Mountain and never came back."
"Haya is a good kid. She always cares about these things, even when they have nothing to do with her."
The uncle said quite a bit about the young Kazakh girl—he seemed to feel a sense of guilt toward her.
"Uncle Lak, what are you talking about?" Haya strode out briskly, her interest immediately piqued by their conversation.
"Nothing... Oh right, I have something to take care of, so I'll be going." The uncle hurriedly left.
"What's the panic? I'm not going to eat you..."
Seeing Haya, the uncle acted like a mouse seeing a cat. Watching the uncle's retreating figure, Xi fell into deep thought. He felt as though the man was hiding something...
With everything prepared, Haya led Xi and Wu into the Tian Mountain without another word. After a stretch of trekking, the group finally arrived at the foot of Tianmen Temple. Climbing these three thousand-plus steps would bring them to Tianmen Temple.
At this moment, Xi was profoundly grateful for having a guide; if not for her, it might have taken them much longer to find the way.
It was as though Tianmen Temple didn't want to be found, nestled deep within the mountain ravine.
The brilliant sun rose from between two peaks, enveloping Tianmen Temple as if the gates of heaven had opened and an immortal realm had appeared on earth.