"Let's go."
"Exhaling a mouthful of impurities, I shifted the conversation."
Kan, Ying and Tang, Quan didn't ask me anything further.
After about an hour, we reached the edge of the national highway.
I was originally going to use a makeshift method to flag down a car, but Kan, Ying was tinkering with her phone instead.
Approximately ten to fifteen minutes later, a private car pulled over in front of us.
Tang Quan opened the back seat and prepared to climb in first.
"Tang Uncle?" Kan, Ying whispered a sentence.
"Eh..." Tang Quan's body stiffened.
He smiled awkwardly and went to the passenger seat.
Kan, Ying only climbed into the back seat after that, and I sat on the other side.
The driver stole several glances at Kan, Ying through the rearview mirror.
Kan, Ying, however, confidently placed her hand into my palm.
A faint coolness, followed by a warm feeling.
The tender and limp touch, calming down my mind greatly.
Two hours later, we got off the national highway and entered a city.
This wasn't Jinyang, I saw the name of Heyuan City from some road signs.
However, Kan, Ying informed me that her family isn't here either.
She asked for my and Tang Quan's ID numbers.
About an hour later, the car pulled over at a high-speed railway station.
Just before we alight, Kan, Ying asked the driver for three disposable masks.
Boarded the train and entered the station.
The bustling crowd passing by washed away the negative energy I had been carrying for the past few days.
Places with a large number of people often have mixed and dense positive energy.
Only until then did I manage to calm my thoughts about the village matters to a considerable extent.
However, I still felt like I was floating, as if my heart was ungrounded.
There are many reasons.
Kan, Ying's initiative dispersed some of the loneliness I've felt over the years.
Having another person care for me made me feel a bit uncomfortable at first.
Secondly, Jinyang is indeed the place where I was born and spent my childhood. It's a place of birth, filled with both affection and hatred, for which I am returning.
Apart from Jinyang and Qi Cun village, I haven't been to any other city.
Not only do I have to go to a new place, but I also have to interact with Kan, Ying's family members.
The sense of panic and turmoil in my heart is probably hard for many people to empathize with.
Because, I've always felt that all this was too unrealistic, as if it should never have happened to me.
Tang Quan, on the other hand, seemed to be in a good mood, looking very happy and energetic.
The high-speed train journey took about five to six hours.
By the time the train arrived, it was already deep into the night.
As we left the station, Kan, Ying stretched out her arms and let out a joyful sigh.
"My parents have a bit of an anti-social personality, but they are very kind-hearted. If you say something impolite first, you'll have to take it on the chin."
Kan, Ying's eyes twinkled with a hint of mischief, making her seem livelier than before.
"Okay." I nodded.
We didn't continue our journey. Instead, Kan, Ying led me to a mobile phone shop and picked a phone for me.
When it came time to pay, Tang Quan stepped forward with a generous demeanor.
Kan, Ying didn't argue.
After that, we had my card replaced, Kan, Ying added me on WeChat, and only then did we go outside to call for a taxi.
In the taxi, Kan, Ying made a phone call first.
However, in the phone call, she had a brief argument with someone.
After the call, even though her demeanor didn't change much, there was a subtle hint of displeasure and worry hidden within.
Around midnight, the car drove into the suburbs and stopped on a street with a slightly nostalgic feel to it.
Get off the car, both sides are small bungalows with a deep color scheme and a mahogany-toned theme.
After a few steps forward, we could see a large compound with four gates, four entries, and two stone lions standing guard at the entrance.
Tang Quan looked quite nervous, whispering to me that he didn't know Kan, Ying's family had such a substantial background.
I shook my head, indicating that I didn't know either.
At this moment, Kan, Ying smiled again and softly said, "It's late. I'll arrange the rooms for you to rest first."
Saying that, Kan, Ying approached the door to knock.
About a minute later, the security guard opened the door, calling Miss first with great respect, before looking at us and Tang Quan with some caution.
Kan, Ying, as usual, didn't pay any attention to the guard's gaze. She led us into the compound.
The lighting was slightly soft, and the interior of the house was even larger, with more antique decorations.
On both sides of the corridor, there were carvings of eaves beasts.
Kan, Ying led us to the right-hand corridor.
At this moment, her eyebrows were slightly tensed, and her demeanor seemed slightly unnatural.
I roughly noticed something was wrong.
In theory, since Kan, Ying had been out for so long and came back, it would make sense that someone would be there to greet her at home.
However, no one, not even her parents or any other family members, was there to greet her.
The compound was also too quiet…
Tang Quan also leaned in closer to me, his face showing an uncontrolled unease.
Soon, there was a corner in the corridor where the path curved forward, and we could see a brightly lit great hall in front of us.
My expression changed slightly.
Because the room was filled with a dense crowd of people!
A quick glance showed that there were at least thirty people in the room.
Everyone in the room had tense expressions and remained silent.
Kan, Ying turned left directly, ignoring the group as if they weren't there!
My eyebrows furrowed, and a "chuan" character formed on my forehead.
However, since Kan, Ying was walking like this, I couldn't say anything else and could only follow.
The corridor became much quieter.
After turning left, there was another little path, with many rooms on one side.
Kan, Ying took a deep breath and selected a room for us to enter.
In this situation, Tang Quan didn't say much; he obeyed and went into the room.
I stood at the door without moving, and my eyebrows furrowed even tighter.
"I lost Mei and didn't tell my parents before. They're a bit unhappy about it."
Kan, Ying explained softly.
I didn't respond.
But I knew it wasn't because of that.
Thinking it over, I realized that Kan, Ying's sister had gone through the incident with Sun Zhuo.
Kan, Ying went out for a trip and brought me back again. If there was no Mei on her, it would definitely expose her fate. It's no wonder that her family showed such a cold attitude.
"I'll go with you." I spoke in a calm tone.
Although I felt ungrounded internally, in this situation, I definitely couldn't let Kan, Ying face the pressure alone.
Even if I can't explain much, at least with my skills as a third-rate cultivator, I could at least earn some respect and cautious treatment in Kan, Ying's family?
After all, Kan, Ying's family is not a world-class family of Yangshen. She had also said that her parents would like my talents.
Kan, Ying shook her head vigorously like a rattle. She bit her lower lip and said, "No."
Then, she pushed me lightly with her chest, pushing me into the house before turning around immediately and rushing in the direction we had come from.
"Master... I feel that it's not going too well..."
"Miss Kan, Ying is very good. There's a lot of animosity in her family..."
Tang Quan's face looked somewhat bitter.
Looking at the single bed in the room, he said awkwardly: "If there's nothing wrong, she wouldn't have arranged a room for us. She wants us to look out for each other."
I remained silent for a few seconds before saying, "It shouldn't be anything serious here, but, Uncle Tang, I need to go take a look."
"Okay, Master, I'm fine. You can rest assured. Uncle Tang, you better hurry and follow him. I have a feeling that something might happen to Kan, Ying..."
