Long Miaomiao stared at the small cabin, unable to discern anything special about it.
She looked at the house, then at Ye Tiancheng leading the way, and the little fox following closely behind him. She couldn't help but think that they were still human, and with night falling, they truly needed a place to rest.
Even if there were dangers here, she could be vigilant enough to protect them.
With that thought, Long Miaomiao said nothing more.
Once they reached the cabin, she would be able to get a clearer picture of the situation.
After all, there weren't many things in this world that could truly threaten her. Since she was confident that few things could pose a threat, Long Miaomiao's concerns diminished considerably.
As the three of them arrived at the cabin, Ye Tiancheng took the lead. Reaching the door, he was about to knock when he discovered that the door was not fully closed. With a gentle push of his hand, the door swung open.
Ye Tiancheng was slightly taken aback, his gaze falling upon the furnishings inside the house.
The cabin appeared very old and its conditions were quite rudimentary. In the center of the room, just inside the door, was a fire pit, but it was unlit. The air emanating from within the cabin was cold.
However, it did not seem like anyone was inside.
Ye Tiancheng hesitated and called out into the room, "Hello, is anyone home?"
He received no response, or rather, no response from the owner of the house.
The answer came from Long Miaomiao, who was following behind them.
Long Miaomiao said to Ye Tiancheng, "No need to ask. I just sensed it again. Although someone lives in this house, they haven't been here for at least three days."
Ye Tiancheng blinked, "But the door wasn't locked."
The little fox also peered into the house, and asked Ye Tiancheng with some hesitation, "What should we do now? It's not right for us to intrude when the owner isn't here. But since the door is open, could something have happened to the owner?"
Long Miaomiao felt the surroundings with vigilance and said coldly, "It's hard to say. On the snow mountain, anything is possible."
Ye Tiancheng frowned. They desperately needed a place to stay and couldn't keep searching endlessly. If they didn't stop here, how would they know if they could find another house, or if there were any other houses on the snow mountain at all?
Furthermore, it was getting late. The sky had already begun to darken and would likely be completely dark soon.
Ye Tiancheng hesitated for a moment before finally making a decision.
He said to the little fox and Long Miaomiao, "We are on the snow mountain now, and it's not feasible to have no place to rest. Since the owner is absent, we have no other option, nor can we be sure when they will return."
"Let's go inside first. We'll just be staying temporarily and won't touch anything belonging to the owner. If the owner returns, we can explain ourselves properly. Most people would be willing to listen, and at the very least, we can offer some compensation."
The little fox thought about it and felt there was no better alternative. He said, "This is a temporary solution. Alright, let's rest here for now."
Once they agreed, they entered the house together.
Upon entering, they saw the small table and fire pit near the center of the room. Ye Tiancheng asked the little fox and Long Miaomiao to sit down first, then went to light the fire pit for warmth. Even if Long Miaomiao didn't need it, the little fox certainly did, and Ye Tiancheng also benefited to some extent.
Maintaining body temperature by constantly channeling his cultivation was also a drain. If he could warm himself by the fire, Ye Tiancheng wouldn't have to continuously channel his cultivation, thus reducing some of the expenditure.
As for Ye Tiancheng himself, he walked directly to the door, looking for a way to secure it.
Seeing that the door was open and the owner was not inside, and Long Miaomiao had said the owner hadn't returned for at least three days, he suspected the door might not be very sturdy. The wind and snow on the mountain were strong, and it might have been blown open. He decided to close it as best he could.
He didn't want them to freeze to death if the door suddenly blew open while they were resting for the night.
After closing the door, Ye Tiancheng pulled the bolt shut. The mountain cabin was very simple, and the door had no lock, only a basic wooden bolt. Ye Tiancheng was uneasy. After looking around, he moved some large items to block the door from the inside, which finally put him somewhat at ease.
He returned to the center of the room, where Long Miaomiao was already seated by the table.
Since the house had been vacant for some time, it wasn't very clean. Long Miaomiao cast a spell, tidying up the place a bit before sitting down. The little fox was lighting the fire pit. He went to another room and found some firewood, so there was no shortage of fuel for the fire.
However, it was so cold that the firewood was difficult to ignite.
After getting the fire lit for warmth, the little fox also walked to the table and sat down. "I wonder if this firewood will burn for long. I found some in another room. It should be enough for a few more fires."
Ye Tiancheng said, "Let's see. We can estimate. If it doesn't burn for long, we might have to find more firewood later."
"We can't rush the search for the Fuxi Qin fragments. Who knows how long we'll be delayed on the mountain? We need to make preparations. We haven't had an easy time outside before."
The little fox nodded, but then his thoughts shifted, and he remembered something else. He couldn't help but ask Ye Tiancheng with some worry, "By the way, Brother, if we light a fire in this sealed room, won't we suffocate?"
Ye Tiancheng was slightly stunned, also recalling this common sense issue.
Long Miaomiao waved her hand and said, "Don't worry about that. With me here, do you think you'll suffocate?"
The little fox breathed a sigh of relief.
He almost forgot they had a dragon escorting them. Indeed, there wasn't much to worry about.
Long Miaomiao hesitated for a moment before mentioning what she had sensed earlier to Ye Tiancheng.
She spoke hesitantly to Ye Tiancheng, "By the way, Ye Tiancheng, when we were approaching this house just now, and even after entering, I kept sensing some strange aura. I wonder if there's anything unfavorable here. You should both be more vigilant."
"Hmm?" Ye Tiancheng's heart stirred. "There's a problem here?"
Long Miaomiao said, "I only have a vague feeling, and I can't be sure yet. However, with me here, you don't need to worry too much about safety. But we still need to be careful ourselves, so we don't become too complacent and encounter any accidents."
Ye Tiancheng couldn't help but overthink it. "Could this be the reason no one is in this house?"
Long Miaomiao thought for a moment and said, "That possibility cannot be ruled out."
The little fox couldn't help but sigh. "I wondered why there were so many easy gains. Turns out, just when we finally have a place to stay, there might be a trap."
However, having gotten used to danger on their journey, they weren't particularly scared. But with Long Miaomiao's reminder, they became more alert, lest they carelessly fall into a trap.
As the sky gradually darkened, the interior of the house grew dimmer.
Ye Tiancheng and the others searched the house for a while but couldn't find many lighting tools, only two oil lamps. They lit them, and the room was illuminated by a dim, yellowish light. It was still somewhat dim, but it was much better than having no light source at all.
Long Miaomiao couldn't stand it and directly took out a night-blooming pearl the size of her head. The night-blooming pearl shone brightly in the room, proving more effective than the oil lamps and also energy-saving. Ye Tiancheng and the little fox then extinguished the oil lamps.
The little fox looked at the night-blooming pearl and exclaimed in amazement, "What a large night-blooming pearl! I've never seen anything like it before. Is it bigger than my head?"
Ye Tiancheng had never seen one either and added from the side, "It's bigger than my head too."
Long Miaomiao said, "I'm a dragon, so what's so strange about having a few night-blooming pearls? I have more than just this one. I'll give you one each, so we won't be without light in this house."
As she spoke, she took out two more fist-sized night-blooming pearls and gave them to Ye Tiancheng and the little fox.
The reason she didn't give them larger ones was that the larger the night-blooming pearl, the heavier it was, making it inconvenient to carry. Although the head-sized night-blooming pearl she took out was bright enough, it was also quite heavy. No normal person would carry such a large night-blooming pearl around.
Long Miaomiao then gave these two fist-sized night-blooming pearls to Ye Tiancheng and the little fox.
Ye Tiancheng and the little fox politely refused, but Long Miaomiao was resolute, stating that these items held little value for her. Ye Tiancheng and the little fox then stopped refusing.
They inspected the cabin. Although it wasn't large, it had two habitable rooms. Ye Tiancheng and the others divided the rooms, leaving one for Long Miaomiao, and Ye Tiancheng and the little fox, two grown men, would share another.
After assigning the rooms and settling down, they needed to discuss important matters.
They all gathered by the fire pit, warming themselves and discussing their next steps.
The little fox asked Ye Tiancheng, "Brother, do you have any leads on where we should look for the Fuxi Qin fragments next?"
Ye Tiancheng replied, "I've been following a direction to get here. I feel it's somewhere nearby, but I can't pinpoint the exact location. It just so happens that we found this house here. It's a good thing we found a place to stay, as it will serve as our base for searching for the fragments' whereabouts."
The little fox listened and couldn't help but frown.
He asked with some confusion, "This place seems to be in the middle of nowhere. Besides trees and rocks, there's only vast white snow everywhere. Where could the fragments possibly be?"
Ye Tiancheng fell into thought at the little fox's question.
Regarding this matter, he had gained some experience after searching for the Fuxi Qin fragments for so long.
Ye Tiancheng said, "Actually, over this long period, every time we've found a clue to the Fuxi Qin fragments' whereabouts, it has always led us into some kind of entanglement. I see the situation here, and Miao Miao previously mentioned sensing an unusual aura in this house. Therefore, I suspect..."
He paused, and finally reached a conclusion.
"I suspect that when we search for the fragments' whereabouts, we will inevitably be linked to the secrets of this house. If we truly cannot directly ascertain the location of the Fuxi Qin fragments, we will have to start investigating what is unusual about this house."
The little fox had been with Ye Tiancheng for a long time.
Whether it was the parts the little fox remembered or the parts he didn't, he was aware of them. After all, Ye Tiancheng and the others would remind him of what he couldn't recall.
Therefore, the little fox believed Ye Tiancheng's conclusion.
Even the parts he remembered and personally experienced confirmed this.
For example, the experience of searching for the Fuxi Qin fragments in the small mountain village this time was similar.
They had to start by investigating events happening around the location of the fragments. Coincidentally, the matters they investigated were generally related to the fragments' whereabouts. For instance, when they were in the mountain village, they investigated the Dragon God, and ultimately, the fragment was indeed in Long Miaomiao's possession.
Therefore, this line of reasoning was indeed not wrong and could be followed.