Ye Tiancheng felt as if he was constantly spinning, a powerful and violent nausea quickly assaulting his entire body. Fortunately, this process didn't last long, only about ten seconds. Ye Tiancheng suddenly fell into a place that resembled a cave.
"How did you get here?"
As Ye Tiancheng got up from the ground, he saw four people sitting in a corner. These people looked somewhat familiar, mainly due to their attire, which was similar to that of the survivor. Ye Tiancheng was still a bit dizzy from the fall. When he came to his senses, he finally remembered that these were the same alien races that had been chasing him earlier.
"Didn't you all die?"
"We didn't die, we fell into the lake, but we're close to death anyway, starving to death."
He hadn't expected to actually run into them. Thinking of their families who were still waiting for them to return, Ye Tiancheng decided to save them first.
"I can save you, but we have an agreement: you must not expand your territory anymore, and you must not do those evil deeds again. Otherwise, even if I save you, I can still kill you."
Ye Tiancheng's expression at this moment was sinister, exuding a sense of not being easily violated. It was impossible for ordinary people to pose any threat to him.
"Can you really save us?"
Those people were all so hungry they were delirious. Now, as long as they could be saved, they were willing to do anything.
Life is precious. He had done many wrong things before, but in the face of life, they had no room to struggle and could only surrender obediently.
"I can save you, but you must regulate your words and actions. From now on, you can only earn money by farming or by doing odd jobs for others. Don't think about stealing other people's things. If I find out, I won't let you off."
It seemed there was indeed hope. Those people eagerly kowtowed. Ye Tiancheng enveloped the enemies with his true qi, then rushed out of the vortex. A huge water column propelled Ye Tiancheng out, and he landed by the lake, finally finding temporary stability.
As soon as Ye Tiancheng rescued them, he saw Fatty waiting for him halfway. These people were so hungry they could barely walk. Fortunately, Fatty came to help.
"Fatty, quickly notify their families. It's best if their families prepare food and the like, as they must be very hungry."
"Brother Ye, you're too amazing! I was on my way back, and I saw you on the road. You're truly a divine being, rescuing people so quickly."
"Yes, as soon as I got to the bottom of the lake, I saw them, and then I rescued them."
After handing the people over to Fatty, Ye Tiancheng felt that the path he had just taken was the correct one. After entering the cave at the bottom of the lake, he could explore further down. Therefore, he entrusted the matter entirely to Fatty to handle and inform him.
"Take good care of yourself, don't fight with those people. If anything is unfair, just endure it. When I come up from the bottom of the lake, I'll help you get justice."
After speaking, Ye Tiancheng once again protected himself with his true qi and sank to the bottom of the lake. This time, it was much more familiar. He entered the vortex and followed it into the cave. The entire process was very smooth, and he no longer experienced the initial confusion about direction.
Upon reaching the cave, Ye Tiancheng took out his artifact for finding people. If the distance was very close, it would not be affected by the dark energy. Ye Tiancheng activated the finder with his true qi and then followed the indicated direction.
Soon, Ye Tiancheng found Liu Lanying, who was being held captive. She was not controlled, but she didn't know how to get out. Seeing Ye Tiancheng, she thought she was hallucinating and was so excited that tears streamed down her face.
"I've come to save you."
"Brother Ye, my food ran out two days ago, and no one came to bring me anything. I thought I would starve to death. It's so good that you came to save me. I knew you would definitely come to save me."
No longer caring about anything else, Liu Lanying excitedly rushed into Ye Tiancheng's arms, holding him tightly. For Liu Lanying, this life-saving grace was something she should repay with her own life.
Seeing that Liu Lanying was still a bit weak, Ye Tiancheng quickly took her out of the lake. However, before leaving, Ye Tiancheng felt the summons of the Fuxi Qin fragment. He suddenly realized that this place and that cave were likely connected. Whether entering from the cave or from here, he could get closer to the Fuxi Qin fragment. But the most important thing now was to send Liu Lanying back first. After sending her back, he would arrange other matters. For now, this was the only way.
Ye Tiancheng quickly brought Liu Lanying out of the lake. Upon emerging, he found many people waiting for him by the lake. These were the villagers who had previously made things difficult for him, but now their faces were filled with worry. Their doubts about Ye Tiancheng seemed to have turned into anticipation, and each of them was now filled with gratitude.
"That's great, Mr. Ye, you're finally out! We were afraid you might encounter danger and not be able to save people, and then get into trouble yourself. Why don't you come to my house? I'll get you some clothes to change into."
"It's better to come to my house. My house is spacious. We just made stewed potatoes with beans, so you can have a hot meal right away."
Everyone eagerly vied to have Ye Tiancheng go to their homes, as if Ye Tiancheng choosing someone's house would be a great honor to them. Even Ye Tiancheng found it surprising.
"What's going on with you all? No need to fight. Just pick any house. Make sure there's food, and let me change my clothes."
After everyone's selection, a family was finally chosen, and Ye Tiancheng and the recently rescued Liu Lanying were both sent to that home.
Since Liu Lanying hadn't eaten for two days, and unlike Ye Tiancheng who was protected by true qi, she needed to eat easily digestible, soft food, otherwise, it might cause indigestion.
After watching Liu Lanying finish eating and fall asleep, Ye Tiancheng's heart finally settled. He had traveled so far to this remote village just to save her, and now that the rescue was successful, Ye Tiancheng was no longer in such a hurry.
However, Ye Tiancheng would not immediately take Liu Lanying and leave. Since he had discovered news of the Fuxi Qin fragment, and the danger level here seemed much lower than the Fuxi Qin fragment in Liu Lanying's ancestral home, Ye Tiancheng was eager to seize this opportunity to obtain the fragment. Otherwise, he would have to come back again at night.
While Ye Tiancheng was resting, Fatty happened to arrive. "Brother Ye, it's not that I, your brother, am late. I heard you were resting, so I didn't dare to disturb you, which is why I'm so late."
"Would I blame you? I'm always easygoing. How could I be angry with you for not coming?"
"I knew you were always open-minded, Brother Ye, and wouldn't really be angry with me. How about this, Brother Ye, I'll take Liu Lanying back first. This village is full of strangeness, so it's best to leave together. But I can see that you want to search for something here. Since we can't leave, I can take Miss Liu back first to reduce the risk to some extent."
"No need to rush. If we're leaving, we'll leave together. Moreover, I don't trust Ouyang Xinuo. Miss Su has only temporarily contained him. We don't know what other tricks Ouyang Xinuo might play. We must be prepared. Keeping Liu Lanying by my side is currently the most suitable option for me."
"Alright, Brother Ye. I was just making a suggestion. Ultimately, it's up to you, Brother Ye, to make the most accurate decision. I'm just talking nonsense; you can just listen and don't take it to heart."
"I have to go into the water again tonight. You stay here and take care of Liu Lanying. Bring Cui Cui over as well. Although these villagers are friendly to me now, I know that their friendliness might be temporary. So, we need to take precautions and not let the villagers harm the two girls."
Fatty understood that Ye Tiancheng had given him a task: to protect the two girls. In fact, even without Ye Tiancheng's instructions, Fatty would naturally prioritize protecting the girls, as they were the weaker sex.
"I can complete this task. However, Brother Ye, you must be careful. I accidentally overheard some villagers saying that there are piranhas in the lake and the situation could be very dangerous. You must be careful about your personal safety and don't get eaten by those piranhas."
"I've already been to the bottom of the lake twice. Those so-called piranhas are probably something people deliberately said to prevent others from discovering the treasure at the bottom of the lake. I think this situation is likely fabricated by others."
"In any case, Brother Ye, be careful. I have a feeling that this entire village is filled with a strange aura."
This sentiment coincided with Ye Tiancheng's. Ye Tiancheng said no more. As night fell, he once again dived into the lake. This time, he quickly reached the place where he had found Liu Lanying and continued to walk inward, hearing the sound of water.
Ye Tiancheng felt that a section was hollow. He then used his true qi to blast it open. As a result, he fell into a space with the water flow. Ye Tiancheng realized that this was the deeper part of the cave where he had previously discovered poisonous insects. Ye Tiancheng knew that it was still quite dangerous here, so he used his true qi to create a protective shield. Even if something attacked Ye Tiancheng, he could at least resist it and avoid being gnawed into a skeleton.
As Ye Tiancheng was contemplating, bubbles suddenly began to rise from underwater. However, these bubbles were much larger than usual. Ye Tiancheng blasted open a section with his true qi, and many fish carcasses flew out. These were not ordinary fish; they all had very large heads and impressive teeth. Ye Tiancheng thought for a moment and quickly made a decision.
"These must be the piranhas."
Ye Tiancheng never expected that what Fatty and the others had casually mentioned would actually come true. There were indeed piranhas here, and they looked terrifying, much larger than ordinary fish, giving them an extremely chilling appearance.
Ye Tiancheng accidentally dropped a bag, and it was chewed into powder by the piranhas. If not for the protection of his true qi, Ye Tiancheng might have also turned into powder. His heart skipped a beat, and he let out a cold breath. It seemed the situation was indeed not simple.
The piranhas leaped out of the water with a clatter, trying to attack the man, but were blocked by his true qi. However, this was not a long-term solution. True qi would eventually be depleted. When his true qi ran out, Ye Tiancheng would be instantly devoured by these piranhas as food.
Just as Ye Tiancheng was about to be annihilated, a golden wing suddenly flashed before his eyes. The wing flapped a few times, and then a large amount of spiritual energy overflowed. The piranhas were all suppressed and jumped back into the water, not daring to come out for the time being.
"Disciple, how did you get here?"