Miss Shang’s eyes twitched as she closed her book and greeted the two of them with a cold voice, “Thank you for bringing Xiao Lv back. My name is Shang Yuan.”

When the parrot saw Shang Yuan, it seemed to have seen a savior and flapped its wings to escape from Lu Yang. Lu Yang let go and let the parrot fly around the room.

“Be careful next time. Fortunately, this parrot has been flying around Tai Ping Village, otherwise if it flew elsewhere, we wouldn’t be able to find it.” Lu Yang reminded with a smile.

Shang Yuan looked at the two refined-dressed people and knew that they were righteous and chivalrous young heroes who had been wandering around the rivers and lakes for a long time.

Lu Yang and Tao Yaoye wore the recommended dress of the Seek Tao Sect’s mission hall. They could pretend to be righteous and chivalrous young heroes dressed like this.

Shang Yuan was a bit distant in her attitude, whether it was due to her personality or something else: “Xiao Lv is back. You two can go back now.”

Tao Yaoye frowned slightly and did not like the attitude of this young lady.

Lu Yang ignored the words of dismissal and said with a smile, “Let’s chat. The Shang family is quite welcoming to us. Maybe they will even let us stay overnight.”

Shang Yuan sneered repeatedly, “The Shang family’s welcome does not mean that I welcome you. You should leave quickly, preferably leave Tai Ping Village.”

“Why leave when there are no monsters in Tai Ping Village? You haven’t left the Shang family for a long time. Don’t you want to hear about the outside world from us?” Lu Yang said.

Shang Yuan was stunned and did not expect Lu Yang to say that. Her tone softened a bit, “Where are you two from? I haven’t left home for nearly a month. Can you tell me about the world outside?”

“We are from one of the Five Immortal Sects, the Seek Tao Sect. We are both at the Foundation Building stage. We came to Tai Ping Village this time because we heard that there was a monster bird bothering people…” Lu Yang spoke slowly and gently. He was a good storyteller.

Shang Yuan was delighted to hear that they were both at the Foundation Building stage.

The three of them chatted for a while, and Shang Yuan was attracted by Lu Yang’s description of the life of a cultivator who could burrow into the earth. She also wanted to go out and explore, to see this vast and strange world.

“I want to cultivate immortality, but my father disagrees. He says that cultivating immortality is too dangerous. If he hadn’t been lucky in exploring an ancient tomb, he would have died in it long ago.”

“I asked him several times, but he refused to tell me.” Shang Yuan was angry. She liked to hear strange stories, and her father had personally experienced it, but he refused to tell her.

Lu Yang felt emotional. It seemed that the head of the Shang family also had a story.

“What is the cultivation level of the head of the Shang family?”

Shang Yuan rolled her eyes, as if thinking of her father’s proud face, “He boasted that he used to be at the ninth level of Qi Refining, but after encountering a major disaster, his cultivation level plummeted. He is now either at the fourth or fifth level of Qi Refining.”

Tao Yaoye said, “That’s not bad. There aren’t many cultivators in Tai Ping Village. The strongest village chief is only at the seventh level of Qi Refining. Being at the fourth or fifth level of Qi Refining is enough to live well, not to mention that the head of the Shang family has some background.”

Shang Yuan sighed, “But I don’t want to be limited to Quhe County. I want to travel around the world, see this magnificent and strange world. You and I are of similar age. You are already at the Foundation Building stage, but I haven’t even started cultivating.”

Tao Yaoye was about to say something, but then the butler knocked on the door, “Miss, it’s time for dinner. The master specially instructed me to say that it’s already late and to let the two young heroes stay for the night after dinner.”

“The master, the mistress, and the village chief Huang are already waiting for you.”

“Okay, we’ll go now.” Lu Yang replied.

Tao Yaoye wanted to refuse, but was stopped by Lu Yang, “You see, I told you that the Shang family is warm-hearted and would let us stay overnight. They are kind enough to offer, why not accept it?”

…At the dining table, the head of the Shang family was sitting in the main seat, chatting happily with Huang Xiangzheng. Everyone else was also eating to their heart’s content. Although it couldn’t compare to the food at Seek Tao Sect, it was still delicious.

The housekeeper Zhang and the maidservant stood respectfully by the side, waiting on them.

After the meal, Huang Xiangzheng went home, while Lu Yang and Tao Yaoye stayed behind and slept in the east wing room, separated by only one wall.

Tao Yaoye didn’t really want to sleep here. She was very picky about beds, and except for the one in Seek Tao Sect’s cave, she had to lie down for a long time to fall asleep anywhere else.

Tao Yaoye knew that this was not a good habit. It was common for cultivators to sleep outdoors, but she was trying to change, though without success so far.

“Senior Brother Lu can sleep anywhere.”

Tao Yaoye muttered to herself, not knowing why, and laughed softly before yawning.

“I slept early today, looks like I can have a good sleep…”

Tao Yaoye suddenly reacted, “No! Someone poisoned me!”

She turned around to pick up the Thousand Illusion Umbrella and open the screen, but found that her spiritual power was stiff and difficult to activate.

She was shocked. Someone had silently poisoned her. It must be a cultivator, since they knew she was a cultivator and still dared to act.

There were only a few people in the Shang family, and she had not detected anyone else who was a cultivator besides the head of the family.

Was it the head of the family?

Or was there a cultivator with higher cultivation than her that she couldn’t detect?

What about Senior Brother Lu?

A series of questions flashed through Tao Yaoye’s mind in an instant, leaving her no time to think. Outside, there were light footsteps approaching.

The door opened, and the housekeeper Zhang walked in with a square step, his face showing an excited and cruel smile.

“It’s you!” Tao Yaoye widened her eyes, not expecting it to be Zhang, and her heart sank.

She couldn’t tell that Zhang was a cultivator, which meant that Zhang’s cultivation was higher than hers.

Zhang held a peeling knife in his hand, and Tao Yaoye could feel the strong resentment even from five steps away. She didn’t know how many people had died under this knife, and the resentment was overwhelming.

The moonlight shone on the blade, bright and shining.

Zhang licked his lips and looked at Tao Yaoye struggling, like he was looking at a fierce but trapped prey.

“What beautiful skin. I’ve never seen such snow-white and well-shaped skin in my life.”

“I know you’re from Seek Tao Sect, and killing you would be troublesome. The power of Seek Tao Sect is overwhelming, and how could I dare to provoke it as a small fry like me?”

As Zhang spoke, saliva dripped from his mouth, wiping it while saying, “But your skin is just too beautiful. If I don’t seize this opportunity to poison you while you voluntarily stayed at the Shang family for dinner, then I’m not clever enough.”

There’s poison in the dinner!

Seeing Tao Yaoye still struggling, Zhang kindly advised, “Don’t struggle. Even if you’re not poisoned, you’re not my match. You’ve just stepped into the Foundation Establishment stage, while I’m in the late Foundation Establishment stage.”

Although he said so, Zhang didn’t let his guard down. The Foundation Establishment stage of Seek Tao Sect couldn’t be treated as an ordinary Foundation Establishment stage!

Zhang said this just to prevent Tao Yaoye from resisting.

The more she resisted, the tighter the skin and flesh would be connected, making it harder to peel. This was a lesson learned from experience.

“Relax. It’ll only hurt a little, and you won’t be afraid soon.”

Zhang licked the peeling knife and approached Tao Yaoye.

Suddenly, Tao Yaoye stood up, her spiritual power flowing smoothly throughout her body. She grabbed the Thousand Illusion Umbrella and smashed it hard on Zhang’s face.

Zhang was sure of his victory and was caught off guard.

“How come you’re not poisoned?!”