Wen Ran came back to her senses and immediately controlled her emotions. Shen Wu was a lunatic, and she might be cracked open next if she provoked him.
"What is this?!" Qiu Shui cried out all of a sudden.
Qiu Shui's remark drew everyone's attention to a secret passage in the cracked ground. There were traces of golden spiritual power spreading from the depths of the secret passage to the other side. Said spiritual power was so pure and abundant that anyone who was not an immortal or a cultivator could still tell at a glance that it was good news.
Wen Ran looked at it for a while and said hesitantly, "This spiritual power is so rich. I wonder if this is the leakage of some family's spiritual stream?"
Qiu Shui's face paled.
Wen Ran was shocked. "I wasn't serious..."
Shen Wu clapped his hands proudly. "Amazing, Ranran! You got it right without even trying."
Wen Ran secretly gave Shen Wu a kick. Even an idiot would know that the problem they were facing was a huge matter. It would be a real big issue if the spirit stream had leaked out!
Following Shen Wu's previous attack, the barrier shattered, and the independant space was immediately enveloped by the dark night. The men and women who had willingly stayed in the pear tree forest walked out in twos and threes, each of whom had a confused expression on their face.
"You!" Qiu Shui grabbed Bai's collar and asked fiercely, "Did you steal our spirit stream?"
She could see that the direction the spiritual energy was pouring out from was the direction of Hidden Abyss Valley!
Bai was so anxious that her eyes turned red. "I didn't!"
Wen Ran hurriedly walked over to stop the argument. "Calm down. Let's all just calm down. Miss Qiu, let's hear what Miss Bai has to say first."
Qiu Shui clenched her fists so tightly that one could hear some cracking sounds. She stared at Bai's pitiful face and felt no pity at all. "Stop crying! Tell me the truth!"
Bai thought to herself that all the women in the world were bad people except the one she liked most. She wanted to whine a few more times, but did not dare to do so any longer when she saw Qiu Shui's fist. She could only say unwillingly, "I pass by this place occasionally and found out that the spiritual energy here was really abundant. That's why I decided to cultivate here. I don't know anything about the spiritual stream, and I've never stolen your spiritual stream. I don't know anything about it!"
It also explained why a little tree demon like her could build such a large barrier. She had borrowed the spiritual energy gathered from the underground. According to Bai's simple and ignorant mind, she decided to stay there because she felt that it was a good place. However, she never bothered to dig into the more intricate reasons of why the area was so conducive.
Qiu Shui still had some doubts. "Dare to swear on it?"
"I swear! May I never grow a stamen for the rest of my life if I'm lying!" Bai said immediately.
Wen Ran had a complicated expression as she patted Qiu Shui's shoulder. "That's a really solemn oath."
Qiu Shui looked at Bai a few more times and let go of her collar after confirming that she was not lying. "I have to hurry back to the Hidden Abyss Valley and tell my father about this."
Spiritual streams were directly related to the rise and fall of a sect. Qiu Shui was no idiot—she knew that the theft of spiritual power was not something a junior like her could handle, so she did not hastily say that she would investigate it herself.
Wen Ran stared at the secret passage underground and studied it carefully. She frowned slightly and felt that streams of spiritual power flowing on the stone wall were a little familiar.
A hand reached out to her.
"Yes?" Wen Ran's thoughts were interrupted.
"I had you safeguard something, remember?" Shen Wu pursed his lips and said unhappily.
Wen Ran had to spend some moments in deep thought before she realized what he was talking about. She took out the half-eaten green plum, placed it in his palm, and mumbled in confusion, "Did you really spend all that time fretting over a sour green plum?"
However, Shen Wu's eyes slowly widened as he looked down at the green plum in his hand.
"What is it now?" Wen Ran asked when she saw his shocked expression.
He looked at her and said in a faint voice, "You fell from the cliff and almost died, but you still safeguarded my belongings. You're terrible, Ranran."
Wen Ran had a puzzled look. "I'm terrible?"
"You're terribly in love with me."
Wen Ran was speechless. 'Is there a hole in his brain or something?'
The moon was already high in the sky when everyone returned to the Hidden Abyss Valley.
A group of people surrounded Qiu Shui the moment she entered the manor.
Someone expressed their concern. "Are you alright, Eldest Miss?"
Another person was worried. "Did that evil person hurt you?"
There were also people who were filled with righteous indignation. "Who on earth dares to kidnap the eldest miss of our Hidden Abyss Valley!"
Among the many voices, there was one voice that was particularly ear-piercing.
"Like I said, scourges live on for millennia. Nothing's going to happen to her so easily." Qiu Shan crossed his arms, stood nonchalantly at the edge of the crowd, and swept his gaze unceremoniously at Qiu Shui from head to toe.
Qiu Shui glared at him. If she had not been that exhausted, she would have definitely raised her heavy sword and swung it at him.
After all, Qiu Shui and Qiu Shan would pick fights with each other whenever they met. It did not surprise anyone there.
Ye Sui had a refined air about him and he stood out in the crowd. "Qiu Shan," he said helplessly, "you're making sarcastic remarks now, but who was it that was so anxious to find her after hearing that she was kidnapped?"
Qiu Shan's face reddened. "Wasn't me!"
Although he denied it completely, it was clear that he had spent a lot of effort to find her. After all, his clothes and shoes were rather dirty and he did not have the time to change them yet.
Qiu Shui raised her head and scoffed, "Who cares if he came searching for me?"
Qiu Shan immediately retaliated, "Don't be so smug. I'll be the first to celebrate if something happens to you. Why would I possibly waste time looking for you!"
Anyone with eyes could see that these two people didn't mean what they said.
Wen Ran watched with great interest from the side and even thought to herself how those two cousins were blood-related.
At this moment, a burst of hearty laughter could be heard. "Hahaha, did you all gather at the door just to wait for me because you knew I would be back today?"
Following that loud laughter, a tall and sturdy figure appeared at the entrance of the manor. He was also dressed in bright yellow clothes and looked particularly eye-catching.
"My sworn brother is back," Ye Sui walked over and said.
It was Qiu Bujian, the head honcho of the Hidden Abyss Valley.
Qiu Bujian was a burly man with a beard on his face. He had an unkempt look that made the exquisite clothes he wore seem a little out of place on him. At first glance, he looked no different from an ordinary blacksmith.
Wen Ran glanced a few more times at Qiu Shui and immediately thought of something. 'Just how beautiful was Qiu Shui's mother that her genes could overwhelm her husband's looks and produce someone as good-looking as Qiu Shui?'