The girl's blushing face looked even more charming and cute, and Li Nianlong smiled slightly, "No need to thank me."
Pausing for a moment, Li Nianlong said, "The people here seem very afraid of outsiders, and there is something strange about this place. Do you know what's going on?"
"Hehe, it's simple to find out," Anu said, striking a heroic pose and shouting, "Everyone here, come out quickly, or I'll set the forest on fire!"
Li Nianlong: "..."
"No! Don't burn us!" Despite their fear, the people in the houses came out. Living in the forest, if it was set on fire, they would have no chance of survival. Life is precious, so even though they were scared, they had to come out and face the situation.
Anu smiled triumphantly, "See? We'll soon know what's going on."
Li Nianlong smiled wryly, "This method is too... um..."
"Too despicable, right?" Anu snorted, "As long as it achieves the goal, who cares if it's despicable? Besides, I'm not going to hurt them, so why worry?"
Well, it seems Miao people are straightforward and don't make excuses for their actions, unlike Han people who often find justifications for their wrongdoings.
Soon, all the villagers gathered, and Anu stood in front of them, asking arrogantly, "What has happened here? Why are you all hiding in your houses in fear?"
"You... you're not with that Taoist?" The villagers were puzzled when they saw that Anu didn't seem to know what was happening.
"What Taoist?" Anu was taken aback, thinking: Could it be the Wood Taoist?
At this moment, a young girl stepped forward and said, "It's my fault. If it weren't for me, the village wouldn't be in this situation."
"What exactly happened?" Anu frowned, "Can't you just tell us clearly?"
A villager sighed, "A month ago, Atou saved a herbalist who accidentally wandered into Peach Blossom Village and cured him of the peach blossom miasma. We wanted to be hospitable to this rare outsider and invited him to stay for a few days. Before sending him off, as per our tradition, we gave him celestial water to make him forget everything about this place. But Atou secretly swapped the celestial water."
Another villager angrily said, "That guy was greedy. Knowing our village had a treasure, he conspired with a group of demonic Taoists to steal it. They captured the village chief, trying to force him to reveal the treasure's location."
"I see," Anu was equally angry, "I despise ingrates the most. Tell me where those guys are, and I'll help you rescue the village chief."
Atou looked delighted, "Really!? That would be great. I'll take you there..."
A villager urgently said, "Atou! You're making the same mistake of trusting outsiders too easily."
Atou replied, "But... I'm so worried about my father."
A woman added, "Didn't that long-nosed Taoist say that if we handed over the treasure, he wouldn't harm the village chief?"
Atou said, "But... it's been more than half a day since my father went with them. What if..."
Anu, losing patience, asked, "Is the long-nosed Taoist you're talking about called Wood Taoist?"
"How did you know?"
Anu laughed, "Haha... that makes sense! The Wood Taoist is a tree spirit who loves to collect rare treasures and will resort to robbery if he can't get them. We are also looking for him to reclaim something. Tell us where he went."
Upon hearing this, Atou pointed to a small path, "My father took them down this path into the forest."
"This way?" Anu glanced at the path, seeing it looked relatively safe, and said, "Don't worry, leave it to us. Brother, let's go!"
Li Nianlong smiled and nodded, following Anu down the path.
After walking three or four miles along the path, they encountered a young man dressed in Han attire, who appeared to be a herbalist and was quite handsome.
The young man, seeing them, looked surprised, "Who are you...?"
Recognizing the young man as Song Hewen, Anu stepped forward and asked, "Hey, are you Song Hewen?"
The young man, indeed Song Hewen, quickly replied, "Yes... I'm Song Hewen. What do you want from me?"
Anu sneered, "Want from you? How about beating you up?"
Song Hewen backed away in fear, "What... what do you want!?"
Anu coldly asked, "I ask you! Did you betray the villagers of Peach Blossom Village and bring a group of demonic Taoists here to steal their treasure?"
Song Hewen hastily said, "I... I didn't expect things to turn out this way. Initially, they said they could help me, so..."
"So you became greedy for wealth?"
"No! I wasn't after the treasure but... but... Miss Atou..."
Anu was taken aback, "This is interesting. You better explain clearly, or you'll regret it!"
Song Hewen quickly explained, "When I got lost in the peach blossom forest and was poisoned by the miasma, Atou saved me. Later, when they were about to send me away, Atou secretly swapped the celestial water because... she didn't want me to forget her."
Hearing this, Li Nianlong laughed, "So that's what happened. It seems like a pair of lovers. But for lovers to be united, they often have to endure hardships. By the way, are you really not after the treasure?"
Song Hewen quickly replied, "How could I be after the treasure? I just wanted to be with Atou. But the villagers wouldn't allow any outsiders to stay in Peach Blossom Village, so I sneaked back, trying to take Atou away with me. But I was afraid of being discovered by the villagers. When I met the Wood Taoist outside the peach blossom forest, he said he could help me, so I brought them through the forest. But they were just using me, and I can't fight them. The villagers misunderstand me deeply, and I... I really don't know what to do."
After hearing this, Anu said, "Since that's the case, we'll help you. You stay here; we'll go deal with the Wood Taoist!"
"Thank you both," Song Hewen said gratefully, then quickly added, "But be careful of his golden bell. The Wood Taoist uses it to cast powerful spells."
Anu laughed, "I'm eager to see it. Brother, let's go!"
Li Nianlong smiled and nodded, and they continued down the path.
Before long, they spotted an old Taoist in a robe with a long white beard and an old man dressed in rough cloth.
Anu's eyes lit up, "We found them! Brother, let's go!"
Li Nianlong nodded, and they sped up, quickly catching up. From a distance, Anu shouted, "Despicable Wood Taoist, release the village chief and hand over the Water Spirit Pearl, or you'll suffer!"
The Wood Taoist was startled, thinking some powerful person had come. But seeing only two young people, he relaxed, disdainfully saying, "Where did these kids come from? Looking for death? How dare you interfere with this master's affairs!"
"Enough talk. Today is your death day! Die!" Without further ado, Anu attacked immediately. The Wood Taoist snorted coldly and started fighting her.
Li Nianlong stood aside, watching as Anu and the Wood Taoist fought evenly. He nodded approvingly: Despite her young age, Anu was quite powerful, deserving her status as the third female lead in the Legend of Sword and Fairy series.
However, Anu was still too young. A fourteen-year-old girl, no matter how skilled, had her limits. After dozens of rounds, Anu started to fall behind and soon was only able to defend herself without counterattacking.
Anu, becoming anxious, called out, "Brother, help me out here!"
Li Nianlong smiled slightly, took out a fire talisman he had just crafted the previous night, and threw it. There was a burst of fire accompanied by screams as the Wood Taoist was engulfed in flames.
Plants and trees feared fire the most, and this high-level fire talisman was more than enough to deal with a level-29 monster in the game.
Under the raging fire, the Wood Taoist was soon reduced to ashes. Li Nianlong clapped his hands, "It's done."
Anu was stunned, "That... that's it?"
She had fought hard and almost lost, but the Wood Taoist was incinerated by a single talisman. Anu looked at Li Nianlong, her eyes sparkling, "Brother, you're amazing."
Li Nianlong chuckled, "Just average, third in the world."
"Haha..." Anu had never heard such a humorous comment, holding her stomach and laughing, "Brother, you're so funny..."
The village chief, watching them, looked puzzled, "You two... who are you?"
Still laughing, Anu couldn't speak, so Li Nianlong answered, "You must be the village chief of Peach Blossom Village. We were asked by Atou to come and rescue you."
"So you are the heroes invited by Atou. Thank you."
At this point, Anu squatted by the Wood Taoist's ashes, using a stick to search through the remains. She found a pearl, her eyes lighting up, but she soon looked disappointed, "It's not the Water Spirit Pearl."
Li Nianlong came over and asked, "What's wrong? Not what you wanted?"
"No," Anu shook her head, putting the pearl away, "Brother, let's go!"
With the Wood Taoist dealt with, the three returned the way they came, meeting Song Hewen on the way and bringing him back to the village. The waiting villagers cheered upon seeing their village chief return. Atou, with tears in her eyes, rushed forward, full of guilt, "Father... I'm so sorry. This is all my fault."
Looking at his daughter, the village chief sighed, "It's not your fault; it was unintentional. We shouldn't have kept treasures that invite greed. Fortunately, these two heroes helped us avert a disaster."
Atou nodded tearfully and turned to Li Nianlong and Anu, bowing, "Thank you both for saving my father."