The Fourth Knock

"What happened?"

Ning Ming immediately felt something was wrong and stood up.

But suddenly, Ning Yao grabbed his hand, "Brother...don't..."

Ning Ming looked at the worried expression of the young girl, patted her head and comforted her, "Don't worry."

After saying that,

Ning Ming took a deep breath and walked outside, resting his hand on the doorknob and slowly turning it.

Ka... Ka cha...

The door made a harsh opening and closing sound, as if vibrating the bones.

Then,

Ning Ming was stunned instantly.

In the outer room, all the people were gone, the front door was wide open, revealing the pitch-black night outside.

The long-life lamp had fallen to the ground, its flame extinguished.

"What's going on?"

Thousands of questions flashed through Ning Ming's mind.

Suddenly, he fiercely recalled what was said about the long-life lamp before, and hurriedly picked up the candle from the ground and lit it.

The blue flame was like a liquid, accompanied by a faint strange fragrance, and soon filled every corner of the room.

It was hard to say exactly what the feeling was...

In the flame light, Ning Ming's heart calmed down a little.

"Gone?"

Next, holding the candle, Ning Ming walked to the door and carefully looked at the scene outside.

The streets were empty, nothing was there.

But it gave the feeling that there were pairs of eyes lurking in the darkness, spying on him.

Even though it was the village he had lived in for thirteen years, it still felt somewhat strange and creepy after nightfall, as if it were a graveyard deep in the mountains and old woods.

Just one glance,

And Ning Ming hurriedly closed the door again.

He looked around the room again, there was no sign of fighting.

Those three men and one woman seemed to have suddenly opened the front door for some reason, rushed out, and disappeared into the night.

"What on earth is going on?"

Ning Ming sat on a wooden stool with his brows tightly knitted together.

At night, the room was quiet without a sound.

Ning Ming sat alone in the outer room, holding a burning candle in his hand, pondering many things.

Just then--

Bang!

A knock on the door sounded abruptly.

Ning Ming was startled in his heart, like a huge rock suddenly dropped into a quiet ancient pond. At the same time, a chill rushed from the soles of his feet to his scalp.

"Boy, open the door quickly."

A familiar voice came from outside the house, now sounding a little nervous, "Hurry up!"

Ning Ming tightly grasped the long-life lamp and went to the door, "What happened to you guys just now?"

The tall, thin man said, "My young miss just said she saw a few black shadows flashing by the window. She was startled for some reason and rushed out suddenly."

How was this possible?

Ning Ming didn't believe it at all.

They were extremely afraid of the dark night. In this unclear situation, how could they rush out suddenly?

Bang! Bang! Bang!

But the knocking on the door became more and more urgent, almost splitting the wooden door, "What are you waiting for? Let me in!"

Seeing this, Ning Ming knew that if the other party was determined to get in, this wooden door probably couldn't stop them.

He could only open it.

Fortunately...

Next, Ning Ming breathed a sigh of relief.

Outside the house, the tall, thin man had no terrible changes. Instead, he seemed to be dripping with sweat all over his body in the night.

"Is your village always so calm after dark?"

The tall, thin man hurried into the house and closed the door himself, only then did he breathe a sigh of relief.

Ning Ming didn't dare get close to him and sat in another place. He had never let go of the long-life lamp in his hand the whole time.

The tall, thin man glanced at the candle in Ning Ming's hand, and then seemed to be wary of the living person in this village too. So he sat on the other side.

At this moment there was only this one source of fire in the room, so distinct shadows appeared.

Ning Ming suddenly asked, "Did something happen to your young miss?"

At this, the tall, thin man just glanced at Ning Ming with knitted brows, and didn't answer the question.

After a while,

Another knock sounded on the door, and another voice came from outside, "Open the door quickly!"

"It's Wu Xue!"

The tall, thin man hurried to open the door.

Sure enough, the fat man Wu Xue also came back, with the same panic and astonishment on his face.

"Thank goodness...thank goodness..."

Wu Xue hurried into the room, as if he had escaped death, and breathed a sigh of relief, "I didn't expect this village to be so extraordinary."

"So afraid?"

Ning Ming glanced at the fat man's expression.

He looked like a drowning man who had finally made it ashore.

Although the village became somewhat eerie after nightfall, Ning Ming still found it hard to imagine what these people had encountered out there in the world at night.

The tall, thin man and Wu Xue sat together.

"You didn't find the young miss?"

"No."

"What should we do then?"

"I don't know, but this village is very special, I hope there won't be any problems."

The two spoke to each other.

It seemed that something had indeed happened to Chen Jianjia earlier, and she had rushed out the door suddenly, scaring the others to hurry after her...

Seeing this scene, Ning Ming frowned without saying a word.

"There's still one more person."

Suddenly, Ning Ming spoke up. There was still the young man in green clothes among this group.

"Young Master Tang must still be looking for the young miss," Wu Xue said. "He is a cultivator at the eighth rank Star Phase Realm. As long as he doesn't leave the village, there shouldn't be a problem."

Eighth rank...Star Phase Realm...

Ning Ming secretly memorized these words in his heart.

Just then--

Bang!

Another knock sounded on the door, seeming to foretell the return of the third person.

Everyone's eyes changed.

"It's me."

The voice of the young man in green came from outside.

Only then did Wu Xue breathe a sigh of relief and opened the door.

After the young man in green entered the room, he also seemed to have gotten over the panic. It appeared that the experience just now was extremely dangerous for them.

"Unfortunately, didn't find her,"

The young man surnamed Tang said. "I don't know what happened to Junior Sister."

Wu Xue suddenly lowered his voice, "Could it be...a problem occurred during cultivation?"

As soon as he said this.

Everyone's expressions instantly froze.

An eerie atmosphere gradually diffused, and the temperature in the room seemed to drop a lot.

The young man in green's face darkened, "It must be because of that stone! Something forbidden happened during my master's cultivation because of that stone. I didn't expect Junior Sister Jianjia to keep it..."

Hearing this, Wu Xue's face was as dark as water, "What is that stone anyway? All kinds of bizarre things have happened along the way."

The young man in green shook his head and did not answer.

"Problem during cultivation? Stone?"

Ning Ming made another mental note.

This night, these outsiders had lifted the mysterious veil of this world a little, it was very strange indeed.

Silence for a while.

The room fell into quietness, only the flickering flames showing that time had not stopped.

Wu Xue and the other two sat together.

Ning Ming sat near the inner room. He leaned against the room where his sister was, holding the long-life lamp in his hand.

Whether this candle was useful or not, for now it seemed to be the only thing that could protect his life.

At the moment, everyone seemed to be deep in thought, and no one spoke lightly. The atmosphere was somewhat heavy.

Bang!

Just then, a fourth knock suddenly rang out.

Abruptly, everyone in the room blinked in shock, their faces revealing astonishment.

"What's going on?"

The fat man Wu Xue broke out in goosebumps all over his body, "Someone else? Who?"

"A villager? Or could it be...the young miss?"

The tall, thin man was also very nervous, seemingly sweating even more, drenching his clothes.

Seeing this scene, Ning Ming's heart thumped loudly too.

This group had gone out once before, saying something happened to Chen Jianjia. Now they were all back, leaving only Chen Jianjia...

Who else could this knocking be other than Chen Jianjia? Was it Chen Jianjia returning?

Ning Ming looked towards Wu Xue and the others, everyone seemed to be shrouded in fear, no one dared make a move.

Bang!

The knocks kept sounding, echoing in the silent night, like the roar of a beast, striking terror into people's hearts.

Finally, the young man in green carefully stood up and tentatively called out, "Junior Sister Jianjia? Is that you returning?"

There was no response from outside.

Just what had happened to Chen Jianjia in the end?

This troubled Ning Ming the most. And seeing these people's expressions as if facing a formidable foe, he didn't dare open the door rashly right now.

Unexpectedly, just as everyone was at an impasse.

Yet unexpectedly, a voice that no one could have imagined suddenly sounded outside -

"What's going on? You...who are you!?"

This voice was clear and belonged to a young man, easily evoking an image of a handsome and gentle appearance.

But at this moment, the other party seemed too shocked, resulting in some imbalance in his tone.

Swish!

Swish!

Swish!

In an instant, everyone's expressions froze as their bodies tensed up, incredulously looking towards the blue-clothed young man surnamed Tang.

The fourth knock on the door...the person standing outside...

How could it be himself?