What Are You Doing Ah Ha Ouch

The middle-aged man listened, his eyes full of disbelief. "You must be one of us islanders, right? That broadcast accent—you speak even more perfectly than I do."

"Don’t try to get friendly with me. Answer my questions," Xu Mu said sharply.

“We’re from the Island Shrine’s Shinto Society. We came here following our priest,” the middle-aged man explained.

“Miyako Fuka?” Xu Mu frowned.

“You know our Miyako Fuka too?” The middle-aged man looked surprised.

“That’s right, I’ve heard of her,” Xu Mu nodded. “How did she know about this place?”

“That, we don’t know,” the man shook his head.

“What happened just now? Why did you run away?”

Xu Mu’s eyes scanned the palace interior, but his senses couldn’t penetrate inside.

“It’s strange in there. Inside the palace, there’s a door. Miyako Fuka said she would go in first to check. If it was safe, she would come back and inform us. But she hasn’t come out since dawn,” the man said, his eyes filled with fear. “Afterwards, members of our Shinto Society went in two by two to investigate, but none returned…”

“I get it. You two are scared and don’t want to go in, right?” Xu Mu asked calmly.

Another young man opened his mouth to retort but swallowed the words.

“When did you discover the entrance to this ruin?” Xu Mu continued.

“Just after midnight,” the middle-aged man explained.

“Was it only your group?”

“When we came in, it was just us from the Shinto Society. We didn’t see anyone else.”

…

Xu Mu rubbed his chin, deep in thought.

“We’re leaving now,” the middle-aged man said, then patted the young man, and the two ran off into the distance.

“Boss Xu, are you really going to let them go like this?” Meng Wanyue whispered nearby. “If they leave…”

“Then the location of this ruin will be exposed!” Before Meng Wanyue could finish, Dai Xingluo had already drawn his sword and charged forward.

“Xingluo! Wait!” Xu Mu shouted immediately.

At this moment, Dai Xingluo’s longsword was almost touching the middle-aged man’s neck.

The middle-aged man turned his head, nearly collapsing in fright, almost dropping to his knees.

“I’ve told you everything I should! Why won’t you let us go?”

The man stared at Xu Mu, demanding an answer.

“The reason is simple. I just mentioned Miyako Fuka’s name. Do you think we’re just acquaintances?”

Xu Mu raised his hand to fix his hair. “To be honest, Miyako Fuka is pursuing me.”

“What? Impossible! To inherit our Shinto Society, she must keep her body pure,” the young man, who had been silent, suddenly spoke up.

The middle-aged man raised his hand, signaling the youth to be quiet. “Just say what you want.”

“My intention is simple. Miyako Fuka has done a lot for me because she’s after me. Naturally, I want to repay her.”

Xu Mu pointed at them. “You two are going back and leading the way up front! I want to bring these two traitors to Miyako Fuka.”

Hearing this, their faces turned ashen. They hadn’t expected this man to mean that.

“My time is precious. Either you die here, or you lead the way.”

Xu Mu spoke calmly.

The two exchanged a glance, then sighed. Since death was inevitable, they might as well die with some glory.

Without another word, they both headed toward the palace.

Xu Mu smiled and waved to the few people around him. "Follow them."

"Big brother is so clever, letting those two act as cannon fodder in front. If there's any danger, they'll warn us."

Dai Xingluo laughed as she sheathed her long sword. "Brother is smarter than sister. I have a feeling from now on, sister’s going to be completely outwitted by brother."

Xu Mu glanced at Dai Xingluo. Had he hesitated even a second longer, those two might have lost their heads.

This woman was indeed a little terrifying.

Meng Wanyue had thought the same, but she would still listen to Xu Mu first.

Without hesitation, Dai Xingluo charged forward to strike.

Xu Mu shook his head slightly—he only cared that Dai Xingluo was on his side.

"Mu-ge, what did you just say to them?"

Chen Xuan, shouldering a woven bag, asked curiously.

He could only catch a few words of the island language—words like "no," "comfortable," "annoying," "pervert," and so on.

The others also looked toward Xu Mu, eager to know what had happened.

Xu Mu didn’t hide anything and roughly explained the situation.

Of course, he kept quiet about Miyako Fuka chasing after him.

By now, the group had slipped through the door crack and entered the palace interior.

There were no windows inside the palace; the only light came from the gap in the door.

The deeper they went, the darker it became.

Xu Mu scanned the surroundings. This should be the main hall.

But the decor was extremely simple—almost entirely smooth walls with no patterns or images that could provide any clues.

At the far end, there was a door on the wall, adorned with a terrifying ghost image.

The ghost’s fangs jutted far beyond its mouth.

Chen Xuan stared at the door, pondering. "This should be the back door of the living room, leading to the courtyard or somewhere else."

"This is the place," said a middle-aged man, his voice trembling.

"Enough talk. You go in first!" Xu Mu pointed at the middle-aged man.

Knowing he couldn’t escape, the man trudged forward with difficulty and stepped inside.

Xu Mu used his perception to keep an eye on him.

Beyond the door was a black corridor, empty of anything.

But as the man moved forward, his figure vanished from Xu Mu’s perception.

It was only about ten meters, yet he disappeared.

This was definitely not a trap or anything like that. A thought flashed through Xu Mu’s mind.

A formation.

"You go in too," Xu Mu nudged the young man.

This time, he followed right behind the young man and stepped into the corridor together.

The others followed closely behind.

Finally, the young man reached the spot where the middle-aged man had vanished.

The scene ahead hadn’t changed.

It was still a corridor.

But as the young man stepped in, he suddenly shouted, "Lord Miyako!"

Then he ran forward, even though there was nothing ahead.

"Wait!" Xu Mu shouted immediately.

But the young man didn’t respond at all.

In the blink of an eye, he disappeared right before their eyes.

Xu Mu glanced at the people beside him and smiled, asking, "How about we go back and get some sleep?"

Chen Xuan tightly gripped the woven bag, his face full of excitement. "Brother Mu, why would we go back? The ancient ruins are so much fun! I really love it here."

"I don't want to miss this chance either," Miao He said, looking at Xu Mu.

"I'll follow Xu's lead," someone added.

Meng Wanyue showed no interest in the so-called treasure.

Dai Xingluo smiled and said, "Brother, go ahead. The greater the risk, the greater the reward."

Xu Mu nodded. "Alright then, let's go in together."

As they spoke, they moved forward.

After only a few steps, the scene before them changed. The once dark corridor transformed into an endless grassland, with snow-capped mountains in the distance.

The sunlight was bright, and the scenery was beautiful.

Xu Mu furrowed his brow. Could this be an illusion?

At that moment, he looked at the people beside him, about to speak, only to see Meng Wanyue suddenly raise a dagger and stab toward his eye.

"Wanyue! What are you doing?"

Xu Mu immediately grabbed her arm.

"What are you doing~ Ah ha! Ouch!"

Meng Wanyue leaned backward, pushing Xu Mu away. "You're so annoying!"

Xu Mu then turned to look at Chen Xuan and saw him repeatedly headbutting the woven bag.

He was stunned. What on earth was going on?