He wanted to find his mother, but he was afraid something might happen to Sui Huan if he went to her.
After much deliberation, Long Sui An left a note on the table and followed Sui Huan away.
And so, the treasure-hunting squad of three children was officially formed. However, they didn't know that the moment they stepped half a pace out of the house, Bai Ran had already noticed their stealthy movements.
She sat up, sighed helplessly, and after getting dressed, she followed the figures from afar.
"The map says we should go west," Qin Yu rotated the map, but he didn't know which direction was west.
Bai Sui Huan looked at him with disdain and pointed in the direction opposite to the setting sun. "The sun sets in the west, you know that, right?"
"Wow, you're so smart! How did I not think of that!" Qin Yu looked at Bai Sui Huan, his eyes shining with admiration.
Long Sui An, standing beside them, watched his smug sister and twitched his lips. Wasn't this common knowledge?
This Qin Yu was really a bit foolish...
The group moved westward rapidly, gradually leaving the town's boundaries, and the road became increasingly remote.
"Why are we going into the woods? Is this map really reliable?"
Bai Sui Huan held Long Sui An's hand tightly. She was still a bit nervous at this point, especially since it was the middle of the night, and the surroundings were terrifyingly dark.
Qin Yu clutched the map and studied it carefully. "That's right, we just need to go through this forest, and then there's a small river and a suspension bridge, and we'll be there."
Long Sui An's brows furrowed deeply, his suspicion towards Qin Yu's map growing. "Did your mother say there were treasures there?"
To his surprise, Qin Yu shook his head. "My mother hid this map and never let me see it. I guessed there must be treasures."
He had even sneaked it out while his parents were asleep. He didn't dare to come alone, so he dragged along children from the same inn to accompany him.
"You guessed it??" Bai Sui Huan also felt Qin Yu was unreliable. "What if there's danger?"
Qin Yu scratched his head and smiled helplessly. "If there's danger, you guys run first, I'll cover you. After all, I'm the one who brought you here."
Long Sui An pursed his lips and held his sister's hand tighter. This person was unreliable...
As they walked, the children finally saw the river depicted on the map.
"I see the river!" Qin Yu exclaimed with joy. "As long as we cross the suspension bridge opposite, we'll find the treasure!"
However, Bai Ran, who had been following them from a distance, frowned deeply, her expression serious.
The aura of a demonized person...
Could it be that the map didn't mark a treasure, but a demonized person's stronghold?
She looked at the three figures ahead with a grim expression. Judging by the intensity of the aura, there should be three or four demonized people.
Sui An and Sui Huan were five years old. Although it was a bit early, it was indeed time for them to start cultivating...
There would be no accidents if she were here, so why not let this treasure hunt be the catalyst for their cultivation...
Long Sui An extended his hand to help his sister wade across the river, while Qin Yu crossed on his own.
"Look! The suspension bridge!"
The two looked in the direction of the sound and saw a long-rotted suspension bridge swaying precariously over a bottomless cliff. Creak, creak, it swung, and a chilling wind occasionally blew up, making it extremely frightening.
"Is this suspension bridge really sturdy..." Qin Yu felt a prickle of unease as he looked at the rusty suspension bridge before him.
But when he looked up, he saw a dark cave on the other side of the bridge.
"It's a cave! There's a cave over there! The treasure must be inside!"
But Long Sui An's gaze towards the cave turned extremely somber, as if he were deep in thought.
He turned to Sui Huan. "How about we go back?"
Sui Huan pursed her lips, feeling conflicted. If they turned back, they had come so far. If they didn't, the cave felt somewhat dangerous.
Long Sui An could see his sister's dilemma at a glance. "You stay here, I'll go with Qin Yu. If you hear me call, run back and find Mother."
Saying this, he stepped onto the precarious suspension bridge without waiting for Sui Huan's reply and even grabbed Qin Yu's collar.
Bai Ran, hidden in the shadows, raised an eyebrow slightly. It was a good plan, but would Sui Huan really leave?
Her gaze fell on Sui Huan on this side, who was watching the two with concern, her face anxious. "Be careful—!"
"Ahhh— I'm going to fall!" Qin Yu exclaimed. Long Sui An's eye twitched, and he immediately let go of the person in his hand.
"Walk yourself."
"Brother, walk slower..."
And so, the two children advanced slowly on the suspension bridge, gradually approaching the eerie cave.
As the two children got closer and closer to the cave, Bai Ran's expression became more and more vigilant.
If they walked ten more steps forward, the demonized people inside the cave would immediately sense their presence...
Nineteen, eighteen... four, three, two, one...
"Ahhh—!!"
Qin Yu suddenly cried out, as if he had seen something terrifying, startling Sui Huan on the other side.
"Sui Huan! Run!!!"
Sui Huan looked towards the two of them and saw them fleeing towards her at full speed, with four people in dark blue, like corpses, chasing behind them!
"Sui Huan, run quickly—!!!" Long Sui An was frantic.
Sui Huan indeed heard him but didn't move. For some reason, she stared intently at the two of them.
Seeing that the two were about to be caught, the moment they stepped off the suspension bridge and onto the land, Bai Sui Huan suddenly pulled a knife from her embrace and cut the suspension bridge's ropes.
"Roar—!"
As the suspension bridge flipped, the four demonized people fell off the cliff.
"That scared me to death..." Bai Sui Huan collapsed onto the ground, her heart pounding like a drum.
Long Sui An and Qin Yu also clutched their knees, panting heavily.
"You're amazing!" Gradually, Qin Yu recovered and looked at Sui Huan with even more admiration.
Even Long Sui An, who usually had a poker face, smiled at his sister. "Really amazing."
Sui Huan smiled and shyly scratched her face.
Bai Ran, hidden in the shadows, curved her lips. She was somewhat surprised by Sui Huan's calm demeanor. Had she thought of bringing a knife when she saw the suspension bridge on the map?
Intelligent, calm in the face of adversity, good at seizing opportunities, and able to anticipate danger, Sui Huan had truly grown into an outstanding child.
But... Bai Ran raised her eyes, a dark and inscrutable light flashing in them.
This alone was not enough... demonized people weren't that easy to kill...
Below the cliff, rustling sounds continued to rise, getting closer and closer to the three children.
"What's going on! Are they not dead yet!" Qin Yu shouted anxiously.
Long Sui An also sensed the danger at this moment. "Run! They're coming up!"
The three children took off and ran for their lives, heading back towards the inn.
"Stop right there—!"
They can talk!? Sui An and the others felt their hearts pounding, utterly terrified.
"What the hell are these things!!!" Qin Yu ran frantically, his heart about to leap out of his chest.
But how could children running possibly outrun four demonized people?
Soon, the distance between them was shortened to a meter.
Qin Yu gritted his teeth and suddenly stopped, gathering a faint spiritual energy in his hand. "You guys go first!"
Sui An and Sui Huan were stunned. They hadn't expected him to actually keep his word and protect them.
But in the next instant, Sui An and Sui Huan also stopped, standing beside Qin Yu.
"I doubted you before, I'm sorry."
"I didn't expect you to be quite reliable."
As their words fell, the four demonized people were also at extremely close range. "Roar—!"
Qin Yu's face turned pale. The faint spiritual energy was no match for the demonized people's attack. In just an instant, it was broken.
"Heh heh, gotcha—!"
Sui An tightly protected Sui Huan. The demonized people's large palms struck towards them. If this strike landed, they would likely die instantly.
Qin Yu gritted his teeth and stood in front of them, enduring his fear. But in a flash of lightning, a woman's voice rang out.
"These things are called demonized people."
Upon hearing this, the demonized person's hand reaching for Qin Yu froze instantly and even trembled uncontrollably.
"Mother! It's Mother who's here!" Sui An and Sui Huan immediately recognized Bai Ran's voice, their expressions filled with joy.
A fiery red figure emerged from the shadows and slowly approached the four demonized people.
"Demonized people are extremely difficult to kill. Only by severing their heads can they be eliminated."
The long sword was drawn. The demonized people's eyes widened with terror, and they retreated uncontrollably.
"Don't... don't kill me..."
"They can speak human words. They are the darkest side of humanity."
With steps that bloomed lotuses and flowers, before the little ones could even see clearly, the sword was sheathed.
Four heads landed on the ground. The fiery red figure turned around, a hint of helplessness on her face. "Did you hear?"
Sui An and Sui Huan threw themselves into Bai Ran's embrace. Qin Yu, on the other hand, stared at Bai Ran blankly, his admiration reaching its peak.
"Heroine, you're so amazing! Will you take disciples!"
Bai Ran lowered her gaze, looking at Qin Yu's face. The more she looked, the more familiar he became. "Your parents, could they be..."
"Yu'er—! Where are you—!"
"Here! I'm here!" Qin Yu shouted joyfully.
As they say, speak of the devil, and he shall appear. Two extremely familiar figures ran through the forest.
It was indeed them... Bai Ran lowered her eyes and smiled softly. "It's been a long time."
"Bai! Sister Bai!"
Fang Tian Hui's eyes lit up, extremely excited. "Is it really you!?"
Qin Mu Bai was also extremely surprised upon seeing Bai Ran. "What a coincidence? Could these two children be yours?"
Bai Ran nodded. "My children."
After learning the full story, the two repeatedly apologized, saying they had hidden the map for demonized people carelessly and had implicated Bai Ran's children.
Later, the group returned to the inn. Huan Yan had also woken up, and Bai Ran introduced the two to her.
After a night of lively conversation, Bai Ran and Huan Yan left the inn with Sui An and Sui Huan.
"Do you want to start cultivating?"
"Yes!" The two little ones answered in unison.