Coincidental Meeting

After what happened to Lu Hao, the two of them felt like an eternity had passed. However, in truth it had only been one night in the world outside. 

Once the sun was up, Lu Hao followed Su Jin to the farmer's market. The markets these days did it sell live poultry and farm animals anymore though, so the two of them had to settle for some live fish and shrimps. They planned to release them into the stream to keep up a supply. 

Su Jin looked at the enormous amount of money left in her card and felt the pressure piling on. They still had 12 million in there, and they had to spend all of that money before they could call this mission a success. Otherwise, that money would only go to waste. Besides, they had yet to receive the money from the sale of their house yet. Their agent Old Jiang was already showing the unit to potential buyers, and he seemed confident that he could sell it within the next few days.

"Lu Hao, how do you think we should spend this money?"

At first they could have easily spent it on supplies, but now that the entire family was hoarding resources together, things were progressing at a pace much faster than she could accomplish on her own.

"Why don't we go somewhere?" Lu Hao asked with a smile. 

"Where? Somewhere we can spend this money?"

"You wanted to buy live poultry, right? I know somewhere we can find some."

Lu Hao had remembered a village he passed by once on a mission. Almost every household there had livestock, but the village was out in the middle of nowhere and they had no supply chain into the city, so they had to handle both the supply and demand themselves. 

"That sounds good, but are you sure you know how to get there?" Su Jin was highly suspicious.

"Yeah. It should be fine with the GPS."

Although Mr. Chen had driven him there last time, Lu Hao still remembered the name of the village, so he should be able to drive there. Lu Hao usually did just fine driving to places as long as he had a GPS.

Three hours later, Su Jin tragically realized that the village Lu Hao was talking about could not be found by GPS, probably because it was too isolated. 

They entered the area via a small road, but for a long time after that, the GPS just said, "Location not found." The two of them went around in circles and soon had no idea where they were.

At a loss, all they could do now was stop and hope to find a passerby who could tell them the way in. 

Su Jin opened the door and got out of the car, looking around. Although they were on a small path surrounded by what looked like decorative greenery, she soon realized that the trees were actually part of a natural forest.

The trees stretched endlessly into the distance, the canopy hovering above them. That was why they had not noticed a steep slope on either side of the road as the tree trunks grew skyward. This was not a small village path at all, it was clearly a mountain road!

Why had they not noticed at all?

Su Jin felt all her hairs stand on end.

Lu Hao got out of the car too. He had no idea that he had taken a steep mountain road.

All he could see, both above and below the mountain, was a lush green forest. When he looked in the direction where the foliage was thinner, he could see that the mountains nearby were covered with trees and a sea of green. The mountains in the distance were forested too, but they looked darker.

"Are you sure this is the way to the village you saw back then?" Su Jin asked, crossing her arms.

"Yeah, I'm not sure. All I remember is that the place is called Mist Village. I could find it on the navigation app so I thought it'd be fine. Sorry."

Lu Hao was truly sorry. He insisted on bringing Su Jin here, but now they had gotten lost again.

"It's fine. The scenery here is pretty nice, so just think of it as a sightseeing trip."

Su Jin wanted to continue reassuring Lu Hao, but she had been paying attention to her surroundings for a while now. She had not been able to shake the feeling that a strong gaze was watching them.

"Su Jin, something feels off here."

Lu Hao had sensed it too. Ever since he awakened his special ability, his senses had become much more acute. However, his sense of direction was still like a veil of impenetrable fog falling over his mind.

The two of them exchanged a glance and quickly jumped into the car, about to turn back the way they came.

Just then, a silhouette appeared slowly in the distance. The figure far away was even humming a song neither of them had heard before, and they seemed to be carrying a hoe on their shoulder…?

Lu Hao did not start the car immediately, waiting instead for the figure to approach them. 

That person grew gradually closer, and Su Jin heaved a sigh of relief. It was an energetic old man in his fifties or sixties. Instead of a hoe, he seemed to be carrying a shovel. 

Lu Hao opened the car door and walk to the side of the road to greet the old man.

"Mist Village, huh? Yeah, yeah, I know it. It's just down this way." The old man seemed quite enthusiastic, his eyes lighting up the moment he saw Lu Hao. He even put the shovel down and patted Lu Hao's shoulder, pinching his muscles slightly.

"Hahaha, you're a fit one, aren't ya? Kiddo." The old man looked quite satisfied. 

Su Jin frowned and opened the door as well, getting out of the car.

When the old man saw Su Jin, there was a flash of surprise in his eyes that he quickly hid behind a smile. Both Lu Hao and Su Jin did not miss that change in his expression, however.

Why, though?

She had never met this man before 

Although the couple was both feeling wary now, they were still lost and the old man was the only other person nearby. They had no choice but to keep asking him for directions. 

"Hi, sir. Did you say that this is the way to Mist Village?" Su Jin asked politely. 

"That's right. Right this way," the old man said with certainty. 

"Then could you lead us there, sir?" While Su Jin did find the old man somewhat strange, he was still a frail old man. She temporarily let down her guard.

"I don't mind, but you have to promise this old man something first." The old man brought his hand to his chin and then seemed to remember something, awkwardly putting his hand back behind him. 

Lu Hao did not miss that, either. 

Su Jin inwardly rolled her eyes too. This old man? Why was he talking like he walked out of a period drama?

"What do you want us to do, sir?" Lu Hao asked.

The old man nodded with a smile. "Help me move to a new house, if you don't mind."

Move? That did not sound too hard. 

"Are you moving into a new place, sir?" Su Jin was perplexed. Why was he asking them for this? Did he need some strong bodies to carry things?

"That's right. I'm old and weak, so I can't carry heavy items. Could you two young uns help me? In exchange, I'll show you the way. How's that sound?"

"Sure," Su Jin said.

The old man did not seem to be a bad guy. Moreover, she really wanted to find the village Lu Hao mentioned so they could buy some supplies there. Even if this man had nefarious intentions, she and Lu Hao should be more than strong enough to handle him. 

Lu Hao knew what Su Jin was thinking, too. They were powerful enough to take whatever came their way. Besides, the old man did not seem to mean them harm. Lu Hao had a terrible sense of direction, but he was good at reading people. Furthermore, from the first moment he laid eyes on this old man, he somehow felt a strange sense of familiarity. 

The two of them started the car again and drove in the direction the old man pointed them in. 

The car went down the mountain road for another twenty-odd minutes. To Su Jin, it felt like they had been constantly going uphill. She wanted to sneak a glance at Lu Hao, who was focused on the road. Was the village he mentioned on top of the mountain? At the same time, she could not openly ask him because the old man was sitting in the back seats.

All of a sudden, the previously stable journey turned bumpy. Su Jin had to grab the handle above the glass window to stabilize herself. When she turned around to question the old man in the back seat, she saw that he did not budge at all despite the turbulence. He just kept looking ahead of him, smiling evenly amidst the chaos. 

Lu Hao felt as though the car had gone through an invisible barrier. The next moment, he saw the world open up before him, as though he had emerged from a long tunnel. The scenery on either side of the road had completely changed as well. It was supposed to be the middle of June, so why was the road lined with plum blossoms?

"That's my residence up ahead, young un. The road is narrow and winding, so we have to walk the rest of the way."

The old man piped up before Su Jin could ask. Fine, they got out of the car.

The moment they stepped out, Su Jin and Lu Hao felt their minds perk up. There was even a faint sweetness in the air.

This feeling was so familiar. 

Su Jin looked at Lu Hao, who had the same expression she did. This place seemed to be filled with spiritual energy, just like the Wood Spirit Dimension!