Ning Wei casually made an excuse, and Aunt Meng believed it.
Although Ning Wei and the other person didn't usually help in the kitchen, they weren't useless in that regard; the two of them worked very well together.
Aunt Meng watched from the side with a delighted smile. She had seen with her own sharp eyes from the moment these two young people moved into their home that they were mutually attracted.
She didn't know what had happened, but it seemed that their relationship had suddenly become much closer.
As an elder, she was naturally pleased to see such a scene.
Aunt Meng even used the excuse of picking vegetables to leave the kitchen to the two of them, giving them some private space.
When Tang Tang and the others slowly emerged from their rooms, still groggy, they saw Ning Wei and Li Ye with their heads close together, bending over to clear the table.
Seeing that everyone had finally woken up, Ning Wei smiled at them. "Hurry and wash your faces. Lunch will be ready soon."
"You made this?" Tang Tang looked at the table full of dishes, finding it hard to believe it was the work of two people who never cooked.
Ning Wei smiled shyly. "Thanks to Aunt Meng, she taught us hands-on."
Tang Tang's attention quickly shifted from the food to Ning Wei's face. The smile on her face was one they had never seen before, possessing a girlish shyness.
Not only Tang Tang noticed, but everyone else felt the same.
They exchanged knowing glances, seemingly forgetting the most important thing.
Ning Wei was a bit surprised because Tang Tang and the others had focused on the wrong thing, leading her to misunderstand that they had no recollection of what happened after they fell asleep.
Aunt Meng and Uncle Meng came out with soup and dishes. Everyone composed themselves.
Ning Wei hadn't proactively mentioned sending food to the Yu family that morning, so Aunt Meng didn't bring it up.
After eating, she went to the kitchen to get the warmed food, packed it into a basket, and took it to the Yu family.
Uncle Meng ran the general store, so he had to stay at the front.
Only their group remained in the courtyard.
The street in front was lively. With so many strange things happening these past few days, there was plenty for them to chat about.
Ning Wei cleared her throat twice, intending to confess everything she had been hiding.
However, everyone thought she was hinting at something and began looking around.
Seeing their reaction, Ning Wei immediately guessed that this group still had something they weren't saying.
Her expression turned serious, and her status instantly shifted. Her icy gaze swept over everyone, making them break out in a cold sweat.
"Yesterday, I went to the Yu family's. Later, I learned from Li Ye that you all went to the Mountain God Temple behind our backs. I don't know for what reason you didn't inform us beforehand, but I hope this doesn't happen again."
Her gaze finally settled on Tang Tang. Within this team, besides Li Ye, Tang Tang was the closest to her.
"Tang Tang, why don't you explain?" Suddenly being singled out, Tang Tang felt as if she were back in school.
Since Ning Wei and the others had broken the formation and cleaned up the blood in the room, Tang Tang assumed Ning Wei knew nothing.
After they fell asleep yesterday, all of them were pulled into a dark place. Fortunately, they had companions on either side, so they weren't too frightened.
In that place, a pair of eyes watched their every move. Everyone dared not act rashly, much less speak casually.
In fact, they didn't need to say anything. The person who had brought them there didn't want to hear what they had to say but wanted to inform them.
"I am the Mountain God," was its first statement.
"I know you want to leave this place. As long as you offer Ning Wei to me as a sacrifice, I will immediately send the bus to pick you up," was its second statement.
"If you cannot do so, I will have to keep you all here. Over time, you will slowly forget everything from your past and eventually become a part of this town of Bai Xian," was its third and final statement.
"Did previous passengers also fail to complete their mission and remain here?" Song Zhi pressed.
In the darkness, only a sinister and terrifying laugh was heard. No one else spoke.
Perhaps sensing someone using their own power to struggle against it, before releasing them, it warned again: "Sacrifice Ning Wei. This is your only chance to gain freedom, and it is a hidden mission!"
In reality, this Mountain God was quite shrewd. If Tang Tang and the others had simply found an excuse and lured Ning Wei to the Mountain God Temple, wouldn't that have resolved the issue?
Perhaps the Mountain God had done this countless times before and succeeded many times.
However, this time, it was going to be disappointed.
It had underestimated the sincerity and unity of Ning Wei's team.
When Ning Wei called on Tang Tang, Tang Tang made her personal decision.
Regardless of what others thought, she would stand by Ning Wei until the end.
Tang Tang looked around, then at Zhu Yilian and the others. "I plan to tell the truth. I don't know what you all think."
Zhu Yilian slapped Tang Tang hard on the back, saying angrily, "In your heart, are we the kind of petty people who would sacrifice a companion for freedom?"
Tang Tang's statement was a test for everyone. Now, seeing their reactions, she knew she had won her gamble.
She looked at Ning Wei and recounted all the temptations the Mountain God had offered them. During her explanation, she became so agitated that she forgot some words, but Zhu Yilian and the others interjected and helped her complete the story.
After listening, Ning Wei remained silent for a long time.
She hadn't expected this Mountain God to be a double agent, feeling like it was schizophrenic.
One side asked for her help to defeat the other, while the other, for some unknown reason, took a liking to her and wanted to exploit selfish human nature to have her teammates betray her.
Since everyone had been so honest, even choosing to forgo their freedom, Ning Wei decided to hide nothing.
She revealed everything she had been hiding from everyone, including her suspicion that there were two Mountain Gods.
After listening, everyone fell into discussion again.
Ning Wei had always had a subject of interest: Master Ci Yun, who had suddenly appeared in town and then suddenly disappeared recently.
She felt that Ci Yun might know more of the truth.
"Actually, the Mountain God Temple is just the place where that entity resides. So, I suggest we find Ci Yun first. Perhaps we can get more information from him," Ning Wei suggested.
In this situation, Ning Wei possessed the most information, so her words carried authority.
"Then what are we waiting for? Let's go," Song Zhi, ever impatient, said.
"Although we don't know why the Mountain God favors Ning Wei, I believe even if we don't act, it might have other tricks up its sleeve. So, no matter what, we need to speed things up!" Mei Nan, as a teacher, concluded.
Everyone strongly agreed with this statement and nodded.