PWE – Chapter 96 Preparing to Investigate a Big Shot

She slightly lowered her head. After quickly undoing a small part of the seal, she lifted her head again and looked up at the sky.

The sky, which had been clear and spotless, suddenly turned gloomy.

At the same time, violent winds rose all around, the force of the gusts seeming as if they could sweep a person away.

Xiao Wange’s expression changed.

She lowered her voice, enunciating each word clearly: “I only undid a tiny bit. Is even undoing a little not allowed? And I didn’t remove the seal to do anything bad—I only wanted to make sure the environment around me is safe and secure. Is that not allowed either? Does even this deserve punishment?”

Her questioning seemed to anger the Heavenly Dao even more. The wind grew fiercer, and the sky… darkened further.

Xiao Wange clenched her teeth. Holding Zhaozhao tightly, she leaned against the wall behind her and took a deep breath.

She would face the Heavenly Dao’s punishment with everything she had. She absolutely could not allow herself to fall into slumber.

Because if she fell asleep, Zhaozhao would have no one to rely on. She could not let this child live alone in the world, helpless and without support.

Just as she thought the Heavenly Dao was about to deliver its punishment, the violent winds suddenly stopped, and the gloomy sky cleared once more.

It was as if the upheaval just now… had been a joke.

Xiao Wange froze for a moment, then lifted her gaze to the sky. So the Heavenly Dao… was letting her off?

“Thank you.” She curved her lips, a faint smile appearing on her face.

No matter what, the Heavenly Dao’s willingness to spare her was a good thing.

If punishment had truly descended, she was honestly afraid… that she might not have been able to endure it.

…

Supporting Zhaozhao’s body with her palm, she leapt upward—and vanished into thin air.

When she appeared again, she and Zhaozhao were already inside Danshui Village.

Near the village entrance was a haystack.

They emerged behind the haystack, but since the area was concealed, no one saw them suddenly appear.

Moreover, there was no one at the village entrance at this time, so there was no worry about being seen.

Holding Zhaozhao, Xiao Wange quickly came out from behind the haystack and walked onto the road at the village entrance. She lifted her eyes and swept her gaze over the village.

Previously, she hadn’t noticed anything unusual about the village, nor had she sensed the existence of any formation.

But at this moment, she realized something was off about the village’s aura.

The entire village’s atmosphere had become somewhat eerie. That eeriness was similar to the feeling of a graveyard—as if… the whole village were a massive burial ground.

She narrowed her eyes and examined the village more closely. She discovered that there were indeed twenty-four unusual points around the village, each emitting a dark red glow. It was just that her strength hadn’t been as great before, so she hadn’t been able to see those red lights.

After glancing at those glows, she lifted her foot and walked in the direction of her home.

She suspected that the strange aura she had sensed earlier in Zhaozhao’s room was because of this formation—because of that big figure manipulating things behind the scenes.

What she didn’t understand was why that big figure had set his sights on Zhaozhao. Was it because Zhaozhao’s constitution was unusual? Was that what he wanted?

She suddenly realized that taking the risk to partially lift her seal had been the right decision.

If she hadn’t undone part of her seal and strengthened herself, she would never have noticed the village’s abnormalities, nor would she have been able to face that big figure.

If that big figure were to make another move against Zhaozhao and abduct him again, then she… would probably never be able to forgive herself.

She hugged the child a little tighter, glanced down at Zhaozhao, and her expression unconsciously softened.

She felt that this child had become her entire world. Although he wasn’t her biological son, she was willing to do anything for him.

But…

She suddenly lifted her head and looked at the sky again.

She actually hoped that the Heavenly Dao would take that big figure away. After all, hadn’t the Heavenly Dao previously sent down heavenly punishment upon that person?

But she also knew that the Heavenly Dao had its own set of principles. If it was unwilling to take that person’s life, she couldn’t force it. Besides, she couldn’t force it even if she wanted to—because in this world, no one could command the Heavenly Dao.

Holding Zhaozhao, she quickened her pace forward.

Just then, several people suddenly rushed toward her.

The person in front was Zhao Lijuan.

Zhao Lijuan’s eyes were red, clearly from crying.

The moment she saw Xiao Wange, she slapped her thigh and said, “Wange, you’re finally back. I’ve finally been waiting for you. Something terrible has happened in our village—something’s gone terribly wrong.”

Xiao Wange’s brows knitted together. Looking at Zhao Lijuan, she quickly asked, “Auntie, what happened?”

Unable to control herself, a tear fell from Zhao Lijuan’s reddened eyes.

She hurriedly wiped her tears and said, “You saw the strange phenomenon on Hongta Mountain at noon today, right? The lightning was so fierce it even scorched the trees. Your uncle was afraid that sparks might be left behind in the mountains and cause a fire or something, so he took a few people up there to check. But who would’ve thought…”

At this point, another tear slid down Zhao Lijuan’s face, her voice choking slightly.

Seeing that she seemed unable to continue, someone beside her quickly spoke up in her place: “The village chief and the others who went up the mountain all fell into a pit. That pit was probably blasted out by lightning, because there hadn’t been such a pit on the mountain before. The village chief and the others climbed out right away. At first, nothing seemed wrong with them. But not long after they returned to the village, something happened to them.”