Chapter 4 Eastern Forest CaravanSun City
Eastern Market Street
By afternoon, the entire city already knew about the missing caravan.
Markets remained open.
Restaurants stayed crowded.
But conversations throughout Sun City quietly changed.
People lowered their voices more often now.
"They say nobody died."
"My cousin heard the wagons were still intact."
"Then where did the people go?"
"No idea…"
Xu Yuan sat beside a roadside stall while casually listening to nearby discussions.
Across from him, Lin Hao nervously ate noodles much faster than normal.
"You're too calm," Lin Hao whispered.
Xu Yuan looked confused.
"A caravan disappeared, not the world."
"That's still terrifying!"
"You panic too easily."
Nearby rchants continued discussing the eastern forest anxiously.
Apparently the missing caravan belonged to the Huang Family and transported spirit herbs between nearby cities every month.
The route was considered safe.
At least until now.
"Younger brother Xu!"
A loud voice suddenly interrupted them.
Xu Yuan imdiately sighed.
"Too noisy…"
A fat young man hurried across the street while waving excitedly.
Chen Ming.
rchant family heir.
Professional gossip collector.
Occasionally useful human being.
Mostly annoying.
Chen Ming imdiately sat beside them without permission.
"You heard already?"
Xu Yuan lazily nodded.
"Everyone heard already."
"No, no, no." Chen Ming lowered his voice dramatically. "I heard sothing better."
Lin Hao imdiately leaned closer.
Xu Yuan continued eating calmly.
Chen Ming looked around carefully before whispering:
"The guards found cultivation marks near the caravan."
Lin Hao frowned.
"What kind?"
Chen Ming swallowed.
"Not human ones."
Silence briefly spread across the table.
Xu Yuan finally looked interested.
"Spirit beasts attacked?"
Chen Ming shook his head quickly.
"No blood."
"No bodies."
"No damaged wagons."
"That's the strange part."
Lin Hao's expression beca slightly pale.
"Then where did the caravan people disappear?"
Chen Ming lowered his voice even more.
"So guards think… they walked away willingly."
"That makes even less sense," Lin Hao muttered.
Xu Yuan quietly tapped the table thoughtfully.
Then suddenly—
"Maybe illusion techniques."
Both Lin Hao and Chen Ming imdiately looked toward him.
"High-level illusion cultivators can influence weaker minds," Xu Yuan explained casually. "If the caravan encountered one at night…"
Chen Ming's face instantly changed.
"That's sohow even more terrifying."
"Most things are terrifying if you think about them long enough."
"You're not helping."
The market street remained crowded around them while distant vendors continued shouting loudly across nearby stalls.
On the surface—
Sun City still looked peaceful.
But tension quietly spread beneath everyday conversations now.
Suddenly—
several mounted guards rushed through the street toward the eastern gate.
People imdiately moved aside.
One guard loudly shouted:
"All civilians avoid the eastern forest until investigations conclude!"
Nearby discussions instantly beca louder afterward.
Lin Hao looked nervous again.
"My father wanted to send outside the city tomorrow…"
Xu Yuan imdiately nodded seriously.
"Congratulations. Now you can stay alive instead."
"That's not funny."
"It's a little funny."
Before Lin Hao could complain further—
soone quietly stopped beside Xu Yuan.
A familiar cold fragrance drifted through the air.
Xia Yu.
She calmly stood beside the table while several nearby people unconsciously stared toward her again.
Even after growing up together—
Xu Yuan still thought her appearance attracted too much attention honestly.
"You disappeared without saying anything," Xia Yu said calmly.
Xu Yuan pointed toward the noodles.
"I was hungry."
"You already ate earlier."
"That was morning hunger. This is afternoon hunger."
Lin Hao imdiately looked away.
Chen Ming directly covered his face.
"You two really act like an old married couple already…"
Xu Yuan looked offended.
"We're still young."
"You sleep together every night."
"That's unrelated."
Xia Yu calmly sat beside Xu Yuan afterward without denying anything.
Several nearby young n instantly looked toward Xu Yuan with visible jealousy.
Xu Yuan noticed imdiately.
"This face of yours really keeps creating enemies for ."
"You complain every day."
"Because it happens every day."
Chen Ming suddenly lowered his voice again.
"Oh right. There's one more rumor."
Xu Yuan sighed.
"You really enjoy dangerous information."
"I enjoy surviving dangerous situations."
"That's worse."
Chen Ming leaned closer toward the table.
"So hunters near the eastern forest said…"
His voice beca quieter.
"…they saw lights moving inside the mountains late last night."
"Lanterns?" Lin Hao asked.
Chen Ming slowly shook his head.
"Red lights."
Xu Yuan's relaxed expression faded slightly.
"Spirit fire?"
"No idea."
For several monts, nobody spoke.
The noisy market around them suddenly felt strangely distant.
Then Xia Yu quietly said:
"The eastern forest has old ruins."
Xu Yuan looked toward her.
"You actually believe the stories?"
"Ancient formations still exist around Sun City."
"That's true…"
Long ago, several cultivators supposedly discovered underground ruins beneath parts of the eastern mountains.
Most entrances eventually collapsed or beca sealed.
At least according to old rumors.
Nobody truly knew how much was real anymore.
Xu Yuan slowly stood afterward.
"Well. Whatever happened out there…"
He stretched lazily before glancing toward the eastern mountains beyond the city walls.
"…hopefully it stays far away from ."
Unfortunately—
far beyond Sun City—
inside the silent eastern forest—
sothing beneath the mountains slowly opened its eyes.
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