Shio's Scheme?

Moumou and Huanluo followed behind Xi, stumbling all the way as they were led to the residential area on the far right, the furthest point from where they had just been. Just like the left district, this right-hand zone had a much smaller territory than the central residential area, but its charm lay in its exquisite detail. Wandering down a single street, one could not find even two houses that looked identical. The Night Ghouls living in this area wore clothes and possessed facial features almost indistinguishable from the warriors Moumou had seen earlier, yet they lacked that outward aura of murderous intent and ferocity. From afar, they looked just like a group of refined, cultured scholars, possessing an air of extraordinary elegance.

Yet, in a Night Ghoul clan that respected nothing above raw strength, would they really keep such scholars? Moumou's eyes darted around suspiciously. "Um... Xi, let me ask you a question..."

"What is it?" Xi, leading the way ahead, turned her head with a gentle smile to listen. At that exact moment, a Night Ghoul dressed in leather, only slightly taller than Huanluo, happened to walk past right behind Xi. Positioned right behind Xi was a large vat made of an unknown metal, nearly reaching waist height and filled to the brim with water. The passing Night Ghoul seemed to be heading straight for this vat. He extended a rather slender arm hidden beneath his leather clothes and gave it a effortless lift. That massive water vat, brimming with water, was hoisted up with a single arm as if it were a mere toy. The water surface rippled gently in the sunlight, yet despite the massive scale of the movement, not a single drop was spilled.

Staring in utter disbelief at this scholarly, refined Night Ghoul casually dragging a huge water vat away with one hand as if walking a pet bird, Moumou hastily swallowed back everything she had intended to ask Xi. "...No question at all. I was just testing your reaction time and said something random while waiting for you to turn around..."

"Is that so?" Xi did not press further. Nodding knowingly, she resumed her journey forward. "And how were the test results?"

"Quite good. Quick and responsive, with no underlying risk of cervical spondylosis," Moumou replied.

They walked on and on, continuing almost to the very end of the street before Xi finally stopped. The buildings at the dead end were not as quaint and densely packed as those at the front of the street. The sparse structures appeared exceptionally desolate and weathered in comparison to the front neighborhood. Moumou cast a glance at the gray, dreary house before her and the ghost-town-like emptiness of the old buildings all around, quietly swallowing a dry lump in her throat. "This place couldn't possibly be..."

"This is the house you will be staying in during the competition," Xi said with a smile, pointing affirmatively at the structure right in front of Moumou.

"This... how long has nobody lived here? It totally gives off a vibe from the last century..." Moumou felt the corners of her mouth twitching. However, upon looking closer at the appearance of the house, she was surprised to find that beneath the thick layer of dust covering its true face, there faintly gleamed the hallmarks of ancient Cyrenian architecture. The intricate carved decorations, the irregular triangular roof, and the well-proportioned, distinct layers of its facade all pointed unmistakably to that style. If this were not the territory of the Night Ghouls, Moumou would have genuinely believed that an ancient mage from Cyrenian once lived here.

"I have no idea. Probably hasn't had anyone live in it for a few hundred years, I suppose." Ignoring the words she didn't understand in Moumou's speech, Xi picked out the essential information to reply. "Legend has it that this house was built by a mage who accidentally wandered into the forest a few centuries ago. After he died, it sat vacant and nobody has ever touched it since."

"Good grief, centuries? Can this house even be lived in?" Moumou felt as though all the sweatdrops of her entire lifetime were about to fall right here. "Please don't deliver such shocking lines with that healing, angelic smile of yours, you wretch."

Huanluo also stroked her chin thoughtfully, silently poking the dust on the exterior wall with her finger. At the lightest touch of Huanluo's slender fingertip, a thick blanket of dark dust instantly swallowed half of her finger.

"So... are all the houses around here places where humans who accidentally wandered into the forest used to live? Are they all ancient buildings that haven't been cleaned in centuries? Is there seriously not even a single young house for people to live in?" Moumou clasped her hands together, looking at Xi with teary eyes.

"The one given to you is already considered quite young. Look at those houses over there—they might be a bit larger, but their walls and pillars are all cracked. The clan has recently been discussing tearing them down," Xi pouted, resting her chin on her hand and mimicking Huanluo's contemplative posture. "Houses that are a bit younger do exist, but there's only one such place left, and someone is already living in it. The one you're looking at right now is the youngest house apart from that one."

"Living there? Who? Is Liangyin staying there?" Moumou's eyes lit up as she eagerly grabbed Xi's arm.

"No, she isn't. Two male humans are living there. They only arrived here recently too. Come to think of it, it's really strange. For centuries, you wouldn't encounter a single human in the southern forest, yet lately, humans have been showing up every few days like they're searching for buried treasure," Xi continued, resting her chin in her hand with a puzzled expression. "Those two men are even mages. I wonder if you know them."

"Then where did you guys put Liangyin..." Moumou blurted out, almost saying "lock her up." But seeing Xi's innocent face, she forcefully swallowed the words back. "...living? Can I go see her?"

"I'm afraid that won't be possible." Unexpectedly, Xi—who had previously agreed to every single request of Moumou's without hesitation—flatly refused this request, which carried no ulterior motives. She still wore that bright, smiling expression, but the words she spoke sent a chill down Moumou's spine. "It's a rule of the Night Ghouls: all activities of beings from other races who enter our territory are restricted. From the moment you step into this domain, you are mandated to remain only in the dwelling assigned to you by the clan. Until you become friends with the Night Ghouls, we won't let you leave."

"Friends? Aren't we friends?" Moumou felt a bit dazed by Xi's sudden barrage of conditions.

"Not my friends. Friends of the Night Ghoul clan. To put it bluntly, that means beings who are useful to the Night Ghouls, won't hold us back, and are willing to join and serve the Night Ghoul tribe." The wind blew gently past Moumou and Huanluo. The sunlight shone upon their faces, but Xi was standing in a shadowed angle, and her smile suddenly took on a sinister edge. "The Night Ghouls have followed this rule for thousands of years. The two humans living on the other side are also stuck inside because of this reason, and haven't stepped outside for a whole week now."

"You mean to say we must abandon our country and beliefs to join the Night Ghoul tribe?" Huanluo finally spoke up. "Even if I were to accept this condition, pray tell, what meaning would there be in you letting me leave afterwards? I still couldn't return home, and would simply be trapped here for the rest of my life, wouldn't I?"