However, since they were guests here, they would follow the host's lead.
Everyone sat in a circle, with the food and dishes placed in the center. Shen Qi looked down and saw that it was indeed all mountain ingredients—wild vegetables and mushrooms freshly picked, rarely seen outside.
"Everyone, please." The village chief raised his hand, grabbed his chopsticks, and began eating. "No strict rules in the mountains, make yourselves at home."
Though she said to make themselves at home, no one dared to pick up their chopsticks. By now, everyone could sense something off about this village.
The village chief didn't seem to mind. She tasted each dish one by one, then looked at He Yining with a faint, knowing smile.
Even though He Yining had remained silent throughout, his unparalleled kingly aura and noble elegance made the village chief immediately recognize him as the leader of the group.
A faint smile curved at the corner of He Yining's lips as he picked up his chopsticks and tasted the food in front of him. Seeing him move, the village chief nodded in satisfaction. Only then did the others start eating.
"I heard this road is maintained by you all?" Shen Wu, as an assistant to the Minister of Commerce, was well-traveled and skilled at lightening the mood, so he took the initiative to start a conversation.
"Yes," the village chief nodded. "These mountains are home to just our few villages. If we don't maintain it, who will?"
"Shouldn't there be a dedicated department handling this?" Shen Wu continued.
"There used to be, but not anymore." The village chief lit a new cigar, exhaling a thick smoke ring. "Outsiders don't find it easy to enter the mountains. Besides, this road often gets damaged and needs frequent repairs. Those people got tired of it, so they handed it all over to us villagers. After all, we need to go out too, right? Consider it a little benefit for the folks here."
"I see. On our way here, we didn't see any elderly or children. Have they all been sent outside?" Shen Wu asked, still feigning casualness.
As soon as he spoke, several hostile glances shot toward him.
The village chief tapped her cigar and said slowly, "We're just here to make a living. Naturally, we don't bring our families along."
With that, she refused to say more.
Shen Wu quickly changed the subject. "Your accent sounds like it's from the southeast coast."
The village chief glanced at him. "Mr. Shen has good ears. My hometown is over there. What do you do, Mr. Shen? Coming into the mountains in such heavy rain—most people wouldn't choose this time."
Shen Wu smiled amiably. "Me? I'm just tagging along with my sister and brother-in-law on their honeymoon. They just got married and wanted a quiet place for some alone time. I heard the scenery here is nice, so I came along. My brother-in-law runs a small factory, does some small business, and I help him out. Just ordinary folks."
The village chief gave the others a meaningful look. "And you?"
The bodyguards, keeping their composure, lied smoothly: "We're the company's top salespeople for the year. The boss brought us along on his trip."
Xiao Chun, fair-skinned and always smiling, was naturally more convincing. "I'm the boss's secretary, so of course I came along."
"And this gentleman, what's your surname?" The village chief turned to He Yining.
"My surname is He." It was He Yining's first words since entering.
As he spoke, his rich, magnetic voice made the village chief's eyes flicker with surprise. This man's voice was almost unfairly pleasant.
"I've heard of the He family in H Province..." The village chief looked at He Yining meaningfully.
"That's my clan," He Yining replied, a master of lies himself, speaking without a blink. "My great-grandfather and the current head of the He family's great-great-grandfather were born of the same mother."
He Yining perfectly explained why he carried such an extraordinary demeanor. Even as a branch of the He family, it was still an incredibly prestigious existence to outsiders. After all, even a branch bore the He name.
"So you're Mr. He. My apologies for not recognizing you." The village chief gave him a deep look. "The village gets noisy at night. Since you all refuse to stay in the houses I've offered, please don't go out no matter what you hear after dark. Otherwise, I can't guarantee your safety."
It was a blatant warning.
Shen Qi stayed silent, while He Yining and Shen Wu both nodded. "When in Rome, do as the Romans do. Naturally."
"Good." Satisfied with their response, the village chief nodded.
After the meal, they didn't linger and quickly took their leave.
Watching He Yining's figure disappear into the rain, the middle-aged woman said urgently to the village chief, "That man's condition is excellent. If we could keep him, our strength..."
The village chief cut her off. "Impossible." She firmly denied the suggestion. "He only spoke four words tonight, but I can tell—this man is not to be trifled with. His condition is indeed perfect, the best male specimen I've ever seen. But my instincts tell me he's dangerous. Even though he's suppressed his aura, the nobility he inadvertently exudes proves his high status in the He family."
"But Chief, if we don't replenish our fresh supply soon, we'll fall behind the other branches!" the woman pressed urgently. "This one is top-notch! If we can control him, we'll definitely come out on top!"
The village chief hesitated for a moment. "Let's wait and see. We also need to speed up the road repairs, or the guests won't be able to get in."
"Understood." The woman nodded.
After leaving the village chief's house, He Yining and the others quickly and silently returned to the car, immediately inducing vomiting to expel the food from their stomachs.
Shen Qi looked at them in confusion. "Why are you all..."
Before she could finish, her vision blurred!
"Xiao Qi!" He Yining caught her and said to Xiao Chun, "Give Xiao Qi a shot."
Xiao Chun quickly grabbed the medical kit, expertly drew a syringe, and injected it into Shen Qi's arm.
It took a long while for Shen Qi to regain her senses. A wave of fear washed over her.
What was going on?
"The village chief put a certain dose of hallucinogen in our food," Shen Wu explained. "Didn't you notice we only ate meat and avoided the vegetables?"
Shen Qi was stunned. "I didn't notice..."
"The village chief only ate meat the whole time, never the vegetables," He Yining added. "The vegetables are tainted."
Shen Qi's mouth fell open, speechless.
Why didn't they warn her!
They had to watch her make a fool of herself!
Shen Wu suppressed a grin. "Who told you to be so honest? You ate whatever they gave you! Knowing this village is suspicious, you still didn't watch your mouth."
Shen Qi felt a bit embarrassed. "But those mushrooms were really tasty."
"Mushrooms are the easiest thing to tamper with," He Yining said leisurely. "Especially many fungi we don't recognize—you can't just eat them."
Shen Qi asked curiously, "How did you figure out the fungi were problematic?"
He Yining pointed at Xiao Chun. "You don't know Xiao Chun's background yet, do you?"
Shen Qi nodded.
Xiao Xia was a former champion in both boxing and free fighting, but as for Xiao Chun, she had no idea.
"Xiao Chun majored in traditional Chinese medicine in college, then switched to an MBA for grad school, and later studied Western medicine," He Yining continued. "His family is a lineage of Chinese medicine practitioners. Studying Chinese medicine was a family tradition, the MBA was to work with me, and Western medicine was to handle emergencies."
Shen Qi's mouth fell open again.
Why was every assistant around He Yining so impressive?
What was she even doing with her life?
No wonder He Yining always brought Xiao Chun everywhere. He was basically a mobile medical kit.
After everyone had emptied their stomachs, they felt a bit hungry. But to keep up their cover, they didn't cook a meal. Instead, each person held a cup of instant noodles, eating with relish.
Shen Qi couldn't help but laugh, suddenly reminded of her college days when her roommates did the same at night—each with a cup of noodles, huddled together binge-watching shows.
She really missed those university days.
After finishing the noodles, everyone went to their rooms early to rest.
At ten o'clock at night, strange noises indeed began to echo through the village.
Lying in He Yining's arms, Shen Qi pricked up her ears, feeling a chill run down her spine. She whispered, "Listen—is someone crying outside?"
He Yining covered her ears. "Go to sleep."
Shen Qi pulled his hand away. "But someone really is crying."
He Yining's phoenix eyes darkened. "Maybe."
"Then we..." Shen Qi started to suggest they go rescue them.
"Do you know what the village chief and the villagers actually do?" He Yining interrupted her, shifting the topic.
Shen Qi was taken aback. "Aren't they just villagers?"
"Have you ever seen villagers who don't farm, hunt, or do any labor at all?" He Yining countered. "A village with no elderly or children, and not a single married couple—have you ever seen such a place?"
Shen Qi stared at him in horror, a shiver running down her spine. "What do you mean? Who are they? Not villagers?"
"Of course not." He Yining rubbed his chin against the top of her head. "They are and they aren't. They live in the village, but they don't work the land. The village chief is their leader, and this village is one of their bases. So we can't act rashly. Understand?"
A wave of dread washed over Shen Qi. "Then what do they actually do?"