Haoyun, Dao Lao, and Dream Jia first grilled a dozen carrots according to Little Tiger's preference. They watched with a mix of worry and curiosity as Little Tiger devoured the carrots. Strangely, unlike them, Little Tiger seemed to find the carrots delicious, eagerly giving them a thumbs-up as he chewed.

This led the three to believe that these carrots might merely be props for the plot, not meant for their consumption. Haoyun became more resolute in his decision not to eat any of the grilled fish, no matter how enticing they smelled.

After Little Tiger drank over half a bucket of water, Haoyun asked, "Little Tiger, how far is Yinmu Village from here?"

"It should take a few more days of walking," Little Tiger replied contentedly, rubbing his full belly.

"That long? Then we need to prepare more food for you," Dream Jia said with concern and immediately began grilling more carrots.

Haoyun, noticing this, teased in the system channel, "Wow! You seem really concerned about this little clown."

"Tch! What, are you jealous?" Dream Jia retorted, fluttering her exotically beautiful eyes at him, causing Haoyun to blush and become tongue-tied.

Dream Jia rolled her eyes and said, "Hmph! Look at you! Don't forget, we're here to complete a mission and leave as soon as possible. Since Little Tiger is likely related to our task, I have to treat him well to get more valuable information from him!"

Then, with a shift in tone, she ordered harshly, "Why are your thoughts so dirty? Quickly grill these carrots, and let's get going!" She shoved Haoyun's head with her finger.

Thanks to Dao Lao's brave attempt, they discovered that the grilled fish, though tasteless to them, was actually quite delicious. So, the three prepared more grilled fish for themselves to eat along the way and got ready to follow Little Tiger on the journey.

In the following days, Haoyun, Dao Lao, and Dream Jia, led by Little Tiger, traveled day and night, spending all their time on the road except for sleeping. Even while sleeping, they took turns keeping watch. They told Little Tiger this was to guard against potential dangers during rest, but in reality, it was to guard against Little Tiger, the only possible threat. Despite Little Tiger's constant portrayal of a two-year-old child, his fierce-looking face and the whip he always carried reminded them not to lower their guard.

Finally, after traversing mountains and rivers, Little Tiger led them out of another valley. Pointing excitedly at what seemed like an endless mountain road ahead, Little Tiger exclaimed, "Almost there! See those two small hills up ahead? Once we cross them, we'll reach Yinmu Village!"

Revitalized by his words, Haoyun and the others followed Little Tiger quickly. As they climbed the first hill, a slightly fishy, humid breeze greeted them. Little Tiger took a deep breath of the damp air and, full of excitement, led them to the top of the second hill.

From the hilltop, Haoyun, Dao Lao, and Dream Jia saw a vast lake at the end of the winding downhill path. Half of the lake was shrouded in thick white mist, preventing them from seeing the scenery on the other side. The half closer to them was clear, reflecting the deep blue sky and countless stars like a gigantic mirror, creating a dreamy scene.

Retracting their gaze from the mesmerizing lake, the trio spotted a neatly planned village on the grassy plain to the right of the lakeshore. The village, though not large, was brightly lit and bustling.

"We're finally back! Finally back! Yinmu Village is just ahead!" Little Tiger shouted as he hurried down the hill, gesturing for Haoyun and the others to follow.

In response to Haoyun's inquiries, Little Tiger explained, "Long, long ago, our ancestors left their forest home in search of a better living environment. During their migration, they arrived at Elysium Lake, where they learned that gods who blessed the land lived on Elysium Island in the middle of the lake.

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"So, our ancestors decided to settle here, building Yinmu Village by the lake and living a prosperous life. Generations have since protected the gods on Elysium Island."

Little Tiger spoke about Elysium Island with great seriousness, showing his deep belief in the gods' protection. However, Haoyun and the others knew well that these gods and the ancient stories were just illusions created by the Countess.

Before long, they entered Yinmu Village. To their surprise, all the villagers were dressed as cartoon tigers, wearing masks with long red noses, just like the audience who had watched their circus performance. As Haoyun and the others passed, the villagers would stop their work and turn to look at them, whispering among themselves before resuming their tasks once the group moved on.

The villagers' reactions made Haoyun, Dao Lao, and Dream Jia increasingly uneasy, giving them a strong sense of walking into a den of tigers.

Haoyun, Dao Lao, and Dream Jia quickly noticed that the villagers' so-called work was just a repetitive cycle of the same actions. For instance, a villager would lay grass out to dry on the ground one moment, then immediately rewind his actions to gather the grass back up. He would then repeat the process exactly. Another villager would buy a drink from a cold drink stand, take a few steps away, then backtrack to return the drink to the vendor, only to walk away and repeat the purchase again and again.

Despite the villagers' endless, mechanical repetition, they seemed perfectly content. Their meaningless activities made them look extremely busy, yet they were constantly smiling and laughing in conversation, creating a bizarre and eerie atmosphere.

As Haoyun, Dao Lao, and Dream Jia were drawn in by the absurdity of the scene, a coquettish female tiger, who had been mechanically hawking her wares moments before, suddenly stopped when Little Tiger passed by. Dressed as one of the female spectators with a long red-nosed mask, she excitedly approached, gently slapping Little Tiger's face with her handkerchief and teasingly asked, "Oh! Who do we have here? It's Little Tiger! Why are you back alone?"

Little Tiger didn't shy away from the handkerchief; he even leaned in to catch its strong fragrance. Nonchalantly, he boasted, "Ah! We encountered danger in the forest, and I was the only one who managed to escape. Isn't that lucky?"

"Oh my, Little Tiger, you're so amazing! Hehehe!" The female tiger clapped her hands in praise. Little Tiger, seemingly unconcerned about his parents, began animatedly recounting their encounter.

Seeing Little Tiger's sudden change in demeanor and his carefree chat with the female tiger, Dream Jia was puzzled. "What's going on? Why is he acting like a different person? What happened to his concern for his parents? Was he just pretending?"

"That's possible. But considering how bizarre the Countess is, we can't rule out the possibility of some strange settings she's made here. No matter what happens, we should stay alert," Dao Lao reminded in the system channel, also baffled.

The reason Dao Lao mentioned the Countess's quirky settings was that Little Tiger, who claimed to be only two years old, had dropped his innocent facade. He now acted like a seasoned flirt, getting cozy with the female tiger and stroking the long red nose on her mask.

"Ahem, ahem!"

Dao Lao couldn't stand it any longer and faked a cough to stop Little Tiger before things got too inappropriate. Realizing that Haoyun and the others were watching him with disapproval, Little Tiger reluctantly separated from the female tiger, who was almost clinging to him.

"Hehehe! Sorry about that. Little Tiger got a bit carried away returning to Yinmu Village with the help of our benefactors. Hahaha, please forgive me!" Little Tiger wiped the lipstick marks off his face and apologized. Then, as if on cue, his flirtatious expression vanished, replaced by a child's innocent look.

Unable to pursue the topic further, Haoyun, Dao Lao, and Dream Jia pretended nothing had happened and asked Little Tiger what they should do next.

"Little Tiger, are there any other adults in your family? We should inform them quickly so they can start searching for your parents," Dream Jia said, controlling her distaste for Little Tiger's recent behavior.

"Boohoo! Apart from my parents, there are no other elders in my family!" Little Tiger's eyes welled up with tears, starkly contrasting with his earlier lecherous look.

Pointing to the village, Little Tiger continued, "My parents were servants at the village chief's house, so we always lived there. Now that they're in danger, I have to seek help from the village chief. Boohoo! I hope they're okay. I'm so worried about them!"

Watching Little Tiger's seamless performance, Haoyun thought, Wow! Just moments ago, you were sweet-talking the female tiger. I thought you had forgotten about your parents!

But he kept these thoughts to himself, outwardly expressing concern, "In that case, let's go see the village chief. Maybe we can help."

Fortunately, on the way to the village chief's house by Elysium Lake, Little Tiger didn't encounter any more "old friends," and the four of them arrived smoothly.

As soon as they reached the village chief's house, Little Tiger eagerly cried out, "Village Chief! Something terrible has happened to my parents! Boohoo!"

Hearing his cries, a dozen servants rushed out of the courtyard. Haoyun, Dao Lao, and Dream Jia were surprised to see that besides a few tigers dressed as audience members, most of the servants were clowns from the circus.