Chapter 43: Peach Blossom Spring in a Dream

"Are the people who came in with you all thinking the same way?" Chu Tian asked after a moment of silence.

"They are probably all different," Yan Ming said thoughtfully. "Some might just want to escape the world. After all, eight or nine out of ten things in life do not go as one wishes. Who hasn't had a Shangri-La they longed to escape to in their heart?"

"I see. I wonder if you've seen a woman and a little girl enter today, Mr. Yan?" Chu Tian asked.

"A little girl?" Yan Ming frowned and said, "Apart from wandering spirits, children are the hardest ones to trade. After all, whether it's parents, teachers, or police, before a child grows up, there are countless walls in the outside world shielding them from the harshness of this life. They already carry their own Shangri-La within."

Hearing this, Wang Dali couldn't help but grin.

"Thank you very much," Chu Tian said to Yan Ming. With Wang Dali in tow, he left the small courtyard and continued searching the village for any trace of Chen Meng and Chu Meng'er.

Along the way, the two did encounter quite a few people who had been traded in, but they seemed to have fully adapted to life here by now, each finding their own contentment.

Yet, from start to finish, Chu Tian found no trace of Chen Meng or Chu Meng'er.

"Brother, do you think they didn't even come in here at all?" Wang Dali said to Chu Tian.

Chu Tian cast his gaze around, his eyes finally landing on a house halfway up the distant mountain.

"There's still one place we haven't checked," Chu Tian said, heading toward the house on the mountainside.

Watching Chu Tian and Wang Dali's movements, the villagers cast meaningful glances at the two before returning to their own affairs.

Following the mountain path, Chu Tian and Wang Dali headed up. Before they even reached the halfway point, they heard a crisp sound of laughter.

In the courtyard of the thatched cottage on the mountainside, a little girl was teasing a yellow dog, laughing happily.

"Meng'er!"

Chu Tian called out. The little girl immediately looked up, flashing a big smile at Chu Tian, and shouted, "Daddy!"

Then, she ran over.

"Why are you here? Where's Mom?" Chu Tian asked.

"Mom is inside," Chu Meng'er said, pointing toward the house.

Inside the house, Chen Meng walked out accompanied by an aged, decrepit woman.

"We have guests again?" The old woman looked up at Chu Tian and Wang Dali as they approached. She looked just like any ordinary elderly woman, completely devoid of any formidable aura. "It's been many years since my courtyard has had so many visitors. Sit, everyone sit down."

"Brother, is this... could this be the Matriarch?" Wang Dali whispered close to Chu Tian's ear.

Chu Tian turned his gaze to Chen Meng, a trace of inquiry in his eyes.

Chen Meng glanced at Chu Tian, stepped out from behind the old woman, and said, "Meng'er and I came to visit the Matriarch for a while. We'll be heading back soon."

"Really?" Chu Tian looked at Chen Meng and asked.

"Mhm," Chen Meng nodded, taking Chu Tian's hand. "Don't worry, the Matriarch means no harm."

The old woman looked at Chu Tian and Wang Dali, her face crinkling into a wide smile, looking truly like a kind and amiable grandmother. "The young pup is quite guarded. Don't worry, if you don't wish to stay in this place, you are free to leave. The Matriarch won't stop you. But once you leave, you won't be able to come back."

"Are you truly willing to let us leave, Madam?" Chu Tian asked the old woman.

"There is no reason to forcefully keep people here," the old woman said with a warm, trembling smile.

"Can those outsiders down the mountain leave as well?" Chu Tian asked.

The old woman's expression remained unchanged. "If they wish to, they can leave."

"Young man, do not mistake this place for some perilous dragon's pool or tiger's den. This is merely a place that allows people to live happily. They stay if they wish, and they leave if they wish."

"The old madam is certainly broad-minded," Chu Tian said to her.

"After all, I've lived a long time," the old woman chuckled. "I know what you came in here to do. I've noticed you ever since you stepped inside."

Hearing this, both Chu Tian and Wang Dali felt a sudden jolt in their hearts.

"As for those people down the mountain, they entered of their own accord. If you can persuade them to leave, by all means try. However, once the time is up, this place will close," the old woman said slowly.

"Aren't you afraid I really will persuade all of them to leave?" Chu Tian asked.

"If they leave, there will be others," the old woman said. "There will always be those willing to come in. You cannot stop it."

"Are you that certain, Madam?"

"Because the order of the outside world has yet to achieve what this place has," the old woman said. "People will always yearn for a better system."

"The old madam is right," Chu Tian said. He scooped up Chu Meng'er in one arm and held Chen Meng's hand with the other. "In that case... Madam, we won't disturb you any longer."

"You're leaving?" the old woman asked. "Do you find the life here unappealing?"

"It's very nice," Chu Tian told her. "But for us, the outside world is not bad either."

"Does little Meng'er feel the same way?" The old woman raised her head and asked Chu Meng'er, who was in Chu Tian's arms.

Chu Meng'er looked from the old woman to Chu Tian and said, "Aside from having a bit too much homework and a rather fierce teacher, everything else is quite nice."

Hearing Chu Meng'er's words, Wang Dali was utterly dumbfounded.

It would be one thing if he didn't know her identity, but he knew very well that Chu Meng'er was a Ghost King.

Good grief, are school teachers nowadays truly that terrifying? They could actually train a Ghost King into this state?

"Ah, what a pity. Grandma would have really liked you to stay and keep me company," the old woman said. She plucked two fuzzy, green chestnuts from a nearby windowsill, walked up to Chu Tian, and pressed them into Chu Meng'er's hands. "Since you don't want to stay, consider this a parting gift from Grandma."

As the old woman placed the chestnuts into Chu Meng'er's hands, Chu Tian felt as though his entire body had been paralyzed by some unseen force, unable to move a muscle, breaking out in a cold sweat.

It wasn't until he had led everyone back down the mountainside that Chu Tian snapped out of it.

Lingering terror gripped him, and he didn't even dare to delay a moment longer. He hurried Wang Dali, Chen Meng, and Chu Meng'er straight back to the cave they had entered through, rushing out of the Shangri-La ghost domain without stopping.

Only when all four of them safely emerged from the ghost domain and returned to the forest did Chu Tian let out a long breath.

Looking back at the boundary barrier, lingering fear still echoed in his chest.

That old woman was undoubtedly a Ghost Emperor-level entity.