Clan Head Tu Zheng had put it that way, so Hu Qingtong could only stay home and wait. She put some thought into preparing several good dishes for Ye Zhen and Zhu Hong.
During the meal, no one asked where Chi Ling'er had gone. Chi Ling'er was usually well-behaved; before leaving to play with her little friends, she had informed Hu Qingtong, so Hu Qingtong had not thought much of it.
After being apart for so long, Ye Zhen, Hu Qingtong, and Zhu Hong all drank to their hearts' content. In the blink of an eye, more than two hours had passed, and the sky had darkened.
"Chi Ling'er, that little monkey, loses herself completely whenever she starts playing and forgets to come home. Big Brother Ye, Brother Zhu, sit tight for a while. It's getting late—I'll go call Chi Ling'er back," Hu Qingtong said.
Since disciples should serve when there was work to be done, Ling Qianbi immediately offered to go out and bring Chi Ling'er back.
Ye Zhen nodded readily.
Yet half a quarter-hour later, Ling Qianbi came whirling back, her face full of panic. "Master, Sister Hu, Chi Ling'er is gone.
"I searched all around Xuanjia Hill, but I couldn't find Chi Ling'er. I couldn't find the children who had gone to play with her either."
"What?"
Ye Zhen and Hu Qingtong shot to their feet and rushed outside together, soaring into the air.
Looking down from above, with Ye Zhen and Hu Qingtong's eyesight, everything on Xuanjia Hill and in its surroundings lay clearly before them.
Let alone Chi Ling'er's figure, they could not see a single child.
The color drained from Hu Qingtong's pretty face in an instant!
"Don't panic. Maybe they're playing hide-and-seek, or perhaps she went to someone's house to play," Ye Zhen