General Who Subdues Evil Spirits (Continued)

To address the population issue, villages in Great Wilderness City, apart from the central urban area, were built in a very scattered manner.

And Maria actually came here...

Why is that?

"It's just... a coincidence that I ended up here."

Maria paused for a few moments, then awkwardly uttered a lie.

The 20-year-old's expression also became somewhat subtle.

Did you happen to come here?

You just wandered around aimlessly for dozens of miles?

Do you think this is reasonable?

But she also noticed Maria's slightly lowered eyes.

The quick-witted woman did not directly point out Maria's lie, but after a moment of silence, she shook her head with a light laugh.

"That's going to be difficult for you... Getting back to the city from here will be a bit tricky... If you don't mind, why don't you stay at my place tonight? There's no one else at my house anyway."

"Alright."

Maria for a moment, then nodded slightly.

Although she didn't have many requirements for her resting place, her return this time was primarily for gathering information. There was no real need to leave early or late; staying here would allow her to investigate the matter of the Umbilical Cord's power underground...

Shu's room wasn't far from where the two of them were.

It took them less than half an hour to arrive.

It was a fairly spacious three-story house.

The furniture in the house is very simple, mostly handmade, and there are no extra decorations, making it look exceptionally plain.

But Shu was clearly very comfortable in this environment. She smiled and put her backpack aside, then brought out a small bottle of wine and a few side dishes from her kitchen, inviting Maria to take a seat.

"I don't have any snacks here... If you don't mind, you can eat some of these to tide you over, and then we can have a proper meal together when my brother gets back."

Shu smiled, still treating Maria as an ordinary person.

"... Um."

Maria nodded slightly, but her gaze remained fixed on the millet's feet.

The girl wasn't wearing shoes; her small, adorable feet were directly on the muddy ground, still covered in dirt. Her delicate ankles and glistening toes lightly touched the ground, creating a striking visual contrast with the black earth.

But...

These were not Maria's main concerns.

She could see that a certain aura was flowing from the millet's body down into the ground, as if it were nourishing the earth with its own power.

This wasn't the first time Maria had witnessed something like this... In fact, the Three-Headed Hound that Bolivar had encountered before also protected its forest in this way.

But at this moment...

Maria blinked, then looked up at the other person.

"What's wrong?"

Shu seemed oblivious to Maria's gaze, and simply smiled as he poured a bowl of wine for each of them.

"This stuff is homemade; it tastes great and is even better for your health."

She spoke as she tilted the pillow.

Maria could also see that the wine had a slightly pale beige hue.

I sniffed it.

The drink wasn't very strong; after taking a sip, there was a subtle sweetness.

"It's rice wine~"

Seeing Maria's puzzled look, Shu chuckled and explained.

Maria tilted her head slightly upwards.

Do you drink alcohol often?

In Maria's memory, 12 was not a particularly heavy drinker.

For her, alcohol is really just a beverage.

"Not often."

After filling his own bowl, he sat quietly opposite Maria.

The uniquely patterned arms are so distinctive...

"But I feel that since we're already here, how can we not have a drink? After all, it's a way of showing hospitality."

Shu continued speaking, his gentle gaze filled with loving kindness.

"..."

Maria fell silent again.

When she saw the other person, she vaguely understood what had happened to Sui, and she was willing to respect this and not regard Sui and the millet in front of her as the same person.

But every move that Shu made was so similar to Sui's.

It's as if I'm facing a version of myself that's aged but has lost my memory.

This is really...

"Call..."

Maria exhaled softly, gazing at the millet sipping its wine before her, and suddenly spoke.

"What connection do you have with this land...?"

"Huh?"

Shu was taken aback.

She looked up in surprise at the woman in front of her, her expression momentarily losing control.

But only for a moment, and then she smiled again, her eyes narrowed.

"I'm the main person in charge of this land... Although I don't handle too many things, you can basically come to me for any land-related matters here."

She thought Maria was asking her what her position was in this place.

"..."

But Maria said nothing, simply gazing calmly at the other person.

This caused Shu's expression to stiffen slightly for a moment.

Then he gradually became more serious.

Did you notice anything?

"... Um."

"You're such an amazing person."

Shu sighed twice, then raised his head.

Her connection with this land is very subtle. In fact, over the years, many Daoist masters from Yan have come to communicate with her, but none of them have noticed the problem on her side.

Only their own family members could detect some clues... but they were only some clues.

But... Maria suddenly pointed it out.

She was actually able to sense it...

Can you see it?

As she spoke, her toes gently slid across the sand on the ground.

At that moment, Maria saw even more clearly that the strange tattoos on the other person's body were slowly drifting and merging into the ground...

"I've seen a Great Beast before... that nourished the land with its own life."

"But... that doesn't seem to be the case for you?"

Maria tilted her head and looked at the girl in front of her.

This is precisely what she can't understand.

She knew from the previous Three-Headed Hound Great Beast that it was using its power to protect its land from Catastrophes disasters.

But this time... the millet used its power not to nourish the land.

Instead, it suppresses what's in the soil...

What is it?

"..."

Maria's words were calm, but the millet concluded that Maria was indeed aware of her actions.

This surprised her, but also made her somewhat wary.

Who exactly are you?

A strange sense of familiarity, a powerful sensory ability, and suddenly appearing here.

Shu Zhang found it hard to believe that this was just a wonderful coincidence... She always felt that Maria's existence was not some accidental event...

But Maria suddenly fell silent when faced with her question.

This made Shu vaguely realize that something was wrong.

To be honest, she still couldn't sense any malice from Maria, but what she said was far too sensitive.

Logically speaking, a normal person shouldn't be able to perceive these things, right?

But she just happened to know...

"Did you come here for these things?"

She continued to ask questions.

Unfortunately, Maria's response remained silence.

This gradually made Shu wary.

Something's not right...

Something's not right!

That's so weird!

This Maria...

Who exactly is she? And what does she know?!

An eerie silence suddenly fell over the dining table.

But the silence didn't last long before a male voice suddenly rang out.

"Sister, I've arrived with the Celestial Master of Hundred Stoves..."

A soft male voice cautiously sounded, and a tall, upright man led a middle-aged man into the living room.

Both men froze when they saw Maria.

A hint of confusion flashed across the tall, imposing man's face. Clearly, he, like his sister, felt a strange sense of familiarity with Maria.

In contrast, the man known as the Celestial Master looked at Maria and his expression changed drastically!

While everyone was puzzled, he exclaimed.

"Exorcist General?! You're back?!"

Almost everyone in Yan) knows this story.

It was about seven hundred years ago.