Ye Tiancheng felt that Hou Mingzhu's plan was excellent. Hou Mingzhu was cautious enough, and Ye Tiancheng didn't need to worry too much today.
Seeing Ye Tiancheng playing on his phone while eating breakfast, the胖子 (Pang Zi) slowed down his eating pace. Knowing Ye Tiancheng wasn't genuinely playing on his phone, he asked, "Brother Ye, is something wrong?"
Upon hearing the胖子's question, Ye Tiancheng roughly explained Hou Mingzhu's arrangements to the胖子 and Xiao Hu Li.
After listening, Xiao Hu Li couldn't help but exclaim, "Sister-in-law's idea is indeed excellent, but some parts could be improved. Brother, may I speak with Sister-in-law for a moment?"
Knowing that Xiao Hu Li wouldn't harm Hou Mingzhu, Ye Tiancheng immediately agreed. He helped Xiao Hu Li dial Hou Mingzhu's number. As it wasn't convenient to discuss such matters in public, Xiao Hu Li took Ye Tiancheng's phone and went aside to speak with Hou Mingzhu privately before returning to the table and handing the phone back to Ye Tiancheng.
After Xiao Hu Li finished speaking with Hou Mingzhu, Ye Tiancheng asked, "What were you just talking to your sister-in-law about?"
Xiao Hu Li then told Ye Tiancheng, "I was teaching Sister-in-law some other things."
"Mainly, I thought Sister-in-law's plan was the best. The people inside the house are safe, but what about those who go out and can't return due to an accident? How might they feel if they are left outside? Even if nothing happens, if they feel the host abandoned them for self-preservation, their hearts might become twisted."
"We need to guard against evil spirits, but we also can't ignore human nature. So, I taught Sister-in-law some things, which can also be taught to people around her. This way, even if they are left outside, it doesn't mean they are exposed to danger, and they won't easily become extreme or resent Sister-in-law and them, thus doing anything untoward."
After listening, Ye Tiancheng nodded, "You've thought of it much more thoroughly. We must also consider people and human nature. It truly cannot withstand much testing."
Xiao Hu Li thought more deeply, so after hearing about the situation, she could immediately come up with these ideas. But this was not a bad thing; Ye Tiancheng had no objections and would even thank Xiao Hu Li for it.
The three of them ate breakfast, talking as they went, sometimes discussing serious matters, sometimes just chatting.
As they were talking, they suddenly heard a considerable commotion.
Ye Tiancheng and the others immediately looked in the direction of the sound and found that it was the proprietress, Mei Mei, who had appeared.
Regardless of anything else, Mei Mei was a woman of great charm. Even though she was married and her marital relationship was quite good, firstly, Mei Mei was exceptionally beautiful, and secondly, Mei Mei's husband had very little presence.
Those who knew the rumors had almost never seen Mei Mei's husband, let alone those who hadn't heard the rumors and likely didn't even know Mei Mei wasn't single.
Faced with such a great beauty, how many people could completely refrain from having thoughts about her or from casting their gaze upon her?
Even Ye Tiancheng, referring to his past self, would find it hard not to glance at such a great beauty, or even go up and strike up a conversation, if he didn't know she was already taken.
Ye Tiancheng could appreciate beauty, but he wasn't so morally corrupt as to try and hook up with a married woman.
Even if he was a bit of a playboy in the past, his character was still sound.
The current Ye Tiancheng wouldn't get involved in such excitement, but that didn't mean others wouldn't. In the short time it took for Ye Tiancheng and the others to look over, someone had already gone to strike up a conversation with Mei Mei.
Within a few sentences, Mei Mei managed to send these people away disappointed.
She made Ye Tiancheng realize even more profoundly that for those who also ran businesses and had to be out in public, if they were too good-looking and had a family, it would be better to wear a wedding ring on their hand. This could naturally fend off most of the unwanted attention.
Ye Tiancheng himself had only realized this principle after being harassed for a period.
But when Mei Mei came to greet Ye Tiancheng and the others, Ye Tiancheng knew that Mei Mei had been using this tactic since she started running this guesthouse.
Mei Mei's attire today was vastly different from when Ye Tiancheng and the others first met her yesterday.
Yesterday, she wore a dark green slip dress. Although not very revealing, her shoulders, neck, collarbone, and arms were all openly exposed to people's eyes. The fabric made her skin appear snow-white, and coupled with her charmingly pretty face, she looked exceptionally captivating.
In short, she was a direct hook, clearly luring people in.
However, today Mei Mei was dressed much more demurely and conservatively, wearing a high-necked, long-sleeved outfit that wrapped her up tightly, not even revealing a sliver of her snow-white wrist.
Yet, this overly conservative attire, combined with Mei Mei's own appearance and temperament, was even more alluring.
Yesterday, she was openly displayed for all to see; today, she invited people to explore for themselves, hoping she would relax and reveal herself for admiration.
The胖子 nudged Xiao Hu Li and quietly asked, "Are you really sure she's not some female ghost or demon? How can an ordinary person be like this?"
Xiao Hu Li also replied in a low voice, "Unless she's extremely powerful or specializes in concealment. The former would mean we are in great danger, and we likely couldn't defeat her even if we combined our strengths. I think that possibility is slim."
"As for the latter, if she's an evil spirit or demon skilled in concealment, it basically means she's not very powerful. Based on this, she would have mastered methods of hiding and escaping, making her even less of a threat."
The胖子 asked Xiao Hu Li, not understanding, "Why do you say that evil spirits and demons skilled in hiding and escaping are not powerful?"
Xiao Hu Li patiently explained to the胖子, "The principle is the same as the rules of nature; it's a survival law derived from an environment of the fittest."
"For example, in nature, those particularly powerful predators, relying on their own strength, are fearless and do not conceal their tracks in their territory. That is, they are not afraid of being discovered or preyed upon. The more predators lack natural enemies, the more arrogant they become."
"However, some creatures at the bottom of the food chain, lacking strong offensive capabilities, must either hide or run to survive, or both hide and run."
The胖子 pondered this, but after thinking, he asked, "But no matter how powerful a predator is, can't they hide? Otherwise, if their prey discovers them, they'll just run away, and won't they starve? Aren't wolves and tigers said to hide their tracks first, lie in wait, and then attack when their prey doesn't notice them?"
Xiao Hu Li explained, "It's not entirely like that. It's mainly about their aura. Predators do not conceal their aura; they even use their aura to mark their territory. Even when hunting and lying in wait, their aura cannot be completely masked."
"If a predator is smarter, it might choose a position upwind, so the wind blows towards it. Then, the prey at the upwind position won't smell the predator's aura. Therefore, it's impossible to hide completely; they can only say they've used some means to temporarily conceal it."
"So, if it's not a being truly much more powerful than us, it's unlikely to completely hide its aura. I wouldn't be able to detect even the slightest trace."
This way, the胖子 completely understood.
The胖子 said, "So that's how it is. I didn't understand these things well before."
After Xiao Hu Li finished explaining to the胖子, she turned her head to look at Ye Tiancheng and found that Ye Tiancheng was frowning slightly as he watched Mei Mei's retreating back.
She then asked Ye Tiancheng, "Brother, did you notice something unusual?"
Hearing Xiao Hu Li's voice, Ye Tiancheng slightly collected his thoughts and also withdrew his gaze from Mei Mei's retreating figure, replying to Xiao Hu Li, "Oh, it's just some doubts."
Xiao Hu Li looked at Ye Tiancheng, not asking her question, but her face clearly showed confusion.
Then, Xiao Hu Li heard Ye Tiancheng say to her, "I think proprietress Mei Mei seems like a good woman, but that's useless."
"She's so beautiful, yet she runs a guesthouse in a tourist resort area. Although this place isn't famous, there are definitely rich people who come here to play. Otherwise, they wouldn't have been able to build a villa complex."
"As for those rich and powerful people, I think you know something about their circles. Some people lack a bottom line. Even if Mei Mei doesn't want to betray her husband, so what?"
"If someone were to set their mind on it, to get rid of Mei Mei's husband, or to make Mei Mei submit and dedicate herself, would that be difficult? Mei Mei's weakness is so obvious; no matter how strong she is, she's easy to control."
"So, why hasn't she encountered such a situation after all this time?"
One could say that Mei Mei didn't encounter situations of being forcibly taken in the village before because the village had simple folkways. Even if the villagers were bad, they wouldn't be that bad. However, after the village opened up and became a tourist resort, many outsiders would come, and the character of these outsiders could be unpredictable.
Anyone with a bit of beauty would find it hard to avoid such incidents completely, let alone a great beauty like Mei Mei. Moreover, she had no family background; she was just an ordinary village woman.
The advantage of being beautiful, when placed in Mei Mei's situation, once she connected with the outside world, would no longer be an advantage. Instead, it would become a disadvantage.
A great disadvantage that could easily push Mei Mei into danger.
The胖子 and Xiao Hu Li looked at each other after hearing Ye Tiancheng's thoughts, "It, it seems so?"
Xiao Hu Li hesitantly analyzed with Ye Tiancheng, "Then, thinking pessimistically, is she suspicious? Or is this village itself suspicious? Is there something hidden inside?"
The胖子 chimed in, "Thinking optimistically, perhaps she's just lucky and hasn't encountered this situation yet? Perhaps she hasn't met such malicious people yet, and some people, even if they have thoughts, might not be interested in snatching someone else's wife, or they believe in mutual consent and think a forced melon isn't sweet?"
These were all possibilities, but without evidence, they were just speculations and could not be conclusive.
The main issue was that strange things had happened in this guesthouse. Ye Tiancheng and Xiao Hu Li had encountered them last night, and the reason for encountering the bizarre events was still unclear.
Although Mei Mei hadn't shown anything unusual when she greeted them earlier, as if she knew nothing about it.
Let alone Mei Mei seeming oblivious, it didn't seem like anyone in this guesthouse had experienced similar encounters. Everyone was calm, doing their own thing. It was unclear why that evil spirit had come, whether there was another reason, or if Ye Tiancheng and the others were simply too unlucky.
However, there was still no evidence to prove that all these people were indeed unaware.
And the most suspicious suspect naturally had to be Mei Mei, the owner of this guesthouse, especially given the unresolved doubts surrounding Mei Mei and her appearance that could easily lead to misunderstandings.