Chapter 26

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Chapter 26

Early the next morning, Yun Chuyou asked Hu Xiao Bai, "Since you know the situation, do you know which cultivator helped treat the Zhong family master’s mother back then?"

Hu Xiao Bai thought for a moment, "I think it was a Daoist named Tianchenzi. He was tall and thin, with triangular eyes, and had a creepy aura that made me feel uncomfortable. Ten years ago, he should have been at the peak of Foundation Establishment. I couldn’t defeat him and ended up severely injured, then I collapsed by the roadside and was saved by Yunniang. The rest of the story is what I told you about my conversation with Zhong Immortal Master. You should know all that."

He is a fox demon who values his life. If it were just a simple matter, he might help out of kindness for his kind.

Knowing he could not defeat that cultivator, he would not risk his life for Hu Xiaohong and her half-demon child. The friendship between the two foxes hadn’t reached that level yet.

Besides, Hu Xiaohong chose the man herself; it was her fault her daughter got into trouble, and it had nothing to do with him. After he healed from his injuries, helping Zhong Wei when she was hungry was already the limit for him.

Everything was just as he had suspected before; Yun Chuyou’s opinion of Hu Xiao Bai rose another two points. The thinking of demons and humans is quite different. With someone like Hu Xiao Bai, he was already considered a very loyal fox.

Hu Xiao Bai said, "For the details of the situation, the person involved should know best. If you trust me, I can help you interrogate the Zhong family!"

The Zhong family must know they have done something wrong. There are many exorcism tools in their home. Although they might not severely injure him, they could still cause some harm.

In the years when Zhong Wei was not there, Hu Xiao Bai had not entered the Zhong family’s big house. Later, when he needed to repay Yunniang’s kindness, he didn’t bother with this anymore. Meeting Zhong Wei again was unexpected, and if the other party was just an ordinary person, Hu Xiao Bai didn’t even think about telling her the truth.

Knowing but never being able to take revenge for a lifetime, one can only make oneself angry, so it’s better not to know anything at all.

Meng He couldn’t stand Hu Xiao Bai and said to him, "You didn’t help before, and now you know how to act nice."

The fox spirit shyly shook its big tail and said, "I can’t fight alone, but we have a benefactor and several Immortal Masters with us."

As a demon, he shouldn’t barge in; some things can’t be explained clearly. But it was fine since Yun Chuyou and the others were going together. Besides, with just one person at the Foundation Establishment Stage, they now had four people and one fox!

"Soul searching is very harmful to the spirit."

Yun Chuyou certainly knew the best way was to find the person involved. The cultivation world has great soul searching techniques, but if used directly on Zhong Wei’s biological father and legitimate mother, the results could be that they become fools or even die.

She didn’t have any pity for these two people; the key point was that if they became foolish, Zhong Wei would also lose her spirit.

"Senior martial sister, please help me search for that woman’s soul."

The foundation establishment could not perform high-level spells like soul searching, but Yun Chuyou could.

That woman stole her mother’s demonic pill to survive, so she would take away her most treasured beauty and life.

As for her biological father, she would enjoy slowly tormenting him. She suffered for nine years; naturally, the other side would suffer double.

After arriving at the Zhong family’s big house, Zhong Wei brought out the woman she had dealt with yesterday. She did not attack the unfamiliar servant yesterday, but the loyal servant who worked beside that woman was dead.

She broke the other person’s arms and legs, then used a Cleaning Spell to handle the scene, and added an illusion to disguise her stepmother as someone who suddenly had a stroke and became bedridden.

Although this matter was technically a family issue, her stepmother came from a good background, and her half-sister was talented and had friendly cultivators. If this situation was exposed, it would undoubtedly cause some trouble for Qingxu Sect.

Zhong Wei was still rational yesterday. After venting her anger, she cleaned up neatly, so at least before they returned to the spiritual world, this matter would not spread so quickly.

Before letting Yun Chuyou see anyone, Zhong Wei cast several Cleaning Spells on her stepmother. Even though the latter had lost her arms and legs and looked very haggard, she was wrapped in silk and covered with a thick brocade quilt, which would not spoil the eyes of her senior martial sister.

Yun Chuyou steadied her mind and directly searched for the spirit. She was very careful, trying to preserve the consciousness of the person before her, but she only saw a shadow wearing a black mask, with a blurred and distorted face.

The middle-aged woman lying on the bed had already lost her arms and legs, but her body still bounced reflexively like a frog. She spat out a big mouthful of fresh blood, and the woman, who already had only half a life left, passed away on the spot.

"Elder Martial Sister?" Zhong Wei instinctively stood in front of Yun Chuyou, afraid she would get hurt.

"It’s nothing," Yun Chuyou said with a serious expression. "Her memory has been put under a related restriction. If I use the soul-searching technique, she will suffer a backlash."

If it were not for her strong soul and carefulness during the soul-searching, she could have fallen into the trap of that restriction.

She took another look at the woman’s body and did not find any trace of the half demonic pill, "It’s just a pity that the half-demon pill has completely disappeared, and I can’t take it out to return to you."

The woman in front of her was not a monster; she had only used the power of the demonic pill to maintain her body’s health and beauty. After the restriction was destroyed, her once beautiful face quickly wilted like a withered flower, aging rapidly into a wrinkled orange peel.

Zhong Wei shook her head, "It’s okay. Thank you, senior martial sister, for helping me."

Yu Jiu also came to the Zhong family mansion this time. Yun Chuyou earnestly entrusted him, "Please take care of the rest, junior martial brother."

The latter nodded slightly, "Senior martial sister, you can rest assured."

Before going to Huaishi Village, Yun Chuyou first met with Chen Qi. Although the Spirit Connecting Jade could communicate, written words can hide emotions, and face-to-face communication helps her judge the truth of what Chen Qi said.

Chen Qi handed over a black and gold pouch, "You have solved the matters of the Hot Spring Villa and the trouble with the fox demon. This is the reward the Imperial Spirit Bureau provides for you: two hundred eighty spiritual beads and twenty points. The points can be exchanged for what you need at the Imperial Spirit Bureau."

In the Mortal World, there are demons and evils. The organization responsible for handling these matters in the capital is called the Imperial Spirit Bureau. The Imperial Spirit Bureau operates independently of the royal power, connecting with the spiritual world above and handling misbehaving demons below.

If they encounter a completely unmanageable evil cultivator, the head of the Imperial Spirit Bureau will send a message to ask for help from righteous cultivators in the spiritual world.

Some sect disciples allow Foundation Establishment cultivators to go out for training, and this is also arranged through the channels of the Imperial Spirit Bureau. Yun Chuyou and her companions took this route.

However, the Murong Dynasty is only two hundred years old, and supported by sects, the current emperor just barely deserves to be called a wise ruler. With the Ziwei Star protecting it, the Mortal World is not yet overrun by demons, so these two tasks are not particularly difficult, and the rewards will not be very high.

A lower grade spirit stone is worth one hundred spiritual beads. One spiritual bead can be exchanged for one or two silver coins through official channels in the Mortal World. Two hundred eighty spiritual beads are worth less than three lower grade spirit stones. Spirit Qi is precious in the Mortal World, so this reward is already quite reasonable.

If it were a Qi Refining cultivator, working hard and taking risks to solve these two matters could at most earn two hundred spiritual beads and ten points. Chen Qi managed to negotiate for a little more just to make a good impression on Yun Chuyou, the golden core cultivator.

After all, there is a huge difference between the Golden Core Stage and the Qi Refining Stage, and their fees reflect that. Yun Chuyou does not care about this small amount, and the Imperial Spirit Bureau cannot deliberately take advantage of her.

Yun Chuyou did not open the box to look inside. Three low-grade spirit stones were simply too few for her. With so little, she still had to share it with her junior brother.

It is no wonder that Mortal World cultivators desperately want to go to the spiritual world. She pushed the spiritual beads back and said, "Thank you, Chen. Please exchange these for gold and silver in the Mortal World, along with those points in my name. Please donate them to the nursery in the capital."

The Imperial Spirit Bureau surely didn’t have anything good that would interest her. Even if they did, twenty points wouldn’t be enough to trade for anything worthwhile.

Yun Chuyou had only been in the capital for a few days, but she had already learned about the situation. The gold and silver obtained from exchanging these spiritual beads and points were not particularly much, and if there were more, someone would surely become greedy for them.

Yun Chuyou took out two low-grade spirit stones and gave one to Meng He, saying, "Junior brother, this is your share." She could donate her own things, but she could not donate on behalf of Meng He.

Meng He withdrew his hand, refusing to accept the senior martial sister’s assistance. "My share will be donated together with senior martial sister’s, and I haven’t done much."

He just had a small fight; the effort he put in was less than half of what he normally trained on the mountain.

Yun Chuyou turned and handed the two low-grade spirit stones to Chen Qi, saying, "With winter approaching, one spirit stone can be exchanged for silver to donate rice soup. This will count for the junior brother, and the other spirit stone is a reward for your help."

Chen Qi was quite familiar with this area, and it was best to let him handle such matters.

The latter smiled and agreed. The Spirit Connecting Jade he bought with all his savings took him decades to collect, so it was good to earn a little more spirit stone.

Yun Chuyou handed over these treasures to him; with just a word, he could arrange everything, so why not?

"Dear Friend Yun, please don’t worry. I will keep a close eye on these two matters and ensure the donations are used properly." After all, it was a good deed for accumulating merit; he wouldn’t steal these things.

If one day Yun Chuyou returned to the Mortal World and asked, discovering he had kept the items for himself without doing anything, it would only anger him.

Yun Chuyou took the chance to ask him, "Friend Chen, have you heard about Friend Tianchenzi?"

Such immoral acts of stealing someone’s Spiritual Root would be looked down upon even in the cultivation world. Chen Qi surely didn’t know the details. However, since the other side was treating the master of the Zhong family’s mother, it seemed to align with the righteous path, and perhaps the Imperial Spirit Bureau might have some records.

Chen Qi had been stationed in the Imperial Capital fifteen years ago, which was exactly the year Zhong Wei was in her mother’s womb, so it was the perfect time to ask him.

The latter recalled in his mind and then shook his head, "I have not heard of this friend. Which sect or group does he belong to?"

While he spoke, Yun Chuyou kept looking into Chen Qi’s eyes, watching his subtle expressions. It seemed he wasn’t lying.

"It was an old friend of Yun who asked to find his information," Yun Chuyou added. "Fifteen years ago, he helped treat the strange illness of the Zhong family master’s mother."

The cultivator placed a restriction, and the name used might not be his real name; his appearance may have been disguised as well. Yun Chuyou did not have much hope, but since she had a clue, she wanted to learn more.

Chen Qi promised, "I will go back and help Taoist Friend Yun gather information. If there is any news, I will let you know right away."

After parting ways with him, Yun Chuyou set off with her younger martial brothers and sisters and Hu Xiao Bai towards Huaishi Village on the outskirts of the capital.

Yu Jiu needed to handle some follow-up matters and resolve the issues with the Yu family, so he did not accompany them this time.

Although Huaishi Village is on the outskirts of the capital, it is over ten kilometers away from the city. If they walked, it would take several hours.

Yun Chuyou took out a Transmission Symbol. The shorter the distance, the more accurate the teleportation. She held Zhong Wei with her left hand, tugged on Meng He’s sleeve with her right, and a three-tailed white fox sat on her shoulder. With one symbol, everyone was transported to the entrance of Huaishi Village.

"Is this Huaishi Village? This place looks so run-down." The capital city was very prosperous, with wide roads. From the city gate, the main roads were all paved with square blue stones.

Shops lined both sides of the road, selling tea, snacks, tools, and clothes; they had everything one could need. Most people passing by wore happy smiles, and the townspeople’s clothes had no patches.

But in front of the village, there was only a dirt road, and with the naked eye, one could see the tracks made by ox carts and donkey carts. The houses in the village were also very broken, while in the Imperial Capital, most buildings were made of blue bricks and tiles, and even the less impressive ones were grand wooden houses.

In the village covered by a light white mist, there were hardly any fine wooden houses to be seen, but there were many straw houses.

"This place is a bit far from the capital, and the village will never be as wealthy as the city." Even in the world where Yun Chuyou once lived, there was a big difference between towns. Moreover, in this strict feudal dynasty, the villagers were eager to run to the city.

She looked at the task for Huaishi Village; it was not only the furthest one but also the hardest, "At first, there were villagers who fell ill with a strange disease resembling human-faced sores. At first, it was rated one star, and three Qi Refining cultivators took this task, but all three of them went missing."

After the Qi Refining cultivators had problems, the difficulty rating for Huaishi Village was raised. The Imperial Spirit Bureau sent a Foundation Establishment Stage cultivator to the village to solve the issue, and the Foundation Establishment Stage cultivator returned safely.

They successfully brought away the evil spirit causing the human-faced sores, but the problem still wasn’t resolved, and villagers were continuously dying from the strange disease.

However, the strange disease in Huaishi Village was limited to their village and had not spread to other areas, so this task was buried under many other documents.

It had been three years since this happened, and the villagers were nearly all dead, yet no new cultivator came to handle this task. After all, the villagers had no money to offer any extra rewards. For the Foundation Establishment Stage cultivator, the cost-effectiveness of this task was very low.

Yun Chuyou made a gesture for a gentle breeze, and a light wind blew, clearing away the thick dust, revealing most of a stone tablet. The stone tablet, lying on the ground with only half remaining, was engraved with three bright red characters—Huaishi Village.

"We are in the right place; it is this place, for sure."

Yun Chuyou led the way into the village. After entering, the gray mist lifted a lot, and the roads in the village were not much different from outside; they were all dusty, yellow dirt paths.

"Senior martial sister, why are there so many stone tablets in this village?" Zhong Wei noticed that there were many stones in the village.

"The villagers of Huaishi Village earn a living by carving stone tablets. This craft has been passed down through generations. Most of the male villagers are stoneworkers, so there are many stone carvings in the village."

The stones near Huaishi Village are very suitable for making tombstones, so although there are many stones, the villagers do not choose to build stone houses. If they made houses from the stone used for carving tombstones, it would feel like living in a grave, which is not very lucky.

When Yun Chuyou entered the village, she could hardly feel any life. The village was full of graves, and after walking for a long time, she did not see a single living person.

However, there were many stone people standing by the road. Some were missing arms and legs, and everywhere—from the shadows of the houses to the fields overgrown with weeds and in the middle of the dried-up ponds—there were these lifelike yet eerie stone figures.

Sharp-eyed Meng He pointed to a nearby house and said, "Elder Martial Sister, look! There’s someone over there."

Following where he pointed, Yun Chuyou indeed saw an elderly man with white hair. He was holding carving tools and seemed to be carving a tablet in his yard.

"Let’s go ask what is going on." The records at the Imperial Spirit Bureau are not detailed enough; they haven’t been updated in three years. We can only learn more by asking the people in the village.

The doors of the houses in the village are always open, making it easy for neighbors to visit each other.

Yun Chuyou first knocked at the gate, trying to get the old man’s attention. However, he kept chiseling away at the stone tablet and didn’t pay them any mind.

She was there to solve a problem, and the quicker, the better. There was no need for too many formalities during such times. Yun Chuyou didn’t wait for him to finish carving the stone tablet; she walked into the yard, approached the old man with white hair, and loudly repeated, "Old man, we are the cultivators assigned to the Huaishi Village task. Do you know what exactly happened in Huaishi Village?"

Yun Chuyou thought that it might not be that he was rude; maybe the old man just couldn’t hear her.

This time, the old man finally responded. He still held the chisel in his hand, stopped his work, and turned his head to look at Yun Chuyou.

He squinted his eyes, and his cloudy gaze reflected the young woman’s pretty face. The next moment, the old man, dressed in rough short clothes, scolded in a hoarse voice, "Get lost, we don’t need any help here."

Meng He was extremely angry. If the old man wasn’t an elder and just a weak mortal, he would definitely have punched him, but now he surely wanted to teach this rude villager a lesson with his fists.

"You old man are really rude; we are here to help you."

Zhong Wei also said, "It was your village that asked the Imperial Spirit Bureau for help; we came here on a mission."

The old man began to chisel the stone tablet with loud bangs. He looked very old, yet he had a lot of strength. Each character on the stone tablet was carved with great vigor, "That happened three years ago; you can consider it canceled and not a mission anymore."

His tone was sarcastic, "Most of the people in our village have died. Once we old folks are gone, there will be no village left."

The old man was carving his own tombstone, having said goodbye to one close villager after another. He no longer had much desire to live and preferred to quietly wait for death; after all, he had already dug his own grave.

A village with no living people really doesn’t need to struggle anymore. These cultivators hadn’t come for three years, and now a few unreliable young people had arrived. The old man simply didn’t have the energy to deal with them. Since he was already waiting for death, if he offended them, so be it; he wasn’t afraid of these cultivators getting angry and killing him.

With such a bad attitude and unwillingness to cooperate, an impatient Meng He immediately said, "Elder Martial Sister, he said the mission is canceled. Shall we just go back?"

Meng He is a demon; you can’t expect a demon to have any compassion for ordinary people. Besides, this mission isn’t worth many spirit stones, so he didn’t want to waste his energy on this grumpy old man.

Zhong Wei also thought the old man’s attitude was poor, but she wasn’t as blunt as Meng He, "I see the old man has given up on life. Elder Martial Sister, you said that when faced with the choices of others, as long as they don’t harm anyone, we should choose respect and blessings."

They didn’t force him to live; this annoying old man is suffering alone, so it would be better to fulfill his wish.

Hu Xiao Bai whispered quietly in Yun Chuyou’s ear, "Hero, the feeling of this village reminds me a bit of the guy from the Zhong family mansion over ten years ago."

Zhong Wei, who had previously chosen to respect the blessing, suddenly placed her sword against the old man’s neck. Her eyes glowed slightly red, "Old man, will you speak or not? If you don’t, I can let you experience what it means to suffer more than death."

Meng He looked puzzled, wondering what was happening. Why did his younger martial sister, who usually liked to learn from Yu Jiu, suddenly take his lines?

"Younger martial sister!" Yun Chuyou called out sharply, "You’ve lost your focus!"

She took out a bottle of Pure Heart Pills and poured out a few round pills, "Younger martial sister, calm down. Don’t let this situation create internal demons."

Zhong Wei had just started her Foundation Establishment; the path to seeking immortality was still very long. There was no reason to lose control after just getting started.

"I’m sorry, Elder Martial Sister." Zhong Wei swallowed a Pure Heart Pill, the red in her eyes faded, and she regained clarity. She looked apologetic, "I seem to have lost control of my emotions a bit."

"There’s no need to apologize to me; you should apologize to the old man."

Zhong Wei turned her face properly, "Old man, I’m sorry. I lost control a bit just now."

Yun Chuyou bent down and looked at the old man, who had no expression on his face. She calmly said, "People cannot come back to life, but the deaths of these villagers were not caused by natural disasters; they were caused by human misdeeds. Do you really want all the villagers to die in confusion?"

The cultivator’s elixir can heal serious injuries, but it cannot bring a mortal back to life; that is the realm of legends and immortals.

The old man’s lips trembled. He truly had no thoughts of survival, but the young girl was right; if he had to die, he wanted to die with understanding.

This time, he did not stubbornly turn away with a cold face, but instead told everything that happened in the village over the past few years in great detail.

When he finished speaking, the old man’s big eyes seemed ready to pop out. He said unwillingly, "You must give us a clear answer!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Yun Chuyou’s sword was drawn. A cold flash of light from the sword appeared, and the old man’s head fell, unable to close his eyes, rolling on the ground.

"Elder Martial Sister?"

Meng He, standing nearby, was confused. Why did Elder Martial Sister suddenly kill this innocent man? Had she also been affected?

"He is not human," Yun Chuyou said, "Look at the ground."

Meng He then noticed that the old man’s wound was very smooth and there was not a drop of blood. Taking a closer look, he was shocked to find that the old man was actually a stone person!

"Just now, the younger martial sister’s sword was pressed against his neck, and not a drop of blood came out, not even a mark."

The Zhong Wei sword blade was sharp; just now, in a moment of desperation, she made a cut on the other person’s neck. Such a clear mark should have had blood, but there were only white lines without any bloodstains.

Yun Chuyou, as the radiant and deserving Elder Martial Sister of the sect, was very aware of the younger martial brothers and sisters’ training progress. That force just now should have at least cut a mark on normal skin.

This was one reason; another reason was that when the old man recalled the past, he spoke without a single drop of saliva, and he recounted those details very fluently, without much emotion or pauses, just like a robot that had been programmed in advance.

Yun Chuyou looked towards the village entrance; the originally thin fog suddenly became very thick. She could sense that the natural flow of spiritual power within her body was slowing down, almost coming to a stop.

"Let’s go!"

The graceful and elegant girl moved very quickly; she reacted almost immediately. One hand grabbed her junior brother, the other hand held the younger martial sister, and she poured spiritual power into the Transmission Symbol, then the three of them crashed into an invisible, soft wall.

They were a moment too late; the Transmission Symbol activated, and the three of them remained inside Huaishi Village, trapped in the area, unable to escape.