Early the next morning, Yi Qinglan and her junior sisters bid farewell to the village chief and the others, leaving Muyin Village on their flying swords.
On their return journey to the sect, when passing through Nanzhou City, the three of them stayed briefly at the same inn as before.
“Wait here for now. I will go and report the situation to Master first before we return to the immortal sect.” Yi Qinglan handed the luggage and bundles to her junior sister and walked out of the inn alone.
Baixintong was not far from there. Following the road she had taken last time, Yi Qinglan quickly arrived at the medical clinic. She drew a formation and opened an inconspicuous herb cabinet on the right. Using her spiritual power, she condensed a piece of silk fabric, which bore the familiar crest of the Jingyun Sect. Hovering her fingers above it, she began to write, detailing everything that had transpired in Muyin Village.
To Elder Suyang, respectfully.
In Muyin Mountain, there was originally a Wangshen (False God) presiding over the land. Recently, the feng shui was disrupted, and a demon known as a Shan Xiao (Mountain Demon) broke in. Using a tree demon as a puppet, it enslaved hunters to hunt down the Wang Shen, causing the villagers to fight among themselves and a poisonous miasma to spread. Now, the Wang Shen has returned to its place, and the villagers are temporarily safe. However, the Shan Xiao broke off the Wang Shen’s horn and has fled to parts unknown.
Your disciple, Yi Qinglan, respectfully leaves this report.
Yi Qinglan placed the silk fabric in the center of the herb cabinet. The cabinet slid shut automatically, leaving not a single gap. Soon, the silk carrying the message would be transmitted to the Yuji Pavilion.
Her master was highly experienced and knowledgeable. Upon seeing this information, she would undoubtedly understand the situation clearly. When the time came, they would only need to wait quietly for the sect’s arrangements before taking action.
The Shan Xiao had hidden itself extremely deep. Over the past few days, it had played both the villagers and them like fools, yet they had not even seen its true face, and it had successfully escaped with the treasure…
Exorcising demons and defending the righteous path was the duty of cultivators. How could such a demon that plagued the mortal world be allowed to live?
Yi Qinglan walked back to the inn along the main road. As she passed by the most luxurious tavern in the northern city, she couldn’t help but look up at the second floor window.
She still remembered that on that day, Feng Hanyu had sat right there, under the bright moon, drinking and chatting merrily with her.
That person was incredibly elusive, making her completely impossible to figure out. She wondered when they would meet again.
After staring quietly for a long moment, the window suddenly burst open, and a greasy, dark, chubby head stuck out. Raising a cup, the man laughed loudly.
“Drink! Keep drinking!”
As if snapping awake from a dream, Yi Qinglan snapped out of it, feeling a sudden wave of disgust.
Just as she was about to reach the inn, Yi Qinglan suddenly saw an old grandmother by the side of the road, trembling as she approached her with a cane.
So, she stopped her steps.
The old grandmother was stooped, with a kind face and silver hair. Her face carried the sort of smile an elder often reserved for the younger generation.
“Young lady, as this old woman was walking by just now, I accidentally dropped my earring by the roadside.” When the old grandmother spoke, she clearly had very few teeth left. Her voice sounded extremely hoarse, like grains of sand rubbing together in her throat.
“You lost an earring?” Yi Qinglan did not know this old grandmother and found the sudden interaction rather peculiar.
“Sigh, that earring wasn’t anything valuable to begin with, but… but it was bought for me by my son.” Speaking of her son, a faint, proud smile appeared on the old grandmother’s face. “My son just turned twenty this year. He’s been learning to be a carpenter. After he earned some money, the very first thing he did was go to the jewelry shop to have a pair of earrings made for me… Sigh, at my age, I’m no young girl, so why would I need earrings? It was just that I mentioned it to him once before. When I was young, we couldn’t even get enough to eat, let alone dress up. I had my ears pierced early on, but I could never bear to spend the money on earrings…”
The old grandmother rambled on quite a bit without getting to the main point, but a sliver of pity arose in Yi Qinglan’s heart. Perhaps this grandmother had been poor and miserable since childhood, and now that her son had finally become self-reliant, losing his token of filial piety was indeed a pity. Looking at her clothing, she was dressed like an ordinary civilian. A pair of earrings would be a significant amount of money for her.
“Young lady, this old woman is old and my eyesight is failing. Could you go to that path over there and help me look for it? If we really can’t find it, then forget it.”
The old grandmother looked at her with a calm, flat gaze, seemingly not holding much hope.
“Alright, I’ll help you look,” Yi Qinglan agreed readily. After all, looking for an earring was a minor task and wouldn’t take much time.
The old grandmother led her, turning down several streets.
Seeing that they were getting further and further from the inn, Yi Qinglan couldn’t help but speak up, “Aren’t we there yet?”
“Almost, almost,” the old grandmother walked ahead, her voice incredibly hoarse.
It wasn’t until the old grandmother led her to a quiet, secluded alley that Yi Qinglan, walking along, suddenly halted her steps.
“Young lady, just ahead is where I lost the earring, you…” The old grandmother’s voice suddenly caught in her throat.
The Shuxin Sword gleamed coldly, resting right against her neck.
“What kind of monster are you, and what trick are you trying to play? Speak!” Yi Qinglan demanded coldly, holding the sword in one hand.
The old grandmother’s eyes darted around. “What monster? I am merely a normal old woman.”
Yi Qinglan sneered. “What mother looks eighty years old, yet has a son who is only twenty? This is clearly a deceptive lie!”
Before her voice could fade, the “old grandmother’s” figure shifted slightly, as if preparing to flee. Yi Qinglan swept her sword horizontally, poised to pierce a hole in her body, but the old grandmother suddenly transformed. Her wrinkled, aged face contorted violently in an instant, turning into a bizarre face she had never seen before.
Yi Qinglan was startled, but her hand holding the sword did not tremble in the slightest. Holding it with absolute stability, she instantly sliced a gash on the monster’s body.
The “old grandmother” dodged even faster. Where she had walked falteringly and haltingly before, her steps now became agile and incredibly swift, retreating backward by a wide margin.
Yi Qinglan focused her gaze. The old grandmother’s heavily wrinkled face had turned into a menacing fox mask. When she turned her head again, it became a long, gloomy deer mask. Within moments, she had swapped over a dozen different faces, looking utterly bizarre.
The “old grandmother’s” movement techniques were eerie, shifting and dodging within a split second. Yi Qinglan stared at the constantly shifting figure before her, her long sword pointing forward, aimed steadily at the monster’s position without a single slip.
Her decades of sword training were not for nothing.
As she confronted the monster in tense opposition, a sudden sound of a flute drifted from somewhere. It was the exact same melody she had heard twice before in Muyin Mountain.
Why was it appearing here again?
Yi Qinglan shook violently. In a moment of daze, her long sword actually slipped from her hand.
The “old grandmother” had been waiting for this exact moment. With a snicker, she rushed forward at lightning speed and pushed Yi Qinglan backward.
Though it was just a push, Yi Qinglan felt as if she had suddenly stepped into an abyss, falling straight down. Her heart pounded wildly, as if she were experiencing a life or death moment. Under her feet, the road looked like ordinary brick and dirt, but her body could not muster any strength, trapped in an endless descent.
The “old grandmother” switched to a grinning monkey mask. Stepping closer to Yi Qinglan, she kicked the Shuxin Sword up from the ground with a clatter and caught it firmly in her hand.
The Shuxin Sword was a spiritual immortal sword, but at this moment, it completely ignored Yi Qinglan’s summons.
Yi Qinglan finally understood her predicament. She was currently trapped in a formation specifically designed for cultivators. Weaponless, she was almost entirely at the mercy of others.
“Are you the Shan Xiao?”
Yi Qinglan stared at her coldly.
The “old grandmother” froze for a moment. Her eyes rolled a few times, displaying a hint of guilt at being seen through. But after just a moment, she switched to an even more mocking ghost mask.
“Sneaking around, still refusing to show your true face?” Yi Qinglan channeled the Fire Condensation Spell in her hand, intending to attack with fire. However, within this formation, her spiritual power felt like mud sinking into the ocean, utterly useless.
Seeing Yi Qinglan exerting so much effort to no avail, uselessly struggling, the “old grandmother” became increasingly delighted, silently clutching her stomach in laughter.
“You!” Yi Qinglan said angrily, “What on earth do you want?!”
The “old grandmother” was in no hurry to do anything to Yi Qinglan. Holding the Shuxin Sword, she danced and gestured in front of her for a long while, having her fill of watching Yi Qinglan’s angry yet helpless expression.
This monster was incredibly bizarre. Yi Qinglan calmed her mind. Compared to inflicting direct harm, the monster seemed to prefer watching its enemies being toyed with.
Once she had played enough, the “old grandmother” switched to a quiet tiger mask. Reaching into her pouch, she pulled out a short flute and waved it in the air. Without being blown, the flute played by itself.
The familiar sound of the flute drifted over, and this time, it was from a distance closer than ever. Having heard it multiple times from afar and near, she had finally seen the player’s true form.
In an instant, Yi Qinglan immediately felt that this formation had changed.
Demonic energy surged, and bizarre anomalies arose. Her body felt like a wet towel being wrung dry, occasionally shrinking into a tight ball, then twisting in the opposite direction, causing sharp, excruciating pain in her internal organs.
In her muddled state, Yi Qinglan lost consciousness.
“Why isn’t First Senior Sister back yet?”
In the inn, Lin Wanying and Fang Shuyue were getting anxious. They had waited from the hour of the Sheep (1 PM – 3 PM) to the hour of the Monkey (3 PM – 5 PM), and from the hour of the Monkey to the hour of the Rooster (5 PM – 7 PM). The sun was already slanting westward, yet Yi Qinglan was nowhere to be seen.
“We can’t wait any longer,” Lin Wanying stood up. “Shuyue, let’s go out together to find her.”
However, though the two searched from the inn to the medical clinic, and from the clinic back to the inn, there was absolutely no sign of Yi Qinglan.
Just as they were completely at a loss, a hoarse, elderly voice suddenly sounded from behind them.
“Young ladies, are you looking for a beautiful woman carrying a precious sword?”
“I just saw her walking over that way. Come along with me, then.”
Lin Wanying and Fang Shuyue turned around. Standing before them was a stooped old grandmother with silver hair and a kind face, wearing the warm smile an elder usually reserved for the younger generation.
At the same time elsewhere, Yi Qinglan’s head felt heavy and muddled, and she had no idea where she was. Her ears could hear sounds, but she couldn’t open her mouth or eyes. Every part of her body ached, and her limbs were incredibly stiff, as if she had been trapped in a hundred years nightmare.
After an unknown amount of time, Yi Qinglan slowly woke up. The first thing she heard was the trivial, chaotic noise around her.
She seemed to be in a very large room, which was filled with panting, coughing, the constant clattering of unknown objects, and rustling sounds like small animals scurrying about. The noises melded together, buzzing in her head like tinnitus.
After struggling for a long time, Yi Qinglan opened her eyes a crack, but there was no light.
Moving slightly, she felt that the surface beneath her was incredibly hard and cold, likely floorboards. When she tried to stand, she suddenly realized something was wrong.
Wiggle her arms slightly, and the clinking sound of chains rang out. Her movements were not as free as usual. When she tried to take a step forward, the same thing happened.
Only after a long while did her eyes adjust to the boundless darkness, allowing her to vaguely make out her surroundings.
Realizing where she was, cold sweat broke out on Yi Qinglan’s forehead.
She was actually weaponless, with her hands and feet bound by iron chains in a pitch-black dungeon.