The side of her face, lightly pecked by Pei Du, was still faintly radiating heat.
As expected of a genius sword cultivator who could learn anything in an instant; his ability to draw inferences from a single instance was truly impressive.
Xie Jingci touched the spot, watching the cloudiness in his eyes gradually fade away, though the flush on his face had not diminished in the slightest—in the rabbit spirit persona assigned by the system, Pei Du's senses were largely overwhelmed by his period of heat, driving him to act entirely on instinct.
Now suddenly lucid, recalling the words he had said and the actions he had taken toward Miss Xie, he only felt an unspeakable sense of shame.
"You should be fine now, right?"
Xie Jingci breathed a sigh of relief. "Is there anywhere else you're feeling uncomfortable?"
Pei Du lowered his long eyelashes and shook his head. "I am fine."
Her mood was rather subtle. Knowing the embarrassment in his heart, she silently rubbed the tip of her nose. "The system's commands cannot be defied. Don't worry, I've lived with it for quite some time, after all. I absolutely won't read too much into it."
With the two of them running into this kind of bad luck one after another, no matter what, they could be considered kindred spirits who sympathized with each other.
The embarrassment and conflict Pei Du was experiencing were things she had felt with absolute clarity herself, so she didn't find his abnormal behavior too hard to accept.
As someone who had been through it, she understood the bitterness involved.
Xie Jingci was trying to comfort him, but the young man before her shifted his gaze and spoke in a hoarse voice, "Miss Xie, I am sorry."
This time, it was Xie Jingci's turn to be stunned. "What is there to apologize for? I—"
"I never knew before that you were constantly enduring the threat of this thing, Miss Xie."
Pei Du lost his strength and leaned against the door behind him. At this point, he took a deep breath, a hint of darkness appearing in his eyes. "You were suffering so much, yet I knew nothing of it and let you endure such torment... I am sorry."
After hearing of Miss Xie's accident, he had blamed himself for a very long time.
Because he constantly paid attention to her movements, Pei Du knew that Xie Jingci had taken an interest in the Langya Mystic Realm and had staked out the Eastern Sea for several days.
The Langya Mystic Realm had been in the world for many years, and there were no highly cultivated demons or evil spirits within it. With Miss Xie's strength, she definitely wouldn't encounter the slightest danger.
As a stranger who had only met her a few times, he had no reason to go there looking for her.
But in the end, such a thing had happened.
Hearing that she was severely injured, Pei Du nearly went mad. He rushed to the Eastern Sea overnight and entered Langya.
Over the course of that year, he ventured into the Langya Mystic Realm countless times, finding absolutely nothing from beginning to end, until that day in the Ghost Tomb, when he saw Miss Xie walking toward him step by step, feeling as dazed as if he were dreaming.
He originally thought the dust had settled, but he never imagined that she was actually living under another kind of shackle unimaginable to ordinary people.
In the end, Pei Du hadn't been able to help her with anything.
"You're not an omnipotent immortal. No matter how you look at it, this kind of thing can't be blamed on you."
Xie Jingci patted his head. "Anyway... we should find the Gu Master as soon as possible and switch them back. The system means no harm, so you don't need to worry. As for that demonic aura—"
Its identity was unknown, and Xie Jingci was completely helpless against it. Furthermore, that thing had already hidden itself in her sea of consciousness. Even basic communication was a problem; it refused to say a single word to her.
"As for that demonic aura, the system is an incarnation of the Heavenly Dao. Since it claims it will resolve the issue, we probably don't need to worry too much about it. We can just wait and see what happens." She paused slightly after speaking, glancing at Pei Du's bangs, which were soaked in cold sweat, and took out a handkerchief to wipe them dry for him. "Our most pressing task is to find the Gu Master as soon as possible. If you're alright, shall we head out? If we stay in the room for too long, Meng Xiaoting and Mo Xiaoyang will get anxious."
The inn in Lingshui Village was located in the northeast corner of the village. Because the entire settlement was in a remote area and rarely visited by outsiders, and it just so happened to coincide with the Gu Master wreaking havoc, business was very bleak.
As soon as Xie Jingci pushed open the door to her room, she saw Meng Xiaoting and Mo Xiaoyang in the center of the lobby.
Sitting beside the two of them was Gu Mingzhao, whom they had met briefly in the carriage.
"Cici!"
Meng Xiaoting spotted her at a glance and curled her lips into a smile. "Is Pei Du's injury any better? Come quick, come quick, Young Master Gu is telling us bizarre tales of Lingshui Village!"
"Much better."
Xie Jingci nodded and walked forward step by step, revealing a curious expression. "What bizarre tales?"
Gu Mingzhao smiled. "You all arrived at an opportune time, just in time for Lingshui Village's annual Rebirth Festival."
He had a clean and handsome appearance, but his facial features lacked any distinct characteristics. He had a common face that would instantly blend in if thrown into a crowd. Only when he smiled was he out of the ordinary; his bright eyes curved into crescents, like sparks igniting in the dark.
Xie Jingci naturally followed up, "Rebirth Festival?"
"The Eastern Sea is full of treasures. With so many treasures, naturally, there are corpses of treasure hunters every year."
He brought his hands together, placing them on the wooden table in front of him, and grinned. "To deliver the souls of those who died at sea, and to pray for the protection of the gods while we're at it, we hold a Rebirth Festival every year."
"Gods?"
Pei Du pondered, "I heard that the Eastern Sea does not believe in gods."
"But we still have to go through the motions. Otherwise, with the sea being so dangerous, it would be very difficult to go out to sea without some psychological comfort."
Mo Xiaoyang raised his eyes, somewhat puzzled. "But when we came to Lingshui Village, didn't we come across a temple? Wasn't the god inside called... High Immortal Shuifeng?"
"The temple of High Immortal Shuifeng has been standing there for who knows how long."
Gu Mingzhao shrugged, not caring much about the temple. "Just a god who fell into decline decades ago. If you go ask the villagers today, no one remembers him—I've lived here for twenty years and have never heard anyone mention him."
Xie Jingci listened quietly, a sense of confusion subconsciously arising in her heart.
Looking at the appearance of that temple, it was not small in scale and its decoration was meticulous; it should have been earnestly worshipped by the villagers in the past. What exactly had happened that made everyone avoid talking about High Immortal Shuifeng?
Meng Xiaoting was not interested in the temple. Resting her cheek on her right hand, she asked with great interest, "What about the Gu Master? You've lived here for so long, do you know about that matter the village chief is so secretive about?"
"That also happened many years ago. When it occurred, I wasn't even born yet."
Gu Mingzhao scratched his head. "Actually, I'm not too clear about that matter either. I've only vaguely heard some rumors—I heard that an unspeakable incident once took place in Chaohai Mountain."
A moment of silence.
Meng Xiaoting: ...
Meng Xiaoting: "That's it? That's all there is to it?"
"I don't know anything more."
Gu Mingzhao threw his hands up. "You don't understand, the elders of the entire village are deliberately hiding that matter. I once tried to ask about it and was unhesitatingly shooed away every time."
At that time, when the village chief saw the three corpses in the woods, even under extreme panic, he hadn't revealed the slightest detail to Xie Jingci.
It seemed that matter was truly buried deep enough.
With too few clues at present, Xie Jingci couldn't figure out the cause and effect. She was just about to ask a few more questions regarding the Rebirth Festival when she suddenly heard the landlady behind her laugh, "Oh, Village Chief, what brings you here?"
She turned her head abruptly.
The village chief of Lingshui Village had an approachable appearance. Perhaps due to excessive running around and overwork, the dark circles under his eyes were as thick as ink stains.
She lacked the imposing air typically associated with an elder. Meeting Xie Jingci's gaze, she offered a very polite, gentle smile.
"My surname is Song. You may all simply call me Aunt Song."
The village chief sat on a wooden stool in the corner, the corners of her eyes crinkling and deepening the lines on her face. "I have discussed the matter with the others and decided to tell you all what happened back then... We hope that you Daoist masters will lend us a helping hand and save this village."
Xie Jingci glanced around. The hall they were in was spacious and open, with the occasional passerby walking past. Considering the secretive nature of the past events, she couldn't help but ask, "Are we going to talk about it here?"
Gu Mingzhao tactfully chimed in, "Village Chief, should I excuse myself?"
The village chief, however, shook her head.
"There is no need. Paper cannot wrap fire; a secret cannot be kept forever. Given what has happened recently, that past will eventually be unearthed. It can no longer be hidden."
She gave a rueful smile, her voice dropping lower. "When we found the first corpse on Mount Chaohai, we should have realized... this is an act of revenge."
Xie Jingci's eyelids twitched as she listened to the woman continue. "The events of that year have been kept secret for a long time. Not even Mingzhao knows that someone is buried on Mount Chaohai—or, to be precise, an evil cultivator."
The sunlight was bright outside the hall, yet a bone-piercing chill seemed to seep into the room, making the very air feel as though it had frozen solid.
Meng Xiaoting asked cautiously, "An evil cultivator?"
"It was a woman, nothing but skin and bones, who had a son with her."
The village chief's eyes were somewhat clouded with age, yet her gaze remained gentle and clear. She frowned slightly as she recounted the past. "She didn't like to talk and rarely interacted with anyone else in the village. One day, she just suddenly moved in, and she ended up living in Lingshui Village for five years."
She sighed as she spoke. "That was over thirty years ago. I was quite young back then, just a little girl who didn't understand much of anything. No one could have predicted that after five peaceful years, a string of serial disappearances would suddenly strike the villagers."
Serial disappearances.
Xie Jingci furrowed her brows. What was currently unfolding in Lingshui Village was exactly that—villagers vanishing into thin air, one after another.
"Unlike the recent events, we never found the bodies of the missing people back then. The killer completely erased all clues and traces. Panic gripped the village; as soon as night fell, no one dared to take a single step outside their doors."
The village chief spoke as if murmuring to herself, her gaze growing distant yet focused. "In the beginning, no one suspected her."
Mo Xiaoyang, ever the curious one, asked, "How did you find out who the killer was in the end?"
"I can't quite remember."
She shook her head. "I believe someone was keeping a close watch day and night and accidentally noticed something off about her. Later, all the villagers stormed the woman's house together. In a wooden cabinet by her bed, they found a knife still stained with blood."
Since she was an evil cultivator, she had to drain the lifeblood and fortune of others to fuel her own cultivation.
Xie Jingci was well aware of this and didn't find it particularly surprising. Beside her, it suddenly dawned on Gu Mingzhao. "To avenge those who had been murdered, the villagers killed her and buried her on Mount Chaohai. The woman's son had nothing to do with the killings, so he was spared. However, because he witnessed the entire ordeal, he harbored a deep resentment and has now returned to seek revenge?"
The village chief fell silent for a moment.
It was a sound and logical theory that perfectly aligned with everything currently happening. However, she furrowed her brow and slowly shook her head.
"The one who was the problem wasn't the woman."
She paused, then added with heavy emphasis, "It was her son."
Mo Xiaoyang stared in stunned silence.
"Although she was an evil cultivator, her strength was actually quite weak. She rarely even had enough to eat, which made her terribly emaciated. It wasn't until that night that I discovered there was another reason for her frailty."
The village chief's expression turned grave. "I wonder if you Daoist masters have ever heard of an Innate Evil Bone?"
In the cultivation world, there were a very small number of people born with rare, innate physiques.
For instance, Pei Du possessed an Innate Sword Bone, and the current leader of the demon realm had dual pupils. As for the Evil Bone, just as the name implied, it was a symbol of cruelty and brutality.
Such a physique was exceedingly rare; Xie Jingci only knew the gist of it.
Pei Du answered in a slow, steady voice, "Rumor has it that those born with an Evil Bone are inherently bloodthirsty. They crave fresh blood and can increase their cultivation by consuming the lifeblood of others."
"Exactly."
The village chief rested a hand against her forehead, her eyes darkening with the memory. "We subdued the woman with ease. But when we went to tie her up, my mother noticed something terribly wrong. Her neck and wrists were covered in bite marks, torn flesh, and bloody gashes made by a small knife. It looked as though she had bled herself countless times to feed someone else."
Meng Xiaoting shuddered as she listened to the village chief continue. "Right after that... the child suddenly rushed out and attacked us. We were caught completely off guard, and his body was brimming with dark energy. In our moment of distraction, he managed to snatch the woman away and fled toward Mount Chaohai."
The pieces of the story were finally coming together.
A lonely, destitute woman had given birth to a son with an Innate Evil Bone, only to discover that the child fed on blood. It was impossible to know what she must have felt back then. However, to keep her child alive and raise him, she chose to leave her home behind. She fled to a completely unfamiliar village where no one knew her to start a new life.
For the first few years, she had sliced open her own skin, feeding her blood directly to the child.
But as he grew older, his insatiable thirst for blood only worsened. For some unknown reason, five years after they arrived in Lingshui Village, the child finally tasted the blood of others—and from there, things spiraled completely out of control.
"We chased after them and expended a great deal of effort before we finally cornered the mother and son deep in Mount Chaohai. The child possessed an unnatural, monstrous strength, and the dark energy he unleashed was utterly terrifying. The entire village had to swarm him at once, and it took everything we had just to pin him to the ground."
The village chief's voice dropped even lower, tinged with a heavy bitterness. "The woman fell to her knees, kowtowing to us over and over again. She claimed that everything was her fault and begged us to take our revenge on her alone. The child, his face smeared with blood, yelled at us that he alone had killed the villagers and that his mother had nothing to do with it."
Aside from her, no one else spoke.
The air in the room was stiff and heavy. The old woman fell silent for a moment before continuing, "But the child was cruel by nature. If he were allowed to live, even if he didn't plague Lingshui Village, more innocent lives would inevitably fall victim to him. After some deliberation, the adults decided to execute him on the spot."
Yet, that person is still alive, Xie Jingci thought to herself.
"But he survived."
The village chief gave a self-deprecating laugh. "Just as we were about to strike, the woman let out a bloodcurdling, agonizing shriek. Suddenly, roaring flames shot into the sky. A scorching heatwave surged outward, sending everyone flying several yards away. Though I know nothing of cultivation, even I could tell that she was burning up the very last ounce of her life force to help her child escape."
Even now, she could not forget the hellish scene of that day.
Demonic fire overflowed, igniting the entire forest in a roaring blaze. The child fled in a frantic panic, quickly vanishing without a trace. Meanwhile, the villagers were sent flying by the blistering shockwave as dark energy rampaged around them, leaving the ground slick with blood.
Bleeding from both eyes, the woman had laughed and cried in sheer madness, shrieking over and over again: "I beg of you, please just let my son live!"
Xie Jingci listened intently, guessing that this was a self-destructive method meant to take everyone down with her. Realizing this, she was momentarily stunned and asked, "She used that move, yet the others in the village actually managed to survive?"
"Perhaps it was because her strength was greatly depleted. Although we all suffered injuries to varying degrees at that time, no one died."
The village chief shook her head, showing a hint of hesitation for some reason, and lowered her voice. "After that woman unleashed the wave of fire, she was still alive."
She paused after speaking. Though her tone was light, her words were resolute and resounding. "So we killed her. Everyone stabbed her once, and we buried her in Chaohai Mountain."
In Lingshui Village back then, over a dozen people had died innocently and unjustly, without even their corpses being found.
Perhaps that woman really hadn't killed anyone, and at most, she was guilty of knowing but not reporting it. Even if she was an excellent mother who tried her best to protect the child she gave birth to and raised, it was undeniable that she was a shameful accomplice.
Her son's life was a life, but the other people who died also had harmonious and happy families, as well as family members and companions who watched day and night for their return.
They could not allow her to live.
"Back then, the East Sea was located between the mortal realm and the cultivation realm. Restricted by the laws, wanton killing was forbidden. Most people had never even killed a chicken, duck, or fish, let alone a person."
The village chief said, a faint, almost imperceptible smile appearing on her face. "To share the guilt, everyone present except me stabbed her once, and together we made a vow never to leak this matter."
Meng Xiaoting was taken aback. "Why was Aunt Song the only exception?"
"I was only a teenager at the time. Someone considered that I was just a child and took the knife from my hand."
When speaking of this, her gaze unconsciously softened a lot, but it did not last long. She quickly returned to her previous serious expression. "Later, we searched the entire mountain forest but failed to find any trace of that child. It has been peaceful and quiet for so many years. I didn't expect... he would still come back."
"Even if he comes back, his revenge makes absolutely no sense!"
Meng Xiaoting gritted her teeth. "It was him and his mother who harmed people first. It was perfectly reasonable that you killed that woman. The murdered villagers from back then still haven't been avenged. Where does he get the nerve to act like a victim?"
The village chief just smiled and shook her head without saying a word.
"In our eyes, his mother was indeed an out-and-out evil cultivator. But to that child, she was probably the only reliance in his life."
Gu Mingzhao was thoughtful, his tone mild. "First she fed him with her own blood, then she left her hometown and brought him to Lingshui Village. From his perspective, that woman did nothing wrong. However, logically speaking, I also feel that the act of killing her was not wrong."
Both hate and love have their reasons. Everyone has a different story, and thus will make different choices.
Mo Xiaoyang sighed. "When will this cycle of vengeance ever end?"
Just as his voice fell, he suddenly heard the creak of a door opening, and his eyes widened.
Xie Jingci was also slightly startled.
She originally thought that their group were the only ones staying in the inn. She didn't expect that as a wooden door opened, a woman would actually walk out of the room.
It was a face she had never seen before.
The woman looked very young, with beautiful features, but her complexion was extremely pale, without a trace of color. She obviously hadn't expected to bump into such a large group of people. She paused briefly and nodded to them.
Gu Mingzhao was not surprised. He raised his hand and waved. "Miss Han!"
The woman pursed her lips into a smile, did not linger, and quickly turned to leave.
Xie Jingci asked, "Who is this?"
"She only said her surname is Han. She moved into the inn a month ago."
Gu Mingzhao, true to his nature as an outgoing social butterfly, smiled and lifted his chin. "Miss Han's whereabouts are mysterious. She often leaves the inn."
"She's so pretty."
Meng Xiaoting did not stint on her praise for the beauty. "It's just that she's wearing so many clothes. That outer robe is so big and stuffy. Isn't she hot?"
Gu Mingzhao shrugged. "She's always been like this, and she doesn't like others touching her. Miss Xie, what's wrong? You don't look quite right."
"She..."
Xie Jingci frowned and exchanged a glance with Pei Du. "There seems to be a very faint trace of spiritual energy on her."
*
By evening, the mysterious Miss Han had not returned to the inn. Xie Jingci didn't get to wait for her, but instead, the annual Rebirth Festival of Lingshui Village arrived first.
"The Rebirth Festival is a major event."
Mo Xiaoyang was uncharacteristically serious. "I heard that the villagers will perform a dragon dance around the sea and offer tributes to the East Sea. If that Gu Master wants to stir up trouble, today is an excellent opportunity."
Now that the festival had just begun, it was time for the dragon dance around the sea.
According to custom, the villagers would weave a long dragon out of mermaid silk. Led by the village chief at the very front, they would walk step by step around the coast, scattering tributes as they went.
One of the locations they had to pass by was the foot of Chaohai Mountain.
The festival was an annual grand event that had to be carried out no matter what. It could absolutely not be delayed because of that elusive Gu Master. Xie Jingci walked in the crowd, slowing her breathing as she looked around.
The moon was bright and the stars were sparse. Thin, dark clouds resembled the ocean tide, reflecting the sea into a deep, grayish black hue. The lights on the shore flickered unsteadily, suddenly swaying and drawing out ripples in the water.
A faint sense of suppression and tension gradually spread among the people.
They were getting closer and closer to Chaohai Mountain.
"Strange."
Mo Xiaoyang suddenly spoke up. "Do you guys feel... the fog seems to have gotten thicker?"
Xie Jingci replied, "Be confident, remove the 'seems'."
Looking ahead, Chaohai Mountain towered high, like an unyielding giant standing in the darkness. Wisps of white smoke rose from the foot of the mountain, winding forward until they reached their feet.
Xie Jingci also smelled a fragrance.
"What is this smell? It's so--"
Before Mo Xiaoyang could finish his sentence, his voice abruptly ceased, and no further sound could be heard.
Knowing something was wrong, she looked in the direction of his voice and couldn't help but frown.
There was nothing there.
In the moment she turned her head, Mo Xiaoyang, Pei Du, Meng Xiaoting, and even all the villagers participating in the festival had disappeared without a trace.
Surrounding her was only the increasingly thick, milk-like white fog, and the silent, towering mountain peaks not far away.
Xie Jingci frowned and walked forward step by step.
The fog was pierced by the young woman's slender figure, gradually rippling away like water waves. She looked around and walked for a long while, but still couldn't find the slightest trace of anyone else.
Without any warning, a swift rustling wind came from beside her.
"Cici? Are you Cici!"
Meng Xiaoting's voice unexpectedly reached her ears. She instinctively turned around and met the eyes of the panting little girl.
"Everyone suddenly disappeared... Thank goodness, you're still here!"
Meng Xiaoting was a little frightened. Looking left and right, she trotted to her side. "What is going on?"
"It might be Gu poison combined with an illusion. That person is certainly playing it to perfection."
Xie Jingci laughed coldly. A flash of white light appeared in her hand, revealing the incessantly humming Ghost Crying Blade.
It was eager to be unsheathed.
"When it comes to spiritual energy, it's the thickest in Chaohai Mountain. That Gu Master should be hiding in the mountain. I plan to go in."
Rather than slaughtering everyone all at once, he preferred to torture them slowly, relishing the ugly sight of the villagers' despair.
No doubt that person was hiding somewhere in the mountains, snickering to himself.
Meng Xiaoting nodded vigorously. "Then I'm coming with you!"
As Chaohai Mountain loomed closer, Xie Jingci still had not seen a single soul other than Meng Xiaoting.
An eerie fragrance permeated the air. The fog was so dense it swallowed the path ahead. Aside from the whimpering wind, the only sound was Meng Xiaoting's incessant chattering.
"It's so strange. How did the two of us happen to run into each other? Is this an illusion, or the real Chaohai Mountain? What happened to everyone else?"
"We should still be at the East Sea, just trapped under an illusion. The boundary between reality and fantasy has blurred, making it impossible for us to see or sense anyone else."
Xie Jingci led the way, her clear and crisp voice ringing through the heavy fog. "The Gu master is hiding in the dark. Be careful."
The moment the words left her lips, she suddenly sensed that something was wrong.
Chaohai Mountain was a desolate place. A thick carpet of fallen winter leaves covered the entire path, and stepping on them should have produced a rustling crunch.
Yet, as she listened closely, she could only hear one set of footsteps.
Footsteps that belonged solely to her.
But Meng Xiaoting was still talking. Because she was walking behind Xie Jingci, her face and expression were hidden from view. "I know."
The Ghost Weeping Blade gave a sudden, resonant buzz. Xie Jingci's heart gave a violent thump, slamming heavily against her chest.
Meng Xiaoting had always walked with a carefree, heavy tread, and Xie Jingci was incredibly familiar with the thudding sound of her footsteps. Besides, how could any ordinary person walk without making the slightest sound?
Then who was following behind her right now?
Or rather... what was it?
