Chapter 130 Lost "He said he wanted to be with me."...

The sun rises over the river, and the world is bright.

Xiao Jing was forced to wake up by the blinding light, but when she opened her eyes she found everyone waiting for her, which startled her awake instantly.

"Auntie, why didn't you wake me up?" she whispered as she moved closer to Jiang Yuhuo.

What merit does she have to make so many immortals wait for her? She should have known better than to oversleep.

Jiang Yuhuo couldn't help but chuckle at her anxious and cautious demeanor. "It's alright, it's not too late."

Xiao Jing felt a little relieved. She didn't really care about other people's opinions. She was just afraid that if she delayed things, her aunt would want to abandon her again. Fortunately, her aunt didn't mind.

"Auntie, why are there so many bloodstains on your hands?" She turned her gaze and saw Jiang Yuhuo's hands, and couldn't help but exclaim.

Her cry attracted the attention of all the immortals.

Wen Yizhan also looked over, and her gaze changed when she saw the bloodstains on her hands. She seemed to be about to come over, but then she saw Jiang Yuhuo lower her head, open her palm in front of Xiao Jing, and gently frown, saying, "It's not mine."

"Oh, that's good."

Xiao Jing felt relieved and turned to look for Wen Yizhan. She had gotten along well with her aunt's senior brother these past few days and had come to regard her as someone she could trust. She planned to ask him to remember to wake her up every day. But before she could reach him, Wen Yizhan had gone to be with the group of immortals.

He clearly saw her, so why didn't he acknowledge her?

Xiao Jing was a little annoyed with him, but she also sensed something was off. She turned to look at her aunt, who was washing her hands with river water, her face expressionless as usual. Although she was young, she was very good at reading people. The two of them seemed to be doing nothing, but she had a feeling that something was wrong.

Oh, right!

He hasn't said a single word to his aunt since she woke up!

This is definitely not right.

What happened last night?

Auntie was a tight-lipped person, and you couldn't get anything out of her. Xiao Jing planned to follow Wen Yizhan and find an opportunity to ask him quietly, but before she could get close enough to inquire, a quiet argument suddenly came from Wen Yizhan and the River Guardians.

"...Impossible." Wen Yizhan said decisively, "I'm sure I brought everything. I checked the quantity several times before setting off because I was worried it wouldn't be enough."

"Could it have been lost on the way here?" Bai Hui asked. "Didn't you stay at an inn before you came? What if it was left at the inn?"

Jiao Chongyuan asked, "Should we go back and look for it?"

Wen Yizhan shook her head decisively, "No, I've never opened it at the inn. Yesterday was the first time I took it."

Jiang Yuhuo also heard it; she was far away, but she could hear their conversation clearly.

The purification offering materials on Wen Yizhan's body have disappeared.

He had kept those items in a special storage bag, which he always carried with him. Jiang Yuhuo had helped him store them when he was taking inventory at Kunlun Mountain. He had taken materials from that storage bag just yesterday, and after a night, the bag was still on Wen Yizhan's person. But now, when he opened it, it was completely empty.

That night, only one outsider came.

All eyes turned to Jiang Yuhuo.

Bai Hui had wanted to ask this for a long time. Last night, the mermaid suddenly appeared, and anyone with eyes could see the tense atmosphere between him and Yizhan. Even though her cultivation level was unfathomable, he still couldn't block the broken branch that Jiang Yatou had thrust out.

Having lived on the river for so many years, I have never seen such a good show.

Ever since Jiang Yuhuo entered the woods, Wen Yizhan had remained silent, as if she had lost her soul. And since Jiang Yuhuo hadn't come out, she hadn't had a chance to ask. But what better opportunity could there be?

Bai Hui glanced at Wen Yizhan, then back at Jiang Yuhuo, and asked with great interest, "Little girl, that mermaid... what is your relationship with her?"

Wen Yizhan subtly clenched her empty storage bag.

Jiang Yuhuo was stumped by the question. She had never thought about this before and couldn't think of a word to describe her past relationship with Jia Yue. So she honestly replied, "I found him and raised him. Later he left, and we had no relationship anymore."

"You're raising merfolk?" Bai Hui asked in surprise, his voice rising involuntarily. "No, you're letting me raise merfolk?"

Would such a proud and arrogant race allow humans to keep them as pets?

Jiang Yuhuo said, "He didn't stay with us for long before he passed away."

Jiao Chongyuan tugged at Bai Hui's sleeve helplessly and reminded her in a deep voice, "That's not the point."

Jiang Yuhuo knew that her seniors suspected Jia Yue, but she didn't think Jia Yue would do such a thing, and those things were useless to him, so she said directly, "It can't be him."

Jiang Yuhuo didn't think he was faking his appearance last night. Besides, Jiang Yuhuo had witnessed Tianque's wealth and power. Those ordinary purification materials were nothing to him, and he had no need to do such a thing.

She had her own reasons, which is why she spoke with such certainty, but to others it seemed as if she was protecting the merman.

Bai Hui glanced at Wen Yizhan beside him; the kid was practically crushing the storage bag. He was clearly heartbroken, yet he acted completely nonchalant.

With her back to Jiang Yuhuo, Wen Yizhan didn't notice anything unusual about him. She only looked at the immortals guarding the river and keenly sensed something else.

It's normal for the River Guardian Immortal to misunderstand Jia Yue's identity, since he doesn't know her. But after eliminating the impossible people, all that's left are the people in front of him.

Among the immortals, is there anyone who doesn't want them to continue the purification rituals?

Bai Hui decided to help this silly boy. She continued to ask Jiang Yuhuo with a curious look, "If it's not related, then why did he come to find you?"

Why? Jiang Yuhuo recalled Jia Yue's words; she had asked him a similar question last night, and the answer came out without hesitation.

He said he wanted to be with me.

Her extremely calm tone sent a shockwave through the room.

Everyone present was stunned by those words for a long time. Bai Hui was even more surprised, his mouth agape. It took him a while to process what he said before he asked, "So, did you agree or refuse?"

Xiao Jing tugged at Jiang Yuhuo's sleeve, full of curiosity, "Who is it, Auntie? I haven't seen anyone!"

Wen Yizhan suddenly shouted, "Enough!"

His voice wasn't fully recovered, and when he suddenly spoke loudly, it cracked a little.

"Senior Bai, she already said that the merman has nothing to do with her anymore. Whether or not the materials were taken by that merman, it has nothing to do with my junior sister. Don't press her any further."

Bai Hui glared at him helplessly. The good-for-nothing helped him gather military intelligence, but he couldn't bear to part with it.

Wen Yizhan turned around and stood between the River Guardian Immortal and Jiang Yuhuo, his usual smiling face gone. "Now there are only two paths. One is for my junior sister and me to return to Kunlun, gather the materials again, and then return. But the round trip, plus preparation time, will take at least five or six days, and possibly ten days. The other is to continue forward. If the materials were indeed deliberately stolen by someone, it's possible they're trying to stop our purification ritual. If we insist on going, this person might not be able to hold back and will reappear. If they do, we can take the materials back from them. What do you all think, seniors?"

The river-guarding immortals began to discuss in hushed tones.

Wen Yizhan turned around and asked, "Junior sister, what do you think?"

Jiang Yuhu could tell from his words that he favored the latter, and that was exactly what she thought as well. Along the way, she could sense that another spirit-summoning tree was getting closer and closer to her.

Jiang Yu Huo said, "I agree to continue the journey."

“I think you can go back first, we’re not in a hurry.” The one who spoke was Jiao Chongyuan, who had been standing next to Bai Hui. He looked at everyone, his face as solemn as ever.

His words carried considerable weight among the river-guarding immortals, and other immortals immediately nodded in agreement.

The group split into two camps. Jiang Yuhuo, Wen Yizhan, and the White Folding Fan Immortal Xu Ling all agreed to go, while Jiao Chongyuan and the other two immortals felt that waiting a little longer wouldn't hurt. Of the seven cultivators present, only one remained silent.

All eyes turned to Bai Hui.

She was the most senior and had the highest cultivation among the River Guardians, and she alone was enough to make decisions on behalf of these people.

The white-haired fairy tapped her wine gourd with her fingertip, looking quite troubled, and said, "Why did it have to be me? You all know I'm the one who can't make choices, so maybe..."

Knowing her temperament, Wen Yizhan immediately interrupted her, "Senior Bai, don't try to push it onto someone else."

"Hmm..." Seeing that she couldn't refuse, she suddenly thought of something, her eyes lit up, and a copper coin from the mortal world immediately appeared in her hand. "Why don't we let the gods make the decision? Heads back, tails forward."

With a wave of her hand, she tossed the copper coin into the air.

Everyone looked up.

A clear voice broke in during the break, "What? What about me?" Xiao Jing said discontentedly, "I'm on Aunt's side."

The copper coin fell back into his hand.

As if to confirm her choice, Bai Hui uncovered the coin that had been tossed out.

reverse side.

*

The place where the last purification ritual was interrupted was an island in the river. The island was wide, occupying half of the river surface, and looked more like a piece of land broken off from the riverbank. However, because it was blocked by water, it was rarely visited by people, and weeds and dense forests grew on the island.

At this moment, everyone crossed the river and arrived at the island.

This island serves as a landmark for their annual purification ritual. Reaching this point signifies that they have traversed half of the Moyu River. Therefore, both the River Guardian and Wen Yizhan are very familiar with the island. Seeing that the island remains unchanged from before, some people begin to wander around.

But this place was unfamiliar to Jiang Yuhuo. She focused her mind and was almost certain that the Spirit-Demonic Tree was on Jiang Island. She was currently on the outer edge of the island, while the Spirit-Demonic Tree was in the center of the island not far away.

Who would have placed a spirit-summoning tree in such a desolate place? Could this spirit-summoning tree be related to Jia Qianyang?

Jiang Yuhuo felt her sleeve being tugged, and when she looked down, it was Xiao Jing.

She leaned closer to Jiang Yuhuo and whispered, "Auntie, I don't like it here."

"What's wrong?"

When asked to put it into words, she couldn't. It was just a feeling, a sense that something ahead wasn't safe, making her want to get away. "Auntie, do we really have to come to this place? Can we stop going forward?"

Jiang Yuhuo thought she was tired, so he patted her head and said, "It's okay. You can stay here and I will set up a barrier to protect you."

Xiao Jing grumbled, unhappy. It wasn't that she was lazy; she was just a little scared.

Meanwhile, the River Guardian Immortal had already returned from scouting the island. It was the female cultivator with the white magnolia in her hair, named Mo Huaiqing. "There is nothing unusual on the island. It is the same as before, a deserted island."

"Now that we've truly arrived at Jiangzhou, what's the next step? Are we just going to wait here like this? Waiting for them to come to us?"

The one speaking was Zhao Wujian, one of the River Guardians who had never approved of coming here.

He sat down casually on the wooden stake, no longer wanting to go any further. Over the years, he had crossed this river countless times, and gradually become indifferent; the dead are gone, and the living must go on. He had originally planned to leave soon, but unexpectedly, Wen Yizhan wanted to return to continue the ritual, so he had no choice but to follow along and complete this final purification ceremony. Because he had grown inclined to leave, he had less patience for the present moment.

Wen Yizhan, unaware of his original plan, asked directly, "Senior Zhao, are you unwilling to wait?"

Zhao Wujian chuckled, "Yizhan, if it were just waiting for you to return to Kunlun, that would be fine. But what are you waiting for now? Regardless of whether those things are lost or not, even if someone stole them, you can't be sure what that person's intentions are. Waiting here is just a waste of time."

"Senior Zhao, you don't believe me?"

Zhao Wujian shook his head. "Yizhan, you are good in every way. The only bad thing is that you happen to be Zhang Zhenyang's disciple."

Jiang Yuhuo didn't understand. Did this Senior Zhao have a grudge against his master?

Wen Yizhan's face darkened. He was about to speak when Bai Hui came over and patted Zhao Wujian on the shoulder. "Old Zhao, you're already here. Don't say such discouraging things in front of the younger generation. This is your last time, so you should spend more time with everyone."

She untied the wine gourd, conjured a wine cup out of thin air, poured some wine, and handed it to Zhao Wujian.

In terms of seniority, Zhao Wujian had to respect her as his teacher, so he drank a full cup and stopped complaining.

Jiang Yuhuo suddenly spoke up, "To be honest, I still have some purification materials on me. Although it's not much, it's enough to complete the rituals around Jiang Island. If you seniors still have the energy, you can use these to purify the turbid air here first."

It was already quite late. Once the ritual began, all procedures had to be completed before it could end. If it started now, it would definitely continue until late at night, which was inconsistent with their daily routine and the timing of the ritual.

While Bai Hui was pouring wine for Zhao Wujian, she also took a few sips herself and was already somewhat drunk. Jiao Chongyuan was supporting her from the side.

Seeing Jiang Yuhuo's unfriendly expression, Jiao Chongyang scolded, "It's too late, why are you only saying this now?"

Jiang Yuhuo thought he had forgotten because he was in a panic earlier.

"Let's postpone it until tomorrow; nighttime is not suitable for performing the ritual."

Jiao Chongyuan's words were the final word, and everyone settled down on their own, rested for the night, and would perform the sacrificial ceremony the next day.

Wen Yizhan glanced at Jiang Yuhuo, who was setting up a barrier for Xiao Jing, her expression ordinary. But Wen Yizhan knew very well that all the materials for this trip were in that lost storage bag, which her junior sister hadn't taken with her. Why would she deliberately say such a thing?

He walked to a distance, away from the crowd, and sent a message to Jiang Yuhuo, "Junior sister, do you suspect that someone from the seniors took the materials?"

The communication talisman lit up quickly, and the message read, "Yes."