Chapter 41 Chapter 41 An Si's face looked grim, and he frowned...

An Si's face looked grim, he frowned, and slammed the teacup in his hand on the table. The liquid in the cup shook violently and splashed out.

"They actually attacked students from the Theological Society and showed such disrespect for the Theological Society."

Mu Yin, who was standing outside the house, heard the noise and looked inside. He saw An Si, who usually had a gentle expression, frowning. Li Yian, who was standing in front of An Si, lowered his head and said nothing.

An Si stood up, walked outside, and looked at the woods at the end of the theological society, his eyes filled with heartache and anger.

Cheng Qiu has always been a student he valued. He has outstanding abilities and a good personality. He has been helping him manage the affairs of the Academy of Literature, but he did not expect to be killed by Xie Hui.

Qi Yang, who came from outside, hurriedly walked into An Si's study. He hurriedly saluted An Si and turned his gaze to Li Yian, only to see Li Yian lowering his head with a sad expression.

Because Li Yian had left without a word, Qi Yang asked Mu Yang to use the Heavenly Eye bronze mirror to see where Li Yian was. Instead, they discovered that Li Yian had run back to the Theological Society and told An Si that Cheng Qiu had been in trouble. This startled them, and they all hurried back before the gathering was over.

An Si turned to face Qi Yang, his face beneath the mask heavy and uneasy. "Qi Yang, go find the teachers from the Liberal Arts and Martial Arts academies now. I want to discuss with them the matter of exorcising the evil."

He had originally planned to take Li Yian to the palace tomorrow to introduce her to the people there so she could better adapt to her work as a trainee warrior. However, this unexpected incident interrupted his plans.

An Si looked at Li Yian, "Yian, when you go to see Cheng Qiu tonight, I will send someone to secretly support you."

After saying that, he pulled out a file from the bookshelf behind him and handed it to Li Yian, "This is information about Cheng Qiu. He is the son of Cheng Senator, and his home is not far from the Theological Society. I will go meet Cheng Senator later."

Li Yian took the document and replied in a low voice, "Yes."

The information recorded Cheng Qiu's birthdate, age, and events he had done. Li Yian then discovered that Cheng Qiu had been in charge of organizing activities to worship gods. It was a grand ceremony with very spectacular dances to worship gods. Almost the entire town went to watch, hoping to receive blessings from gods.

Li Yian had also attended several such ceremonies, for they were truly lively and sacred, seemingly able to dispel the filth within, leaving the heart peaceful and pure. Amidst the dense crowds, she could always spot a young man in white standing on a high platform, reciting the eulogy. She sat on the eaves of a distant house, never able to see his face clearly, but she had no idea it was Cheng Qiu.

When Qi Yang brought the clerks and teachers from the martial arts academy to An Si's study, Li Yian bowed to them, turned around and walked out.

When Li Yian walked out of the yard, she ran into Mu Yang. Mu Yang was standing at the gate, dressed in white, looking anxious. Seeing Li Yian, he quickly turned to face her and said uneasily, "Are you really going to see him? I feel uneasy."

Mu Yang hadn't spoken to her in the past two days. Now he stopped her to express his concerns. Li Yian just replied, "I've already promised Cheng Qiu."

Her expression remained indifferent, and she was reluctant to pay attention to him. This made Mu Yang lower his eyes sadly. He took out a small transparent crystal from his wide sleeve and said to Li Yian, "It can sense evil spirits. If Cheng Qiu has ill intentions towards you, this crystal will turn black. Cousin, please keep it with you. If the crystal turns black, you must leave Cheng Qiu."

He always had a bad premonition. He saw that Li Yian was marked with evil energy. Although the evil energy surrounding her was harmless, he was really worried.

Li Yian was stunned. Mu Yang was well-read and could always make strange little objects. When Mu Yang threw the crystal to her, she quickly caught it.

"Thank you." Li Yian said awkwardly.

Mu Yang looked at Li Yian, his eyes slightly fluctuating, as if he was about to speak but hesitated. Just as he was about to open his mouth to say something, Qi Yang, who was standing at the door of the study, waved at him, "Mu Yang, come here, the High Priest is calling you."

Qi Yang's interruption forced Mu Yang to temporarily put aside what he wanted to say and walked quickly towards Qi Yang.

In An Si's study, a group of people were discussing how to design a formation to trap and strangle the evil living in the woods, as well as how to assign warriors to support Li Yian in case she encountered any difficulties.

Li Yian and several warriors were also busy determining the route to lead Cheng Qiu home, and taking note of the environment around the route.

Amidst the anxious preparations, night gradually fell. Li Yian stood at the door of the Theological Society, patiently waiting for Cheng Qiu to appear, while the warriors who supported Li Yian hid in the dark.

However, from the time the sun set in the west, to the time when the half-moon rose above the treetops, and then to the time when the moon turned to the west, until late at night near the hour of Chou, Cheng Qiu still had not appeared.

The street in front of the Theological Society was deserted. The dim street was silent and cold. Gusts of evening wind swept up the fallen leaves on the ground, making a sound of broken leaves rolling on the ground. The leaves of the surrounding big trees were rustling in the wind.

Li Yian leaned against the stone lion statue in front of the seminary, looking around. Seeing that Cheng Qiu hadn't appeared yet, she stood up straight and walked into the seminary. She said to the warriors who were hiding in the shadows and yawning, "Why don't you go back? As long as you stay here, Cheng Qiu won't show up."

She remembered that every time Cheng Qiu appeared, it was when she was alone. Perhaps Cheng Qiu could only appear in front of her alone.

Several warriors stood up straight and spoke uneasily, "The priest asked us to protect you."

Li Yian shook his head. "It's okay. I can handle it myself."

Seeing that Li Yian insisted and that his martial arts skills were indeed superior to theirs, several warriors hesitated for a while and had to go back.

After the warriors left, Li Yian sensitively felt that the surrounding environment had become a little colder.

She looked around and found everything was normal. She walked out of the seminary again and waited at the door for a while. In her hand was a small piece of crystal that Mu Yang had given her. The crystal was pure and translucent, without any trace of contamination from evil spirits.

The only sound around was the whistling of the wind. Li Yian remembered that he had met Cheng Qiu at the street corner before, so he walked towards the corner.

Her footsteps were so light that they were drowned out by the sound of the wind.

In the strong wind, the woods swayed violently, and the shrill cries of crows and the flapping sounds of countless wings came from the dark woods.

Suddenly, the wind stopped.

The world seemed to have lost all sound.

On the dark street, a man in white holding a lantern appeared behind Li Yian, "Li Yian."