Chapter 67: The Missing Girl

It was getting darker.

In the far west, only the last ray of sunset glow remained, emitting its afterglow dutifully.

Chu Xinglan can choose not to sleep, but Ruan Chao cannot choose not to sleep.

His body is more delicate than that of an ordinary mortal, and he cannot sleep less than an hour.

He had been hiding in the mountains for the past few days and his spirit had been stretched to the limit. As soon as the sun set, he began to doze off.

She fell on Chu Xinglan's shoulder again.

The boy's back was straight, like a pine tree that would never break. The curve between his neck and shoulders was very smooth. Ruan Chao rested his head on it, like a pillow of hard jade.

Ruan Chao slept very uncomfortably.

He woke up after a while.

He wiped the non-existent saliva from the corner of his lips and asked in confusion.

"Is it daybreak?"

Chu Xinglan was silent for a moment: "It's not dark yet."

"We're about to reach the next town. Let's find an inn and have a good night's sleep. We'll continue our journey tomorrow morning."

"So sleepy..." Ruan Chao yawned, tears of sleepiness overflowing from the corners of his eyes. His tone was slightly nasal, as if he was acting coquettishly, "I'm hungry too."

"Did I have lunch?" He seemed to be asking himself, and answered, "Yes."

He counted on his fingers: "I ate a box of peach blossom cakes, a big chicken leg, and a whole bowl of sugar water."

“Then why am I still so hungry?”

Chu Xinglan readily replied, "...because it's time for dinner."

Ruan Chao's eyes brightened and he stared at him with a look that said, "You are indeed a genius."

Chu Xinglan curled the corners of his lips and said, "Then let's go have dinner first, and then find an inn to sleep in."

…

They disembarked the flying boat at the edge of the town.

I found a restaurant that looked the most impressive.

Ordered several signature dishes.

Ruan Chao ate very happily, and his beautiful eyebrows were curved.

Not only did he eat the food himself, he also remembered to pick up some food for Chu Xinglan.

"This is delicious, sweet and sticky. The meat is also delicious, fried crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, fat but not greasy. Come and try it..."

He was almost finishing Chu Xinglan's bowl when he remembered that this man had already been fasting. These meals without spiritual power were not only not necessities for him, but would also become a burden to his body.

Ruan Chao paused for a moment and wanted to take the bowl in front of Chu Xinglan to his side.

"Just watch me eat."

"It's okay." Chu Xinglan stopped him and picked up the shrimp in the bowl with chopsticks, "I want to try it too."

Eating together is more delicious than eating alone.

Compared with his usual meal intake, Nguyen Chao ate half a bowl more of rice.

The waiter brought a pot of cold tea and a few plates of snacks to relieve the greasy feeling.

His gaze fell on Ruan Chao's face, and a look of obvious surprise flashed in his eyes.

He stood there in a daze for a long time, until the young swordsman next to him showed an unhappy look, and then he came to his senses.

"Is there anything else?" Chu Xinglan asked in a cold tone.

"No, no, no...it's just..." The waiter looked confused and hesitated to speak, but finally spoke, "Recently, Yunzhou City has been very unstable. In the past two months, dozens of young women have gone missing, including several female monks in the Foundation Establishment Stage."

"The various sects searched the surrounding area for traces but found no clues. They only said that there were demon cultivators causing trouble...who specialized in hunting down beautiful women and taking their Yin to replenish their Yang."

The waiter's eyes fell on Ruan Chao, and he kindly reminded her: "Young lady...you need to be careful these two days. If possible, you two should leave Yunzhou City as soon as possible."

Ruan Chao nodded and thanked him very seriously.

"Thank you for letting me know. I will be careful."

The waiter put down the tea tray and snacks, bowed and left.

Ruan Chao had never seen a demon cultivator in his life. He had only heard about them from other people. They said they were ugly with green faces and fangs, had three heads and six arms, were tyrannical and did all kinds of evil, and were targets that everyone in the entire cultivation world wanted to punish.

Ruan Chao couldn't help but ask Chu Xinglan with some curiosity whether the demon cultivators were really different from ordinary people, possessing three heads and six arms and looking extremely terrifying.

"Who told you that?" Chu Xinglan smiled, "Demon cultivators are also human, not some other rare species."

"If they were really that easy to distinguish, and could be spotted at a glance in a crowd, the cultivation world wouldn't have to spend so much effort every year searching for traces of demonic cultivators."

Ruan Chao thought for a moment and said, "What you said makes sense."

"Has brother ever seen a demon cultivator?"

“Of course I have seen it.” Chu Xinglan stroked the broken shadows beside him, and he had killed many of them with his own hands... But there was no need to mention such bloody things to Chao Chao.

After dinner, they found an inn nearby and booked two upper rooms, planning to have a good rest.

Chu Xinglan remembered the waiter's reminder, and in order to be prepared, he left the Shattered Shadow Sword to Ruan Chao.

Ruan Chao was a little surprised: "I don't know how to use a sword."

Chu Xinglan explained: "I pulled this sword out from the sword tomb. It has already given birth to a sword spirit. When I'm not here, it will protect you for me."

As if to confirm Chu Xinglan's statement, the silver-white sword floated in the air, moving up and down for a moment in a very human manner.

Like a nod.

"So cute!" Ruan Chao's eyes lit up, and he carefully stretched out his finger to poke the sword.

The Broken Shadow Sword stiffened slightly, retracting its sharp edge. The entire sword became much more blunt. Even if Ruan Chao wanted to touch the blade on a whim, he would not cut his fingers.

To make it easier for Nguyen Chao to touch it, the hilt of the sword was bent towards him.

Nguyen Chao stroked its head again and again as if he were stroking a kitten or puppy - well... the handle of the sword should also be considered the head of the sword.

Chu Xinglan stared at the interaction between the man and the sword as if no one else was around, and suddenly said, "I'm next door. If there's anything, Chao Chao can call me and I'll come over quickly."

Ruan Chao and Suiying were having fun, and when they heard Chu Xinglan's words, they just responded perfunctorily and waved to him.

"I know, I know. Go back to sleep. I want to sleep too."

"Good night, brother. Goodbye, brother."

Nguyen Chao was lying on the bed. He placed Broken Shadow next to his pillow. Broken Shadow remembered his mission and looked around carefully like a responsible soldier, not missing any blind spot in the house.

The frost-white long sword exudes a soft and clear moonlight, and the blade is sharp, like a star. Just one glance and you will know how rare and precious it is.

It must be a priceless treasure that is rare in the world.

Ruan Chao recalled the sad past.

He held the cup in his hand, and said with a disappointed tone: "It's a pity for my magic weapons... If they were still there, no matter what kind of demon cultivator it was, even if the leader of the demon cultivators came, he would be in big trouble."

The fragments emitted a brighter light.

It seems to be saying that even without those magic weapons, it can still protect the safety of the Nguyen Dynasty.

Ruan Chao curled the corners of his lips.

He closed his eyes and fell into a sweet sleep.

A dreamless night.

The next morning, Nguyen Chao got out of bed on time.

The broken shadow was still by his bed, watching over him quietly.

But for some reason, it now looks more like an ordinary sword, and is far less lively and agile than it was last night.

Maybe she was a little tired after keeping watch for him all night.

I don't know if the sword needs sleep.

Ruan Chao thought about it, then considerately covered it with a quilt, and patted it gently twice as if he was treating a child.

The broken shadow moved, as if responding to him.

Just at this moment, there was a knock on the door.

Ruan Chao was stunned for a moment.

He had neither washed nor put on makeup. His skirt was disheveled and his hair was messy from sleeping, with one part sticking up on the left and the other on the right.

At a time like this...how can I go out and meet people!

"Wait a minute, don't come in yet!"

The knocking stopped, and after a while, the young man's cold and slightly hesitant voice was heard from outside the door.

"Chao Chao, are you still asleep?"

"no--"

"I'm changing clothes. You are not allowed to come in without my permission."

Ruan Chao used his spiritual power to quickly make a cleansing gesture.

She found a white dress from her storage ring and put it on. She then carefully combed her hair in front of the bronze mirror in the room and casually tied it into a bun.

The "girl" in the mirror has a pretty face that is difficult to tell whether it is male or female.

The color of her pupils is lighter, and the tails of her eyes are slightly upturned, revealing a very seductive curve. Her nose is high and straight, and her small mouth is like a petal, rosy and plump.

With the modification of her hairstyle, the facial features of the "girl" gradually become softer, and no one can tell her true gender.

Ruan Chao held his face and stared at the mirror for a while.

He is still young and can easily disguise himself as a girl even without any sexual favors.

But when he grows up and his facial features develop, it won't be so easy to continue pretending.

Chu Xinglan will know his true gender sooner or later. His fiancée suddenly becomes his fiancé, and she doesn't know if he will go crazy.

There was another knock on the door, interrupting Ruan Chao's thoughts.

This time the knock on the door was a little hurried, as if the person outside had been waiting for too long and was getting a little anxious.

"Chao Chao, are you ready? It's time for us to set off."

Nguyen Chao went to open the door for him.

The young man was still wearing the white robe he wore yesterday. He was tall and slender, with an outstanding appearance, like an immortal who had walked out of a painting.

Facing the faint dawn light, Chu Xinglan said softly: "Chao Chao, it's time for us to go."

"Now?" Ruan Chao hesitated, "But I haven't had breakfast yet."

His stomach started growling again.

You can't skip a meal.

Chu Xinglan: "I bought some steamed buns and porridge, which we can eat on the flying boat."

As soon as he finished speaking, he pulled Ruan Chao's wrist, trying to drag him away.

Ruan Chao staggered as he was pulled by him, but he still managed to stop and asked suspiciously, "What happened? Why are you in such a hurry?"

"Didn't you say yesterday that you could accompany me to have a good time in the lower world, so that we could experience the local customs and people from all directions, and that it would be okay even if we arrived at Jingzhou Sea a little later?"

Chu Xinglan paused for a moment, then continued without changing his expression.

"Of course I want to accompany Chao Chao to travel around."

"But when I got up this morning, the store owner told me that more than a dozen young women were missing in Yunzhou City yesterday..." The young man frowned, his expression full of worry, "It's really not peaceful here, it's better to leave as soon as possible."

Ruan Chao stared at him for a moment: "But brother is so powerful, he should be able to protect me."

"None of those ugly demon cultivators is a match for my brother."

Chu Xinglan pulled the corners of his lips stiffly: "Of course I can protect Chao Chao."

"But Chao Chao, I don't dare put you in danger. The methods of those demon cultivators are hard to guard against. Even if there is only a one in ten thousand chance, I am very scared. I am afraid that you will be in danger."

Ruan Chao tilted his head, revealing genuine confusion: "But to me, these demon cultivators in the lower world are nothing more than ants that can be crushed to death with just a stretch of the hand."

Chu Xinglan lowered his eyelashes. "Those demon cultivators are indeed nothing to be afraid of, but it is better to be safe than sorry. I dare not be careless with you."

Ruan Chao seemed to approve of his answer: "Okay."

"Then I'll clean up, you wait for me."

Chu Xinglan frowned imperceptibly.

He seemed to want to say something, but finally stopped.

He waited patiently outside the door for a while.

There was a small corridor in the upper room of the inn. Even if one tried hard to look inside, one could only see the edge of the girl's skirt occasionally exposed.

It's impossible to tell what she's doing.

"Chao Chao——"

"Coming soon!"

Ruan Chao dragged a long, thin bundle and gave Chu Xinglan a sweet smile.

"Brother, let's go."

Chu Xinglan also relaxed his brows and reached out to hold the girl's fair and tender hand.

Right at this moment.

The cloth wrapped around it was pulled apart from the inside, revealing the majestic silhouette of a silver-white longsword.

Ruan Chao took a half step back and shouted, "Shadow, now is the time! Go up and chop him!"