There was no one around, and it was completely quiet.
Xie Shuci gasped, a bizarre thought popping into his head, "Is it the immortal sect that Xu Si belongs to?"
Sikong Xin shook his head and said, "I can't be sure. However, the Xu family is not a minor immortal sect, so perhaps we can get some information from the common people."
"If that male cultivator was a disciple of the Xu family, then back then it might have been the Xu family that was trying to wipe out the disciples of the Tang family..." Xie Shuci murmured with a blank face.
Sikong Xin hummed in agreement, "So let's not tell Xu Si about this for now."
Xie Shuci pondered for a moment, then asked, "Then what should we do?"
"We don't know. We have no idea what Tang Xianxiao is planning or what exactly happened back then. We can only wait and see if Xu Si can find anything in the family files."
Upon hearing this, Xie Shuci sighed. There was really nothing they could do.
After meeting Tang Xianxiao, Xie Shuci felt that she was not a ruthless person, otherwise the Water God would not have helped her.
But how exactly can this be resolved?
What is the relationship between that male cultivator and the Xu family?
Left with no other choice, the four of them returned to their respective rooms.
As soon as they reached the door, the king smelled their scent and began barking wildly at the door, his cries filled with a pitiful and aggrieved rage.
Xie Shuci was stunned for a moment, almost forgetting about this little guy.
Xie Shuci pushed open the door, and the king's cries became even more piercing.
"Awooooo!"
"Awooo!"
The king squatted on the ground, sobbing with grievance, his eyes accusing, and a few tears still hanging in the corners of his eyes.
Where did you go?! Why didn't you take the baby with you?!
Upon seeing it, Xie Shuci tenderly picked it up and hugged it.
“We went out to take care of some things, didn’t we tell you?” Xie Shuci said, rubbing its neck.
"Awooooo!"
You said just a little while! Look at what time it is now?! You stinky bastard!
After roaring, it glared fiercely at Xie An, howling!
You too! Why can't you take the baby with you when you go out? Has the baby caused any trouble?!
Xie An ignored them and walked straight past them to sit at the table.
Xie Shuci held it and comforted it for a long time.
"Were you scared?" Xie Shuci felt a pang of regret seeing it clinging to her arms and refusing to get down. How could she have left it alone at home? And the little blind boy too, the king is so small, what harm could he possibly cause?
Finally, Xie An could no longer bear it and said coldly, "Xie Shuci, it is a demon, not a dog."
"Awooo!"
What's wrong with demons? If there's trouble, they're demons; if there's no trouble, they're dogs?! Stinky, stinky mother!
After hearing his words, Xie Shuci was also quite puzzled and said doubtfully, "You know, it's just a wolf demon, how come it's becoming more and more like a dog? It's too clingy."
"Aww..."
But the baby is still so young.
Xie An snorted coldly, "Because you spoil it too much."
"Really?" Xie Shuci muttered.
Xie Shuci observed that the king hadn't been bathed for several days and was covered in dirt, so he asked the waiter to bring up some hot water to clean it up.
As darkness fell, Xie Shuci squatted on the ground, scrubbing the king's fur while lost in thought. Recalling Tang Xianxiao's words, he increasingly felt there was something fishy going on, something definitely related to Tang Xianxiao's unresolved issues. What should he do? Go see her again?
No, no, she might really kill me. I'd better give up.
However, they couldn't just sit and wait to die. Not to mention they still needed to get the whereabouts of the Water God from Tang Xianxiao, they couldn't let her continue to abduct innocent men in the city.
If only I knew what happened in the Dragon Fang Secret Realm back then.
Just as Xie Shuci was lost in thought, he suddenly heard the sound of a window hitting the wall.
Xie Shuci's hands
He paused, "Little blind man?"
The room was completely silent, and no one responded.
Suddenly, a cold wind swept in, and the flickering candlelight was reflected on the screen. Xie Shuci got goosebumps all over his body, and a sense of foreboding immediately filled his heart.
"Awooo! Awooo!"
The king seemed to sense something and began barking wildly at the outside of the screen, breaking free from Xie Shuci's grasp and running outside.
"Aww!"
Xie Shuci hurriedly tore off a piece of clothing and put it on before chasing after him.
"Thank you for your help!"
Xie Shuci ran outside the screen, only to find that Xie An, who had been sitting at the table, was nowhere to be seen. All that remained was an overturned teacup, with tea dripping down the corner of the table.
Xie Shuci's heart trembled as he looked at the window that had been smashed open at some point. His legs suddenly felt weak. He had been too careless, thinking that nothing would happen to the little blind boy with him, so he hadn't opened his sea of consciousness. That's why the little blind boy had disappeared without him noticing.
"Your Majesty, give chase! I'll go find someone to help."
Xie Shuci forced himself to calm down. The only person who could take Xie An away in the blink of an eye was Tang Xianxiao. He obviously couldn't handle it alone, so he had to ask Sikong Xin and the other person for help.
"Awooo!" the king responded, immediately transforming into his original form and chasing after them through the window.
"Be careful!" Xie Shuci reminded him from behind, then turned around, pushed open the door, and went out.
He rushed to the room where Sikong Xin and the other man were, and without even knocking, pushed open the two adjacent doors, shouting, "Help! Help!"
Xie Shuci panicked and had no idea what he was saying.
Sikong Xin and Liu Dazhuang came over when they heard the noise. Seeing his red eyes and helpless appearance, they couldn't help but ask, "What happened?"
Xie Shuci took a deep breath, a lump forming in her throat, and suppressed the tremor in her voice, "Xie An, Xie An has been arrested! Just now!"
"What?!" Upon hearing this, Liu Dazhuang immediately glared at him. "You actually dare to make a move right under my nose?"
But Sikong Xin was speechless upon hearing this.
"He was arrested?" Sikong Xin asked, somewhat incredulously.
"Yes! I've already sent the King after them. I... I can't manage on my own. Can you help me?" Xie Shuci looked at the two helplessly, tears welling up in her eyes. "I have many pills. I'll give them all to you if you need them. Please help me save Xie An!"
"Stop talking nonsense. Since I brought you here, I will naturally protect you. Let's go! I'm just about to meet this master of the Great Perfection of the Killing Path!" Liu Dazhuang took the axe from his waist and chased after them with a fierce look on his face.
Looking at Xie Shuci's anxious and helpless expression, Sikong Xin couldn't help but feel a little pity for him. Xiao Xun must have been deliberately captured, yet Xie Shuci was so worried about him. He wondered what would happen to the two of them after their identities were exposed.
"Don't rush, Tang Xianxiao's murderous intent has been suppressed by the Water God, he won't take his life easily, let's chase after him too," Sikong Xin sighed.
"Yes! Thank you!"
Xie Shuci and his two companions chased after Xiaoxian Mountain.
On the way, Xie Shuci opened his sea of consciousness and discovered the aura left by many kings. Following the aura, the three of them chased after the kings to the foot of Little Immortal Mountain.
Several Xu family disciples were stationed at the foot of the mountain. As soon as they saw Xie Shuci and his companions, they blocked their way.
"What brings you gentlemen here so late at night?"
"My brother has been arrested! I have to go and save him!"
"But……"
"No need to waste words with them, just charge in!" Liu Dazhuang swung his axe forward, using his spiritual power to cleave the path in front of him.
Just as one disciple was about to step forward to stop them, another blocked his way, saying, "They are the cultivators who entered the mountain with Senior Brother Xu that day. There's no need to stop them."
Upon hearing this, the disciple finally let them in.
As soon as the three entered the mountains, the once star-studded sky suddenly darkened.
It was as if an invisible black cloth had been draped over the mountaintop, instantly extinguishing all light.
Sikong Xin said, "It's a 'nightmare'."
"No wonder she can move freely in the mountains and we can't catch her at all."
Xie Shuci followed behind the two. He had also experienced a "nightmare" at the hands of the Earthly Ghost when he was in the Immortal's Tomb.
"Aww!"
On the mountaintop, the king smelled Xie Shuci's scent and let out a wolf howl.
Upon hearing this, Xie Shuci exclaimed, "The King is over there!"
Sikong Xin solemnly reminded the two: "Tang Xianxiao is a fully accomplished cultivator of the Slaughter Path. Even if he doesn't have a bloodthirsty nature for the time being, we absolutely cannot let our guard down."
"knew."
"Um……"
Xie Shuci was filled with fear of the unknown, and he forced himself to remain calm. After all, he was just an ordinary person, and when faced with a crisis, he couldn't be as composed as the other two, especially since it was Xie An who had been captured. He couldn't even imagine what he would do if anything happened to Xie An.
Even though he guessed that Tang Xianxiao wouldn't take people's lives easily, he couldn't help but think about the worst-case scenario.
Why is Tang Xianxiao capturing men? What if Xie An refuses to do what she wants? That fool Xie An certainly won't listen to her. What if she gets angry and kills Xie An?
It's all my fault! I knew perfectly well that Sun Xianxiao liked ordinary people like the blind boy, yet I still let him sit outside alone!
Xie Shuci cursed himself inwardly, and the three of them, relying on their keen senses, moved closer to where the king was.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the mountain, the king transformed back into a puppy and collapsed under a tree.
That tree was different from the other plants around it; it seemed to have a life of its own, not only with lush branches and leaves, but also with the veins on its trunk faintly emitting a light.
A boy in white was tied to the tree trunk, with thick branches wrapping around his limbs and neck, firmly securing him in mid-air.
A chilling wind raged around them, blowing the boy's robes and dark hair.
Suddenly, a woman's cheerful humming drifted through the air, the sound coming from afar, as if it were both far away and right beside her ear.
As the woman's voice appeared, the wind blew softer and softer.
The leaves on the tree fluttered down, as if welcoming the woman's arrival. Suddenly, a branch stretched out, like a bridge spanning the air.
A pair of bare feet stepped onto the end of the bridge, a flowing red dress swaying in the wind, blue ropes tied around the ankles of her bare feet, as she walked lightly across the bridge towards the big tree.
As she approached the tree trunk, she lightly touched the ground with her toes, her body leaping into the air. She then sat on a branch, her snow-white fingertips gripping one end of a vine. Her sleeves slid down, revealing a section of her pale wrist.
The vines, like snakes, carried her downwards, slowly approaching the boy on the tree trunk.
The woman swung her legs in the air, her head resting on a branch, and gradually came to a stop in front of the boy.
A moon shone through the layers of leaves, illuminating the two people and revealing the woman's bloodless face.
Her long, black hair cascaded down her back like a waterfall, and her almond-shaped eyes stared blankly ahead, appearing quite eerie in the dim light.
On her forehead was a blue teardrop-shaped mark, gleaming with a faint blue light.
A cold wind ruffled her black hair, which floated to her cheeks and covered her eyelids, but she seemed not to notice, her overly dark eyes staring straight at the boy's sleeping face.
After staring at her for a long time, the woman tilted her head in confusion, with a touch of naive innocence, and asked, "You're a cultivator...you're not a cultivator?"
However, no one responded for a long time.
The woman was even more confused. She looked down at the sleeping wolf demon under the tree and asked, "Why are you pretending to be asleep when you're awake? And why did you knock this wolf demon unconscious? Are you afraid of me?"
With a flick of her finger, a wisp of vine rose from the ground and slowly swept towards the boy.
The boy's long eyelashes trembled like cicada wings, and he finally reacted.
The vine stopped moving a few inches away from the boy, as if it had sensed something extremely frightening, and hesitated to move forward.
Upon seeing this, the woman suddenly realized, "So, you and I were the same in our past lives, cultivating the path of slaughter."
The woman said this
At that moment, I was filled with regret.
As she watched the boy's eyes gradually open, she murmured, "You're so young, were you also deceived into cultivating the path of slaughter?"
The vines binding the boy gradually receded from his body, and the boy stood on a vine, suspended in mid-air.
He raised his eyes expressionlessly, looked at the woman's pale face, and said calmly, "No."
The woman stared intently at the young man, her tone indifferent: "Is that so? I hate cultivators, but I don't hate those who follow the path of slaughter. You're so handsome, would you be willing to cultivate with me?"
The boy's eyes were indifferent. "I don't want to."
Why?
"It's none of your business."
The woman chuckled and said, "Even if you don't say it, I know that you, like me, have fallen in love and damaged your Dao heart."
The boy simply looked at her, without saying a word.
The woman laughed to herself, the laughter turning from initial joy to a desolate silence. She asked, "Is the person who moved you a cultivator?"
The boy looked away and, after a moment of silence, hummed in agreement.
"Then go and kill him!" The woman's tone suddenly became sharp.
"Why?" the boy asked indifferently.
The woman said, "Because he's lying to you! He deliberately made you fall in love, deliberately provoked you into going mad, deliberately made you kill all the disciples of your clan, and then he killed you to act as if it were the will of Heaven! In this way, he will gain merit and be able to ascend to immortality by stepping on your corpse!"
The vines carried the woman, making her sway in the air. The woman seemed to calm down again, and her tone became somewhat sad: "Among all the cultivators in the world, only the path of slaughter does not lead to immortality. The others... they are all demons blinded by greed. They will do anything to become immortals or ascend to heaven."
The young man replied, “The path of slaughter does not seek immortality, but it also cannot grant immortality to others. What I seek is to one day kill everyone in the world and shatter the Heavenly Dao of Heaven and Earth.”
The woman stopped moving and stared at the boy, seemingly savoring his words. After a while, she couldn't help but chuckle softly, her expression somewhat coquettish.
"You're lying, you're bluffing." The woman tilted her head back, her tone amused. "The sword in your heart has never been meant to slay others, otherwise how could you have suffered two qi deviations, resulting in the separation of your soul and body..."
The woman laughed so hard she couldn't stand up straight. "Soul and body separated...you're so stubborn."
The boy looked at her, but didn't react much.
"I've come to see you today for only one thing," the young man said.
"What is it?"
"How to suppress bloodlust after going astray in cultivation?"
Upon hearing this, the woman stared at him blankly for a long while, then suddenly laughed. "Are you afraid that you'll harm him if you go berserk? What a kind-hearted child."
"Stop talking nonsense," the boy said coldly.
The woman, however, seemed oblivious. She raised her right hand, looked at her palm, then turned it over to look at the back of her hand, her tone meaningful: "You can't have your cake and eat it too. You have to give up something to gain something."
The boy paused, looking somewhat confused and only vaguely understanding.
"They're here," the woman sighed.
The boy looked down and, in the dark mist covering the mountains, he could vaguely see several figures.
"Thank you, senior," the young man said, bowing his head.
"Let's go, let's go," the woman said softly.
Seemingly sensing her sadness, a vine draped over the woman's shoulder and gently brushed against her.
Legend has it that there was a sacred tree that had stood for a hundred years in the Tang family of Huaizhou.
The young man nodded, and just as he was about to leave, he seemed to remember something, turned his head, and said, "Later, Xu Yi failed to become an immortal."
The woman shuddered upon hearing this.
She stiffly raised her head and looked at the boy.
"Xu Yi didn't ascend?" Her voice trembled slightly. "He was willing to go to any lengths to kill me... but he didn't ascend..."
Her tone made it difficult to discern whether she was happy or angry, or rather, it was neither happy nor angry, but rather a strange mix of irony and sadness.
"He didn't ascend to immortality..." the woman murmured.
He laughed, his voice full of sarcasm.
The boy glanced at her but said nothing more. He leaned against the tree trunk and sat down, pulling the wolf demon under the tree into his arms. Then he closed his eyes and fell asleep.
The woman seemed to have suffered a great blow; her laughter grew increasingly shrill, and her figure gradually dissipated into the air.
"Xu Yi... so you didn't ascend to immortality..."
Shortly after the woman disappeared, Xie Shuci and his group found the place.
The "nightmare" enveloped the entire mountain, plunging everything into darkness, so dark that one could not see their own hand in front of their face. The three of them finally caught up with the king's cries.
A sliver of moonlight shone through the thick fog.
The three looked closely and found that they were still in darkness, with only a large tree in the distance standing in the moonlight, its white light filtering through its branches and sparsely scattering onto the ground.
Under the tree sat a white figure.
Upon recognizing the figure, Xie Shuci trembled violently, his throat tightened, and he quickened his pace. "Xie...Xie An?"
There was no sign of anyone else under the tree, so Xie Shuci went straight over and saw that Xie An was safe and sound, and the king was sleeping in his arms. Xie Shuci couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.
"Where's that female ghost? Show yourself if you dare!" Liu Dazhuang shouted from under the tree. "What kind of skill is it to bully a blind man? If you're so capable, come and have a go with your grandpa!"
Sikong Xin, on the other hand, was much calmer. Upon hearing this, she even rolled her eyes at him, saying, "By seniority, she could be your grandmother."
"Hey!" Liu Dazhuang glared at him. "Brother Sikong, why are you boosting others' morale while diminishing your own?"
Sikong Xin was too lazy to talk to this idiot, so he simply curled his lip and stood aside.
Xie Shuci half-squatted down and shook the little blind boy's shoulder, "Xie An? Xie An? Wake up!"
"Your Majesty! What happened? Why are you all asleep?"
He shook Xie An awake.
His long eyelashes trembled, and he slowly opened his eyes, seemingly realizing that he was in an unfamiliar environment, a look of confusion on his face.
"Aww..."
The king whimpered and gradually opened its eyes. It propped its head up, looked around, and then looked at Xie Shuci. Suddenly, it remembered something and abruptly stood up from Xie An's arms, "Awooo! Awooo!"
It barked twice at Xie Shuci, then glared angrily at Xie An.
Diedie, you be the judge for the baby!
The baby came to save him, but he knocked the baby unconscious!
Tell me, is he going too far?!
Xie Shuci breathed a sigh of relief when she saw that it was alright. She thought it was still worried about the little blind boy and comforted it, "It's alright now, sweetie, Brother Xie An is alright too."
"Awooo! Awooo!"
Brother? Pshaw! Ugh! Who's worried about him?! He actually beat up the baby!
The king was anxious to complain to Xie Shuci, and jumped and bounced in Xie An's arms. Before Xie An could even speak, he winced in pain.
Upon seeing this, Xie Shuci immediately tensed up and hurriedly pulled the king off him, saying, "Stop fooling around!"
"Aww!"
"Xie An? Are you alright?" Xie Shuci asked worriedly.
Xie An propped himself up on the grass and asked in confusion, "Where is this? Why am I here?"
"This is Little Fairy Mountain. How are you feeling? Is anything hurting? Did she... did she do anything to you? Do you feel uncomfortable anywhere?" Xie Shuci was even more nervous than if he were injured himself, and asked a lot of questions in one go.
Sikong Xin, who was listening from the side, shook his head. "Xiao Xun, Xiao Xun, don't you feel guilty for making people worry like this?"
Xie An shook his head. "No."
"Awooo!"
I have some! My baby has some!
"That's good, that's good!" Xie Shuci breathed a sigh of relief. "I was so scared! I was giving the King a bath, and then you disappeared! Luckily you're alright, and luckily she didn't do anything to you, otherwise..."
What else can we do?
Otherwise, why would he risk his life for a fully-fledged cultivator of the Slaughter Path?
Xie An, however, sensed Xie Shuci's...
Fear and trembling, she felt a rare pang of guilt, and sat up to gently embrace him, patting his back to comfort him.
"I'm sorry, I'm fine," Xie An said softly.
Xie Shuci leaned on his shoulder, sniffed, and said, "You scared me to death!"
"Aww..."
The king was on the verge of tears; the world where only the baby was injured had been achieved.
What the hell? I even wanted to come and save you, you bastard!
It lay on the ground, looking dejected, and buried its head in the earth, feeling sullen.
Just then, it suddenly smelled a strange fragrance.
It raised its head and sniffed, only to find that the wretched human was holding out a finger in front of it, a drop of blood oozing from the fingertip.
The blood droplets, emitting a strange fragrance, seemed to be tempting the king.
It made a whimpering sound coming from its nose. Don't think that I'll forgive you just like that. I won't easily succumb to evil forces...
Seeing that it hadn't moved for a long time, the despicable human didn't force it and was about to withdraw his hand. The king got anxious and directly rolled his tongue, swallowing the drop of blood before the human's finger left.
Hmph, I'll reluctantly forgive you.
The blood smells so good!
"What the hell... I thought she was a good person, and I even wanted to help her resolve her inner conflict, but I never expected her to dare to do this to you... Humph! Bad woman..."
Xie Shuci muttered under his breath when suddenly a strong wind picked up, carrying with it a woman's voice: "Say it again?"
Xie Shuci's heart skipped a beat, and she closed her eyes tightly in fright. She started to bluff incoherently, "Sister, I was wrong! Sister! You are the most beautiful, gentlest, and most understanding sister in the world. I know you are kind-hearted and won't hold it against us. You kidnapped Xie An just to tease me. I know you didn't mean it!"
Sikong Xin: "..."
Liu Dazhuang: "..."
What a spirited and courageous young man!
The woman snorted coldly.
Upon seeing this, Sikong Xin immediately clasped his hands and asked, "May I ask if you are Tang Xianxiao, Senior Tang?"
The woman suddenly fell silent. After a long while, her voice turned somber: "Tang, Xian, Xiao, I haven't heard this name for hundreds of years."
"My name is Sikong Xin. I have met Senior Tang."
"Sikong...you are a descendant of the Sikong family?"
"Exactly."
Liu Dazhuang stood to the side, holding his axe. He didn't know whether to speak or not, so he simply kept his mouth shut and didn't want to cause any trouble.
Unexpectedly, the woman changed her tone and suddenly launched an attack:
"I told you yesterday that if you continue to meddle, I will show no mercy. I will spare your lives today, but go back and tell Xu Yi that I want to see him within three days! If he doesn't come within a day, I will skin one of his Xu family disciples alive and tear out their tendons, until we are all wiped out!"
The woman's voice was as cold as ice, echoing through the mountains and sending chills down one's spine.
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