Enter Baicao Village
As the airship slowly ascended, the people and buildings on the ground became tiny, and the mountains and rivers came into full view. A sense of pride rose in Yu Zhu's heart; her adventure was about to begin.
"There will be plenty of opportunities to see it in the future. Now let's discuss the next steps."
All that talk of heroism and adventure is just an illusion; she's just on a business trip.
Jing Shu emerged from the cabin, dressed in a rouge-colored gauze dress.
Her gaze lingered on Yuzhu for a moment. "Yuzhu, once you leave the sect, don't wear that drab disciple's robe anymore. Anyone with eyes can tell you're from the Yingtian Sect. Jingxu, you should change your clothes later too."
The two nodded. The disciples of Yingtian Sect wore Morandi colors, which in Jing Shu's aesthetic sense were dull and gray. With the iconic auspicious cloud pattern embroidered on them, they were indeed easy to recognize.
At this moment, Bai Wei also came out, followed by a man dressed in black.
A look of confusion appeared in Yu Zhu's eyes. What was this?
Jing Shu sat on the deck cushion. "This is my newly accepted disciple, Zhou Nan. You know A Zhu. He just reached the Foundation Establishment stage not long ago, so I brought him out to gain some experience."
Someone I know who's surnamed Zhou?
Yu Zhu looked closely and realized he did look somewhat familiar. "Are you from Zhoujia Village?"
Zhoujia Village is where the original owner fought a deadly battle with the demonic beasts, and it is also where the original owner's demonic bloodline awakened.
Zhou Nan bowed and said, "Uncle-Master Yu."
Yu Zhu forced a smile. Time really flies. He's grown up so much. When the original owner saved him, he was only a little taller than waist-high.
Jing Shu: "Sit down, everyone. Let's discuss this."
"Miss Bai Wei, are you sure those missing people are not in mortal danger?"
Bai Wei nodded firmly, "Everyone in our village has been infected with the Mother-Child Gu. Apart from the deaths of those two children, the Mother Gu has not given any other omens." Her tone was clearly filled with sorrow.
Jing Shu pondered for a moment, "I suspect that the person causing trouble in the shadows is likely from outside the village. Knowing that you went to Yingtian Sect, they must have taken precautions. Once we reach Guiyi City, we will split into two groups."
“Zhou Nan and I will go with you to the Guiyi Sect’s stronghold to see how they are investigating, under the name of the Yingtian Sect. Azhu and Jingxu will disguise themselves as medicine merchants and observe whether there is anything suspicious about the people who have come to the village to buy medicine during this period.”
"After we come out of Guiyi Gate, you can bring the medicine merchant into the village under the pretext that it's on the way, and we'll meet up. We'll also split up and investigate along two separate lines."
After speaking, Jing Shu looked at everyone's reactions and met Yu Zhu's gaze. Yu Zhu clapped her hands, and Jing Xu immediately followed suit. The other two, not understanding why, also clapped along.
Jing Shu rolled her eyes in annoyance. "What do you guys think of this plan?"
The three of them looked at Yuzhu.
Huh? How come she's the second person to speak?
"I think this plan is great, I have no objections."
The others agreed, but Bai Wei added, "You can go to Yusheng Inn; there are the most medicine merchants there."
"Are you two here for a meal or to stay overnight?"
As soon as I stepped into Yusheng Inn, the waiter greeted me.
Yu Zhu gave Jing Xu a wink; there was already someone from a merchant family here, so there was no need for her to pretend.
Jingxu: "Give us two superior rooms and prepare a table of food and wine."
"Alright, where do you two think you should sit?"
Jingxu chose a table at the back, which offered a panoramic view of the entire hall.
Yu Zhu sat down and, employing the same acting skills she had displayed in her teacher training class, pretended to look around curiously.
After ordering, Jingxu noticed Yuzhu looking around and chuckled softly, pouring herself a cup of tea. "Senior Sister, don't be nervous."
Yu Zhu lowered her voice, "I'm not nervous, I'm just observing." She picked up her teacup, thinking that having a prop in her hand would make her look more natural.
Fearing their conversation would be overheard, Yu Zhu switched to using her spiritual power to transmit her voice, "Look at those burly men at the door, don't they look like the group that drugged Bai Wei?"
"Look at that stern-faced old woman in the middle, doesn't she look like some kind of mastermind?"
"And the man and woman by the window, just like us, are sitting in a spot where they can see everything happening in the lobby. Isn't that suspicious?"
After listening to Yu Zhu's series of guesses, Jing Xu said with feigned seriousness, "Hmm, it is indeed very suspicious."
Seeing the smile on Jingxu's face, Yuzhu glared at him. "Jingxu, I've noticed that you're becoming less and less respectful of your teacher. Although you call me senior sister, we have a proper teacher-student relationship."
At this point, Yu Zhu deflated, losing all interest in continuing to observe. She was his unconventional teacher, while he might be her proper master, making her feel embarrassed to act like a teacher in front of him.
Jing Xu seemed to have thought of this as well, and took the initiative to say, "My family has a past relationship with the sect leader. My mother was critically ill, and I asked the sect leader to help her. When the sect leader saw me, he invited me to join the sect. Because of the grace of saving my mother and my family's wishes, I came to Yingtian Sect. I didn't know that there was also... there was also the reason of Immortal Venerable Qiongfang."
Yu Zhu secretly thought to herself that the sect leader probably had suspicions all along and had tricked people into entering the Yingtian Sect and then into the Linlang Garden.
“If you really are Qiong—and my master is quite good too, then you’ll become the savior of the cultivation world, how glorious would that be?” Yu Zhu comforted her.
Jing Xu smiled but remained silent.
Thump, thump.
"Ah Zhu, someone is going to take us to Baicao Village," Jing Xu's voice rang out.
After sitting in the lobby for a while, the two went upstairs to their room. Of course, Senior Sister Yu did not forget her duties as a private tutor, tossing Jing Xu a pile of study materials while she herself lay on the bed reading a novel.
The two went downstairs, and Yuzhu saw Jingshu and the other two sitting at a table. Jingshu glanced at them casually, her fingers brushing against the communication jade pendant at her waist.
The meaning is implied by the jade bamboo.
"Why is Miss Bai personally leading people into the village this time?" asked someone who had been there before.
Bai Wei acted spoiled and willful, "Mind your own business. I'm just heading back to the village anyway, so I'll give you all a ride. Otherwise, someone might pick up some poisonous herbs or drugs on the way and try to frame our village."
Yu Zhu glanced around and saw that many people were whispering among themselves.
"Have all the people who are going to the village arrived today? If they have, we'll be leaving," Bai Wei asked again.
Soon, dozens of people gathered outside the inn. In the cultivation world, wherever there is a population gathering, there are magic arrays that restrict cultivators from flying on swords, etc., so everyone had to go outside the city first.
Yu Zhu and Jing Xu quietly fell to the back of the crowd. Noticing that someone was looking at her, Yu Zhu turned around and saw the woman from the man and woman she had seen before.
When their eyes met, Yu Zhu immediately became alert, wondering if she had seen the original owner of the body before.
"Is this your first time visiting Baicao Village, young lady? I don't think I've seen you before," the woman said.
Upon hearing this, the man beside her also focused his attention on Yu Zhu.
Yu Zhu calmed herself down and asked, "Yes, have you come here many times?"
The woman stepped forward and stood shoulder to shoulder with Yuzhu.
Jingxu approached Yuzhu and heard the woman say, "We are medicine merchants who often come to Baicao Village to purchase goods."
Another man smiled and asked, "You two look healthy and strong, and you're not medicine merchants, so why have you come to Baicao Village looking for medicine?"
Jing Xu's eyes flashed, and he took over the conversation, "We're here on behalf of my mother."
"I see. Is there something wrong with your mother's health?" the man asked.
"Are you asking about someone's mother's health on our first meeting?" Yu Zhu said, displeased. Doesn't the cultivation world value privacy?
A hint of annoyance flashed across the man's face. Someone in front of him had heard what sounded like an argument and turned around, saying, "Zhao Guang has been dealing with herbs for a long time, he's practically a half-medical cultivator. If you tell him, he might be able to give you a prescription."
“Yes, yes,” Zhao Guang hurriedly replied. “That’s exactly what I meant. I’m sorry I was so clumsy with words and didn’t explain clearly. If it’s inconvenient to tell you about your mother’s illness, I’m sorry for my rudeness.”
Jing Xu shook his head and smiled, "My mother was attacked by the demons before, leaving her with old injuries and blocked spiritual energy. Do you have any way to alleviate this situation, fellow Daoist?"
"In this case, refining blood-nourishing flowers and ginger vine into a pill and taking it daily might help with the flow of spiritual energy."
Jingxu nodded, as if he really wanted to remember these two medicinal herbs.
Once outside the city, everyone used their skills to head towards Baicao Village.
Yu Zhu paid special attention to Zhao Guang and the woman. The woman hadn't spoken since she first made her voice out, and the two of them were using magical artifacts to travel.
In less than fifteen minutes, we arrived at Baicaozhai.
Baicao Village is built against the mountain, with large fields of medicinal herbs in front of it. People are busy in the fields, using their spiritual power to guide the river water to irrigate the medicinal plants.
"Bai Qian," Bai Wei called over a tanned boy, "They are the people who bought medicine. Take them to the medicine warehouse. I need to find the chieftain."
Bai Wei took Jing Shu and the other two away, while the rest of the people followed Bai to the medicine warehouse.
Yu Zhu looked up at the majestic mountain in front of her, Shenrang Mountain. Legend has it that a certain spirit race once lived here, which also created the abundant spiritual energy of Shenrang Mountain, suitable for the growth of plants.
"This mountain is so high, does it take you so long to climb every time you come, sister?" Yu Zhu asked a kind-looking older woman with a smile.
The eldest sister had overheard Yu Zhu and Zhao Guang's conversation and knew it was their first time here. "We're used to it, it doesn't feel like a long time. The higher you go from the mountain, the more spiritual energy you get, and the better the herbs are preserved."
"Wouldn't it be easier to find rare and exotic herbs if we went deep into the mountains?" Yu Zhu squinted at the lush, verdant canopy of trees on the mountaintop.
Before the eldest sister could reply, Bai Qian stepped back to Yu Zhu's side and said seriously, "You mustn't even think about going into the mountains to find herbs. I don't know how many spiritual herbs there are in these mountains, but there are plenty of poisonous insects. People in our village don't go up the mountain easily. If you go up the mountain, you might lose your lives."
Yu Zhu surveyed the group's expressions. Some immediately became serious and made repeated assurances, while others remained expressionless, as if they hadn't heard a thing.
Jing Xu replied, "Thank you for your concern, young brother. We will not go up the mountain."
Bai Qian scratched his head. "Just call me Bai Qian."
"Baiqian, what's that place on the other side of the mountain? My brother and I are here for the first time and don't know much about it. Could you please tell us more?"
"I see. I thought you were going to persuade people to go up the mountain." Bai Qian smiled sheepishly. "The other side of the mountain is Fangcaozhou. Because it is near Shenrang Mountain, they have a lot of spiritual flowers there."
Fangcaozhou?
Yu Zhu and Jing Xu exchanged a glance, and simultaneously thought of the people who intended to kidnap Bai Wei.
When Yingtian Sect found that they could not get any information out of them, they used the Soul Searching Technique. However, the person behind the scenes had a preemptive strike and used some secret method. The only thing those people remembered was the instruction to capture Bai Wei.
Yu Zhu and the others thought that Fangcaozhou was just a fabrication.
"My child!"
After everyone had chosen their medicine and came out of the medicine storehouse, they heard a cry.
Bai Qian's face turned ugly instantly. He rushed towards the source of the sound, and the others, completely bewildered, followed him.
On the riverbank, a woman sat slumped on the ground, holding a lifeless, soaking wet child in her arms.
Upon seeing this scene, Yu Zhu stood there stunned, unsure how to react. Whether in her past life or after transmigrating, this was the first time she had faced a life-or-death situation directly.
Jing Xu turned her shoulder, and Yu Zhu turned around. She saw the expressions of the group of people behind her. Most of them were surprised, a few looked surprised and suspicious, but only Zhao Guang's gaze was directed in a different direction from the others.
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