Just as Tang Nian approached and reached out her hand, before she could make any move, a sudden cloud of black mist rose up, and the bronze cauldron vanished from Tang Nian's sight in an instant.
As the bronze cauldron disappeared, Tang Nian keenly sensed that something was amiss in the atmosphere of the entire village, as if something was rushing towards her from afar.
She turned around abruptly and saw a black wind rushing towards her from behind.
The evil aura emanating from the black wind made even a ferocious beast like Tang Nian panic.
At this moment, Tang Nian disregarded her germaphobia and quickly climbed over the wall to get out of the courtyard. Relying on her memory, she rushed into the black fog in front of her and ran out of Muyun Village. Looking back, she saw that the black wind was still chasing her relentlessly. She gritted her teeth and ran towards the north gate.
The Bagua mirror and talismans on the North Gate can weaken the black wind. The closer Tang Nian got to the North Gate, the less the black aura in front of her gradually faded, and the black wind behind her was not as huge as it had been at the beginning.
Seemingly sensing Tang Nian's thoughts, Black Wind accelerated even further. However, due to Black Wind's haste, Tang Nian detected its weakness.
As Tang Nian ran, she drew her sword, turned her head, squinted to pinpoint the eye of the black wind, and thrust her sword fiercely into the eye.
The moment Tang Nian's sword touched the eye of the storm, the black wind instantly dissipated, and the gathered evil energy suddenly dispersed outwards, causing Tang Nian to fall to the ground and spit out a mouthful of blood. Her sword pierced straight into the ground beside her.
Everything returned to calm. If it weren't for the lingering smell of blood in the air and the sword stuck in the ground, it would have been as if nothing had happened.
Tang Nian gripped the hilt of her sword and propped herself up. Instead of rushing back to the city, she leaned against a nearby tree to rest.
This place is close to Muyun County, so these evil spirits dare not cause any trouble. In her current state, it's not good for her to go back.
Thinking about it, she opened her eyes and looked at her white robe, which was stained yellow with dust, with several tears on the hem that she hadn't noticed when she was running away, and bloodstains on the collar.
She coughed lightly twice, covering her mouth with her sleeve, which now had a pool of blood on it.
If she hadn't cultivated herself properly a few days ago, she might have been shaken back to her original form.
She took out the merit bead from her sleeve, and as she expected, the golden light of the bead had dimmed slightly. She sighed and put it back in her sleeve.
Although the ferocious beasts cannot use evil energy for their own purposes, evil energy can conceal their presence. Tang Nian did not bring Ming Huan along because she did not want to alert the enemy, but she did not expect this evil spirit to be so ferocious.
Fortunately, she is now certain that the bronze cauldron is inextricably linked to this matter, and perhaps the owner of the cauldron is the mastermind behind it all.
Meanwhile, Ming Huan's sudden appearance forced Lou Mu to temporarily stop his instructions. Upon hearing that Ming Huan wanted to go to the old man's house to investigate, he gestured for the girl to follow him.
The girl in pink was clearly reluctant, but she understood Lou Mu's personality. She pouted and followed him away, enduring Ming Huan's disdainful gaze.
"Lord Lou..." Magistrate Wang said with a fawning expression.
Lou Mu held the jade pendant in his hand and said as he walked, "Do as I say first."
Seeing Lou Mu's retreating figure, Magistrate Wang quickly responded.
Lou Mu did not return to the inn to rest, but instead headed towards the north gate. Halfway there, he suddenly stopped and frowned as he looked into the distance.
Despite the many protective treasures outside the North Gate, Lou Mu still heard strange noises coming from outside the city. If it weren't for the treasures blocking the noise, the entire population of Muyun County would probably have been alarmed.
Remembering that woman with a bad temper, Lou Mu quickened his pace and hurried toward the North Gate.
When he found Tang Nian, apart from her somewhat messy hair, her face covered in black and white patches, and her tattered clothes, it was impossible to tell what had happened there.
"Why are you here?" Tang Nian was slightly taken aback when she saw Lou Mu. She thought it was Ming Huan who had come.
Lou Mu looked around but didn't find anything strange. He frowned and looked Tang Nian over: "What happened?"
Tang Nian shook her head, picked up the sword lying to the side, sheathed it, and tied it behind her back.
The two arrived at the city gate one after the other. Tang Nian stepped forward and knocked on the gate. Soon after, a guard opened the gate and let the two in.
Tang Nian walked quickly towards the inn without saying a word. Lou Mu followed behind her at a distance, also without speaking.
Tang Nian pushed open the door to the room. Ming Huan had not yet returned. Just as she was about to close the door, Lou Mu stopped her.
"Shall we chat?"
Tang Nian glanced at her outfit with disdain and said irritably, "Change your clothes before I come to see you."
After saying that, he slammed the door shut.
Lou Mu stood in front of the door for a while, then smiled and shook his head before returning to his room.
About the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, there was a knock on the door, and Lou Mu got up and opened it.
At this moment, Tang Nian had changed into a white dress, the silk fabric embroidered with gold trim, a white jade belt tied around her waist, and her hair was gently tied up with a bamboo hairpin. She was completely different from the woman she was in the morning.
Tang Nian looked up in confusion when Lou Mu didn't let her in for a while. She saw Lou Mu staring at her without any attempt to hide it.
"Cough cough."
Seeing Tang Nian looking at him with a hint of doubt and dissatisfaction in her eyes, Lou Mu coughed twice to cover his embarrassment and quickly stepped aside to let Tang Nian into the room.
Lou Mu's room window was not closed, and a ray of sunlight pierced through the thick clouds and shone directly on Tang Nian's face. Lou Mu felt that Tang Nian's pale face seemed to appear even paler under the sunlight.
"Now can you tell me what happened outside the city?"
Lou Mu picked up the teapot on the table and poured Tang Nian a cup of water.
Tang Nian nodded her thanks, took a sip of water, and couldn't help but cover her mouth with her sleeve and cough a few more times.
"In Muyun Village, I saw the large cauldron that Magistrate Wang mentioned."
"Um?"
Lou Mu paused as he raised his teacup, then put it back on the table, still smiling, but Tang Nian could sense his shock.
As Mu walked upstairs, he guessed many possibilities, but he never expected that the bronze cauldron would appear there.
According to Magistrate Wang, after the old man's accident, he sent people to Muyun Village, but they did not find the bronze cauldron. Although those shopkeepers were ordinary people, such a large object would leave some clues even if they set up a smokescreen.
What are your thoughts on that large cauldron?
Of all the people in this county, probably only Tang Nian has ever seen the true appearance of this cauldron.
"evil."
Tang Nian took a sip of tea, thought for a moment, and then said, "An evil object that recognizes its master."
"Why do you say that?" Lou Mu's smile completely disappeared. Tang Nian's reputation was well-known, and he trusted her. It was precisely because of this trust that he was so nervous.
It has been a long time since any evil creatures have appeared in the Great Chu, let alone evil creatures that have recognized a master. If what Tang Nian said is true, then this matter is really quite troublesome.
Tang Nian shook her head: "Intuition."
Suddenly, she remembered something and looked up at Lou Mu.
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