Unidentified female corpse
Despite her threats, the city lord remained unmoved.
"Does the fairy think I would care about these lives?"
He was wearing a mask, and his tone was neither sad nor happy, so for a while, it was really hard to deal with him.
Outside the cave, the fire was spreading, accompanied by cries of agony.
Lin Yueyao then said, "Then I will destroy this city and burn down this cave."
Upon hearing this, the city lord chuckled and said, "You destroy one, I'll rebuild one. What's so difficult about that?"
"Is that so?" Lin Yueyao was never one to be threatened. If it weren't for Rong Yan, why would she need to beg him like this?
"The City Lord is unfathomable and possesses astonishing cultivation. And this cave is heavily guarded, so there must be some treasure hidden there." She placed her hand on Wenqing, indicating that he should be patient. "Would you be so fortunate as to have a look?"
Even so, if he refuses, Lin Yueyao could slaughter this place at any time.
"It's just a humble cave dwelling; please feel free to look if you wish, Fairy." He gestured for her to enter, making no attempt to conceal anything.
Lin Yueyao stepped inside, the city lord standing five steps away from her.
The cave was decorated in a clean and pleasant style, exuding a warm fragrance, as if it were a completely different world from the outside.
Incense, dressing cases, bronze mirrors, and face powder for young women were prepared in various places.
The evidence suggests that a girl once lived here, but for reasons that cannot be spoken of, she is no longer alive. The furnishings and the girl's preferences have been preserved intact.
She might be the city lord's lover or daughter; she's definitely not ordinary.
Feeling the menacing gaze on her back, she knew she didn't want to be disturbed here.
Since she was already there, Lin Yueyao wasn't going to be polite.
She stopped in front of a stone gate, but couldn't open it.
Although the city lord allowed her to see it, she was extremely unwilling and followed closely behind her.
She wouldn't let him in, so she turned around, picked up a small, exquisite bracelet from the table, slipped it onto her wrist, and deliberately said, "It looks nice."
"I want it."
“An old item is not worthy of a fairy. I will have someone pick a better one for her.”
“Once you put it on, it’s mine.” She wore the bracelet, swaggered around looking it over, then turned her gaze to the makeup box and exclaimed, “These earrings are nice.”
The city lord, though his patience had reached its limit, still said, "If the fairy likes it, there are plenty in the storeroom."
Lin Yueyao ignored him and applied makeup in front of the mirror. Since she didn't have pierced ears, she couldn't wear the makeup at all.
She did it on purpose. Since he refused to help, she shouldn't blame him for touching things randomly.
By the way, this is Blackwater City. No one cares if the city is burned down, so what's wrong with coveting other people's things?
She added fuel to the fire, saying, "If I accidentally break it, the city lord won't blame me, will he?"
Sure enough, the city lord couldn't contain himself, "When did the fairy's junior brother disappear?"
“An hour ago.” She returned the items to their rightful owner, having never been fond of material possessions, and thus withdrew.
The two walked out of the inner room and into the main reception room.
"We were resting at the tavern when the sorcerer entered our room and kidnapped us."
Upon hearing this, the city lord immediately gathered his men.
A large group of dark figures gathered outside the door and knelt down. Rong Yan would undress before sleeping, and even remove her spirit pouch; she handed the items to the city lord.
The presence of Rong Yan's aura makes it relatively easy to search.
“A ten-year-old boy with no cultivation, quickly find him and bring him here.”
The subordinates took the spirit pouch from his hand, handed it over, and bowed in agreement.
All her subordinates had been sent away by the city lord, leaving her without anyone to serve her in the cave. The city lord personally poured her a bowl of tea.
The fire outside was still raging. After drinking tea, Lin Yueyao was about to get up to put out the fire, but the city lord said it was unnecessary.
A spell was cast gently, and a torrential downpour began.
Where the rain fell, the flames died down, revealing charred buildings.
Mermaid oil cannot extinguish it; only mermaid tears can stop it.
Her spiritual fire was extinguished by the rain. Lin Yueyao was impressed by the city lord's strength and felt more certain that she had found Rong Yan.
The two sat for a while, then the city lord waved his hand, and a portrait flew out of the box, floated into the air, and opened on its own.
The portrait depicts an ordinary man, yet he exudes an eerie aura.
"I promised the fairy I would find this person, and the fairy must also promise me to help me find this person." The city lord's words contained a threat, indicating that it was indeed not that simple.
"Okay." She readily agreed and put the scroll into her personal pouch.
The city lord was surprised by her silence, so he said to himself, "This man is my subordinate. He stole one of my treasures and ran away on his own."
"If you find this person, you must bring him to me."
She had no interest in listening to other people's stories, so she put down the crystal cup and got up to leave.
The more people seek out their junior apprentices, the greater the security.
The city lord didn't linger, and Lin Yueyao departed on her sword.
The clatter of horses' hooves echoed rhythmically on the cobblestone path.
The city lord's subordinates, the so-called shadows, blocked the way.
The horse-faced man stopped, revealed his true form, and said humbly, "My lords, this lowly demon had no intention of offending you."
"A ten-year-old boy, from a celestial sect, have you seen him?" The shadow, referred to as the adult, wore a veil.
The horse-faced man instantly realized that the female demon and the shadow were looking for the same person. To avoid being implicated, it said, "I know, I know, he was captured by the old ox."
“If you dare to lie,” the shadow threatened him.
Shadow was the city lord's subordinate, and he knew his methods and strength. The horse-faced man repeatedly assured him, "This little demon wouldn't dare to lie. That old ox had tied up the child and was about to eat him. I was scared and ran away."
The shadow stopped and, following the scent on the spirit pouch, indeed detected a lingering aroma.
Following the direction pointed out by the horse-faced man, they hurriedly headed to the cowshed.
The cowshed was empty, there was a handful of clear water in the stone mill in the yard, and the butcher's knife was polished to a shine.
There were signs of an argument on the ground.
The shadow searched around and the minotaur, who had been tricked by the human and the demon, revealed his true form. He was disoriented and one of his horns was broken off when he crashed into the floodwaters.
He ran wildly back to the cowshed.
Just as they were about to collide, the shadow neither dodged nor hid, but instead delivered a fatal blow to the throat.
Bright red blood splattered from its neck, and the buffalo's body collapsed with a crash, kicking up dust.
This was the old ox that the horse-faced man had mentioned; the shadows looked at each other in bewilderment.
One of them used a knife to cut open the cow's belly and gut.
At this moment, the old ox was still conscious. It had cultivation, so it could withstand this injury for a while. But it was still forced to have its belly cut open.
Just as it opened its eyes, the old ox began to pant heavily and moo pitifully.
The shadow rummaged through the cow's stomach, spilling intestines and heart all over the place. The shadow remained unfazed, and after finishing rummaging through the cow's stomach, it stood up and shook its head.
A group of dark figures quickly left.
The old ox still had a faint breath in its mouth, and its heart was still beating weakly. Inside its cut-open stomach, there was nothing but grass.
The shadow, holding the spirit pouch, sensed that Rong Yan was nearby.
To escape the minotaurs' pursuit, the wolf demon led him into a cave.
After hiding for a while, many dark figures suddenly emerged from the woods.
Hiding in the cave is not a long-term solution, the wolf demon said in human language, "Come with me quickly."
It knew of a place, a place it had just discovered.
The wolf demon revealed its true form, grabbed him, and dragged him into a pit.
They burrowed underground into a tunnel, barely large enough to stand and pass through.
The soil could cover up the scent of a living person, and indeed, the feeling of suffocation disappeared.
Rong Yan followed him, walking forward with his head down. He didn't know how long he walked, but the road ahead disappeared.
The opening at the top was blocked, and the two tried to push it open, but it wouldn't budge.
"No, it won't work, we can't push it open," the wolf demon sighed.
"Then what should we do?" Rong Yan asked him.
The wolf demon reverted to its original form, becoming a furry gray wolf. With a howl, it worked with Rong Yan to finally pry open a small gap in the object blocking the cave entrance.
Light peeked through the crack, and hope returned to Rong Yan's face.
With their combined strength, they pushed upwards and created a gap the length of an arm.
Ripples spread across the water in the crystal goblet, and the city lord hesitated for a moment.
A human and a demon climbed out of the cave.
Rong Yan pulled him up, and he collapsed to the ground, resting for a long time.
"Thank you."
The wolf demon imitated him, casually sitting on the ground, finding it most comfortable to be in human form.
"It's nothing, just a small favor. Remember to treat me to grilled fish."
“No problem,” Rong Yan said eagerly, then asked, “How did you end up here?”
He also happened to save his life, and Rong Yan was grateful, but he didn't know how to repay him.
The wolf demon blushed and said, "I got hungry after you left. Your grilled fish was so delicious, I couldn't stop thinking about the taste, so I came here."
"I see. How come you contacted me all of a sudden?"
"That's easy, you smell."
Rong Yan subconsciously sniffed himself, but couldn't smell anything.
“It’s human nature; everyone is different. I remember yours, and I remember hers, but you two broke up, so I came to find you first.”
"You have a dog's nose, don't you?" Rong Yan suddenly hugged him tightly.
The wolf demon struggled to say, "You could say that. Wolves and dogs share the same ancestor; they were just domesticated."
"But how did you two end up separating?"
Thinking about this, Rong Yan felt a chill run down his spine; his senior sister must have been terribly worried.
It's also possible that she'll abandon him and return to the mountains on her own, since she's just a useless burden.
No, my senior sister wouldn't abandon him. She's the best; she's cold on the outside but warm on the inside, with a sharp tongue but a soft heart.
The wolf demon, seeing him shake his head and nod at the same time, thought he was scared out of his wits and reached out his furry little hand to touch his forehead.
"It's not hot."
Rong Yan grabbed his hand. "I'm worried about my senior sister."
"She's so powerful, why should I worry about her?" The wolf demon thought he should worry about himself first.
The two stood up and felt a cool sensation in their bodies and minds, but they didn't notice the ice crystals filling the room.
It wasn't until they felt a chill that the two realized they were speaking with their backs against a crystal coffin.
Rong Yan was so frightened that he stopped in his tracks and saw a person lying in the crystal coffin, or more precisely, a woman.
Because of the ice crystals suppressing the body, it did not rot; however, cracks appeared in the coffin, and the woman's body began to ooze pus.
Upon hearing Rong Yan's shouts, the city lord thought he was hallucinating, but did not open the door to the ice chamber.
“She’s dead…” Rong Yan stood far away, looking very frightened.
The wolf demon, however, was unconvinced and even climbed onto the coffin, saying, "What's there to be afraid of?" After saying that, he jumped down from the coffin and pulled Rong Yan to feel the coffin.
The moment his hand touched the coffin, he abruptly pulled it back.
Rong Yan shouted again, "I don't want to—"
The city lord suddenly stood up. This time he was absolutely certain that the voice was coming from the ice chamber.
His hand remained frozen in front of the ice room door, hesitant to drop it.
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