Nighttime visit to the Gate of Immortality
The bright moon rose high, and the night outside the window was pitch black. The birds in the trees had long since returned to their nests and were no longer making their annoying calls.
Wen Zheng gently pushed open the door and walked out. Mu Qing was behind her, looking at her sneaky and thieving appearance, and reminded her, "I've checked, there's no one around."
Compared to walking normally, Wen Zheng is more easily spotted when she looks like this.
"Really?" Wen Zheng asked, her body straightening unconsciously, and she relaxed considerably. "Have you been to the Changsheng Gate before?"
Mu Qing shook her head: "I've never been here."
He has always disliked going out, and the Changsheng Sect and the Zhuxian Sect have almost no contact.
Wen Zheng clicked her tongue, drawing Mu Qing's attention, who asked, "What's wrong?"
"I don't know where Li Ruyue's room is," Wen Zheng said. It was her first time at Changsheng Sect, and she was worried about alerting the enemy, so she hadn't had time to ask.
I wish I hadn't acted so soon; I should have found out more before making any plans.
"If you don't know, you can ask someone," Mu Qingping said calmly.
Wen Zheng stared at him with wide eyes, as if asking if he was not thinking clearly.
Mu Qing lifted the vines that were blocking his view, letting Wen Zheng pass first. He glanced around, and after a moment of wariness, he said, "Delay will only lead to complications. It's best to resolve this as soon as possible. Asking someone is the fastest way."
After explaining, he quickened his pace and led the way.
Wen Zheng followed behind him and whispered, "But we haven't figured out the relationship between Li Ruyue and the Changsheng Sect yet. What if her killing me is related to the Changsheng Sect?"
Mu Qing was respectfully addressed as Immortal Mu by everyone. If there really was a problem with the Longevity Sect, how could he explain it to the others?
Moreover, asking someone rashly would definitely alert the people behind Li Ruyue, rendering her actions of looking for things in Li Ruyue's room tonight pointless.
"We won't alert them." Mu Qing led her around the Changsheng Gate, asking for directions. "I have a secret technique that allows me to view other people's memories without them having any recollection of it."
Wen Zheng was startled and looked at him, speechless with astonishment.
Isn't this just soul searching?
And is this really a secret technique? It sounds like a heretical cultivation method.
Wen Zheng said cautiously, "It seems that the immortal sects prohibit this kind of technique. This secret method doesn't seem to be a righteous method."
"Yes." Mu Qing nodded. "I learned this secret technique from a demon cultivator. The method is a bit extreme, but it works."
Wen Zheng: "..."
She didn't know what to say; at this moment, Mu Qing was even more evil than a heretic.
Wen Zheng pursed her lips and thought for a while, but didn't say anything to stop him. One must save one's own life before one has the right to sympathize with others.
She couldn't even save her own life, and was still struggling on the edge of life and death. She couldn't care about others, not to mention that the Changsheng Sect was strange in every way and didn't look like a reputable sect.
Wen Zheng and Mu Qing walked for a quarter of an hour, quite a distance from the courtyard where they were resting. Along the way, they didn't encounter a single patrolling disciple; the surroundings were so quiet that Wen Zheng suspected they were the only two living people in the entire Changsheng Sect.
She nudged Mu Qing's arm and asked, "Aren't you good at detecting things? There's no one around?"
The hand that had been forming a hand seal paused, then slowly lowered, the author frowning and muttering, "Nobody's here. That's strange."
He was very cautious when he first went out, but after walking for so long without encountering a single living person, Mu Qing had a bad feeling.
Wen Zheng tugged at Mu Qing's sleeve and said, "Do you think the Changsheng Sect disciple we saw during the day might be...?"
She stopped halfway through her sentence and mouthed the word "ghost".
As soon as she finished lip-syncing, the birds in the trees took flight, fluttering into the night sky. The dark shadows streaked across the sky at lightning speed; they didn't look like birds, but rather like bats out foraging for food.
The sudden commotion startled Wen Zheng, who quickly hid behind Mu Qing. Several talismans flashed between her fingers, and she swiftly stuck one of them behind Mu Qing's back, patting it gently as if to reassure her.
"If you run away, remember to take me with you."
Her speed-boosting talisman couldn't be wasted; it would be most effective if applied to Mu Qing, making him run faster than her.
"Put the talisman away." Mu Qing said softly, glancing at the direction where the birds had taken flight. A middle-aged man appeared with several disciples, and asked with some surprise when he saw someone standing in front of him, "And who are you, sir?"
Mu Qing: "The Immortal Pursuit Sect, Mu Qing."
The middle-aged man suddenly realized and said, "So it's Immortal Venerable Mu. I am Shi Xin, an inner sect steward of the Longevity Sect. I have just met Immortal Venerable Mu."
"Steward Shi, you're too kind." Mu Qing nodded in return, adopting a cool and aloof demeanor, and said indifferently, "I should thank Sect Leader Xu for allowing my junior sister and me to stay here. I should be the one expressing my gratitude."
Shi Xin smiled and said, "Immortal Venerable Mu, you're too kind. But I remember the residence arranged by the sect leader is quite far from here. How did you end up here?"
His tone was full of surprise, and his eyes were scrutinizing.
Wen Zheng knew that she couldn't panic in times like these, so she took the initiative to say, "I asked my senior brother to come out for a walk with me, but I accidentally got lost. I was just about to ask my senior brother to take me back when you arrived."
Whether Shi Xin on the other side believed it or not, he pointed out the direction and prepared to leave. Seeing that he was in a hurry, Wen Zheng asked, "Deacon Shi, you're with so many people so late at night, has something happened?"
Her casual question made Shi Xin turn his head and stare at her with a gloomy expression. Seeing her innocent look and Mu Qing protecting her behind her, a glint of light flashed in Shi Xin's eyes.
He put on a kind expression and said, "Several disciples had an accident. I brought people to clean out their belongings and return them to their families. After all, people are gone, and we should at least have something to remember them by."
“That’s true. Steward Shi, you’re busy. We’ll head back now.” Wen Zheng waved to Shi Xin and walked towards their courtyard.
Shi Xin stared at their departing figures for a long time before turning his gaze away and leaving with his disciples.
Not long after he left, Wen Zheng and Mu Qing returned. Mu Qing frowned and said, "It seems that there really is something strange about the Changsheng Sect."
They returned the tokens of the disciples who died in the demon race to Xu Ximing during the day. They had so much time to deal with it, but they let it go and had someone clean it up at night.
Furthermore, using the excuse of returning the items to their family members to send an inner sect steward with so many people is very inappropriate.
For mortals to embark on the path of cultivation means severing all worldly ties and having no further contact with family and friends in the mortal realm. The Changsheng Sect could not possibly be unaware of this principle.
“We’ll find out once we catch up.” Wen Zheng took out a bunch of talismans that could conceal one’s presence and gave them to Mu Qing. “You go first.”
She knew her own limitations and wouldn't recklessly blaze a trail ahead.
"Stay close to me." Mu Qing accepted the talisman, took one out and patted it on Wen Zheng's shoulder, then patted one on herself before following the direction Shi Xin had gone.
Wen Zheng froze on the spot, her body stiff. She patted her shoulder as if in disgust and muttered, "You patted so hard, it hurts!"
She complained a couple of times, then slowly followed behind Mu Qing.
The two moved quietly, and with the speed-boosting talismans that Wen Zheng had later attached to their bodies, they quickly caught up with Shi Xin.
He went into an ordinary disciple's courtyard in the pavilion and had people go in to pack their things. The bedding and miscellaneous items were quickly gathered up and casually thrown on the ground. Some were even thrown into puddles without anyone noticing.
Shi Xin looked at the things that were thrown out with disgust and waved his hand, saying, "Burn these things, and remember to burn them cleanly."
The people carrying the things nodded in agreement and led the others to start a fire to burn the things.
Shi Xin lowered his eyes and looked at the flames for a while. In the dead of night, the flickering firelight seemed as if the disciples were still alive in front of him. He took a deep breath and turned to leave.
Wen Zheng and Mu Qing peeked at them burning something from a short distance away. Wen Zheng clicked her tongue twice and said, "The Changsheng Sect has a big problem."
Now everything is out in the open.
Mu Qing nodded in agreement and said, "Let's follow Shi Xin."
He quickly caught up with Shi Xin, who had gone far away. Wen Zheng, still worried, put on two more invisibility talismans and followed behind Mu Qing.
The two followed behind Shi Xin, who moved so fast that he disappeared in the blink of an eye.
Wen Zheng stared blankly in the direction he disappeared, then turned and asked, "Can you keep up?"
She seems to be struggling to keep up.
“Yes,” Mu Qing said solemnly. “If you can’t keep up, I’ll carry you.”
After he finished speaking, he squatted down, revealing his broad back to Wen Zheng. She hesitated and took a step back, swallowing hard. "Isn't that a bit inappropriate?"
"Come on, we're going to lose." Mu Qing ignored her and urged her repeatedly.
Wen Zheng looked up at Shi Xin, who had been missing for a long time, gritted her teeth, and climbed onto Mu Qing's back.
The moment their bodies touched, Wen Zheng's first feeling was discomfort. Mu Qing's back had only a thin layer of muscle, with his skeleton supporting his entire spine. When he walked, she could clearly feel the muscles tensing and relaxing.
To divert attention, Wen Zheng said, "This must be the first time you've carried someone on your back, Immortal Master Mu."
The Immortal Pursuit Sect treasures Mu Qing like a treasure, so they probably wouldn't let him do anything behind people's backs.
"No." Mu Qing replied while keeping an eye on Shi Xin's movements, "I carried many people on my back when we fought against the demons before."
"Really? You offered to carry me on your back, so you've become friends?" Wen Zheng asked.
"No, they all died on the battlefield."
"..."
Wen Zheng was shut down by Mu Qing's chatter, so she silently lay on his back and stopped talking.
Mu Qing felt the warm, soft body behind her back, and her body stiffened, afraid to move.
The two quietly followed Shi Xin to a luxurious yet understated courtyard. Shi Xin quickly went inside, grabbed something, and left.
Mu Qing looked at the shape of the thing he was holding, which seemed to be a spirit stone or something similar, so she didn't pay any attention to it and squatted down to let Wen Zheng down.
"Let's go. I think this should be Li Ruyue's residence." Mu Qing cautiously drew his sword and set up a simple concealment array at the door to warn him of the approaching person.
Wen Zheng stepped forward and pushed open the door. The room was very simple, and the iron bar standing against the wall confirmed that this was Li Ruyue's room.
Wen Zheng took out a talisman for illumination and began searching the room for what she wanted.
Li Ruyue had seen her before, but Shi Xin of the Changsheng Sect looked at her with complete unfamiliarity, proving that she was not a disciple of the Changsheng Sect.
As for Sect Leader Xu, she wasn't quite sure.
Wen Zheng didn't have much time and didn't have time to delve into the strangeness of the situation. She wanted to find clues about the people closely connected to Li Ruyue and then deduce her own identity.
She turned her gaze to the books placed beside the bed, a thick stack of about ten books.
Wen Zheng started flipping through the first book, her fingers moving quickly, her eyes fixed on the contents without blinking, until she finished the last book. Then, she took a deep breath and started searching on the bed again.
She felt her way from one end of the bed to the other and found more than a dozen letters in a hidden compartment beside the bed. She didn't have time to read the contents of the letters because Mu Qing quickly ran over, picked her up, and carried her up to the roof beam.
They had just stood on the roof beam when the door was pushed open, and Master Xu came in carrying someone—it was Shi Xin.
"What did I tell you to do? You just ignored me, didn't you?" Xu Ximing threatened in a fierce tone.
Shi Xin trembled with fear, his mind racing as he replied, "I searched Li Ruyue's room but found nothing useful, so I'm wondering if there are other methods."
"Oh, do you think you know more than me?" Xu Ximing glanced at him, his expression full of disdain.
Shi Xin dared not complain at all, and said, "I think it would be better to burn it down."
After he finished speaking, Xu Ximing slapped him across the face and kicked him hard in the chest.
"Fool! Mu Qing just told me about the death of a disciple in the demon race, and you set fire tonight? Are you afraid people won't know there's something wrong?"
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