13 Qingshan Town
Damn it...
Yin Li actually saw through my weakness!
Chu Qing stepped back, feeling both annoyed and embarrassed, but seeing his concerned expression, she could only feel resentful.
"Cough cough, it's nothing, it's just a small matter." Chu Qing clenched her fist and covered her lips, then looked around as if she was very busy.
"Yin Li, don't you think this standing statue is strange?"
"I'm afraid there's more to it than meets the eye, Master. Why don't we find out where they live tonight, and then we can try to find out more tomorrow?"
"That's fine too."
She nodded, watching the two kneeling figures sneak out again. She quickly followed, noting down their residence before heading back to the inn together.
Master
Mo Yu was already waiting at the door. Seeing that the two seemed to be unharmed, she was slightly relieved: "Master, go and rest. Hot water has been prepared for you."
A smile flashed across Chu Qing's face, but Yin Li beside her saw it clearly. He was a little annoyed, but Mo Yu's actions were not wrong at all. He just felt depressed but couldn't express it.
It's just fetching water, who wouldn't try to be helpful? Humph.
As he left, he deliberately bumped into Mo Yu, and the two almost started fighting again while staring at each other. Fortunately, Yin Li went back first, preventing the situation from escalating.
He's just a healer, useless; he can't lift a finger.
He slept fitfully, but the night was not peaceful. The next morning, Mo Yu knocked on his door.
"Hey, Master's gone. Let me leave you some food."
Chu Qingge left? When? Why didn't she take me with her?
When did this happen?
He suddenly pushed open the door, startling the other person who took a step back and cursed, "Are you trying to get yourself killed?!"
Mo Yu wanted to say something more, but seeing his extremely bad expression, she gave up and rolled her eyes, replying, "The government officials came early this morning. It seems they went to ask Master for help, but seeing you were still asleep, they went by themselves. Humph, serves them right."
"Tell me where they went."
Yin Li grabbed Mo Yu's collar and pulled hard, suppressing the urge to strike. If he weren't Chu Qingge's apprentice, he would have been dead many times over.
However, this despicable person, who hasn't even taken the whipping from over a year ago, dares to ride roughshod over me.
"How would I know? I'm not your master."
"Don't force me to take action," Yin Li said through gritted teeth, releasing his pressure with a gentle touch, causing Mo Yu to break out in a cold sweat.
I never expected his strength to have increased so much!
"I...I really don't know. They said they were going to some Mr. Li's house, and it seemed like someone had gone missing. I didn't hear anything else."
"If you're doing your job well, you don't want to cause any more trouble for your mentor, right?"
After giving a cold warning, Yin Li quickly packed up and left. He had a feeling that the missing person was one of the two people from last night.
Sure enough, when he found the house following the route he remembered from yesterday, he saw the familiar white figure.
Before Chu Qing was fully awake in the morning, government officials rushed over, saying they needed the help of the Qingfeng Mountain elders because another person had gone missing. Upon hearing this, she went with them to the home of the missing Master Li early in the morning.
According to the official, although the Qi family, led by Master Li, was a relatively wealthy merchant family, they were honest and kind-hearted. They had three older brothers and one younger sister. The eldest brother, Li Liang, was recently taking the imperial examination, while the other two brothers, Li Jun and Li Yi, helped take care of their parents and younger sister, Li Yujin.
The family was enjoying a happy time together, but this morning they discovered that Li Jun was missing!
"Master, I'm here."
Chu Qing didn't wait for the person involved to open the door, but Yin Li came instead. She wasn't surprised how this kid found her: "Since you're here, come with me."
"Master, isn't this the place—"
Chu Qing put a finger to her lips, signaling him not to ask anything yet.
Before long, a pale-faced, listless young man opened the door. He seemed to already know their purpose, gestured for them to enter, and then walked in on his own.
This is the person who knelt and prayed at that temple last night!
The clothes she wore were no longer the old linen-colored coarse cloth, but had been replaced with fine brocade.
But his knees were covered in dust, and he looked dejected and tense.
"Elder Qingge, please let us know if you need anything. We've really troubled you this time, but we're also worried about the disappearances of people one after another—"
"Alright, let's go inside and take a look."
As the group entered the courtyard, Chu Qing immediately sensed something amiss: although the main hall was large and magnificent, and relatively clean and tidy, it felt eerily gloomy.
That's right, the lobby has very little natural light and faces directly out to the courtyard in the middle, where a locust tree is planted!
Upon arriving here, Yin Li also noticed something unusual.
The character "槐" (huái) contains the radical for "ghost" and is often associated with yin energy. Since merchant families usually value feng shui, why would they make the mistake of planting such a "ghost tree"?
Considering their behavior last night and that eerie, menacing statue, what exactly did they dream about?
"Li Yi, this is a highly skilled person invited by the government. You must answer her questions truthfully. If you conceal anything, hmph, we can't help you!"
But he merely moved his withered lips, like a walking corpse, turned around, nodded stiffly, and tugged at the corners of his mouth, revealing a strange smile.
Chu Qing shook her head and tried asking a few questions: "What did you do before Li Jun disappeared?"
The cold voice seemed to suddenly trigger something. The person who had been sitting suddenly glared and jumped up, but before he could stand up, he knelt on the ground, his hands trembling uncontrollably. He babbled incoherently, "We did it, we did it, yes, it's all because of the Heavenly Fiend Statue. They said, they said this statue could guarantee success in the imperial examinations. We, we... we're finished, we're finished. We've definitely caused trouble. We, we're getting our comeuppance!"
He trembled as he crawled toward Chu Qing, as if grasping at a lifeline, and lunged forward.
Before he could even touch a corner of the other person's clothes, Yin Li stopped him, staring coldly at the person on the ground, and said, word by word, "Pay attention to your limits!"
Chu Qing stood up, raised her hand and cast a calming spell, and the people on the ground returned to peace.
"It seems you know you've done something wrong, so tell me, what exactly did you do?"
She asked calmly, seemingly having guessed part of the situation. Li Yi's eyes darted around, looking guilty. He knelt on the ground and kowtowed, saying, "Please, immortal, save me! I... Li Jun and I were momentarily bewitched last night and went to the Tiancha Temple in the suburbs to kneel and pray, all for the sake of my elder brother passing the imperial examination. But... but for some reason, Li Jun... he can't be found this morning!"
"That's all?"
Yin Li frowned, feeling that things were not as simple as he said. What was the relationship between last night's conversation and the red-clothed man in the dream?
"Master, perhaps—"
Yin Li whispered something in Chu Qing's ear, but Chu Qing shook her head: "Don't do that unless absolutely necessary."
He then gave Yin Li a look, signaling the officials to leave.
The once bustling lobby was now empty except for three people. A cold wind blew by, carrying a chill that seeped into the bones.
“Li Yi, if you still want your brother to live, tell me the truth about what you did yesterday and what strange things have happened recently. We are not government officials, and we cannot interfere with what you have done. But human life is at stake. Do you still want to hide it?”
"I...I..."
The person on the ground kept his head down and remained silent for about fifteen minutes before slowly raising his head. As if he had made up his mind, he said, "Immortal, my life, Li Yi's life, may not be worth much, but I cannot let my whole family be in danger."
He slowly recounted his experiences, and Chu Qing finally understood the whole story from his somewhat incoherent words.
It turned out that the two of them went to Tiancha Temple last night because of a strange dream they had been having recently. At the beginning of the dream, Li Yi was in a foggy place. The sky was so dark that he could not see his own hand in front of his face, and only a small patch of moonlight illuminated the surroundings.
Suddenly, he noticed a man dressed in red official robes behind him, wearing a black gauze hat. His face and figure were not clearly visible, but he was running straight towards him, looking as if he wanted to arrest him.
Seeing this, Li Yi hurried forward. Every now and then, the cawing of crows could be heard around him, and the shadows of the trees seemed to haunt him like ghosts in the darkness.
No matter how fast he ran, the person was always chasing him relentlessly from a short distance away. When he saw a body of water ahead, he jumped in to avoid it.
The murky river water instantly filled his nose and mouth. Just when Li Yi thought he was going to die, a pair of hands pulled him up—it was Li Jun!
He quickly went ashore and, by the moonlight, discovered that Li Ping was in no better shape, looking just as if he had just escaped.
"Brother, what are you doing here?" Li Yi gasped for breath, still shaken.
"Let's not talk about that now. I was being chased by a man in red, and somehow I ended up by the river and that's when I saw you."
"Me too! But isn't this a dream? What's going on?! The person in red is still here—"
Just as Li Yi was about to ask a question, Li Jun pounced on him, quickly covered his mouth, and dragged him into a grove of trees.
"hehe"
In the vast jungle, only this ethereal voice echoed around them. The two dared not move, but whether it was an illusion or not, the cold laughter seemed to be getting closer and closer to them.
"Hehe, I know where you are."
Li Yi used all his strength to try to control his trembling body, but he still couldn't stop the sound of leaves rubbing against each other.
"Sasa"
"Sasa"
Whether it was the wind or something else, there were also faint footsteps mixed in.
"Da, da, da, da"
Step by step, it pounded relentlessly against my heart like a demonic hammer.
It moved very lightly, but the sound of its footsteps was like that of a lame person, as it rhythmically made its way towards the jungle where the two were hiding.
Suddenly, Li Yi noticed a shadow slowly emerging directly in front of him, where his back was against the bushes—
The head, shaped like an official's hat, was the first thing to be revealed, but the entire head seemed to have been cut off by something, leaving only the neck and lips where the hat was barely hanging, and the two shoulders were also sunken in.
"Tick-tock, tick-tock"
It felt as if warm liquid was dripping onto my head and the ground around me.
Li Yi and Li Jun trembled as they touched the top of their heads, and when they looked at it by the moonlight, they saw bloodstains!
!
"Ah, I've found you guys. How boring."
[Author's Note]
Wow, happy National Day everyone! I'm planning to take a two-day break and go on a trip after finishing this post today~ Love you all, I'll be back soon!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com