Small Town Curiosities

Jia Gu Qing had been searching through the Bamboo Forest of Ice and Wind for a long time but couldn't find the entrance he was looking for.

"Where is it? I remember it was here. Have I been drinking too much lately and muddled my brain?"

"Forget it. I'll just shout." Growing impatient, Jia Gu Qing rolled up his sleeves, adjusted his belt, and firmly planted his feet, ready to call out.

"What wind blew you, a wild recluse, to my place?" came the voice of the High Immortal Liao Yin from behind him.

Startled, Jia Gu Qing turned around and saw the High Immortal Liao Yin. He quickly composed himself, straightened his sleeves, and walked over.

"I rarely come here, and this is how you welcome me?" Jia Gu Qing complained as he pointed at Liao Yin.

"No one comes to the treasure hall without a reason. Your visit must be for something important, isn't it?" Liao Yin responded, turning slowly and walking into the depths of the bamboo forest. With a gentle wave, a hidden barrier gate in the bamboo forest opened. Seeing this, Jia Gu Qing followed.

"I knew it! The entrance was around there. If you hadn't come, I would have found it by now," Jia Gu Qing said as he followed Liao Yin to her pavilion. Liao Yin poured him a cup of tea.

"Are you here for the Purifying Dust Cauldron?" Liao Yin asked, as if she had already guessed Jia Gu Qing's purpose.

Jia Gu Qing drank the tea in one gulp and nodded repeatedly while wiping his mouth. "Yes, that cauldron. What did you add to it? My little apprentice's temper has become very strange lately."

"The Purifying Dust Cauldron can only refine the demonic essence in the Moon Shadow Pill. As for what Li Minghan left inside, Ning'er has to refine it within himself. If his mind is unsettled, it will still affect him," Liao Yin said softly.

"So, if the little alchemist doesn't control himself, he could become the next Li Minghan?" Jia Gu Qing understood the implication.

Liao Yin nodded slightly.

"Oh, why didn't you say so earlier? He's your last disciple, and you just watch him risk falling into demonic cultivation?" Jia Gu Qing exclaimed, nearly jumping with frustration.

Seeing Jia Gu Qing's anxious reaction, Liao Yin smiled and poured him another cup of tea. "Ning'er has been protected by the Chi Xi Pill since childhood. Without it, the remaining strong cultivation within him cannot be sustained by an ordinary inner pill. The Moon Shadow Pill, nourished by the bloodline of his Li family, will not strongly reject his constitution. Besides, both brothers have unfinished business, and their fate is not something I can decide."

"Wait, you knew this all along? And you just watched?" Jia Gu Qing asked, a bit annoyed.

Liao Yin glanced at a nearby pond, and Jia Gu Qing curiously approached. He saw a white lotus slowly blooming with a faint golden glow.

"What does this mean?" Jia Gu Qing asked, puzzled.

"Everything has its cause and effect. Ning'er has his mission in this world, and you have your duties," Liao Yin said as the lotus fully bloomed, revealing Bingo sleeping inside.

At the old Li residence,

"Master, which is more important, revenge or survival?" Mi Xingzhe asked, leaning against the doorway.

"Revenge," Li Luoning replied calmly.

"Even if one's cultivation is inferior to the enemy's, should one still seek revenge?" Mi Xingzhe asked, wanting to know his master's stance if he sought revenge against Nan Zhe.

"Then don't go," Li Luoning said firmly, seeing through Mi Xingzhe's intentions.

"But if revenge is unavoidable? Shouldn't one try even at the cost of one's life?" Mi Xingzhe persisted.

"You are no match for him," Li Luoning said bluntly, shattering Mi Xingzhe's hopes.

"But he killed Miss Ruoying. Shouldn't I seek justice for her?" Mi Xingzhe stood up, agitated.

"You can, but you shouldn't go," Li Luoning replied briefly and stood up to leave. He only wished to live peacefully with Mi Xingzhe and not get involved in any more conflicts.

"And if I insist on going?" Mi Xingzhe suddenly found the courage to challenge Li Luoning.

Li Luoning paused, turned, and stared at Mi Xingzhe with rare severity and a fleeting coldness. "I promised Qingyi to protect you. I won't let you do something so dangerous. Ruoying's revenge is Hua Qiuyuan's task. If you dare to go, I'll break your legs!"

Mi Xingzhe felt a chill from Li Luoning's gaze, unsure if his master was serious or just scaring him. As he hesitated, a blue rope wrapped around his ankle.

"Master, not again with the Restraining Charm!" Mi Xingzhe exclaimed.

Li Luoning knew Mi Xingzhe well; the more he was forbidden, the more determined he would be. He had to use the Restraining Charm to keep him in check. Without Yun Qingyi around, there was no one to free him from it.

"From now on, you cannot leave my sight. This Restraining Charm is only ten feet long. If you go beyond that, it will activate and pull you back. If you don't believe me, try it," Li Luoning demonstrated.

"I'll try it. A small charm can't hold me," Mi Xingzhe muttered and took off.

"Haha, I knew it. Just a little... Ah!" Before he could finish, the charm yanked him back, and he fell.

Getting up and dusting himself off, Mi Xingzhe was determined. "It was just an accident. My improved skills can break this charm." He ran towards the gate, only to be pulled back again.

Li Luoning ignored him and found an old book to read by the door.

"Master, am I just a guard lion now?" Mi Xingzhe grumbled.

Li Luoning didn't respond, only casting a spell that projected an incantation before Mi Xingzhe.

"Learn this by sunset," he ordered, then went inside.

Mi Xingzhe made a face at Li Luoning's back to vent his frustration.

"And copy the incantation fifty times," Li Luoning's voice came from inside.

Caught making faces, Mi Xingzhe was startled. "But I have no ink or paper!"

"Write it on the ground with water!"

Back at Wuming Demon Mountain, Shentu Zhajia was holding a Blue Snow Flower, lost in thought.

"Did Qiuyuan seek revenge, or did he use this as an excuse to leave Wuming Demon Mountain? If he really wanted to leave, why put on this act with Nan Zhe? And who killed Ruoying?"

Shentu Zhajia pondered, finding it all illogical. "When did Qiuyuan meet Nan Zhe? If he truly wanted to leave, why go through this trouble? But if he sought revenge, with their differing strengths, Qiuyuan would win." 

Still puzzled, Shentu Zhajia felt the Blue Snow Flower heat up in his hand.

"Hiss~" The flower suddenly burned to ashes in his palm.

"The Ghost Maiden has arrived, my lord," the demon soldier reported from outside.

"I see. Tell her to wait in the sleeping quarters," Shentu Zhajia responded absently, brushing off the small burned spot in his hand.

At the marketplace, although the Tianzhong Festival was approaching, the streets showed no signs of festivity.

Once noisy and bustling, the street now had many shops with their doors shut during the day, and some even had white mourning cloths hanging beside them.

Several broken and tilted stalls huddled in the corners, and only a tea shop not far away, covered by a tattered canvas, had its owner lazily leaning against the door, wiping a cloth.

"Boss, two bowls of cold tea, please," Mi Xingzhe and Li Luoning sat at the only table and called to the shop owner.

"Alright." The tea shop owner, who seemed not to have had customers for a long time, served the tea with a big smile.

"Boss, the Tianzhong Festival is coming up, so why aren't the shops around here open?" Mi Xingzhe asked, pointing at the desolate street as he took the tea.

"You must not be locals. Strange things have been happening in town lately," the tea shop owner said in a low voice.

"Strange things? What kind of strange things?" Mi Xingzhe's curiosity was piqued.

"You haven't heard? Recently, many people have died in the town, their bodies drained of life. The whole town is in a panic, so who has the heart to celebrate the Tianzhong Festival?" 

"Drained of life? Drained of yang energy?" Mi Xingzhe murmured, glancing at his master and suddenly getting a mischievous idea.

"Hey, boss, my master is a great demon hunter. Maybe he can help," Mi Xingzhe said with a mischievous grin, winking at his master and then turning to the shop owner.

"Nian'er, don't speak nonsense," Li Luoning warned in a low voice, setting down his tea bowl.

"That would be wonderful! If the two of you could rid our town of this evil spirit, my tea shop could stay open, and my family could survive!" The tea shop owner bowed repeatedly in gratitude.

"Boss, don't do that. Please get up. To catch the evil spirit, you need to tell us what it looks like and when and where it appears so we can be prepared," Mi Xingzhe quickly helped the shop owner up, asking for more information.

"The monster appears at unpredictable times, sometimes even in broad daylight, snatching people away. Though it's said to be a monster, it looks more like a person. No one has seen its claws or face," the tea shop owner recalled.

"That's tough."

"Nian'er, don't meddle," Li Luoning warned again, glaring at Mi Xingzhe. He turned to the tea shop owner with a friendly smile, "The child reads too many stories and likes to imagine things. Please don't mind him." He handed the shop owner some silver.

"Thank you, sir," the shop owner said, though his face showed disappointment as he weighed the silver in his hand.

After a short rest, the master and disciple continued towards home. Mi Xingzhe, still thinking, muttered to himself, "With master's skills, why not help the townspeople? I need to find a way to keep him here tonight."

Suddenly, he bent over and groaned, "Oh, my stomach hurts. It must be the tea. I can't walk anymore." He sat on the steps of a shop.

Li Luoning paused, looking back at Mi Xingzhe, knowing his little schemes, and walked over.

"What are you doing?"

Li Luoning took Mi Xingzhe's wrist, checking his pulse with two fingers, and said expressionlessly, "Pulse is steady, complexion is rosy, voice is strong. There's nothing wrong." He let go and continued walking.

Having his trick exposed, Mi Xingzhe reluctantly got up and followed, muttering, "Oh, master doesn't want to help, so let the townspeople fend for themselves."

Mi Xingzhe tried again after a short distance, "Oh, master, I sprained my ankle."

Li Luoning sighed, turned back, and watched Mi Xingzhe's exaggerated performance with arms crossed.

"Master, I stepped on a stick and twisted my ankle. We can't go on. Let's stay here tonight," Mi Xingzhe said with a fake smile.

Li Luoning stood there, staring at Mi Xingzhe without any expression. After a while, he tapped his arm with his fingers, as if saying, "Let's see how long you can keep this up."

Mi Xingzhe knew this gesture too well from his time at the Mirror Cloud Residence. It meant either he or his master would have to give in. But seeing his master's expression, it was clear he wouldn't.

Feeling awkward under his master's gaze, Mi Xingzhe finally gave up and stood up, "Alright, alright. If master doesn't want to help, then let the townspeople suffer. I, a kind-hearted person, can't stand it... Ah!"

Mi Xingzhe, sulking, walked quickly ahead. He turned back to say something, but his foot caught on something, and he fell for real, scraping his hand.

"Be careful!" Li Luoning tried to warn but was too late, watching Mi Xingzhe fall.

"Ouch, I really hurt myself this time," Mi Xingzhe winced, blowing on his scraped hand.

Li Luoning squatted to check, gently turning Mi Xingzhe's wrist, relieved to find no serious injury. "It's just a scratch. Wash it with clean water, and it'll be fine," he said gently.

However, the scent of Mi Xingzhe's blood attracted a hidden figure. Under a white cloak, a sinister smile appeared, and the figure's nostrils flared as they savored the smell.