Chapter 5

Wang Qi glanced at Xuan Kong, not daring to say that he had been sent by his fellow disciples to pull him out and take the blame. Because of yesterday's incident, all the junior disciples had lost the last bit of respect for their senior brother who lived alone on the back mountain. If it weren't for the fact that no one wanted to take the risk of going up the steep mountain path, they would have long called Xuan Kong to account.

None of them were convinced. Why should a young man who looked less than twenty years old be above them?

Wang Qi didn't speak, and Xuan Kong became even more anxious. He formed a hand seal and, riding a gust of clear wind, carried Wang Qi into the air. "What exactly happened? What's wrong with Master?"

The rugged mountain path was nonexistent in Xuan Kong's eyes. Even with a junior brother in tow, his speed was still incredibly fast. Wang Qi looked down at the thousand-foot abyss and couldn't help but tightly grip Xuan Kong's sleeve. "Master is fine. It's the hunters from the mountain who came to seek help!"

Xuan Kong let out a sigh of relief and reduced the power of the wind-riding spell. He said with satisfaction, "Since Master is fine, why are you making such a fuss?"

In the entire Mount Laoshan, only the old Taoist's safety was what Xuan Kong cared about. Hearing that it wasn't the old Taoist who was in trouble, his heart was already half at ease.

"Who's making a fuss!" Wang Qi gave Xuan Kong an unhappy look, feeling that the senior brothers were right; this senior brother was too arrogant and disrespectful.

He didn't realize that as the top disciple of Mount Laoshan, Xuan Kong had no reason to look favorably upon these junior brothers. In fact, if it weren't for the old Taoist taking in these ordinary people, Xuan Kong wouldn't even acknowledge them as his junior brothers.

Cultivating the Dao is about cultivating oneself. If one hasn't cultivated oneself well, one's mind is full of superficial thoughts.

From the back mountain to the peak of Mount Laoshan, it took only a moment. Xuan Kong led Wang Qi into the Shangqing Hall courtyard and took his place at the front of the two rows of disciples. The second and third disciples, who were already standing in the front row, exchanged glances but remained silent.

Xuan Kong stood at the front, seeing the old Taoist entertaining two hunters from the mountain, drinking tea and making small talk. He didn't speak, just closed his eyes and listened to the conversation above.

One of the hunters was surnamed Nie, the other surnamed Peng. They were sitting beside the old Taoist, still shivering. "Daoist Yimei, you must really save us this time!"

The old Taoist's original name was long forgotten, but because his eyebrows almost met, he was respectfully called "Daoist Yimei." Xuan Kong himself never called him that.

"Daoist Yimei..."

It always reminded Xuan Kong of a favorite movie star from the previous generation, who pioneered a new genre of films.

The old Taoist, sitting in the main seat, picked up his teacup and blew on it, saying helplessly, "Gentlemen, our Laoshan Sect has been here for twenty years. We are neighbors, and we will not stand idly by when you are in trouble. But you must explain the situation clearly."

The hunter surnamed Peng shivered and nudged his companion surnamed Nie. The hunter surnamed Nie had some confidence. He was originally a high official in the capital, but after offending the imperial advisor, he was demoted. Unexpectedly, he had a strong personality and decided to abandon his post and leave with his family.

Having been a high official, he had a broad perspective. The hunter surnamed Nie began his story from the beginning: "It's quite strange. We mountain people usually don't want to deal much with outsiders. But that day, a few merchants drove a carriage through the mountain path."

The second disciple interjected, "Did those merchants cause you trouble?"

The hunter surnamed Nie shook his head. "When they were on the mountain path, it was already getting dark, so they called the young driver to knock on our door, wanting to stay for the night."

The second disciple laughed. "Did you take their money and let them stay?"

The hunter surnamed Nie's face turned red, as if he was about to get angry, but he controlled his anger when he saw Daoist Yimei sitting beside him. "I am a mountain person and didn't want to get involved. I advised those merchants to go a little further, and they would find an inn before it got completely dark."

The hunter surnamed Peng chattered, "But those merchants refused to go any further and insisted on staying before it got dark."

The third disciple said, "That's understandable. Merchants are afraid of encountering evil things at night, so they don't want to travel further."

The hunter surnamed Nie said, "We told them that this is the territory of Mount Laoshan, and there are no evil spirits here."

The old Taoist stroked his long eyebrows and smiled, clearly proud of the reputation of the Laoshan Sect in the area.

The third disciple, thinking he was smart, said, "So they left?"

The hunter surnamed Peng shook his head. "If they had left, there would be no further trouble." The mountain people lived in small households, and a few families lived together, helping each other. The merchants cried and begged, saying they had encountered ghosts on the road, which had killed the women in their group.

The hunter surnamed Nie had originally been on his way from the capital to his hometown. He had heard that his daughter was famous for her beauty in the capital, but no one had ever seen her. Over time, rumors spread that his daughter had died on the way back to his hometown after he resigned.

These were just rumors, not to be taken seriously.

But the hunter surnamed Nie was moved and allowed the merchants to stay in the village. This was a good deed, but who could have predicted that the same night, something happened in the village. A few strong young men, who were lying in bed, didn't get up the next day.

The second disciple sneered, "Probably because they were tired from hunting and wanted to be lazy."

The hunter surnamed Peng was angry. "We mountain people live by hunting. If we don't hunt, what will we eat and drink?"

The hunter surnamed Nie stopped the hunter surnamed Peng and sighed. "Those young men didn't just pretend to be lazy; they were all dead." Xuan Kong's face suddenly tensed. This didn't make sense. How could they all die at the same time?

This wasn't a school trip where a class of students would agree to set off together.

The old Taoist also said, "This is not normal."

The hunter surnamed Peng continued, "After this happened, the merchants used the excuse of being afraid and hid in their rooms for a whole day. We were busy with the funeral and didn't notice this."

"This doesn't make sense," Xuan Kong thought to himself. Normally, merchants would run away as fast as they could when faced with such a situation, not stay and face the danger.

Sure enough, the hunter surnamed Peng was angry. "At first, we didn't suspect anything, but later that night, I heard a rustling sound coming from the merchants' room. I was curious and peeked through the window, and I saw the woman's corpse, which had been placed in the carriage, walk out on its own!"

The Laoshan Sect disciples, who were engrossed in the story, were startled when the hunter surnamed Nie slammed his fist on the tea table. They glared at him with anger, but they didn't hear him mutter, "Xiao Qian, Xiao Qian..."

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