Chapter 6: An Unusual Arrival in Cangzhou

At Guanglai Inn in Cangzhou City, Chiyanzi was treating Long Qi's injuries. That kick from the man in black had been truly vicious, causing him such severe damage—his internal organs were injured and his ribs fractured. There were also several external wounds, and he would need to recuperate for a while.

Lingxiang was not as severely injured; although her heart meridian was damaged, she possessed cultivation, so after half a day of regulating her breath, she was back to her lively self.

"If it hadn't been for Senior Chiyanzi at that time, I suspect this junior would already be wandering the Great Void. It really is such a coincidence."

"What coincidence? I was specifically waiting for you nearby," Chiyanzi replied while applying medicine to Long Qi.

"Waiting for me? Why?"

"The day you took the Life-Prolonging Pill, some people harbored evil intentions and their expressions were abnormal. I happened to see it and guessed something like this would happen. It's just that Qizhou City is the territory of the Taishang Sect, so those villains didn't dare to act. I guessed they would commit the crime in the wilderness between these two cities, and sure enough, I managed to take care of a few, though I didn't expect there to be fish that slipped through the net."

"Senior, such great kindness, I am deeply grateful." Saying this, he bowed to Chiyanzi.

"Hey, don't be like that." Chiyanzi was busy treating Long Qi's external wounds and could not help him up. "That day, you saved my face and kept me from offending the Taishang Sect; you already did me a huge favor. Such a small effort is not enough to repay that, so how can one speak of great kindness?"

"Senior, you saved my life; how can that be compared to mere face? You truly deserve this great thanks from your junior."

"It's all in the past, let's not mention it again. It's just that I have some doubts and would like to ask you something."

"Please speak freely, Senior."

"That day, the boy Lu Ying was poisoned by a Snake. I checked his pulse and diagnosed the symptoms repeatedly, confirming it beyond doubt, before using a Detoxification Pill to neutralize it. Why did that situation occur?" Chiyanzi looked at Lingxiang with an open mind.

"Changyun Mountain is filled with Spirit Qi all year round. After a long time, poisonous and evil things gain some spirituality, making their toxicity even more overbearing. Therefore, it cannot be treated with conventional logic. Furthermore, Senior Brother Lu Ying had the poison in his body for three days, damaging all his internal organs, and he was already unable to bear the burden. Forcibly catalyzing the medicinal properties with internal energy could neutralize the poison, but it injured his internal organs, leading to incessant vomiting of blood."

Lingxiang took a sip of tea and continued: "The reason I didn't catalyze the Life-Prolonging Pill at that time was for the same reason. No matter what kind of medicine it is, when the human body absorbs it, it is a burden on the five internal organs. The Life-Prolonging Pill keeps one's breath, and Silver Needles assist in clearing the meridians. If he breaks through, he can recast his body. Although it is a risky move, there is no other way. It is also because Senior Brother Lu Ying is not destined to die; he will surely have a great mission in the future."

"What a clever plan! So meticulous—you are also a person of limitless potential!" Chiyanzi couldn't help but praise her after pondering it carefully.

"Senior, you didn't know the cause; if you had, you would surely have been far more appropriate than this junior."

Although Long Qi was injured and in bed, he was clear-headed. Having listened for a long time, he had his own thoughts.

Before, he had only been concerned with finding an inn to heal, not paying attention to anything else. Today, he realized that one rarely saw women on the streets of Cangzhou; they were either elderly or wore a married woman's bun, but he had never seen a young woman.

Although young ladies of good families rarely went out, one should still see girls from ordinary households.

When things are abnormal, there must be demons.

"Hey, let me tell you, the Liu family's daughter went missing last night too!"

"Are you talking about the daughter of Magistrate Liu Xian of Cangzhou?"

"Who else? The Magistrate has three sons and only this one daughter; he treasures her dearly. They just got her engaged not long ago! It is said she was laughing and talking yesterday, but this morning, when the maid went to help her wash and dress, she was nowhere to be found."

"Maybe that willful temper of hers flared up and she hid."

"Pah! They say the entire mansion has been turned upside down! Right now, the young masters are searching everywhere inside and outside the city!"

"I'm afraid she was snatched by some monster; where would you find her now? It's a good thing my Lan-er got married last year! How is that girl of yours?"

"Oh! That's right! I must hurry and get Xiao Rou married off!"

After recuperating for a few days and supplementing with Pills, Long Qi's injuries were finally seven or eight parts healed.

Today, the three of them were eating downstairs when they heard this conversation. Long Qi immediately became interested and called the waiter over to ask in detail.

It turned out that many young women had gone missing without cause over the past two months. The Magistrate had ordered a strict investigation for several months, but had found no clues at all; it was very bizarre.

"I said I felt it was strange when I went out yesterday; so that's why." Lingxiang swallowed a piece of snow bamboo shoot whole.

"I have heard that some evil Daoists do not cultivate the Great Dao but believe in the method of 'plucking yin to supplement yang.' Could it be that these girls have all fallen victim to such evil hands?" Long Qi leaned toward Lingxiang and said.

"Such scum is truly detestable. If this is indeed the case, they should be purged!" Chiyanzi said, filled with righteous indignation.

"Senior, you want to meddle in this kind of thing too?" Lingxiang poked Long Qi far away with the end of her chopsticks.

"I am a wandering person by nature; all the worldly affairs I encounter are part of my cultivation. Furthermore, if it is truly the work of evil Daoists, clearing out such dregs is the duty of those of us who cultivate."

"Hmm... what Senior says is not wrong, but with no clues at all, and not knowing if the culprit is human or ghost, demon or monster, where should we start?"

"Naturally, by visiting and asking questions, and collecting details."

"Sigh, why do these missing-person cases always happen to me?" Lingxiang helplessly picked up another piece of snow bamboo shoot.

That day, the three of them went out to collect evidence separately, but all returned empty-handed.

The next day, just as Long Qi was about to ask the waiter to bring a pot of hot tea, he heard people downstairs talking about the missing girls again.

"Hey! Let me tell you, Old Feng's daughter went missing last night too!"

"Didn't you say yesterday that he was going to marry off that beautiful daughter of his?"

"Who's to say? Yesterday, after eating with me, he went back and finalized the engagement between his Xiao Rou and the scholar Zhang from the south of the city. Who would have thought... sigh..."

"I also heard that the Magistrate's third young master is missing too. Could it be that the villain has taken an interest in men as well?"

"Oh! Then as someone who works as a night watchman all year round, am I in great danger?"

"Don't even talk about whether the villain likes men; just your face would make anyone lose all evil intent. Besides, the third young master is a virgin, while you—a dried-up old cucumber—even if you were thrown into a brothel with a heavy reward, you might not even have a girl to serve you."

"Hahahaha!"

Hearing this, Long Qi didn't even order the tea and hurried off to find Lingxiang and Chiyanzi.

That evening, the three of them visited the residence of the Cangzhou Magistrate. Not long after their calling card was sent in, they saw a middle-aged man coming to meet them; it was Magistrate Liu Xian himself.

"Immortal Masters! Please, save my family!"

As soon as Magistrate Liu arrived, before they could even exchange greetings, he gripped Chiyanzi's hand tightly, as if he had grasped a life-saving straw.

Long Qi and Lingxiang were just feeling surprised when they saw Magistrate Liu leading Chiyanzi hurriedly into the mansion.

It turned out that the Liu family's third young master was the youngest son of Magistrate Liu and his wife. The two had him late in life, and although Magistrate Liu usually kept a stern face, he truly loved the boy dearly.

Years ago, when Lady Liu was giving birth to this boy, she had a difficult labor. The midwife and doctors were all helpless, but fortunately, thanks to Chiyanzi's miraculous hands, both mother and child were saved. The entire Liu household was grateful to him.

Now that both the Liu family's daughter and son were missing, Lady Liu had become so anxious that her old illness had flared up and she had fainted. The entire Liu household was in a state of utter chaos.