Chapter 7: Trivial Details Arouse Suspicion

"Lady Liu has suffered a fright, causing an old ailment to flare up, which has led to blood failing to return to the meridians; she must be nursed back to health slowly," Chiyanzi said after taking Lady Liu's pulse.

"But my wife is currently unconscious and unresponsive; in your opinion, Immortal Master..." Liu Cishi asked with concern, rubbing his hands together.

"There are changes afoot in the household, and the Madam being in this state is not necessarily a bad thing," Chiyanzi stroked his beard. "It is the best strategy to first use medicinal decoctions to regulate her condition and let her wake up on her own."

As they spoke, the two exited the room. Upon arriving at the council hall, Liu Cishi finally noticed Lingxiang and her companion.

"Immortal Master, these two are..."

"We are disciples under our master's tutelage, here to pay our respects to you, Cishi-daren." Lingxiang said this and performed a bow to the Cishi. Seeing this, Long Qi looked blank. Lingxiang secretly gave him a wink, and he followed suit and bowed.

Chiyanzi was stunned upon hearing this, but after a moment, he returned to his usual composure.

"So they are the Immortal Master's high disciples. I have been anxious about family matters and have neglected you both; I hope you will forgive me."

"Ah~ Daren, there is no need for such formalities. Do not pay any mind to these two monkeys."

After the two finished their pleasantries, Chiyanzi began to inquire in detail about the affairs in the city.

It turned out that the disappearance of young women had begun after the Seven Sisters Festival last year. At first, they thought human traffickers were being too rampant and carried out a great deal of suppression, but women continued to go missing in the city. Moreover, these missing women were either newly betrothed or about to be married, which was very strange.

Furthermore, Cangzhou City was only so large; where could so many wicked people come from?

"I heard that your daughter, Daren, disappeared just after she was betrothed, but how did the Third Young Master go missing? Could it be that men also bring disaster upon themselves because of marriage?" Lingxiang asked respectfully.

"This... sigh..." Liu Cishi sighed.

The eldest and second sons of the Liu family were already married. He had previously arranged for several young women for his youngest son, but the boy insisted that he could not marry before his elder sister, and stubbornly refused them.

This third son, named Liu Xia, was handsome and had a dignified appearance, but he was obsessed with cultivation.

He returned home yesterday, saying that his sister's disappearance was not the work of humans. He took his own gear and left the estate in a hurry, not returning all night. Liu Cishi hurriedly sent his men to search, but they only found his personal belongings in the North City.

Obsessed with cultivation, and saying it was not the work of humans—this is somewhat interesting.

Lingxiang originally did not want to meddle in other people's business and only intended to accompany Chiyanzi to get some free food and drink, but after hearing what Liu Cishi said, she became somewhat interested.

The group discussed and decided to first go to the North City to investigate, so Liu Cishi sent the head constable who had discovered the items that day to lead the way.

Upon arriving at the location, the group searched carefully but found nothing.

Just as Chiyanzi was at his wit's end, Lingxiang noticed a family moving out some broken tables, teacups, and porcelain. Although those items were in tatters, there were some subtle traces that she found hard to ignore.

"Big Brother, what happened to your house?" Lingxiang asked, pulling at a man who was throwing out some broken porcelain tea sets.

"Hey! Don't mention it! A rich young master rented this old house of mine. Who would have thought that a neighbor would specifically find me a few days ago to say this old house had been robbed? I came over today to take a look, and the inside was smashed to pieces! Look, I'm cleaning it up now."

"Did that neighbor say when the robbery occurred?"

"Hmm... they said around the second watch. I heard the fighting was quite intense. You take a look, it's terrifying!"

"Could you... let me go inside and take a look?"

"What does a young girl like you want to go into someone's house for?" The man looked displeased upon hearing this, appearing extremely reluctant.

"There must be some items belonging to noble women in this house, right? If it was robbed and you didn't report it to the authorities, there must be some value to it, isn't that..."

"Fine, fine, fine, go ahead and look..." The man hurriedly stopped Lingxiang from continuing, looked left and right, and helplessly agreed.

Judging from the traces inside the house, the fight had ended in just a moment. What initially caught Lingxiang's attention were the traces of Witchcraft on the broken tables and chairs. It seemed Liu Xia had discovered something when he said this was not the work of humans, which was why he went home to get some demon-subduing items.

As for where he was now, Lingxiang guessed that either he had found the demon's lair in an attempt to save people, or he had met with a foul hand and perished.

Could it be that Liu Xia had such cultivation that he could actually fight against a demon?

Having formed a general idea, she explained the situation to Chiyanzi. The group returned to Liu Cishi, asked a few more questions, and began to deliberate on the matter.

"Based on the traces at the scene, it can be confirmed that a demon is at work, but it is unclear what the demon's cultivation level is." Lingxiang summarized.

"Since this demon is abducting young women, it is likely trying to practice some unrighteous method. If that is the case, the Evil Qi of that demon must not be low," Chiyanzi stroked his beard and said.

"That means you two are helpless, then?" Long Qi drank some tea to suppress his hunger.

This Liu family was truly unkind; he hadn't eaten lunch, and they didn't even provide any food when they returned in the evening.

"Not necessarily. Looking at the scene, the techniques used by this demon do not contain Evil Qi; it should be a demon that practices in a proper manner."

"A demon is a demon; how can there be 'proper' or 'improper'?"

Lingxiang glanced at Long Qi and retorted, "People are divided into different ranks and levels of good and evil, so why can't demons be the same? Although the paths they follow are different, in the end, they are all within the Great Dao. Besides, some people are worse than demons when they turn evil."

"The young friend's words are reasonable, but since this demon has no Evil Qi, why would it commit the act of abducting people?"

"All the missing women have one characteristic: they are either betrothed or about to be married. Could it be that this demon likes to play the villain and ruin marriages?" Long Qi speculated.

"In my opinion, why not hold another betrothal banquet?"

"The young friend means... to lure the Snake out of its hole?"

"Pfft..." Long Qi hadn't managed to swallow his tea and sprayed it out. "Lure a Snake? Who is going to lure it? Her?"

"What's wrong with me?"

Long Qi circled Lingxiang twice, looking at her with disdain. "Tsk tsk tsk, this yellow-haired little girl looks like this; that monster would regret it to death if it abducted her."

He tugged at Lingxiang's clothes and gestured at her figure. "Look at this attire, this build—lacking everything that should be there. Is that demon blind or what..."

Before he could finish his sentence, he was chased and beaten by Lingxiang.

She usually spent her time either refining pills or gathering herbs and rarely took care of herself, wearing hemp clothes all day long, let alone looking in a mirror to groom herself. Added to the fact that she hadn't fully matured yet, at first glance, she certainly couldn't be considered a beauty.

"Could it be that all the missing women are beauties!" Lingxiang said angrily.

"Whether they are all beauties is not the point; you clearly look like a man—no, even more savage and crude than a man..." Long Qi said, covering his face where Lingxiang had hit him.

"Asking for a beating!"

While the two were bickering, Chiyanzi was still pondering Lingxiang's words: This was not a bad idea. It could lure the demon out, and Lingxiang herself had cultivation and could protect herself. When the time came, he would watch from the shadows, and her safety could ultimately be guaranteed.