Chapter 1622

He pushed open the door; in the cold, narrow room lay a Zhang Zhu bed.

On the bed lay the corpse of a young girl, the blanket covering her except for her grayish-white face; though no one knew how long she had been dead, her body never decayed.

To ordinary people it was an unsolvable mystery, but the Heaven's Mandate Seven could clearly sense something unusual lingering in the room.

For example, after death the soul had not dispersed, leaving a faint trace of vitality so weak it could be ignored, and this was tightly connected to the mute girl held in a coma by Gong Shiyue.

Before they could react, the old woman leaned on her cane and sat beside the bed, her icy, withered fingers trembling as she shook them, 'My little flower, you're long gone…'

She died of a fever before the medicine arrived… Xiao Hua!

"After that!" the old woman, emotionally agitated, pointed at the unconscious mute girl, "This monster that only smiles at people has appeared! It must be her who harmed Xiao Hua, who harmed this town!"

"No wonder he'd be so harsh toward his own granddaughter," Yang Yu realized, yet he still felt something was off.

If this mute girl were a possessing ghost, how could a trace of vitality be bound to the corpse?

Jin Chen frowned at the corpse, pondering, then glanced at Rong Zixu, 'It seems the one possessed by the Xiling Town ghost spirit is Xiao Hua.'

Rong Zixu nodded, 'That's right, Xiao Hua wasn't replaced.'

After death, her soul merged with a ghostly entity; upon learning the truth of her grandfather's death, her resentment turned into lethal energy, turning the whole Xiling Town into a Ghost Domain.

All the strange phenomena and rules experienced in Xiling Town are manifestations of Xiao Hua's obsession.

No matter how reluctant they felt, they still told the old woman the truth.

The successive deaths of her family had devastated the old woman; for years she had persisted with the belief of eliminating monsters, but now they told her the monster was the Xiao Hua she constantly longed for.

The old woman stared blankly after hearing all the truth, so numb she couldn't react at all—she had no tears left, they had long since dried up.

While she was dazed, Gong Shiyue lowered Xiao Hua, wanting the old woman to get a clearer look.

The old woman trembled all over, nearly losing her voice, yet she dared not touch her.

Those people in the town… how dare they! Those are two living human lives!

"Xiao Hua… my… good granddaughter?"

Just then, the mute girl suddenly opened her eyes.

She looked silently, weakly yet clingingly at her grandmother, the corner of her mouth twitching slightly, without any blame.

Then, the numbness in her eyes gave way to resentment; after scanning everyone with hatred, it vanished instantly, leaving only black ash on the ground.

"Hey!" Gong Shiyue sprang up, "What's going on!"

Rong Zixu withdrew his gaze that had been following them out, 'Could telling the old woman the truth also be part of the ghost's intent?'

"Possibly," Jin Chen nodded, "after all, Xiao Hua can't speak."

"Xiao Hua… Xiao Hua." the old woman still stared at the pile of ash on the ground, murmuring.

Rong Zixu stepped forward and placed something on Xiao Hua's corpse between her brows, then said, 'Let's go out first.'

Bai Shiyun also followed them out, his gaze shifting slightly as he looked at Jin Chen and Rong Zixu, thinking, 'The Heaven's Mandate Seven truly live up to their name.'

Such a person, if not employed by the court, would also be a serious internal threat.

Thinking of the task the emperor had assigned him, Bai Shiyun's smile widened a bit as he said to Chang Wuming, 'Your fellow disciples are indeed formidable.'

Chang Wuming nodded, 'Of course.'

That's the senior senior brother!

Jin Chen warily eyed Bai Shiyun, 'Pa-pa' cutting him off.

"Are you trying to say the fourth senior brother isn't strong, or that I stole his credit, stop dragging me down?"

Hey, you're stirring up trouble again.

Bai Shiyun: "...?"

Do I mean that? What does 'dragging down' even mean!

Bai Shiyun let out a faint sigh, 'Of course not; does this young brother have some misunderstanding about me?'

"Or…"

Bai Shiyun quickly glanced at Rong Zixu, then looked at Jin Chen with a faint smile, 'You don't want anyone near Wuming; you just want him to be with you.'

As soon as those words were spoken, Rong Zixu's train of thought was jerked back, and he frowned unexpectedly.

The person Old Four brought really can't speak.

"Brother Bai, what do you mean by that? Let's hear it."

Rong Zixu's voice turned cold.

In an instant, the others grew so quiet they wished they could turn into quail on the spot; Chang Wuming didn't even bother to wonder what Bai Shiyun was up to, silently lowering his head to brace for a scolding.

Only Jin Chen grabbed Rong Zixu's hand, agreeing yet complaining, 'Exactly, I can't make sense of this.'

"I think you understand too well." Rong Zixu looked at him, said nothing more, and stepped ahead, leaving Xiao Hua's home, 'Let's go, let's check outside.'

"Ah… what do I understand?" Jin Chen truly didn't get it now.

He looked behind him; the five people all shook their heads in unison.

We don't understand either!

Jin Chen pondered as he hurried after the departing Rong Zixu, 'Senior brother, wait for me!'

He caught up to Rong Zixu's side and took his hand.

Gong Shiyue glanced at Bai Shiyun, his expression unchanged, linked arms with Xu Qie and Jing Xingcan, and followed them out.

As Yang Yu left, fanning himself, he glanced at Chang Wuming to signal; the latter nodded, lagged behind, and spoke with Bai Shiyun.

Chang Wuming: 'Don't say strange things to Xiao Chen; he's still young.'

Bai Shiyun continued: "......"

Everyone is taller than me now! Where does he look like a child?

But he could only force a smile, "Well, I originally wanted to say a couple of jokes to him."

But little brother Jin is already over eighteen; it's not appropriate to still treat him as a child.

Chang Wuming wondered: "What's wrong?"

Even the senior brother had no objection.

"Forget it, pretend I didn't say anything." Bai Shiyun smiled again and changed the subject.