Chapter 320

After parting with Xiao Jianzhu, he turned from Lingzhou back toward Qingzhou; not long into the journey, he encountered a xie corpse amid the forests beside the official road.

He had spent months wandering Qingzhou before the Youxian Assembly, and though he wasn't intimately familiar with the terrain, he was certain no ruins existed nearby.

So this was another xie creature unbound by ruin proximity.

Just like the xie creatures that appeared during Yuan Caimei's disappearance years ago, and those he encountered in Zhongzhou after exiting the Sage Sanctuary.

Yet logically, all such xie corpses should have been exterminated two years ago.

Ji You stepped forward, shattering a rock, then raised his sword atop the cliffside; its three-foot blue blade quivered violently.

But this wasn't the main point.

The key was that this xie creature had other distinguishing traits.

For as the xie corpse sprinted through the mountain ravine, a clinking and clattering sound kept echoing.

At that moment, a purple lightning bolt suddenly split the gloomy sky during the rain-soaked night.

Amid the thunderous roar, heaven and earth flashed bright for an instant, illuminating the xie corpse racing through the ravine.

Iron shackles bound its wrists and ankles, causing them to clang against rocks and branches as it ran.

The wrist shackles were forged from a single block of pure iron, leaving no room for clawing or lashing out; the ankle shackles carried chains three feet long, allowing limited strides.

At the other end dangled two iron balls, their weight dragging to slow its progress.

In other words, this xie creature was being kept…

Whether during Yuan Caimei's disappearance or his own emergence from the Sage Sanctuary, the large-scale xie outbreaks always bore signs of human control.

This was precisely why Ji You believed ruins were curses, not divine blessings.

Unfortunately, xie creatures were merely husks left behind by the dead descendants; they could not speak or provide any useful information.

But now, the shackles on its wrists and ankles were themselves meaningful clues.

Beneath the falling rain, amid steaming white mist, Ji You narrowed his eyes and followed the xie corpse toward the ravine.

Rainwater streamed down the slope, pooling into streams that flowed eastward with a gentle murmur.

As he walked, water splashed everywhere.

Gradually, Ji You realized he was being led over a low hill, then down into a downward slope.

At the foot of the low hill, in a secluded valley thick with dense forest, he saw a small courtyard—a sizable compound surrounded by high walls, with three houses inside.

Hidden and quiet, with nothing but vegetation around it.

"Who would live here?"

"No village ahead, no inn behind, just one household…"

Ji You slowed his pace, gazing upward from the slope, and saw the xie corpse racing toward a gaping black iron gate between the walls.

Raindrops on the leaves trembled violently; the fibers on his clothing began to stiffen.

Seeing this, Ji You held his breath, unleashing his burning aura to amplify his senses.

At first, he heard only the constant patter of rain striking leaves, producing a soft rustling.

As he focused his senses, a faint hum gradually emerged in his mind, then transformed into a rising and falling whistling—its source, the small courtyard.

This was a high-frequency vibration far beyond human hearing, causing raindrops and fibers to resonate.

Clearly, this sound had drawn the xie corpse back to the courtyard.

Watching the xie corpse charge blindly, Ji You suppressed his aura, leapt from his position into empty air, and landed on the opposite hill behind the courtyard; golden light began to shimmer in his eyes.

The high walls had blocked his view from his previous position.

Amplified senses were not X-ray vision; otherwise, for a young man, the world would be unbearably invasive.

Standing beneath the gloomy rain, Ji You gazed into the courtyard and saw one woman and two men standing inside.

The woman wore coarse hemp clothing and blew steadily into a silver whistle.

Clatter.

The xie corpse, drawn by the whistle, burst through the gate; the heavy iron balls dragged behind it smashed a deep crater into the packed earth wall.

Seeing this, the two men behind the woman rushed forward, grabbed the chain trailing from the xie corpse, tensed every muscle, and pulled it to a halt, dragging it to the eastern wall.

A thick black iron ring protruded from the ground at the eastern wall; the returning xie corpse was shackled to it.

Beside it stood three more such rings—two already held xie corpses, and three had been shattered.

The three approached, crouched before the xie corpse, and stared silently for a long while.

"It broke loose again. Who knows where it wandered this time. Yue Niang, if this keeps up, something will happen."

"I'll go to the blacksmith's and have a few thicker ones forged…"

As if provoked, the shackled xie corpse began thrashing wildly; its immense strength yanked the chain, making it clang violently, sparks flying where the links met.

But the woman showed no fear—only bit her thin lip as she watched the creature.

At that moment, she suddenly noticed the two men beside her had risen; the sharp sound of blades being drawn echoed instantly.

"Uncle Tan!"

"Da Peng!"

"Hao Zi!"

"Ling Qing!"

"..."

As the two men shouted, a hurried door-slamming sound rang out; the six others with them burst from the house, and the woman leapt to her feet.

Turning back, she saw a white-robed figure land in their courtyard amid the falling rain, watching them with piercing eyes.

She had already tensed her nerves upon realizing the courtyard was exposed, but seeing his youthful face, her tension eased somewhat.

She'd heard her companions say cultivation required time—young men were unlikely to be formidable.

They'd avoided old masters all along this journey and had remained unharmed until now.

Yet soon, fear rose in her eyes.

She noticed raindrops falling near his head failed to reach the ground—they vaporized into mist upon touching his shoulders, while the earth beneath his feet gradually dried, stark against the surrounding mud.

The others watched this too, trembling, faces pale.

"One Tongxuan, three Weizhao, three Ninghua…"

"And one with no cultivation at all…"

Amid the rain, Ji You's eyes flickered with confusion—he found this utterly unlike what he expected.

He assumed if someone was truly keeping xie corpses, they must have some grand scheme; otherwise, why bother with such demons?

But a Tongxuan leading a group of low-tier cultivators, plus a helpless woman—what scheme could such people possibly have?

As he pondered, Ji You's gaze settled on the woman blowing the whistle—she was the only one without cultivation.

For some reason, he felt a strange familiarity from her face—an ancient, distant recognition.

After staring long, he fixed on the beauty mark beside her lip: "Huang Yueniang of Hongya County, Zhongzhou?"

Startled to hear her name spoken, the woman widened her eyes: "Young Master knows me…"

"It really is you…"

"Have we met before?"

"I received your notice at the Sage Garden."

Ji You's hand glowed faintly; a neatly folded scroll appeared in his palm.

Unfurled, it displayed twelve portraits, each labeled with identity and name; at the bottom, the signature read: "Huang Yueniang, Hongya County, Zhongzhou."

He'd received it during his time with the Tian Dao Assembly.

After winning five consecutive matches to claim the Tongxuan rank's top spot, Lu sisters hosted a banquet to celebrate him.

Returning home that night with Yuan Caimei, he'd met a woman with a mole below her right lip who hurriedly shoved a paper scroll into his hand.

He'd received many marriage proposals and assumed this was another—he ignored it.

Only the next day, on his way to the Sage Sanctuary, did he realize it was a missing-person notice.

Cao Jingsong told him many outsiders during the Tian Dao Assembly claimed their relatives were missing and asked if anyone had seen them; Huang Yueniang was one such person.

She sought a man named Li Ruilin of the Li family; she was his kept concubine outside the household.

Huang Yueniang came from the countryside, had no cultivation, and thus—even though Li Ruilin was merely a minor branch member—she could never qualify as his official concubine.

In truth, Huang Yueniang no longer remembered Ji You; she'd handed out her notices to countless people.

Yet though she didn't recognize him, she knew her notice intimately.

Huang Yueniang stared, blinking slowly: "It's been two years… why do you still carry it with you?"

Ji You watched her quietly: "It takes no space, so I thought if I ever met anyone on it, I'd tell them you're searching for them."

Hearing this, Huang Yueniang was taken aback.

For two years she'd searched for her husband, posted countless notices—most were glanced at once and discarded.

She'd pick them up, brush off the dirt, and beg the next person—yet this was the first time she'd heard such an answer.

"Thank you, Young Master, for your kindness…"

"No need to thank me. Tell me: you've been searching for someone—why are you now keeping xie corpses here?"