Liaozhai: Immortality Begins with Becoming Yan Chixia's Apprentice

Chapter 27 Unraveling the Mystery

The next morning, the rescued woman finally woke up.

Her name is Xiaolian. She is the daughter of the owner of a grain shop in the west of Guobei County. She is the second woman to go missing three months ago.

Her memory was somewhat hazy; she only remembered going out that night to get medicine for her sick mother. As she passed through a small alley, she suddenly smelled a strange fragrance, and then she knew nothing more.

When I woke up, I was already in that dilapidated monk's cell.

"That woman in white..." Xiaolian's voice was still trembling:

"She would come every night and look at me with those red eyes. Then I would fall into a deep sleep and wake up remembering nothing."

Zhou Ning frowned:

Are you injured? Is there anything unusual about your body?

Xiaolian shook her head: "No. I just feel very tired every day, and I have no energy at all."

Zhou Ning had her extend her wrist, placed two fingers on it, and probed her meridians with a wisp of qi.

A moment later, his brows furrowed even more.

Within Xiaolian's body, there was an extremely faint, chilling aura that was slowly eroding her life force.

This aura was very well concealed; if it weren't for the fact that his cultivation of the "Innate Qi" made him extremely sensitive to yin and evil energy, he wouldn't have been able to detect it at all.

"That woman in white is draining your life force," Zhou Ning said in a deep voice.

"Although you absorb only a small amount each time, after three months, your vitality has been significantly depleted. If this continues, you will grow weaker and weaker, and eventually..."

He didn't finish his sentence, but Xiaolian was already pale with fright.

"Then...how much longer can I live?"

Zhou Ning comforted him, "Don't be afraid. I've given you a calming pill, which will temporarily stabilize your life. After I get rid of that monster, I'll help you completely expel the cold energy from your body."

Xiao Lian was extremely grateful and tears streamed down her face.

Zhou Ning entrusted her to Manager Chen of the inn, and then went out to the county government office.

He needs to know more about the missing persons case.

The county government office of Guobei County is located in the center of the county town. It is made of blue bricks and gray tiles, and two stone lions stand in front of the gate, making it very impressive.

Zhou Ning did not go in directly, but sat in a nearby teahouse for a while, observing secretly.

Soon, he noticed a detail.

At the entrance of the county government office, besides the guards on duty, there was also a middle-aged man in a gray Taoist robe, who was dozing off on the threshold.

He had a copper coin hanging from his waist, engraved with some runes, which were somewhat similar to the exorcising copper coins that Zhou Ning had seen in Qingshan Town.

"Did the government hire a Taoist priest?"

Zhou Ning's heart skipped a beat.

He got up, walked to the entrance of the county government office, and cupped his hands in greeting to the gray-robed Taoist priest.

"Greetings, Taoist priest."

The gray-robed Taoist opened his eyes, looked him up and down, and said lazily:

"What is it?"

Zhou Ning said, "I am a passing cultivator who has come to inquire about the missing persons case in Guo Bei County. Does the government have any leads?"

The gray-robed Taoist snorted coldly:

"The government? What clues could those good-for-nothings possibly have? This case is being investigated by my master."

"Your teacher is...?"

"My master's surname is Lin, and he is the abbot of Qingfeng Temple on Qingyun Mountain. He is in charge of exorcising evil spirits and suppressing demons in Guobei County."

Qingyun Mountain?

Zhou Ning's heart skipped a beat.

Isn't that Qingyun Mountain where he cultivated?

However, his master, Yan Chixia, was a recluse cultivator and should not be of the same ilk as the Qingfeng Temple.

"Where is Master Lin now?"

The gray-robed Taoist pointed inside the county government office:

"He's inside talking to the county magistrate. If you're looking for him, just wait here."

Zhou Ning thanked him and sat down on the stone steps at the entrance, waiting patiently.

About half an hour later, an old Taoist priest with gray hair and beard, dressed in a blue robe, came out of the county government office.

His expression was somewhat solemn, his brows furrowed, as if he were pondering some difficult problem.

"Master." The gray-robed Taoist priest hurriedly went to greet him.

"How was it? What did the county magistrate say?"

Master Lin sighed:

"The magistrate said he'll give us seven more days. If we can't solve the case within seven days, he'll report it to the prefectural city and ask a senior official to come."

The gray-robed Taoist's expression changed:

"Seven days? That's not enough. That monster is incredibly powerful; we haven't even caught a glimpse of it..."

Master Lin waved his hand, stopping his disciple from speaking.

His gaze fell on Zhou Ning, and he frowned slightly.

"And this is...?"

Zhou Ning stood up, cupped his hands, and said:

"My name is Zhou Ning, a cultivator passing through. I heard that strange things have happened in Guobei County, so I came to help."

"A cultivator?" Master Lin looked him up and down, and seeing that Zhou Ning was young, he seemed somewhat dismissive:

"May I ask who your teacher was?"

Zhou Ning did not mention Yan Chixia's name, but only vaguely said:

"A hermit cultivator in the mountains and fields, not worth mentioning."

Master Lin nodded, without pressing further, and simply said:

"This is no ordinary case. That monster is quite powerful. Our Qingfeng Temple has searched for three months, but we still haven't found its lair. Young friend, you're too young to get involved."

Zhou Ning said, "Daoist Master, there's no need to worry. I simply have some clues that I'd like to discuss with you."

A hint of surprise flashed in Master Lin's eyes: "You have a lead?"

Zhou Ning nodded and briefly recounted how he encountered the woman in white at Lanruo Temple last night and how he rescued Xiaolian.

Of course, he didn't reveal his full strength, only saying that he was lucky to have rescued the person.

Master Lin's expression changed.

"Lanruo Temple?" he murmured.

"That place... I checked it out, and it does have demonic energy, but every time I went there I found nothing. I never imagined that the monster was hiding there."

His gaze towards Zhou Ning held a newfound importance:

"Young friend, you were able to rescue people from that monster, so you must have some skills. I wonder if you would be interested in joining forces with my master and me to investigate this case?"

Zhou Ning thought for a moment, then nodded and said, "That's exactly what I was thinking."

The three of them found a teahouse and sat down to discuss the matter in detail.

Master Lin told Zhou Ning all the clues he had found over the past three months.

There are seven missing women in total. They are all young and beautiful, and unmarried.

They disappeared at night.

Before they disappeared, they had all been to the vicinity of Lanruo Temple outside the city.

"I suspect that the monster uses Lanruo Temple as its base to specifically abduct young women," Master Lin analyzed.

"As for the purpose of the abduction... it may be to absorb the women's primordial yin energy to aid their cultivation."

Zhou Ning nodded and told her about the cold, yin energy in Xiao Lian's body.

Master Lin frowned even more deeply.

"Absorbing life force... This is an evil technique. That monster is probably not an ordinary spirit, but a demon who has cultivated evil magic."

"A sorcerer?" Zhou Ning's heart skipped a beat.

Master Lin nodded:

"Most ordinary spirits rely solely on their instincts to absorb the spiritual energy of heaven and earth for cultivation. Those that can actively absorb the life force of humans must be demons who have cultivated some kind of evil magic."

"These kinds of demons are often more difficult to deal with than spirits, because they are intelligent, can think, and can hide."

He paused, then continued, "Moreover, the ability to unleash sonic attacks and summon skeletons indicates that this sorcerer's cultivation is at least a hundred years old. With the strength of my master and me, we are probably no match for him."

Zhou Ning was silent for a moment, then said, "I fought her last night and injured her, but she escaped very quickly. I suspect that her hideout is not just at Lanruo Temple."

Master Lin's eyes lit up: "You hurt her?"

Zhou Ning nodded: "I injured her shoulder with a talisman."

A hint of admiration flashed in Master Lin's eyes:

"Young friend, you are so young yet possess such skills. I admire you greatly."

He pondered for a moment and said, "In that case, we can approach it from two angles."

First, continue investigating Lanruo Temple to see what other clues are in the monster's lair.

Second, investigate the commonalities among the missing women to see what connections exist between them.

Perhaps there was some kind of pattern to how the monster chose them.

Zhou Ning nodded: "What the Taoist priest says makes sense. Then let's split up. I'll go to Lanruo Temple to investigate further, and the Taoist priest will investigate the backgrounds of those women."

Master Lin hesitated for a moment:

"Lanruo Temple is dangerous; young friend, you should not go alone..."

Zhou Ning smiled and said, "Rest assured, Daoist, I have ways to protect myself. Besides, that monster was injured last night and shouldn't appear for a while. This is a good time to investigate."

Seeing his insistence, Master Lin stopped trying to dissuade him and only gave him some advice:

"Young friend, please be very careful. If there is any danger, send a signal immediately, and my master and I will arrive as soon as possible."