Chapter 12

The system seemed to realize something and chuckled slyly.

【Host, you’re usually so meticulous, yet today you didn’t even ask him. How do you know he’s unwilling to accept another disciple?】

【Hey, Host, why are you walking away without answering me?】

【Host—】

Half an hour later, on Xuanxing Peak…

“Didn’t you say you would be staying in the sect’s guest quarters for the next few days?”

Through the door, Ying Weiye’s muffled voice carried a faint smile.

“Why has Xiao Zhou come home?”

Thinking of what the young man had said, Qin Youzhou felt strangely unsettled.

“I came back to check on the peak. I still need to return later to stand guard tonight.”

Nothing showed on his face.

“It’s good that nothing happened.”

The amusement in Ying Weiye’s voice deepened.

“Take good care of yourself outside. The gu herb has not finished refining, so Shizun will need some time before leaving seclusion.”

“Yes, Shizun.”

Silence returned inside the room.

Only Jiezi, who had not seen Qin Youzhou for several days, clung to his leg and stared up at him eagerly.

“Bugu.”

It wanted to be held.

Qin Youzhou patiently picked up the little ginseng spirit and soothed it for a while. Only after planting it back in the soil did he leave home and descend the mountain.

Judging from Shizun’s attitude, he probably knew nothing about Du Xiao and had not interfered in the matter.

Qin Youzhou felt slightly more at ease.

At the foot of the mountain…

The black-haired youth hummed an tuneless [bailiantales.com]song while holding a silver needle, seemingly fiddling with something.

Within his pitch-black eyes lingered a lifelessness and rigidity that no living person should possess.

…

Once the preliminary screening results were announced, some rejoiced while others despaired.

This was always the most chaotic period of the selection.

There were many candidates from all sorts of backgrounds. Some inevitably refused to accept the results and caused trouble, while others with ulterior motives deliberately sabotaged their competitors.

At the very moment Qin Youzhou was most short-handed and the sect’s other elders were all too occupied to help, the cultivators of Qingyue Peak suddenly requested leave as a group to return to their peak.

“It was the personal disciple’s order. We cannot easily disobey him.”

Qin Youzhou frowned.

“What happened to Senior Brother Li? Why does he urgently need so many people transferred away?”

The mountain opening was one of the sect’s most important affairs.

Under ordinary circumstances, even a personal disciple could not recklessly reassign so many people.

“Junior Brother Li said it concerns Shizun. He was urging us quite urgently, ​bailiantales.com​so it must be important.”

The cultivator lowered his head and guiltily avoided Qin Youzhou’s gaze.

“We hope you can make an exception.”

“What do we do?”

“Li Minglu probably does have something going on, but there’s no way it’s important enough to take everyone away.”

Yu Jia pulled Qin Youzhou aside.

“He’s clearly trying to make things difficult for us and see whether we make a mistake.”

If they forcibly detained the cultivators, people would use it against them.

But if they let them go without the Sect Master’s approval and something happened, Qin Youzhou and Yu Jia would be the ones forced to take responsibility.

If they went directly to complain to the Sect Master, Li Minglu might find another way to distort the facts.

“Senior Brother, don’t worry.”

Qin Youzhou considered the matter briefly, then looked at the leading cultivator.

“An entire peak cannot suddenly leave at once.”

“But Martial Uncle’s safety is also of the utmost importance, and he must have enough people assisting him. I will ask some highly cultivated senior brothers and sisters from the other peaks who are currently resting to go in your place.”

Yu Jia’s eyes lit up.

That was an excellent solution, and only Qin Youzhou could pull it off.

Qin Youzhou was kind and frequently helped his fellow disciples without asking for anything in return. Most of them would not refuse the chance to repay one of his favors.

Moreover, once cultivators from other peaks visited Qingyue Peak, Li Minglu’s little scheme would become obvious at a glance.

“This…”

The cultivator looked troubled.

“But they are not disciples of Qingyue Peak. I’m afraid they may not handle things properly.”

“What, you don’t trust high-ranking cultivators from your own sect, but you think a group of Golden Core and Nascent Soul cultivators like yourselves can manage it?”

Yu Jia immediately supported Qin Youzhou.

“If that works, nod. If it doesn’t, none of you are leaving.”

“You still have time to argue, so it clearly can’t be that urgent.”

Faced with his aggressive tone, the cultivators could only nod in agreement.

“Something terrible has happened—!”

They had only just resolved that problem when another cultivator rushed inside.

His face was filled with anxiety.

“We just counted everyone and discovered that four wandering cultivators are missing!”

During the time they had spent arguing with the people from Qingyue Peak, they had counted the candidates again and found that four had vanished without a trace.

“I’ll take some people to search.”

Yu Jia’s head buzzed from all the commotion. Internally, he cursed Li Minglu for causing trouble.

He drew a deep breath.

“I’ll leave maintaining order to you, Junior Brother.”

“Go without worry, Senior Brother. Leave everything here to me.”

Accustomed to handling accounts, Qin Youzhou needed only one glance through the register before quickly circling three names with a vermilion brush.

When he reached the fourth, his hand paused.

—Du Xiao.

He was missing too.

“Who was responsible for these four wandering cultivators?”

The candidates’ lodgings were protected by a barrier. With their cultivation levels, wandering cultivators should not have been able to break through it and leave on their own.

After a long while, a demon cultivator from Qingyue Peak stepped forward trembling.

“It was me.”

“When I counted them yesterday at the Hour of the Dog, everyone was still there.”

“This morning… Senior Brother Li was urging us so urgently that I confirmed the number without checking carefully.”

He spoke timidly.

“Normally, no one wanders off, and there were people keeping watch nearby. Who would have thought someone would actually sneak out…?”

His explanation only made the situation worse.

If they had disappeared only moments ago, it would be easier to handle.

But if they had already vanished last night and the supervising cultivator had simply failed to notice until now, no one knew how far the four might have gone.

Qin Youzhou reviewed their names again and discovered that all four were demon cultivators.

Aside from Du Xiao, the other three had extremely poor spiritual roots. If nothing unexpected happened, they would soon be sent down the mountain.

“Perhaps they also refused to accept the spiritual-root test results and ran into the forest to hide.”

The demon cultivator looked close to tears.

“This has happened often before. They usually come out on their own after a few days.”

“I have already informed the Sect Master.”

Qin Youzhou interrupted his excuses.

“Senior Brother Ling Hu, the Sect Master will decide how to punish your negligence once he arrives. For now, finding the four cultivators is more important.”

“Question the wandering cultivators who shared their lodging and recount everyone once more.”

He instructed the other cultivators standing nearby.

“Do not allow any of the candidates to move around. I will investigate the barrier.”

“Yes!”

By the time Qin Youzhou reached the edge of the barrier, Yu Jia had already led people there and discovered a few clues.

“Here.”

He pointed toward a thicket.

“There are unusual traces of spiritual energy moving through this spot.”

But after going a little farther, they found no further trail of spiritual energy.

“Someone must have taken them away. This person is familiar with the sect’s restrictions and skilled at concealing traces.”

Qin Youzhou closed his eyes.

Even after a long while, he sensed no lingering malice.

Yu Jia looked puzzled.

“But why would anyone abduct four young demon cultivators?”

The image of that blood-seeping cart suddenly appeared in Qin Youzhou’s mind, along with those pale slabs of flesh.

…Could the two matters be connected?

Or was this somehow related to one of the plot points in the original novel?

“Junior Brother Qin, Junior Brother Yu, a wandering cultivator says he saw them leave last night!”

Just as everything reached a deadlock and the Sect Master still had not responded, a cultivator hurried over with a delighted expression.

“I brought him here.”

A timid-looking youth was surrounded and pushed before Qin Youzhou.

Qin Youzhou’s brow twitched.

Him again.

“Where did they go last night, and how do you know?”

Yu Jia, quick-tongued as always, spoke first.

“Immortal Masters.”

Dai Yang looked dissatisfied when Qin Youzhou ignored him, but he still answered.

“It was probably around midnight. I kept tossing and turning because I couldn’t sleep, and I saw the cultivator sharing my room suddenly get up… the one called Du Xiao.”

“He frightened me.”

Dai Yang pouted aggrievedly.

“But I couldn’t suppress my curiosity, so I secretly watched outside for a while. Right around where the Immortal Masters are standing now, I saw several people walking stiffly into the forest, almost like living corpses. They headed south.”

“The person at the front seemed to be Du Xiao.”

Yu Jia asked, “Can you guarantee that every word you’ve said is true?”

Dai Yang had concealed his identity and registered himself as human, so Yu Jia naturally regarded him as one.

But few humans at his cultivation level possessed such excellent vision after nightfall, which naturally made Yu Jia suspicious.

“I would never dare deceive the Immortal Masters.”

Qin Youzhou observed Dai Yang’s expression, exchanged a look with Yu Jia, and stepped forward.

He stared sternly at Dai Yang.

“If what you have said is true, then you have rendered great merit. But if even half a word is false, you will have committed a serious offense.”

Only then did guilt appear on Dai Yang’s face.

“…Everything else is definitely true. I simply didn’t see clearly whether Du Xiao was really the one leading them.”

In truth, Du Xiao had been the last to leave.

His gait had not been stiff like the others either.

It had looked as though he had deliberately followed them.

But Du Xiao was always unfriendly toward him and had even told him to get lost, so Dai Yang wanted to cause him some trouble.

Qin Youzhou ignored Dai Yang from then on.

He drew his weapon, Chaoshi.

One of the fan’s feathered blades separated from the body and shot southward like an arrow released from a bow.

In the blink of an eye, Qin Youzhou detected a faint trace of malice through it.

“Senior Brother, my sensitivity to evil and resentment is stronger. unauthorized copy I will take some people and try to follow their trail first.”

“The Sect Master said he would arrive soon. Once he comes, please explain the situation to him.”

“What about your Shizun?”

Yu Jia’s eyes widened slightly.

“I remember he forbade you from leaving.”

“…Don’t tell him. I’ll return and accept punishment from him afterward.”

Lives were at stake.

They could not abandon even the slightest chance of saving them, and the Sect Master always handled matters slowly. Qin Youzhou could not afford to wait.

Even if he had to write a ten-thousand-character self-criticism, or accept an even harsher punishment, he would bear it.

South of Yinxiao Mountain…

Within an unnamed wilderness, endless greenery stretched on, dark as ink, as though capable of swallowing all things.

The youth sat upon a corpse with his legs crossed.

He swept an indifferent glance across the three demon cultivators lying unconscious on the ground [unauthorized copy]and casually counted the purple gu veins across the back of his hand.

His eyes were pitch-black, and there was not the slightest youthful vitality in his face.

The bright red blood thread in his hand stitched together flesh with the texture of fabric, which twisted unnaturally. In the blink of an eye, it regained the sheen of human skin.

“Xiao Zhou is being disobedient again.”

His muttering was instantly swallowed by the spreading miasma.

Du Xiao instinctively reached for his wine flask, only to grasp empty air.

Remembering that he had promised Qin Youzhou to quit drinking, he withdrew his hand in disappointment.

He sat quietly for a while.

The wind brushing past his cheek carried a familiar and warm spiritual energy.

Du Xiao’s lips curved slightly.

He raised his hands and smeared mud across his face, then mercilessly reopened a wound that had only just healed and rolled onto the ground.

Like a marionette whose strings had suddenly been cut, his complexion turned deathly pale in an instant, and he lost consciousness.