The Culprit

Song Chengan held a string of grapes, popping one into his mouth every now and then.

It was a bit sour.

"Scholar Song, want some honey?"

Just then.

A black bear ran over.

It was carrying a pile of honey.

When it reached Song Chengan, it enthusiastically stuffed a piece into his hand.

Song Chengan's face turned green.

Because not far away, a large swarm of bees was following them menacingly.

"Damn it..."

Song Chengan took to his heels and ran.

"I know a place where we can avoid them."

A quiet pond.

After the swarm of bees hovered for a while, they disappeared.

After a moment, a human head emerged from the water.

After another moment, a bear's head popped out.

"They're gone."

Song Chengan glanced at the black bear with annoyance.

"Aren't you a monster?"

"You're afraid of a swarm of bees? Why don't you just fight them all?"

The black bear shook its head upon hearing this. "That won't do. This Old Bear already stole their honey. It would be too much to kill them too."

"Besides, that guy is really stingy. She didn't pay me any mind when I took the honey, but she'll get angry if I kill her subjects."

"And besides, you didn't use magic to burn all this honey just now either."

Song Chengan was speechless.

"Oh right, is the Boss Bai here?"

"I need to find him for something."

"The Boss Bai?"

"He's not here. He went down the mountain."

Song Chengan was taken aback.

Lately, the Boss Bai seemed to be away from the mountain for no reason.

Was a monster that busy?

And a monster, walking around in the world every day, wasn't he worried about being slain by some expert on a whim?

Song Chengan thought for a moment and asked.

"By the way, do you know any monsters on Mount Luo who are good at soul-snatching?"

"Soul-snatching?"

"Yes."

"A monster on Mount Luo who snatches souls."

"That old woman from Hundred Flowers Villa."

"She's a Soul Devouring Flower that gained sentience. She's the most skilled at snatching people's souls."

"Hundred Flowers Villa?"

"Where is it?"

"North of the village, just keep going and you'll get there."

Song Chengan nodded.

"You're going to find that old woman?"

"I have some things I want to ask."

Song Chengan said.

But after a few steps, Song Chengan turned back.

"Oh right, this old woman you mentioned, is she powerful?"

The black bear smacked its lips.

"Average, but very troublesome."

Song Chengan stopped in his tracks.

"Are you worried she'll hit you?"

"No need to worry."

"The Boss has rules; monsters from Mount Luo are not allowed to kill people."

"Killing people means paying with your life."

"Besides, that old woman made a big mistake over ten years ago and was confined by First Boss Bai for a hundred years. Only a little over ten years have passed since then."

Song Chengan heard this.

"Then I can rest easy."

He had forgotten.

On Mount Luo, First Boss Bai had rules.

No killing.

Song Chengan saw the Hundred Flowers Villa.

The villa's gate was tightly shut.

But as Song Chengan arrived, the villa gate opened silently.

"So beautiful!"

Stepping into the villa.

Song Chengan was a little surprised.

Inside the villa, a hundred flowers bloomed, many of which were out of season, swaying gracefully.

"Who are you?"

Song Chengan turned around.

It was a woman who looked to be in her twenties.

She was stunningly beautiful.

She lounged in a pavilion in the garden, lazily watching Song Chengan.

Song Chengan said, "I am a rogue cultivator from Lingqiu City."

"I've come to ask a fellow Daoist for something."

As Song Chengan spoke, he took out the hairpin.

The woman glanced at the hairpin indifferently.

She asked, "Do I know you?"

Song Chengan said, "Over ten years ago, fellow Daoist seemed to have visited Lingqiu City and met a man named Lu Jingcheng."

"Lu Jingcheng?" The woman's face showed impatience.

"Are you talking about that lecher who thinks I like him, that idiot?"

This statement surprised Song Chengan.

"Weren't you two in love back then, miss?"

Song Chengan asked, confused.

"But that's not important."

"I'm here to ask you something, miss."

"Back then, because of Lu Jingcheng, you had some grievances with a family."

"I want to know if you captured the soul of one of that family's children."

"I did it."

The woman admitted it generously.

"At that time, I was at a critical juncture in my cultivation and decided to cultivate my heart in the mortal world."

"But unexpectedly, this man brought people and insisted I had bewitched someone to kill his son and daughter, threatening to turn me over to the authorities."

"He even brought cultivators and injured me."

"I was furious and took a wisp of his son's soul."

"But according to everyone else, that man did indeed kill his son and daughter for you."

The woman became even more impatient upon hearing this.

"He said he liked me."

"I told him he had a wife, children, and should live a stable life."

"The next day, he ran to me saying he had killed his son and daughter, and with money, wanted to elope with me."

"What kind of person does that if not a lunatic?"

"In the end, you all found me guilty."

"The government wanted to arrest me, cultivators wanted to kill me, and that dead goose imprisoned me here for a hundred years."

The woman's words were filled with resentment.

Song Chengan: "..."

"I've come to see you today not to debate who was right or wrong back then."

"But to get that wisp of soul from you."

"A wisp of soul?"

The woman looked at Song Chengan.

"What relation are you to the An family?"

"My sister is that child's mother, and that child is my nephew."

The woman nodded upon hearing this, then asked back, "Then why should I give it to you?"

"Are you going to snatch it directly?"

"Kill me, and then snatch that wisp of soul?"

Song Chengan shook his head: "There are rules from the Boss on Mount Luo. Why would you joke like this, Fellow Daoist?"

Besides, I can't beat you anyway.

Song Chengan thought to himself.

"Is that wisp of soul still here?"

"I want to trade for it."

Song Chengan thought for a moment and said.

The woman glanced at Song Chengan: "Alright."

"I want to leave here."

"Go beg that person to let me leave, and I'll give you that human's soul. "

"This..."

Song Chengan looked a bit troubled.

"I don't know if I can do it."

"But I'll try the next time I meet the Boss."

"Then come back and tell me after you've tried."

"Okay, then I'll take my leave for now!"

"Don't bother."

He left Hundred Flowers Villa.

Although he didn't get the wisp of soul that had been taken from An Mingxu immediately, judging by the monster's words just now, it was clear that An Mingxu's wisp of soul was still in this monster's possession.

This made Song Chengan very happy.

At least there was a chance to get this wisp of soul back.

However, he wouldn't tell his sister about this news yet, in case something unexpected happened later and she got her hopes up for nothing.

No one else knew that Song Chengan had come to Mount Luo to find this monster.

One reason was that he wasn't sure if he could find it.

Another was that he didn't want anyone to know that he had any connection with the monsters on Mount Luo.

Colluding with monsters was a serious crime.

"I'll stay on Mount Luo for a while, then, and wait for First Boss Bai to return."