Found Five Mummified Corpses

Gulp, gulp, gulp, Ji You drank water.

The old doctor sat by his side, watching him, asking about Ji You's family background and future aspirations, like a kind elder.

Ji You smiled politely, but his heart was wary, unwilling to say more.

In the martial world, one's background must not be easily revealed, for even the slightest carelessness could sow the seeds of future trouble.

But later, he heard that the old doctor didn't charge for his services, and his chatterbox opened.

This was a personality he had developed over his two and a half years living in Yuyang County; he felt like he had known everyone who didn't charge him for years.

"So, the day you arrived, you snatched that Young Master Kuang's money?"

"Hey, how can you call it snatching when it's about scholars, old man? How impolite of you."

"Scholars? Isn't that Kuang kid the scholar?"

"..."

"How can snatching from scholars be called snatching!"

Before long, a hearty, aged laugh rang out, interspersed with a dog-like yapping laugh.

Meanwhile, in the courtyard outside the door, the Hall Master of Jixiang Hall, wearing a hairpin flower, sat before a stone table, sipping tea.

The winter temperature was very low, and the tea on the small stove quickly grew cold. She had to transform spiritual energy into fire to keep it warm.

Just as she had finished warming a pot, she heard the laughter from the courtyard and felt surprised.

Yesterday morning, the news of a disciple being attacked on the street had spread throughout the Inner Court.

Countless people spoke of the dual cultivation of martial and cultivation arts disciple as if he were a god, which also greatly surprised her.

But what surprised her even more was that her Master had suddenly emerged from his bamboo hut in the depths of the sea of clouds that morning, saying he wanted to stroll around the Outer Court and take a look.

She thought her Master had been living in seclusion in the mountains for too long and wanted to see the worldly affairs, so she accompanied him.

But what You Yingqiu didn't expect was that her Master had gone directly to the Jade Garden of Bingshui Lake to visit the Outer Court youth who had fallen into a coma after his spiritual sense was depleted.

Just then, footsteps came from inside the room, and You Yingqiu stood up to look.

Her Master had come out, muttering "Don't see me out, don't see me out," and then left.

"Master, are you done looking?"

"Done looking."

The old man nodded with a smile, his hands behind his back, and walked out of the Jade Garden of Bingshui Lake.

You Yingqiu was slightly stunned, feeling that her understanding of "looking" and her Master's understanding of "looking" were not the same.

She meant "visiting," while her Master's "looking" seemed to be "observing."

It was just like when she had vied for the position of Hall Master of Jixiang Hall, and her Master had said, You'll do, I think you're quite good.

She didn't know what was good about her in her Master's eyes, but it was said that people of her Master's cultivation level could see how one's spiritual energy circulated with just a glance.

And just as the two of them had left the courtyard, a strong wind sounded in the air.

Cao Jinsong descended from the sky, landing in the courtyard, already covered in sweat. In the cold weather, his head was emitting steam, like vapor rising from boiling water.

In the past, flying around this courtyard only required a little spiritual energy, but today it was as if he had been struck by evil spirits; no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't fly to his destination.

He seemed to have flown over the stone arch bridge on Jade Lake five times, but he had no proof.

Finally, he reached his destination, and couldn't help but sigh at his profound cultivation and his unyielding spirit and great perseverance.

"I wonder if Ji You has woken up yet..."

Cao Jinsong pushed open the door and saw Ji You sitting on the bed, stretching lazily. He finally relaxed.

Ji You yawned and said as he entered, "That doctor is quite good."

"?"

Cao Jinsong was stunned, wondering who had called a doctor.

His spiritual sense was depleted, not injured, so why was someone so proactively calling a doctor? Could they be trying to poach my disciple?

Damn it...

It must be Instructor Ma and Instructor Ding!

Ever since Ji You sensed the Heavenly Tome, they had been coveting this extraordinary child of mine for more than a day or two.

Ji You suddenly remembered the attack and asked, "Have the disciples who went to search outside returned?"

Cao Jinsong snapped back to attention, "I came for that very reason. The three stewards from the Affairs Management Courtyard asked me to inquire if you would be willing to participate in the discussion. If not, they can come themselves."

"Were the three who attacked us caught?"

"They were caught, but we caught five."

"?"

Ji You was slightly taken aback, thinking, Are bandits caught with a bonus?

Cao Jinsong knew he hadn't understood and explained, "After your fight in the city, the remaining instructors led disciples in pursuit, but the other party had clearly planned this and headed straight for Wanzhuo Mountain outside the city, using the complex terrain to escape. Their route was clear."

Ji You raised an eyebrow. "The usual follow-up to that is 'we weren't familiar with the terrain and ended up losing them.'"

"One of the teams did catch up, but the disciples sent were not of high enough realm. They ended up heavily injuring two, but still couldn't apprehend them."

Ji You had fought them before and knew firsthand how dangerous they were. If people in the Dao Integration Realm were that easy to catch, that realm wouldn't be considered one of the upper five realms.

However, the Celestial Academy... their strength is a bit lacking.

He muttered to himself, then remembered Cao Jinsong's earlier words: "What do you mean by capturing five people?"

Cao Jinsong's expression grew even more grim. "The other team planned to pursue from the back of the mountain. They unexpectedly discovered a cave along the way. The entrance was extremely narrow, but the cavity was very deep. Inside, there were five mummified corpses. We recognized two of them."

Ji You narrowed his eyes. "Were they Cai Ziyao and Zhang Congzhi...?"

"How did you know?"

Ji You glanced at him. "Didn't you just tell me yesterday that those two had gone missing?"

Cao Jinsong nodded. "That's right. Although their appearances are no longer recognizable, based on their clothing and accessories, they match the descriptions from the day Zhang Congzhi and Cai Ziyao disappeared."

This Arrogant Sword Immortal script is turning into Young Bao Qingtian...

Ji You fell silent at his words and followed Cao Jinsong to the Affairs Management Courtyard.

The Affairs Management Courtyard wasn't large, only about the size of Jade Garden of Bingshui Lake, but the courtyard was packed with people.

There were the disciples who had returned from the search today, as well as outsiders from other sects who had merely stood by in shock and horror on the streets last night without offering any help.

As Ji You entered, hushed discussions erupted from the crowd.

Especially among those who had witnessed the fight on the street that day, the image of the white-clothed sword master, standing in the night and drawing his sword with chilling precision amidst three whistling sword strikes, flashed through their minds.

In the cultivation world, when encountering someone of a high realm displaying Daoist magic, most observers would exclaim, "Venerable's divine power!"

But last night, they hadn't seen any Daoist magic from this white-clothed sword master, yet they still felt compelled to call it divine.

In this world, swords are auxiliary tools. They are either infused with spiritual energy to defend or used to carry Daoist magic for offense.

To put it plainly, they are like wands in Harry Potter; they are not used as offensive weapons themselves.

But the previous day, they had inadvertently stumbled upon something amazing...

Ji You walked through countless admiring gazes, looking up and observing. He noticed that besides these sect outsiders, there was also a group in Great Xia official uniforms standing behind them.

Kuang Cheng, whom he hadn't seen in days, was among them, giving him a look of admiration.

Ji You saw two words in his gaze: Awesome.

But what does Old Kuang have to do with this? Oh, he joined the Immortal Affairs Supervision Bureau.

No, even joining the Immortal Affairs Supervision Bureau is clerical work. Why was he called here?

(We're third on the New Book Chart! Please keep reading and vote for monthly tickets!!!)