You Su and Ji Lingruo walked at the back of the group. Those in front of them climbed the hidden ladder one by one. When it was You Su's turn, he suddenly exclaimed in surprise:
"Oh right! I forgot to take a piece of jerky, junior sister, come back with me to get it."
Without further ado, he pulled Ji Lingruo away. The people on the floor exchanged a glance, understanding that the two senior and junior siblings had something to say to each other.
After passing through the passageway, You Su lowered her voice to a level that only the two of them could hear, and asked with concern:
"Junior sister, have you forgotten that we're possessed? What if we're discovered if we walk into a crowd?"
Ji Lingruo's expression was not visible in the darkness, but her voice trembled slightly:
"Senior brother, I had a dream yesterday... I dreamt that... Mistress was looking for us..."
"So that's why you said that earlier? Then why don't we just wait here for her to come looking for us?"
"No! No! She... she didn't come to save us! She's going to kill me!"
Ji Lingruo terrified she could barely control her voice. You Su reacted quickly, immediately pressing the girl's face against his chest.
You Su gently stroked the girl's back to soothe her. "Junior sister, don't be afraid, it's just a nightmare. How could your Mistress possibly kill you..."
Ji Lingruo huddled in You Su's arms, shaking her head in fear, and said in a trembling voice, "Senior brother, you don't know... Mistress is possessed by an evil spirit belonging to the realm of dreams. The dreams about her can't be empty dreams."
His junior sister in reality was unaware that he had already witnessed the power of his evil Mistress. Sensing something was amiss, he asked again:
"Junior sister, what else did you dream about?"
"I... I dreamt I was locked in a crystal cage... Master's Mistress rescued me and brought me here. I thought she came to save me... but actually, she was going to kill me at a specific time! I was lying on a coffin lid, my body cut into pieces... Senior brother, I'm so scared! Let's hide together with everyone, okay? That way, Mistress won't be able to find us easily..."
Ji Lingruo over, You Su hugged her even tighter, while his heart was also churning with turmoil.
All the previously unfounded pieces of information seemed to connect, leading him to a bold conjecture:
This isn't my junior sister's own dream; it's the dream of the Tai Sui that's attached to her!
The evil spirit on my Mistress is the Dream-Eating Ghost that stole the altar's treasures and fled, as mentioned in the Evil Warding Token! It has truly reached the Central Yuan Continent!
Tai Sui is the precious treasure used as a sacrifice to the ancestral immortals! And Junior Sister is the container used to hold Tai Sui!
He only ate a small piece of the Tai Sui's flesh and it changed so much. If that's not a treasure, what is?
Recalling the way You Su didn't believe that the Dream-Eating Ghost would be so kind as to deliberately remove Tai Sui from his junior sister before killing her.
The Dream-Eating Ghost's purpose was likely to obtain the so-called "god" who originated from Izumo. Her quiet departure was to make some necessary preparations, and these dense fogs and mysterious fogs were probably her doing.
No wonder she told her junior sister to hide well within the sect...
However, a sudden turn of events forced him and his junior sister to leave the sect. After the Mistress, controlled by the Dream-Eating Ghost, finished her preparations, she would definitely come looking for Tai Sui. Tai Sui sensed this and told his junior sister to run away quickly in the form of a dream... So, despite disliking strangers, his junior sister repeatedly and deliberately sought out crowds.
That swirling vortex of flesh and blood, and these human cultivators who viewed evil as their enemy—for a moment, You Su couldn't tell which was more terrifying...
"You Su? Are you feeling better yet?"
Zhou Li's urging voice interrupted their thoughts.
"Almost there!"
You Su responded loudly, then gave Ji Lingruo a deep hug and whispered in her ear:
"Junior sister, don't be afraid. No matter what, your senior brother will always be by your side."
Ji Lingruo's trembling stopped, and she lightly tapped You Su's shoulder twice with her chin. You Su knew that this was the girl nodding in response to him.
He then took Ji Lingruo's shoulders and pushed her in front of him, solemnly instructing her:
"Then we'll go to the Auspicious Cave, but Junior Sister, you must hide yourself well and stay close to your Senior Brother. If you have any problems, come to me immediately."
In the darkness, the girl's eyes seemed to spontaneously gain light, and she nodded emphatically:
"Um."
You Su then patted Ji Lingruo's shoulder to encourage her. She was just a clumsy and proud girl who liked to joke around with her senior brother, but she had suffered too many unwarranted misfortunes.
This made her the most pathetic victim in this deadly scheme, while he was her only ally.
With this in mind, a great sense of responsibility enveloped You Su. He fastened the Ink Pine Sword to his waist and gripped the hilt tightly.
He said softly to Ji Lingruo, "Let's go."
Then he shouted loudly outside, "They're here!"
It was daytime, and the misty fog was as white as milk, making the ordinary streets of Chuyun City look like a fairyland.
Two unnamed cultivators walked at the front of the group, while Zhou Li brought up the rear.
You Su and Ji Lingruo were also at the back of the group.
"Zhou Li." You Su took the initiative to speak, which was very unusual for her.
"What's wrong?" Zhou Li was also surprised for a moment.
"Did City Lord Liu and the others leave the city?"
"Yes, he left four days ago in the afternoon."
Both men fell into a brief silence, seemingly mourning the inevitable deaths of City Lord Liu and his two companions.
"Who else in the city is a cultivator at the Condensing Water Realm?"
"Of the six major sects, three remain as sect leaders; of the three major Lineage, two remain as patriarchs; and there is also Blacksmith Wang and several elderly elders of the Xuanxiao Sect."
You Su nodded to himself. After some consideration, he realized that going to Auspicious Cave seemed to be the best decision at present.
The Evil Warding Token that could identify the junior sister as an evil spirit must have been given to Qi Daodong by City Lord Liu. However, Qi Daodong disappeared in the west of the city, and the Evil Warding Token was lost.
He had secretly asked his junior sister if there were any signs before the evil spirits began to act, and she said there were. So, if he could take her away from the Auspicious Cave temporarily under the pretext of looking for his master 'Mistress before she fell ill, it would be difficult to discover that she was possessed.
Therefore, the biggest threat should be the Mistress, who has been controlled by the Dream-Eating Ghost.
"You Su, don't be too afraid. At least most of the evil spirits we've encountered so far are within our capabilities."
Zhou Li offered words of comfort, saying that You Su's concern for these top-level powers was a sign of his despair. He felt it was only natural for a blind person to feel helpless in such a situation. He admired You Su and felt You Su was his duty to protect him.
But as soon as he finished speaking, a sudden, clear sword cry rang out, You Su drew his sword and thrust it straight at him.
Before he could even react to what was happening, his mind blank, the sharp sword had already grazed past his ear.
A giant, dark red spider demon, hanging high in the air, had been swiftly killed by You Su.
You Su pulled the sword away from Zhou Li's ear, wiped it clean with a handkerchief, and gave him a light reminder:
Even if you can handle it, you should still be careful.