Encounter

The old woman slowly relaxed her body, no longer panicking from being trapped by the vines. In fact, she had experienced being bound and unable to move before, and didn't even care that one of her arms had been severed.

Yu Jing looked at the doctor, Men Qian, with a strange gaze. He seemed taciturn, but his mind was filled with many things. He found the old woman's weak point and, with his words, directly broke through her mental defenses.

"I didn't mean to hurt you, nor did I mean to hurt my granddaughter," the old woman said, appearing somewhat agitated, tears even welling up in her cloudy eyes.

"Split personality?" Men Qian whispered softly.

"To understand your granddaughter's situation, could you first tell us the origin of this inn?"

Men Qian began with some simple questions to get the old woman talking, not immediately asking questions that would agitate her. This gradual approach was a clever way to pry loose important information locked away in her heart.

At the same time, Men Qian signaled Yu Jing with his eyes, asking him to loosen some of the vines binding the old woman at key moments to improve the efficiency of the questioning.

"This mountainside was originally my old man's land. The city expanded to our area, and they built the Ability Institute City at the foot of the mountain. Because my granddaughter's parents died early, I raised her myself. It cost a lot of money to attend the Ability Institute, so I decided to build this inn on the mountainside. Many disciples would come to our Deep Mountain Inn on weekends to stay a night because of the natural environment. The income was quite good."

(The Deep Mountain Inn is actually located on the outskirts of a city in District Six.)

"Later, when my granddaughter got into the nearby Ability Institute, I let her help out here, and I took care of her... I never expected that this would be the worst mistake I ever made."

As the old woman spoke, sadness and regret appeared in her eyes.

At this moment, Men Qian gave Yu Jing a look, and the vines binding the old woman's body loosened significantly.

"Did anything happen while your granddaughter was helping at the inn?" Men Qian asked seriously.

"My granddaughter would bring some male classmates from the Ability Institute here. At first, I thought she was bringing friends, after all, my granddaughter was twenty and at that age... But the men she brought were different every week. I tried to ask her about it, but I was beaten up. I was afraid and didn't investigate further for a while."

At this point, everyone present understood what was going on.

But what happened in the Deep Mountain Inn was far from simple.

Yu Jing pondered, 'An inn like this, three stories high with ten rooms on each floor, was quite large in the 90s. Coupled with the excellent geographical location near the Ability Institute City, the inn's income should have been quite good... Besides, if this female Ability disciple wanted to solicit more business to earn more money, she would likely target wealthy businessmen, not guests at her own family's inn.'

Men Qian, who was conducting the interview, had the same thoughts as Yu Jing.

"What did you finally discover? What was the purpose of your granddaughter bringing these men here?"

At this critical juncture, Men Qian abruptly changed the topic. What the old woman was about to reveal would be related to the interior of the Deep Mountain Inn.

"Boom!"

At that very moment, a loud noise came from the window.

The iron window, which had been tightly locked, was torn open by a gust of wind. The old woman, about to answer, became terrified at the sight.

Everyone present, including Men Qian, a new disciple from the Medical School who was not skilled in combat, held his scalpel, suppressing their fear and preparing for battle. The inner walls of the room were covered with vines, so Yu Jing would know immediately if anything invaded from any other location. Thus, Yu Jing's attention was entirely focused on the broken window.

"Sizzle sizzle!" The television next to them also turned on at that moment.

The screen showed a bird's-eye view of the several people in the room, and a white-skinned woman was climbing in through the window. However, corresponding to the actual situation in the room, no one saw anything with their eyes.

"Tell me, what happened in the end? What was your granddaughter's purpose in bringing men back? How did you die? And how did she die?"

At this critical moment, Men Qian pressed the old woman for the crucial information. The woman in white on the television had already crawled in front of the old woman.

"On the flo..."

As she uttered the first two words, the old woman's pupils slowly dilated, and the woman in the television screen placed her hand on the old woman's head. The old woman could no longer maintain consciousness, her torn mouth revealing sharp teeth.

"Attack!"

As soon as Yu Jing uttered this, Yu Xiaoxiao had already drawn her dagger faster, piercing directly through the old woman's head. Simultaneously, she slashed towards the position of the woman in white on the television.

"Clang!"

The dagger, though moving through empty air, struck something hard and was stopped.

On the screen, the woman bit down on the dagger in Yu Xiaoxiao's hand, and a killing intent permeated the room.

Although Yu Xiaoxiao reacted quickly and withdrew the dagger, intending to dodge, her arm was still severed as she retreated. Judging by the severed edge, it appeared to have been cut by fingernails.

Yu Jing lunged forward and caught Yu Xiaoxiao in his arms. Corresponding to the woman shown on the television, he shielded them both with his body.

The killing intent receded.

The temperature in the room returned to normal, and the television screen reverted to a full screen of static.

"Hoo..."

Yu Jing gasped for breath. Based on the information he had gathered, he had made a gamble, betting that this woman would not harm men on the inn's floors.

It seemed his gamble paid off!

Yu Xiaoxiao, whose arm had been severed, bit her lip slightly in pain, but her eyes were fixed on Yu Jing's face, the one who had saved her. A strange emotion welled up in her heart.

"Leave it to me! Her severed arm is still there, and the wound is relatively smooth. With timely surgery, there won't be any lasting complications."

Men Qian immediately came forward to take Yu Xiaoxiao. He examined the wound and performed extremely meticulous and precise suturing, connecting tendons, blood vessels, and nerves. All procedures were completed within thirty seconds.

At the same time, Men Qian cut off a piece of fabric and a bed board to create a splint.

"The Ability Institute took my medical supplies. Currently, the only thing I can do is reattach it like this; it cannot be repaired quickly. For the time being, Yu Xiaoxiao, you probably won't be able to use your right arm. Try not to cause any secondary damage, otherwise, further repair will definitely leave complications."

"Thank you."

Yu Xiaoxiao did not resist Men Qian's professional and honest medical treatment. She thanked him softly and then bent down to pick up her dropped dagger.

Jiang Pengyu, standing beside them, stared at the inscription on the dagger, his expression suddenly enlightened.

Yu Jing sat on the edge of the bed, habitually pulling up his hood and resting his hands in front of him. "Let's all gather and discuss. I already have a general idea of the entire incident."