Early the next morning, Xiao Ran headed out.
Where was he going?
To find Seventh Master Liu, of course.
Xiao Ran had asked the owner of the bed-and-breakfast about him, but the owner had only shaken his head. They knew that they worshipped Seventh Master, but not where he was.
The five old immortals—the Fox, Huang, Bai, Liu, and Hui families—corresponded to five different surnames.
The first three were easy enough to find. Among the Hu, Huang, and Bai families, there were bound to be spirit mediums from those clans.
The last two families, however, weren't the Liu and Hui families. They were the Chang and Dou families.
Outsiders wouldn't know the ins and outs of this, but Xiao Ran knew them well.
After telling Golden Toad Son and Wu Man to wait at the bed-and-breakfast, Xiao Ran went out and spread his spiritual power like a vast net.
His spiritual power swept over the streets like a tide. Under his perception, the evil spirits inside the buildings on either side were like thin ice exposed to the blazing sun. Their auras, forms, and even the grudges they clung to were all laid bare.
He walked straight toward the nearest grocery store, its sign faded with age. As he pushed open the wooden door, the hinges let out a strained creak.
Behind the counter, a girl with a face as withered as deadwood lay sprawled across the stained countertop. Her eyes were cloudy and lifeless, and her voice was as flat as a rusty mechanism. "Take what you want. Check the price yourself. No returns once the goods leave the counter."
Xiao Ran glanced at the girl.
Her three souls and seven spirits had long since been devoured. Only an empty puppet shell remained, driven by evil magic.
He didn't