The Li Family Daughter

Chen Mo felt a chill run down his spine, his heart pounding wildly.

Wasn't Old Master Li called away by the Red Lantern Attendant to light the way and scout ahead?

How could he be here?

Had the Red-Robed Attendant let him go in the end? But the speed of his return was far too fast...

Fortunately, Chen Mo was no longer the frail, weak youth from half a month ago. Though he hadn't yet reached the Qi and Blood intensity of the Skin Refining Realm, he was only one step away. His Fuyang Saber Technique was fierce and imposing, and paired with the Mysterious Yin Hand, he could hold his own even against a martial artist who had just entered the Skin Refining Realm.

Strength in hand gave Chen Mo courage.

"Old Master Li, I'm Chen Mo. I came to your Li residence to buy Qi and Blood Pills. If I've disturbed you, please forgive me."

Old Master Li stared at Chen Mo expressionlessly, saying nothing.

Suddenly, a gust of eerie wind blew, lifting the tangled long hair that covered half the old man's face, revealing a pair of gray-white eyes.

Even his pupils were white.

It was utterly horrifying.

Chen Mo was startled and instinctively stepped back twice, reaching for the saber at his waist.

After half a month of grinding the Fuyang Saber Technique, Chen Mo had developed muscle memory—whenever something happened, he reached for his saber. But his hand groped at his waist and found nothing.

Where's my saber?

He looked down... he hadn't brought it.

Without time to overthink, Chen Mo scanned the area, immediately picked up a Brick from the ground, gripped it tightly, and then kept a safe distance, staying alert and wary.

Old Master Li glanced at the Brick in Chen Mo's hand, suddenly grinned, and said with a sinister chuckle, "Young friend wants Qi and Blood Pills, huh."

Hearing Old Master Li speak, Chen Mo felt a bit more at ease and replied, "I know the Li residence doesn't receive strangers. My brother Xie Dong has already gone in to announce me."

Old Master Li chewed on his words, his voice hoarse and low, strange. "They killed my daughter. I hate strangers. Qi and Blood Pills only sell to acquaintances..."

Chen Mo could tell the old man deeply loathed strangers and quickly explained, "My brother Xie Dong has been to the Li residence a few times before and knows the Li family. He's not a stranger. Old Master Li, would you sell me the Qi and Blood Pills?"

Old Master Li said, "I'm a businessman, so of course I'm willing."

Chen Mo breathed a slight sigh of relief. "Please name your price, Old Master Li."

Old Master Li pointed into the well. "I don't want silver. Just fish my daughter out of the well, and I'll give you the Qi and Blood Pills."

Chen Mo glanced at the Ancient Well and immediately grew wary.

Was the old man leaning most of his body into the well just now to fish out his daughter?

But earlier on the street, Old Master Li had stopped the Goddess Hong Deng's sedan chair, demanding her to return his daughter...

Thinking of this, Chen Mo felt a creeping dread but forced himself to stay calm and asked, "What happened to your daughter?"

Old Master Li's face was blank as he said sinisterly, "My daughter had a hard life. Someone pushed her into the well. I'm old, my body's not agile, I can't walk well, can't climb down. If young friend is willing to help me fish out my daughter, I'll not only give you the Qi and Blood Pills, I'll even give you the recipe for the Qi and Blood Pills."

Not just the Qi and Blood Pills, but the recipe too!

That was a priceless treasure.

Chen Mo was quite tempted.

If it were anyone else, they'd probably agree immediately.

But Chen Mo found the scene eerily strange.

Leaving aside how Old Master Li had returned, Ma Tie had inexplicably vanished. And Qiulan, who had gone to buy meat... hadn't come back either. Even Xie Dong, who had gone into the Li residence to announce him, had been gone for a long time without any sign of coming out.

Sticking to his cautious nature, Chen Mo said, "I can't promise you anything. Let me take a look first."

"My daughter is in the well. I can still hear her cries for help. You need to hurry, don't make me wait too long. I don't have much time, I don't have much time..." Old Master Li said woodenly, then, as if his soul had left him, he wandered dazedly into the distance, muttering over and over:

"Fish her out... my daughter, the Qi and Blood Pills are all yours."

"Don't make me wait too long. I don't have much time, I don't have much time..."

He muttered as he walked.

In just a few steps, he disappeared into the thick fog, gone from sight.

Old Master Li just left like that?

Curious, Chen Mo tightened his grip on the Brick and slowly walked over to the Ancient Well, peering down into it.

The well was about five or six zhang deep, lined with smooth, neatly stacked marble, covered in slippery red moss. The water at the bottom was perfectly still, smooth as a mirror, reflecting Chen Mo's face.

Where was the old man's daughter?

Chen Mo leaned over the well mouth and stared for a long time, but he didn't see Old Master Li's daughter.

The more he thought about it, the more wrong it felt.

"This place is wrong. I need to leave quickly."

Chen Mo looked around, made a quick decision, and hurried in the direction Old Master Li had gone.

The fog was thick all around, visibility low.

After just a few steps, Chen Mo saw a tall wall blocking his way.

"How could that be? Old Master Li clearly just went this way, didn't he?"

"An illusion?"

Chen Mo shoved hard at the wall a few times and found it solid as rock. He then slammed it with the Brick, producing sharp, clanging impacts.

A real wall!

Now Chen Mo felt a genuine chill of fear.

He knew he'd likely run into something uncanny. Every nerve in his body seemed to flood with adrenaline.

Suppressing his panic, he hurried back along the same path to the Ancient Well, then bolted in another direction. But after just a few steps, he hit another towering stone wall. He knocked it with the Brick—clang, clang.

He returned to the Ancient Well again and tried the other two directions. Both times, a stone wall blocked his way.

East, south, west, north—all solid walls.

No way out.

The Li family's old mansion gate was gone. The two lush, towering camphor trees were gone. The path he'd come from had vanished.

Terror gripped Chen Mo.

"Am I caught in a Ghost Wall?"

Hah!

Chen Mo took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down, his mind racing.

"Who's laying the Ghost Wall? That Old Master Li? Is he trying to trap me here to death? But just now, Old Master Li was clearly a living, breathing man—could he know some kind of dark art? If I don't fish out his daughter, I can't leave, is that it?"

Chen Mo felt the logic held:

The key was Old Master Li's daughter...

With that thought, Chen Mo didn't hesitate. He immediately leaned over the well mouth and peered down.

The Ancient Well was silent. The water was like a mirror, reflecting Chen Mo's face. It also reflected the shadow of the sun overhead.

Nothing else seemed out of place.

But Chen Mo knew the key to breaking the Ghost Wall lay in this very well.

In the meantime, he tried several more times to walk out, only to meet stone walls. Finally, he returned to the Ancient Well and stared fixedly into its depths.

Before long, the sun slanted westward and set.

A full moon climbed into the sky, casting its reflection into the well, overlapping with Chen Mo's face.

The surrounding sky went fully dark. A chill wind moaned.

Chen Mo kept his eyes locked on the well, motionless.

Then—

Plop!

Bubbles rose from the water below.

"There really is something..."

Chen Mo's heart jolted. He widened his eyes and peered down.

Soon, plop, plop sounds came in a steady stream as bubbles surfaced.

The next moment, a pale, peeling woman's face suddenly broke the water, meeting Chen Mo's gaze.