Zheng Que's expression turned grave in an instant. This was the third time he had seen someone without a shadow in town!
The first time had been just after he passed the Dao Entry Tribulation. On his way to see his master that morning, he had spotted several passersby without shadows. Back then, he hadn't been sure and had wondered if he'd seen wrong.
The second time had been yesterday morning, on his way to pay his respects to his master. He'd seen several townsfolk heading out to work, and they had no shadows either. This time, he'd seen them perfectly clearly. He definitely hadn't imagined it.
What's more, those townsfolk's condition yesterday had been just like Cui Ni'er's now. Aside from lacking shadows, everything else seemed perfectly normal. Even through the [Spirit Eye Technique], he couldn't see anything wrong.
And now this was the third time...
Zheng Que took a deep breath. He remembered clearly that when he'd rescued Cui Ni'er from the well yesterday and carried her into her room, there hadn't been anything wrong with her shadow.
But today... What on earth had happened?
By then, Cui Fugui was already talking to his daughter. "You silly girl! Of course you kill both of them. Clean them up properly, hang them in a basket to drain, then pick out a basket of fresh eggs. Hurry up!"
Cui Ni'er immediately replied, "Got it!"
As she spoke, she carried the two chickens toward the backyard, looking ready to slaughter them.
Zheng Que came to his senses and hurriedly called out, "Wait!"
Cui Ni'er stopped and turned to look at Zheng Que, her eyes questioning.
Zheng Que stared at the young woman before him and asked seriously, "Where's your shadow?"
Cui Ni'er's face filled with confusion. She instinctively looked down at her feet. The sunlight was bright, shining directly on her, yet the ground beneath her was completely bare. Even the two chickens she held in her hands cast no shadows.
Cui Fugui noticed something was wrong too. His expression changed drastically, and he hurriedly asked, "Zheng Que, w-what's going on?"
"Could it be that you didn't kill all the Water Ghosts?"
"Please! You have to save my daughter!"
Zheng Que's brows knitted tightly. Those four Water Ghosts from yesterday had only been at the second level of [Tongue-Pulling Hell], and he'd already dealt with them. There was no way they could have done this!
Thinking of this, he continued questioning Cui Ni'er. "Did you go out today? Where did you go? Or did anything unusual happen to you?"
Cui Ni'er immediately shook her head, bewildered. "I-I didn't encounter anything unusual... I just changed clothes this morning and went to the little pond out front to wash yesterday's dirty clothes."
"On the way, I ran into Auntie Hua and greeted her."
Cui Fugui added from the side, "Right! That's what happened. Since something went wrong with the well, we haven't dared use its water for the past few days. We fetch water from the neighbors to drink and feed the chickens, and we take our clothes to the little pond to wash... Zheng Que, you know the pond. It's just outside Auntie Hua's courtyard wall. It's one of the cleaner water sources in town. Nothing strange has ever happened there..."
The little pond beside Auntie Hua's house?
Zheng Que knew it well. The pond wasn't large, but its water was very clear. The households nearby that didn't have wells went there to wash rice and clothes. As far as he could remember, nothing strange had ever happened there before.
He quickly made up his mind. He had to go check the place.
He also needed to keep an eye on Auntie Hua, who had greeted Cui Ni'er...
With that in mind, Zheng Que said in a low voice, "From now on, stay at home. Don't go out."
"I'm going to take a look by that little pond."
With that, he turned and headed out.
Seeing Zheng Que leave without a second thought, Cui Ni'er hurried after him. "Zheng Que, if you don't have time to eat, then take these two chickens with you!"
As she spoke, she ran up to Zheng Que, quickly gathered both chickens into one hand, then used her free hand to grab his arm and push the chickens into his hands.
Zheng Que was about to refuse, but the instant Cui Ni'er grabbed his arm, a nameless dread seized him. Terror surged through him like a rising tide, almost instinctive, as if some incomprehensibly terrifying presence had set its sights on him. In an instant, every hair on his body stood on end, and his mind was thrown into turmoil!
Without the slightest hesitation, Zheng Que jerked his arm away!
Bang!
He was incredibly strong now, and Cui Ni'er had no way to resist. He flung her away in an instant, and she landed hard on the ground, dazed and dizzy.
Zheng Que came to his senses. That heart-pounding feeling, as if a thorn were pricking his back, had come and gone in a flash. It was as though the whole thing had been an illusion.
Looking at Cui Ni'er lying on the ground and Cui Fugui staring at him in astonishment, Zheng Que steadied himself. For a moment, he couldn't tell whether he'd really imagined what had just happened.
At last, Cui Fugui came to his senses. He hurried over to help Cui Ni'er up, scolding her rapidly. "You silly girl, what were you doing?"
"You're always rushing about and can't even handle a little thing properly!"
"I'm going to give you a good whipping today!"
As he scolded his daughter, he hurriedly apologized to Zheng Que. "Z-Zheng Que, Ni'er's still young. She doesn't know any better. She didn't mean to offend you..."
As he spoke, there was a distinct trace of fear in Cui Fugui's gaze.
He had no idea why Zheng Que had suddenly lost his temper, but Zheng Que could kill ghosts and monsters now. He didn't dare offend him.
Zheng Que shook his head slightly. Seeing that Cui Ni'er hadn't been badly hurt and had only scraped the skin on her hand, he didn't bother explaining anything to Cui Fugui. He took a deep breath and quickly left.
As soon as he stepped out of the Cui Family's courtyard, he asked, "Qing Li, did you notice anything about that Cui Ni'er just now?"
Qing Li answered without hesitation, "Her flesh is tender. She should taste even more delicious than you Human Race brats."
At that, Zheng Que understood that Qing Li, like him, hadn't noticed anything wrong with Cui Ni'er.
Thinking of this, he no longer felt like investigating the little pond. He headed straight for his own home instead.
He couldn't deal with whatever was wrong with Cui Ni'er at his current level of cultivation!
He'd only been touched by Cui Ni'er just now, and he'd nearly lost control of his mind. If he forced himself to investigate the source of the problem, he might not even know how he died...
A short while later, Zheng Que returned home. Just as he was about to begin cultivating, Qing Li immediately asked, "Human Race brat, don't you have anything else to do today?"
Zheng Que nodded. He'd planned to visit the town chief's house again today, but what had happened at the Cui Family's home kept leaving him feeling uneasy.
To prevent anything from going wrong, he decided to spend the day cultivating and visit the town chief tomorrow.
Seeing Zheng Que nod, Qing Li immediately said, "Since you have nothing to do, Human Race brat, stay here like a good boy. Your granny's going out for a while."
Hm?
Qing Li was going out to kill ghosts and monsters in broad daylight too?
A Ghost Servant volunteering for overtime. That was great!
So Zheng Que immediately replied, "All right, but be back before dark."
Before you continue