The next morning, at dawn.
Gu Mo went to the Yun Family.
The Cangzhou Yun Family had originally been one of Gan Country Jianghu's Three Sects, Four Factions, Seven Great Noble Families—a first-tier noble family of the martial world. Two years ago, their eldest daughter Yun Xiu had taken power as Family Head and seized the opportunity to become one of the Four Great Imperial Merchants personally appointed by Emperor Gan. In a single leap, they had achieved a half-step class transition, shifting from a martial arts family toward an Imperial Court family.
Afterward, Yun Xiu had decided to split the Yun Family in two. One part remained in Cangzhou, retaining the identity of a martial arts family and preserving the Yun Family's foundation in the jianghu. The other part had moved to the Capital City and established the Chang'an Yun Family.
The Yun Family of today could not yet be called resplendent in Chang'an City, but they were flourishing day by day, gradually earning some renown and securing their footing.
When Gu Mo arrived at the Yun Family, everyone from top to bottom was exceedingly excited and received him with great ceremony. Yun Xiu, who had originally been planning to attend the Succession Ceremony in the imperial city, immediately changed her arrangements.
Though everything for this Succession Ceremony had been simplified, the proceedings still lasted three days. As an imperial merchant, Yun Xiu should not have been absent by rights. Yet no one in the Yun Family felt there was anything improper about her changing her plans today.
In the current Imperial Court, anyone with even a remotely clear head knew just how lofty Gu Mo's standing was in Gan Country. If necessary, even the Succession Ceremony itself could be called to a halt.
Now that Gu Mo was in Chang'an City, countless people wished to visit him. Yet without exception, whether they were court ministers or princes and nobles, unless Gu Mo himself wished to see them, they would all be stopped outside Ye Jinglan's Manor.
The Yun Family had also been among those who wished to see Gu Mo but could not. Fortunately, Yun Xiu had always kept in close contact with Gu Chundong, and a few days ago, she had accompanied Gu Chundong to meet Gu Mo once.
Even such a small matter had raised the Yun Family's reputation in the Capital City. Much less today, when Gu Mo had come of his own accord—unless the Yun Family had something wrong with their brains, there was no way they would slight Gu Mo merely to attend the Succession Ceremony.
At this moment, in the Yun Family's main hall.
Only Yun Xiu and Gu Mo were together. The Yun Family members had all withdrawn far away. No one worried that being alone with a man would damage Yun Xiu's reputation. On the contrary, the Yun Family wished desperately that something might happen between Yun Xiu and Gu Mo. If they had not feared offending Gu Mo, they might even have considered proactively spreading rumors themselves.
In the hall, Yun Xiu poured Gu Mo a cup of tea and asked, "Great Hero Gu, what made you decide to go to Northern Zhou?"
"I'm looking for someone," Gu Mo said.
Seeing that Gu Mo had no intention of continuing, Yun Xiu tactfully did not press further. She said, "When does Great Hero Gu intend to leave? There is no need to wait for the caravan. I can directly send someone familiar with the route to guide you."
"The sooner, the better."
"Tomorrow?" Yun Xiu asked.
"That will do." Gu Mo asked, "How chaotic is the situation in Northern Zhou now?"
Yun Xiu thought for a moment, then said, "There are no fewer than ten rebel forces carving up the north, fighting each other in a chaotic melee, with beacon fires everywhere. The south is relatively better. Since the Northern Zhou Court relocated to Wutong City, it has maintained fairly good control over the southern regions. Our Yun Family mainly trades with the Northern Zhou Court in Wutong City."
Gu Mo nodded slightly, then said, "Oh, right. I'm going to Northern Zhou to capture a great thief, so I may inevitably need to deal with the court. I don't like that sort of thing. I'll have to trouble the person you arrange to negotiate with the court on my behalf. So put some extra thought into choosing a guide."
Yun Xiu hurriedly said, "No problem. I'll arrange for two veterans of the jianghu who frequently deal with Northern Zhou's Honglu Temple to guide you. They know both the roads and the Northern Zhou authorities well.
"If Great Hero Gu has any other needs, simply give the word. The Yun Family owes everything we have today to you, Great Hero Gu. You have shown our family immense kindness. Not to mention such a small matter—even if we had to brave boiling water and tread through fire, the Yun Family would not hesitate!"
Gu Mo asked doubtfully, "What kindness have I shown the Yun Family? Family Head Yun, don't tell me you mean when I captured Shangguan Shang. You paid me to handle that matter. It was a transaction, not some favor."
Yun Xiu said, "That matter also deserves my thanks, Great Hero Gu. If you had not helped me then, my clothing exhibition would have failed, and I would never have become Family Head. But that is not what I mean.
"Great Hero Gu, when you went to Yunzhou to investigate the Green Leaf Hall Master's case, you ultimately uncovered that the Green Leaf Hall Master was Old Madam Lin of the Lin Family. But in truth, Old Madam Lin—or rather, the Lin Family—had Your Highness Prince Qi behind them."
Gu Mo nodded. "I know. When I entered the palace last year, His Majesty told me that although Old Madam Lin of the Lin Family was the Green Leaf Hall Master, it was because the Lin Family had no successors worthy of the name. To keep the family from declining, she cooperated with Prince Qi, Li Zhongyi, to secretly establish Green Leaf Hall."
Yun Xiu nodded slightly. "Actually, after the Lin Family was exposed, half of Prince Qi's plans in Cangzhou were ruined. He continued supporting new replacements, and I and the Yun Family were the replacements he chose.
"It was also because he pulled strings in the middle that our Yun Family received the opportunity to become imperial merchants. But last year, when His Majesty suddenly began purging Prince Qi and his forces in order to establish the Crown Prince, our Yun Family should have found it impossible to escape disaster.
"Yet because I had longstanding ties with you and Sister Chudong, the Yun Family was given an opportunity. As long as we proactively severed ties with Prince Qi's Manor, our past would not be held against us, and no further investigation would follow. That was how the Yun Family escaped calamity and retained our status as imperial merchants."
Gu Mo suddenly understood. "So there were all these matters in between. This truly was fortune and misfortune clinging together. From now on, the Yun Family will emerge from the depths of despair and soar into the sky."
Yun Xiu chuckled and teased, "Luckily, I never refused whenever Sister Chudong wanted me to be her sister-in-law..."
Gu Mo smiled faintly but did not respond.
Though Yun Xiu had said those words in a joking tone, she had been watching Gu Mo's expression all along. Seeing that he neither responded nor showed any change in emotion, she could not help feeling disappointed.
Many times, a joke was a test.
Of course,
Gu Mo understood that as well, so he did not take the bait.
For the time being, he had no plans to start a family.
The next morning, just as the sky was beginning to brighten.
The Yun Family sent people to see Gu Mo. The Yun Family was extremely proactive regarding Gu Mo's affairs. If they could use this opportunity to deepen their relationship with him, it would bring them immeasurable benefits.
The Yun Family had sent two direct-line experts, two brothers. The elder was called Yun Song, and the younger Yun Qing. Both were around forty years old, both possessed considerable martial arts cultivation, and they had long been responsible for leading entire caravans between Northern Zhou and Gan Country.
Not only were the two extremely familiar with the route, they also frequently dealt with Northern Zhou officials. They were steady and seasoned in handling affairs, with abundant jianghu experience. They perfectly suited Gu Mo's requirements for guides.
Ye Manor, at the entrance.
Gu Chundong escorted Gu Mo to the gate, reluctant to part with him. "Brother, how long will you be gone this time? You won't be like last time, when you went to Penglai Island and vanished for months, right?"
"I won't." Gu Mo smiled slightly. "I have a secret weapon now. I should be able to find the target very quickly."
Just as when he had gone to Penglai Island last year, Gu Mo did not bring Gu Chundong with him this time either. This time, the opponent he would face was not human, but an Inner Demon that had roamed the mortal world for seven hundred years—a being rumored to have single-handedly blocked the Path to Immortality.
So he would not take Gu Chundong into danger.
"Then you absolutely have to be careful!"
Gu Chundong was somewhat worried. Though she had great confidence in Gu Mo's strength and firmly believed he was Invincible Under Heaven, she could not help worrying when Gu Mo said he would not take her with him.
Because if Gu Mo would not bring her, it meant the danger was considerable.
"Don't worry. I'll be back soon." Gu Mo smiled faintly, then added, "After I leave, don't slack off. Follow Red Clothes' guidance and cultivate when you should. Also, take Red Clothes with you wherever you go."
"Got it!" Gu Chundong said with a grin. "Brother is Number One Under Heaven, and Sister Red Clothes is Number Two Under Heaven. It's safest to follow her!"
Just then,
A burst of horseshoes rang out as a rider came galloping in on a swift horse.
"Big Brother, I'm not late, am I?"
The newcomer was Ye Chen. Unlike his listless state yesterday, he was now brimming with excitement, looking refreshed and invigorated. He carried a strong scent of rouge and powder, clearly showing that the Ten Complete Great Tonic Pill Gu Mo had prepared for him yesterday had taken effect.
In truth, Gu Mo's Ten Complete Great Tonic Pill was not some miraculous spirit pills and potent medicine. It merely stimulated the blood and qi, heightened desire, and agitated the user's mind so they had no time to dwell on psychological shadows.
When Gu Chundong saw Ye Chen, she immediately puffed out her cheeks and muttered, "Brother, you'll take him but not me... My martial arts aren't weak either, okay!"
Gu Mo said, "Ye Chen is my secret weapon."
"Why?"
"You wouldn't understand even if I told you," Gu Mo said. "With Ye Chen around, my Blade Catcher career can rise another level. He means a great deal to me!"
Ye Chen was deeply moved. "Big Brother, am I that important in your heart? My martial arts are nothing compared to yours. I was worried that going to Northern Zhou with you would only hold you back!"
"Don't belittle yourself. You are very important to me. I truly hope you can accompany me to capture Wanted Criminals in the future!"
"Big Brother..."
Ye Chen was so moved that he nearly wept. He knew Gu Mo's strength; they were not even on the same level. Bringing him along was equivalent to bringing dead weight. Yet he had never imagined his place in Gu Mo's heart was so high!
Gu Mo patted Ye Chen and said, "Let's go. The Yun Family Caravan is already waiting for us outside the city."
Gu Chundong looked at Gu Mo, then at Ye Chen. She somehow felt that there was definitely something more to Gu Mo calling Ye Chen his secret weapon!
In fact,
Gu Mo had not been speaking nonsense.
Ye Chen truly was his secret weapon. The reason he had not simply used Sword Riding to fly directly to Northern Zhou was not only because going alone to Wutong City to negotiate with the court would be troublesome and waste time. More importantly, he wanted to bring Ye Chen.
He was confident that his trip to Northern Zhou would not be wasted precisely because Ye Chen was there.
After all, when it came to a Thunder-Testing Sacred Body, who else could compare?
The Yun Family Brothers traveled frequently between Northern Zhou and Gan Country and were extremely familiar with the route. Moreover, the Yun Family had made all the necessary arrangements along the way, so even after entering Northern Zhou territory, they continued without obstruction.
Added to that, all four were martial arts experts, and their speed was far beyond ordinary people.
Setting out from Chang'an City, they entered Northern Zhou territory after half a month.
However, after entering Northern Zhou, even with the Yun Family's route already arranged, their pace inevitably slowed. Northern Zhou was simply too chaotic now. War raged everywhere, and displaced commoners could be found throughout the land. In many places they passed, even the local authorities no longer existed.
Even Gu Mo and Ye Chen, who had spent years roaming the jianghu and had seen every kind of tragedy, found their moods growing increasingly grave after entering Northern Zhou.
One evening, the sky suddenly darkened, and heavy rain was imminent.
The group of four arrived outside a small town.
Yun Song cupped his hands and said, "Great Hero Gu, this town is called Mud Bottle Town. It is the only market town within twenty or thirty li. There is an inn inside, so we can rest here for the night and replenish our dry provisions.
"Once we reach this place, Wutong City is not far away—about another five days' journey."
The group of four then entered the small town.
Mud Bottle Town.
True to its name, the town resembled a battered mud bottle casually discarded in the wilderness—gray, dull, and steeped in Deathly Aura. As the four led their horses through the entrance, an indescribable chill and desolation washed over them.
Yet as they walked,
Gu Mo and the others gradually felt that something was wrong. It was too quiet.
It was not the silence of an uninhabited place, but an "emptiness" that made one's scalp crawl. The Bluestone Slab Road was still fairly clean. The doors and windows of the low adobe houses and wooden dwellings on either side were tightly shut, yet none were locked.
Under the dimming light of dusk, the whole place exuded an indescribable strangeness.
"This..." Yun Song pulled on the reins, his brows tightly furrowed. The vigilance born of years in the jianghu immediately tightened every nerve in his body. "How can there be no one at all?"
Yun Qing said, "Could there be a battle about to break out nearby, so everyone in this town fled?"
Yun Song nodded slightly. "We'll know after checking. If they fled together, they would certainly have taken all their grain and valuables."
"That makes sense." Yun Qing cupped his hands. "Great Hero Gu, Great Hero Ye, we'll go take a look."
The Yun Family Brothers then headed toward the nearby Civilian Residences.
Soon, after entering four or five residences in succession, the two returned with grave expressions.
Gu Mo asked, "What is the situation?"
"Something is wrong," Yun Song said. "This was not a collective escape, nor was it bandits plundering the town. We checked several homes just now. Everything inside was in perfect order, and the rice, flour, provisions, and valuables were all there. It seems these people suddenly vanished all at once, and not long ago. There are obvious traces of recent life everywhere."
Gu Mo swept his gaze across the deserted street and tightly closed doors and windows. His Divine Sense silently spread out like invisible feelers, yet he sensed only a deathly stillness blankness, without the slightest spiritual fluctuation from any living thing. He said in a low voice, "Heavy rain is coming. Find a place to rest first."
The Yun Family Brothers exchanged a glance, suppressed the unease in their hearts, and led Gu Mo and Ye Chen toward the center of town. Horse hooves struck the Bluestone Slab Road, producing crisp, abrupt echoes that sounded especially piercing amid the dead silence.
Soon, they spotted a relatively tall two-story wooden building. A crooked, dust-covered sign hung above its entrance—"Youfu Inn." The inn's front doors stood half-open, and the interior was pitch-black.
"This is the place."
Yun Song stepped forward and cautiously pushed open the creaking wooden doors.
The inn's main hall was likewise empty. The tables and chairs were arranged fairly neatly, the space behind the counter stood vacant, and the wooden staircase leading upstairs resembled a gaping mouth leading into an unknown abyss beneath the dim light.
Yun Song lit a candle, then took dry provisions and a waterskin from his bundle and placed them on the table. "Great Hero Gu, Great Hero Ye, please sit for a moment. Yun Qing and I will check upstairs, see whether there are clean rooms, and look for anyone who might be here."
Gu Mo took the waterskin and nodded. "All right."
The Yun Family Brothers drew the short blades at their waists, each holding a candle in one hand as they warily stepped onto the stairs. Their footsteps echoed through the empty hall, every step seeming to tread upon the tips of their hearts.
Very soon, the brothers went upstairs.
Gu Mo and Ye Chen remained below. Gu Mo drank water while Ye Chen ate a hard flatbread. The two looked out at the dark street, where the howling wind sent all manner of debris fluttering through the air.
Time passed little by little.
The two downstairs waited in silence.
Outside, the sky grew darker and darker. Dark clouds hung low, and the air was so stifling it was difficult to breathe. The impending downpour seemed ready to come crashing down at any moment.
Yet no sound came from upstairs for a long while. No calls, no sounds of fighting—not even footsteps.
Deathly stillness.
A deathly stillness denser and stickier than that at the town entrance descended over them.
Ye Chen stuffed the last bit of flatbread into his mouth, wiped his lips, and said, "Huh, Big Brother, the Yun Family Brothers... they have been upstairs for a while, haven't they? Why is there no movement at all?"
Gu Mo froze slightly. "That's true!"
Gu Mo then abruptly rose to his feet. "Come on, let's go up and take a look!"
The two then headed upstairs.
The second-floor corridor was extremely dim. Only a broken window at the far end let in a trace of bleak light.
Ye Chen held up a candle as they moved forward quickly. When they rounded the corner and reached the second-floor hall, both their pupils suddenly contracted, and a chill shot straight from the soles of their feet to the crown of the head!
Horrifying!
An utterly indescribable scene of terror!
The hall was densely hung with dozens of corpses!
Their necks were looped in coarse hemp ropes, and they hung from beams and doorframes. Judging by their clothing, they did not appear to be villagers from this town. Instead, they looked like vicious bandits.
Each corpse still carried weapons such as sabers, swords, and axes. Many had fierce and baleful faces, but now their complexions were purplish-blue, their tongues protruding and eyes bulging. Their bodies swayed gently in a breeze from nowhere, like a slaughterhouse hung full of cured meat!
They were all dead, but they had died only within the last Two to Three Days.
And among those corpses hung two familiar figures—Yun Song and Yun Qing!
Like the other hanged dead, their necks were caught in rough hemp nooses, their toes hung mere inches above the ground, and their bodies swayed faintly. Their faces bore the same azure purple hue as the other corpses, their eyes wide open as they blankly "looked" toward the Staircase entrance.
"What are they doing?" Ye Chen said. "Did these two think everyone else was swinging, so they decided to join in?"
Gu Mo: "..."
Joking aside, Ye Chen moved quickly. His body flashed like lightning as he appeared beside the Yun Family Brothers in an instant. A sharp wisp of qi condensed at his fingertips, precisely severing the hemp ropes suspending them.
The two swiftly laid the Yun Family Brothers flat on the floor.
Gu Mo quickly pressed both palms against their chests, channeling true qi into them to stimulate their heart meridians.
Under the stimulation of Gu Mo's true qi, Yun Song and Yun Qing's bodies suddenly convulsed. They immediately began coughing violently and gasping for air in great heaving breaths. The azure purple color swiftly faded from their faces, replaced by healthy color.
The two opened their eyes blankly. Their gazes were empty at first, then gradually focused. When they saw Gu Mo and Ye Chen crouching before them, their faces filled with extreme confusion and a trace of terror.
"Cough, cough... Great... Great Hero Gu? Young Master Ye?" Yun Song struggled to sit up, his voice hoarse. "We... what happened to us?"
"You don't remember?" Ye Chen hurriedly asked, pointing at the horrifying scene around them. "You came upstairs to look around, then hanged yourselves! Just like these people!"
"H-Hanged ourselves?" Yun Qing's eyes widened in terror. Instinctively, he touched his neck, where there truly was a clear, burning ligature mark. He looked around, saw the hellish scene, and was so frightened that his soul nearly fled his body. His face turned pale again as he said, "We just came upstairs, and then... I think I saw someone. That person suddenly smiled at me, and after that, I don't remember anything..."
Yun Song also looked shaken to the core. "I remember the same thing. I suddenly saw someone too. Before I could react, I saw that person smile once, and then I lost all memory."
Ye Chen frowned. "Big Brother, could these two have run into a ghost?"
Gu Mo shook his head slightly. "Someone probably used some kind of method."
Ye Chen said, "Then why did only the two of them see someone smiling? We came upstairs too. Why didn't we see anything?"
Ye Chen shrugged and raised the candle, waving it toward the hanging corpses. "It couldn't have been them smiling, could it..."
Then, before he could finish,
Ye Chen suddenly saw several hanged people beside him smiling at him.
"Oh? You really did smile?"
The moment Ye Chen spoke, he suddenly struck out, sending several palm strikes flying. The corpses snapped their ropes and flew backward.
"Big Brother, did you see that? Those corpses smiled just now! Good heavens, corpses smiled! We really ran into ghosts! Did you see it?" Ye Chen asked.
Gu Mo shook his head. "No."
Ye Chen's face changed. "Sweet mother of mine, big brother... there really are ghosts?"
Gu Mo waved a hand slightly. "No ghosts. I didn't see any corpses laughing either, but I just sensed a spiritual fluctuation. Someone set something up here..."
As he spoke,
Gu Mo flicked several streaks of Sword Qi through the air. With several clangs, black stones fell from the beams and walls.
Ye Chen leaned over for a look and said, "They're Ba Lin Stones, rare stones with quite a reputation in the martial world. Martial artists who cultivate illusion arts prize them greatly. These stones contain extremely powerful Spiritual Power—those who cultivate illusion arts can achieve twice the result with half the effort using them!"
As he spoke, Ye Chen looked up. "Big brother, did someone use these Ba Lin Stones to set up a spiritual formation here to harm people? Can we track down whoever's behind this?"
Gu Mo shook his head slightly. "It's just a formation. No one is controlling it from afar, so there's no way to trace it."
Ye Chen looked at the corpses and frowned. "These people don't look like good men. They seem like bandits and robbers. Could some righteous hero have set up this formation here to kill them? If so, then we were probably caught in the crossfire!"
Gu Mo said slowly, "If that's the explanation, then did everyone in the town disappear to hide from these bandits and robbers?"
BOOM!
Without warning, a deafening clap of thunder exploded across the sky. Ghastly white lightning instantly tore through the dim inn, illuminating the hanging corpses like a frenzy of dancing ghosts.
Then raindrops as large as beans poured down like the Celestial River overturning, battering the rooftops and streets in a deafening roar. In an instant, Mud Bottle Town was shrouded in a hazy curtain of water.
Rain and thunder intertwined, as though they meant to drown this eerie, deathly stillness of a small town completely.
Gu Mo's brows furrowed—not because of the storm, but because his Divine Sense, far sharper than that of ordinary people, had clearly caught a trace of living breath amid the thunder's fading echoes, utterly out of place in this deathly environment. That aura did not come from within the inn. It was approaching Youfu Inn from outside the town.
"Someone's coming," Gu Mo said.
Ye Chen immediately narrowed his gaze and swept it sharply toward the Staircase entrance. Yun Song and Yun Qing instinctively tightened their grips on their sword hilts, standing back-to-back in wary vigilance. Having just survived an eerie brush with death, even the slightest rustle of wind or grass was enough to set their nerves on edge.
The group went downstairs. The hall was even darker than before, lit only by the faint glow filtering through the rain curtain outside and the occasional flash of ghastly white lightning.
They came to the inn's entrance and stood beneath the eaves, their gazes piercing through the dense rain as they looked into the depths of the town.
The rain curtain was hazy, obstructing their line of sight.
But in Gu Mo's perception, that aura grew clearer and closer.
Before long, a blurry figure emerged from the rain and mist, gradually becoming distinct.
The newcomer held an Oil-paper Umbrella. Its canopy appeared to be an ordinary yellow, though it looked somewhat old beneath the dark rain curtain. Under it stood a young monk of around twenty.
He walked straight beneath the eaves of Youfu Inn and stopped a few paces away from Gu Mo and the others. He lifted the edge of his umbrella slightly, revealing his entire face.
The young monk pressed his palms together and bowed faintly to Gu Mo. His voice was crisp and his tone calm, yet it clearly carried above the roar of the rain:
"Amitabha. Benefactors, this humble monk has come by decree of Maitreya Buddha to invite you all to Little Leiyin Temple."
Ye Chen could not help whispering, "Big brother, is this monk insane?"
Gu Mo stared at the young monk, feeling somewhat puzzled.
Because when the monk spoke of Little Leiyin Temple and Maitreya Buddha, there was not the slightest sign that he was lying.
With Gu Mo's current cultivation, he could sense whenever anyone lied in front of him.
Gu Mo said nothing. Ye Chen asked, "Monk, why does your Buddha seek us? And where is Little Leiyin Temple?"
The young monk pressed his palms together and bowed once more, that calm smile bordering on indifference still on his face. "Buddha said that the matters weighing on your hearts, the things you seek, will all be fulfilled once you reach Little Leiyin Temple.
As for where the temple lies, if you follow this humble monk, you will naturally find out. Buddha said this is a good affinity, so benefactors need not worry."
Ye Chen transmitted his voice, "Big brother, something seems off about this. It's a little evil. What do you say? Are we going?"
"Go."
At once, they opened their umbrellas and followed the young monk away.
Before long, they left the town and climbed a mountain, where they saw a brightly lit manor in the distance.
Before you continue