An Unusual Occurrence

An incense stick later.

A bewitching blood-red shadow drifted through the forest like a ghost, her feet never touching the ground. She arrived where the enormous skeleton lay.

"Whoosh!"

The blood-red apparition had no flesh or bones. As soon as she arrived, she slipped into the Phoenix Bone, as if searching for something inside.

As she wandered through the skeleton, her graceful figure gradually took shape. She was unmistakably a beautiful young woman, barefoot and striking in appearance.

The Phoenix Bone that pierced deep into the earth seemed to pose no threat to her. She slid all the way down to its lowest point, where she saw the dead Ancient Vine Tree and its lifeless Blood-Thirsty Vines.

"No Phoenix Marrow."

The bewitching blood-red shadow inside the skeleton gazed at the dead Ancient Vine Tree, doubt appearing on her breathtaking face.

"Whoosh!"

In the next instant, she drifted from the skeleton's lowest point to its tip, which pointed toward the heavens.

The eerie woman, whose appearance remained clear inside the skeleton, looked toward the bones scattered near the Indeterminate Ferry, as well as the bloodstained bones of the Shangguan Family members.

A moment later, she gazed into the distance from her high vantage point. A strange light suddenly glimmered in her mesmerizing eyes.

"Someone actually obtained the Phoenix Marrow! In this world, those little fellows with such low cultivation shouldn't be able to collect the Heavenly Phoenix's remaining Phoenix Marrow. They'd only be killed by it."

The woman muttered, sounding somewhat vexed.

"Whoosh! Whoosh, whoosh!"

The numerous Spirit Sha that had followed her whistled through the fissures in the earth, like scattered eyes helping her search for clues.

Before long, they dragged several faint gray shadows from the depths of the underground ravines. They were on the verge of dissipating, and only she could see them clearly.

She lightly tapped the air with both hands. The many thin gray shadows gathered inside a tall shadow, which gradually took on Luo Meng's appearance.

"A Pulse-Opening Realm soul's magnetic field is still a little stronger."

The woman beckoned.

Luo Meng's image grew clearer as he drifted blankly in front of her, staring at her in a daze.

She gathered her divine sense slightly and saw Luo Meng's experiences before his death in his soul-shadow.

She learned everything: Luo Meng's journey here with Shangguan Qin, his meeting with Zhou Qingchen and the others, the strange behavior of the Eye of Imprint, the earth's tremors, and Pang Jian's warning.

Since Luo Meng had died first, there were no memories of Pang Jian and Ning Yao's return.

"The Blood Moon's Eye of Imprint chose that young boy? Strange. That doesn't make sense." The woman froze for a moment, then suddenly waved her hand. "Find where they are."

The Spirit Sha, Luo Meng among them, scattered like a flock of birds and whistled away in every direction.

"They're back."

Hearing the hoofbeats again, Ning Yuanshan let out a long sigh of relief. He watched the spot where Pang Jian and Ning Yao had disappeared, and sure enough, the chestnut warhorse he'd been waiting for finally appeared in the distance.

He also saw Pang Jian on the horse, with Ning Yao behind the Bamboo Basket.

And in Pang Jian's hand was a bundle of bloodstained weapons.

"These are the belongings of the dead members of your Shangguan Family."

As the horse approached, Pang Jian tossed the bundle of bloodstained weapons down in front of Shangguan Qin with a thud. "If anything's missing, the vines dragged it into the cracks underground. I couldn't find everything for you."

Shangguan Qin's expression shifted as she looked at the bloodstained weapons. She didn't immediately collect them. Instead, she gazed at a great axe, her face clouding with sorrow.

The axe had belonged to Luo Meng, who had died for her.

"Pang Jian, are you all right?"

Zhou Qingchen smiled faintly, looking at Pang Jian with admiration as he sat tall on the warhorse, steady and imposing as a mountain.

"It went smoothly." Pang Jian shook his head.

Ning Yao also dismounted from behind Pang Jian. To avoid drawing attention, she didn't retrieve the cloth bag beneath the horse's belly. Instead, she went straight to her own white warhorse.

"Good. Since you're all right, we'll keep going. We're heading to the far north, where the Ghost Mist is." Zhou Qingchen said.

Shangguan Qin was still mourning, but at his words she cried out in alarm. "You're going to the far north? Young Master Zhou, are you planning to explore the Ghost Mist?"

After their earlier unpleasantness, she no longer called him "Qingchen." It was clear their relationship had grown much colder.

"Exactly." Zhou Qingchen replied coolly. "Senior Shangguan, we were never traveling the same road. If you have other plans, you don't need to come with us."

He was planning to leave Shangguan Qin behind.

All of Shangguan Qin's companions had died. At his words, her expression turned even uglier.

If she still had other family members with her, she would never have forced herself on Zhou Qingchen. But the Cenji Mountains were vast, and danger lurked everywhere. She didn't dare travel alone.

"I don't have other plans. We're safer together, so I'll come with you." Shangguan Qin forced a smile.

"Our Zhou Family's One-Horned Rhinos all died a few days ago. Now we only have the Ning Family's warhorses, and none of them are unoccupied." Zhou Qingchen looked troubled, plainly unwilling to take her along.

"It's fine. We can squeeze together."

Seeing his intentions, Shangguan Qin abandoned all pretense. Her gaze searched the group, then settled on Ning Yao.

"Our families have never been close, and I'm not used to sharing a horse with anyone!"

Before Shangguan Qin could ask, Ning Yao refused coldly.

"Little Qin, I told you, I'm not afraid you'll bring me bad luck."

The corpulent Han Duping slapped the space in front of his belly and squeezed his legs against his warhorse, grinning. "You can squeeze in with me. Don't worry, I'm always a perfect gentleman. I'd never take advantage of you."

Shangguan Qin looked at the lecherous glint in the two tiny, bean-like eyes peering out of his fleshy face, and felt uncomfortable all over.

Before Han Duping could come over and persuade her, she forgot all about the bloodstains on the bundle of weapons, grabbed it, and went straight to Pang Jian. Without giving him a chance to object, she mounted the horse.

She took the spot where Ning Yao had sat before dismounting, then tossed the blood-soaked bundle of weapons into the net pouch where Ning Yao kept her cloth bag.

Ning Yao watched her with icy eyes, displeased that she'd put things down carelessly and stained the cloth bag containing the spirit stones.

But the spirit stones in the bag had come from the Blood Moon's Indeterminate Ferry. If she made a scene now, she might expose them, giving Shangguan Qin an excuse to claim a share.

Zhou Qingchen might even demand them outright.

Furious, Ning Yao could only glare at Shangguan Qin and curse her silently.

Shangguan Qin had only chosen this because the Bamboo Basket was behind Pang Jian. She noticed the coldness in Ning Yao's eyes and thought she was being utterly unreasonable.

Then, as a woman herself, Shangguan Qin began to suspect there was something between Ning Yao and Pang Jian. She figured Ning Yao was secretly jealous.

Shangguan Qin hated Pang Jian most of all, so seeing Ning Yao's icy stare suddenly gave her a sense of satisfaction.

She deliberately wrapped an arm around Pang Jian's waist from behind and huffed, "Take it slow later. Don't jostle me too much."

"Lucky fellow."

Han Duping mocked him in a strange tone. "First Miss Ning, now a beauty from the Shangguan Family. I wouldn't even dare dream of getting that kind of treatment."

"Haha!" Zhou Qingchen found it amusing too and waved them on. "Let's go."

With him watching, he believed Shangguan Qin wouldn't dare do anything rash to Pang Jian, no matter how much she resented him.

After all, he'd even threatened Ning Yuanshan's life for Pang Jian. Shangguan Qin was no exception.

"Let's go."

Pang Jian cursed under his breath and urged the horse forward. When Shangguan Qin had wrapped her arms around him, he'd felt the same surging spiritual energy as he had from Ning Yao.

He immediately knew this woman was no good either.

Ning Yao was merely displeased that he and Zhou Qingchen were so chummy, but Shangguan Qin had already blamed him for the deaths of her family's servants.

Compared to Ning Yao, Shangguan Qin would only be more trouble—and if she struck, she'd be even more ruthless.

With his heart in his throat, Pang Jian led the way, heading toward the far north of the Cenji Mountains.

"Boy, you'd better pray you don't get separated from Zhou Qingchen. The moment I get the chance, I'll kill you and avenge Luo Meng and the others." Behind Pang Jian, Shangguan Qin leaned toward him and threatened him coldly as the warhorse began to gallop with pounding hooves.

With Pang Jian's Bamboo Basket between them, and Shangguan Qin's figure much fuller than Ning Yao's, she had to struggle just to lean close enough to speak.

Pang Jian couldn't be bothered with her and ignored her provocation.

"Why did the Eye of Imprint choose you instead of me?" When he didn't answer, Shangguan Qin pressed on. "You can stay quiet for now, but when I find my chance, I'll make you scream your answer!"

Pang Jian still said nothing.

After they had ridden for a while, Pang Jian suddenly felt an itch in his chest.

Some kind of force seemed to burrow through his flesh and seep into his rib cage, wriggling through the gaps between his bones.

Soon, his ribs filled with a bone-deep, ant-biting numbness and pain. His temperature gradually soared, as if he were about to come down with a serious illness.

He had no idea what was happening. He only felt the pain in his chest growing worse and his temperature climbing higher.

Before long, his whole body was burning hot, and his face had turned bright red.

Shangguan Qin, riding with him, gradually noticed how hot he was and how strange his whole body seemed.

She paused, then assumed her presence had made Pang Jian's thoughts wander toward something dirty.

"When Miss Ning was behind you, you weren't like this." A faint smile curled Shangguan Qin's lips, but her eyes were full of coldness. "What, do you like mature, curvy women like me?"

"Then again, how old is that girl? She's still all skin and bones, nowhere near fully grown. How could she compare to me?"

She wondered how she could pry the information she wanted from Pang Jian as quickly as possible, so she could avenge Luo Meng and the others.

But before she could come up with a plan, Pang Jian suddenly toppled headfirst from the horse.

"Shangguan Qin! You dared to ignore my warning. Don't blame me for showing your Shangguan Family no courtesy!"

The instant Pang Jian fell, Zhou Qingchen erupted in fury behind them. He sprang into the air like a hunting eagle and swooped straight at Shangguan Qin.

"It wasn't me! This has nothing to do with me!"

Shangguan Qin's face went pale with fright. She panicked when she saw that Zhou Qingchen had truly meant to kill her—and had already made his move.

She knew the Zhou Family's young master was the exact opposite of his name: violent and hard to deal with. He never hesitated to do as he pleased, and she feared he might kill her for no reason.

"He's the one with a filthy mind! He was thinking dirty thoughts and lost control of his blood and energy!" Shangguan Qin cried out in confusion.

At her words, Zhou Qingchen, high in the air, suddenly changed direction.

He chose to pass Shangguan Qin and land beside Pang Jian with a crash. He hurriedly checked Pang Jian's breathing.

Only after finding that Pang Jian was breathing evenly and seemed unharmed did Zhou Qingchen look puzzled and decide not to pursue the matter.

Behind them, everyone who had stopped because of the commotion was baffled by Shangguan Qin's explanation.

"Heh, looks like the young brother and I are kindred spirits."

Han Duping grinned lasciviously.

Ning Yao gazed at Pang Jian lying on the ground from afar. Gradually, scorn filled her cool eyes.