Chapter 136: The Missing Zhao Ling'er
"Junior Brother, are you out of your mind?!"
Xu Changqing was both shocked and furious as he drew his sword against Chu Yang. He could hardly believe that his junior brother would commit such an outrageous act.
"I know you're anxious, but don't be in such a hurry!"
Chu Yang clicked his tongue and flicked his fingers, releasing a sharp burst of sword energy that slashed across the faces of the grandfather and granddaughter duo. Underneath their skin, another set of faces was revealed.
"Human skin masks! These two are suspicious!"
Li Xiaoyao exclaimed, then rushed forward to peel away their disguises. Beneath the masks were two unfamiliar men, both appearing to be in their twenties.
A crescent moon symbol was imprinted on their foreheads!
Li Xiaoyao shouted, "Brother Xu, they're followers of the Lunar Sect Cult!"
Xu Changqing stepped forward to examine them and turned to Chu Yang in astonishment. "Junior Brother, how did you know?"
How did he know?
Of course, he read the strategy guide!
"The 'granddaughter' appeared frightened on the surface, but her breathing was steady—just like a trained martial artist. The 'grandfather' was the same—walking with a shaky gait, yet his breath remained perfectly even."
"I could tell at a glance that they weren't good people!" Chu Yang stated confidently.
Li Xiaoyao scratched his head. "But what if you were wrong?"
Chu Yang shrugged. "Then I'd be wrong. What else could I do?"
Xu Changqing's face darkened.
Li Xiaoyao wiped the cold sweat from his forehead. "Thank goodness you weren't wrong..."
Chu Yang sighed. "Instead of worrying about whether I was right, we should be more concerned that the Lunar Sect Cult is closer to us than we thought. They already know our movements!"
Li Xiaoyao's expression changed.
Xu Changqing fell into deep thought, his gaze turning serious.
Chu Yang suggested, "Now that I've mastered Qi refinement and Xiaoyao can fly on his sword, why don't we change our plan and head straight back to Shu Mountain?"
Xu Changqing nodded. "That would be the safest approach. Once Brother Li officially joins our sect, we can openly confront the Lunar Sect Cult."
Li Xiaoyao was thrilled. Joining the Shu Mountain Sect meant he was one step closer to becoming a true hero.
That had been his lifelong dream!
"Let's deal with these bodies first and see if we can catch a few more fish while we're at it."
Chu Yang instructed Li Xiaoyao to clean up the scene, and the three of them lay in wait. Surely, the rest of the Lunar Sect Cult wouldn't sit still when their comrades went missing.
As night deepened, the forest became pitch black, with only traces of moonlight filtering through the canopy.
A rustling sound came from the underbrush.
Several shadowy figures suddenly emerged, appearing to search for something.
"The gu bugs are reacting strongly. They should be here. Where did they go?"
"Maybe those two really got eaten by the serpent demon?"
"They have legs, don't they? Even if they couldn't win, they should've been able to run!"
"Something's off..."
The moment those words fell, three sharp flashes of sword light slashed through the darkness. With a series of wet, slicing sounds, fountains of blood sprayed into the air.
Chu Yang looked at the fallen bodies and nodded in satisfaction. "Alright! The Lunar Sect Cult won't be getting any updates on us for quite some time."
Li Xiaoyao spun his sword under the moonlight, looking quite pleased with himself.
It was understandable—this was his first real fight. He could now consider himself officially on the path of a hero.
"Let's go before anything unexpected happens."
Xu Changqing took off on his sword, evidently uncomfortable with the sight of so much blood.
"Senior Brother needs more training..."
Chu Yang shook his head, then had Li Xiaoyao dig up the previously buried corpses. With a single fireball spell, the cultists and their gu bugs were burned to ashes.
When they returned to Linjiabao, Li Xiaoyao, still beaming with excitement, was met with a devastating piece of news.
Zhao Ling'er was missing!
Furious, Li Xiaoyao immediately sought out Lin Tiannan to demand answers.
Lin Tiannan showed no signs of guilt. Instead, he looked at Li Xiaoyao with a complicated expression.
Liu Jinyuan hesitated to speak.
Lin Yueru was at a loss, looking as if she had been frightened out of her wits.
Chu Yang observed their reactions carefully and suddenly realized something he had overlooked.
Zhao Ling'er was pregnant!
She had revealed her true form as a descendant of Nuwa!
At that moment, Li Xiaoyao was anxiously interrogating Lin Tiannan.
"How could Ling'er just disappear?!"
"Calm down, young man. This is a complicated matter."
"What's so complicated? We entrusted her to you, and now she's gone!"
"Sigh! I'll be honest with you—Miss Zhao is a demon! She ran away on her own!"
"You're the demon! You old bastard, I'll kill you!"
Li Xiaoyao drew his sword, ready to fight Lin Tiannan to the death.
Chu Yang grabbed him and held him back.
Li Xiaoyao struggled frantically. "Brother Chu, let me go! They did something to Ling'er and are just trying to fool me!"
Lin Yueru, still shaken from what she had witnessed earlier, exploded in anger.
"That Zhao Ling'er is a snake demon! I saw it with my own eyes, and so did the servants! If you don't believe me, go ask them!"
Li Xiaoyao's eyes burned with fury. "Say that again, I dare you!"
Lin Yueru, unfazed, raised her chin defiantly. "I said—"
"Enough! All of you, shut up!"
A sudden burst of Conqueror's Haki flared from Chu Yang, though he quickly restrained it. Even so, the sheer pressure silenced everyone in the room.
Lin Tiannan's expression darkened, feeling thoroughly challenged.
Chu Yang took a deep breath and cupped his fists. "This is my fault. I should have explained earlier—Ling'er is a descendant of Nuwa, not a demon."
The crowd looked bewildered. They had never heard of Nuwa's descendants before.
Xu Changqing's eyes flickered with understanding, and he explained, "I once read in the ancient texts of the Sutra Repository that at the beginning of the world, Pangu's essence transformed into three great deities: Fuxi, Shennong, and Nuwa."
"These three were later known as the Three Sovereigns."
"Since there were too few living beings, they each created sentient life in different ways. Fuxi formed the gods, Shennong created the beasts, and Nuwa molded humans from clay, giving them her own blood and spirit."
"Nuwa perished after sealing the heavens, but she left behind descendants to watch over humanity."
"Nonsense! Nuwa was one of the Three Sovereigns—a great deity! How could she be a snake demon?" Lin Yueru exclaimed, flustered.
Xu Changqing respectfully replied, "The ancient texts describe Nuwa as having a half-human, half-serpent form. Shu Mountain even has statues of her that we disciples revere daily."
"As for why Miss Zhao initially appeared human but later transformed into a half-serpent, I do not know."
Chu Yang continued, "Nuwa's descendants are half-human, half-divine. Normally, their bloodline remains dormant. But because Ling'er is pregnant, the latent power within her awakened, causing a reversion to her ancestral form."
As disciples of Shu Mountain, Chu Yang and Xu Changqing's words carried considerable weight. Even though no one had ever heard of Nuwa's descendants before, they had no choice but to accept this explanation.
"Then... that means we were wrong."
Lin Yueru's face went pale. She had insisted that Zhao Ling'er was a demon. If something happened to her, she would bear the responsibility.
Realizing the gravity of the situation, Lin Tiannan immediately ordered a search for Zhao Ling'er.
Meanwhile, Chu Yang, Li Xiaoyao, and Xu Changqing took to the skies, scouring the land in search of her.
Yet, despite their efforts, there was no trace of Zhao Ling'er anywhere.
As the night deepened, an uneasy thought crept into Chu Yang's mind.
"That's strange. Why can't I sense Zhao Ling'er with Observation Haki? Could it be that her spiritual energy is blocking it?"
"It's not impossible..."
Things had suddenly become more complicated.
Chu Yang had assumed that Observation Haki would easily track Zhao Ling'er's whereabouts. However, now that she was in her half-human, half-serpent 'Nuwa form,' her body was constantly radiating spiritual energy.
Just like electromagnetic waves interfering with signals, this immense power was disrupting Observation Haki as well.
After searching for a long time without any results, Chu Yang used a secret technique to contact Xu Changqing, only to learn that he, too, had been unable to find Zhao Ling'er.
Night fell.
The three of them gathered on a desolate mountain.
Li Xiaoyao sat on the ground, lost in despair. The normally talkative young man was now completely silent.
Chu Yang patted his shoulder in reassurance. "Even though we haven't found Ling'er, I just did a divination for her. The hexagram indicates that she will turn misfortune into fortune and escape danger unharmed. Besides, she is a descendant of Nuwa, blessed with great destiny. You don't need to worry too much."
Li Xiaoyao grabbed Chu Yang's hand excitedly. "Brother Chu, is that true?! Ling'er will be alright, won't she?"
Chu Yang said with certainty, "Of course. Have I ever lied to you?"
Xu Changqing looked at Chu Yang in confusion. He had never heard that his junior brother knew divination. But then again, considering how Chu Yang spent all his time buried in the Sutra Library, it wasn't surprising that he had picked up some random skills along the way.
Whether it was accurate, though, was another question.
With Chu Yang's assurance, Li Xiaoyao finally felt a little relieved. Exhausted in both body and mind, he lay down on the grass.
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