When she opened her eyes again, the quiet courtyard came into view. A lantern hung at the entrance, casting a soft glow that softened the desolate atmosphere. Luo Jin Xiao sighed deeply as she realized that she was covered in a thin layer of sweat.
“Master, what was that?” she asked hastily.
Elder Liu still had a grim expression on his face. “I don’t know either. Luckily, I heard that the sect has been in trouble lately, so I came to find you. Otherwise, there would have been great danger.”
“Many in the cult are no longer trustworthy. I just had a talk with Elder He. If there are any more disappearances, we will have to disband the disciples,” he continued.
Disband? Luo Jin Xiao felt a sinking feeling in her heart. The situation had reached a terrible level.
“But it’s a last resort,” Elder Liu sighed. The recent turmoil had aged him immensely.
“Is there anything you need help with?” Luo Jin Xiao stepped forward and asked.
“That creature has shown bad intentions towards you. Stay in the Regretless Sect for these few days and don’t go anywhere else. Be grateful for that,” Elder Liu said, shaking his head. He tapped Luo Jin Xiao’s head with his fan and walked into the house.
Confused, she followed him and asked, “Why does it have bad intentions towards me?
“Why are you asking so many questions?” Elder Liu frowned and scolded. “Your spiritual veins are special compared to others. It’s lucky if you can protect yourself from being kidnapped for alchemy. Stop overthinking everything.”
“Elder Liu has many things to take care of, and he can’t always stay with you. It’s not completely safe to stay in a crowd. I called you today to give you this.” Elder Liu took out a small bag from a cabinet and tossed it to Luo Jin Xiao. “If you encounter this creature again, open it and it will help you.”
Luo Jin Xiao understood. No wonder Qu Wei Yin had suddenly sought her out a few days ago. This was the reason.
The Yin Spiritual Veins helped with cultivation. Elder Liu had mentioned that she was in danger, suggesting that the missing disciples had probably been drained of their spiritual energy.
The Regretless Sect avoided discussing this openly, probably to prevent the disciples from panicking.
Luo Jin Xiao felt a sense of warmth rising within her, knowing that someone had already stepped forward to protect her even before she realized the dangers she was facing. However, this also brought a sense of defeat. Not only was she unable to protect others, but she was also making things difficult for others.
“Thank you, Master,” Luo Jin Xiao said quietly.
“Come, I will escort you back. I still have important things to take care of,” Elder Liu said with a deep sigh. He then pulled Luo Jin Xiao aside and held her tightly, causing her to feel uncomfortable. As her head began to spin, she found herself standing at the door of the disciples’ quarters, where the lights were on and she could hear a woman’s laughter inside.
Elder Liu had disappeared, and a woman dressed in white approached Luo Jin Xiao and asked gently, “Sister, it’s late at night. Come inside quickly.”
Luo Jin Xiao quickly thanked her, then pushed open the door and entered the quarters. These were senior disciples who had been standing guard outside all night, enduring the chill of the autumn night and showing true dedication.
Luo Jin Xiao’s bed was next to Lu Fanzhi’s. She chatted with Lu Fanzhi for a while, then lay down and concentrated on the spirit stone, turning it in her hand.
Luo Jin Xiao didn’t put the spirit stone next to her pillow until the last person who came back with dew-kissed clothes blew out the lamp, and then she closed her eyes and went to sleep.
In the middle of the night, the night breeze pushed open the window with a creaking sound. The damp and sticky air clung to her, making her head feel swollen.
The room was filled with the murmur of people, but suddenly there was silence. Then, the faint murmuring began again. In her dream, Luo Jin Xiao found it strange – the sounds did not seem human. A cold sweat broke out on her back, and her eyes, though closed, were wide awake.
She could almost hear the pounding of her heartbeat and feel the gradual approach of the oppressive, sticky presence. An overwhelming feeling of unease enveloped her.
Luo Jin Xiao felt a wave of hostility. Determined to confront whatever was chasing her, she released her spiritual awareness and sensed the approaching entity.
Regardless of whether she could handle it, she was ready to fight. Just then, another sound from outside the door broke the silence. Luo Jin Xiao’s ears twitched, and she jumped to her feet, grabbing her Divine Sword and swinging it in the direction of the previous presence. But the thick air dissipated and closed, leaving nothing behind.
Suddenly, Luo Jin Xiao was overcome with a nightmarish feeling of dread. Her body froze and she couldn’t control her movements. Fighting with her teeth, she bit her lip until it bled, the pain bringing her back to reality. When she opened her eyes, the ornate ceiling beams of the room greeted her, and she realized that she was still lying motionless in bed.
Luo Jin Xiao had never encountered anything so inexplicable. She called out her Divine Sword and slashed her arm, letting the blood and pain confirm her awakening.
The oppressive feeling completely enveloped her. With a determined grit of her teeth, she unleashed her spiritual power uncontrollably into the room, filling it with a silvery aura. The sticky aura was pushed aside, allowing her to roll off the bed and hold her sword vigilantly in front of her.
At that moment, she heard something shatter outside the door. At the same time, the door was wide open. She almost launched an aggressive attack, but a familiar figure rushed to her side and grabbed her wrist.
“It’s me,” a distant voice said. Upon recognizing the person, Luo Jin Xiao breathed a sigh of relief and her tense body relaxed.
“Young Martial Uncle?” she murmured.
Qu Wei Yin did not answer. Instead, she produced some yellow talismans and silently recited something. The talismans emitted a faint light before she quickly attached them to the lintel.
Immediately, the strange and oppressive feeling dissipated and calm returned. The room now resounded with the buzzing of insects and the hustle and bustle, punctuated by the silence of the night.
Luo Jin Xiao closed her eyes, unaware that her clothes were soaked with sweat.
Qu Wei Yin’s expression also relaxed a bit. With a flick of her finger, the room was illuminated by several candlelights. Lu Fanzhi muttered something and turned around.
“It’s okay,” Qu Wei Yin said. Although her appearance remained calm, her heart was racing. When she arrived, the room was eerily silent, and she had feared that she might be too late.
Fortunately, she was not. She quietly let out a breath.
Another person rushed into the room – it was Chang Siyu and the white-clad elder sister Luo Jin Xiao had seen earlier that night. Both of them appeared to be in a state of distress, especially the senior sister who had been on duty, with blood stains on her pale face and a slight limp in her gait.
Chang Siyu seemed to suddenly realize that he had inadvertently entered the female students’ quarters, and quickly covered his eyes.
“Thank you, Young Martial Uncle Qu,” the elder sister said repeatedly.
“It’s nothing,” Qu Wei Yin shook her head. Her expression was serious as she handed the remaining talismans to Chang Siyu. “Use these during your night duty. Elder Liu just wrote them. They might come in handy if something unexpected happens.”
Chang Siyu eagerly took them and was about to say something, but when he saw Qu Wei Yin’s expression, he stopped in the middle of his speech.
“You should leave now,” Qu Wei Yin frowned.
Upon hearing this, Chang Siyu quickly stepped back and rushed out of the room. Qu Wei Yin shifted her gaze to the white-robed elder sister and instructed her, “With these talismans, things should get better. But it’s not a long-term solution. Stay vigilant. Do you understand?”
The elder sister nodded hastily.
Qu Wei Yin then turned to look at Luo Jin Xiao, her eyes calm and unruffled, as if she had not been worried a moment ago. As she looked at Luo Jin Xiao, a shiver ran down her spine.
Luo Jin Xiao suddenly felt self-conscious about her disheveled appearance.
“Clean yourself up and come with me,” Qu Wei Yin said before walking out of the room.
Luo Jin Xiao hastily grabbed a robe from a nearby canvas, wrapped it around herself, and caught up with Qu Wei Yin’s footsteps.
“Young Martial Uncle…” she stopped mid-sentence as Qu Wei Yin interrupted her.
Qu Wei Yin continued to walk briskly and said, “Tomorrow morning, I will rush down the mountain to see if I can find the two missing disciples. You will accompany me.”
Luo Jin Xiao wanted to ask something, but Qu Wei Yin interrupted her, “When we get there, you must stay behind me. I brought you here not to help me, but to keep you in my sight. We can’t allow those vile creatures to target you again.
As Qu Wei Yin spoke, she suddenly stopped and turned around, almost colliding with Luo Jin Xiao, who quickly stepped back.
“You must promise me. Otherwise, stay here and face your fate alone,” Qu Wei Yin’s eyebrows furrowed and her lips pursed.
Although her tone was stern, her expression was not harsh, and it didn’t sound like an order at all.
Luo Jin Xiao’s heart skipped a beat. The earlier feeling of defeat instantly vanished, and she nodded obediently.
She thought that it was okay for her to be weak. It was good to be protected by Young Martial Uncle like this.
“I can’t stay away from Elder Liu for long, so I have to take you with me,” Qu Wei Yin explained once again, as if she was afraid that Luo Jin Xiao might misunderstand. As she finished her sentence, she raised her hand and summoned the Moonlight Star Sword, jumping and landing on it.
“In that case, should I prepare something?” Luo Jin Xiao drew her Divine Sword and followed her into the air.
“The Qiong Qi,” Qu Wei Yin said.
Luo Jin Xiao patted her bag and said, “I got it, I got it.”
“Good,” Qu Wei Yin nodded, looking quite satisfied. Upon hearing this, Luo Jin Xiao couldn’t help but feel a pang of disappointment, realizing that she was indeed nothing but a burden, not even possessing the abilities of a Qiong Qi.
The two walked in silence for a while, the night remaining intense, and dew had settled on their clothes, weighing them down with dampness.
Under the soft light of dawn, the cliff stood as a silhouette. The lights in the small house at the top were cool and bright.
As she entered, Qu Wei Yin’s dress dragged on the floor, tracing various curves as she rummaged through the room. She tossed some clothes to Luo Jin Xiao.
“We left in a hurry and forgot to take everything with us. We cannot reveal our identities, so we must dress as ordinary people,” she said, shaking a somewhat worn-looking garment.
Luo Jin Xiao agreed and couldn’t help but ask, “Was it because you knew I was in trouble that you rushed to rescue me?
A glimmer of hope appeared in her heart.
The clothes in Qu Wei Yin’s hands suddenly slipped and fell. She paused for a moment, then picked them up without a word.
“I was just following orders. That thing happened to be with you, and I went to help alleviate the situation,” she replied.
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