The Investigation

As she pondered her next move, Luochen was suddenly seized by an inexplicable sense of unease.

This feeling? No, something was wrong!

She amplified her spiritual sense, scouring the surrounding few miles for any anomaly.

Yet, she found nothing.

Shuanghua, sensing something amiss, cast a questioning glance her way.

“It felt as though someone was watching us just now, but I couldn’t pinpoint their location,” Luochen explained. “Perhaps I’m merely overthinking things.”

‘However, her intuition had always proven remarkably accurate.’

Frowning, Luochen, disinclined to dismiss the feeling, searched once more, yet still found nothing, compelling her to abandon the effort.

“Please, lead us to the remains.”

“Follow me, if you please.”

Upon reaching the morgue, Luochen bowed respectfully to the bodies, then solemnly drew back the white shroud.

Indeed, the bodies bore no external wounds, and the expressions on their faces were devoid of any agony, appearing as serene as if they were merely slumbering.

Yet, their souls were conspicuously absent.

This was no violent soul-snatching typical of demonic cultivators; rather, it was a precise extraction, as delicate as a surgeon’s scalpel.

Souls obtained through such a method possessed the highest degree of purity and completeness.

Most remarkably, souls acquired in this manner would not transform into vengeful spirits.

They could even be directly absorbed to augment one’s own power, a secret technique that had allowed the Specter Sect to flourish in a mere decade or so.

Luochen retracted her spiritual sense.

Without a doubt, this was the work of someone from the Specter Sect.

Moreover, their cultivation was certainly not low, at least at the sixth-turn level.

“Martial Aunt, don’t you find something rather peculiar about this entire affair?”

Shuanghua, cradling her sword, bore an expression of slight solemnity.

“Speak.”

“To possess this level of soul extraction, one would need to have reached at least sixth-turn, perhaps even seventh-turn, cultivation.”

“Such individuals are considered high-ranking within the Specter Sect.”

“For so many years, we’ve gathered no intelligence on the Specter Sect’s main forces, yet this time, they’ve actively exposed themselves.”

“It strongly resembles a trap.”

Luochen voiced her thoughts.

“Ind-indeed.”

Shuanghua secretly exhaled a long breath, nearly failing to utter even those two words smoothly.

‘Exposure could happen at any moment; the risk factor was simply too high.’

All along the way, she had sought an opportunity to confess to Luochen, but each time, she found herself at a loss for words.

Unaware of Shuanghua’s inner turmoil, Luochen suggested they first explore the village.

Green Ox Village was not large, and the two walked along the only main road.

Villagers by the roadside greeted them enthusiastically, their warmth almost overwhelming Luochen.

With an accidental glance back, Luochen suddenly shivered.

The bustling market, moments ago lively, had abruptly fallen silent.

Diners in the restaurants no longer wore their previous warm smiles, instead eating their food in silent, expressionless repose.

Amplifying her spiritual sense, she noted that the two elderly women who had been chatting animatedly at the village entrance had already returned home.

The few children who had been playing noisily now sat together in silence.

It seemed as though only the areas through which Luochen and Shuanghua passed retained any semblance of lively human activity.

Luochen recalled a movie she had seen in her previous life, ‘The Truman Show’.

A shiver ran down her spine.

‘What, exactly, was happening?’

“Sister, Sister!”

A clear, childlike voice rang out from behind her, breaking her train of thought.

It was A Gou.

“Could the two sisters sleep at my house? Papa went to town, and I’m scared to be alone at home.”

Displaying a hint of fear, A Gou asked with a touch of anticipation.

“Of course,” Luochen agreed.

“Martial Aunt, what say you?”

Shuanghua nodded, indicating her assent.

A Gou’s face lit up with excitement: “My house is just around that corner up ahead; I’ll lead you there.”

“Alright.”

****

That night.

“Um, Martial Aunt, it seems A Gou’s house only has one vacant room.”

Luochen gazed cautiously at Shuanghua, “Perhaps I could just sleep on the floor?”

“Lie down.”

“Huh?”

Luochen hadn’t quite understood.

Shuanghua pointed to the bed, then repeated, “Lie down.”

‘Was she telling her to lie down? Luochen felt a slight exasperation.’

‘Could it be that speaking an extra word truly diminished her cultivation? She was far too cryptic.’

And whether it was her imagination or not, Luochen had a persistent feeling that Shuanghua wished to say more, yet she merely pressed her lips together without speaking.

‘Had some malevolent demonic cultivator cast a curse upon her, forbidding her to speak?’

Luochen shook her head, casting these strange notions from her mind.

She lay beside Shuanghua, the yellow glow of the kerosene lamp filtering through the strands of her hair, flickering within the pupils of the stoic Sword Immortal.

“Luochen,” she suddenly spoke.

“What is it?” Hearing Shuanghua speak, Luochen immediately tensed.

There was no helping it; the pressure was even greater than being called upon by a teacher in her previous life.

After a prolonged silence, she finally heard the next words from the person beside her.

“Sleep… sleep.”

Luochen: ?

Shuanghua silently turned her head towards the wall, the tips of her ears tinged with a delicate crimson.

Another failure.

She angrily bumped her forehead against the wall.

‘All that mental preparation, built up for so long, yet she still couldn’t say it.’

‘Perhaps she should just ask her Senior Brother for help after they returned.’

****

The following day, upon hearing that Luochen and Shuanghua intended to investigate the back mountain, A Gou eagerly volunteered to lead the way.

“I still remember that place,” he stated with a touch of pride.

Reaching the back mountain, A Gou pointed to a large tree: “It’s right beneath that tree.”

Luochen produced a gourd, and after chanting an incantation, the gourd emitted a plume of white smoke that streamed from beneath the tree, pointing directly into the depths of the mountain forest.

“There truly is demonic energy here,” she murmured to herself.

“Wow,” A Gou exclaimed, his eyes wide.

The mountain path was rugged, and the three expended considerable effort, following the white smoke’s guidance until they arrived before a cave.

“Everyone in the village says this place is eerie; we usually don’t come here,”

A Gou hid behind the two, gazing fearfully at the dark, ominous cave entrance.

“You wait for us here; don’t wander off.”

After instructing A Gou, Luochen and Shuanghua entered the cave.

Watching the two enter the cave, A Gou shed his timid expression.

“To think even the renowned Luochen has come,”

“Third Brother, I hope your choice proves to be the right one.”

His whisper was swallowed by the mountain forest.

“This appears to be a place for secluded cultivation.”

Observing the arrangements around them, Luochen drew her conclusion.

She ran a finger across a tabletop, finding only a thin layer of dust.

“The person emerged from seclusion not long ago.”

“He did this?”

Shuanghua, uncharacteristically, spoke.

“We can’t be certain yet, but the residual demonic energy beneath the tree where those two cultivators perished indeed traces back here, so he is absolutely implicated.”

“If it was the act of a high-ranking Specter Sect member who had just emerged from seclusion and was unaware of the situation, it would certainly make sense.”

Luochen stroked her chin, considering other possibilities.

‘What was this?’

Suddenly noticing a book left on the meditation mat, Luochen reached for it.

The instant her fingers brushed the book, its pages disintegrated into dust.

The very next second, a faint purple hue stained Luochen’s fingertips, rapidly spreading throughout her entire body.

Simultaneously, a volley of crossbow bolts shot forth from both sides of the cave.

Shuanghua drew her precious sword.

In a mere instant, all the arrows snapped in half, clattering to the ground.

The arrowheads gleamed with an unusual luster.

‘These arrows are poisoned?’

Shuanghua’s heart seized; she turned to see Luochen’s entire body already suffused with an eerie, demonic purple.

“Are you, you, you, you alright?”

Shuanghua, forgetting her stutter, asked with a hint of urgency.

“I’m fine,” Luochen waved her hand dismissively.

Within a few breaths, her skin returned to its former snowy white.

“To heal my body, I’ve consumed countless heavenly treasures.

While there hasn’t been much improvement in my condition, my resistance to other things has become incredibly high.”

Luochen offered a helpless smile.

‘But did Martial Aunt just stutter? Hmm… perhaps she was startled by me.’

Luochen harbored no suspicions.

Just as they were about to leave, a thought suddenly bloomed in her mind.

She called out to Shuanghua: “Martial Aunt, in a moment, let’s do this…”

A Gou waited anxiously outside the cave.

Finally, he saw the two emerge, supporting each other.

“What happened?” he asked, approaching them with concern.

“It’s nothing, just triggered some traps,” Luochen forced a smile, her face a little pale.

Though they feigned normalcy, A Gou noticed their unsteady steps, clearly indicating their profound weakness.

“It’s getting late; we should hurry back.”

As the two walked past A Gou, he spotted a trace of purple on Luochen’s hand that had not yet faded.

‘They were indeed poisoned.

There’s no time to lose; I must inform Third Brother.’

Behind them, A Gou’s expression flickered between light and shadow.