Jun Yuan had never mentioned in front of Su Ming or anyone else that he is looking for someone. Yan Xing knew that he is looking for someone because he did an investigation. If Jun Yuan had asked them for help, then both Su Ming and Yan Xing would help him look for the one he is looking for because they don't lack both manpower and connections. But Jun Yuan did not ask them for help, he was secretly investigating and looking by himself.
Yan Xing had an inkling that things are not so simple, and seeing Jun Yuan here in the abandoned Hua village further confirmed his thoughts.
"Are the Medicine Valley and Black Sword sect joining hands to deal with those evils", Jun Yuan asked, shifting his gaze between Zhao Ling and Yan Xing.
"Well, we just met in the woods not long ago. We seem to have the same purpose, so we decided to team up", Yan Xing replied.
Jun Yuan's pitch-black eyes sized up Yan Xing from head to toe. He nodded his head, "So it's like this. By the way, Fellow Daoist, have we met before?"
Zhao Ling raised her brows when she heard Jun Yuan and observed the tall man in the black mask from her peripheral vision. Like Jun Yuan, she had been getting a sense of familiarity from the man and since he is wearing a mask, she had no way of confirming.
What Jun Yuan asked just now was what she wanted to ask too. She had a feeling that they had met before, and her gut feeling had never been wrong.
"No", Yan Xing resolutely said.
Jun Yuan down her wine bottle and said with a trace of laughter in his voice, "oh, then, it seems I'm wrong. Forgive me Fellow Daoist".
Jingsheng's mouth twitched under the cloth mask. He was familiar with Jun Yuan, and he knew that Jun Yuan had already started to suspect their identities.
Zhao Ling shifted her attention back to the Deadly Nightshade. She explained the same thing to Jun Yuan, who was also looking at the plant with eyes full of curiosity.
"So, they purposely planted them among the weeds!" Jun Yuan exclaimed.
Zhao Ling nodded her head, "I don't know what their purpose for raising this plant is, but this plant can be used to discreetly poison a person to death. It also has anticholinergic properties, which can cause memory loss".
"Memory loss…", Jun Yuan murmured, rubbing his chin.
Zhao Ling got up and looked around the weeds and bushes. Apart from the Deadly Nightshade planted in between them, there was no other plant that can catch Zhao Ling's eyes.
"That man in a gray robe who just escape now was also squatting among the bushes when I first saw him. I thought he was doing his business… cough… you know, nature's call… so I wanted to sneak an attack, but he wasn't doing that. Now that I think about it, he probably came for this plant", Jun Yuan said, walking in circles around the plant.
"Pfft…" He Qing couldn't hold back and almost burst out laughing, but she quickly pressed her clenched fist on her lips.
Yan Xing and Jingsheng inwardly rolled their eyes. They were already used to his straightforward and sharp tongue.
Zhao Ling faked a coughed and said, "Since the man had already escaped, he will inform his cohorts about our arrival. We should be prepared and be on alert. One of our disciples is already after them but currently, we don't know his situation."
"One of our Black Sword sect's Elder too", Yan Xing added.
It's already been a day since he got the message from the black sparrow sent out by Elder Mu but until now Yan Xing was yet to reunite with him so, he was worried about him too. The same was for Zhao Ling and her group.
They destroyed all the Deadly Nightshade plants they spotted and after that, they move in the direction where the gray robe man disappeared.
Bang!
A loud sound reverberated throughout the deserted village when Yan Xing and his group were nearing the center of the village.
Yan Xing halted his steps for a second before looking at Zhao Ling. They both nodded their heads and shot out at a great speed. The others were not left behind too, they immediately executed their footwork skills and headed in the direction of that sound.
After some time, Yan Xing and his group came to a spacious space which is the center of the village.
When they arrived at that place, they were shocked to witness the scene before them.
The place was full of corpse puppets, and they were surrounding a group of people in the middle.
"Elder Mu", Jingsheng cried out.
In the center of the corpse puppets, a middle-aged man and a young man were guarding a group of children.
"Junior Brother Shen!" Mu Chen exclaimed.
Elder Mu kicked away one of the corpse puppets while the sword pierced the heart of another corpse puppet. The body of the corpse puppet flew towards the nearby wall hitting on it. Both Elder Mu and the young man from the medicine valley were doing the same thing. After the young man threw out the body of another corpse puppet, it slammed on the wall and the wall trembled a little and fell forward towards the corpse puppets.
Bang!
Boom!
The wall fell with a loud banging sound, smashing some of the corpse puppets who were directly under them.
Yan Xing and the others figured out the source of the loud sound, witnessing this scene the moment they arrived.
They immediately brandished their weapons and charged forward.
Seeing their arrival, both Elder Mu and the one with the surname Shen breathed a sigh of relief.
If they were alone, it won't be much of a problem to escape unscathed, but with a group of children to protect, it was difficult for them.
"Elder Mu, are you alright", Yan Xing asked as he fought with the corpse puppet. He can see that Elder Mu and the young man had almost exhausted their energy.
"Don't worry, young sect leader, I can hold on for some time", Elder Mu replied with a slight smile on his face.
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A/N: Deadly nightshade is known as Atropa Belladonna. Belladonna means "beautiful lady" in Italian. The unusual name of the plant originates from the old habit of Italian women using eye drops made of deadly nightshade to dilate pupils and produce a seductive gaze.
Any Italians here ~(•.•)~