Li Yaner was taken aback,
"Didn't you say we were going to stay for two more days? Why are you leaving now?"
She glanced outside at the sky, which by this time was already darkening into evening; another quarter of an hour would be time for dinner,
"Leave after dinner?"
Gu Shi Yi shook his head,
"Can't wait. It turns out that two days ago the whole Niu Da family was murdered..."
"Ah..."
Li Yaner and Big Boss were shocked, and Gu Shi Yi briefly relayed the news he had heard outside to them,
"Since Spirit Clearing Guard was dispatched, it means the murderer is not just any ordinary demons and monsters..."
Their location here was remote, and the spiritual energy was not abundant. The spirits and monsters that could develop here didn't have significant cultivation; at most, there were resentful spirits like Niu Da's wife or mountain spirits like Big Boss. Although claiming a thousand years of cultivation, it didn't know a single spell to harm people. Faced with a Taoist Sect member with any mana, it could only burrow underground to escape, without the ability to hurt anyone.
Gu Shi Yi and the Old Taoist Priest had been here for several years and had already thoroughly scoped out the nearby demons and monsters. Thus, they concluded that the murderer of the entire Niu family must have come from outside. Usually possessing a strong territorial instinct, these beings were unlikely to stray far from their original form. Like Big Boss, whose true form was still on the mountain ridge behind the dilapidated temple, it merely entrusted a wisp of its Spirit Essence to Gu Shi Yi. As long as its true form endured, even if this wisp was damaged, it would at most need a hundred years of recuperation before a new Spirit Essence would emerge.
Therefore, the likelihood of spirits and monsters committing the murders was small, but the possibility of an evil cultivator being the murderer was high!
Gu Shi Yi thought of the Tongxuan Bright Mirror hidden inside his body,
"So, Master commanded us to leave after three days, has he deduced that once the secret of the Treasure Mirror leaks, they will come looking for us?"
If it had been a Great Cultivation Sect of the righteous path, it wouldn't have been too bad, but looking at the method of murder, it seemed that the evil cultivators were the ones who had come knocking first!
The mere thought of how the Niu family had died made Gu Shi Yi's hair stand on end and his back turned cold,
"We better leave earlier!"
Li Yaner and Big Boss listened in stunned silence. Neither had much experience with the world: one had lived for over twenty years in a Peaceful World without ever witnessing the reality of ruthless family slaughters, while the other, born deep in the mountains, despite its domineering ways, had never seen such vicious human cruelty firsthand.
"Let's go, let's go, let's go quickly!"
Gu Shi Yi packed up, settled the bill at the counter, returned to the backyard to fetch the old horse he had been keeping for a few days, hitched it to a cart, and then shakily left the inn, heading out of town.
"Shiyi, where are we going?"
The clay figure perched at the collar of her neck, watching the small town diminish under the setting sun, bewildered and panic-stricken, it asked Gu Shi Yi, who pondered for a moment before saying,
"We're heading to Xuancheng City, but we won't take the main road. Let's take a back route... I know of a path that leads directly to Xuancheng. Though it's a bit difficult to traverse, it's less traveled..."
This path was rugged and barely navigable, with spirits and monsters roaming the wild hills. Common folk would naturally be terrified to travel it, but people like Gu Shi Yi, with some cultivation and knowledge of spells, were not the least bit afraid.
Gu Shi Yi drove the carriage along the main road for a while until it was getting dark and the road was deserted. Only then did he turn right and entered a small path obscured by weeds...
She did not know that, while she was in the inn listening to gossip, a Flight Light had streaked from afar, approaching the neighboring town, hovering above the Niu Family Tavern before barely stopping. Suddenly, the light flared, and a Jade Token fluttered out from within it, gently descending in front of the awaiting Government Official. The official reached out, took a careful look, and promptly advanced two steps to give a salute,
"Spiritual Guard, I have seen you!"
"Hmm!"
A voice responded, soft and gentle. After the Flight Light descended, the officials raised their heads to see three men dressed in mystic white robes standing before them. The leader of the men was slightly plump, round-faced, with features that were not extraordinary but possessed a pair of naturally seductive peach blossom eyes and a subtly upturned mouth. With a gentle smile, he instantly made one feel as if bathed in the warmth of spring, appearing amiable and approachable, not at all like the aloof and unattainable Spiritual Guards of the Spirit Clearing Guard.
The officials stared, somewhat dumbfounded, but when the leading man smiled and swept a gentle gaze over the crowd, something strange happened. Although his gaze was soft, when the officials' eyes met his, they inexplicably felt a sense of fear and dared not linger their gaze, all bowing their heads. Only the head official, having seen more in his time, suppressed the fear in his heart, took a step forward, and saluted, saying,