What was Zhong Ming talking about? What was wrong with building a village in a place surrounded by mountains in all directions?

Cheng Xiaoxiao had a million questions and really wanted to ask Zhong Ming more.

“Have you ever been in the village before?” Xiaowu wanted to find out more. If Zhong Ming had previously entered the village, it would make the investigation a lot easier.

“N-no… I don’t dare to go inside the village,” said Zhong Ming sheepishly.

However, he briefly told them about what you read in the handwritten letter from his ancestor.

“According to the handwritten letter, places surrounded by mountain in all directions is prime Yin location and a lot of Yin energy gathers there. Even though it was much easier to absorb Yin energy around here, I sensed an oppressive energy before I even came close to the village entrance, so I quickly backed off.”

From the sound of it, this was a strange village.

Cheng Xiaoxiao simply felt this was an unusual village and didn’t understand what he meant by prime Yin or Yang location.

“That’s really all I know about the place. I buried the handwritten letter near my usual spot and I can take you to it now to retrieve it.”

Zhong Ming noticed their silence and felt worried they didn’t buy what he said, so he hurriedly made it clear he wasn’t hiding anything.

The moment Chu Yunshen finished hearing what Zhong Ming said, Chu Yunshen promptly came to a decision.

He stopped stroking the lion cat’s fur and glanced at Xiaowu deeply before walking out.

“Take him to the unmarked burial gravesite!” Xiaowu instructed the guards in the jail cell before he quickly followed behind Chu Yunshen.

“Master, I will get Tingzhu and the others to make arrangements. The horse carriage is outside the justice department, so we can leave immediately.”

Xiaowu bowed as he spoke to Chu Yunshen before he left to speak to the other secret guards. Only Cheng Xiaoxiao remained lying in Chu Yunshen’s arms at a loss.

Were they going to the unmarked burial site now?

Were they going to the so-called prime Yin location now?

Cheng Xiaoxiao was clearly unable to catch up with this pace of thought.

She naturally knew how decisive and swift Chu Yunshen was at giving orders.

This time, they had managed to learn of the prime Yin location Zhong Ming was talking about. As for the deserted village, even though they knew nothing about it, it was a potential clue nonetheless.

Since Chu Yunshen and the others wanted to get there quickly, they didn’t bother to bring the lion cat back to the residence to help save some time.

Cheng Xiaoxiao ended up going to the unmarked burial gravesite with Chu Yunshen by horse carriage.

Xiaowu and Zhong Ming knew the way to the gravesite well. However, Zhong Ming unexpectedly didn’t take the usual path to the mountain.

They drove the horse carriage up to the foot of the mountain where they stopped near a steep cliff based on Zhong Ming’s directions.

“Are you sure we can get there by this route?”

Xiaowu looked at the rocky mountain that was bereft of vegetation and found it inconceivable.

After all, he had studied the environment earlier and didn’t see any path leading up the mountain.

“You don’t have to go up the mountain.”

Zhong Ming sounded sincere and wasn’t joking as he explained, “The spot where I absorb Yin energy is at the bottom of the cliff.”

Cheng Xiaoxiao and the others had gotten off the horse carriage as well. She craned her head out from Chu Yunshen’s arms to check out the cliff.

Cheng Xiaoxiao almost wanted to curse the moment she saw the cliff.

Was a human capable of climbing down a cliff?

It was clearly a high cliff down there! Was Zhong Ming expecting them to jump down the cliff?

Zhong Ming was worried Chu Yunshen and the others wouldn’t believe him, so he told them he could take the lead and go down.

“Are you able to go down on your own?”

Xiaowu watched as Zhong Ming gasped nonstop before he could finish a sentence. How could he possibly climb down the cliff?

“I am a little better now. I can recover more quickly, the closer I am to the spot.”

Now that he mentioned it, Cheng Xiaoxiao finally realized his condition had improved.

She did not know what happened outside the horse carriage when Chu Yunshen was carrying her. Now she could see Zhong Ming’s dark energy intensifying so much that he was almost completely enshrouded by it. Cheng Xiaoxiao could only see the dark energy and couldn’t see his face at all.

Was Zhong Ming’s technique that powerful?

Xiaowu and the others also noticed the change in Zhong Ming. Zhong Ming was no different than his old self.

He had a healthy tan and his eyes were bright and beautiful.

Although Xiaowu was somewhat disbelieving of what Zhong Ming said, he said nothing as he followed behind Zhong Ming when Zhong Ming climbed down the rope.

Chu Yunshen stuffed the lion cat under his outer robe and went down the rope after Xiaowu.

Cheng Xiaoxiao could keenly sense Chu Yunshen’s body heat radiating from him.

For some reason, Cheng Xiaoxiao could sense her face and ears feeling warm.

The cliff wasn’t as high as Cheng Xiaoxiao expected. She was still wrapped in thought when Chu Yunshen reached the ground.

The lion cat was incredibly obedient when Chu Yunshen retrieved her from under his robes.

He lowered his head to see the lion cat staring somewhere dead straight looking like she was daydreaming again.

“Alas…”

A faint fog emerged from below the cliff and blended with Chu Yunshen’s powerless sigh before it disappeared.

After Cheng Xiaoxiao finally snapped out of her daze, the fog had intensified so much that for a moment, she thought she was suffering from cataract.

She raised her head and realized she could only faintly see Chu Yunshen’s outline. She was completely unable to see Xiaowu and the others.

Cheng Xiaoxiao pricked her ears and listened around before she heard Zhong Ming and Xiaowu’s voices in front of her.

Before long, Xiaowu walked over through the dense fog. “Master, this fog is very bad. I think it’s better for us to walk side by side.”

Xiaowu walked up beside Chu Yunshen along with Zhong Ming as he scrutinized the surrounding.

Even Cheng Xiaoxiao felt Xiaowu was on high alert and at the ready to fight any enemies who came close.

Zhong Ming could sense their worry. By now, he had completely recovered and seemed normal, and no longer spoke breathlessly. “Don’t worry. It’s always like this when I go down.”

“Does fog always gather here?” Xiaowu looked even more cautious when he heard what Zhong Ming said.

Cheng Xiaoxiao tended to be inattentive about her surroundings, so most of the time, she didn’t know what they were talking about.

After she heard Zhong Ming, she simply made herself comfortable as she curled up in Chu Yunshen’s arms.

Xiaowu was the one in charge of keeping his eye on the situation. After all, she was just a lion cat, so it wasn’t like she could do anything to help.

“Xiaowu…” said Zhong Ming awkwardly before he glanced at Xiaowu and suddenly recalled Xiaowu’s identity. Cheng Xiaoxiao could hear him changing his tone of voice.

“Sir, why did you get even more worried when I told you it was normal?”

Xiaowu said nothing for a long time. It went on for so long that Zhong Ming thought Xiaowu didn’t want to explain things to him.

Even Cheng Xiaoxiao thought Xiaowu must have felt embarrassed when Zhong Ming talked about his anxiety blatantly.

The silence went on for some time before Xiaowu finally said, “There aren’t any valleys here and it only consists of flatland. Also, the place is well ventilated. In theory, no fog should gather here.”

Cheng Xiaoxiao finally realized something amiss when Xiaowu brought it up.

Just moments ago, Cheng Xiaoxiao automatically leaned towards Chu Yunshen when she could sense a cold draft climbing up her skin leaving her chilly.

Xiaowu was right.

Cheng Xiaoxiao finally noticed the problem here.

The place was well ventilated and consisted of flatland. How could fog appear in a place like this?

Also, Zhong Ming mentioned this fog was here all the time. That meant it would be hard to investigate this situation since it was hard to see through the fog.

Xiaowu hesitated before he whispered, “I also have the feeling that someone is staring at us, but I can’t sense his scent.”

Xiaowu’s voice sounded so soft and echoey that it was almost inaudible.

Why was it starting to sound like a horror film?

Cheng Xiaoxiao could sense goose pimples rising on her skin.

“No one is here,” said Chu Yunshen coldly.

Cheng Xiaoxiao’s body became even stiffer. It felt as though she might explode any moment.

Chu Yunshen was a highly skilled martial artist. If Xiaowu could detect someone observing them, Chu Yunshen should be able to do the same.

Yet, he said no one was around, so this could mean only one thing…

It wasn’t humans looking at them…

Cheng Xiaoxiao hurriedly checked the jade pendant hanging on her neck. Sure enough, it kept flashing yellow nonstop.

From the looks of it, they had encountered something powerful.

Since the jade pendant was flashing yellow, there were powerful spirits here.

Cheng Xiaoxiao instantly woke up and studied her surroundings just like Xiaowu.

Huh?

Why were there no spirits around?

Cheng Xiaoxiao didn’t see any spirits, but the jade pendant kept leading her and wanting her to advance.

Were there ghosts up ahead?

Initially, Cheng Xiaoxiao was lying sprawling in Chu Yunshen’s arms. Now that things had gotten serious, she promptly got up and helped them keep an eye on the fog.

Meanwhile, Zhong Ming kept giving them directions. Everyone kept an eye on the surroundings as they walked. They kept advancing slowly and Zhong Ming seemed to have no intention of stopping.

“How long would it take before we get there?” asked Xiaowu finally. It felt as though they were walking in circles in the fog aimlessly.

“We are almost there.”

Zhong Ming wasn’t lying. He pointed to his left at a small slope as he went towards it quickly.

Xiaowu and the others hurriedly followed behind him.

Just as Xiaowu was about to speak, Tingzhu and Nongying appeared in front of Cheng Xiaoxiao out of thin air.

It was Cheng Xiaoxiao’s second time seeing Tingzhu and Nongying. Other than them, there were some new faces among them. They were probably the other secret guards whom Xiaowu often mentioned.

She overheard their conversation. They had left markers on their way in, but they were nowhere to be seen when Xiaowu sent them to backtrack and check on them.

Xiaowu told them to come out of their hiding spots and guard Chu Yunshen closely.

After all, the fog was thick, if Zhong Ming wanted to kill them and dump them here, it was impossible for them to find their way out.

Cheng Xiaoxiao felt Zhong Ming didn’t mean any harm. He walked up to the slope and grabbed some random rock on the ground and used it to dig a spot.

He told Xiaowu as he dug, “Sir, my handwritten letter is buried here. I just need to dig it out.”

Xiaowu went over to help him dig to save time, but the handwritten letter was nowhere to be seen even after they dug for a long time.

“This can’t be right!”