Chapter 42: Sun Ghost Hand

“So when exactly do you plan to get married?”

No sooner had the woman finished speaking than Xia Xiaochan jumped up from the stool as if someone had stepped on her tail.

“Mother, what are you saying!”

Her face flushed as red as a ripe apple, she lowered her head and nervously twisted the corner of her clothes, mumbling, “Chan’er is still too young…”

“Too young? In our village, girls your age have all gotten married already.”

The woman paid no attention to Xiaochan’s embarrassment.

She didn’t care whether Xiaochan was from the Immortal Sect or not—as long as she called her mother, she was her daughter.

And when it came to her daughter’s lifelong matters, of course she had to worry. She asked again:

“Don’t you want to marry him?”

“I don’t…”

Xiaochan instinctively denied.

“That’s exactly right. Do you want me to go ask for your hand in marriage then?”

“Mother~”

Xia Xiaochan hurriedly pushed her away, “Please don’t say that anymore, it’s so embarrassing…”

“Embarrassing about what?”

The woman looked puzzled. Why was this little girl suddenly so awkward?

“In any case, I haven’t thought about it that much. It’s better if you don’t meddle.”

Xiaochan quickly stopped the topic from developing further and sat back down to take care of her younger brother and sister at the table.

Years ago, due to a great flood, the family lost their father, and the burden of raising four children fell entirely on the woman.

Growing up in such a household, Xiaochan became mature and responsible early on, taking on the duty of caring for her younger siblings.

Although she had mysteriously returned home because of Dunshu, she decided to stay for a while and help out.

“By the way, where’s Sister Juan?”

Xiaochan looked outside, puzzled, and asked, “Where did she go? I haven’t seen her at all.”

Xia Xiao Juan was the eldest in the family, one year older than Xiaochan. Below Xiaochan were a younger brother and younger sister.

Xiaochan had no worries about going to the Great Void Sect alone because she knew that even without her, Sister Juan could help their mother take care of things.

But this time, since she came back, she hadn’t seen Sister Juan anywhere.

After asking, Xiaochan looked at her mother.

The woman, however, was facing away and remained silent.

“Mother?”

Suddenly, Xiaochan felt a bad premonition.

Unable to hold back any longer, the woman burst into tears and collapsed onto the ground:

“Xiaochan… Your Sister Juan was taken away by that damned dog of a County Magistrate!!”

A buzzing sensation struck Xiaochan’s mind like thunder.

Her hands and feet turned ice cold, her pupils trembling as she froze on the spot.

…

Under the setting sun.

Xia Xiaochan gripped the Qingyu Sword tightly, ignoring her mother’s protests, her eyes cold as she stepped out of the house…

“About five days ago, a group of officers stormed into the village, going door to door looking for girls born on a Yin Year, Yin Month, and Yin Day.”

“Your Sister Juan was born on that very day!”

“They were ruthless and forcibly took your sister away, dragging her to the County Office…”

“Later, Mother found out it was the new dog County Magistrate. For his cultivation of forbidden arts, he wants to sacrifice nine pure Yin girls born on the exact same Eight Characters of Birth Time. All the girls born on the same day as Sister Juan from the surrounding ten villages have been taken by his officers…”

“Chan’er, the reason I hid this from you was because I was afraid you’d do something foolish…”

“That damned County Magistrate is called Sun Guishou. He’s no ordinary mortal; he’s a Yao Ren! I heard the Daoist Priest hired from the neighboring village couldn’t last three moves against him—he ended up a puddle of blood!”

“Chan’er, I know you’ve learned some techniques at the Immortal Sect, but you’ve only just begun your training! You definitely can’t beat that Yao Ren!”

“We can’t go… Chan’er, listen to me, we absolutely can’t go…”

“Sister Juan has already been taken; I can’t lose you too.”

Surrounded by her mother’s desperate pleas, Xia Xiaochan trembled with rage.

Such a thing actually happened…

Thank heavens she found out in time. If they missed tomorrow’s sacrifice, Sister Juan and those other girls wouldn’t survive.

Now that she knew Sister Juan was still alive, Xiaochan could not turn a blind eye.

No matter how strong Sun Guishou was…

She had to kill him and rescue Sister Juan!

One Thought Tramples a Thousand Mountains!

Xia Xiaochan took a step toward the County.

Although she no longer had the advantage of sudden insight, unable to escape thousands of miles in a single step, the distance from the village entrance to White Pine Town’s County Office was still manageable.

At the County Office gate.

Two officers on duty suddenly felt a gentle breeze as a young girl in a teal-green silk dress appeared on the steps in front of them.

“Who’s there?”

Startled, one officer rubbed his eyes. When had this girl gotten here? Was he seeing things?

“Is County Magistrate Sun Guishou here?”

“What’s your business?”

Xiaochan took a deep breath. The top priority was to find Sister Juan, so she hid the Qingyu Sword and shyly said:

“I heard that the County Magistrate is looking for girls born with pure Yin birth time. I happen to have this fate. I dared to come forward and ask, is there a reward for this?”

The two officers exchanged a glance.

“There is, young miss, there is!”

“Come with me. I’ll take you in to see the Magistrate!”

In these times, a gift just fell into their laps…

The two officers were delighted.

The sacrifice date was fast approaching, and they were still short one pure Yin girl.

Lately, the County Magistrate was furious and vented his rage on them, making their days filled with worry and hardship.

But today, they unexpectedly ran into such a foolish little girl walking right into their trap. This was just what they needed!

A reward? Of course there was a reward.

Once the Magistrate promotes them, they could burn as much money as they liked on rewards!

Xiaochan nodded.

“Thank you. Please lead the way.”

“That’s nothing to mention. Doing work for the people is no trouble at all…”

The officers’ tone grew warmer, as if they saw a bright future for themselves through Xiaochan.

One officer led Xiaochan inside. After passing through a long corridor, they arrived before the grand courtroom door.

Along the way, Xiaochan looked around carefully, committing the County Office’s layout to memory.

“Knock, knock, knock…”

The officer knocked three times on the door.

“Who is it?”

A sharp, angry voice came from inside.

“Reporting to the County Magistrate, we have found a pure Yin girl!”

“Oh? Where is she!?”

The voice inside rose abruptly, brimming with uncontrollable joy.

“She’s already been brought in.”

“Quick, come inside!”

The door suddenly opened. Behind it was the vast courtroom of the County Office, with a plaque hanging in the center that read—Clear Mirror High Suspended.

At the center sat a gaunt man, his back bent, hair graying, with sunken eye sockets.

He wore a black official robe, marking him as the County Magistrate of White Pine, Sun Guishou.

Sun Guishou’s eyes lit up with delight when he saw Xiaochan standing behind the officers, as if he saw his bright immortal path in her. His wrinkled face broke into a broad smile:

“You really were born in a Yin Year, Yin Month, and Yin Day?”

Xiaochan looked at Sun Guishou, the bastard who kidnapped her sister, and wished she could draw her sword and tear him to pieces on the spot.

But now was not the time. First, she had to find Sister Juan and make sure she was safe.

“Yes, I was.”

“Place your hand on this. Your fate will be revealed.”

Sun Guishou said this, then pulled out a Divination Disk.

The Disk was intricately designed, covered in dense, tiny characters used to calculate birth times.

For Sun Guishou, sacrificing pure Yin girls to steal Yin-Yang Providence was a plan he had schemed for decades.

He had spent all the spoils of his lifetime to purchase the County Magistrate’s Official Hat, to accelerate his search for the girls.

Therefore, he could never allow impure fates to muddy the waters and ruin his plan.

Whether someone was pure Yin could be determined by this “Birth Divination Disk.”

Xiaochan hadn’t expected Sun Guishou to be so cautious and suspicious, and she hesitated.

She knew her Eight Characters of Birth Time were not pure Yin…

If the Disk revealed the truth, her plan would be exposed. Then she would have to act early—kill first, find Sister Juan later.

Calmly, she placed her palm on the Divination Disk.