Cloud Bud petals drifted through Yun Ya’er Flower Valley as the girls’ bodies tangled together.
Jiang Ke’er finally understood why Qiao Xiaoxian hadn’t made any demands.
Her voice sounded proper and professional, just like a qualified teacher should.
“Yeah, that’s right… not bad, hold still and don’t move.”
“A bit more… yes, that’s good, hold still and don’t move.”
“No, your arm is raised too high. The movement should be gentler.”
“Where exactly are you putting your hand?” Jiang Ke’er’s eyes were practically spitting fire.
“Hm?” Qiao Xiaoxian glanced at the hand resting on Jiang Ke’er’s thigh and said sternly, “Don’t overthink it. I’m only sensing the muscle engagement in your leg so you don’t develop bad habits in the future.”
“Who senses muscles that way? Do you think I’m stupid?”
“Don’t worry, I’m just rubbing a little.”
“Dare to rub again and see what happens!”
Qiao Xiaoxian let out a contemptuous laugh and calmly withdrew her hand. “I dare, but there’s no need. Do you think I’m some lecherous scoundrel taking advantage of the situation? I’m only doing this so you won’t suffer in future battles because of poor form!”
Jiang Ke’er paused for a moment. She had a point—maybe Qiao Xiaoxian really did mean well. She felt a twinge of guilt.
“Alright, next movement: chest expansion.” Qiao Xiaoxian said sternly, “Don’t move. Let me sense the muscle engagement in your chest. Mm, this one needs careful examination.”
***
Although they didn’t know why both teachers still hadn’t returned after an entire day and night, it suited Pei and Gongsun Xiaotao just fine.
They had finally gathered all the materials they needed and decided to act tonight.
Before taking action, they climbed to the top of the cliff.
The view here was excellent—anyone planning to harm the village would come here first to scheme. Pei and Gongsun Xiaotao were no exception.
“We can start from the southeast end of the village, which will drive everyone toward the exit on the northwest side.” Pei suggested.
“Great!” Gongsun Xiaotao agreed but then looked troubled. “But the southeast side is exactly where Zhao Shen’s house is. She saved me that day, and I can’t bear to scare her… If only there were some way to get Zhao Shen over to the village entrance.”
“Wouldn’t she still get scared in the end?”
“No, if we can scare half the people first, the rest won’t need to be frightened—the story will spread by word of mouth, and they’ll flee on their own.”
“Simple. I’ll just tell Zhao Shen that the Village Chief needs to see her.” Pei patted his chest. “Leave this to me.”
“Mm-hm! Then let’s proceed with the plan!” Gongsun Xiaotao stood up excitedly, ready to head down the mountain.
“By the way,” Pei suddenly scratched his head, pointing at the clusters of fresh dirt mounds nearby, “when did a Mass Grave appear here? Have you seen this before?”
“I’ve only been here two days. How would I know?”
“It’s a bit strange…” Pei was puzzled. “Who in the village would climb all the way up here to bury someone? And the dirt is so fresh, like it was just dug…”
Gongsun Xiaotao suddenly felt the atmosphere turn eerie and broke out in goosebumps. “How could that be… d-don’t overthink it!”
“Nothing’s happened in the village recently either…” Pei was confused but also felt his hair stand on end. He instinctively gripped his sword hilt.
“Don’t worry, even if there really are ghosts, I’ll protect you. Ghosts are just aggregates of cultivators’ resentment and Spiritual Power. My idol Jiang Ke’er is the Leader of All Ghosts!”
Although she knew her idol had nothing to do with her, mentioning Jiang Ke’er still made Gongsun Xiaotao feel much more at ease, as if she were bathed in a hero’s glory.
“Remember the script?” Gongsun Xiaotao asked.
They weren’t scaring people blindly—they had prepared dialogue and ghost backstories for a long time, giving it their all to frighten the villagers away!
“Of course! The village is the Ghost King’s residence, a bridge to the underworld. This place isn’t suitable for the living… The villagers must move away, or they’ll turn into vengeful spirits!” Pei answered fluently.
“Good, did you bring all the props and set pieces?” Gongsun Xiaotao confirmed again.
“I’ve prepared a hanging rope, a dog-headed scythe, half a Corpse dug from a grave, spider webs, a white sheet with holes cut in it, and even a sound-recording crystal with crow calls and crying! What did you prepare?”
“Heh, all my preparations are in this Qiankun Bag my teacher gave me.” Pei patted the small pouch at his waist. “I’ve prepared a whole bunch of snail shells!”
“You have no idea how much courage it took to buy these shells.” Pei said proudly.
Here we go again.
Gongsun Xiaotao massaged her forehead in pain, then gravely pressed Pei’s shoulder and said, “Senior Brother, snails really aren’t scary. I’m begging you, next time don’t jump behind my back when you see one…”
“No, you don’t understand. They’ll come in handy.”
***
Chou Chui was the last assassin left in the Chou family.
Hall Master Luo Han didn’t want to keep squeezing the Chou family dry, but they were simply too excellent a family—they single-handedly monopolized the top eighteen spots on Shasheng Hall’s assassin leaderboard.
If they couldn’t do it, then no one in Shasheng Hall could.
On top of that, the sect was training gifts to present to the Tribulation Immortal Hall during the dragon boat festival celebration.
Most of the elite disciples had been called away for secret modifications, or to help with modifications… which left him with very limited available manpower.
Furthermore, he couldn’t let the Sect Leader know he’d already lost seventeen excellent assassins, so he had to keep a low profile and quietly recover those seventeen missing killers.
He refused to believe they were dead, and the best way to salvage this situation was to dispatch every remaining resource he could mobilize to scout the situation and bring them back.
“You must all be careful this time. Reconnaissance is your primary objective—do not execute any assassination plans… Do not reveal any killing intent until the situation is clear.”
Luo Han emphasized repeatedly.
His heart was heavy.
Because he had no idea what was happening over there.
He wasn’t stupid, sending Shasheng Hall disciples to their deaths over and over.
After the third disappearance, he had changed his strategy.
After Qiu Jian disappeared, he sent three waves of teams totaling fourteen people—all for reconnaissance.
And although the later three waves carried Broadcast Crystals, the crystals would always suddenly lose signal, transmitting no useful intelligence while cutting off contact with those seventeen disciples.
For this reason, he judged that there must be some strange shielding barrier and trapping Blood Array there, blocking signal transmission and holding them captive.
So the seventeen disciples were likely still alive, just trapped.
Which meant they had to be found.
And this time, he steeled himself and pulled out his treasured heirloom—the tongming baojing.
The tongming baojing’s effect was to pierce through any Formation Arts barrier and broadcast the scene on the other side in real time.
“Formation Arts? Hmph…”
This time, Luo Han would watch with wide eyes and see for himself what tricks that little broken Novice Village was hiding!