Chapter 328

Chapter 328: Fine, you go down!
Yu Zhao’s eyes flashed.

[It matches.]

[So they really are two different groups.]

She asked, “Can you find out how the two Palace Masters died?”

The Daoist in charge shook his head.

Yu Zhao stood up and said, “Last question. Which direction did the people who slaughtered Black Tortoise Hall go?”

The Daoist was startled, “Fellow Daoist Yu, those people are very dangerous.”

“I know.”

Seeing how firm Yu Zhao’s attitude was, the Daoist hesitated for a moment, then carved the route those people took when they retreated into a Jade Slip and handed it to her.

Yu Zhao thanked him, then gave Ji Han Zhou a look.

The two of them left the room one after the other.

“Fellow Daoist Yu…”

The Daoist chased after them, wanting to say more, but Yu Zhao’s voice reached him first.

“My grudge with Shadow Pavilion is wiped clean.”

The Daoist wiped a cold sweat from his forehead and let out a long breath.

He finally understood why the Pavilion Master had gone to such lengths to ease relations with Yu Zhao.

Barely in her twenties, yet she was even harder to deal with than some old monsters who had cultivated for hundreds of years.

Truly terrifying.

Yu Zhao and Ji Han Zhou took advantage of the night to leave the city. They stopped by the roadside, and Yu Zhao tossed the Jade Slip to Ji Han Zhou.

Ji Han Zhou took the Jade Slip, swept his divine sense over it, and said firmly, “Senior Sister Yu, I want to go.”

Yu Zhao smiled, “Then we’ll go.”

Neither of them were the type to hesitate and overthink. Once they made up their minds, they immediately followed the route marked in the Jade Slip.

Along the way, Yu Zhao and Ji Han Zhou kept trying to gather clues. But either that group had cleaned up too well, or every one of them was a master at hiding their tracks. The two of them found nothing at all.

Even worse, by the next day, the route recorded in the Jade Slip came to an end.

That group’s whereabouts became a mystery once more.

This time Yu Zhao did not speak first. She simply watched Ji Han Zhou quietly.

Ji Han Zhou instantly felt an invisible pressure, like he had returned to Heavenly Sword Sect and was being tested by the Sect Master.

He thought it over, then slowly said, “They did not leave any clues, but they were still a large group. Maybe some cultivators nearby saw them by accident. We can go find a few cultivators and ask around.”

After he finished, he looked at Yu Zhao nervously.

Only when Yu Zhao nodded did he finally relax.

“When you ask around, don’t just ask if anyone has passed by. Also ask if anything strange has happened recently, like sects being wiped out or corpses going missing.”

Since it was an organized group, the massacre at Black Tortoise Hall might not be their only crime.

Ji Han Zhou nodded, “On the way here just now, I noticed signs of cultivators moving in the west.”

So the two of them changed direction and headed west.

They had gone only a few dozen li when a crisp knocking sound rang out ahead.

Yu Zhao lifted the corner of her eyes.

The next moment, a long, gentle Buddhist chant brushed past their ears.

It was like a soft breeze smoothing out restless thoughts. Their hearts inexplicably calmed down.

Ji Han Zhou’s eyes showed admiration.

There had to be a High Monk up ahead who deeply understood the Buddhist Dharma.

But he soon realized he was wrong.

And not just a little wrong.

Monk Bu Yan stumbled out of the forest, cursing under his breath while holding a wooden fish mallet thicker than Ji Han Zhou’s arm.

As soon as he looked up, his gaze met Ji Han Zhou’s stunned face and Yu Zhao’s smiling one.

Bu Yan froze for a moment, then quickly shrank the wooden fish mallet and stuffed it back into his monk’s robes. His face shifted into his familiar, compassionate smile.

“So it is two old friends. This poor monk greets you both.”

“Monk Bu Yan.”

Yu Zhao returned the greeting with a smile.

Running into Bu Yan here was a pleasant surprise.

Ji Han Zhou’s expression was strange as he asked, “Monk Bu Yan, just now in the forest, you were…”

Bu Yan answered calmly, “This poor monk was transcending the dead, sending them on to the Pure Land of Bliss.”

Ji Han Zhou was silent.

[Well… that is not exactly wrong.]

Yu Zhao asked, “Monk Bu Yan, are you traveling alone?”

Bu Yan gave a slight smile, “Life itself is a path of cultivation. Everywhere is a cultivation ground.”

Ji Han Zhou looked at Yu Zhao, confused, “What does that mean?”

Yu Zhao explained with a straight face, “The abbot of Clarity Sound Temple thought he was too noisy and kicked him out.”

Bu Yan’s eyes turned resentful as his gaze moved between the two of them. “Then why are you two here?”

Ji Han Zhou told him about the tragedy at Black Tortoise Hall. As he spoke, Bu Yan’s brows drew together, and his fingers moved quickly over his prayer beads.

“So you came here to track their movements?”

Ji Han Zhou nodded gloomily, “We were going to ask around to see if anyone had seen them, but now we don’t need to.”

Everyone had already been transcended.

[Who am I supposed to ask, ghosts?]

“This poor monk can point the way for you and do a small part to help.”

Bu Yan pressed his palms together and bowed to the two of them, his expression solemn.

Yu Zhao and Ji Han Zhou were both startled.

“Bu Yan, you know where they went?” Yu Zhao asked.

“This poor monk does not know, but this poor monk can ask.”

“Ask? Who are you going to ask? Besides ghosts, who else here could answer you?” Ji Han Zhou muttered.

Bu Yan smiled and said, “Junior Brother Ji is right. It is exactly those wronged spirits that I wish to ask.”

He asked again for the exact location of Black Tortoise Gate and the time of the incident, then lowered his eyes and began to chant scriptures.

The ethereal Buddhist chant echoed through the forest again. Time seemed to slow down. Everything around them became strangely quiet. Only the soft rustling of leaves and the light chirping of birds could be heard from time to time.

Soon, thin mist like wisps of smoke rose up around them. The wisps gathered together, forming a hazy figure. They could faintly make out the shape of a young woman.

Ji Han Zhou’s eyes went wide.

[He really called a ghost over?]

Bu Yan stopped chanting and met the shadow’s gaze. His lips moved soundlessly.

The shadow spun a few circles in the air, then flew straight toward the north.

“Follow her. She will lead us to her body.”

They did not need Bu Yan’s reminder. Yu Zhao and Ji Han Zhou had already taken off after the ghost.

At first the shadow flew slowly, but the closer they got to their destination, the faster it moved.

They looked around at the desolate surroundings. All three of them thought the ghost would lead them to the hideout of those killers. Instead, it led them up a jagged peak and finally stopped at the edge of a cliff.

Ji Han Zhou asked suspiciously, “Did it take the wrong path?”

Bu Yan was just about to answer when the shadow took a step forward and dropped straight off the cliff.

Ji Han Zhou moved forward on instinct, wanting to stand on the edge and see what was below. Yu Zhao grabbed him by the back of his collar and hauled him back.

“Don’t go over there. There’s something strange down below.”

Ji Han Zhou did not understand, but Bu Yan nodded in agreement at her side, “She is right. There is something strange down there.”

The spirit remnant he had summoned had not jumped down willingly. It had been dragged down by an invisible force.

No one knew what lay under the cliff. They had to act with caution.

Yu Zhao and Bu Yan met each other’s eyes and said at the same time, “I will go down and scout.”

Watching how in sync the two of them were, Ji Han Zhou felt like a vat of vinegar had been overturned in his heart, sour and uncomfortable.

For some reason he could not explain, he stiffened his neck and shouted unwilling to lose, “I can go down too!”

Yu Zhao and Bu Yan looked at each other again.

Then they nodded together and turned to Ji Han Zhou.

“Fine, you go down,” they said.

Ji Han Zhou was stunned.