Chapter 108

Chapter 108: Another City

The three of them looked grim. Whether Yun Xi’s guess could be confirmed or not, it wasn’t good news for them.

“There’s no time to waste,” Mu Ning Zhu said decisively. “Let’s go check another city gate first.”

The four of them walked out of their room and immediately ran into Zhou Lang Chen. He looked like he had just come back from outside.

Yun Xi’s eyes flicked. She exchanged a quick look with her companions, then stepped forward and cupped her hands. “Daoist Zhou, how did you rest in the upper room last night? Have your injuries recovered?”

Zhou Lang Chen clearly froze. He said in a low voice, “I only got off the flying ship early this morning. I haven’t been staying here long. What do you mean, ‘rested for a night’?”

Yun Xi didn’t answer him. She simply asked again, “Daoist Zhou, do you remember that we gave you this upper room?”

Zhou Lang Chen frowned. “The last upper room was reserved by Daoist Zuo for double the spirit stones. How did it become something you ‘gave’ me?”

Yun Xi turned her head and looked at the other three. That settled it—he had also had one day of memory erased.

She felt tired, as if she were the only sober person in a world full of drunks. Yun Xi cupped her hands in farewell, went back to her companions, and spread her palms to show that even the one “familiar face” had been affected.

Mu Ning Zhu’s feelings were complicated, but she couldn’t exactly explain it to Daoist Zhou. They weren’t close. She waved for the other three to follow. She still wanted to confirm things again.

This time, the one blocking their path was Zhou Lang Chen.

“Fellow Daoists, would you be willing to come to my room and talk? Something feels wrong. I might have some clues.”

Mu Ning Zhu didn’t refuse. Zhou Lang Chen followed them into their room.

Once the five of them sat down, Zhou Lang Chen introduced himself, then said, “I was originally going to head to my next training location. But when the flying ship stopped here, I received a message from my sect.”

He spoke slowly and clearly. “It said that a disciple of the Famed Sword Sect went missing in Twin Mountain City. After that, disciples who came here to search for them also lost contact.”

“Not long after, the sect received a distress signal. It came from Twin Mountain City. I used my sect jade token to sense it just now, and the location of the distress signal is near the City Lord’s Residence.”

“I heard that the heir of the City Lord’s Residence is hosting a Dao companion ceremony, so I planned to enter and investigate under the name of the Famed Sword Sect.”

The moment Mu Ning Zhu heard the word “missing,” she knew it wasn’t simple.

Yun Xi’s mind also raced. She felt the two matters might be connected.

After Zhou Lang Chen finished, he looked at their expressions. “From what you said earlier, it seems you’ve discovered something. Could you tell me? It might help me find my missing fellow disciples.”

Yun Xi looked at Mu Ning Zhu. As the leader of their group, it was Mu Ning Zhu’s call whether to share their discovery with Zhou Lang Chen.

Mu Ning Zhu narrowed her eyes, thought for a moment, then nodded at Yun Xi.

Yun Xi cleared her throat and explained how they had all lost one day of memory. The other three confirmed it.

Zhou Lang Chen took a deep breath. He was convinced the two events were linked. It was very likely that the missing disciples of the Famed Sword Sect had suffered the same thing. And among those missing people, someone like Yun Xi might have kept their memory—then been seized by the City Lord’s Residence.

Zhou Lang Chen rubbed his fingers. “I’ll leave the city with you and see if whoever is behind this makes a move.”

“We were just about to leave,” Mu Ning Zhu said. “We only asked you because we saw you and wanted to confirm again.”

Mu Ning Zhu stood up at once, and their group of four became five.

They reached another gate of Twin Mountain City without trouble. A patrolling cultivator asked why they were leaving. He even brought up the Dao companion ceremony happening in two days, suggesting they watch it before going.

Zhou Lang Chen cupped his hands. “We naturally would love to attend such a good event. But we received a message from our sect ordering us to return immediately, so we can only miss this grand occasion.”

“That’s a shame.” The patroller looked regretful, but he didn’t stop them. “Then I won’t delay you. If you have the chance, I hope you’ll come to Twin Mountain City again.”

After parting, the patrol continued his rounds.

The five of them exchanged glances and headed for the exit.

Outside the gate, there were still cultivators lining up to enter the city. Everything looked normal.

The five of them walked loosely together, but all of them were on alert.

After they had left the gate and walked some distance, Yun Xi frowned at the plaque that read “Twin Mountain City” and muttered, “Did we guess wrong?”

Mu Ning Zhu let out a breath. “As long as we can get out, it’s fine. Once we’re back, we’ll report this strange situation to the sect. For now, we leave first.”

“Okay!” Yun Xi answered quickly.

Only Zhou Lang Chen didn’t move. He had come here to find missing fellow disciples. Without finding anything, he couldn’t just leave.

Zhou Lang Chen cupped his hands. “You can leave first. I still need to go back into the city and check—”

He didn’t finish. Array patterns suddenly lit up under their feet. In the next instant, the five of them vanished from where they stood, and no one around noticed at all.

The moment the array patterns flashed, Yun Xi knew it was bad. They were teleported right away.

But when the light faded, they found that they were still standing where they had been.

Only now, the gate of Twin Mountain City was completely empty. There were no cultivators lining up to enter, and there were no guards collecting spirit stones at all. The surroundings were so quiet it felt terrifying.

“What is this?” Qin Tong Shuang tightened her grip on her sword. “Are we still in Twin Mountain City?”

The others also held their weapons tightly, scanning their surroundings.

Yun Xi released her divine sense, and her expression grew stranger by the second.

After Zhou Lang Chen looked around, he said, “Let’s go into the city. Maybe we can find the reason.”

Zhang Yan said instead, “We should get as far away from here as possible.”

Mu Ning Zhu stared at the white fog around them. She doubted they could truly leave, but if they didn’t try, no one would give up.

Yun Xi patted her storage pouch and took out the two red cords. She handed one to Mu Ning Zhu, then turned and tied herself to Qin Tong Shuang. If something happened, at least she wouldn’t be alone.

Once Mu Ning Zhu understood what the cord did, she tied herself to Zhang Yan. Then she said to Zhou Lang Chen, “Daoist Zhou, we’re going to try leaving. If we don’t return after the time it takes an incense stick to burn, you can go into the city and investigate.”

Zhou Lang Chen answered honestly, “I think you won’t be able to leave. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have used a teleportation array to send us here. I’ll wait for you here.”

Qin Tong Shuang cupped her hands. “What you said makes sense, but we still have to try. Otherwise, we won’t be satisfied.”

She tugged Yun Xi and led the way into the white fog. Mu Ning Zhu also cupped her hands to Zhou Lang Chen, then followed with Zhang Yan into the fog.

Zhou Lang Chen felt like he was being excluded, but he trusted his judgment.

Sure enough, a quarter of an hour later, Yun Xi and Qin Tong Shuang walked out of the white fog. Zhou Lang Chen was still waiting where he had been, and he said in a low voice, “You were gone for a quarter of an hour.”

Right after that, Mu Ning Zhu and Zhang Yan also came out of the fog.

Qin Tong Shuang still refused to accept it. She tugged Yun Xi and went back into the fog again, trying twice more. Each time, the result was the same.