Sister

The stall owner hurriedly wiped his face, stood up, and bowed as he explained.

The townspeople nearby would occasionally chime in with tearful additions.

Listening to their disjointed accounts, Song Yao finally understood why this small town looked so bleak and desolate.

The town was called Shao City. Although it was located not far from Black Cloud Mountain, it produced a certain spiritual plant. They had reached an agreement with some of the evil cultivators on Black Cloud Mountain; normally, as long as they paid a tribute and protection fee, the cultivators wouldn't make things too difficult for them.

However, about six months ago, the evil cultivators on Black Cloud Mountain suddenly turned on them. Under the cover of darkness, they stormed into Shao City and abducted most of the children and young people.

Overnight, Shao City was turned upside down.

Not only that, but to keep the townspeople quiet, they even set up a barrier around Shao City, preventing them from leaving as they pleased, and forced them to sell their spiritual plants at extremely low prices.

It wasn't until recently that the barrier around Shao City suddenly dissolved. Yet, the townspeople still had no way of entering Black Cloud Mountain to rescue their families, so they had no choice but to seek help from a nearby sect.

But what kind of place was Black Cloud Mountain? Even the three major sects hesitated to surround and eradicate it, let alone a small, minor sect.

After getting rejected by the small sect, several townspeople, led by the City Master, traveled thousands of miles to seek help from the nearest major sect, Taiqing Pavilion.

To their dismay, before they could even step through the mountain gate, the City Master was casually slapped aside by a passing Taiqing Pavilion inspection disciple. The disciple had sneered that the Young Master's grand wedding was just around the corner, warning them not to disturb the Young Master and the Pavilion Master with such depressing matters.

He had even ordered them to behave themselves and stay quietly in Shao City. Otherwise, forget about the missing people—everyone in Shao City would lose their lives.

To this day, the City Master remained heavily injured and had yet to recover.

Since Shao City lay within Taiqing Pavilion's territory, after being treated this way, they didn't dare seek help from the other two major sects. They could only swallow their anger and return home.

Song Yao frowned deeply as she listened.

It seemed that Ye Chongguang had started plotting to abduct people for puppet refinement a very long time ago.

The people taken from Shao City were likely the first batch. The technique back then was probably immature and difficult to control, turning them into mindless walking corpses that bit anyone they saw.

She recalled that there were many caves on Black Cloud Mountain. Back then, they had only rescued two groups of children, and she had no idea how many survivors were left.

She would have to go back and take a look later.

With this thought, she looked at the townspeople still kneeling before her, refusing to stand up.

No wonder she hadn't sensed much demonic presence in this small town, yet the resentment here was so thick it rivaled the demon realm.

This resentment was actually radiating from the thousands of townspeople themselves.

The stall owner added, “Moreover... ever since we went to Taiqing Pavilion, their immortal masters have come to threaten us, forbidding us from leaving Shao City even a single step. They said if we cause trouble at such a critical juncture, they definitely won't spare us.”

Beside him, a white-haired old woman still held a sliver of hope. “However, the immortal master also said that once the Young Master and the Saintess are married, they will definitely find a way to attack Black Cloud Mountain and retrieve the people who were taken!”

“I think that immortal master was just placating us!” a nearby youth immediately shot back. “If they really wanted to help us, why would they have beaten the City Master so badly? And besides, some time ago, so many evil entities escaped from Black Cloud Mountain. All the guards in the city were injured and still haven't recovered. Yet those immortal masters won't even let us step past the city gates, nor will they let us seek a doctor.”

Song Yao let out a soft exclamation of surprise.

How tyrannical.

She glanced toward the city gates. “But isn't there no one guarding the outside right now?”

The gloom on the stall owner's face deepened. “There is indeed no one guarding it these past two days, but the immortal master spread the word. Once the doctors and medical cultivators in the neighboring cities heard we were from Shao City, they all shut their doors to us.”

Song Yao clicked her tongue.

These immortal masters of Taiqing Pavilion truly ruled with an iron fist.

With just a casual order, they were practically driving an entire town's population to their deaths.

Her lips twitched slightly as she stood up.

Wen Tang rose to her feet alongside her.

Song Yao looked toward the center of the town, where the resentment was thickest, and asked, “Would it be convenient for us to meet your City Master?”

The townspeople looked at one another in silence, none of them answering.

Finally, the youth who had spoken up earlier said, “Follow me. The City Master is my older sister. I'll take you to her.”

“Alright.”

The townspeople parted to make way, watching the three of them head toward the center of the town.

Someone muttered anxiously, “Can... can we really trust them? She said she's from Nine Saints Hall. Didn't they say Nine Saints Hall colludes with evil entities and practices unorthodox paths...?”

The stall owner said numbly, “Isn't Taiqing Pavilion an orthodox sect? The orthodox path hasn't exactly helped us either. At this point, things can't get any worse.”

...

The youth led the way.

Song Yao followed behind with her hands clasped behind her back, looking left and right.

Many places in the town had been smashed to pieces in a display of sheer violence. However, judging by the residual sword qi, it wasn't the work of puppets, but rather the “immortal masters” they had mentioned.

No real ability, yet they certainly put on grand airs.

As they walked, the red thread around her ankle was suddenly tugged gently, letting out a crisp chime from the bell.

Song Yao finally remembered that she was still accompanied by a little ancestor, and felt a bit surprised.

They had originally agreed to just go down the mountain to buy some medicine. Now that they had gotten sidetracked and involved in other matters, Wen Tang actually hadn't gotten angry yet.

She turned her head and beat Wen Tang to the punch. “I'm just going to take a look. I won't do anything.”

Wen Tang swept a cool gaze over her, clearly not believing a single word she said.

Liar.

A liar's mouth should be sealed forever.

She pursed her lips, ignoring Song Yao's reflex explanation, and said, “I am not your younger sister.”

Song Yao blinked, not catching her meaning at first. Only after a moment did she remember that she had told the stall owner Wen Tang was her younger sister to gain his trust.

The two of them indeed didn't look much like sisters.

She said with a grin, “What's wrong? A junior sister is still a sister.”

Wen Tang corrected her, “You are the Seventh Junior Sister.”

Song Yao cast another glance at her, finding it amusing. “Don't tell me you want to be the older sister?”

A red thread flew out from Wen Tang's sleeve, wrapping around Song Yao's wrist in the next second. “Yes. I am the older sister.”

Song Yao found this incredibly amusing.

This half-grown kid was actually claiming to be the older sister.

Still, she couldn't help but take a closer look at her.

In her memory, Wen Tang had always clung to her side like a child. Now, she was so powerful, her height had shot up, and her once slightly childish face had grown more defined, carrying an air of nobility and maturity.

No wonder she wanted to be the senior sister.

Song Yao had a good temper these days and would play along with whatever others said. Tugging back on the red thread, she leaned in closer, her eyes curving like crescents as she called out, “Alright, alright, older sister it is. Thank you for accompanying me out today, Sister Wen Tang.”

Wen Tang: “...”

Having said her piece, Song Yao let go of the thread and strolled halfway down the street. When she turned back, Wen Tang was still standing far behind in the exact same spot, completely frozen.

Song Yao called out to the youth leading the way to stop, then jogged back and leaned right up to her again. “What's wrong, Sister? What's wrong, what's wrong, what's wrong?”

Wen Tang's entire face tensed up. It took her a long while before she finally managed to squeeze out, “Don't call me that anymore.”