Chapter 49

Even if Shen Zheyan did not wish to admit that she was someone who would forget about past friendships, it was an inescapable fact that she had forgotten about Jun Zishu at the time.

Life in the Heavenly Spirit Sect was very peaceful. Her master and fellow disciples had also filled the void left by her dead parents and friends. Because of this peaceful life, she had been reluctant to recall the painful memories, so much so that she had forgotten about the girl who had escaped hell together with her.

"But I wonder who they offended? I feel a little unreconciled since they died before I got to kill them myself. Although I only know qinggong, I'm quite skilled when it comes to handling poison," Jun Zishu said with a hint of regret. She naturally knew that Shen Zheyan was responsible for killing those bandits. However, she needed to pretend that she wasn't aware of the truth.

"I did."

"Hm?"

"I did it. I said I would get revenge, so I did," Shen Zheyan said. When she parted ways with Jun Zishu, she had said that she would be learning martial arts to take revenge.

"Wow, so it was your doing, Big Sister Zheyan? That's great, then! Are you very skilled in martial arts now, Big Sister Zheyan? Is it true that you only need one strike to finish off your enemies?" Jun Zishu asked. She was honestly curious about the validity of this rumor.

"That's somewhat of an exaggeration. If my opponent is weak, I can indeed defeat them in one hit. However, it is a different story if my opponent is an expert."

"How did this rumor come about, then?" Jun Zishu asked, a look of interest on her face.

"I had only left the sect recently at the time, so I didn't think to conceal my aura. As a result, someone sensed my aura and came to challenge me. In response, I said one sentence to him."

"What did you say? Was it 'You are courting death?'"

"I only need one strike to kill you."

"Wow! You're so amazing! So, is that how you became Heavenly Spirit's One Sword?"

Shen Zheyan nodded. To be honest, she still didn't know why the martial world's people decided to put such a title on her. She also felt a little embarrassed to own such a title since she had yet to reach the peak of swordsmanship. If she came across an equally skilled opponent, she definitely wouldn't be able to defeat the other party in one strike. If she came across a powerful senior, she might even have to run away. After all, her life was much more important than her reputation.

"Alright, go get dressed," Shen Zheyan said. Then, she left the room and closed the door behind her.

Jun Zishu quickly got dressed and dexterously combed her hair with her fingers in front of the mirror. Then, she made her way downstairs for breakfast.

Jun Zishu didn't spend much time dressing up, so Shen Zheyan and Wei Zinan had only started eating recently when she arrived downstairs.

After the three had their breakfast, they didn't continue staying in town. Instead, they resumed their journey and traveled to their next destination.

After visiting the prosperous Jinling City, Shen Zheyan decided that their next destination would be Weishui City.

The journey to Weishui City was quite long, and there were no inns or tea houses available on the way. So, the three had no choice but to have rations for lunch. Then, when it was close to sunset, they found an open space to set up camp for the night.

"Wait here for us while we gather firewood and look for some animals to hunt," Shen Zheyan said to Jun Zishu.

However, Jun Zishu shook her head and said, "Do you still think I am a girl that needs to be taken care of, Big Sister?"

"You are still a little girl in my eyes," Shen Zheyan said as she rubbed Jun Zishu's head. In her opinion, Jun Zishu was still the same little girl who had a sweet and talkative mouth.

"I am much more capable than you think. Let's split up and search."

"Okay."

Subsequently, the three split up and made their way into the nearby forest.

Out of the three, Shen Zheyan was the first to return. She had a bountiful harvest, returning with some fruits, a rabbit, and a bird.

Shortly afterward, Wei Zinan returned as well. He returned with two bags of water and two fish skewered on sticks.

"It seems we'll be able to enjoy a good meal tonight," Wei Zinan said as he placed the gutted fish on some leaves.

Shen Zheyan nodded in agreement. Then, she grabbed some dry sticks and started making a fire.

"Why hasn't Miss Yan come back yet? Could she have gotten lost?" Wei Zinan asked after looking around and failing to see Jun Zishu's figure.

"I'm not sure. I'll go and take a look."

However, before Shen Zheyan could move her body, she heard Jun Zishu's voice coming from behind Wei Zinan.

"I'm back. Look what I caught?" Jun Zishu said as she shook the unconscious pheasant in her right hand. There were also some wild mushrooms stuffed in her sash.

Because of everyone's great harvest, dinner became a sumptuous feast. Jun Zishu also got to enjoy the pleasures of having a barbecue in the wild.

After dinner, the three started feeling sleepy, so they climbed up a nearby tree and slept on some large branches. As all three of them practiced martial arts, they wouldn't have to worry about falling down, either.

The fire Shen Zheyan made didn't last very long, going out shortly after the three went to sleep.

The night grew darker as time passed. The moon high up in the sky also had its beauty shrouded by some passing clouds, further reducing the illumination in the area.

Sleeping on a tree branch was by no means comfortable, so Jun Zishu remained in a half-conscious state throughout the entire time. Thus, when she heard the sound of footsteps and breathing, her eyes immediately snapped open. Then, she relied on the weak light source to see what was going on.

Jun Zishu quickly located the source of the footsteps. It was a man carrying a large sack on his back. Based on the way he moved, Jun Zishu judged that he should be a martial artist. However, this person wasn't as skilled as her. He shouldn't be a match for the other two, either. Even when he arrived below the tree they rested on, he remained wholly ignorant of their presence.

Jun Zishu also noticed that the object kept within the sack vaguely resembled the shape of a human. This object should be quite heavy since the man was panting for air despite being a martial artist.

At this time, Shen Zheyan and Wei Zinan also sensed the suspicious man's presence and woke up one after another. Then, the three of them tacitly concealed their presence and watched the man walk away, none of them speaking a word to each other. After the man disappeared into the distance, the three of them simultaneously jumped down from the tree.

"Should we follow him and take a look?" Wei Zinan asked.

"I didn't get a clear look of what he was carrying, but for him to appear at this place at such a time is strange no matter how I look at it," Shen Zheyan said, frowning. The lack of light in the area prevented her from getting a good look at the sack the man carried.

"I think it's a person. Let's catch up to him and find out," Jun Zishu said in a whisper, her heart beating with excitement.

Immediately, the trio executed their qinggong and followed after the suspicious man.

The suspicious man stopped walking after arriving at a relatively desolate area. Then, he placed the sack on the ground, pulled an iron shovel from a nearby bush, and started digging a hole in the ground.

This scene looked very much like a person burying a corpse, no matter how one looked at it. It wouldn't even be far-fetched to say that a murder had just taken place nearby.

After noticing what the suspicious man was doing, the trio hid behind some bushes and carefully observed the situation.

The suspicious man muttered something while digging.

Jun Zishu had excellent hearing. She had also developed her internal energy to a considerably high level. So, she could hear the man's mutterings loud and clear.

"Have a peaceful journey. Please don't come to me if you want revenge. I'm not the one responsible for killing you. I'm only responsible for burying you. If you want to blame someone, blame the master."

After mumbling to himself for some time, the man stopped speaking and worked in silence. Then, once he had dug a sufficiently large hole, he dropped the sack holding the suspected corpse into the hole and filled it with dirt again.

"Actually, you might be better off dead. You won't have to experience as many worries and sufferings after you're dead. Don't worry; you won't be lonely. There are other people to accompany you here. There might even be more in the future."

After filling the hole, the man stepped on the dirt to even it out. Then, he returned the shovel to its original position and left via his original route.

After the suspicious man had left the vicinity, Shen Zheyan gestured at Wei Zinan, to which Wei Zinan nodded and followed after the suspicious man. Meanwhile, Shen Zheyan and Jun Zishu left their cover.

"I thought you would apprehend that person just now, Big Sister."

"I planned to do so initially, but I later realized that I would only be alerting the mastermind if I did so. Also, it'll be dangerous if we corner him and he decides to fight back," Shen Zheyan said. Then, she grabbed the shovel the suspicious man had hidden and started digging the hole the man had filled.

Jun Zishu didn't have any tools with her, neither was she willing to dig with her hands. So, she decided to walk around and survey their surroundings.

[There are many dead bodies down below, Host.]

Little Fairy said in a soft and scared voice.

Where? How many?

[There's one right where you're standing. If you include the one the mission target is digging up right now, there are eight corpses in total. There are both male and female corpses.]

Got it.

Jun Zishu fell into thought. By the looks of the situation, it didn't seem like a simple murder. Judging by how proficient the suspicious man was at burying the body and hiding his shovel, he should've buried many bodies before. There was also the possibility that this wasn't his only location to get rid of corpses.

Shen Zheyan took around ten minutes to dig out the impromptu grave. Then, after looking at the sack in the hole, she jumped into the hole and cut open the sack.

Jun Zishu did not follow Shen Zheyan into the hole. Instead, she stood by the edge and watched.

Normally, a dead person should give off a particular type of stench. However, Jun Zishu did not smell that kind of stench coming from the sack.

When Shen Zheyan cut open the sack and moved the fabric aside, Jun Zishu gulped and relied on the moonlight to get a clear look at the corpse. Immediately afterward, her eyes widened in shock.

The corpse belonged to a young person. However, Jun Zishu couldn't tell whether the corpse was male or female. This was because the corpse was just wrinkled skin and bones. The corpse looked shriveled, horrifying, and disgusting.

"This…"

"What a strange death."

"It looks like someone drained the blood from the body."

Jun Zishu and Shen Zheyan exchanged glances, both of them understanding the severity of the matter.

"It seems we've come across something big," Shen Zheyan said. Then, she covered up the corpse, jumped out of the hole, and started filling it again.

Meanwhile, Jun Zishu started pondering which evil sect was responsible for this deed. Even the Demon Cult wouldn't dare pull such an atrocious practice.

After Shen Zheyan filled up the hole, she and Jun Zishu started running in the direction that the suspicious man had left in.

"Should we meddle in this affair?" Jun Zishu asked.

"Of course. How can we stand still and do nothing after witnessing this atrocious crime? It must be the doing of an evil monster. If we let this monster roam free, who knows how many more people will be harmed?"

"Okay. I never thought I would get into such an exciting situation so soon," Jun Zishu said. She was already looking forward to solving this crime. After all, battling evil was the best way to improve her relationship with Shen Zheyan.

After running for some time, Jun Zishu and Shen Zheyan eventually arrived at the outskirts of a city. When they arrived, they also found Wei Zinan waiting for them.

"He went in through the side entrance. I can't get in."

"Did you see what he looked like?"

"I did."

"Good. We'll enter the city in the morning."