Chapter 197: Lian Fang

As they got close, MingYue spread her qi, showing her cultivation level, while she said loudly, "I am not here for a fight; I am looking for someone."

A voice then came from around her, "This place is our territory; who are you looking for?"

"A middle-aged cultivator, a woman with black hair but a few strands of white hair, with blue eyes," MingYue replied, then added more details about her Master, including her cultivation realm, at the nascent soul stage and her name, Xue Fang.

"I heard she is dying now; do you know anything about this woman? If you can come close, I can show you her picture."

A deafening silence surrounded the area.

Despite the name, the place looked more like a forest. MingYue focused her gaze on one of the areas, waiting for the response.

She also prepared to take out her weapon at any time in case things turned into combat.

Moments passed until, finally, a silhouette came out from the forest. To MingYue's surprise, the one that came out was a child. She had red hair and eyes, with a height barely reaching MingYue's waist. Her small body was wrapped in a cloak with some cloud patterns drawn on it.

The cloak was black, while the clouds were colored blue. Behind her, two adult figures were hidden in cloaks with the same pattern as the woman, but these cloaks also hid their faces.

But Mingyue didn't dare to underestimate her since, despite her appearance, it was clear she was experienced in fighting.

She didn't show any openings, and the two figures behind her didn't give out any life force.

'MingYue, they are the puppet clan I have talked about before,' Linhua said in MingYue's mind.

'You said they were evil before, why?'

'Because their puppet is made with a human corpse.'

"You say you are looking for Xue Fang? Show us her picture," the woman said with a childish voice.

MingYue took a phone from her storage ring and then showed the photo of her Master. Technically, she didn't have it; this was made by Vesa.

It was like a photorealistic drawing using MingYue's memory.

Seeing the picture, the woman was clearly intrigued by the phone, but she didn't make any remark about it. Instead, she says, "My name is Lian Fang. The woman in there is my aunt; who are you to her?"

Hearing this, MingYue's eyes turned sharp, showing her hostility.

Swish! Swish!

A few more silhouettes came out from the forest, surrounding MingYue. There were a dozen people, but MingYue could only feel the life force from a few of them.

"My Master doesn't have a family. Who are you?" Sёarch* The Nôvel(F)ire.nёt website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

Lian Fang raised her hand, giving a signal for them not to attack yet. "That should be my question; the only disciple my aunt had already died."

MingYue looked at Lian Fang, looking at her carefully; she could see some of her Master's features in her. They had the same eye color, with similar sharp jawlines and pointed noses.

She could also see, based on Vesa's information, that Lian Fang was feeling confused and wary toward her, raising the odds she was telling the truth. But MingYue still did not drop her guard.

She then remembered her Master had given her something in the past, a black sphere. Xue Fang told her to infuse it with qi if she was in danger; it was one of her life-saving treasures that she had forgotten for a while after getting new abilities from Vesa.

MingYue then took out the sphere in her hand and asked, "Do you recognize the sphere?"

Lian Fang squinted her eyes, looking at the sphere; she recognized it as one of the products from her family. But she still needed to make sure; she opened her palm, gesturing for MingYue to give it to her.

MingYue hesitated for a moment but then decided to throw the sphere; she needed to make sure of the situation.

She didn't want to accidentally hurt her Master's family, and she was also not sure if she could win or not; despite being in a higher cultivation realm, with regeneration and many techniques, she didn't know what capabilities the puppet had.

If it were only poison, it wouldn't matter to her, as she should be immune to almost all poison in this world.

Lian Fang caught the sphere and started scrutinizing it. After a few more glances, she threw it back to Mingyue, then raised her hand, creating a few gestures.

The people that surrounded MingYue then jumped back into the forest. MingYue could see from Vesa's map they were separating into a few groups, seemingly patrolling the area.

"You don't seem to be lying, but as I said, my aunt only had one disciple, and she has died. So the only possible reason is you are somehow related to her and were there when she died.

Your cultivation level also doesn't make sense for being her disciple."

"Just bring me to meet with her then; she will recognize me. It's not like you can verify whether I am her or not."

"You are right, but I cannot just bring you to our village; you are too strong."

"Then what do you propose?"

"Let's wait here," Lian Fang replied as one of the figures behind her leaped, disappearing toward the forest.

Looking carefully now, MingYue realized their movement was not something she could underestimate.

If they fought, she was sure the puppet could hold up to her speed, but it was still unknown how durable their bodies were.

"I heard Master is hurt now. Isn't that true?"

"It's just a rumor; it's something we spread so her sect wouldn't question her much when she comes here."

MingYue frowned; at first, she didn't understand why her Master had hidden where she came from, even from her. Telling everyone she didn't have a family, but then she realized it was the same situation as with the BaiYue sect.

This Fang Family was probably one of the ancient clans hiding in the shadows from everyone else to protect their techniques and peace.