Chapter 51 Silver Moon Wolf

Chapter 51 Silver Moon Wolf

Seeing that they were about to leave with the black-cloaked cultivator, Yuan Shenxing quickly spoke up: "Senior, my natal spirit beast has been stolen by him. The compass shows that it is in this courtyard."

He initially thought it was on the black-cloaked cultivator, but the compass stopped moving after entering the room. He extended his divine sense to search for it, but it was bounced back by the magic array's restrictions.

Limited by his own abilities, he had no choice but to ask his seniors for help.

Ruan Qingzhu glanced at him in surprise, but her anger subsided somewhat. This person had come to find his natal spirit beast, so his impulsive actions just now were understandable.

They are both victims; the real culprits are others.

Thinking of this, Ruan Qingzhu looked at the black-cloaked cultivator with disgust. She could roughly guess his identity; he was probably a black-hearted dealer who cheated and swindled spirit beasts to make a profit or even get spirit stones for free.

The little monkey wasn't the first target, but it would definitely be the last; she was certain the black-cloaked monk wouldn't escape.

Shi Hua's gaze shifted slightly, landing on the spirit beast dealer's face, and she said coolly, "Did you hear that? If you keep playing dead like this, I'll make sure you really die."

The black-cloaked cultivator shivered, opened his eyes abruptly, stood up, bowed, and replied meekly, "I dare not disobey your words, senior. I will return his spirit beast immediately."

Lou Yuqing crossed her arms and watched as the spirit beast dealer struggled to make a hand seal, then pointed at the ground. More than a dozen white rays of light surged up, almost filling the entire courtyard.

Within the white light, the shadows of various spirit beasts were enveloped. Yuan Shenxing saw one of the familiar shadows and was overwhelmed with excitement. Almost the instant the white light disappeared, he rushed to the shadow, hugged it tightly, and tears welled up in his eyes.

"Zhizhi!"

Yuan Shenxing choked up and said, "You've lost weight. It's all my fault for being late. You were tortured by bad people for so long. I will definitely protect you from now on and not let you get hurt."

Lou Yuqing looked at the black vine fluttering in his arms, which looked like a ferocious claw, and couldn't help but fall into deep thought: Is this thing a proper spirit beast?

Just as she was bewildered, she heard Elder Shi Hua's slightly joyful voice: "Silver Moon Wolf?"

Wolf?

Lou Yuqing examined the black vine from head to toe, her doubts growing rather than diminishing. This was clearly a vine; it didn't resemble a wolf at all.

Ruan Qingzhu also looked bewildered. She usually focused on cultivation, and although she had raised a little monkey as a spirit beast, she knew very little about other spirit beasts. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to call her a novice cultivator.

Shi Hua smiled faintly: "The Silver Moon Wolf is proficient in illusions, so it's normal that you can't see it. However, its illusions don't work on me. This ink vine is actually its illusion."

After saying that, she flicked her finger at the Ink Vine, and a ray of azure spiritual energy shot out and landed on it. The next moment, the Ink Vine disappeared and turned into a small wolf with a sky-blue body.

The little wolf had a silver-white crescent mark on its forehead, and its eyes shone brightly with a cunning glint. Its four limbs were planted on the ground, and its soft fur was blown by the breeze, exuding an extraordinary aura.

Everyone's eyes lit up.

Ruan Qingzhu's anger completely dissipated. What kind of bad person could raise such a spirit beast? Besides, Yuan Shenxing didn't do it on purpose and even expressed his remorse to her.

Yuan Shenxing was unaware that his natal spirit beast had extinguished a woman's anger. He brought the Silver Moon Wolf to Shi Hua and bowed, saying, "Thank you for your help, Senior."

His tone was much calmer now, and he wasn't sobbing like before.

Shi Hua looked at Yuan Shenxing and said meaningfully, "I didn't expect you to have formed a contract with this clan's spirit beast. Fortunately, it used the illusion technique, otherwise, given its value, this spirit beast dealer would have sold it long ago, and finding it again would be like looking for a needle in a haystack."

Upon hearing this, Yuan Shenxing also showed a look of relief. Fortunately, Zhizhi usually liked to transform herself into an ink vine. Such a high-level illusion technique could only be seen through by a spirit beast dealer whose spiritual sense was a level higher.

On the other side, the black-cloaked cultivator's face turned green. It turned out that there was a hidden gem among his litter of spirit beasts. Although the spirit stones sold by the Silver Moon Wolf were not as high as those of the Spirit Ape, it was still a huge fortune.

The thought of missing such a good opportunity made him want to vomit blood. If he had discovered the Silver Moon Wolf among the spirit beasts earlier and sold it for a high price to leave this place, he wouldn't have targeted the Wendao Sect's spirit monkey this time, which led to him falling into the hands of their elders.

The more the black-cloaked monk thought about it, the more his chest ached.

He hated Ruan Qingzhu, he hated Yuan Shenxing, and he hated Manager Chen the most. He had ordered that idiot to keep a close eye on Ruan Qingzhu and the spirit monkey's whereabouts. But that idiot had just lured the Enforcement Hall out!

"puff!"

The black-cloaked monk coughed up a mouthful of blood and collapsed weakly back to the ground.

The crowd was taken aback by what they saw, but seeing that he wouldn't die anytime soon, they didn't bother with him. They wouldn't feel any sympathy for such a wicked person no matter how much blood he vomited.

"Awooo!" "Woo!" "Buzz!"

"Elder Shi Hua, what should we do with the spirit beasts here?" Lou Yuqing looked at the courtyard full of spirit beasts, her ears filled with all kinds of cries, and her lips twitched involuntarily.

Shi Hua pondered for a moment and said, "Judging by the time, Hou Ming's enforcement disciples should be arriving soon. When they arrive, have him interrogate them to find out where each spirit beast came from, and then hand them over to the city lord of Ping'an City. He will find the owner and return them to them."

As for whether the city lord will agree?

Shi Hua smiled; he dared to refuse and see what happened.

If this matter only concerns the Wendao Sect, they can certainly take it on themselves. However, since the number of spirit beasts involves so many people, the City Lord of Ping'an City must lend a hand; otherwise, wouldn't the Wendao Sect be working for nothing?

Lou Yuqing nodded upon hearing this.

After a stick of incense had burned, streaks of colorful light flew across the sky, and soon, law enforcement disciples dressed in uniform appeared before everyone.

"Uncle-Master, Xiao Lou, what brings you here?" Kui Houming saw Shi Hua's Nine Heavens Azure Phoenix from afar and guessed that Shi Hua had appeared here. Now that he saw it, Xiao Lou was also there.

Shi Hua nodded slightly.

Lou Yuqing exclaimed with delight, "Captain Wei, you've finally arrived! Here's what happened: we discovered Ruan Qingzhu was missing, and then..."

She explained the whole process in detail, then pointed at the black-cloaked cultivator and said, "Captain Wei, please pry his mouth open. Elder Shi Hua said that once there is a result, we will hand the matter over to the city lord, since this town is under the jurisdiction of Ping'an City."

Kui Houming smiled at her: "No problem."

After saying that, he turned to face the disciples in charge of law enforcement, his expression immediately becoming serious: "You all go and control the spirit beast first, then check if anyone is around. If anyone is eavesdropping, drive them all away."

The disciples of the law enforcement unit answered in unison: "Yes!"

Seeing that they were carrying out his orders in an orderly manner, Wei Houming nodded to himself. After so many years of training, the results were already quite obvious.

He dragged the black-cloaked monk into the hall, closed the door, and began to interrogate him.

Lou Yuqing's ears twitched, but she couldn't hear anything. She couldn't help but sigh. Captain Wei had actually used a soundproof barrier spell.

Actually, she really wanted to see it for herself, but Captain Wei had always refused, having previously rejected her on the grounds that she was an observer rather than a law enforcement disciple.

What she didn't know was that this reason was just an excuse for Wei Houming. What he was really worried about was what would happen if Xiaolou saw such a violent and bloody scene and had nightmares about it.

"Xiaozhu," Mr. and Mrs. Ruan called softly.

"Father, Mother."

Ruan Qingzhu shed two lines of clear tears and hugged them, crying bitterly. After a long while, she raised her head, her eyes red like a rabbit's: "Father and Mother, I'm sending you home. It's your unfilial daughter who has caused you this disaster."

"What are you saying? We've suffered half our lives. If it weren't for you, we'd still be toiling away in the fields. You need to take care of yourself from now on. We can't help you with any of this fighting and killing."

Ruan's parents did not blame Ruan Qingzhu; on the contrary, they felt very sorry for her.

Ruan Qingzhu's tears fell again, and she sobbed, "Don't worry, I'll be fine. The sect has treated me very well. If anything happens in the future, the sect will protect me. But you've all aged a lot. I'll find a doctor to take a look at you before I send you away."

The world of cultivation is not a place to stay for long. Since parents are mortals, it is better for them to live in the mortal world.

Watching the three figures disappear into the distance, Yuan Shenxing also took his leave. He wanted to get to Wendao Sect as soon as possible, which would speed up his journey and perhaps allow him to arrive before dark.

Shi Hua nodded: "Go ahead."

Lou Yuqing watched as Yuan Shenxing flipped onto the back of the Silver Moon Wolf. A flash of blue light disappeared in an instant, and the Silver Moon Wolf moved its limbs like a gust of wind, vanishing without a trace.

This Silver Moon Wolf looks clever, but it can be foolish sometimes. Who would have thought that it was captured by spirit beast traders because of its gluttony?

[I sneaked into a spirit beast shop in the middle of the night, ate and drank my fill, and lay down to sleep in a corner. A spirit beast dealer who came to steal from me casually used me as a rope and took me away without me even realizing it.]

[The Silver Moon Wolf woke up looking completely bewildered.]

【Ha ha ha ha! ! ! 】

Lou Yuqing saw the system panel and laughed wildly in her heart.

Shi Hua: "..."

Kui Houming: "..."

Enforcement disciple: "..."

After a suspicious silence, someone couldn't help but laugh out loud.

Kui Houming appeared unmoved, but a hint of a smile flickered in his eyes. He looked at the black-cloaked cultivator in front of him and thought to himself, no wonder the other party had been gritting his teeth and saying he knew nothing despite his long interrogation.

Kui Houming thought his skills had declined and began to doubt his abilities, wondering if it was time for him to step down and hand over the reins to a more capable person. However, it turned out that the other party really didn't know how he had managed to kidnap the Silver Moon Wolf.

If the spirit beast dealer knew the truth, he would probably regret it to the core.

The spirit beast dealer who heard the laughter: "..."

That's rude.

At the fold of the gossip system, a line of text slowly scrolled by—This gossip delivery is complete. Twenty-three people participated: Shi Hua, Wei Houming, Ling Yunxiao, and Si Nidie…

Before nightfall, Kui Houming finished his interrogation and sent the spirit beast dealer's confession and the spirit beasts to the office of the city lord of Ping'an City. As for the spirit beast dealer himself, he was taken to the prison of Wendao Sect.

Lou Yuqing felt that things had come to a perfect end, but she was a little disappointed that she had missed the final of the selection competition. To see such a wonderful battle again, she would have to wait until the Seven Sects Alliance Competition in March.

But for Shi Hua, things were far from over. The first thing she did after returning to Wendao Sect was to contact the little monkey's mother, Lingzhu Zhenren.

She had a lot of questions to ask the other party, the most important of which was—why did they abandon their child in the sect!

Without Yuqing, they would have been completely kept in the dark. Once Ruan Qingzhu and the spirit beast dealer were killed by the Thunderfire Pearl, Steward Chen, who had not been discovered by the Enforcement Hall, would have seized the opportunity to deal with the little monkey, and the outcome would have been unpredictable.

Shi Hua coldly pulled out the communication stone from her storage device. This thing could send messages over extremely long distances. Although it wasn't a one-time use magic item, it would be ruined after sending three messages.

—Lingzhu, where are you? Have you forgotten that you have a child?

After sending the message, Shi Hua waited for a response.

One day, two days, three days...

There has still been no news.

Shi Hua strode into the back of the clinic, pushed open the bedroom door, sat down directly in front of the chessboard, and called out loudly, "Senior brother, let's play chess!"

The Sage of Medicine, who was researching elixirs in the adjacent alchemy room: "..."

He smiled helplessly, put down the pills, and walked over to sit opposite her: "What's wrong? Who made you so angry? Take your senior brother's advice and calm down, or you'll get wrinkles."

Shi Hua subconsciously touched her face, then glared at him irritably: "Don't you dare curse me. If I get wrinkles someday, it will be because of you."

"Alright, alright, I misspoke. Junior Sister will always be young and beautiful." The Medical Sage smiled and begged for forgiveness, then asked, "Why are you so angry? Tell me and I'll give you some advice."

Shi Hua sighed and said, "It's about the Spirit Pearl."

"Lingzhu?" The Sage of Medicine looked surprised. He had been busy making pills these past few days and hadn't paid attention to what was happening outside. "She's returned to her sect?"

Shi Hua gave him a resentful look: "She didn't come back, but her child did."

The Sage of Medicine: ? ? ?

Seeing that he was completely confused, Shi Hua explained the whole story from beginning to end.

The Sage of Medicine suddenly realized, then pondered, "Because of their immense power, the Spirit Ape clan has difficulty producing offspring. Since the Spirit Pearl already has a child, she can't just abandon it, unless she..."

Something happened.

Shi Hua understood his implication and said, "I haven't received any replies from Lingzhu these past few days, which led me to this suspicion. I went to the lighthouse, and Lingzhu's soul lamp was still burning."

This means that Lingzhu is definitely still alive.

The medical sage frowned: "This matter is a bit strange. Before she replies to you, keep a close eye on her child and make sure nothing happens to him."

"Yes, I know what I'm doing. Little Monkey and Ruan Qingzhu are good friends. I'll ask Ruan Qingzhu to help take care of Little Monkey. If anything happens, just come to me," Shi Hua said, explaining her plan.

The Sage of Medicine comforted her, saying, "Junior Sister, you have done everything you could. Since that's the case, there's no need to be so anxious. Perhaps the Spirit Pearl is trapped in some secret realm, which is why it can't receive your messages."

"I hope it's as you say." Shi Hua absentmindedly placed a piece, and before long, she suffered a series of defeats because of this bad move, losing the game.

"Why."

She scattered the chess pieces haphazardly and sighed in frustration.

"This is the third time my junior sister has sighed since she entered the sect." The Medical Sage shook his head. "If she's not in the mood to play chess, then so be it. It's not very meaningful for me to win anyway."

Normally, their wins and losses are evenly matched, making for a very exciting game. However, such one-sided games are truly boring.

Shi Hua lifted her eyelids and glanced at him, then fiddled with the black and white chess pieces on the board.

“I’ve been researching beauty-enhancing pills lately. Junior sister, why don’t you give me some advice? Once the pills are refined, I’ll give you a bottle, how about that?” the Medical Sage said gently.

He originally intended to give this to Shi Hua as a birthday gift, but since she was unhappy right now, it wouldn't hurt to use it to cheer her up.

Shi Hua suddenly looked up, glanced at him in surprise, and then her eyes lit up with joy: "Really?"

"Is this even possible?" the Medical Sage laughed.

Just then, a teasing voice came from outside the door: "Beauty pills? Third brother, you're not being fair. You don't give such good stuff to me and Junior Brother Zeng, but instead use it to curry favor with Junior Sister Shi, who needs it the least."

Sect Leader Qingxuzi strode over, his face beaming with obvious pleasure. The words he had just spoken were indeed from him. Zeng Xuangan, who was following behind him, nodded in agreement, revealing a hint of teasing.

The medical sage touched his nose: "If you need it, just come and take it. It's not that I won't give it to you, but I don't know if it will be useful."

After all, they both aged due to shortened lifespans.

Shi Hua gave a light snort, but avoided answering, changing the subject instead: "I saw that Senior Brother Sect Leader was walking with a brisk pace, so something good must have happened. Is it that Song Li's niece, Kang Fu, has been resurrected?"

As expected, Sect Leader Qingxuzi stopped paying attention to the matter and said with a smile, "Thanks to Third Brother and Junior Sister Hongyan, my daughter's injuries have been fully healed. That's why I brought you a gift of thanks."

He reached out and held a brocade box.

"Oh?" The Medical Sage curiously took the box. Upon opening it, he saw a pill lying quietly inside, emitting a rich medicinal fragrance. He exclaimed in surprise, "Essence Pill?"

One of the ingredients in the Yi Jing Dan is a rare and almost extinct spiritual herb in the cultivation world. Very few finished products appear on the market, and most of the time one can only try their luck in certain secret realms.

The medical sage traveled far and wide in search of the Yi Jing Dan, but still found no trace of it.

Sect Leader Qingxuzi laughed and said, "That's right, it is indeed the Yi Jing Pill. I happened to hear that this item had appeared at an auction house, and I was lucky enough to win the bid."

"Senior Brother Sect Leader, you are too kind. The Yi Jing Pill is indeed of great use to me, so I would be impolite to refuse it." The Medical Sage closed the box and carefully put it into his storage device.

He treated Song Li purely out of friendship with his senior brother, the sect leader. He never expected his senior brother to give him such a big surprise, which made it impossible for him to refuse.

Zeng Xuangan added with a smile, "Third Senior Brother, you may not know this, but long before you went west, the Sect Leader had been secretly keeping an eye on news about the Yi Jing Pill, and finally found it a year ago."

The Sage of Medicine looked at Qingxuzi in surprise.

Qingxuzi waved his hand, "It's not worth it." Junior Brother Zeng, that big mouth, had already told him not to say it, but he just couldn't hold it in.

Zeng Xuangan: Of course, you should speak up when you do good deeds.

He was close to Qingxuzi and naturally hoped that the other party's efforts would be recognized by the person involved.

"Thank you very much, Senior Brother Sect Leader." The Medical Sage felt a surge of warmth in his heart.

The four chatted for a while longer. Just as Qingxuzi and Zeng Xuangan were about to leave, Shi Hua suddenly remembered something: "By the way, the Three Yin Demon and the Heavenly Puppet Master have been captured for some time now. Have they gotten any results from the interrogation?"

Upon hearing this, Sect Leader Qingxuzi felt a heavy weight in his heart: "Those two only confessed to some trivial matters. Not long after, someone cast a spell from a distance, triggering the self-destruction restriction within their bodies, and all the clues were cut off."

"After Li'er woke up, she saw the portraits of Sanyin and Tiankui and said that these two were not the people who chased her and her daughter. In other words, there was someone else who caused Wen Niang's death. It should be the person hiding behind Sanyin and Tiankui."

Qingxuzi thought he could finally catch the real culprit and avenge Wenniang, but he never expected the perpetrator to be so ruthless, abandoning the two Nascent Soul cultivators without any intention of rescuing them.

"That's how demonic sects always behave. They don't care about sentiment; everything is about profit," the Healer Sage said, frowning. "A force that can command two Nascent Soul cultivators must be a major sect. The five demonic sects in the west are all possibilities. What does Senior Brother plan to do?"

Sect Leader Qingxuzi said in a deep voice: "So far, we can only start from the existing clues. Who are the Three Yin Demons and the Heavenly Puppet Master affiliated with? We can find out by investigating in the west and then follow the clues to find out the mastermind behind them."

"I've heard of the infamous Sanyin the old devil. He slaughtered a city of tens of thousands of people in order to refine demonic fire. He was pursued by many sects, but he managed to break out by sheer strength."

The medical sage sighed, "What a sin!"

Qingxuzi's words were tinged with dissatisfaction: "This matter is inextricably linked to the sects there, because that city is located at the intersection of three sects, and the situation is quite chaotic. After the incident, they dragged their feet for a long time before chasing down the culprit, which allowed the Three Yin Demons to take the opportunity to escape."

"Senior Brother Sect Leader, there's no need to be too sad. At least this demon died at our hands, and Wendao Sect has given an explanation to those who died," Zeng Xuangan comforted him.

Qingxuzi sighed and said nothing.

Shi Hua asked, "And who exactly is this Heavenly Puppet Master?"

Qingxuzi replied, "This person has not made a name for himself. He may be from some remote area of ​​the mainland and is proficient in puppetry. Junior Brother Meng is sending people to investigate."

Shi Hua felt things were going badly.

For a moment, the atmosphere became somewhat oppressive.

Shi Hua opened her mouth, trying to calm herself down, when she suddenly sensed a reaction from the communication stone. She took it out and saw that there was indeed a message on it—

"Haha, how could I forget this little rascal? I've just been a bit busy lately, so I'm asking you to take care of him for a while longer."

Again?

Shi Hua: "..."

That sounds a bit awkward.

"Does the Spirit Pearl think that we actually knew about the little monkey's existence all these years?"

Shi Hua raised a question.

Everyone: "..." That can't be right.