Chapter 88 Stone Carvings

Chapter 88 Stone Carvings

White Rock City, Auction House.

The monthly auction is being held today.

Before the towering gate, which stood over ten feet high, armored guards stood on either side, spears in hand, their eyes sharp as lightning, weaving through the crowd as if searching for anyone with ill intentions.

The offended guest frowned but didn't make a fuss. He couldn't afford to offend the power behind the auction house, so it was better to avoid trouble.

Lou Yuqing followed the crowd and entered the auction house with composure. The guards' gazes lingered on her for a few moments, but finding nothing amiss, they looked away.

An auction house maid stepped forward with a standardized smile: "Please follow me, sir."

After saying that, he led her toward the auction hall.

Lou Yuqing, out of the maid's sight, revealed a look of frustration. She had originally wanted to get something for free, but who knew that the protective arrays of the auction house and the arena were not on the same level at all, and even the barrier-breaking bead could not work.

She had no choice but to find a customer and buy the spot with a high price of spirit stones. She wondered if the sect would reimburse her. After all, this was an illusionary world, and it wouldn't be good to take away a disciple's property.

Lou Yuqing thought uncertainly.

Just then, a commotion arose at the door.

She heard the guard's obsequious voice: "Senior Xie, you've arrived."

If I remember correctly, the young sect leader of Baiyan Sect seems to be surnamed Xie, and his name is Xie Wenheng.

"Take me to the reserved private room!" came an arrogant male voice.

"Yes, yes, yes." The guards bowed and scraped before him, then turned to the maids and shouted, "Are you deaf? Hurry up and come serve Senior Xie!"

What a master of face-changing!

Lou Yuqing had just finished complaining when she saw the maid turn around and look at her with a troubled expression: "Guest, the auction hall is at the right turn and straight ahead. You can go there on your own."

"..."

They didn't even spare her guide maid.

Seeing all the maids in her line of sight crowding around "Senior Xie," Lou Yuqing snorted coldly, annoyed. This guy's eyes are on his eyebrows, and he's even more pointy-faced than Luo Buqi.

Achoo!

Luo Buqi followed the hunter to the slaughterhouse, then suddenly sneezed, thinking he had been discovered. He quickly hid in a corner and concealed his presence.

"tread."

The barely audible footsteps sounded not far away. Luo Buqi's muscles were tense, and his eyes were slightly narrowed, like a cheetah poised to pounce.

Suddenly, the footsteps stopped.

The newcomer sneered, "Luo Buqi, are you trying to ambush me? I'm not stupid."

It was Chu Qingyang's voice.

Luo Buqi stepped out of his hiding place, raised his chin, and glanced at him disdainfully: "You overestimate yourself. To deal with you, I only need to make a slight move."

Chu Qingyang scoffed.

He couldn't beat Luo Buqi, but it wouldn't be easy for the other party to subdue him. Wind Escape Technique was difficult to use in the cave, but in open spaces, his speed was absolutely unmatched.

Smelling the blood in the air, Chu Qingyang said calmly, "When they come out, I'll investigate that middle-aged hunter. The others are yours to choose from."

Luo Buqi refused: "Why should I? He's my target!" With that, he flew into the slaughterhouse in a golden beam of light.

Chu Qingyang was not disappointed when the negotiations failed. Anyone with eyes could see that the middle-aged hunter knew more, and neither of them would give up.

Upon entering the slaughterhouse, one finds a pigsty.

The grunting of the pigs could be heard everywhere, whether they were eating, sleeping, or fighting.

Chu Qingyang passed through this area and arrived at the courtyard behind the hall. At first glance, it was clean and tidy, with a pleasant fragrance of flowers, which was in stark contrast to the messy environment in front.

He stood next to Luo Buqi, eavesdropping together.

Inside the house, someone looked at the basket full of snow rabbits and exclaimed, "Old Xue, you've come back so quickly this time. I thought you hadn't hunted many."

The middle-aged hunter, Lao Xue, said, "We were lucky to run into three immortal masters who escorted us to the outskirts of Baiyan City."

The man exclaimed in surprise, then lowered his voice, "Could it be a disciple of the White Rock Sect?"

Then he immediately denied it: "No, that shouldn't be it. If I wanted their help, I'd be skinned alive. Did the Immortal Master say which sect they were from?"

Old Xue said, "No, they only said they came to collect herbs."

"Gathering herbs?" The man seemed to find it a joke. "The Baiyan Sect are all misers who will plunder every last bit of good medicine. Even if there are spiritual herbs, they will be looted clean. Outsiders can forget about getting a single penny."

Old Xue said, "They're probably just passing by, don't worry about them."

The man paused for a moment, then sighed and said, "Go check on Old Ji. His injuries are getting worse, and he probably won't make it."

"What!"

The door opened, and Old Xue, his face contorted with anger, strode out. Naturally, he didn't see Chu Qingyang and Luo Buqi, who had used invisibility magic.

The hunters inside came out one after another. They didn't have much of a relationship with Lao Ji, but when they heard that someone had died because of a disciple of the Baiyan Sect, they couldn't help but feel a sense of kinship.

Without a second thought, Luo Buqi chased after Lao Xue.

Chu Qingyang turned to look into the house. Bamboo baskets were neatly arranged on the ground, and the person inside was lifting a snow rabbit and weighing it in his hand, as if assessing its weight.

Suddenly, he chuckled and said, "Those powerful and wealthy people can't cultivate immortality, so they just want to eat a few bites of demon beast meat. It's fortunate that Old Xue's ancestors included cultivators who had experience hunting demon beasts, otherwise, how would I have gotten this fortune?"

This man was clearly the owner of the slaughterhouse. He put down the snow rabbit, picked up the tea on the table, took a sip, and said, "That's great. This time I can at least make a net profit of a hundred gold coins."

Beside the teacup was a gray-white stone sculpture of a snow rabbit, exquisitely crafted and lifelike. Chu Qingyang glanced at it a few more times before flying away from the slaughterhouse.

Several hours after he left.

The slaughterhouse owner went to his study, wrote a few lines, tore them off, whistled towards the window, stuffed the paper into a carrier pigeon that flew in, and instructed, "Send a letter to the young master."

The carrier pigeon flapped its wings and flew away.

Outside the small world.

One of the disciples said, "That snow rabbit stone sculpture seems to have appeared in the Hu family before."

The story goes back to when Ling Yunxiao and his group entered the Hu family. The head of the Hu family entertained them in the reception room, telling them the time and place of the monster's appearance and the things it had done.

"I've been having a lot of headaches lately because of this demon, and I haven't had time to take care of many of my businesses. I hope that you five demon hunters will do your best. I will definitely not treat you unfairly!" The head of the Hu family said earnestly.

Qi Qingxiong of the Yunxiao Sect nodded: "Patriarch Hu, rest assured, I have considerable experience in catching demons. I need to go and check out the place you mentioned where the demons appear."

The head of the Hu family replied, "Of course. Someone, take these demon hunters over there."

The servants outside rushed in, saying, "Yes, Master!"

Qi Qingxiong walked out with his sword in his arms. The disciples of Bailingmen, Yaowanggu, and Haotiangong all left, leaving only Ling Yunxiao standing still.

The head of the Hu family frowned in confusion: "What do you mean by this?"

"I've heard that the demon once injured your young lady. May I speak with her for a moment?" As if oblivious to the Hu family patriarch's hesitation, Ling Yunxiao continued, "To capture this demon, we cannot overlook any clues. What if…"

Hearing his unfinished words, the head of the Hu family finally made up his mind: "Alright, please wait a moment."

What are we waiting for?

Ling Yunxiao's question was answered when he witnessed the Hu family patriarch instructing his servant to take the eldest daughter, Hu Ruoyan, out of the ancestral hall. He was stunned for a moment.

At such a time, why would the head of the Hu family make his daughter kneel in the ancestral hall?

Previously, Junior Sister Yuqing said that the head of the Hu family had invited a divine doctor to cure Hu Ruoyan's appearance. He thought that the father and daughter had a good relationship, but now it seems that it is not as good as he imagined.

"What do you want to ask?" Hu Ruoyan's voice was slightly weak. The smoke from the burning sandalwood incense rose gently, making her figure reflected on the screen even more ethereal.

There was a curtain separating them from the screen, with two maids standing guard on either side. They appeared to be looking straight ahead, but in reality, they were keeping a close eye on Ling Yunxiao to prevent him from doing anything inappropriate.

Ling Yunxiao's expression remained unchanged: "Has Miss Hu's face fully recovered?"

Hu Ruoyan hadn't expected his question. After a while, she said, "You're a demon hunter, yet you don't care about demons and instead ask about my face. Isn't that putting the cart before the horse?" Her tone contained a hint of sarcasm.

Ling Yunxiao calmly said, "We can get a lot of clues from the traces left by the demon. To be precise, I'm not asking about Miss Hu's face, but about the wounds on your face."

"..."

Hu Ruoyan lowered her eyes: "I misunderstood you. Unfortunately, the wound on my face has already healed, and any clues I had have disappeared."

"It's alright." Ling Yunxiao asked, "When Miss Hu was attacked, did you get a clear look at the monster?"

"No," she answered quickly.

"Does Miss Hu have any suspects?"

"No, I have never made enemies with anyone."

“That’s probably a bit exaggerated,” Ling Yunxiao suddenly said in a deep voice. “The young sect leader of the White Rock Sect wanted to marry you, but you refused him, so he held a grudge and released a demon to retaliate against you…”

"Please watch your words!"

Hu Ruoyan suddenly stood up: "What about Baiyan Sect is none of your business. Men, take him away. I don't want to see him again!"

So, Ling Yunxiao was "politely" asked to leave the courtyard.

"Smack!"

The gate to the courtyard was closed.

Ling Yunxiao turned and looked at the courtyard, as if he could see the scene inside through it. Hu Ruoyan's reaction was beyond his expectations; she seemed to be on Baiyan Sect's side.

However, after thinking about it, he realized there was another possibility: she interrupted him to protect him. Could it be that Baiyanzong had planted spies in the Hu family?

If so, why not expose them?

Unless… Ling Yunxiao quickly came to the conclusion that this informant was an open secret!

In other words, the Baiyan Sect sent people over in the name of the sect, and the Hu family did not refuse, allowing their spies to gather information at home.

This is not a normal action.

Although the White Rock Sect is powerful, the head of the Hu family is a late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator, so how could he tolerate such an offensive act? They must have reached some kind of consensus to do this.

He had a rough idea of ​​what the consensus was, and it might be related to Hu Ruoyan's marriage. The head of the Hu family wanted to marry the sect leader of Baiyan Sect, but Hu Ruoyan refused and was punished by being forced to kneel in the ancestral hall.

This is a reasonable speculation, but whether it is true or not remains to be seen.

After completing his mission to join the Hu family, the second phase of his task began: investigating the Hu family. It was time to explore the mansion.

Ling Yunxiao followed the servant to the lotus pond, where it was said that this monster had lurked before, attacking a maid who passed by at night and crushing most of the lotus flowers.

Now, looking at the lotus flowers standing gracefully on the lake, completely undamaged, he shook his head; all traces left by the demon had been erased.

Stepping into the pavilion in the lake, Ling Yunxiao's gaze paused slightly, landing on the stone carving on the table.

The snow rabbit that Junior Sister Yuqing mentioned.

What a coincidence!