Chapter Seventy-One: Seeking Immortal Fate (Part One)

I opened my eyes to find myself in an unfamiliar room. Mo Zhuo was snoring with his head resting on my leg. I flicked his forehead, causing him to jump up, clutching his head and looking at me with a pained expression. As he moved, an indescribable tingling sensation spread through my leg. I hissed and began massaging my right leg to ease the numbness, while he cluelessly asked why I had hit him. "If I hadn't, my leg's blood flow would have turned to jelly," I said, my voice quivering from the tingling.

"Is it numb? Let me take a look," he offered.

"No need!" I declined his sudden eagerness.

With a concerned look, he suggested, "Hey, I heard that if your leg is numb, you just need to stretch it out, and it will recover quickly. Why don't you try it?"

"Really?" I was skeptical of his advice.

"Just try it. It's not like you'll lose a piece of your leg," Mo Zhuo chuckled softly.

"Fine... I'll try." As the tingling subsided a bit, I stretched out my right leg slightly, bending it at the knee. For a moment, it seemed like it might...

It didn't help at all!

In fact, my leg hurt even more, as if a bunch of tiny worms were wriggling inside. How could I have believed his nonsense? This strange sensation twisted my face into an expression I'd never made before. Mo Zhuo's laughter grew louder.

I kicked my leg at him, but he grabbed my ankle. As I reached out to push him away, I lost my balance and started to fall off the bed, my left foot hooking onto his arm and pulling him down with me.

"You...!" Just as I was about to speak, the door creaked open, and Hua Ying entered, looking at us in shock before shaking her head in resignation.

"How can you still be in the mood to play at a time like this?"

"We're not playing." I pulled my leg from Mo Zhuo's grip and slapped his arm. "Let go of my leg!" He snapped out of his daze, stood up, and dusted off his clothes.

Rubbing my leg, I looked at Hua Ying. "Hua Ying, how did you know we were here?"

"That day when we descended the mountain, I placed a little bug on you," she said, taking out a yellow bottle and opening it. Instantly, the room was filled with a sweet fragrance, and a spider-like insect fell from my collar and scurried toward her.

"What's this about...?" I started.

Hua Ying waved her hand dismissively. "Don't misunderstand. I'm not spying on you. It's just to make it easier to convey tasks from the sect master. He also anticipated that you wouldn't return quickly this time."

"Isn't that still spying?"

"So, does the sect master have a task for us?" I asked.

"Yes, not just you, but both of you," Hua Ying corrected.

Mo Zhuo pointed to himself, doubt in his voice. "Us? Me and her? What can she possibly do with that frail body?"

"And yet you lost to me back then," I retorted.

Mo Zhuo raised an eyebrow and scoffed, "I let you win, okay? Do you even know what missions from the Moon Shadow Sect entail? Aren't you afraid of leaving some dark shadows in your already short life?"

I laughed, clapping the dust from my hands as I stood up. "I think you're the one who's scared. If you end up crying in front of a little girl like me, that won't look good."

Mo Zhuo challenged, "Let's hear what the sect master has for us first. If you want to back out after hearing it, I'll go alone. How about that?"

"Fine, but the same goes for you."

Hua Ying seemed exasperated by our banter. "The sect master has tasked you with tracking down Hong Yi and the remaining members of the Xinghuo Hall, killing them, and extracting their demon cores."

Mo Zhuo immediately clapped his hands. "I see. I get it. Leave this to me." Noticing my displeased expression, he added, "You can't handle such a bloody task, can you?"

"Why wouldn't I be able to? I'm coming with you."

"Why insist on doing something so dangerous?"

"How do you know I'm insisting? Who says a woman can't be as good as a man? Just wait and see." I walked straight out of the room. "Let's eat first."

After finishing our meal, Mo Zhuo suggested we head to Yeliang together. He explained that after I left, Hua Ying had given him a map for this mission, and Quan You suspected the Qin household in Yeliang.

We hadn't been in Yeliang long before we heard many rumors without even needing to investigate. People were saying that the Qin family's young lady had been frail and sickly since childhood. Unlike other girls her age, she couldn't do many things, so for eight years, she had devoted herself to praying to the gods. However, three months ago, she suddenly went mad.

It was said that Miss Qin had inadvertently offended the gods and was thus punished by divine retribution.

In the past three months, the Qin family had not stopped seeking skilled healers to cure her illness.

This puzzled me greatly.

Even if Miss Qin had unintentionally angered the gods, it shouldn't negate the eight years of devout worship she had performed. Moreover, ever since the great war between gods and demons millennia ago, where could one find gods to worship and offer sacrifices to?

So I suggested to Mo Zhuo that we pose as "skilled healers" to investigate Miss Qin's illness and also to look for any clues about Xinghuo Hall within the Qin household.

Mo Zhuo donned a black Taoist robe, stuck a small mustache on his face, hung some yellow bells and talismans from his belt, and carried a peach wood sword on his back, looking the part. After explaining our purpose at the Qin residence, a maid led us inside.

In the main hall, we saw an elderly Taoist conversing with the Qin family head. Seeing us, he said, "Since there are outsiders present, I shall discuss this matter with you two another day." He refused to say more and turned to leave.

I found the Taoist's voice familiar and looked closely, realizing he was an old acquaintance.

As he passed by me, I raised my voice deliberately and greeted him, "Long time no see, Daoist Lingyun. Last time you failed to capture the demon at Lingyun Temple. Have you found its trail now that you've come down the mountain?"

His face turned pale, and he stared at me with wide eyes, pretending to be confused. "Young lady, this poor Taoist does not know you. How can it be 'long time no see'? Perhaps you have mistaken me for someone else." Beads of sweat formed on his forehead as he hurried away.

"Do you know the immortals of Lingyun Temple as well?" a weary-looking woman asked me, her eyelids drooping as if struggling to stay awake.

The maid whispered, "This is my master and mistress." She then introduced us to them, "These two are new immortals who have come to see the young lady as well."

We politely greeted them, "Greetings, Master Qin, Mistress Qin."

Master Qin returned the greeting awkwardly, "No need for such courtesy, Immortals. Uh, my daughter's illness is already being treated by the immortals of Lingyun Temple, so..."

Mo Zhuo interrupted, "If that's the case, we won't insist. But let me ask, has Miss Qin recovered? If not, allow us to try as well. The more people, the better the chance of success. Besides, we are confident in our abilities."

After a moment's hesitation, Master Qin agreed to Mo Zhuo's request.

It seemed that even the elder Taoist from Lingyun Temple had failed to cure Miss Qin. As parents, how could they bear to see their child suffer any longer than necessary?

This involvement suggested that the rumors about Xinghuo Hall's presence in Yeliang were not unfounded.