Chapter 15: The Missing Girl, A Brush with Danger

Jing Wuji's secluded cultivation had only gone on for two or three days before it was interrupted by Tang Yue.

"Oh, so you are cultivating. Do you even know how many days you've skipped class? Anyone who didn't know better would think you dropped out," Tang Yue said calmly.

However, beneath her composed tone was a storm brewing.

Crap, Mo Fan didn't ask for leave on my behalf!

Jing Wuji instantly understood what had happened.

At that moment, the true culprit, Mo Fan, was participating in the city's monster-hunting team under the name "Fan Mo," and had completely forgotten about requesting leave for Jing Wuji.

"Uh… well… there were special circumstances, really special ones—please understand, please understand," Jing Wuji played dumb, trying to bluff his way through.

"What kind of special circumstances? Tell me and let's see if I can forgive you."

"I was breaking through the level-three barrier," Jing Wuji answered without thinking.

"Better not be lying to your teacher," Tang Yue said playfully as if she had already guessed that would be his excuse.

"I've already succeeded." A dark-colored stardust arc flashed across Jing Wuji's body as he merged into the shadows.

Then, a mass of shadow quickly darted around the room.

Tang Yue took one glance and confirmed that Jing Wuji had indeed advanced to the third level—after all, her own Shadow Element had already reached the intermediate level.

"Alright, I'll let it go this time. But if it happens again… hmph." Tang Yue gave a warning before leaving.

She was exhausted—just days earlier, the Tribunal had sent word that Zhan Kong had spotted signs of the Black Vatican around Bo City. She had been working tirelessly to covertly investigate possible Black Vatican members throughout the city, with no proper rest.

As soon as she returned to the school, homeroom teacher Xue Musheng informed her that Jing Wuji hadn't shown up for nearly a week. Without even taking a break, she rushed over to find him. She was going to rest once she got back.

Only after sending Tang Yue off did Jing Wuji breathe a sigh of relief. He didn't want anyone to discover that he was "Hunter Seven" so soon, and attract the attention of the Black Vatican. After all, he was the only one who had accepted that particular commission and it was the only one that brought him close to Baicao Valley.

He didn't want to endanger his family due to a moment of carelessness.

"Well, it's been another week… I should go visit Xin Xia." Jing Wuji checked the time and noticed it was the weekend. "Training too hard isn't good either. The balance between work and rest is key. Yes, that's right."

After convincing himself that it was just a little break, Jing Wuji made his way to Mingwen Girls' High School.

…

When he arrived, he saw several police cars parked outside the school.

What happened? Hopefully, it's nothing serious… I hope Xin Xia's alright.

Jing Wuji felt a wave of anxiety and quickly called Ye Xin Xia.

"Nothing happened, nothing happened…" he tried to reassure himself as the call connected.

"Hello? What's up, Brother Wuji?" Hearing Xin Xia's voice on the other end finally put his heart at ease.

"Where are you right now? I'll come to you," Jing Wuji could hear a trace of fear in her voice.

"I'm at my aunt's place."

"Okay, I'll be there right away."

He hung up and immediately used Shadow Step: Flying Shadow to rush over.

A few minutes later, Jing Wuji arrived at her aunt's house.

When the door opened, he saw Xin Xia, who gave off a fragile, helpless aura.

"Are you okay? What happened at your school? I saw a bunch of police cars parked outside," he asked.

"I'm fine," Xin Xia shook her head. "It's just that… a girl at school went missing. It happened yesterday. She's from the class next to mine—her name is Lin Yun'er. I was in the library at the time. She said hi to me before heading back to the dorm. But during class today, the teacher called her name and she didn't answer. She wasn't in the dorm either. Even the security footage at the school gate didn't catch her leaving."

Seeing how pale she looked while recalling the events, Jing Wuji knew she was still scared. He gently patted her shoulder, trying to comfort her.

"But… when I left the library, I caught a whiff of something rotten coming from the school cafeteria. But the library is far from the cafeteria—there's no way the smell could've drifted that far. I even felt a chill… like something was watching me. I got really scared and hurried away."

Jing Wuji's pupils narrowed to needle points.

There are monsters! Demons have appeared within the city! Even though the city is protected by the safety barrier, making it nearly impossible for monsters to enter, there are always a few that somehow slip through the cracks. Most of them end up in abandoned buildings, and that's precisely why the City Demon-Hunting Unit exists—to eliminate any monsters that make it into urban areas.

"If only I had told Lin Yun'er to leave with me, none of this would've happened…" Ye Xinxia murmured guiltily, her voice so soft only she could hear it.

But Jing Wuji still caught her words and couldn't help but feel moved.

Sigh, Xinxia is still as kind as ever.

"Don't go back to school for the next few days. Wait until I've taken care of this. Oh, and if you ever sense danger, use this to contact me immediately." Jing Wuji pulled out a phone from his pocket and handed it to Ye Xinxia.

"What's special about this phone?" Ye Xinxia asked curiously as she took it.

"I embedded a piece of Shadowstone at the point where magical waves are emitted from the phone. This way, you'll be able to contact me under any circumstances, and the phone won't emit any magical signals that demons could detect," Jing Wuji explained.

The Shadowstone was courtesy of the wealthy and generous Mu Family. He had obtained it from beneath a Star Sense Stone during the year-end assessment. After countless experiments—and burning through several phones—he finally managed to create a device that retained signal functionality while remaining undetectable by monsters due to suppressed magical fluctuations.

"Okay." Ye Xinxia smiled again, reassured—because as long as Jing Wuji was by her side, she felt safe.

"Alright, I'm going to handle this. Just wait here for good news," Jing Wuji said as he gently ruffled her hair and turned to leave for Mingwen Girls' High School.

He would never allow Ye Xinxia to remain in danger, nor would he let her suffer even a scratch.

"Okay." Ye Xinxia nodded obediently.

As she watched Jing wuji's figure disappear into the distance, she quietly prayed in her heart:

Please, let Brother Wuji return safely.

She had already noticed that he had inadvertently said the word "monster."

…

"Hello, is this Teacher Tang Yue? I'd like to request two days off—I have something urgent to take care of. I'll return to class once it's resolved." Jing Wuji's first move in clearing the threats around Xinxia was to formally request leave from Tang Yue.

"Taking leave? Alright then. But make sure you come back once you've settled it," Tang Yue approved his request.

Afterward, Jing Wuji went to a secluded place and changed into his hooded trench coat and metal mask.

Mingwen Girls' High School… here I come!