After My Faked Death Failed, My Ex-Wife Came Chasing After Me - Chapter 17

The “Senior Sister Saving Her Wife” Mission is Underway~

After storming out of the door, Lin Zheng found a waterfall not far from Fusheng Hall. Surrounded by dense forest, the area was secluded and cool, alleviating some of the dry heat burning within her body. She sat cross-legged on the ground, regulating her breath and guiding her Qi to slowly force out the remnants of the Ziyang Powder from her system.

“Siss, siss.”

Suddenly, a low hissing sound reached her ears. Lin Zheng tilted her gaze slightly and saw a small, white-and-blue banded snake winding its way up her waist. The little snake had a rounded body and crystalline horns that looked as if they were carved from ice and jade. Upon meeting her eyes, it flicked its tongue joyfully.

“Tuanzi, don’t play around.” Lin Zheng was currently circulating her energy and couldn’t easily reach out to put it back into her Qiankun Bag. The little fellow took advantage of the situation, climbing onto her head and coiling into a ball, its tail-tip flicking the stray hairs on her forehead back and forth.

Lin Zheng felt quite helpless; had she known better, she wouldn’t have brought the little guy out.

“Tuanzi, go back into the bag, you—”

Before she could finish, Tuanzi suddenly reared up its upper body. Its vertical pupils constricted, staring fixedly into the depths of the forest. Its hissing grew sharp and urgent, as if it were guarding against something.

Lin Zheng’s mind sharpened instantly. As a spirit pet, Tuanzi’s five senses were several times more acute than hers; it must have sensed danger to react this way. She quickly retracted her stance, swept her sleeves to summon her sword, Sui Yue, and took Tuanzi from her head into her palm. She whispered, “What is it, Tuanzi? Have you discovered something?”

Tuanzi circled her palm anxiously, its small head tilted high. Lin Zheng froze for a moment, following the direction it indicated.

At this moment, the bright moon hung high, casting its clear radiance down. In the distance, the peaks of Mount Hanqiao were as dark as ink, flickering in and out of sight in the deep night like a silent, lurking beast.

“What are you doing?” Lin Zheng reached out and poked the small horn on its forehead, caught between laughter and tears. “Don’t be nervous; we aren’t going to Mount Hanqiao until tomorrow.”

Before the words had fully left her mouth, the Bright Illumination Talisman at her waist suddenly ignited, lighting up the dark night by the waterfall as bright as day. Lin Zheng’s heart tightened. This talisman could only be activated by members of the Baiyun Luying Sect to send signals or report locations in times of peril. However, Chen Yunxiao and the others were usually arrogant and disdained connecting with her, let alone seeking her help.

The only one who would call for her so urgently at this moment was likely Lu Ting’an.

Lin Zheng recalled their previous argument and felt a bit puzzled. With Lu Ting’an’s tyrannical and domineering personality, unless the sun rose from the west, how could she possibly take the initiative to seek reconciliation?

“Lin Zheng! Where are you?”

An urgent shout pierced through her thoughts. Lin Zheng blinked and looked up to see Zhao Jingyi stumbling out from the forest. The moment he spotted her, he cried out at the top of his lungs, “Lin Zheng, something terrible has happened! Follow me back to Fusheng Hall at once!”

Inside Fusheng Hall

Chen Yunxiao stood by the side table, reaching out to touch a reddish-black dark pattern on the window lattice behind him. He said in a heavy voice, “There’s no mistake; it’s a Soul-Eating Ghost.”

Guo Jingchen was as anxious as an ant on a hot griddle, stamping his feet. “What use is knowing what it is? Where on earth did they take Junior Sister?”

Seeing him speak so recklessly—even daring to snap at Chen Yunxiao—Zhao Jingyi’s heart skipped a beat. He hurriedly reached out to pull the man back, saying, “Seventh Junior Brother, what kind of talk is that? To know oneself and one’s enemy is the key to victory; Second Senior Brother is analyzing the situation, otherwise, where would we even begin to look?”

Ye Yunlan rested her chin on her hand, scanning the room before looking at Lin Zheng. She sneered, “But how did they get into the room? It’s normal that Junior Sister couldn’t sense such a low-level evil spirit, but how could it have escaped the eyes of the Eldest Senior Sister?”

As soon as she spoke, several pairs of eyes in the room instantly fixed upon Lin Zheng.

Zhang Yunming stepped forward, pointing at Lin Zheng and gritting his teeth. “You… you argued with Junior Sister, and then… then you left on your own! You completely… completely ignored her, leaving her all alone in the room! Just what were you intending!”

Zhao Jingyi looked at him with a strange expression, his tone tinged with surprise. “Fourth Senior Brother, how did you know Lin Zheng argued with Junior Sister? I remember you were sleeping quite soundly nearby?”

Zhang Yunming choked, his face stiffening. The walls of Fusheng Hall were thin, and since he was worried about his Junior Sister, he hadn’t been sleeping well. He had secretly pressed his ear against the wall to listen to the movements next door, and as luck would have it, he overheard the argument between Lin Zheng and Lu Ting’an, followed by Lin Zheng’s resentful departure.

Chen Yunxiao’s face was grim. He glared coldly at Zhang Yunming before looking at Lin Zheng with eyes like knives. “Lin Zheng, as far as I know, you slew several Soul-Eating Ghosts in Yushui Village tonight. You can’t possibly be unaware that such spirits are extremely vindictive. And yet, you actually dared to leave Junior Sister alone in the room! Did you ever consider what would happen if they came back for revenge?!”

Guo Jingchen was also consumed with rage, pointing directly at Lin Zheng with a trembling voice. “You monster! We’ve all seen how you’ve been at odds with Junior Sister on a daily basis! But I never imagined you would be so cold-hearted as to use such a malicious method to retaliate against her! When we return to the Baiyun Luying Sect, I will surely report this to the Master and the Sect Leader and have you driven back to Qingqiu!”

Lin Zheng stood with her hands behind her back, staring at him expressionlessly. “The most important thing right now is to find Lu Ting’an. What is the use of saying all this?”

“You!” Guo Jingchen’s eyes turned red with anger. With a flash of cold light, he summoned his sword from his robes and prepared to strike her.

“Hey, hey, Seventh Junior Brother!” Zhao Jingyi hurriedly stepped forward to stop him, playing the peacemaker. “Now is not the time for internal strife. Every second we delay is another second of danger for Junior Sister. Why don’t we split up to find her?”

Chen Yunxiao glared fiercely at Lin Zheng and said, “Yuan City is so large, how can we split up to search? Even if we find her, An’an… An’an might have already been harmed by those Soul-Eating Ghosts!”

Lin Zheng’s expression remained unchanged as she said calmly, “There is no need for such panic. Before we left the mountain, Master gave Lu Ting’an a magical treasure called the Void Light Mirror. Although it isn’t a high-grade artifact, if one does not know the incantation, even the Sect Leader would have to expend considerable effort to open it. Defending against a mere Soul-Eating Ghost is no difficult task.”

Hearing this, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

Ye Yunlan was still a bit uneasy. “But what if Junior Sister was completely caught off guard and the Soul-Eating Ghost snatched her soul directly? Wouldn’t the Void Light Mirror be useless then?”

Lin Zheng shook her head. “No. Earlier, that group of Soul-Eating Ghosts had already kidnapped Lu Ting’an, but they only placed her in a Ghost-Marriage sedan chair and did not take her life. Furthermore, if the Soul-Eating Ghosts were truly only out for revenge, there would be no need to kidnap her at all; they could have just sucked out her soul in the room. Since they went through all this extra trouble, there is only one possibility.”

Chen Yunxiao frowned and asked, “What?”

Lin Zheng said, “Previously in Yushui Village, I sensed that those Soul-Eating Ghosts were not acting on their own, but had a master. Now that this person has gone to such great lengths to abduct Lu Ting’an, I fear they have other designs on her.”

Chen Yunxiao stared at her face for a long time but couldn’t find any trace of a lie. He could only sigh and say, “Then we shall split up now and find Junior Sister’s whereabouts as quickly as possible. Although she isn’t in immediate mortal danger, if the master behind the Soul-Eating Ghosts has a high cultivation level, there’s no telling how long the Void Light Mirror will hold out.”

The crowd nodded one after another, forming pairs and scattering across Yuan City to begin a grid search.

Naturally, no one was willing to pair up with Lin Zheng. She merely gave a faint glance, not taking any of it to heart. On the contrary, her mind kept replaying the image of Tuanzi suddenly standing up and staring fixedly toward Mount Hanqiao. Like a bolt of lightning, a thought flashed through her mind. Her eyes narrowed, and she immediately leaped onto her long sword, racing toward the direction of Mount Hanqiao.