The Host Has Fallen for the Second Female Lead Again - Chapter 63

Xi Ruan and Ji Mingxiao entered the inn. They had booked two rooms, though Ji Mingxiao had only wanted one. Xi Ruan, however, was adamant about having separate rooms.

“What kind of monster could this be?” Xi Ruan propped her chin on her hand, looking at Ji Mingxiao. “Could it be a fox spirit?”

Ji Mingxiao stared at Xi Ruan for a moment without answering. “Did you read the book I gave you?”

Xi Ruan’s gaze flitted away as she lowered her head to take a sip of water. “Looks like it’s not a fox spirit.”

Ji Mingxiao smirked, not pressing the matter. After all, her reaction made everything obvious.

She walked to the window and opened it. The window faced the path they had just come from, and the view was quite open. The road wasn’t crowded, but there were a decent number of people, though few women.

Ji Mingxiao tapped the table, lost in thought. She turned her head to look at Xi Ruan.

“The other party’s cultivation is likely above yours. Keep the life-saving item I gave you close by when you sleep.”

“Okay,” Xi Ruan nodded, showing no fear. Instead, she seemed a little eager. “By the way, should we go and take a look at the victims’ homes?”

In the past, whenever she traveled to these immortal hero worlds, she was always just a mortal onlooker, not very useful. She had never actually seen a monster before.

“We definitely have to go. I want to see the remains,” Ji Mingxiao said.

Xi Ruan frowned. “But they should have been buried by now, right?”

“Probably not. Since it wasn’t a normal death, let’s go take a look now.” Ji Mingxiao glanced at the road below again, stood up, and walked out. Xi Ruan immediately followed.

The two affected families, one named Chen and the other Liu, both lived in the east of town. They weren’t too far from each other and were both wealthy local merchants.

Their inn was in the west of town, so the walk didn’t take long. Ji Mingxiao asked for information along the way and found out everything she needed to know about Linhai Town.

They first went to the Chen family, as the Chen family’s daughter was the most recent victim.

The Chen family’s entrance was draped in white. Xi Ruan frowned and tugged on Ji Mingxiao’s sleeve.

“May I ask what business you two have?” the young attendant at the door asked.

Ji Mingxiao took out a token—a pass from the Immortal Realm’s liaison office used to prove their identity. “We’re here to ask about Miss Chen.”

“But someone has already been here,” the attendant said, glancing at Ji Mingxiao. Despite his words, he still turned and went inside to report their arrival.

After a moment, he came back out and led Ji Mingxiao and Xi Ruan inside.

There were already two people there. Ji Mingxiao didn’t recognize their faces, but they certainly knew her. They had originally been wondering which ignorant person dared to take on this case and were ready to mock them when they came in. They never expected it to be Ji Mingxiao.

Upon seeing the two women, they immediately rose from their chairs and bowed.

“Senior Immortal Wuyin.”

The others present couldn’t hear their conversation, but the reaction of the two men made it clear what was happening. The onlookers were curious; these two had arrived with an obvious air of superiority, yet now they were acting like this. This made them look at Ji Mingxiao with increased curiosity and respect.

“Senior Immortal, why have you come? Is this matter very difficult to handle?” one of the men asked tentatively.

“I’m just taking a new disciple out to gain experience,” Ji Mingxiao said, casually sitting down in a chair. “Who are you?”

The two men exchanged a look.

“My name is Feng Yue, a disciple of Senior Immortal Feihe.”

“My name is Yue Ran, a disciple of Senior Immortal Feihe.”

Ji Mingxiao nodded.

“I am Xi Ruan,” Xi Ruan introduced herself.

Ji Mingxiao looked at the seated Father Chen. “My condolences.”

Father Chen’s face was pale. “If there’s anything you want to ask, Senior Immortal, please do.”

“Are the remains still here?”

Father Chen was silent for a moment. “Yes, they are still here. Would you like to see them?”

“Let’s take a look.”

The four followed Father Chen. The remains were in the mourning hall, but because of the bizarre way she died, not many people dared to come to the Chen family’s house.

The bones were neatly arranged in a coffin. Father Chen stood to the side, unable to look.

Ji Mingxiao took a quick look, then turned to Xi Ruan. “Can you tell anything?”

Xi Ruan: …

She really wanted to complain, but since they were outside, she had to give Ji Mingxiao some face. “This disciple does not know.”

Feng Yue and Yue Ran also took a look but couldn’t see anything either.

“In the last few months, has Miss Chen been to the river?” Ji Mingxiao asked.

Father Chen was taken aback. “A month ago was Linhai Town’s River Lantern Festival. Yao’er and her mother went to release river lanterns.”

Ji Mingxiao closed the coffin and nodded. “A vengeful ghost is at work. But that ghost doesn’t want to live long either. Using soul power to burn someone’s flesh will also damage its own soul.”

“So, will more people die?” Xi Ruan asked.

“It shouldn’t be a problem to kill five or six more,” Ji Mingxiao said nonchalantly.

Xi Ruan blinked, not understanding how Ji Mingxiao could have figured that out.

“Let’s go to the Liu family’s house,” Ji Mingxiao said.

The Liu family was not welcoming to the four of them and wouldn’t even let them in the door.

As they were leaving, Ji Mingxiao heard a woman’s hysterical cry from inside.

“Our Ling’er is dead, so no one else should live! Let the ghost continue its haunting!”

“Why should only our Ling’er suffer! Why!”

…

The four of them fell silent. Xi Ruan looked back, her initial excitement completely gone, replaced by a sense of unease.

When you’re not personally involved in an event, it’s just a story. But when you get involved, you can no longer see it as just a story; everything feels so real.

“Let’s go to the riverside,” Ji Mingxiao said, looking at Xi Ruan and patting her shoulder.

Feng Yue and Yue Ran were surprised and exchanged a glance.

Senior Immortal Wuyin was a known ice block. She rarely showed any emotion or had any physical contact with others.

They looked at Xi Ruan again, unable to see anything special about her.

The four of them flew on their swords to the river Miss Chen had visited. It was empty and very quiet, with only the occasional bird call.

“The river doesn’t feel like there’s anything here,” Xi Ruan whispered.

Ji Mingxiao smirked. “You’d better not speak.”

Xi Ruan: …

Yue Ran looked at Ji Mingxiao again, then turned to Feng Yue.

Ji Mingxiao walked around the bridge once, then placed her hand on it and closed her eyes. With a wave of her hand, the surroundings instantly changed.

The three of them gasped in surprise.

The sky had turned dark, and colorful lanterns were everywhere. Flower lanterns hung overhead, and a flowing river of stars sparkled below their feet. People bustled about, and the sounds were lively and boisterous.

Ji Mingxiao opened her eyes and looked around.

Miss Chen was standing there, wearing a new-looking pink dress, likely prepared specially for the festival. Her mother stood beside her, and the two of them were laughing and talking.

Her maid was holding two river lanterns. They didn’t linger on the bridge for long and soon went down to the river to release their lanterns.

Xi Ruan and the others were about to follow, but seeing Ji Mingxiao standing still, they stopped.

Ji Mingxiao watched them place the lanterns in the river. They watched them float away and then left. About the time it takes for a stick of incense to burn, another person in a pink dress walked over and released a lantern. It was Miss Liu.

However, Miss Liu was alone, with no maid by her side.

She seemed flustered, looking around before placing her lantern and quickly leaving.

“That person?” Xi Ruan still hadn’t recognized her.

“That’s Miss Liu,” Ji Mingxiao said, a bit helpless.

Xi Ruan nodded. “Why does she look so strange? It’s just releasing a river lantern. Why act like that?”

“Exactly,” Ji Mingxiao tapped the railing. “If only we could find that river lantern.”

“How about we summon Miss Liu’s soul and ask her?” Xi Ruan suggested.

“Her soul is gone. After being burned by soul power, it was damaged and couldn’t enter the cycle of reincarnation. It has already scattered,” Ji Mingxiao said, looking at Xi Ruan. “Go back and read that book.”

Xi Ruan’s face flushed. She lowered her head. “This disciple understands.”

“Let’s go,” Ji Mingxiao said, waving her hand and returning the surroundings to normal.

“Go where?” Xi Ruan asked.

“I brought you here for experience, not for me to do all the work.”

Xi Ruan: …

“Besides, you chose this yourself.”

Xi Ruan: …

“Go find the flower lanterns? But it’s been over a month already. We won’t find them, will we?” Xi Ruan asked tentatively.

“Then go look for them. Finding even a few fragments will do,” Ji Mingxiao said, looking at the two men following her. “You two don’t have to keep following us.”

She was here for a trip with Xi Ruan. What was the point of having two people constantly trailing behind them?

Feng Yue and Yue Ran wanted to keep following, but they didn’t dare say anything, seeing Ji Mingxiao’s expressionless face. In the end, they could only watch the two women leave.

“Don’t you think Senior Immortal Wuyin is a little strange?” Yue Ran asked.

“How so?”

“She doesn’t seem as unapproachable as before,” Yue Ran said, stroking his chin. “And her tone of voice.”

“Maybe it’s just how she is with people she’s close to,” Feng Yue said, looking at Yue Ran. “She’s still very cold to strangers like us.”

The two fell into silence again.

“So where do we go now?”

“Let’s still go to the Liu family’s house and sneak in. The Liu family clearly has a problem,” Yue Ran said. “We just have to conceal our presence so we’re not discovered.”

“Alright.”

Ji Mingxiao and Xi Ruan followed the flow of the water. At Ji Mingxiao’s insistence, Xi Ruan locked onto the scent of the lantern and tracked it.

“I suddenly feel like a police dog,” Xi Ruan said with a frown.

“You’re the one who said it, not me,” Ji Mingxiao laughed.

Xi Ruan raised her hand and punched Ji Mingxiao’s shoulder hard, then glared at her and let out a soft huff. “You’re so annoying.”

“But you’re the one who said it. Why are you so unreasonable?”

“I’m usually very reasonable. I just can’t help it when I’m around you,” Xi Ruan stopped and looked around, a little hesitant. “The scent went into the woods…”

“Mhm.”

“Why would it go into the woods?” Xi Ruan still didn’t understand. “It’s a river lantern, right?”

“Obviously, it’s not a normal river lantern,” Ji Mingxiao flicked Xi Ruan’s forehead. “How can you be so silly?”

Xi Ruan covered her forehead, glared at Ji Mingxiao, and started walking toward the woods.

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