Ning Dao Covered with Snow

Chapter 331 Entrapment
Danxiazi told Acai to stay in the courtyard to watch over the unconscious man, and after leaving the courtyard, he ran quickly along the path.

Finally, he arrived at a lake behind Hengqing Temple. At that moment, a bamboo raft was floating on the lake, and an old man wearing a straw hat was sitting on the raft fishing.

Danxiazi stood by the lake and shouted to the people in the center of the lake.

"Master, something happened!"

The bamboo raft slowly approached the shore. The old man stood up. He was thin and small, but his steps were very steady. The bamboo raft did not sway at all when he walked.

He went ashore, casually placed the bamboo basket containing the fish on the grass, and asked, "What happened?"

Danxiazi first bowed to him with her hands clasped, and then quickly said.

“There’s something wrong with the mother and daughter who came from Xiao’an Village last night. I just checked them out, and the mother is actually a man. I’ve already sent someone to inform Ayou and have her arrest that Lady Xiao as soon as possible.”

The old man lifted his straw hat slightly, revealing a wrinkled, aged face. He frowned and said, "It's a man. Can you find out his identity?"

“He lost his right arm and was paralyzed in bed. He had a persistent high fever and his mind seemed to be confused by the heat. No matter how I asked him, he didn’t respond at all.” Danxiazi’s expression became somewhat subtle as she said this. “It’s strange, but I felt that he was somewhat familiar, as if he were someone I knew.”

The old man, as if thinking of something, suddenly asked a question.

"Any news from Chang'an? Has Jiu'an still not returned?"

Jiu'an was his eldest disciple. He had previously stayed in Yizhou to help the Five Gods Sect consolidate its power in the Yizhou region. He also had another identity—the Venerable Envoy.

Upon hearing the name Jiu'an, Danxiazi froze for a moment, then exclaimed, "I remember now! He reminds me of Senior Brother Jiu'an! Senior Brother Jiu'an has always worn a mask since he was a child, and even I don't know what he looks like. Could the man who disguised himself as my mother be Senior Brother Jiu'an?!"

The old man's expression turned gloomy, and he said, "It seems we've all been tricked by Yan Ciwan."

Danxiazi's usually gentle, plump face now showed undisguised shock.

"How could this happen? Didn't our senior brother go to Chang'an to capture Yan Ciwan? He's quite skilled himself, and he brought so many people with him. Even if he couldn't catch her, he should have been able to escape unscathed. How did it end up like that..."

He really didn't want to admit that the paralyzed, bedridden, and mentally unstable man was actually his senior brother.

The old man had completely lost interest in fishing. He casually tossed his fishing rod aside and said, "Let me see if that person is really Jiu'an first."

Within the entire Five Gods Sect, only the Divine Shaman has ever seen Jiu'an's face. He can tell whether a person is really Jiu'an just by looking at him.

The shaman first went into the small bamboo house next door to change his clothes. When he came out, he was wearing a large white cloak and a black mask. On the right cheek of the mask, a strange moon pattern was painted in gold paint.

The master and disciple returned to Hengqing Temple along the same route.

They went straight to the courtyard and saw Ah Cai lying sprawled on the steps at the entrance. Ah Cai's clothes had all been stripped off, and he was only wearing a pair of underpants.

Danxiazi's expression changed, and he immediately shouted, "Someone come here!"

Soon, more than a dozen men in black arrived from all directions. They split into two groups: one group went inside to check the situation, while the other group stayed in the courtyard to protect the shaman and Danxiazi.

A moment later, all the men in black inside the house came out. They had already checked and there was no danger inside.

Danxiazi ordered someone to wake Acai up.

A man in black stepped forward and slapped Ah Cai across the face, making him wince in pain. He was forced to wake up and covered his face, wanting to curse, but before he could even utter a word, he saw that the two people standing in front of him were actually the witch and Danxiazi!

Ah Cai's expression changed drastically. He hurriedly got up, only to find that he was shirtless. He was both shocked and annoyed, and hurriedly bowed, saying, "Your subordinate greets the Divine Shaman."

The shaman asked, "Why did you faint?"

“I was ordered to guard this place. Shortly after Master Danxiazi left, I heard a noise outside and went out to check. As soon as I stepped out the door, I was knocked unconscious from behind.”

Danxia pressed further: "So, you didn't see who the attacker was?"

Ah Cai lowered his head and said with shame, "Yes."

The shaman coldly said, "You failed in your duties. Go and accept your punishment."

Upon hearing this, Ah Cai immediately thought of the punishment he was about to face, and his face turned deathly pale. He knelt down with a thud: "Great Shaman, spare my life! Please give me another chance!"

The shaman ignored him, walked past him, and strode into the house.

Danxiazi raised her hand, and immediately two men in black stepped forward, grabbed Acai, and forcibly dragged him away.

Then Danxiazi also entered the house. As soon as he entered, he heard the shaman shout "Jiu'an".

Danxiazi paused, then quickened her pace and asked, "Master, is this really our eldest brother?"

"Yes, how did he become like this? How did your right hand disappear? I just took his pulse, and he has poison in his body, and the poison is extremely complex, like a mixture of at least three kinds of poison. What exactly did he go through?"

When the shaman said this, there was anger, but even more so, there was doubt and confusion.

Danxiazi couldn't answer.

He pondered deeply and analyzed carefully, "We suspected that the mother was the Ning family descendant we were looking for, but now it seems we were wrong. Perhaps the person who called herself Lady Xiao is the real Ning family descendant. The reason why our eldest brother has become like this must be related to her. As long as we find her, we will know the truth."

Danxiazi said, "She disguised herself and infiltrated Hengqing Temple, definitely to find Nie Xiayun. She won't leave until she achieves her goal."

Danxiazi immediately said, "I will immediately issue an order to seal off Moon Goddess Mountain, and then send out all my men to search every inch of the mountain. I refuse to believe we won't find her."

“That would take too much time, and don’t forget, Ah Cai’s clothes have been taken off. She might put on Ah Cai’s clothes and pretend to be one of our people to confuse us. That would make it even harder to find her.”

Danxiazi humbly accepted the instruction and respectfully asked, "Then, in Master's wise opinion, how should this matter be handled?"

"Since she's here to find Nie Xiayun, let's deliberately create a loophole for her and let her know Nie Xiayun's whereabouts."

Danxiazi immediately understood his meaning and replied, "Disciple will go and do it right away."

"Remember, try not to hurt her."

"Yes."

The shaman took Jiu'an away, intending to treat him properly and try his best to help him recover.

Danxiazi then began to devise a plan to lure and capture Yan Ciwan.

He first went to the dungeon where Nie Xiayun was imprisoned.

The iron door leading to the dungeon was always locked and could only be opened from the inside. No matter what method was used from the outside, it was impossible to open the iron door.