Starting as pearl divers, they have endless jobs.

Chapter 138 Disappearance, Search, Black Buddha Temple

He was indeed quite tired. After all that, although he wasn't physically injured, he was mentally exhausted.

"Hey, wait a minute!" Cong Bo called out to him.

“Brother, this Puppet Sect is no ordinary sect. Since the murderer dared to commit such a major crime in Wangjia Village, he might still be lurking near Yuhuo County.”

"Be careful, you're all alone."

Cong Bo was genuinely reminding Chen Ye.

After all, Chen Ye was the key figure who disrupted the other party's ceremony, and it was hard to guarantee that he wouldn't be targeted for retaliation.

"Thanks!" Chen Ye waved without turning his head, and his figure quickly disappeared at the gate of the Demon Slayer Bureau.

Watching his departing figure, Cong Bo shook his head helplessly, a bitter smile appearing on his face.

That kid is a real freak.

In the following days, the entire Yuhuo County was plunged into an unprecedented atmosphere of tension.

Everywhere in the streets and alleys, there were demon-slaying captains and constables from the yamen, all armed with weapons, patrolling.

The checks at the city gates became exceptionally strict, with anyone entering or leaving having their identity carefully verified.

The wanted poster for that handsome man was plastered in every conspicuous place.

The bounty of a thousand taels of silver attracted countless self-proclaimed skilled wandering swordsmen and bounty hunters, who began to search for information everywhere.
-
This is a very quiet little tavern in Yuhuo County.

The people who come here to drink are mostly small vendors and laborers. Although the environment is cramped, the prices are cheap, and the dishes can be sold in half portions.

Therefore, you can often see people here ordering half a plate of peanuts and drinking happily.

And that's already considered pretty good, because some people can't even afford half a plate of peanuts, but they still can't resist their craving for alcohol. So they carry a small bag of coarse salt with them, and when they drink, they open the bag and dip their fingers in a grain or two of salt as a snack.

Yun Heqing was certainly not so destitute. Sometimes he could even indulge himself by having the shopkeeper slice a plate of pig's head meat and order a cold platter of dried tofu, then sit at the table converted from a large wine vat and slowly drink for most of the day.

As a result, people who frequented the tavern knew him and knew that he was an old man who loved alcohol more than anything.

On this day, Yun Heqing once again indulged in his usual three dishes: a pot of strong liquor, a plate of braised pig's head, and a serving of salted tofu, which he then enjoyed immensely.

As he drank, he chatted and laughed with the female shopkeeper behind the wine vat.

His willingness to come to this place for drinks was largely due to the female manager.

Although she was nearly forty years old, and years of hard work had left her with wrinkles around her eyes and brows, she was fair-skinned and had a full figure, which suited Yun Heqing's taste perfectly, so he wished he could come eight times a day.

The female shopkeeper, however, kept her distance from him, neither too close nor too distant. Sometimes she would smile and extend her hand for him to read her palm, and other times she would put on a stern face and show no emotion.

The more this happened, the more Yun Heqing became itchy to get closer to her. Today was no exception. He tried to steer the conversation in that direction, but the female shopkeeper just wouldn't take the bait.

At this time, the tavern gradually became more crowded. After all, the weather was getting colder, and having a drink to warm up after a busy day was the only thought for these men from the bottom of society.

Many people greeted Yun Heqing when they arrived, and Yun Heqing responded with a smile to them all.

At this point, the shopkeeper got busy again and naturally had no chance to speak, so Yun Heqing buried his head and began to pour himself a drink.

Just as he was completely oblivious to the world around him, he suddenly felt the tavern quiet down, and then a familiar, pricking feeling welled up in his heart.

Yun Heqing's expression immediately changed. He tried to get up, but it was too late. He could only raise his head with a helpless look on his face.

really.

A young girl appeared opposite him.

A girl with a round face and round eyes.

It was none other than the mysterious girl who used witchcraft, Su Yuan!

She walked up to Yun Heqing with a smile and sat down opposite him.

Seeing this, many people in the tavern looked astonished.

Because everyone knows that this Taoist priest not only has a fondness for drinking, but is also extremely enthusiastic about women.

Haven't you seen him flirting with the female owner of the tavern all day long?

But it's also possible that his methods were too clumsy, so that no one has taken the bait for so long.

Even the female shopkeeper treated him coldly, so why did such an innocent and lovely girl suddenly appear today?

But Yun Heqing felt no joy at all; instead, he was filled with fear.

But since things had come to this, he could only force a smile and ask Su Yuan, "Miss Su... why did you suddenly come to a place like this?"

"What? Just because you came doesn't mean I can't?" Su Yuan said with a smile, like a little girl asking for candy.

But Yun Heqing broke out in a cold sweat because he sensed a very dangerous aura. Although it was fleeting, it still made his heart pound.

Yun Heqing gave a wry smile. “Miss Su, no, Grandma Su, I’m just a conman who makes a living with my words. If I have offended you before, please forgive me. You are a magnanimous person, so please don’t make things difficult for a nobody like me.”

"A nobody?" Su Yuan laughed again. "You can recognize that the Gu I used is top-quality, how could it be a nobody?"

Yun Heqing's face turned pale instantly, because he had only said these words to one person, Chen Ye.

But I was already very careful at the time, so how did she know? Could it be that Chen Ye told him? That's impossible, that Chen guy doesn't seem like the kind of person who would forget his principles for the sake of a pretty face.

Countless thoughts flashed through Yun Heqing's mind in an instant, while Su Yuan laughed.

"Stop guessing. Nobody told me about this, but do you really think that touching my hand back then was for nothing?"

In an instant, Yun Heqing's face turned from white to ashen, and even his hands trembled. "You...you planted a curse on me?"

"It's not really poisoning, just a small trick to see if you've been talking badly about me behind my back."

Yun Heqing's expression finally improved, because just now he had frantically examined himself and found nothing unusual. It seemed that Su Yuan was not lying and that he was indeed not under the influence of the Gu.

Even such petty tricks couldn't stop him, so he pleaded with a face full of pleas, "Grandma, I know I was wrong. I shouldn't have meddled. Please be merciful and let me go. I promise to leave Yuhuo County immediately and never come back, okay?"

"Who said I was going to let you leave?"

"Huh?" Yun Heqing was taken aback.

He assumed that Su Yuan was interested in Chen Ye, but because of his reminder, she was angry with him and wanted to take revenge.

Looking at it now, it seems I misunderstood?

"Do you know about that big deal that's been making headlines lately?" Su Yuan asked.

"You mean...the incident in Wangjia Village?" Yun Heqing asked cautiously.

Su Yuan nodded.

Yun Heqing knew about this matter, but he didn't want to get involved because it was different from the Black Wind Stronghold incident. That time, they were only dealing with an evil god, but this time, as soon as he saw the case, he knew there was definitely more to it than met the eye.

Although he was tempted by the thousand-tael reward, his own life was more important.

But now it seems that Su Yuan is quite interested.

"You...you're planning to take this job?" Yun Heqing asked again.

But Su Yuan shook her head. "No, I'm not interested in those commissions. I just want to find the real culprit and take something from him."

At this point, Su Yuan looked at Yun Heqing, her smile becoming even more adorable. "But it's impossible for me to find clues by myself, so I thought of you, Master Yun. After all, your ability to observe qi is quite remarkable. Therefore, let's cooperate, and you can keep the commission after it's done. How about it?"

Yun Heqing wanted to refuse, but looking at the round-eyed girl opposite him, he finally gave up the idea of ​​refusing, but still said, "It is possible, but my Qi observation technique may not be able to find that guy."

"It's okay, it's not like it has to work out. Besides, I'll teach you a trick that should increase your chances of success." Su Yuan blinked, her smile sweet.

"What trick?"

Yun Heqing was somewhat puzzled, but after listening to Su Yuan's explanation, he fell silent, because he realized that it was indeed a pretty good idea.

At the same time, he secretly made up his mind that once the matter was settled, he would never stay in Yuhuo County again and would run as far away as possible, since this place was too eerie.

"Then... it's a pleasure to cooperate!" Su Yuan extended her hand to Yun Heqing.

Yun Heqing shook his head vigorously, saying, "It's a pleasure to cooperate, but there's no need to shake hands."

Su Yuan smiled slightly, did not insist, and after they told each other how to contact each other, she drifted away.

Several more days passed, but the mysterious performer in the blue robe seemed to have vanished into thin air, leaving no trace whatsoever.

Meanwhile, the tragedy in Wangjia Village also caused great panic in the city.

The people were abuzz with discussion, and all sorts of terrifying rumors about evil sects harming people spread like wildfire.

For a time, the entire Yuhuo County was filled with panic. At night, every household kept their doors tightly shut, and the streets were deserted, with not a single ghost in sight.

Chen Ye, however, completely ignored the turmoil outside.

After returning to the inn, he locked himself in his room and rarely went out.

For him, investigating cases was just a side job to earn extra money; improving his own abilities was the only constant theme.

His experience in Wangjia Village made him realize once again the dangers of this world.

A puppet sect remnant that appeared out of nowhere could easily slaughter a village of several hundred people.

Judging from the performance of the Demon Slayer Division, this dynasty is clearly struggling. Apart from Cong Bo, everyone else, including Magistrate Huang, is just a figurehead. Therefore, no one can be relied upon; they can only rely on themselves.

After all, there are too many powerful people and too many strange methods in this world.

My current strength is far from sufficient.

So he poured all the remaining money into cultivation, buying a large amount of cultivation resources and working day and night to hone his skills.

At the same time, he also used his status as an unofficial member of the Demon Slayer Division to review a large number of files related to the Puppet Sect.

He wanted to find out exactly what this evil sect, which had disappeared for many years, was all about.

According to the records, the Puppet Sect was a heretical sect that rose to prominence in the south three hundred years ago.

Its founder was originally a craftsman obsessed with mechanical arts. Later, he accidentally obtained an ancient evil book and combined mechanical arts with evil soul-refining techniques to create the extremely vicious puppetry.

The Puppet Sect's style of doing things is extremely bizarre and cruel.

They need a large number of living souls and resentment to create puppets.

Therefore, wherever they go, they often choose a village or town, slaughter it all, and use the lives and resentment of the entire village to forge a powerful Blood Soul Puppet.

The puppets created in this way are not only impervious to swords and spears and possess immense strength, but they also retain some of their original fighting instincts, making them extremely difficult to deal with.

At its peak, the Puppet Sect Master commanded twelve natal puppets known as the Twelve Yuan Chen, each possessing strength comparable to an Inner Realm expert.

With this terrifying puppet army, they ran rampant in several southern provinces, committing heinous crimes and incurring the wrath of both heaven and man.

Finally, more than a hundred years ago, the Heavenly Sword Manor, the national protector sect of the Great Yan Dynasty at that time, took the lead and joined forces with dozens of righteous sects to launch a siege against the Puppet Sect.

In that battle, the righteous alliance paid an extremely heavy price before finally breaching the Puppet Sect's gates and slaughtering its entire members.

After that battle, the Puppet Sect completely disappeared, and no news of them was ever heard in the martial arts world again.

Everyone thought this cancer had been completely eradicated, but unexpectedly, there are still remnants surviving in the world.

Chen Ye closed the file, his eyes becoming somewhat profound.

The file also mentions that the core technique of the Puppet Sect is to enhance one's cultivation by refining one's own natal puppet.

The stronger the puppet is, the stronger the master will be.

To craft the highest-level ghost puppet, an extremely special material is required—pure Yin soul.

"Pure Yin Soul..." Chen Ye silently memorized this term.

He always felt that the case in Wangjia Village wouldn't end so simply.

That artist in the blue robe went to great lengths to slaughter a village and create so many blood soul puppets; his purpose was probably not just to kill people.

He must be plotting something bigger.

In the following days, with the Demon Slayer Bureau's tight control and the passage of time, the panic brought about by the Wangjia Village massacre gradually subsided.

Although the murderer has not yet been found, at least no new cases have occurred.

But ordinary people still have to go on with their lives as usual.

However, everyone has become more cautious than before.

The night in Yuhuo County became quieter than ever before.

However, the anomaly came faster than anyone expected.

Just seven days later, astonishing news once again shook the entire Yuhuo County.

The daughter of Zhang, the richest man in the city, has disappeared!
This wealthy man was a prominent figure in Yuhuo County, and it was said that he had considerable connections in the prefectural city as well.

His daughter was pampered from a young age, treated like a precious gem.

According to the servants of the Zhang family, Miss Zhang, along with several maids, servants, and guards, a group of more than ten people, traveled by carriage to the Black Buddha Temple on the outskirts of the city to offer incense and pray for blessings yesterday.

But the group did not return by evening.

Master Zhang sensed something was wrong and immediately sent people to search for him at the Black Buddha Temple.

However, the monks at Black Buddha Temple said they had never seen Miss Zhang and her party.

The men sent out by Master Zhang searched along the road to the temple all day, but couldn't find a single hair on it.

It was as if this large group of people, along with a large carriage, had simply vanished into thin air on the road.

Now Master Zhang was completely panicked.

While mobilizing all his servants to search everywhere, he also ran to the county government to report the incident to the authorities.

A perfectly healthy woman, the daughter of a wealthy and influential man, mysteriously disappeared with a large group of servants.

This is far more serious than the deaths of a bunch of peasants in Wangjia Village.

The county magistrate dared not delay and immediately ordered all the constables in the county to set out. At the same time, he once again found Cong Bo of the Demon Slayer Division.

Cong Bo was completely overwhelmed when he received the news.

"Damn it! Here we go again!"

He felt like he was having a run of bad luck lately, otherwise why would he keep getting these bizarre cases?

The murderer in Wangjia Village has not yet been caught, and now another person has appeared who has seemingly vanished into thin air.

Moreover, the missing person was the daughter of the wealthy Zhang family.

It should be noted that this wealthy man is a major financial backer of the Demon Slayer Bureau, donating 30% of its annual budget each year.

Now that the sugar daddy's daughter is gone, if he can't find her, how will he ever have the face to ask for money again?
Left with no other choice, Cong Bo had to bite the bullet and personally lead a team to the scene of the incident for investigation.

After receiving the news, Chen Ye also quietly blended into the crowd.

If he didn't figure out the case and catch the puppeteer, he wouldn't get his fifty taels commission. So when he heard about it, Chen Ye rushed over immediately.

He had a premonition that Ms. Zhang's disappearance was very likely related to the case in Wangjia Village.

Cong Bo led his men to search the road from Zhang's residence to Black Buddha Temple three times, going back and forth carefully.

Not even a tire track was left on the ground.

Still found nothing.

The scene was spotless, with no signs of fighting, and no trace of demonic, ghostly, or evil energy.

It was as if the carriage had suddenly flown into the sky and disappeared into the earth halfway through its journey.

After working hard for most of the day, Cong Bo came up empty-handed and could only lead his men to the last stop—Black Buddha Temple—with a dark expression.

He wanted to see if there was anything fishy going on.

Black Buddha Temple is located on a small hillside on the outskirts of Yuhuo County.

The temple is small, and could even be described as somewhat dilapidated, but its incense is exceptionally strong.

It is said that the Buddha enshrined in this temple is very efficacious and can grant any request.

Therefore, devout men and women always come here to burn incense and worship Buddha on weekdays.

When Cong Bo arrived with his men, there were still many worshippers at the temple.

The abbot of the temple was a kind-looking old monk who appeared to be in his fifties, and his Dharma name was Liaochen.

Upon seeing Cong Bo, Abbot Liao Chen clasped his hands together, his face filled with helplessness and apology.

“Amitabha, Lord Cong, as I have already said, I did not see Benefactor Zhang and his party yesterday.”

"The temple has been thoroughly searched, from top to bottom, and the adults have already done so. It's really...sigh..."

He sighed, with an expression that said, "I really want to help, but I'm powerless to do anything about it."

Cong Bo's expression turned even uglier.

His men had indeed turned the small Black Buddha Temple inside and out.

Let alone hiding a dozen or so living people, even if they were hiding a mouse, they would have found it.

But nothing came of it.

The monks in the temple were all questioned one by one, and their answers were the same as those of Abbot Liaochen.

There are no flaws.

But they couldn't leave it unsearched, so Cong Bo personally led a search party.

Chen Ye also mingled in the crowd, but he didn't search the area. Instead, he quietly observed everything.

His gaze fell on the Buddha statue enshrined in the main hall.

That was not an ordinary Buddha statue enshrined in a temple, but a Buddha statue that was entirely black, with a majestic face and a black sun burning behind it.

It is the Dark Sun Tathagata!
(End of this chapter)