Brother, how come you're a witch?

Ye Jingqiu's sword energy was released almost simultaneously with her low shout.

She held no sword, but pointed with her finger, and a sharp, cold light suddenly shot into the bushes in the forest, eliciting another exclamation.

Su Yan followed closely behind, leaping off Ye Jingqiu and rushing towards the source of the sound, his movements resembling both pursuit and escape.

He passed through the gap created by the sword energy cutting through the bushes, and saw a small clearing in the forest behind him. The chilling sword energy had not yet dissipated, but he could not see the person who had made the sound. Only a warm fragrance remained, and... a bell on the ground.

"Oh no."

Su Yan knew inwardly that something was wrong.

His posture with Ye Jingqiu just now was really misleading. In the desolate wilderness, a man and a woman were alone, and both were disheveled, one of them was practically naked.

It seems like something great harmony is about to happen.

If it were an ordinary disciple being seen fighting in the wild, that would be fine, but Ye Jingqiu, although unpopular, is still a controversial figure. What if a scandal were to spread?

Even if Ye Jingqiu doesn't care, Su Yan does.

He had just told Liu Baishuang that he was going back to sever all ties with Ye Jingqiu. Although the little demoness said that he didn't need to be so ruthless, it didn't mean that he could turn around and strip Ye Jingqiu naked and pin him to the ground, right?

If one doesn't understand the reasons behind it and only looks at this behavior, it's simply two-faced.

"We must find this person and explain things clearly."

Su Yan frowned and solemnly extended his divine sense, but his empty kidneys did not allow him to do so much; it immediately withered as soon as it became erect.

"..."

Only silence could express Su Yan's feelings at this moment.

He had no choice but to turn around and look at Ye Jingqiu, who had already stood up, wrapped his white robe back up, and walked over with the flush on his face slightly reduced.

She glanced at the open space, then met Su Yan's gaze, and sniffed as she said:

"My divine sense couldn't detect anything, but the person's scent is still there."

"So that means it's still nearby?" Su Yan looked around and asked.

"No, the scent is fading and dissipating, which means it's no longer here, as if it suddenly disappeared... It might be some kind of escape technique."

Ye Jingqiu shook his head:

"I can't smell where she went, but I can smell where she came from."

That's a really useful ability.

Su Yan couldn't help but sigh. If it weren't for Ye Jingqiu's extraordinary sense of smell, he would have had a hard time finding any useful clues in his current state.

This person was able to approach without either Ye Jingqiu's or his divine senses noticing, so he must have some strength. At the very least, he must be quite skilled in concealing his presence and using escape techniques, making him extremely difficult to track.

"Since we don't know where she went, let's go find where she came from. As the saying goes, you can run away from the monk, but you can't hide from the temple."

Su Yan picked up the bell from the ground.

A broken piece of red rope remained on the bell, probably severed by Ye Jingqiu's sword energy. The man ran too fast and didn't manage to take it with him.

The warm fragrance emanating from the bell intensified, and the gentle scent calmed Su Yan's mood somewhat.

He became even more certain that the voyeur was definitely a girl; the voice and the scent all proved it.

Ye Jingqiu leaned closer, sniffed the bell that Su Yan was holding, and then slowly opened her eyes again.

The threads of scent formed again in her perception, though they were somewhat blurry. She raised her hand and pointed due north, saying:

"Over here."

After saying that, Ye Jingqiu took the lead and ran after the scent. She was so eager, as if she was in a hurry to leave the cliff.

She's still just a little girl...

Su Yan chuckled and shook his head, then put away the bell and followed.

The threads formed by the scent were very convoluted, and the person changed direction many times as they came, as if trying to conceal their presence.

But this didn't stump Ye Jingqiu. After spending a little more time, she led Su Yan out of the dense forest and into a damp valley.

"Guanyu Valley?"

Su Yan frowned slightly as he looked at the valley crisscrossed by waterways.

Guanyu Valley has a complex terrain and is inconvenient to enter and exit. Apart from fishing, almost no one comes here. However, since a cultivator with the Thunder Spirit Root broke through the defenses and directly used electricity to fish last year, fishing has been banned here by the sect.

If the smell is coming from Guanyu Valley, then they will have a hard time finding the "monk's temple" because there are no permanent people in the valley, and the smell will dissipate faster in such a humid place.

"It seems that finding people by scent is no longer an option."

Su Yan sighed, wanting to call Ye Jingqiu back, but when he turned his head, he saw the latter staring straight ahead:

"What's wrong?"

"There's a monster."

Ye Jingqiu's nose twitched again, and she became even more serious:

"A monster passed through here not long ago."

"You can smell that too?"

Su Yan was puzzled. Monsters are good at moving in the shadows and are very good at stealth. Unless they are preparing to attack or have strong hostility, they are extremely difficult to find.

"You can't usually tell by smell."

Ye Jingqiu shook her head, her small hands clenching tightly beneath her wide sleeves:

"But this is the same one that slapped me last time."

"ah......"

So he was holding a grudge.

Su Yan understood, but his expression also became serious.

It turns out that those monsters from last time didn't go far at all; they were hiding in Guanyu Valley, which is adjacent to Xiaozhu Peak.

This valley has countless caves, making it a perfect hiding place. If the sect intended to investigate, they certainly wouldn't have let this place go. How come there are still monsters active here today?

It seems the investigation has indeed been obstructed.

Could it be that Li Changsheng was right?

Su Yan frowned, then suddenly remembered that the communication jade tablet had lit up earlier and he still had a message he hadn't checked. So he quickly took out the communication jade tablet he had taken back from Ye Jingqiu and opened it.

There's only one line of text above.

"A traitor from the Heavenly Demon has appeared. This person is extremely skilled in escape techniques and carries a warm fragrance. Junior brother, be careful."

......

Inside the pavilion on Shuiyue Peak.

Liu Baishuang glanced at the message she had sent earlier, then hid the jade token in her bosom.

She was a little confused and didn't have the patience to wait for Su Yan's reply, nor could she just wait like that.

This is a case of the thief crying "stop thief!"

Liu Baishuang was afraid that Su Yan might hear some rumors. The sect's higher-ups wouldn't believe such a thing as "their own genius being intimate with a demon," but Su Yan might not be so sure. He knew the future, and if he heard this rumor, he might deduce something.

Therefore, we must strike first and reduce the credibility of this person's words on Su Yan's side.

Then, we need to find this person quickly.

A lie repeated a thousand times may become the truth, let alone the truth. If this person continues to report it, it will eventually lead to an investigation.

Secondly, we must be wary of this person. Many cultivators do not play by the rules and may not follow the proper sect procedures. They might use other methods, so we must be careful.

Liu Baishuang looked solemn as she spread out a map of the Xuanqing Sect on the bed.

The location of each immortal peak was marked on the map. She checked the list of disciples one by one and circled several possible immortal peaks.

Those who have personally taught many young female disciples include the following: Divine Pill, Wonderful Sound, Spirit Beast, Dream Joy, True Thought, Mysterious Mechanism...

Among them, the closest to Guanyu Valley is Ling Shou Peak.

Liu Baishuang put down her pen and frowned slightly.

It seems we should start our investigation from Spirit Beast Peak.