I manage female characters in all the heavens.

Nie Yan struggled to open his eyes, feeling dizzy and disoriented, as if he had been forced to drink a jar of cheap liquor.

He rubbed his temples, struggled to sit up, looked around, and found himself lying on the bed in the meditation room.

"How...did I fall asleep?" he murmured.

His memory of last night was somewhat hazy; he only remembered chanting sutras and praying for blessings, inquiring about the future, accompanied by Master Benxin, and then…

Then I don't remember anything.

He shook his head, stood up, and pushed open the door—

Then he froze.

The sunlight was blinding, and the scene in the courtyard made his pupils shrink.

Lanruo Temple, which was perfectly fine last night, is now a ruin.

The roof of the main hall collapsed, several thick beams lay scattered on the ground, and glazed tiles were broken all over the place.

The side halls were in even worse condition, with several rooms reduced to rubble and broken tiles, creating a kind of "exploded beauty."

The courtyard was full of deep ravines, as if it had been plowed by some giant claw.

"...?"

Nie Yan stood at the door, opened his mouth, but no sound came out.

"Master! Master!" A servant stumbled over, his face pale. "N-nothing's wrong!"

Nie Yan took a deep breath and forced herself to calm down: "I'm not blind. I know this is bad. Tell me slowly."

"The guards..." the servant's voice trembled, "...they're all gone!"

Nie Yan felt a chill run from the soles of his feet straight to the top of his head.

He quickly walked down the steps and strolled around the courtyard, becoming increasingly alarmed with each step.

The ruins were filled with signs of destruction; the ground had furrows dug by something, and the walls had huge cracks.

Several broken tree roots lay scattered on the ground, their cuts as smooth as a mirror, as if they had been instantly severed by an extremely sharp blade.

The strangest thing was that the entire temple was deathly silent.

There were no monks, no guards, no patrolling soldiers, not a single living person.

It was as if everyone in the temple, except for the thirty or so members of the Nie family, had vanished into thin air overnight.

“Master…” The butler walked to his side, his voice trembling, “Tell me, last night… did we… did we encounter something unclean?”

Nie Yan did not speak.

He crouched down, picked up a broken piece of tree root, and examined it in his hand.

Some dark green liquid seeped from the broken end of the tree root, emitting a faint, indescribable fishy odor.

These are not ordinary tree roots.

He suddenly stood up, his gaze sweeping across the ruins, his expression growing increasingly grave.

"Go check immediately!" he said in a deep voice. "See if there are any other people! How many people are missing? How much property has been lost? Are the horses and vehicles still usable?"

"Yes!" The servants immediately split up and got to work.

Soon, bad news began to arrive one after another.

"Sir, all the monks in the temple have disappeared; they've vanished without a trace, neither alive nor dead!"

"The entire guard is gone. The tents are still there, and weapons and armor are scattered all over the place, but there's not a single person in sight!"

Several horses are missing from the backyard stables, but the carriages are still there!

"No valuables were stolen; the three chests of gold and silver are still in the storeroom!"

Nie Yan stood in the courtyard, listening to these reports, his brows furrowing deeper and deeper.

The armor and weapons were intact, the valuables were not lost, and only a few horses were missing. Only a large number of people had disappeared—this was clearly not the work of ordinary robbers.

"Master..." The butler walked to his side and lowered his voice, "This seems to be the work of evil spirits!"

Nie Yan fell silent.

All of this is too bizarre to be explained by common sense.

The temple was reduced to ruins overnight, hundreds of people vanished into thin air, and strange ravines and broken tree roots littered the ground...

He was terrified, thinking that he and his companions had been bewitched by demons and monsters yesterday, that this was not Lanruo Temple at all, but a ghostly illusion, and that the guards had all met with misfortune.

Just then, a lazy voice came from behind:

"Ugh, so noisy! It's so early in the morning, can't a person get any sleep?"

Nie Yan turned around and saw "Nie Xiaoqian" standing under the eaves, yawning as if she had just woken up.

She wore a light blue dress, her long hair casually draped over her shoulders, exuding a languid air, as if she was completely oblivious to the devastated scene around her.

"Yaoguang!" Nie Yan strode over and lowered his voice, "Did you... hear anything last night?"

"movement?"

Nie Xiaoqian blinked. "No, I slept soundly until dawn and didn't hear anything. What's wrong?"

"What happened? Didn't you see?" Nie Yan pointed to the surrounding ruins. "This temple... it's turned into this overnight!"

“Oh, this one.” Nie Xiaoqian glanced at it casually, her tone relaxed. “I saw it as soon as I went out. It probably collapsed because it had been in disrepair for years and was washed away by the heavy rain last night.”

Nie Yan: "..."

Old and dilapidated? Washed away by a heavy rain?

He glanced at the deep furrows carved into the ground, then at the thick tree roots that looked as if they had been severed by a sharp blade, and finally at the neatly collapsed side hall, as if it had been cleaved in two by some immense force—

This doesn't look like it was dried by a heavy rain at all!

He took a deep breath, suppressing the strange feeling in his heart, and said in a deep voice, "That's enough, we can't stay here any longer. Whatever happened last night, we have to leave quickly."

He turned around and shouted to the servants who were still standing there in a daze, "Don't just stand there! Quickly pack your things and load all the usable supplies onto the carts! Let's go!"

"Yes!" The servants immediately sprang into action.

After an incense stick had burned, the Nie family's group hurriedly left Lanruo Temple.

As the carriage drove out of the mountain gate, "Nie Xiaoqian" lifted the curtain and glanced back at the dilapidated temple bathed in sunlight.

Her gaze swept past the ruins and landed deep in the mountains behind the temple.

There, a huge locust tree stands quietly on the hillside, its canopy blocking out the sun, its branches twisted like ghostly claws.

The sunlight shone on the tree canopy, but seemed unable to penetrate the dense foliage; the shadows beneath the trees were as thick as ink.

She could feel a gaze fixed on her.

Nie Xiaoqian smiled slightly and lowered the carriage curtain.

Old monster, I'll let you off this time.

Once I get some magic from some immortal cultivation sect, I'll come back and let you cook.

The carriage drove onto the official road and headed north.

Inside the carriage, Nie Yan tells "Nie Xiaoqian" his frightening speculation.

He said that he and his companions must have been attacked by ghosts, and that the more than one hundred guards were in grave danger. Fortunately, it was probably because the more than one hundred guards took their place that the ghosts were able to eat their fill, and that they were able to escape.

Nie Xiaoqian pretended to be scared, but her acting was so bad that Nie Yan could tell at a glance that she wasn't scared at all and was just being silly.

Nie Yan sighed inwardly. It was certainly a good thing that her daughter wasn't frightened, but it wasn't so good that she wasn't even frightened by something like this.

The power of the Po Jun star in the Destiny Palace is so strong that it has turned a delicate young lady into someone who is fearless. He no longer knows if he has the ability to reverse the flaws in his daughter's Po Jun star in the Destiny Palace.

As he was lost in thought, Nie Yan's eyes suddenly caught sight of the two swords that "Nie Xiaoqian" had casually tossed aside. They seemed somewhat familiar, as they appeared to be the swords of several officers in the guard.

He asked Nie Xiaoqian where she got the two swords and why she carried them with her. Did she, a young lady who was powerless, really want to draw her sword and fight the thieves herself when she encountered them?

"Nie Xiaoqian" paused for a moment, then stuffed the two swords she had picked up casually the night before into Nie Yan's arms, saying that she had borrowed them from the guard team specifically to arm Nie Yan so that he would at least have a weapon to protect his frail daughter if he encountered danger.

Why are there two?

"Nie Xiaoqian" solemnly stated that since a person has two hands, they should wield both swords; two swords are always better than one.

Nie Yan thought it made sense. He gripped his longsword firmly, his expression resolute, and said that he would definitely protect his daughter and that "Nie Xiaoqian" could hide behind him if she encountered any danger.

He then smiled slightly and boasted to his daughter that he had also been a master swordsman in his youth, and that three or five burly men could not get close to him.

Although he hasn't practiced for many years, as long as he has a longsword in hand, he can still dominate the battlefield and protect "Nie Xiaoqian".

My sword has never been ineffective!

"Nie Xiaoqian" smiles, as long as you're happy.

She didn't have any expectations for Nie Yan's martial arts skills, but she didn't show it. Instead, she chose to provide emotional value by pretending to admire Nie Yan and praising him, which greatly satisfied her father's pride.

This almost made Lao Nie lose his temper and demonstrate his swordsmanship on the spot.

After leaving Guobei County, they passed through a checkpoint and finally left Jinhua Prefecture.

Then, everyone was shocked by what they saw.

It was only then that everyone realized just how chaotic the outside world had become—the road was filled with ragged, emaciated refugees, and the roadside was littered with unclaimed corpses.

A strong, stench of decay filled the air, making people nauseous.

“This…how could this be…” Nie Yan sat in the carriage, looking out the window at the scene, his face ashen.

He served as an official in Jinhua Prefecture for two years. Although the situation in Jinhua Prefecture was also bad and life was difficult under his governance, at least basic order could be maintained.

And this place, just outside Jinhua Prefecture, is practically hell on earth!

"Master..." A servant on horseback approached the carriage and lowered his voice, "There are many refugees on the road ahead, and our carriage may have difficulty passing through."

Nie Yan was silent for a moment, then sighed: "Let's go around them, and try not to disturb them."

"Yes."

The group slowed down and carefully moved among the refugees.

There was no way to save them; the team's own supplies were just enough for their own use.

Moreover, Nie Yan had relevant experience and knew that if he offered relief to the refugees at this time, he would not be met with gratitude, but rather with looting.