Who is spreading rumors that my filial piety towards them has changed?

Chu Mingkong turned to Jin Yu's page again, wondering whether he should tell her.

I think I'll pass on it. When I go to find Jin Yu and Pei Mi later, I can just tell them about it as a ghost story!

Just as he was about to put away the paper, Master Yun, unusually, took the initiative to send him a message.

[Yun Nongyu: Your Highness, are you near Jinbao City? The Daoist sect just sent me a message that one of their disciples was injured for some unknown reason. He is still quite strong, but he may have encountered a powerful enemy and his life may be in danger.]

[Chu Mingkong: Is he a young Taoist priest who knows the Five Thunder Technique? If so, he should be out of danger. Good, just send someone to pick him up.]

[Yun Nongyu: Yes, Your Highness has already rescued him?]

[Chu Mingkong: No, I let him go. I was the one who inflicted his serious injuries. Don't worry, I knew what I was doing. Those injuries won't affect his bones or his future cultivation.]

Yun Nongyu: ......

She didn't ask further, probably knowing that Chu Mingkong wasn't the type to randomly cause trouble for others; at most, he might retaliate quite ruthlessly if someone provoked him...

He said his life was no longer in danger, so there should be no problem.

Before he knew it, Wei Qingning had already "piloted" his flying sword to the vicinity of the destination on the map, and was not far from Xiling.

We passed a small town ahead. I don't know if it was because the sun was already high in the sky, or because remote places are quiet and peaceful, but the town's atmosphere was even more vibrant than that of Jinbao City.

The people were content, the streets were bustling with traffic, and laughter filled the air.

Wei Qingning glanced at it a few more times without realizing it, and suddenly got goosebumps all over her body!

She rubbed her eyes, looked at the map, and then at the town.

here......

Isn't that the small town where everyone was slaughtered and their bodies were scattered?

While wondering, the girl caught a glimpse of a young woman out of the corner of her eye. She opened a window, gazing at the town entrance, holding a swaddled baby in her arms, like a statue waiting for its husband.

"Brother..."

Wei Qingning stared in disbelief, her scalp tingling, and frantically shook Chu Mingkong's arm.

"What's wrong? What happened?"

“Look at that young woman, doesn’t she look like our Miss Qiao’er whom we just saw off?”

"what?"

Chu Mingkong wondered if the girl was seeing things, but following her finger, he...

They immediately fell silent.

Chapter Twenty-Four: What kind of situation haven't I seen!

Chu Mingkong had never seen such a scene before!

As for fear, Chu Mingkong didn't really have any; all his fear stemmed from the unknown and a sense of powerlessness.

To put it bluntly, insufficient firepower is the biggest reason. No matter how terrifying or horrifying what is happening in front of you is, if you are sure that you have the power to deal with it all, then even the scariest thing is nothing more than that.

However, Chu Mingkong was used to seeing many scenes of direct combat, so this kind of bizarre and absurd thing would make him scratch his head in confusion.

In his perception, Chu Mingkong could not detect anything wrong with the aura of these people; it was just like a peaceful and ordinary small town—provided that he did not know what tragedy had occurred here, nor did he know that the vengeful spirit of an abandoned wife had just disappeared after forming a grudge.

Chu Mingkong thought for a while, using his limited knowledge, and then asked:

"Qingning, is this kind of thing rare among ghosts?"

“Ghostly possession is already rare, but I’ve never heard of anything like this before…” Wei Qingning maneuvered his flying sword to a stop high in the sky. With the enhancement of spiritual power, his eyesight was sharp enough to easily see everything happening below through the clouds.

But these people were very ordinary, and Wei Qingning didn't recognize them. So she could only stare at the married woman, Qiao'er.

The young woman holding her baby stood by the window for a long time. Occasionally, a horse from the post station would run in from the town entrance, and she would crane her neck to look forward, hoping that among the letters brought by the postman, there would be one for the scholar.

After a while, the baby in Qiao'er's arms got hungry and started crying. The fair-skinned and delicate Qiao'er comforted the baby a few times and then reached out to draw the curtains.

Through the faint silhouette on the curtains, Qiao'er unbuttoned her clothes and brought the full, engorged "bottle" to the baby's mouth.

The crying gradually subsided.

Wei Qingning couldn't find anything suspicious. She wasn't sure if this was an illusion or a maze in front of her, or if other normal passersby could also see the state of the town.

"Let's go and see what's going on." Chu Mingkong felt that just watching wouldn't yield any results.

He might not know this town to others, but he knew at least one little woman named Joel.

Soon, Chu Mingkong and Wei Qingning dressed up a little, both wearing simple light-colored clothes, looking like a brother and sister from an ordinary family. However, they still exuded an inimitable nobility that was unmatched by people from ordinary backgrounds.

Chu Mingkong knocked on Qiao'er's door.

"Who is it?"

A wary voice came from inside the room, sounding like a single wife who was worried that someone with ill intentions might come and harass her while her husband was away.

This is quite similar; the tone does resemble that of the female ghost Qiao'er... Chu Mingkong muttered to himself.

"I am a fellow writer of Zhang Youshu. Is he home?"

"What Zhang Youshu? He can even get his surname wrong."

Hearing that it was her husband's friend, Qiao'er finally opened the door and saw that there was a woman with Chu Mingkong beside him, which made her feel even more at ease.

“I haven’t heard that You Shu has two literary friends, but You Shu went to meet with the governor! Didn’t he tell you?” Qiao’er said with some pride.

Chu Mingkong glanced into the room. The furnishings were simple, and the items inside were mostly daily necessities.

On the tea table were a booklet and an abacus, presumably Qiao'er was keeping track of the accounts while breastfeeding. At this time, Qiao'er had probably already spent most of the money she had taken with her when she eloped.

There were unfinished needlework items hanging on the wall, which must have been for making a little money. There were not many calligraphy and painting tools on the neat desk, so it seems that when Zhang Youshu was studying hard, he did not do business selling calligraphy and paintings to reduce the pressure of life, and basically relied on Qiao'er's food.

With just a brief glance and a sweep of his senses, Chu Mingkong still couldn't detect anything unusual.

He said congratulatoryly, "How inconsiderate of you not to wait for my congratulations! Does Madam Qiao have any handkerchiefs made? I'd like to buy a few for my sister."

"Yes, yes, but only one is done right now; the others are still a bit short."

"It's alright. My sister hasn't practiced needlework much yet. Those few half-finished pieces are perfect for her to practice on, boost her confidence, and make her feel that she can embroider very well too!"

Although Wei Qingning knew that Chu Mingkong's excuse was impromptu, she was afraid that he really didn't know, so she whispered, "Brother, I know needlework!"

Qiao'er thought the slender girl was just being stubborn, and smiled. She immediately went into the room and took out a few handkerchiefs.

Chu Mingkong and Wei Qingning chatted about some trivial things, trying to see if Qiao'er's attitude was unusual, but they still came up empty-handed and couldn't see anything wrong!

The two flew through the air on their swords again. Wei Qingning looked at the handkerchiefs but couldn't see anything wrong with them either.

It really is the real thing!

It doesn't just turn into leaves, stones, or joss paper without you realizing it.

"The more I try, the more confused I get. It's a situation I can't understand..." Wei Qingning said with mixed feelings.

She sympathized with Qiao'er's plight and hoped that she could have a chance to start her life over again. Even though she was pregnant with Zhang Youshu's child, things hadn't reached their worst point yet. She should hurry back to apologize to her parents; it was still not too late!

Qingning had just planned to say these words to Qiao'er: "A man should go back and tell his parents about things like the college entrance exam results. Don't wait for him, go find your parents first!"

But then she remembered that her parents had moved away from their original place and their whereabouts were unknown; there was no way to find them.

Chu Mingkong let out a long sigh: "The timeline of this town, before the government troops came in to massacre people, is really too..."

He didn't know how to accurately express his feelings.

At first glance, everything seemed strange, with not a single part appearing normal. Yet, upon closer inspection, one still couldn't discern the exact nature of the situation.

"Why don't we go back first?" Wei Qingning suggested. "We don't feel like we're finding any clues here."

"Hmm." Chu Mingkong scratched his head, his mind still on the matter. "Qingning, if the situation is as we see it now, I'm wondering if the two coachmen we saw last night were real people or ghosts."

It's simply impossible to tell the difference. If these things are true, then he and Qingning are people who have returned from the future and know that the town will be massacred in the near future.

Chu Mingkong accelerated his sword flight, speeding up the flight path. He stretched out his hand, and the wind pressure hit his palm, feeling slightly like a rubber ball rubbing against it.

Judging from the feel, it probably wasn't very big, somewhere between a large C and a small D, but the unique tactile sensation still calmed him down a bit.

Don't ask why he would touch the wind pressure while a girl was sitting in his lap.

The answer is that I feel sorry for my younger sister.

The flying sword swiftly swept past the place Gu Wenkai said he had seen the Ghost Brothel, but unfortunately found nothing; the place was empty, not even a grave could be seen.

However, after seeing that small town, Chu Mingkong stopped paying much attention to the ghost brothel.

"It seems I can only ask my family. After returning to Tianya City, I will first go and see what Master Yun has to say. If they don't know either, I will ask the elders of the Wei family for help."

Chu Mingkong composed himself, not wanting that bizarre feeling to reach Aunt Gu.

Before the sunny morning ended, the flying sword successfully arrived at the gate of the Gu residence.

Chapter Twenty-Five: I'll electrocute you right now!

As soon as Chu Mingkong appeared, the men and women of the Gu family swarmed over again. This wasn't just for show; they were all eager to greet him.

The men were afraid that the female ghost would continue to wreak havoc on their home, and Gu Wenkai's good deed of helping the ghost had already been known to his family. The men wanted to know from Chu Mingkong what would happen to the ghost brothel and whether they needed help. They also wanted to go and lend a hand!

The women already had a very high opinion of Chu Mingkong. After Chu Mingkong easily subdued the ghost last night, Gu Jungui, in order to appease his family, told them about the unfortunate experiences of the female ghost before her death.

Young girls may not understand much at that age, but such stories are very damaging to unmarried girls and married women. The former worry about marrying the wrong person, while the latter are afraid that such abandonment will happen to them in the future.

Hearing that Chu Mingkong was kind and compassionate, he took the female ghost girl to settle scores, which further increased the goodwill of the wives and young women in the Gu family towards him!

As soon as Chu Mingkong entered the Gu residence, several young women, under the pretense of being frightened, came over to cling to and rub against this handsome young man.

"That female ghost was truly terrifying; I never imagined she suffered so much in her life!"

"What happened next? That heartless man should have gotten his comeuppance. I hope that girl can put an end to her grudges and return to the cycle of reincarnation soon!"

Gu Jun Gui couldn't bear to see his son being taken advantage of by these women, so he quickly came over and pulled them apart:

"Go away, go away, just ask, why are you resorting to violence?"

"Yes!" Wei Qingning nodded, agreeing with Aunt Gu.

"Scared? Mingkong is here to subdue the ghosts for us, so what's wrong with me hiding and relying on him for a bit? Besides, although His Highness's status is higher than ours, he is still our junior, so what's wrong with getting closer to him?" the young woman replied with a smile.