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

"Then thank you for your trust, Daoist Yun!"

Zuo Qiuchi complained, "How come you consider being vindictive to be a virtuous and upright person?"

What is this about holding a grudge? This is the behavior of a gentleman. As the saying goes, a gentleman does not leave a grudge unavenged!

However, if we talk too much about this kind of thing, the topic will drift off.

"So, what Master Yun means?"

"Your Highness, could you please send people to search the surrounding area for the whereabouts of the master and his two disciples?"

Kunlun did receive the three people's distress call, but the "signal" quickly disappeared, making it difficult to pinpoint their location. It's unclear what force was influencing the "signal," and only a general area could be determined. Therefore, it's necessary to send people to search the vicinity as soon as possible.

"Sure, that's possible. But what's the approximate location? Are there any other clues?" Chu Mingkong didn't refuse. Helping with this small favor was nothing, and it would be good to further improve his relationship with Yun Nong.

Yun Nongyu stretched out her slender hand, and a map of the entire territory where Jin and Xiling met was constructed in front of her with spiritual power. One area was circled, indicating the location of the signal.

Chu Mingkong was very familiar with this place. Wasn't this the circle that Gu Wenkai's son-in-law had given him? It was just that the area drawn by Yun Nongyu was a bit larger, directly encompassing the "Resurrection Town".

"What did they encounter that led to their disappearance?" Zuo Qiuchi pressed, she had a vague premonition that this might be related to that damned brothel!

The successive reports only deepened the mystery surrounding that place, and the more mysterious it became, the more eager Zuo Qiuchi became.

There are still brothels like this in the world. If I don't go, wouldn't I be missing out on a great deal of knowledge? I have to make those female ghosts perform a dance for her, Zuo!

Yun Nongyu was reluctant to answer this question; it was a disgrace to her sect!

Zuo Qiuchi gave his rebellious disciple a fierce look, warning him to be more careful. Chu Mingkong immediately said:

"I need to find out what happened so that the soldiers can be mentally prepared. Otherwise, if they are unaware of the threat and have no precautions, wouldn't we be harming them for nothing?"

"That's very true." Yun Nongyu sighed inwardly, but still took out the jade slip used for internal communication within the Daoist sect.

Those Taoist disciples who received attention each carried a protective jade pendant. This pendant had the ability to record the sounds of the environment around the person, and could be regarded as a "personal recording pen".

After the three of them crushed the jade slip, the "recording" was sent back to the Taoist sect, recording the people and events they had experienced in the past twelve hours.

This is considered an inside story among the upper echelons. Only elders can know the secrets of this protective jade pendant. Otherwise, if too much of this information is leaked, everyone will know that the protective jade pendant of the Taoist disciples is not only for deploying a shield to provide emergency relief and help, but also for exposing the identity of the enemy. This would be a threat to the protection of the disciples, and the enemy might do anything to prevent the jade pendant from telling the truth to the Kunlun Taoist sect.

Chu Mingkong and Zuo Qiuchi, master and disciple, looked curiously at the jade slip in Yun Nongyu's hand.

Soon, a voice came from the jade slip.

Chu Mingkong was greatly shocked. Did the Daoist sect have a way of "making phone calls"? But his curiosity was quickly overshadowed by the voice in the jade slip.

Initially, it was their discussion about setting out that included concerns and relationships with their junior brother, Yan Tiangan.

[Master, someone who could easily defeat even our junior brother must be incredibly powerful. Our chances of survival on this trip are slim! Perhaps we should cancel the trip?]

How could you be so heartless? Yan Tiangan trusted you the most, his senior brother. At the very least... you could have gone to plead for him, or even collected his body, right?

"...How could there be such a despicable master and disciple in the world!" Chu Mingkong couldn't help but exclaim.

"Indeed, that's too pessimistic. They're already thinking about collecting the corpses. What kind of people are they? Is this how a master and disciple should act?" Zuo Qiuchi sighed.

Yun Nongyu stared silently at the master and disciple in front of her through her blindfold, not quite understanding why they had the nerve to say such things.

The jade slip's voice continued...

"Master, thank goodness! We arrived just in time! Junior Brother is still alive!"

I knew he'd be alright; everything went as I predicted!

Then Yan Tiangan woke up and began to doubt his life. The three of them went for a walk to clear their minds until they came across several brothels in the wilderness, and the three of them went in together.

Zuo Qiuchi and Chu Mingkong's eyes shone brightly, their curiosity burning fiercely as they listened intently to the sounds, afraid of missing any detail.

【Young lady, I find you to be quite beautiful. I've mastered several techniques for cultivating the bedroom arts, but I lack a skilled companion to practice with. Meeting you is fate, and I'll bestow upon you a great fortune!】

We still need to examine the details. The old man was talking about cultivating physical postures. This can be understood as something completely unrelated to the cultivation methods of Taoist sexual techniques; it's just empty movements.

"That old geezer, he talks a whole bunch of nonsense, just like one of those old swindlers in the martial arts world." Zuo Qiuchi complained repeatedly, but he listened with great interest, only wishing he had some wine and snacks to go with him!

【Young lady, do you know what "Fu Rui" means? It's like the auspicious jade rabbit bringing peace and prosperity to the home. It means that being close to nature and its creatures brings blessings and good fortune. I'll show you how. You'll imitate a gorilla patting its chest, patting it hard, making it shake! Then I'll spank your bottom until it's as red as an apple, and then you'll have good fortune! After that, you'll imitate a pig's squeal!】

"Outrageous! What is this thing? Chu Mingkong, this is the first time I've realized there are people even more bizarre than you. You're practically normal now." Zuo Qiuchi exclaimed, dumbfounded.

"Now you know how good I am, right?" Chu Mingkong sighed deeply.

As expected, without comparison, the girls wouldn't know how good I am.

Yun Nongyu is now too embarrassed to tell others that she comes from a Taoist sect...

Most of the disciples of the Kunlun Taoist sect are quite normal, but it's unavoidable that there are a few oddballs occasionally. Otherwise, these few people wouldn't be cultivating alone in a small Taoist temple outside.

【Girl, your physical fitness isn't up to par. I've practiced that split too, and I could go much lower than you. Let me show you what solid fundamentals really mean—Ouch! You pulled your balls! Ouch, ouch, ouch!】

Chu Mingkong recognized the voice; it belonged to that young Taoist priest, a rather competitive and ambitious young man...

After listening to the entire "recording," Chu Mingkong roughly understood what was going on.

"It seems these three have run into that brothel. Hey! Qingning and I searched all over and didn't see it, but they just wandered around and stumbled upon it?"

Chu Mingkong was a little unconvinced, but he still diligently analyzed the situation:

"These three must have had their life essence drained. The old man and the young Taoist priest who had just been injured didn't wake up, but my senior brother was alive and kicking. According to him, when he woke up, he found himself in a hellish place. He didn't encounter any immediate danger, but he instinctively cried for help."

Yun Nongyu summarized it simply:

"If there are no unforeseen circumstances, the hellish town they encountered should be the same town where the dead came back to life that His Highness and Miss Qingning encountered. It seems that the one they saw was different. Although we don't know why there is such a difference, it is almost certain that there is an unusual danger in that town, and the three of them lost contact in that area."

Chu Mingkong's mind unconsciously looped a lyric, but he dared not sing it out loud, fearing a fine of 100,000 yuan.

He thought that someone like Gu Wenkai was already incredibly magnanimous, but he never expected that these three masters and disciples would be even more extraordinary. After rescuing people, they went to the wilderness to find a brothel to celebrate, and as a result, all three of them ended up there.

However, this also shows that even those with cultivation levels find it difficult to distinguish the true nature of those ghostly beings and cannot perceive anything unusual.

It's hard to say how skilled that old man master and Brother Huai, who was controlled by Fu Rui, were, but that young Taoist priest was indeed quite capable; his Five Thunder Taoist technique was very effective against ghosts.

"What did Master say? Should I send a team to escort you, and then we can go to the brothels there for a stroll?"

"It'll lose its charm if too many people are calling out. The female ghosts won't even feel comfortable performing their talents. Are you worried that we, master and disciple, will get caught up in it too?"

"When you say something like that, it usually means something bad is going to happen to us, but luckily we're tough! We're really not afraid!"

"If all else fails, leave a message for Fengying: if we also disappear in a short time, remember to come and rescue us." Zuo Qiuchi thought very carefully.

"..." Yun Nongyu remained silent, genuinely believing that this pair of lively characters might be involved.

----------

And so, the long-separated master and apprentice set off on their own.

Zuo Qiuchi and Chu Mingkong rode their swords at a speed as fast as light arrows, leaving a trail of whooshing sounds in their wake.

Chu Mingkong had arranged for soldiers to assemble a team and set off in unison to conduct a thorough search of the neighboring Jin region. However, their speed was definitely much slower than that of the two who led the charge.

When Chu Mingkong returned to this remote town, he was greeted by the same peaceful and serene scene that still lingered in the air.

It was as if the town was avoiding him, as if it didn't want to show him a certain side of itself.

However, compared to before, Chu Mingkong sensed a faint malevolent aura this time. But being in the town, he was too caught up in the situation to pinpoint the source of the aura.

"Master, shall we go to the brothel first, or go see that Qiao'er?" Chu Mingkong asked.

"Since you've asked, you must want to see that Qiao'er. Let's go then." Zuo Qiuchi shrugged.

Chu Mingkong knocked on the door again.

"Who is it?" The woman's voice in the room was still wary, guarding against anyone who might try to harass or flirt with the man while he was away.

"I am the one who visited with my sister last time and bought your handkerchief. I met You Shu at the literary gathering."

Who bought my handkerchief?

Qiao'er opened the door with a puzzled look, staring at Chu Mingkong with suspicion, as if she had never seen him before. However, his handsome appearance and elegant attire lessened Qiao'er's doubts.

He was well-dressed and couldn't possibly be after her meager savings. He was also so handsome that he didn't seem like a bad person at all.

"Young master, are you here to find the art of travel...?"

Qiao'er's expression stunned Chu Mingkong.

His gaze drifted to the baby in the arms of the busty housewife.

The baby was squinting.

But it just flashed by.

They were clearly a pair of eyes as black as ink!

Chapter Thirty-One: A Dream I Don't Want to Wake From

Qiao'er went back into the house and wandered around. She quickly noticed something strange and muttered to herself:

"Huh, there really is more money in the cabinet, and the handkerchiefs I made before are gone. Did I really sell them? I don't remember at all..."

She returned to the doorway with her baby in her arms, puzzled and confused. When she saw the handkerchief Chu Mingkong took out, she recognized it as the one she had made.

"Excuse me, I seem to have really forgotten when I sold myself to you, sir. My memory is terrible. Would you like to come in and have some tea?"

That being said, Joel was still somewhat confident in her memory, but she truly knew nothing about it.

Chu Mingkong followed them into the house, vaguely guessing the truth of the matter.

In some way, the entire town was pushed back to the peaceful yet precious days before the massacre.

At this time, Zhang Youshu went to meet the governor, while Qiao'er stayed at home with her baby, waiting for good news. All the bad things were on their way, but had not yet happened. There was still a peaceful and tranquil time here.

However, this period of time is not static; if the changes continue to unfold, the nightmare will begin.

Then, after a short while, you'll return to the state before the nightmare, and the cycle will repeat endlessly.

The town that Chu Mingkong and Wei Qingning saw before was the town before the nightmare occurred, while the town that the Taoist priest and his two disciples encountered later was the town after the nightmare occurred.

What is now unfolding before Chu Mingkong and Zuo Qiuchi again should be a new cycle of the town.

Because everything started anew, Joel doesn't remember what happened before.

She is like an independent, living person who can talk and communicate with Chu Mingkong and others, but she is not a person in the true sense; she is just a part of the town's evolution.

Here, influenced by some kind of will, the experience of falling from beauty into nightmares is repeated in a loop.

Zuo Qiuchi sat down as well, unusually without any laughter or joking. Although it was her first time here, she had heard all the information and had a similar judgment to Chu Mingkong in her mind.