CHAPTER 163: CHAPTER 31: THE STELE AND THE STATUE [FIRST UPDATE]

"How could I not have searched? As soon as it happened, I ordered a search of the city, but nothing was found. Not only that, but the number of missing people in the city is increasing, and I’m worried sick about it." City Lord Lou looked genuinely distressed, his expression very troubled.

"Do the missing people have any characteristics? Or is it random?" Since City Lord Lou was willing to answer this question, Si Lin immediately seized the opportunity to ask more questions.

"There are no specific characteristics, people of all ages and genders are missing, there’s no specific target!" City Lord Lou thought for a moment and replied.

Si Lin furrowed his brow, "Aside from that, are there any other clues? For instance, has there been anyone strange appearing in the city recently, or any peculiar events?"

"There haven’t been any strange people, but there was indeed one peculiar event." City Lord Lou pondered for a moment and said.

"What event?" Gu Qingqing immediately asked.

"Half a month ago, about five miles outside the west city gate, a section suddenly collapsed, revealing a broken stone tablet and a mysterious black statue of unknown material. Because we don’t know its origin, I had the area fenced off, and the stone tablet and statue were brought back, but an array was set up around it." City Lord Lou suddenly seemed a bit uncertain, "Since then, people in the city have been disappearing. Could it be because of that statue and stone tablet?"

Si Lin and Gu Qingqing exchanged a look, both seeing surprise in each other’s eyes.

"Could we take a look at the statue and the stone tablet?" Si Lin suggested to City Lord Lou.

"Of course, I can take you there." City Lord Lou, contemplating whether the stone tablet and statue were the cause of the incidents in Wuyun City, immediately agreed upon hearing Si Lin’s words.

The two followed the city lord through a winding path and arrived at a separate room, where City Lord Lou pushed open the door.

"This is it. No one recognizes the characters on the stone tablet, and the statue is quite bizarre and looks very eerie, so I placed it here and specially set up an array." While walking, City Lord Lou explained to Gu Qingqing and Si Lin.

This room was an empty room, filled with dust, and in the center of the room was a stone tablet with a missing corner, next to it stood a half-human-sized black statue.

Gu Qingqing and Si Lin approached the stone tablet and the statue, and City Lord Lou removed the array, allowing them to take a closer look. As it turned out, just as City Lord Lou said, there were characters on the stone tablet, but they weren’t the standard script of the Sub-immortal Realm. Si Lin glanced at it, found he couldn’t recognize them at all, frowned, and shifted his focus to the statue.

Gu Qingqing’s gaze lingered on the stone tablet for a while longer, a glint flashed in her eyes, and after glancing at City Lord Lou, she too turned her attention to the statue.

With her vision, Gu Qingqing couldn’t identify the material of the statue, and its appearance was very strange; it resembled a demon beast, somewhat lion-like but not quite a lion, with a tail like a snake and covered in scales, and its claws had very sharp nails.

Gu Qingqing had memorized the "Ten Thousand Beasts Chart" given to her by Wen Guiyun back then, yet she couldn’t recognize which demon beast this was.

She and Si Lin exchanged a glance, both looking a bit surprised.

"The stone tablet and statue don’t seem particularly special, and there’s no aura on them, so it probably isn’t because of them, right?" Gu Qingqing looked at City Lord Lou, somewhat uncertainly.

"Besides the stone tablet and statue, no other unusual events have happened in the city recently." Hearing this, City Lord Lou’s expression turned troubled again.

"It seems this matter requires a thorough investigation. City Lord Lou, rest assured, since we’ve encountered it, we’ll help you investigate this thoroughly." Si Lin withdrew his gaze from the statue and promised City Lord Lou.

City Lord Lou immediately brightened, "That’s wonderful. With Mr. Si here, this issue is sure to be solved!" He seemed to have great confidence in Si Lin.

"Since there are no clues in the City Lord Mansion, my junior sister and I will leave first to check other places. Thank you for your help, City Lord Lou." Si Lin showed no reaction to the city lord’s flattery but rather proposed leaving.

"Mr. Si, you’re too polite. If there’s anything you need from me, just ask. I’ll see you two out." City Lord Lou smiled and made his own promise.

"Please." Si Lin gestured, inviting City Lord Lou to lead the way.

City Lord Lou restarted the array and then led Gu Qingqing and Si Lin out, escorting them to the door. After a few more polite exchanges, Si Lin and Gu Qingqing left the City Lord Mansion.

Several hundred steps away, Gu Qingqing glanced back at the City Lord Mansion, frowned slightly, and turned to look at Si Lin.

"Senior brother, what do you think of this city lord?" To prevent others from overhearing, she used voice transmission, only moving her lips without sound.

"The atmosphere in the City Lord Mansion is off, and this City Lord Lou also seems strange, giving off a very eerie feeling." Si Lin understood and responded with his own voice transmission to Gu Qingqing’s question.

"The guards at the gate and those serving in the City Lord Mansion have a sense of death on them, but City Lord Lou doesn’t have any trace of it!" Gu Qingqing shared what she had discovered.

"Yes, that’s why City Lord Lou is odd." Si Lin had noticed as well, matching Gu Qingqing’s perception.

"That stone tablet is also very peculiar. I recognize the characters on it!" Gu Qingqing hesitated for a moment and said to Si Lin.

"You recognize them? How could that be?" Si Lin turned back, a bit surprised.

The characters on the stone tablet weren’t the universal script of the Sub-immortal Realm or any documented language. Si Lin couldn’t recognize them, but Gu Qingqing surprisingly could!

"I don’t know either, it’s as if they’re part of my memory. The characters describe the statue, which depicts a kind of demon beast from the Demon Realm, called a Soul-devouring Beast. Usually, they are the pet beasts of Demon Generals or higher ranks. They’re not particularly powerful but will knock on your door at midnight. If you open it, you’ll be knocked out, and it will devour your soul afterward!" Gu Qingqing couldn’t explain why she recognized those characters. When she saw them, their meaning just appeared in her mind.

Upon hearing this, a flash of insight crossed Si Lin’s eyes, "The material of that statue also doesn’t belong to the Sub-immortal Realm but is a rare mineral unique to the Demon Realm known as Purple Demon Ore. It emits demonic qi, which entices those whose minds aren’t resolute."

Si Lin had seen this material by chance before and noted it, not expecting to see it again in Wuyun City!

"So it seems a member of the Demon Clan did appear here, and it’s likely one at an elder level, possibly with a Soul-devouring Beast!" Gu Qingqing summarized, her expression looking somewhat grim.

"Yes." Si Lin nodded, affirming Gu Qingqing’s conclusion, "We still don’t know where the Demon Clan member is, so we should remain cautious."

His gaze swept over the nearby street, frowning thoughtfully.

Gu Qingqing nodded and also fell into deep thought, and neither of them spoke.

...

After Yue Zhao left the inn with Yun Ran and Zhuo Tingqiu, they wandered the streets for a while. Just as Yun Ran was about to ask Yue Zhao where they were going to gather information, she saw Yue Zhao walk up to an elderly woman selling Green Spirit Fruits, wearing a perfectly timed smile, and started chatting with her.

Initially, Yue Zhao was talking to the elderly woman about the Green Spirit Fruits and even bought two catties of them. When the elderly woman was quite happy, the conversation suddenly shifted, and he started asking about other things.

"Elder, I came from another city and heard that some strange things have happened in Wuyun City recently. I’m very curious, could you tell me about them?" Yue Zhao, who gave off the aura of a young nobleman, was surprisingly approachable as he chatted with the elderly woman, easily winning her favor.

The elderly woman glanced around and suddenly began speaking mysteriously, "Half a month ago, a crater suddenly appeared outside the western gate, and inside it were a broken stele and a statue. The City Lord had people bring them back to the City Lord Mansion, and afterward, strange things started happening in the city; many people disappeared without a trace!"

A flicker of something unusual flashed in Yue Zhao’s eyes, and a look of surprise appeared on his face, "Is there really something like that? It seems Wuyun City might be quite dangerous."

"Young master, you’d better leave here quickly. Don’t linger around, or you might get into trouble!" The elderly woman seemed to genuinely like Yue Zhao and directly whispered a warning to him.

"Thank you, elder, I will consider it." Yue Zhao slipped a low-grade Spirit Stone into the elderly woman’s hand, stood up, and returned to Yun Ran and Zhuo Tingqiu’s side.

Yun Ran and Zhuo Tingqiu were both stunned by Yue Zhao’s actions, never expecting that Yue Zhao would be capable of gathering information in such a down-to-earth way, which completely shattered their perception of him!

Seeing their expressions, Yue Zhao understood what they were thinking, smiled, but didn’t intend to explain. Instead, he gestured for them to follow him.

Subsequently, Yun Ran and Zhuo Tingqiu watched as Yue Zhao, with the face of a Young Master Ruyu, gathered information from people from all walks of life. Every person he approached for information ended up chatting very happily with him and held him in high regard, urging him to leave Wuyun City early.

Initially, Yun Ran and Zhuo Tingqiu were surprised, but in the end, they became numb, though their gaze toward Yue Zhao was filled with admiration!

Not only was Yue Zhao noble and with profound cultivation, but he also managed to do this, whereas they were highly sought-after on the Xuantian Continent but couldn’t achieve something like this. This was the difference between them and Yue Zhao.

Half an hour later, the three of them sat down in a teahouse.

"From what we’ve gathered from those people, half a month ago, a crater suddenly appeared outside the western gate, revealing a stele and a statue. Since then, people started disappearing in the city, so it’s highly possible that the disappearances are related to those two items." Yue Zhao took a sip of tea, found the taste average, put down the cup, and unhurriedly spoke to Yun Ran and Zhuo Tingqiu.

"So, should we go to the City Lord Mansion to see those two items now?" Yun Ran asked curiously.

Yue Zhao shook his head, "No need to go."

"Why not?" Zhuo Tingqiu asked in confusion. Since they already knew that the whole matter was likely related to those two items, why not go to the City Lord Mansion to take a look?

"If my guess is correct, Senior Brother and Geng Geng have already been there." Yue Zhao glanced at the two and explained.

Upon hearing this, Yun Ran and Zhuo Tingqiu were stunned for a moment, then thought about it, finding it very likely.

"Then what will we do next?" Zhuo Tingqiu tasted the tea, frowned, put down the cup, and asked Yue Zhao.

"Continue gathering information. We still don’t know the identities of those missing people." Yue Zhao glanced around and spoke softly.

Yun Ran and Zhuo Tingqiu exchanged a look and nodded.

...

Jun Wu and Nan Hua were in a group. After leaving the inn, they also found a few people to gather information. Under the lure of a generous reward, someone quickly mentioned the stele and statue. However, the two of them didn’t go to the City Lord Mansion to find those two items but went outside the city.

Following the directions given by the people, they left Wuyun City through the western gate and arrived at the place where the stele and statue were discovered. The huge crater was still there. The two of them sensed around the crater; after half a month, there was no feeling left. The two did not leave immediately; Nan Hua directly released his Divine Sense to explore the surroundings. Apart from some small animals, there was nothing to be found!

"It seems the key lies in those two items; there’s nothing here." Nan Hua frowned and said.

"Should we go to the City Lord Mansion?" Jun Wu asked.

"No need, Senior Brother will definitely go to the City Lord Mansion; we can just go back and wait for news." Nan Hua knew Si Lin well and was certain that with his style, he would be the first to go to the City Lord Mansion to gather information, so he hadn’t chosen to go there earlier but instead ran outside the city.

"Then let’s go back." Jun Wu, eager to meet Gu Qingqing sooner, said directly.

Nan Hua glanced at him and nodded.

The two left directly. Shortly after their departure, a shadow emerged from the pit, hovered around for a moment, and then plunged back into the pit.

...

After noon, Jun Wu and Nan Hua returned to the inn, and shortly afterward, Yue Zhao brought Yun Ran and Zhuo Tingqiu back as well.

"How about you guys, did you find any clues?" Yue Zhao asked, sitting in a chair when he saw Jun Wu and Nan Hua.

"You should both be aware of the big pit outside the city that exposed two items, right?" Nan Hua looked at Yue Zhao, and seeing him nod, continued, "Jun Wu and I went outside the city but found nothing."

"I asked some people, and besides that pit outside the city, there were no commonalities among the missing people, as if chosen at random." After listening to Nan Hua, Yue Zhao was not surprised and instead shared the information he had gathered.

"Who could have done this?" Nan Hua frowned, feeling a headache coming on.