CHAPTER 231: CHAPTER 231: THE ESCAPED JIAO?

"What other functions does it have?" Lin Xiaoyan asked persistently.

Xuan Liu’s lips curled, "Just keep practicing and you’ll see."

Seeing that Xuan Liu didn’t want to elaborate, Lin Xiaoyan didn’t press further, though she couldn’t stop thinking about it in her mind.

"Careful."

Lin Xiaoyan nearly tripped over an unnoticed obstacle, but thankfully Nan Xi was always keeping an eye on her.

Lin Xiaoyan gratefully looked at Nan Xi, and then she decided to focus on walking instead of pondering over the cultivation technique.

Since practicing the technique benefits her, there’s no need to worry.

As for whether it has other effects, she’ll find out by persisting!

The four of them walked for nearly an hour, diving deeper into the forest where the trees grew denser and taller.

Nan Xi cautiously scanned the surroundings; given the cold weather, the trees should be leafless, but she noticed that the outer region didn’t have any leaves.

Now that they’ve ventured deeper, surprisingly, the trees had leaves, and many of them.

Though covered by snow, the green beneath could still be seen.

"Almost there, hang in a bit longer," Gan Lin said, smiling.

Lin Xiaoyan panted heavily; she was sweating despite only wearing a sweater, feeling hot.

After walking for another half an hour, they finally saw several tents.

"Old Wu, you’re back!"

Xuan Liu shouted, and a few people emerged from the tents.

"Xuan Liu, did you bring them?"

"Brought them back. Quickly, give them some water; they’ve been walking for so long..."

Xuan Wu walked over first and his eyes lit up when he saw Lin Xiaoyan.

"Xiao Lin, come on, come on..."

Lin Xiaoyan glanced at those people, but apart from Xuan Wu and Xuan Liu, she didn’t recognize the others.

She smiled and nodded at everyone, then followed Xuan Wu into a large tent.

Nan Xi followed closely, standing behind Lin Xiaoyan.

Looking at the environment, Lin Xiaoyan felt a bit bitter; apparently, earning this 100,000 wouldn’t be easy!

A young man quickly took out two disposable cups, poured hot water into them, and handed them to Lin Xiaoyan and Nan Xi.

When Lin Xiaoyan accepted it with both hands, her fingertip brushed against the man’s hand, triggering familiar visions in her mind.

"Thanks..." Lin Xiaoyan expressed her gratitude, then "watched" those scenes.

A moment later, Lin Xiaoyan was both amused and frustrated.

She looked at Xuan Liu and Xuan Wu, "Didn’t you say there weren’t any ghosts?"

Xuan Liu glanced at the young man, then at Lin Xiaoyan, "Uh... you saw it?"

The others puzzledly looked at Lin Xiaoyan, "Certainly no ghosts! How could there be ghosts here!"

Lin Xiaoyan took a deep breath, "There’s no ghost, but are corpses!"

"What did you see just now?" Xuan Wu asked curiously.

Lin Xiaoyan turned to Xuan Liu, "You tell me first, why did you bring me here, how can I help you?"

Xuan Liu walked over, poured himself a cup of water, and sat down.

"It’s like this; we came here to track a dragon. It originally stayed in Yun Province, but somehow broke the seal and escaped..."

"We pursued it all the way here and found traces of it here. But after arriving, we felt we might have come to the wrong place.

With the cold weather here, it would probably hibernate directly!

We’ve been here for days without finding it, so we asked you to see if you could locate it.

If we can’t find it, we’ll search elsewhere!"

"A dragon? A dragon?" Lin Xiaoyan widened her eyes, yet in the scenes she "watched" earlier, she didn’t see any dragon.

Xuan Wu laughed, "Not a dragon, just a small snake that once had an opportunity and transformed into a dragon, still far from being a real dragon!"

"Is... the dragon large?" Lin Xiaoyan asked nervously, as she’s afraid of snakes!

She wanted to ask in advance so she’d be mentally prepared.

Xuan Wu looked at Xuan Liu, Xuan Liu looked at Gan Lin, Gan Lin looked at...

"Cough, not big, just around a dozen meters." A man with slightly long hair and dark skin said.

"A dozen meters!!!" Lin Xiaoyan and Nan Xi exclaimed simultaneously.

Lin Xiaoyan looked at Xuan Wu and Xuan Liu, her eyes filled with reproach.

Xuan Wu chuckled awkwardly, "Well, if you help us out, I’ll give you a 50% discount on all my talisman papers..."

"What?!" Lin Xiaoyan’s eyes widened.

Xuan Wu immediately corrected, "30% off!"

"90% off!" Lin Xiaoyan stated.

"No way, might as well give them to you for free..." Xuan Wu lamented.

Lin Xiaoyan raised an eyebrow, "Sure, giving them for free works too."

"No way!!!"

Finally, Xuan Wu gritted his teeth and agreed to a 20% discount on talisman papers.

Seizing the opportunity, Lin Xiaoyan and Nan Xi bought a lot of talisman papers.

Xuan Wu was heartbroken.

"What is this talisman paper?" Lin Xiaoyan asked while looking at the Shield Talisman on the list.

Xuan Wu glanced over, "That’s specifically for defense against mind-reading superpower users. Beijing has one who can read minds.

To prevent that person from learning my thoughts, I specifically researched this!"

Upon hearing this, Lin Xiaoyan decided to buy a few sheets in case she encountered the mind-reading user at the Beijing Special Investigation Bureau who might eavesdrop on her thoughts.

Lin Xiaoyan and Nan Xi selected many items, and when they finished, handed the list to Xuan Wu.

Xuan Wu glanced at nearly a hundred talisman papers, his eyelid twitching, thinking of the cost...

He kept a calm facade, "I’ll paint them for you when I have time and then mail them to you!"

"Great!" Lin Xiaoyan beamed, extending her hand.

Xuan Wu raised an eyebrow, putting his hand forth.

But Lin Xiaoyan pulled her hand back, "I’ll help you out, you need to provide some self-defense items for Sister Nan and me!"

Xuan Wu: ......

"Xiao Lin, you’ve changed!" Xuan Wu accused, looking at Lin Xiaoyan.

The others watched Lin Xiaoyan demand items from Xuan Wu, cautious not to speak up. With limited life-saving items, only Xuan Wu had ample talisman papers to spare!

Xuan Wu reluctantly gave Lin Xiaoyan and Nan Xi ten talisman papers each.

Lin Xiaoyan divided the talisman papers with Nan Xi, reminding her to keep them safe; they’re life-saving items.

With everything ready, Lin Xiaoyan touched everyone present one by one.

Half an hour later, Lin Xiaoyan was drenched in sweat, looking at them warily.

"How was it? Did you see the dragon?" Xuan Wu anxiously asked.

Lin Xiaoyan nodded, "I saw it..."

Her voice trembled, and Nan Xi quickly emptied the now cold water and poured some hot water for her.

Lin Xiaoyan took the cup, quickly organizing the chaotic scenes she "saw".

Everyone waited in silence, Lin Xiaoyan’s body calmed slightly after two sips of hot water.

"I saw you guys exploring the forest separately, and they discovered something at a cliff..."

Lin Xiaoyan pointed to two people present, all eyes turned toward them.

The indicated two people’s eyes lit up; they were the ones who found the dragon!

"...After entering the hidden path, it opened up into a secluded area.

Dark and damp, yet seemingly warmer than outside...

There are many coffins along the walls, filled with corpses...

The arrangement of those coffins appears to form a pattern..."