Strange Happenings in Liaoju Prefecture

If this were the cultivation world, only those super sects with exceptionally abundant spiritual energy could achieve such a feat.

Yet now, this micro-sect, nestled in a remote mountain village in a tiny, forgotten corner of the mortal realm, had actually done it.

If he told anyone, probably no one would believe it...

All of this, Liao Pantu could only marvel at in his heart, with no one to share it.

He grew increasingly expectant of this sect he had accidentally joined.

A few days passed like this.

Recently, Lin Xiao had also started diligently following everyone to the cultivation room to train every day.

Only occasionally in the dead of night, when he got a bit tired of cultivating, would he ponder over mental cultivation methods and spells.

From time to time, he would also find an empty clearing to practice his Sword Art in the Clouds. After all, this was the first time he had practiced the sword in his two lifetimes. Although the system had given him a cheat to learn it instantly, he had never actually tried it out. He still wanted to practice it personally from start to finish so he could feel truly grounded in the knowledge that he had mastered it.

Moreover, he planned to teach this sword art to everyone in the sect when he had the time later. If he accidentally made a fool of himself in front of everyone because he was unpracticed, it would be thoroughly embarrassing.

Therefore, practicing the sword personally was absolutely necessary!

While peaceful days passed in the poor and secluded Xiushui Village.

Far away in the provincial capital of Hufang Province, the prefectural office of Liaoju Prefecture, Prefect Tong Shuzheng was hosting a distinguished guest in his residence.

In the massive main hall of the prefectural office, there were only the two of them; all the servants had been dismissed.

One of them was the Prefect of Liaoju Prefecture, Tong Shuzheng.

The other person sat in the guest seat, looking to be in his twenties or thirties. He sat leaning back in his chair with a somewhat casual posture, lightly holding a tea lid in one hand and idly tapping it against the teacup, occasionally making a clack-clack sound.

Prefect Tong Shuzheng attended to him cautiously, acting quite subservient.

I never expected that so soon after this humble official sent a dispatch requesting aid from the Shangyang Sect, your esteemed sect would send a High Immortal to assist. The arrival of the High Immortal truly brings light to my humble prefectural office.

It is just that I do not yet know your esteemed surname, High Immortal? So that this humble official might make your acquaintance, and perhaps boast to others later that I have had the honor of knowing a High Immortal as immortal as a banished deity.

Tong Shuzheng's flattery made the man addressed as High Immortal feel extremely comfortable. His expression was genial and smug as he glanced at Tong Shuzheng and spoke with a tone of arrogance:

I am not yet worthy of the title High Immortal. If my master were to hear of this, he would scold me. As for me, my surname is Jin, and my given name is Nanhuan. You may address me as you please.

First, tell me, what happened here that you had to beg our Shangyang Sect for help?

Hearing this, Tong Shuzheng first stood up and bowed to him with cupped hands:

This humble official Tong Shuzheng pays his respects to High Immortal Jin! To be able to know High Immortal Jin is truly the greatest fortune of my three lifetimes; my life has not been lived in vain.

Then, he sat back down to answer his question.

I imagine the High Immortal already knows a bit from the official dispatch our prefectural office sent to your esteemed sect... At this point, Tong Shuzheng suddenly realized that this Jin Nanhuan probably had not even carefully read the dispatch sent by their office, so he immediately changed his tune:

Alas, High Immortal Jin, to tell you the truth, some strange things have been happening in our Liaoju Prefecture recently.

Hearing him mention strange things, Jin Nanhuan felt a bit of disdain in his heart. What weird things could possibly happen in the boring mortal realm? It was bound to be nothing more than some baseless rumors of ghosts, or at most, trivial matters caused by newly awakened minor demons causing trouble.

Mortals were just troublesome, bothering cultivators with every little thing.

If he had not recently been stuck at a bottleneck trying to advance to the mid-Foundation Establishment stage and wanted to get some resources from the sect to help his breakthrough, he would not have delayed his cultivation time to care about the trivial matters of the mortal realm.

Though he thought this in his heart, he did not show the slightest bit of disdain on his face, putting on an appearance of wanting to hear the details. Oh? Tell me in detail.

Seeing that he was somewhat attentive, Tong Shuzheng breathed a slight sigh of relief in his heart. It seemed his subservient behavior had not been in vain.

I am fortunate that the High Immortal is willing to listen. The situation is like this.

In recent months, there have been frequent incidents of children going missing in the prefectural city. These missing children range in age from one year old to eleven or twelve.

At first, this humble official thought it was the work of kidnappers, so I deployed more personnel to patrol and investigate, and strengthened martial law at the city gates. Who knew it would have no effect at all? Children continued to go missing. To this day, the registered number of families who have lost children is already in the dozens.

It was not until the beginning of this month that several commoners consecutively reported hearing the vague sounds of children crying and shouting near the large dense forest at the foot of the mountain in the southern part of the prefectural city. The night watchman who passed by there also said that he seemed to hear the cries of many children at night.

Therefore, this humble official immediately gathered men to enter the dense forest to investigate, but who knew...

He shook his head and sighed softly, saying:

We searched the entire dense forest, but did not see a single soul.

Hearing this, Jin Nanhuan raised his eyebrows.

Oh? Such a thing actually happened?

Dozens of children had gone missing, and that was just the registered number. The unregistered ones were probably not few either.

This would not do. Liaoju Prefecture was the territory of their Shangyang Sect. These missing children might very well be the source of their sect's future disciples. This could be considered a major issue!

If he resolved this matter well, then when he returned to the sect, he would definitely receive many benefits...

Thinking of this, Jin Nanhuan finally became a bit more serious. He sat up straight and waited for Tong Shuzheng's next words.

Tong Shuzheng did not seem to notice this change in him and continued:

Although we did not find anyone, we still suspect that those missing children are in the dense forest, which is why we boldly sent an official dispatch requesting aid from your esteemed sect.

How are you certain? Although hearing him say this, Jin Nanhuan also guessed in his heart that these children were nine times out of ten hidden in this dense forest, he still asked.

Tong Shuzheng called out loudly to his attendant waiting far away:

Bring up the physical evidence!

The well-prepared attendant immediately stepped forward with his head bowed, holding a wooden tray. After placing the tray on the small table nearby, he quickly bowed and retreated.

Jin Nanhuan then saw that on the tray were two shoes of completely different sizes and styles.

But it was not hard to see that the owners of these two shoes were both children of seven or eight years old.

You found these in that dense forest?

Tong Shuzheng nodded:

This was our only discovery after carefully searching the entire dense forest. And we have already had the families of the missing children come over one by one to look at these two shoes. It has been confirmed that they belong to the missing children of two of the families.

Hearing this, Jin Nanhuan rubbed his chin. After pondering for a moment, he said to Tong Shuzheng:

Lead me to that dense forest to take a look. I want to see exactly what kind of trash dares to run wild in the territory of my Shangyang Sect!

Seeing him so proactive, how could Tong Shuzheng not agree? He immediately stood up, cupped his hands, and bowed in thanks:

Thank you for your assistance, High Immortal! This humble official will go make the arrangements right away!

Saying that, he turned and went out the door to order the servants to prepare for the journey!