"Chuliang, there's trouble..." the one who burst in was Linbei.
He rushed in frantically, took a look at the situation in the room, and then was taken aback, "Song Instructor is here too, wow, quite a scene."
Whether standing or lying down, there were enough people to play mahjong.
"Why are you here? Where's Li Jue?" Chuliang asked.
"Li Jue is missing!" Linbei said in a hurry.
"Hmm?"
"I was watching from outside, but there was no movement inside for a long time. I found it strange, so I knocked on the door and saw that the window was open. Li Jue didn't know where he had run off to!" Linbei said, "I hurried over to find you."
"Didn't you hear any unusual noise?" Chuliang asked.
"No," Linbei shook his head, "there was absolutely no unusual presence or sound. I suspect he may have sneaked off on his own, but I don't know why he would do that."
"He might have something to hide from us, and Li Jue is also likely to be the target of Sītú Yàn..." Chuliang's mind raced, her eyebrows furrowed, and she thought to herself, "He doesn't know where to go, what should we do?"
"I... I can try." Song Qingyi suddenly said.
"Do you have a way to find Li Jue?" both Linbei and Chuliang looked at her.
"Mhm," Song Qingyi nodded lightly, then reached out and took out a half-page of old golden paper, which was blank but exuded a spiritual aura.
With her right hand formed into a pen, she lightly moved it across the half-page of paper, and suddenly, a vermilion light shone, following her fingertips to form words.
Li... Jue...
After writing the name, Song Qingyi threw the half-page of paper into the air. It spun three times in the air, and then, as if it had found a direction, it emitted a clear light and flew out of the window.
"Follow it," Song Qingyi said, following the guidance of the clear light and flying out of the window with the half-page of paper.
"Someone needs to stay and watch him," Chuliang pointed at Yan Xiaohu.
"I'll do it," Linbei volunteered this time.
Chuliang nodded, then followed Song Qingyi and flew out.
Yan Xiaohu and Linbei looked at each other in silence for a moment.
After a brief silence, Yan Xiaohu asked cautiously, "So... what should we do now?"
Linbei thought for a moment and said, "Let’s order some food first."
"Huh?" Yan Xiaohu was puzzled.
Linbei sat in the chair nonchalantly, "Then wake them up, and we'll continue the music, and then the dancing!"
"Is that a good idea?" Yan Xiaohu scratched his head, "I haven't even removed the danger yet, right?"
"With me watching over you, you can rest assured," Linbei patted his shoulder, "Although the last person I watched over just had an accident... it was purely accidental, and I hope for success this time..."
...
Now let's turn to another story.
Chuliang followed Song Qingyi and the half-page of golden paper, flying out of the city on the wind. Along the way, he even praised, "Teacher Song, your magical tool is really convenient. As long as you know the name, it seems there is no one in the world that can't be found."
宋清漪 said, "It's not that my cultivation is insufficient; I can only track the area inside and outside the Yanjiao City."
"That's still very impressive," Chu Liang replied.
Song Qingyi continued, "This half-page of golden scripture is a protective treasure given to me by my Master for this trip. It has many wonderful uses, but I have yet to fully master it."
Chu Liang fell silent for a moment.
Her Master is truly kind. Wait, why am I feeling upset?
However, she also knew that this was not just Princess Feng's issue. In Mount Shu, unless a disciple is outstanding or has achieved great merit, it's rare for a Master to bestow a magic treasure. Even when leaving the impoverished Silver Sword Peak, it's still the same.
But in reality, in other sects, it's quite common.
Ultimately, it comes down to the differences in sect principles.
In particular, among the Three Religions, followers of Confucianism are somewhat different from the other two. Apart from cultivating divine powers, Confucianism places greater emphasis on knowledge and virtue, especially in the Gentlemen's Hall.
With Song Qingyi's cultivation, she shouldn't receive such attention in other sects. But in the Gentlemen's Hall, she might be able to gain the respect of her senior disciples based on her outstanding knowledge and character.
The half-page of golden scripture didn't fly fast, and after a while, it arrived at a familiar place.
Behind the academy, by the small lake.
"Li Jue is here."
"Let's not rush, let's observe first."
After confirming the location from a distance, Song Qingyi put away the magic treasure, and the night sky returned to silence. The two approached slowly and soon saw a slender figure by the lake.
"Why..."
The figure was murmering to the lake, and it was indeed Li Jue.
"Why did you have to kill so many people..." Li Jue's voice was filled with agony.
"I'm the one who caused your death. You could have come directly to kill me, why did you keep killing..."
"Hmm?" Chu Liang, who was observing in secret, brightened up.
As expected.
Li Jue was hiding something.
"That day, you tied me up and wanted to scar my face. I was really scared, and I struggled violently... and accidentally pushed you into the water. I was so frightened and had no time to care about anything else, so I ran all the way back home."
"It was a long time before I thought about whether you drowning in the lake would be dangerous... but when I ran back to check on you, I heard news of someone drowning in the lake..."
"I didn't mean it... but it's true that I caused your death."
"These days, I have been so scared, and I have been avoiding... but now I don't want to run away anymore."
"Situ Yan, if you really become a ghost, come find me, don't kill anyone else."
"..."
His voice came in bits and pieces, carried by the wind to the ears of Chu Liang and Song Qingyi.
It turned out that it was Li Jue who directly caused Situ Yan's drowning, rather than Situ Yan committing suicide by jumping into the water. No wonder Li Jue was so afraid; these days he had been consumed by self-blame for accidentally killing someone and fear of the vengeful ghost, which led to unimaginable psychological torment.
Today, he must have finally been unable to endure this torment, which is why he came here.
But he had been alone there for a long time, and nothing unusual had happened.
Li Jue looked around, "Are you not here, or do you not want to appear? Fine... then I will go down to atone myself."
Muttering to himself, he started walking towards the lake below.
It seemed like he wanted to end his life!
"Li..." Song Qingyi immediately wanted to get up to stop him, but Chu Liang held her back.
"Wait a little longer," Chu Liang said softly.
Then, Li Jue came to the shore, seeming hesitant for a moment, but before long, he steeled himself and leaped into the water!
Just as Song Qingyi was about to intervene forcefully, suddenly, a cold wind blew!
The raging wind seemed to create waves out of nowhere, sweeping in from all sides, and actually pushed the halfway-jumping Li Jue back to the shore.
With a thud, Li Jue fell to the ground, then immediately got up: "Situ Yan, is that you?"
The raging wind finally gathered into a human form in front of him, then dispersed in an instant.
Only a faint ghostly figure remained in place.
It was a woman in scholarly robes, with a thick scar covering half of her face, and other than the rumored Situ Yan, there couldn't be anyone else.
Li Jue finally saw the ghost he had been afraid of all this time, but he seemed to show a relieved expression, "You finally came to see me."
Meanwhile, Chu Liang and Song Qingyi also became alert.
This strong Yin energy was no ordinary vengeful spirit, and the solid form was enough to indicate that. Although they didn't know what had happened to give her such power...
But one thing was certain.
Situ Yan was the "Painted Skin" ghost!