Chapter 131
Chapter 131: When in Doubt, Ask Xiaotao!
***
Seeing Lin Muyu accept the fruit, Lin Xiaoyun’s face immediately broke into a smile, but after just a few seconds, her expression became worried again as she said in a low voice:
“Sister, actually, I was able to escape from those hunters this time thanks to a strange little girl.”
“It’s just… it’s just that little girl seems to have been imprisoned, and I couldn’t bring her with me…”
Lin Xiaoyun’s voice grew quieter and quieter, carrying a few notes of guilt.
Although she later fell into the hands of the wolf demon.
But in her view, falling into the hands of those ruthless human hunters would probably be even more terrifying than falling into the wolf demon’s claws.
Then, under Lin Muyu’s puzzled gaze, Lin Xiaoyun recounted her experiences in detail…
“Since she’s someone who helped Xiaoyun, we must go rescue her!”
After listening, Lin Muyu immediately made her decision, without hesitation postponing her return to Qinglan Sect.
She wanted to see who was so bold as to dare imprison an innocent little girl within Qinglan Sect’s territory.
You have to know, within Qinglan Sect’s territory, ordinary cultivators wouldn’t dare cause trouble here.
“Could it be people from Qinglan Sect itself?”
A thought suddenly popped into Lin Muyu’s mind, then she shook her head again.
She was unwilling to believe there would be such people in the sect.
But if it wasn’t outsiders, then for the other party to hide for so long right under Qinglan Sect’s nose, they must have special methods, or might even truly have connections with the sect.
Even that skeleton giant being able to hide nearby might be connected to people within the sect.
This wolf demon hunting mission was originally an E-rank task, and according to sect regulations, completion would only yield a few dozen points.
But since this wolf demon’s cultivation far exceeded expectations, she and Su Wanqing had estimated earlier that the sect should increase the reward accordingly upon their return, probably getting around 1,000 points.
After all, a Nascent Soul stage enemy had appeared, which was extremely dangerous.
If they could root out whoever imprisoned the little girl this time, especially if the other party really had connections to Qinglan Sect, then reporting the situation to the Enforcement Hall might even earn additional point rewards.
Being able to save an innocent little girl while also earning points, this was simply killing two birds with one stone!
The more Lin Muyu thought about it, the more feasible it seemed, so she immediately decided to follow Lin Xiaoyun to rescue the person.
……
Half an hour later, the two arrived at the edge of a dense forest.
Lin Xiaoyun pointed to a steep cliff ahead, saying excitedly:
“Sister, it’s right here! This is where I escaped from before.”
“Huh? This is just a cliff though?”
Lin Muyu looked in the direction she was pointing and saw only bottomless clouds and mist below the cliff, with no trace of anything visible.
The moment she saw the cliff, some unpleasant memories suddenly flashed through her mind, and she instinctively furrowed her brow.
In her impression, cliffs had never been good places.
“Sister, don’t be fooled by appearances. This is just an illusion, there’s actually no cliff here at all.”
Lin Xiaoyun shook her head and explained earnestly.
Just as Lin Muyu was about to speak, Xiaotao’s voice suddenly came through her mind:
“Master, she’s right. This really is an illusion, and the technique used to set up this illusion isn’t too low-level either.”
As soon as the words fell, the bead hanging around Lin Muyu’s neck suddenly grew slightly warm, and a wisp of faint white spiritual energy drifted out from the bead, gently settling on her eyes.
The moment that spiritual energy touched her eyelids, Lin Muyu felt a cool sensation in front of her eyes. When she opened them again, the scene before her had completely changed.
The steep and treacherous cliff from before had vanished, replaced by a lush green forest.
At the end of the forest, she could vaguely see a simple wooden cabin sitting quietly there.
“Xiaotao, you can even see through illusions?”
Lin Muyu was both surprised and delighted. She only knew that Xiaotao had storage space, but didn’t expect her to have this kind of ability too.
“Master, think about what those evil cultivators used to call me.”
Xiaotao’s tone carried a few notes of resentment and a bit of dissatisfaction.
“Oh right! Xiaotao, you’re the Bead of Shattering Delusions!”
Lin Muyu suddenly understood, patting her own forehead.
She usually just called Xiaotao by name and referred to her main body as “the bead.”
She had actually forgotten that Xiaotao’s main body was the Bead of Shattering Delusions, famous for seeing through falsehoods.
Thinking of this, she suddenly remembered something else.
What was Xiaomu’s real name again? She couldn’t keep calling her “fire poker” forever. She’d have to ask Xiaomu properly later.
“Actually, ‘shattering delusions’ is my basic talent. The spatial abilities were additional talents I accidentally awakened later through time’s tempering.”
Xiaotao explained patiently.
Ordinary Beads of Shattering Delusions could only see through some low-level illusions and tricks of the eye.
But because Xiaotao had existed for too long, absorbing enough spiritual energy from heaven and earth and experiencing the baptism of time, she gradually mastered some spatial abilities.
However, she still hadn’t figured out why time would allow her to awaken spatial abilities.
“Xiaotao, you’re amazing! I love you so much!”
Lin Muyu praised her sincerely, her tone full of joy.
Having Xiaotao by her side was like having an all-purpose helper.
But what she didn’t know was that at this moment, Xiaotao inside the bead had two red clouds floating on her face after hearing those words:
“Love… love?”
That voice carried a few notes of shyness, and a trace of barely noticeable anticipation.
After seeing through the illusion, Lin Muyu’s concerns completely disappeared, and she immediately grabbed Lin Xiaoyun’s hand, walking toward that wooden cabin without hesitation.
Since she knew it was an illusion, there was naturally no need to worry about the danger of falling.
“Sister is really amazing. I didn’t dare jump down the first time.”
Lin Xiaoyun was pulled along by Lin Muyu, her eyes full of admiration.
“Hahaha, just average!”
Lin Muyu felt a bit embarrassed being praised, scratching the back of her head.
Actually, even if it were a real cliff, she would dare to jump down, because she had Xiaotao, so there would be no danger at all.
The two quickly reached the wooden cabin. The cabin looked very run-down, with walls made of wooden planks covered in cracks, obviously having been there for quite some time.
“Sister, let’s go in through here, not the main door.”
Lin Xiaoyun suddenly grabbed Lin Muyu, pointing to a half-open window nearby, keeping her voice very low.
She was afraid the corpses behind the door would scare Lin Muyu.
“Okay, I’ll listen to you.”
Lin Muyu nodded, gently pushed open the window, flipped inside first, then reached out to pull Lin Xiaoyun in.
But as soon as she entered the cabin’s main hall, Lin Xiaoyun froze.
The main hall before them was completely empty. The little girl she had seen before and the several uncollected hunter corpses on the ground had all vanished without a trace, as if everything she had seen before was just an illusion.
“Where is everyone? Where are the corpses? How did they all disappear?”
Lin Xiaoyun stood there dumbfounded, her eyes full of confusion and panic, muttering quietly.
“I clearly remember it was here. How could it become like this…”
Seeing Lin Xiaoyun’s dejected state, Lin Muyu quickly patted her shoulder reassuringly, then began carefully observing the surrounding environment.
The floor of the wooden cabin was covered with a thin layer of dust, obviously not cleaned for a long time.
There were even spider webs in the corners, looking like no one had lived there.
“Xiaotao, do you have any clues?”
When in doubt, ask Xiaotao!