As it turned out, Master Qingyun was a reckless man.
In fact, he hadn't really thought things through. It was just that Shen Weixun was too smart, and he had made his own master seem more complicated than he actually was.
"Anyway, it's not a big deal. With you guys around, the Holy Cult will probably have no way to get to Niannian. If I can't find Gu Huan this time, I'll go back with you."
Master Qingyun laughed it off, spreading his hands, looking rather nonchalant.
Shen Weixun was already tired of rolling his eyes and had no energy left to complain.
And Niannian only caught the words she wanted to hear.
Master would go back with her.
It meant she wouldn't be separated from Master!
Woohoo!
So happy~
The little girl was secretly overjoyed inside, shaking her head and showing that she was in a great mood.
But just then, there came a blood - curdling scream from outside.
They were all too familiar with this sound.
Wasn't it the Dao Laogui that had just gone out to chase them?
"Master, there's a Dao Laogui outside chasing Niannian and me. Are you up for it? Can you help us deal with it?"
Now that Master had regained his senses, Shen Weixun didn't plan to go through the trouble with Niannian anymore.
When there was trouble, find the grown - up. Since Master was right there, there was no point not using him.
Master Qingyun snorted, crossed his legs, hugged Niannian even tighter, and turned his head, showing the back of his head to Shen Weixun. "I'm not going either. Whoever caused the trouble should deal with it. I don't believe you can't handle such a thing!"
Actually, he really couldn't.
Recalling the scene of being chased around by the Dao Laogui just now, Shen Weixun wrinkled his nose in disgust.
Master Qingyun could tell what had happened just by looking at his reaction. He looked extremely surprised and said in a sarcastic tone, "No way, no way. There can't really be someone who can't even handle an artificial monster, right?"
"Artificial...?"
Shen Weixun could hardly believe what his master said.
Did his master mean the same thing as he thought?
Were those two things outside artificial?
Could a Dao Laogui even be artificially created?
"Well, don't you know? Niannian, didn't you notice either?"
Master Qingyun was slightly surprised. He lowered his head and patted Niannian on the back.
"No, this is the first time I've seen one."
Niannian shook her head. Since she had never seen a non - artificial one, without a comparison, she naturally couldn't tell.
"I told you to be more careful when reading books, but you just skimmed through them. Now you can't even notice such a small clue."
When Master Qingyun said this, his eyes were fixed on Shen Weixun. Although he was scolding both his apprentices, it seemed that he was actually targeting only Shen Weixun.
"What clue? Is there something wrong with those two Dao Laoguis?"
Since her master's tone wasn't too harsh, Niannian wasn't afraid at all. She asked curiously.
"Those two Dao Laoguis both have contracts with humans. If you look closely, you'll see that they're here to guard this village. They only let in the people they want to and stop those they don't care about."
"Which kind of people do they want to let in? There are still a lot of Taoists outside, saying they're here for the Eight - Treasure Compass. How did this news spread? Master, what did you encounter before that made you like that? What on earth is in this village?"
Finally, Shen Weixun couldn't hold it in anymore and threw out all the questions in his mind.
If Yunjia Village was a trap, then those invited into it surely weren't just the few of them.
That meant the person setting up the trap wasn't targeting only them.
Once the news of the Eight - Treasure Compass was out, many people would surely be tempted to come and find out.
Even if they couldn't become the owner of the Eight - Treasure Compass in the end, they would still come just for the fun of it.
Just like the master - apprentice pair they met outside the village.
"I don't know who spread the news of the Eight - Treasure Compass, but I don't think it was the people from the Holy Cult. They've been hiding in the shadows all these years, doing all sorts of sneaky things. They wish they could bury themselves underground and never be exposed in front of people. So they definitely wouldn't spread this news and attract so many people."
Master Qingyun thought carefully. After some consideration, he always felt that there was someone else stirring up trouble.
He just didn't know if this trouble - maker was a friend or a foe.
"What I encountered before wasn't anything powerful. It was just a little ghost that could bewitch people's minds. But at that time, it transformed into the appearance of your master - mother, and Gu Huan was with it. I wasn't careful and fell into the trap. The really scary thing in this village is what's in the back mountain. I don't know what it is, but I can feel that it's very dangerous."
As soon as Master Qingyun finished speaking, Niannian couldn't help but do a little divination about the back mountain his master mentioned.
She had only just divined a little when a sense of uneasiness welled up in her heart.
It was as if she was being stared at by a venomous snake or a fierce beast, making her scalp tingle and her heart filled with fear.
"Master is right. There's a big guy in the back mountain. I can feel it. It's very dangerous."
The little girl nodded in agreement, frowning so hard that her chubby little face was almost wrinkled into a ball.
Master Qingyun laughed and stroked her head. "Why are you so curious? Don't make random divinations. If you disturb the monster in the back mountain, we'll be in big trouble."
"Okay!"
Hearing that random divination would lead to big trouble, Niannian immediately hid her hands behind her back and shook her head repeatedly.
"I won't divinate anymore, I won't!"
Hearing her words, Master Qingyun nodded in satisfaction. Then he looked at his third apprentice and put on a stern face again. "Originally, there were no Dao Laoguis guarding the village. They only appeared suddenly after the news of the Eight - Treasure Compass spread. I told your eldest brother to keep an eye on the situation in the village at all times. He should know what's going on in the village now."
Having said that, Master Qingyun gave his eldest apprentice a look.
Mu Yanchen immediately understood and nodded. "There are probably about fifteen Taoists left in the village. They vary in age and strength. There's really no common point to find. But this is just who I happened to meet. I don't know where they are exactly now or if they're still alive."
After hearing all the known information, Shen Weixun fell into a long silence.
Yunjia Village looked like the trap in the idiom "invite the enemy into one's own lair".
There were simply too many baits here.
But one thing was for sure. At first, it was the Holy Cult that wanted to lead them into the village.
The Dao Laoguis were probably created by the Holy Cult too.
At first, the Holy Cult planned to lead them into the trap quietly, but their plan was disrupted by the person who spread the news of the Eight - Treasure Compass.
Now there are many pairs of eyes watching outside. The Holy Cult has prepared a big move but hasn't taken action yet. They're probably afraid of attracting too much attention.
So they could take advantage of the Holy Cult's concern and foil their plan.