Liu Ruyan's face stiffened. A flicker of panic flashed across her eyes but was quickly suppressed. Her voice rose a few pitches, with a hint of being offended. "What do you mean by this?"
"The first chapter of The Compendium of the Five Arts states clearly that in the practices of the Xuanmen, salvation comes first, suppression second, and extermination last. One must follow this order strictly and not overstep." Zhong Shengwan's tone was calm. "Wouldn't the reincarnation of the Dark Goddess know this rule?"
A low murmur immediately rose among the crowd.
"Zhong Shengwan is right. If one suppresses forcefully, isn't that just killing without salvation? Then the cause - effect cycle will be reversed, leading to endless troubles!"
This rule is known even to those who have just entered the profession. Liu Ruyan has been a celestial master for quite some time and has already made a name for herself in the capital. How could she make such a basic mistake?
The gentle and proper smile that usually graced Liu Ruyan's face vanished completely. Her face turned pale and then red.
After a long while, she said coldly, her tone becoming sharp, with an arrogant attempt to save face.
"I'm not an ordinary celestial master. Why should I stick to the old rules? That corpse clearly captures a child every night. Shouldn't we suppress it immediately? Are we going to let it keep kidnapping children?!"
"If you're so impatient, why not transfer the children in the village to the Wuxiang Academy first?" Pei Yu's casual voice rang out, instantly dousing the bravado that Liu Ruyan had been putting up. "The master once said that the academy is full of spiritual energy, and evil spirits dare not approach."
The academy master nodded in agreement.
"It's true that the corpse transformation is harming people, but it's really strange that it kidnaps and eats people so purposefully." Shen Cuiyu's clear voice sounded at the right moment, diverting everyone's attention from this awkward argument back to the incident itself.
She ignored Liu Ruyan and looked directly at the still - frightened Uncle Guo, speaking in a steady tone. "Uncle Guo, it's still early. That thing won't come out. You said you found some minced meat on the mountain path just now. Can you take us there to have a look?"
...
The group made their way down the mountain in a grand manner and arrived at Yongding Village.
Yongding Village has always been known for its hospitality. Since it's located at the foot of Chaoyao Mountain, many students of the Wuxiang Academy once stayed in the village when they came to study.
The past hustle and bustle was long gone. In its place was a deathly silence.
Every household had their doors closed. There wasn't a single villager in sight on the street. The air was filled with a tense and anxious atmosphere, making people feel uncomfortable.
"Please follow me, celestial masters."
Uncle Guo led the way in front. After walking along a remote and rugged mountain path, they finally stopped at a gully.
"This is the place," Uncle Guo couldn't bear to look anymore. Every child in the village had grown up under his watch. Now that such a thing had happened in his funeral parlor, he felt more guilty and anxious than anyone else.
"When the villagers found this... minced meat, they didn't dare to touch it. Please take a look, celestial masters!"
A strong smell of blood assailed their nostrils. All they could see was a shocking red.
The scene before them was a kind of direct and cruel reality that was never mentioned in the books.
As soon as a few students caught a glimpse of the messy flesh and blood, they frowned tightly and didn't dare to step forward. Some of them turned pale and stiffened for a while. Then their stomachs churned, and they turned around suddenly, holding onto a tree trunk and vomiting uncontrollably!
Liu Ruyan's face also looked very ugly. Although she was saying things like "How pitiful", she stood dozens of steps away and refused to get any closer!
Amidst the chaos and discomfort, Shen Cuiyu, who was usually the quietest, actually stepped forward and walked straight towards the pool of blood.
She casually lifted her skirt, squatted down, and calmly examined the bloody remains. She even stretched out her slender fingers and carefully prodded the fragmented internal organs and minced meat.
In the midst of the scarlet remains, a beautiful girl reached out to poke at the minced meat.
This scene was quite eerie...
"How dare she...?!" someone whispered in a trembling voice, unable to believe their eyes.
Wasn't she supposed to be a rich young lady who was good - for - nothing and only relied on her family background?
Shouldn't she be hiding far away and then enjoy the results of her teammates?
Why, at this moment, was she at the forefront, doing things that even they didn't dare to do?
Seeing Shen Cuiyu so calm, the looks in people's eyes towards her gradually became more complex. There was a hint of awe, barely noticeable, mixed with their suspicion.
When they used to mock Shen Cuiyu, she would just give them a disdainful look and rarely argued. It turned out that she wasn't weak and incompetent but simply too lazy to argue with them?!
This kind of contrast was really startling.
Shen Cuiyu observed intently for a while. There was indeed a faint black aura on the remains, which was undoubtedly left by the corpse when it ate.
However, she didn't sense any soul aura of children around.
"Pei Yu, could you come and take a look? Is this a human's internal organ?"
Shen Cuiyu looked up at Pei Yu. The afternoon sun shone into her beautiful eyes. Pei Yu met her gaze for a moment and then walked forward leisurely.
"Miss Shen, are you using me as a coroner?" Pei Yu drawled, with a hint of teasing.
"Of course not," Shen Cuiyu smiled, her tone sincere and almost innocent. "You're well - informed and have excellent eyesight. Your ability to analyze things carefully and notice every detail is unmatched by others."
"Flattery."
Pei Yu snorted softly. Perhaps it was the unique talent of those who could communicate with the underworld, but Shen Cuiyu always knew how to say nice things. Her words were so soothing that even though he knew it was flattery, he still enjoyed it.
Although Pei Yu didn't have spiritual power, he had traveled far and wide all year round and had experienced far more strange cases and mysterious events than these students.
After saying that, he actually took out a pair of plain silk gloves used by coroners from his bosom, put them on neatly, and then bent down expressionlessly to carefully examine the mess on the ground.
He was very focused, sometimes pushing aside the minced meat to observe the cross - section, sometimes using his fingers to measure the size.
The surroundings were completely silent. Everyone held their breath and watched Pei Yu's movements.
After a while, Pei Yu finally looked up, took off his gloves, and said in a calm and confident tone.
"You're mistaken. This is not a human corpse but that of some kind of beast. A human's internal organs are not in this shape. Judging from the thickness of the intestines, it should be a wild boar or a wolf from the mountains."
"A wild... wolf?!" Uncle Guo's eyes lit up when he heard this, as if he had grasped a lifeline. His voice even trembled. "Then... where could those children be?!"
"They may not have been killed. Instead, they might have been hidden somewhere by the corpse," Shen Cuiyu said softly.
The moment Uncle Guo heard this, hope rekindled in his eyes.
"Celestial master, what should we do now? How can we rescue those children?!"
Everyone also subconsciously looked at Shen Cuiyu, unknowingly regarding her as their leader.