By the time Lu Yu finished speaking, he was sighing deeply and sobbing uncontrollably.
The disciples quickly tried to console him, but when they exchanged glances, their expressions were filled with surprise.
This was because demons were far rarer than ghosts in this world.
People with obsessions became ghosts after death, and it wasn't particularly rare for ghosts to linger in the mortal realm.
Demons, on the other hand, had to endure years of hardship in the mountains and swamps before they had a chance to gain wisdom.
If, as Lu Yu suspected, this demon had reached the level of being able to bewitch people, it must be a century - old great demon that had experienced much. However, the cultivation of demons was fraught with calamities at every step. Every hundred years, a thunderous calamity would descend. Under the mighty power of heaven, if a demon dared to commit evil deeds and kill innocent people in the mortal world, it would surely be punished by the Heavenly Dao and be completely destroyed.
Therefore, any great demon with a shred of wisdom knew well how to hide itself and would never be so blatant as to cause harm and invite its own destruction.
This was especially true for snake demons, who were inherently suspicious and cautious.
For this reason, nine out of ten tasks that the Wenshi Hall took on were related to vengeful spirits. There were very few tasks truly related to demons.
Ren Daoyuan pondered for a moment and then said calmly, "Qingfeng, you stay here with a few disciples to help. The rest of you follow me back to the academy. If there's any situation, contact us immediately with the communication talismans."
As soon as he finished speaking, some disciples immediately volunteered. After all, everyone was quite curious to know what a great demon capable of bewitching people looked like.
Xu Qingfeng responded and then casually selected a few disciples. When his gaze fell on Shen Cuiyu's group, he paused slightly.
Dongfang Xiao was raising his arm high, looking at him expectantly; Zhong Shengwan was also uncharacteristically interested and had already taken out the Illustrated Book of Hundred Demons and was eagerly flipping through it; Shen Cuiyu was still re - analyzing the case that Lu Yu had just told them... As for Pei Yu, he was standing with his arms crossed, looking thoughtfully at Shen Cuiyu. Sensing Xu Qingfeng's gaze, Pei Yu turned his head slightly and stared straight at him.
Since learning Pei Yu's true identity, Xu Qingfeng had felt a bit uncomfortable. He coughed lightly and averted his gaze from Pei Yu.
"Sister Shen, your group will stay too."
In the end, twenty disciples were left. Except for Pei Yu, they were all at or above the Mysterious Rank. Early the next morning, the academy masters left enough talismans and magical artifacts to ensure they could deal with the great demon. Only then did Ren Daoyuan and Master Yan lead the rest of the disciples away.
Xu Qingfeng then said to Lu Yu, "Brother Lu, could you take us to see your sister?"
Lu Yu agreed. According to him, Lu Chun had moved out of the teahouse after getting married. But after this incident, she had to move back to her parents' home.
Lu Yu knocked on the door for a long time before a faint response came from inside.
With a creak, the door finally opened. Everyone was stunned when they saw the person in front of them.
Just looking at her eyebrows and expression, she clearly had the youthful appearance of a nineteen - year - old. But looking up, most of Lu Chun's hair had turned white. The white hair like frost was mixed with the dry black hair. At first glance, one would mistake her for a middle - aged woman.
This appearance was clearly the result of excessive grief and exhaustion, which had prematurely aged her.
Lu Yu closed his eyes, unable to bear seeing his sister's prematurely gray hair. As an older brother, he wished he could bear this pain for her!
Shen Cuiyu stared intently at Lu Chun's face. She noticed that there was an ominous bluish - black tint under her eyes, as if a dark cloud was looming over her. Even more shocking was that a wisp of faint black demonic aura was coiling around her like a thread.
It seemed that the black snake was indeed a powerful demon.
"Brother, who are they...?" Lu Chun asked hesitantly.
Xu Qingfeng said loudly, "Miss Lu, we are disciples from the Myriad Phenomena Academy. We heard about the disappearance of Young Master Wang and came here to help."
Hearing this, a glimmer of hope first appeared in Lu Chun's eyes, but it quickly faded.
In the past month, she had searched every corner of this county but still couldn't find Wang Jingxuan.
She had also consulted many fortune - tellers, asking them to help find Wang Jingxuan's whereabouts, but all to no avail.
But at this point, she had no other choice but to give it a try.
"Please follow me."
The disciples entered the guest room and immediately saw a thick stack of missing - person notices on the table. Each portrait and text was written by Lu Chun herself, which showed her care and concern for her husband.
Shen Cuiyu got straight to the point and said, "Miss Lu, the snake you saved is indeed a demon."
Hearing this, Lu Chun's face turned pale, and a wave of fear welled up in her heart.
The little snake she had taken care of for several months was actually a demon?! She had been raising a tiger in her bosom...
Shen Cuiyu then asked, "Does your family have anything that the snake demon used before? A strong demonic aura can help us better locate the demon."
It took Lu Chun a while to react. She slowly got up to look for it. When she returned, there was an extra black scale in her hand.
The scale was in an irregular diamond shape. Under the light, it emitted a soft, silky luster. Shen Cuiyu picked up the scale. It felt cold and smooth.
Zhong Shengwan stared at the scale for a long time. Then, as if he had thought of something, he started flipping through the book quickly. He suddenly stopped at a certain page and murmured, "Judging from the appearance of this scale, it seems to be the scale from the snake demon's chest... that is, the snake demon's life - essence scale. It can resist danger in critical moments. Why would it leave such an important thing here? Could it be... a stupid snake?"
"Maybe it was to repay Miss Lu Chun for saving its life?"
"If it was to repay her, why would it hide Miss Lu's husband? This is completely self - contradictory!"
The disciples began to speculate and whispered to each other.
Lu Chun seemed a bit absent - minded and started to recall her past interactions with the black snake.
"I found this little snake at the beginning of the year. It was freezing outside. It should have been hibernating, but it was lying straight on the mountain path. After I brought it back and applied medicine, the little snake was very affectionate and never ran around. It would just lie obediently beside me. So at night, I would even hold it and sleep with it..."
Hearing this, Dongfang Xiao sighed with emotion, "I usually avoid those sticky snakes. You actually dared to bring one home and take good care of it..." He couldn't help but shiver. "Miss Lu, you're really an extraordinary woman!"
Lu Chun's originally heavy mood was slightly relieved by Dongfang Xiao's words. She thought carefully for a moment and replied, "I don't know. Strangely enough, I've liked snakes since I was a child. I think their bodies are soft and beautiful, and their scales sparkle in the sun."
Lu Yu also nodded and said, "Yes, do you remember? When you were a child, you always brought snakes home. Because you were afraid of being discovered by mother, you hid them under the bed. Then one day when mother was making your bed, the little snake jumped out, and you got a spanking from both parents..."
The tense atmosphere around them eased a bit.
At the same time, Shen Cuiyu used a small knife to cut off a small corner of the scale, ground it into powder, mixed it with the special guiding incense, and lit it.