Han Yuan was really lost.

The morning classes were suspended that day, and the master didn't even have time to recite his beloved sutras. He and the Taoist children dug three feet deep into the entire Fuyao Mountain, but still couldn't find the person.

In fact, Cheng Qian had not yet figured out what the mountain cave was, and did not realize how serious the matter was at first. When his master asked him about it, he readily told him that Han Yuan had urged him to explore the mountain cave with him the night before.

As a result, the master's face changed immediately.

"Exploring a cave on the fifteenth night?" Yan Zhengming, who had been leaning against the stone table like a pile of mud, sat up straight. "What kind of death is he looking for?"

Ever since the Taoist boy came to tell his master that Han Yuan was missing, Li Yun had been watching and pretending to be indifferent. It was not until he heard Yan Zhengming's words that he finally couldn't help but raise his head and asked with some urgency: "Big Brother, what is in the cave on the fifteenth night?"

In fact, the so-called "mountain cave" refers to a small natural pond in the back mountain. There is nothing special about it. At most, the water is a little deep.

The sect rules only state that people are not allowed to go out on the nights of the first and fifteenth moon, but do not say that people are not allowed to go there at other times. Li Yun had been there more than once during the day, but he had never figured out what the mystery of the pond was.

Yan Zhengming turned to him, frowning slowly, "Li Yun, I remember I told you before, didn't I? The cave is connected to the Monster Valley in the back mountain. Although there are big monsters guarding the gate of the Monster Valley, the moon phase is special on the new and full moon nights, and the stone gate is wide open. In addition, those monsters with poor cultivation and vicious nature will inevitably become restless. To prevent accidents, our sect prohibits disciples who have not yet completed their training from wandering around in the back mountain during these two nights."

Li Yun was stunned - Yan Zhengming had indeed told him this when he first started asking about the mountain cave, but his original words were not so logical and well-founded. His original words were "You ask what's in the mountain cave? Of course it's a big monster. A little fat sheep like you can't even fill the gaps between your teeth with one at a time, so don't hang around and serve food to others."

Oh my God, who could have believed that this nonsense, which sounds like “If you don’t sleep well, the wolf will eat you up”, is actually true!

The next moment, Li Yun's face suddenly turned pale.

It was he who sent Han Yuan to the cave. He really had no good intentions and deliberately lured Han Yuan to explore the way for him. But he just thought that if he was caught violating the sect rules, Han Yuan would be punished by the master to copy the sect rules a few more times for him.

He never thought of killing Han Yuan, not even a little bit!

Master Mu Chun walked around for a few times without touching the ground, bent down and grabbed Cheng Qian's shoulders: "Did he say why he wanted to go?"

Cheng Qian had not yet recovered from his shock - he felt no better than Li Yun, because he knew very well that he was not only half an insider, but also an insider who was waiting to watch the fun.

Although he was a bit cold and sharp, he was far from being vicious. If Han Yuan's fate was to be dragged back by his master and spanked, he would definitely gloat over it. But if Han Yuan's fate was death...

Cheng Qian's hands and feet were cold. After a long while, he finally found his voice under the gaze of his master: "Junior brother said that people who have just entered the immortal sect can feel the energy when they stay near the mountain cave on the first and full moon nights..."

Cheng Qian did not betray Li Yun because he felt that he was as despicable as Li Yun. It would be too shameless to link them to each other at this time.

Unfortunately, things went against one's wishes. Before Cheng Qian could finish his words, the heartless Young Master Yan automatically completed his words.

"That clown doesn't even know what aura is," Yan Zhengming said unkindly, "I don't even need to ask about this kind of thing. It must be Li Yun who told him."

Li Yun's guilty conscience was suddenly touched. In a panic, he instinctively stood up a little straighter and defended himself: "I... I just made a guess. I didn't ask him to go to the cave. Who would have known that he would dare to openly violate the rules of the sect after only a few days of joining..."

Yan Zhengming interrupted him coldly: "How dare you talk nonsense here, Li Yun? You have been evil-minded for a long time. Don't think that others won't know what you have done just by hiding behind and fanning the flames. As for the clown, I don't think we need to look for him. If he was dragged into the Valley of Monsters for a night, it would be too late to collect his body now. Maybe even his bones have been sucked clean by something."

The first half of the sentence was fine, as the two of them had disliked each other for a long time. But the second half of Yan Zhengming's sentence made Li Yun's face even paler.

Li Yun stood up suddenly, almost knocking over the pen and ink on the table: "Master, I...I...I..."

He said "I" three times, but nothing came out of it.

Li Yun's mind went blank, and he was at a loss for a moment. Master Mu Chun cast a heavy gaze on him, and Li Yun involuntarily avoided it - he had neither the courage to admit that he was the one who instigated Han Yuan to go, nor the courage to face the fact that he might have killed his junior brother.

If he really had such courage, he would have gone there by himself if he wanted to see the cave. Would he have had to look for a scapegoat?

However, cowardice may be a trap at a certain moment, and one can step into it with one wrong step. The regret afterwards is almost unbearable for a teenager.

Li Yun's dodging gaze had nowhere to go, and finally fell on Cheng Qian in desperation. He said to Cheng Qian in a panic, "Third Junior Brother, you heard me, I... I didn't mean to trick him into going to the cave yesterday, right? I didn't tell him to go to the cave, and I told him that it was against the sect rules."

Cheng Qian buried his head deeply and said nothing. These words were too heavy, weighing heavily on his conscience, making it almost impossible for him to breathe.

Master Mu Chun had already stood up. Li Yun was at a loss as to what to do and called out, "Master..."

But before he could say anything, he saw Master Mu Chun seemed to be pulled by something out of thin air, and fell heavily back onto the stone chair in a sitting position.

The noise was quite loud, and even Yan Zhengming, who was busy arguing with Li Yun, turned his head in confusion: "Master, what's wrong with you?"

Master Mu Chun did not answer immediately. He seemed to be unaware of the pain in his buttocks. He adjusted his sitting posture calmly and waved his hand, saying, "Say less - Cheng Qian, bring me the old sandalwood hanging over there."

Cheng Qian did not dare to delay, and trotted all the way to take down a half-foot square sign that read "all is well" hanging in a corner of the preaching hall and handed it to his master. At the same time, he could not help but look at Mu Chun twice more.

I saw Master Mu Chun sitting in the hall with his eyes downcast, seemingly no different from usual. However, Cheng Qian was very sensitive and could tell the joy, anger, sorrow or happiness from every breath he took. Looking at his master at this moment, although he could not explain why, he always felt that something was not right with his master.

Even though it was a familiar face and a familiar sitting posture, he was shrouded in an indescribable gloom and solemnity.

Was the master mad because of Han Yuan's incident, or did he hit his tailbone just now?

Before Cheng Qian could think carefully, he saw that Master Mu Chun suddenly put his fingers together like a knife and slashed at the old sandalwood. His hands were pale and old, covered with dry wrinkles, and as thin as chicken claws, but his fingertips were like cold spring water and cold iron, condensed with a kind of oppressive hostility.

Cheng Qian then realized that people without the sense of qi could still feel the power of the spell, it just depended on who cast it. He suddenly took a step back, getting goose bumps all over his body.

Everyone present felt the incredible power during the formation of the talisman. The entire Fuyao Mountain seemed to be startled by it and trembled continuously. In an instant, the talisman was completed. Master Mu Chun retracted his fingers, and there was not a single sawdust stuck on his fingers. He looked down at the newly completed talisman with an indescribable indifference on his face.

That was not the look of one looking at a dead object like wood. It was as if he was looking at a person, a person with a bit of demandingness and contempt.

"Come over here, Zhengming." Master Mu Chun called his first disciple. His usual dragging tone was gone, and he spoke each word clearly as if he was a person who had been in a high position for a long time, making people instinctively unable to feel any resistance.

He handed the wooden sign to Yan Zhengming, who was stunned by the true power of the spell, and instructed him: "Take this, go down the cave to find Master Zipeng, explain the whole story to her, and ask her to help find him - don't worry, your junior brother's bloodline is still there, and he may not have been eaten by the monster in the cave, but you have to act quickly."

Although Yan Zhengming was usually too lazy to do anything crazy, he knew what was important at this moment as human lives were at stake. He knew that his master had no one else to send out, so he rarely said anything when he heard this. He neither made trouble nor glanced at the two-person rattan chair that he usually used to get around in the mountains. He just took the talisman, turned around, picked up his sword, and hurried out of the preaching hall.

Cheng Qian immediately stopped thinking about what was wrong with his master. In his mind, the eldest senior brother was a very unreliable person. His master sent him to rescue people. Cheng Qian suspected that Han Yuan was going to die.

At that moment, Cheng Qian picked up a wooden sword without thinking: "Master, I want to go too!"

Mu Chun was stunned for a moment, then nodded under Yan Zhengming's rolling eyes: "Well, go ahead."

Li Yun, who was standing beside him, was startled and quickly chased after him, pleading in a rare soft voice: "Master - Senior Brother, please take me with you."

Yan Zhengming glanced at him with a stern face, neither saying yes nor no. He quickened his pace, but let him follow.

As Master Yan walked, he pulled out a piece of white silk from his bosom and threw it into Cheng Qian's hand along with the old sandalwood plaque. He ordered, "You are a burden and probably can't do anything. First, clean off the wood chips stuck on it."

The eldest brother was extremely agile in action, which was rare in a century, and Cheng Qian was also extremely kind-hearted, which was rare in a century.

He felt guilty about Han Yuan's trespassing in the cave, and he had already regarded saving Han Yuan as his own responsibility. He didn't have time to take Yan Zhengming's words to heart, and even put aside his past grudges. He took a few quick steps, wiped the talisman, and asked in a good tone: "Brother, who is Master Zi Peng?"

Yan Zhengming didn't get scolded, so he had to stop. When he came to his senses, he realized that he was actually arguing with a kid who was not even as tall as his chest. After thinking about it, Yan Zhengming felt a little embarrassed.

So he was silent for a while, and answered Cheng Qian's question in a calm tone: "Zi Peng Zhenren is the old demon who guards the mountain cave. She is easy to talk to. I have wished her a happy new year before."

"What kind of demon is that?" Cheng Qian asked again, "Wouldn't it be better for Master to go and pay a visit in person?"

"Of course not," Yan Zhengming looked quite impatient, and walked very fast. Cheng Qian had to jog with his short legs to keep up. The wind carried his senior brother's answer, "Master is not convenient to see Master Zi Peng because she is an old hen. If you want to follow, just follow well. Why are you asking so many questions? Be careful not to violate the taboos in the Demon Valley and let someone leave you to accompany that kid."

It took Cheng Qian a while to realize that his master didn't want to see Master Zipeng because he wanted to avoid suspicion - after all, "a weasel paying a New Year's visit to a chicken" doesn't sound like a good thing.

When he thought of this, the corner of his eye twitched suddenly. This meant that the master was really a weasel living in seclusion in the mountains!

At this time, the weasel who lived in seclusion in the mountains was not in a good situation. As soon as Cheng Qian and the other three left, he immediately dismissed all the Taoist children, and then collapsed on the table like mud. Then, a black smoke came out from his heart, and the thing that had just possessed his body fell to the side, turning into a shadowy human figure.

The hand of Master Mu Chun that had carved the talisman just now was shaking violently. After a long while, he said in a hoarse voice, "Are you crazy?"

The shadow stood in silence for a long time, and said softly: "Where my mark passes, the demon king dare not act rashly. As long as those children hold my talisman, they will be fine. This trip is just a journey, you can rest assured."

Master Mu Chun had a gloomy face, but his body seemed to be restrained by something and he couldn't stand up. He said in a deep voice: "Although I am not very knowledgeable and my eyesight is dim, it is not so blind that I can't see the 'light and dark double talisman'. It's just a trip to the Monster Valley. Ordinary lightning talismans can protect me. Besides, Zi Peng is a person who won't embarrass a few children... What exactly do you want to do? What is the carrier of the dark talisman embedded in it?"

This time, the shadow did not answer.

Master Mu Chun shouted, "Speak!"

But the black shadow had disappeared like a puff of smoke, leaving no trace and only a faint sigh.

As if it had never existed.