Xie Zhaolin felt a flicker in her heart and immediately focused, trying to sense that faint energy pulse. But it vanished like ripples from a stone tossed into a pond, disappearing in an instant. There was no trace left, as if it had all been a figment of her imagination.
Her brow furrowed. No, this couldn't be an illusion!
With her current divine sense, she could detect the slightest fluctuations in energy.
The sensation… it was like something had triggered a self-destruct mechanism, or been hidden instantly by some far more refined concealment. Something strange was going on here, and it was hidden incredibly well.
"Come out, all of you!" she thought, and the You Ming Bracelet on her wrist shimmered faintly.
Five beast soul shadows silently materialized around her, and her hairpiece, Zi Ying, poked its head out. Even You You's translucent soul body drifted into view.
"Search this house thoroughly," Xie Zhaolin ordered in a low voice, "any lingering energy, hidden traps, or unusual items—don't let a single thing slip by."
The five little spirits immediately spread out. Though they had no physical form, their perception of energy and aura was razor-sharp, and they started meticulously checking every corner, flipping through the decayed furniture and debris.
You You glided like smoke, weaving between walls and furniture gaps, while Zi Ying went even further, disappearing into the ground itself to probe beneath the earth.
The small courtyard quickly became filled with this eerie, quiet flurry of activity.
Just as Xie Zhaolin focused on tracing every clue—
Bang—!
The courtyard gate was kicked open with a massive crash.
A rough, aggressive male voice followed, along with the sound of clumsy footsteps:
"Damn it! How long's it been since Zhang Xiuxiu died? We can't even find her ashes! And the boss still sends us to this hellhole? What bad luck!" one complained.
"You know nothing!" another, seemingly the leader, snapped, greed dripping from his tone. "The Zhou family suddenly started sniffing around for Zhang Xiuxiu today! And they're throwing around a mountain of spirit stones! If this dump didn't have something valuable, would they be so generous? If we find anything, we can flip it to the Zhou family or keep it ourselves. Otherwise, what the hell are we doing here at night, starving?"
"The boss knows best!" someone nearby immediately flattered. "Even crumbs from the Zhou family's fingers could feed us like kings! Come on, brothers! Search carefully! Don't leave a single corner unchecked!"
From their voices, there were at least four or five of them, and they'd already stormed into the yard, heading toward the house.
Xie Zhaolin's gaze darkened. The Zhou family's investigation had attracted these local thugs—it was a headache.
But she had already sensed that their cultivation was no higher than the early Foundation Establishment stage. They posed no threat to her, and she didn't even bother hiding her presence. She just transmitted a thought to the five little spirits and You You: "Keep searching. Ignore them."
She still faced away from the doorway, concentrating on every trace of energy in the house.
Then—
Bang—!
The already shaky door was kicked open again.
A burly man with a scarred face stormed in, brandishing a gleaming cleaver. Behind him were three or four subordinates holding clubs, charging in full of menace.
And then everyone froze.
The scar-faced man's eyes widened in disbelief as he stared at the blue-robed woman facing away from them, surrounded by floating beast soul shadows rifling through the room.
"Who… who are you?!" he shouted, unease lacing his roar. "How dare you pull this ghost act on my turf?! Smart folks get out, or I'll—"
Before he could finish, the ground beneath him silently cracked, splitting into several thin gaps.
Fine, green vines shot up like strands of hair, wrapping around his ankles in an instant.
"Argh—!"
The scar-faced man barely had time to scream.
The vines tightened abruptly, a terrifying suction tearing at his essence and spirit power. His body shriveled visibly, his skin losing all luster, his eyes dimming. In the blink of an eye, he became a dried-up corpse, wrapped in his clothes, collapsing to the ground with a thud.
It all happened too fast for the subordinates to react.
They gawked in terror at their leader instantly turned to a mummy, faces pale with fear.
"G-g-ghosts! Run!" someone screamed, and a few tried to flee.
But it was too late.
More vines erupted from the floor and wall cracks, binding them all instantly. Screams and pleas rang out briefly in the night, then were cut off abruptly. Within just a few breaths, every intruder had turned into dried corpses, sprawled across the floor.
From start to finish, Xie Zhaolin didn't even glance back. It was as if everything behind her didn't exist. She stayed focused on the search, brow furrowed, seemingly dissatisfied with the results.
Zi Ying's vines silently receded into the ground, dragging the corpses down with them, erasing all traces. Only a faint smell of dust lingered in the air.
Time passed, second by second.
The five little spirits and You You turned the house upside down, even examining the walls and floor tiles, yet found nothing of value.
That strange energy fluctuation… maybe it really had been her imagination.
Xie Zhaolin's heart sank. Could it… really have been nothing?
Just as doubt crept in—
Whoosh—!
A green shadow shot up from deep underground. It was Zi Ying!
One of its vines carefully held a tiny trinket.
The piece was no bigger than a fingernail, made of neither metal nor jade, dull in color, with faded, ancient carvings. It looked ordinary, like a scrap from some broken piece of jewelry.
But the moment Xie Zhaolin's gaze fell on it, she couldn't look away.
Her heart thumped violently on its own.
This was no ordinary object!
There was no way Zhang Xiuxiu, a simple civilian girl, could have owned it!
Zi Ying brought the trinket to her, sending a thought: "Master… found it deep underground… it's wrapped in a very strange seal… the pulse you felt just now… might've come from this."
Xie Zhaolin took it carefully. The instant her fingertips touched it, an indescribable chill ran through her, and deep within her Primordial Soul, something seemed to stir lightly.
Something strange…
Something extremely strange.