Zhaozhao and Song Yao came to the strange tower under the cover of night. They circled around the tower but found nothing special.
The tower wasn't very tall. In fact, it seemed more like a gigantic furnace than a tower.
After all, no tower looked like this, and the village head had said that this tower was used for burning things.
There was a small opening at the very top of the tower. It looked so tiny and was built so high that it was hard to tell what it was for.
Since Zhaozhao arrived here, she had a faint, indescribable feeling, just like when she first came to this village. The aura around this tower was as out of place as the spiritual energy that permeated this backward mountain village.
Moreover, for some reason, this aura easily made her emotional. She could feel her spiritual power being attracted and getting out of control.
She squatted down uncomfortably, covering her head and burying it deeply between her knees and arms. She wished she could turn into a seed and burrow into the soil.
Song Yao noticed Zhaozhao's uneasiness and immediately ran over and squatted in front of her, asking in a low voice, "What's wrong with you?"
Zhaozhao felt dizzy at the moment. This feeling was like when she was still a small sapling and her master accidentally poured too much spiritual spring water on her, causing an over - surplus of spiritual energy.
"Hey! Don't scare me. If something happens to you, my dad will definitely scold me!" Song Yao babbled on. Clearly, she was extremely worried, but still used her dad as an excuse.
Zhaozhao's head hurt even more because of her chatter. She reached out and covered Song Yao's mouth, with a rare hint of impatience: "Shh! Don't talk!"
Song Yao blinked. Was she being scolded by the usually gentle Zhaozhao? Well, this feeling was quite novel.
Zhaozhao took a moment to calm down. She silently recited the incantations her master had taught her on Wutong Mountain a few times in her heart, and only then did she feel much better.
When her mind cleared and she opened her eyes, she found that she had covered her usually fierce cousin's mouth tightly. She quickly let go and stammered, "Ah... I didn't mean to..."
Song Yao stared fixedly at her, her gaze quite intimidating.
Zhaozhao's eyes flitted from left to right and then back from right to left. Song Yao still stared at her without blinking.
She wracked her brains to think of an explanation, but to no avail. Suddenly, she grabbed Song Yao's hand and high - fived her.
Song Yao: "..." Is the kid having another episode?
Looking at Song Yao's speechless expression, Zhaozhao wondered why it was different from what she had learned. Clearly, the people on her phone would burst into happy laughter after doing this action...
Song Yao knew exactly where Zhaozhao had learned this from. After staring at each other for a long time, she was the first to give in. Tiredly, she said, "You... Oh, forget it. After this is all over, you'll 'properly' learn from me!"
Zhaozhao nodded obediently: "Okay."
The topic returned to before. Song Yao asked Zhaozhao, "What exactly happened to you just now?"
Zhaozhao pulled her small cloth bag and told the truth, "My head hurt just now. This place makes me uncomfortable."
Song Yao frowned after hearing this. Some invisible filthy things could indeed make ordinary people feel uncomfortable. As someone who had practiced in the Xuanmen, she didn't feel anything, but Zhaozhao was different. She didn't know if her unreliable old Taoist master had tempered her body.
Thinking this way, Song Yao deliberately protected Zhaozhao by her side. She took out a bracelet and put it on Zhaozhao, then tapped a few times. A high - tech peach - wood sword appeared in mid - air.
"Take it for self - defense," Song Yao told Zhaozhao.
Zhaozhao looked at the thing in her hand in surprise and asked curiously, "Cousin, what is this?"
Song Yao was lowering her head to fiddle with the talisman papers and casually replied, "An electronic peach - wood sword. It's a product that combines high - tech and Xuanmen knowledge. It's simple and easy to carry, a must - have for Xuanmen disciples when they go out."
Zhaozhao's mouth opened into a big "O". Humans were really, really amazing!
On this side, Song Yao had already finished preparing the talisman papers. She made hand seals, and the talisman papers rose into the air, emitting a red light.
Against the backdrop of the red light, black qi floated around the tower, and a foul, rotting smell wafted over.
Zhaozhao covered her nose and mouth uncomfortably. This smell...
Song Yao was so shocked that sweat dripped down. There was actually so much corpse qi around this tower!
So, what was being burned here... Could it be... people?
With such powerful corpse qi and resentment, Song Yao was so scared that she took a few steps back. Zhaozhao immediately stepped forward to support her.
"Cousin..."
Song Yao came to her senses and tightly grabbed Zhaozhao's hand. Actually, corpse qi wasn't that scary. People in the Xuanmen often encountered such things when dealing with strange and supernatural events outside. What made Song Yao feel frightened was the possibility that this tower might be burning people.
The human heart was the most terrifying.
Song Yao thought this matter might not be as simple as just a monster causing trouble. She thought for a while and took out her phone to send a message to the Xuanmen headquarters.
Just as she sent the message, a sudden red light flashed across the sky, coming from the direction of the tile - roofed houses.
The Yuki - Onna had come!
Zhaozhao stared at the red light, and her heart rate involuntarily quickened because in that red light... she saw a trace of green spiritual power.
She asked Song Yao, "Cousin, did you see the green light there?"
Song Yao frowned, "What green light? Are you scared out of your wits?"
Zhaozhao lowered her head and said nothing.
"Alright, let's go back and take a look. Su Yuan should have caught that monster."
When Zhaozhao and Song Yao rushed back to the tile - roofed house, they only saw Su Yuan with his back to them.
Song Yao was an impatient person, "Where's the Yuki - Onna?"
Su Yuan turned around. His gaze fell on Zhaozhao behind Song Yao and said softly, "It got away."
"What?!" Song Yao couldn't believe it. The top fighter in both the human and monster worlds couldn't catch a Yuki - Onna?!
Zhaozhao felt Su Yuan's gaze on her, but this time it was different from before. It was a bit colder. She tightened her heart when she saw the faintly glowing leaf on Su Yuan's body.
Did he figure out that she was a monster? But he was a monster himself. Why was he looking at her like that? Did monsters even look down on other monsters...
Thinking of this, Zhaozhao felt a bit wronged and moved away from Su Yuan's sight.
"..." Su Yuan watched the little girl's actions and for the first time had the illusion that he was bullying her. He rarely felt a bit ashamed.
He coughed uncomfortably and then said, "That Yuki - Onna is a bit strange. It escaped while I was distracted and confused."
Song Yao rolled her eyes, "Humph... The big shot in the monster world is just so - so." Then she turned around to contact the Xuanmen.
Zhaozhao was now avoiding Su Yuan at all costs. She inched along the wall step by step. Finally, she managed to pass by Su Yuan. Before she could let out a sigh of relief, suddenly her body stiffened, and she grabbed her sleeve tightly.
She angrily turned around and, as expected, saw that old monster touching the leaf again!
She couldn't bear it any longer and finally blurted out, "Do you like this leaf very much?" It was so annoying that he kept touching it!
Su Yuan thought she was going to say something aggressively, but instead, she said this. It almost made him laugh. He nodded happily and said, "Of course. It's so beautiful. It's the most beautiful leaf I've ever seen."