Chapter Thirty-Five: Sending Someone to Investigate

The disciple only felt a sharp pain at the back of his neck—a surge of overwhelming dizziness crashed into him, shattering his consciousness. He slowly collapsed to the ground. Xie Yingying, witnessing this, stared at her palm in astonishment. Just now, her palm had grown hot; she had instinctively struck out, and to her surprise, the disciple had fainted instantly. She could still faintly see the lingering traces of spiritual power swirling on her palm.

Since arriving in this world, it was the first time she had truly used spiritual power to strike another.

But Xie Yingying had no time to dwell on it. Every minute lost was another moment of danger. Quickly, she rifled through the memories in her mind, gathering spiritual power once more in her hand, silently reciting the incantation. Following the method she recalled, she urged the mimosa flower to release its gentle fragrance.

From afar, butterflies and insects, drawn by the scent, fluttered rapidly toward her, circling the mimosa blossom with beating wings. Soon, the mimosa withered swiftly, petals dropping one by one, ragged leaves spinning down to the earth. The butterflies and insects slowly drifted away, vanishing from Xie Yingying’s sight in a short while.

Seeing this, Xie Yingying knew she had performed the ritual correctly. She breathed a sigh of relief, hid the disciple in a nearby cave, and hurried down the mountain without the slightest worry about stumbling.

What she had just witnessed was the exclusive communication method of the demonic sect disciples. Members of the demonic sect often ventured out to temper themselves, and should anything happen, this method would transmit a distress signal through butterflies and insects, spreading the secret scent from one to another, until thousands upon thousands bore the message, finally delivering it to the depths of the distant demonic sect.

Meanwhile, in the main hall—

Bai Shengyun’s sword-like brows shot up as he strode to the main hall doors, his gaze sweeping toward the rear mountain of the Celestial Fox Clan. Sensing something amiss, the others exchanged glances and followed him out, only to see a host of butterflies dancing gracefully, prompting many to marvel in wonder.

Someone even joked, “The young lord and his bride are clearly a match made in heaven.”

Had Xie Yingying, far away on the back mountain, heard this, she would surely have cursed him under her breath.

Unbeknownst to them, a sudden brilliant red flash split the sky, vanishing in an instant. Most were too captivated by the butterflies before them to notice the crimson light above.

Bai Shengyun’s golden eyes narrowed, his heart suddenly skipping a beat. At once, he abandoned the guests and elders, leaving alone.

“Wait, young lord, where are you going?” a senior elder called after him.

Bai Shengyun paid no heed, his features set in cold fury.

Sensing trouble, the others hurried after him. Bai Shengyun, though unsure of the meaning behind the red light and the butterflies, nor what arcane methods might be at play, had an unshakable intuition that it was connected to Xie Yingying.

He strode swiftly toward the bridal chamber, even summoning his spiritual power, so quickly that the guards behind him almost fell behind. Soon, he neared the bridal suite and from a distance saw both guards lying on the ground.

A murderous light blazed in Bai Shengyun’s eyes. The guards following behind grew pale; they surged forward, first checking their fallen comrades’ breathing. Finding them merely drugged and unconscious, they breathed a collective sigh of relief.

Bai Shengyun ignored them, stepping past the group and kicking open the bridal chamber doors—

Inside, the room was utterly empty.

Those who had followed were left speechless, never expecting that Xie Yingying would actually flee from her own wedding! The man who had just moments before praised their perfect match now blushed, shrinking to the back of the crowd in embarrassment.

Other guards, seeing the bride’s seat empty, were shocked and visibly unsettled. With a heavy thud, they all dropped to one knee, crying, “Young lord, it is our failure!”

Bai Shengyun turned his gaze upon them, eyes icy. The oppressive force of his aura pressed them to the ground, forcing their foreheads to the floor until blood stained the wood.

“Go find her!” Bai Shengyun’s face was thunderous. “If you fail, you will be punished!”

At the memory of the grisly fate that had recently befallen another Celestial Fox disciple for a lapse in duty, the guards shuddered and answered at once, “Yes, sir!”

Without delay, they leapt to their feet. The captain swiftly organized a large search party, sending teams out in all directions to search for Xie Yingying.

Bai Shengyun stood in the center of the bridal chamber, glaring at the festive red satin draped at the bedhead, his anger only mounting.

Never could he have imagined that Xie Yingying would flee on their wedding day, disgracing the Celestial Fox Clan before all their assembled guests.

The search parties scoured from mountaintop to valley, their commotion growing ever larger. Xie Yingying, glimpsing the mass of guards descending the mountain, quickly ducked into a nearby cave, hidden among the wild grasses.

Soon, several guards approached the treacherous mountain path nearby. Seeing its steep and uneven terrain, and recalling Xie Yingying’s timid nature, they simply bypassed the area.

Once she was certain they had moved on, Xie Yingying let out a sigh of relief.

After making a circuit, the searchers returned to the mountaintop and again knelt before Bai Shengyun.

“Reporting, young lord, we… we couldn’t find her…” the captain stammered.

“Couldn’t find her?” Bai Shengyun whirled around. “So many people, and still you can’t find Xie Yingying? Has she dug a hole and vanished three feet underground?!”

The guards dared not utter a word, fearing that another outburst would see them skinned alive.

Just then, with their silence as answer, a surge of spiritual power burst from Bai Shengyun’s hand. In an instant, a wild gale swept through, flinging the guards and others backward. Jade cups shattered on tables, spiritual wine spilled and filled the room with its fragrance.

Everyone present retreated several steps, wary of Bai Shengyun’s wrath, even the elders.

Listening to the sound of everything breaking inside, Bai Qirui alone braved the storm of anger, stepping forward and lightly flicking open his folding fan. A cool breeze dispelled some of Bai Shengyun’s rage.

“Shengyun, calm yourself, will you?” Bai Qirui said, exasperated. “The urgent matter is to find her quickly, isn’t it?”

Bai Shengyun forced himself to regain some composure, hands clasped behind his back, brows furrowed, his golden eyes deepening with a murderous red glint.

Seizing the opportunity, Bai Qirui went outside and waved at the elders, signaling them to send out more searchers.

The elders, eager to escape, quickly instructed their disciples to join the search.

More and more people joined the hunt—guards, disciples, and even a few onlookers swept up in the excitement, all scouring the mountain from north to south, each privately imagining what fate awaited Xie Yingying when she was found.

Just as Xie Yingying poked her head out of the cave, seeing even more searchers, she darted back into the darkness, curling up as deep into the shadows as she could.

After a long while, she tried peeking out again. When she saw the latest group had moved on, she bent low and slipped quietly away, moving ever faster.

The mountain path was rough and uneven, and her haste made her careless. Suddenly, her foot caught on something, and she nearly tumbled off the cliff, managing to steady herself at the last moment.

Watching the loose stones tumble from the edge and disappear into the bottomless abyss below, she shivered involuntarily.

“Why isn’t anyone searching over there?”

—A furious voice rang out at that instant.