Chapter 20: Solidifying Spirit Grass (V)

So, does Liao Wu really have amnesia?

Then why did he pretend not to know Su Kou?

At this moment, the system spoke: “[Maybe he just doesn’t like her anymore. By pretending not to know her, he can avoid this marriage. What a heartless man.]”

Sui Ning responded speechlessly: “Can you please stop reading weird things all the time?”

Liao Wu’s demeanor was pure and clean, similar to Xie Changzhou’s. Both of them were people who had a clear heart and were devoted to the Dao.

Moreover, the Buddhist teachings of the Jing Chan sect require practitioners to have a high standard of personal morality. Those who harbor evil thoughts or cannot give up their attachments to love, hatred, greed, and desire will find it difficult to practice this method.

However, Liao Wu had achieved the Nascent Soul Stage within twenty years, which was almost comparable to Xie Changzhou’s talent. He must be a person of extremely pure and virtuous character.

Such a person should not be capable of abandoning his fiancée.

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***

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She came downstairs with bleary eyes, and the two of them ordered a table of food, but only Sui Ning picked up her chopsticks.

At this moment, Sui Ning looked at Su Kou, who was eagerly looking up at a room upstairs in the inn, and felt like she wanted to beat her up.

Sui Ning weakly said, “Su Kou, don’t look. Not everyone gets up as early as we do at this time.”

As soon as she finished speaking, a figure came down the stairs in a simple and slim white robe with a light jade crown and a calm and gentle face.

It was Xie Changzhou.

Sui Ning: “…”

System: [You just got slapped in the face, didn’t you?]

Xie Changzhou caught a glimpse of Sui Ning and Su Kou’s figures in the lobby and showed a rare expression of surprise.

When did Sui Ning become so diligent that she would get up so early?

His gaze fell on Sui Ning’s face, and he paused for a moment before feeling like he wanted to laugh.

Her face was wilted; her mischievous and lively eyes of the past were now full of exhaustion; her eyelids were hanging weakly; and she looked completely listless.

“Turns out she hasn’t woken up yet,” he thought to himself, seeing Su Kou eagerly looking towards the room upstairs.

Xie Changzhou walked towards Su Kou and Sui Ning and said, “Good morning, Miss Su and Ningning.”

Sui Ning replied weakly, “Good morning.”

Su Kou asked Xie Changzhou, “Did you see Yan Zhang ?”

Before Xie Changzhou could respond, Sui Ning interjected, “Maybe he hasn’t woken up yet.”

Su Kou’s face fell in disappointment, and she looked towards the stairs. However, her eyes lit up when she saw a Buddhist monk in white robes standing on the stairs. It was Liao Wu.

Sui Ning and Xie Changzhou looked up to see Liao Wu, and Sui Ning muttered to herself, “This is unbelievable.”

The system said, “[got another surprise…hmmmp]”

She couldn’t believe that everyone woke up so early.

When Liao Wu came down, Su Kou ran over to him and asked, “Are you hungry? I ordered breakfast.”

Liao Wu was a bit helpless and stepped back with his palms together, saying, “Miss Su, I am no longer Yan Zhang. Please let it go.”

After speaking, he turned his head to leave. Su Kou’s face was full of astonishment, and her eyes were slightly red.

Sui Ning looked at Xie Changzhou, and the latter understood her gaze.

Xie Changzhou’s gentle voice sounded: “Master Liao Wu, please stay. I have something to discuss with you.”

Liao Wu turned around and met Xie Changzhou’s lustrous pupils. The two of them looked at each other calmly.

In just a moment, Liao Wu lowered his head slightly and replied, “Alright.”

As he sat down, Su Kou instantly smiled and sat next to him, placing a bowl of millet porridge in front of him.

She smiled and said, “Master Yan Zhang, this is plain. Don’t you all have a simple diet as Buddhist monks?”

Liao Wu quickly thanked her: “Thank you, Miss Su.”

Su Kou’s phoenix eyes curled, looking at him with a joyful expression.

Liao Wu was helpless and could only turn his gaze to Xie Changzhou. He softly asked, “What does this gentleman want to discuss with me?”

Xie Changzhou looked at him with a calm expression and said, “I want to talk about last night. How did Master Liao Wu know about the appearance of the Three-Soul Corpse in the world?”

Sui Ning instantly became alert and watched Liao Wu cautiously.

Yes, when they went there last night, Liao Wu was already in a battle with the Three-Soul Corpse.

How did he come to know about it?

Liao Wu lowered his eyes and sighed: “To be honest, I didn’t know about the appearance of the Three-Soul Corpse.”

“Although Nanjing City is under the jurisdiction of the Jingchan Sect, recently there have been frequent cases of missing brides on their way to their weddings. Witnesses reported that they were kidnapped by a person dressed in black and red.”

Liao Wu paused for a moment and then looked at Sui Ning and Xie Changzhou, his expression becoming serious.

“The person is called the ‘Ghost Groom’ in Nanjing City.”

After a moment’s pause, Liao Wu continued: “I came to investigate this matter. Last night, my Wugang Pearl suddenly sensed an evil aura, and I chased after it. I didn’t expect it to be the Three-Soul Corpse.”

Su Kou asked in confusion: “What is the Three-Soul Corpse? Is it the ghost groom?”

Liao Wu patiently replied: “The Three-Soul Corpse is a kind of evil spirit that was eradicated thousands of years ago, and I don’t know why it has reappeared in the world. As for the Ghost Groom…he is not the Three-Soul Corpse.”

The Three-Soul Corpse has no consciousness, only follows orders to kill, and will not spare anyone around until there are no living people nearby.

However, none of the members of the bridal party were harmed, as they were all stunned, and only the bride went missing.

“The Three-Soul Corpse cannot be the Ghost Groom, which means there are two forces in Nanjing City now: one is the Ghost Groom, and the other is the person controlling the Three-Soul Corpse.

Or there is another possibility: the ghost groom is the one controlling the three-soul corpse?

Sui Ning, Liao Wu, and Xie Changzhou all seem to have come to the same conclusion, and their faces darken at the thought.

Su Kou looks anxiously at Liao Wu and says, “Yan Zhang, are you in danger? Dealing with the Ghost Groom and the Three-Soul Corpse alone is too much for you.”

She tugs at Liao Wu’s monk’s robe, and he is somewhat helpless. Just as he is about to take off his clothes, he turns around and meets Su Kou’s gaze.

Her eyes are full of worry and fear, and his movements inexplicably come to a halt. He shakes his head helplessly after a long while.

Suddenly, Sui Ning speaks up: “Fellow Buddhist Liao Wu, let’s go together.”

Liao Wu is startled and asks her in surprise, “Miss, this matter is extremely dangerous.”

Sui Ning smiles slightly and says calmly, “My senior brother and I are here for training. As disciples of our sect, how can we see the people suffering and not help?”

Xie Changzhou smiles and nods slightly towards Liao Wu.

When they hear that the two of them are willing to help, Su Kou immediately breathes a sigh of relief, and her tone becomes much lighter, “Yan Zhang, Ningning, and Senior Xie have profound cultivation and will certainly be able to help you a lot.”

Liao Wu stands up and bows to Sui Ning and Xie Changzhou, saying, “Thank you both.”

The two of them also stood up quickly to return the gesture.

***

After dinner, a few people, including Sui Ning, came to Xie Changzhou’s room. Liao Wu’s gaze was calm and full of pity as he slowly spoke: “The first case of a missing bride happened seven years ago; it was the daughter of a wealthy businessman. For the next three years, there were no more disappearances, and everyone assumed they had been kidnapped by bandits.”

“The second case was four years ago; the missing person was the daughter of a farmer.”

“The third case was half a year ago, followed by the fourth and fifth cases within the past six months.”

Sui Ning was somewhat surprised and asked, “So there have been three cases in the past six months?”

Liao Wu nodded: “Yes, there have been a total of five cases so far.”

Within seven years, there were five cases, and the frequency of his crimes suddenly increased within the past six months. What happened during this time?

Xie Changzhou turned to Liao Wu and asked, “What do you plan to do, Daoist Liao?”

Liao Wu thought for a moment and said, “I thought there was only the ghost groom, and I planned to wait until the next marriage before keeping watch, but suddenly a three-soul corpse appeared and ruined my plan.”

His eyebrows furrowed, and his face was full of conflict: “I don’t know what the person controlling the Three-Soul Corpse wants to do. At this point, I might not be able to handle it alone, so I’ve already sent a message back to the Jingchan Sect to ask for support from the elders.”

Xie Changzhou nodded and said, “Okay, we will work together with Daoist Liao.”

Su Kou also nodded and grabbed onto Liao Wu’s sleeve, her beautiful face full of determination and bravery: “I will also work together with Yan Zhang!”

“Liao Wu helplessly said, ‘Miss Su…’

He wanted to pull up his sleeve, but Su Kou held it tightly. Liao Wu became anxious, and his face turned red.

Sui Ning smiled slightly and exchanged a look with Xie Changzhou. The two of them left without making any plans.

Once they were out of the door, Xie Changzhou chuckled, “Miss Su is quite enthusiastic and brave.”

He had never seen a woman chase after a man like that before.

Sui Ning smiled mischievously and replied, “Jianzun, you don’t understand. In our place, women can also pursue men, propose marriage, and break off engagements if they don’t like the man.”

Her bright eyes were full of mischief. Xie Changzhou was taken aback for a moment, then chuckled lightly.

“Men and women are no different; they should be equal. The concept in Ningning’s place is excellent.”

He had a gentle expression and a soft smile; his blue eyes were filled with humor. He focused on Sui Ning and looked at her tenderly.

Sui Ning was startled and inexplicably felt her cheeks getting hot. Her heart seemed to skip a beat.

She quickly looked away and said, a bit flustered, “Jianzun, please rest well.”

Xie Changzhou nodded in agreement, saying, “Okay, Ningning, you should rest early too.”

As soon as he saw Xie Changzhou’s figure disappear around the corner, Sui Ning breathed a sigh of relief.

This was simply too outrageous.

Xie Changzhou was smiling at her with a face that was completely her ideal type, and she couldn’t hold back anymore.

The system in her mind urged her: “[If you can’t hold back, just go for it, push him down, make love first, and fall in love later.]”

Sui Ning: “…Please stop suggesting those kinds of things.”

She shook her head, ready to leave, but then her gaze turned to Qi Niang downstairs.

Qi Niang was leaning against the counter, still wearing her black and red silk dress, highlighting her graceful figure.

She raised her hand, holding up a glass of wine, to signal Sui Ning, then tilted her head back and drank it down. The wine flowed down her chin and neck and into her clothes.

Qi niang looked at Sui Ning with seductive eyes, charming and alluring.

Sui Ning thought to herself, “No, I can’t handle this, I’m going to start bleeding from my nose.”

The system added, “[Me too.]”

Sui Ning slowly walked downstairs to Qi Niang’s side, her eyes watery and curved with two dimples.

Qi niang smiled at her charmingly and breathed like an orchid: “Little girl, would you like some wine? It’s the one I personally brewed.”

Sui Ning nodded quickly and took the wine glass Qi niang handed her. She didn’t have a good tolerance for alcohol, so she only took a small sip.

The entrance was full of sweetness, carrying a peach blossom fragrance that was similar to the scent of the Qi niang. Surprisingly, the liquor had no spicy taste at all.

Sui Ning couldn’t help but take a few more sips and ask the Qi niang in amazement, “What kind of liquor is this? It’s so good.”

The Qi niang smiled and said, “This is Peach Blossom Drunkenness, my favorite liquor. It is said that drinking it can make you enter your dreams and make you see the person you want to meet.”

Sui Ning laughed and said, “If liquor could really make you see the person you want to see, why bother with so many soul-summoning rituals?”

The Qi niang’s smile slowly faded, and she looked at the bottle of liquor in her hand for a long time before letting out a light laugh.

“Yes, if it could really happen, why hasn’t he ever come to me in my dreams after all these years?”

Her voice was lazy and low, as if she were murmuring to herself.

Sui Ning was very close to her and heard her clearly. She asked her carefully, “Who is the ‘he’ you’re talking about, Qi niang?”

The Qi niang seemed a bit tired, and the coquettishness between her eyebrows and eyes faded away a lot. Her eyelids drooped, and her voice was weak. “It’s nothing, just a dead man.”

She lowered her head and laughed a few times, as if she were mocking herself.

Sui Ning felt a bit at a loss, and just as she was trying to find a way to comfort her, Qi niang suddenly stood up straight.

She lowered her head and chuckled a few times, as if mocking herself.

Sui Ning was a bit at a loss and was about to find a way to comfort her when Qi Niang suddenly stood up.

She saw Sui Ning’s embarrassed expression and burst out laughing, saying, “Little girl, it’s late at night; go to sleep; don’t drink too much of this wine; it’s too strong.”

Sui Ning smiled back at her as if she didn’t care: “You’re just scaring me; the wine isn’t that strong.”

It was clearly as bubbly as the sparkling water she had drunk.

She tilted her head back and took another big sip, then lazily waved goodbye to Qi Niang and went upstairs with the wine bottle.

Qi Niang shook her head helplessly and watched Sui Ning’s back meaningfully.

She seemed to have forgotten to tell the little girl that Peach Blossom Drunk had some aphrodisiac effects.

Judging by the time, it should be kicking in soon.