bayedsolid Chapter 200 Jade Mountain Villa
Chapter 200 Jade Mountain Villa
Ning Xiaoxi took out the map given to her by Tianji. She could find the location of Songguo City in Yuzhou and also saw Xilin City to the east of Songguo City. But where was she now?
[Ding! The auxiliary skill "Geography" has been awakened. You have obtained a map of the Great Xia Dynasty's mountains, rivers, and cities, which provides information on terrain, local customs, and location.]
Ning Xiaoxi couldn't suppress the smile on her face. Maps began to flash through her mind, one after another, until they merged into a detailed map containing the entire Great Xia's ley lines, cities, roads, and rivers. The map appeared in her mind, and she could see a flash of light on it, followed by a small red dot appearing on the summit of Yushan Mountain, east of Xilin City.
Ning Xiaoxi adjusted her direction, headed west for twenty miles, and landed.
Looking at the large characters "Xi Lin" on the city wall a hundred feet ahead, and comparing them with the red dot on the map, I smiled.
Tuanzi is getting better and better!
Her current destination was no longer Xilin City, so there was no need for her to enter the city. She took a single step and disappeared from the spot, unaware of the dumbfounded look on the face of a farmer resting under a tree ten feet behind her.
Yushan Mountain is rich in jade, mostly white, cyan, and green, with some purple, and red being the finest.
Standing atop Mount Yu, one can see the mountainside riddled with holes from excavation, with glimpses of jade-like light occasionally flashing within. Around the foot of the mountain, at regular intervals, are manors, surrounded by fertile fields crisscrossed by paths, now overgrown with weeds. Upon closer inspection, there are three manors in total, forming a triangular encirclement of Mount Yu.
"This means the three families will share the jade mine in the mountains equally!" Ning Xiaoxi murmured, but a black aura shrouded all three manors. "It's demonic energy!" These manors all looked eerily gloomy; even when the sun was high in the sky, it couldn't reach the dilapidated houses. This was interesting; who builds a house where the sun doesn't shine?
I spotted the largest manor and landed there.
"Ah! Help!"
Just as they landed at the manor gate, a figure rushed out from the manor's dilapidated gate.
Ning Xiaoxi sidestepped the figure and ran into the overgrown field, quickly disappearing from sight, leaving behind only a faint trace of demonic energy.
Ning Xiaoxi blinked. She hadn't seen anyone in the village from the hilltop! Where did this person come from?
Ning Xiaoxi glanced at the plaque that had fallen to the ground. It read "Jade Mountain Villa." Tsk tsk, they really don't hide it at all!
"Splash!"
The dilapidated door was suddenly pulled inside, and a man covered in blood and shrouded in black mist stepped out with bloodshot eyes and a ferocious expression, raising his hands and rushing towards Ning Xiaoxi.
Ning Xiaoxi drew a purification talisman in mid-air and touched it directly to the man's forehead before taking three steps back. Her gaze sharpened as she looked towards the manor. She hadn't sensed anyone else inside; could the black aura conceal a person's presence?
The purification talisman merged into the man's forehead, cleansing his body and clearing away the black aura surrounding him. The red in his eyes faded, leaving only confusion. Looking down at his blood-stained hands, fear began to creep in. "I...I...I killed someone!"
"Snapped!"
Ning Xiaoxi slapped the man on the lower back, her voice steady, "You've been bewitched. If you're a man, wake up."
Perhaps the slap had an effect, because the fear in the man's eyes subsided considerably after he saw someone. Hearing Ning Xiaoxi's words, he tried to calm himself down, but his voice was still trembling, "I, my friends, and, and several companions, were all killed by me."
Ning Xiaoxi frowned. "This is an abandoned manor. What are you doing here?"
The fact that someone could speak to him eased his fear, and the expression on his face was no longer ferocious. Although he was still afraid, he could be seen to be a decent-looking person.
The man looked at the woman in front of him. Although she was not tall and was a young woman, her cool and aloof aura was very reassuring.
He took a deep breath. "My name is Xu Qingfeng. My father is the newly appointed city lord of Songguo City. I heard that there is a haunted manor here, so I thought I'd come and see what's going on."
Ning Xiaoxi was somewhat speechless. A family of officials, new to the area, yet they dared to venture into this desolate wilderness. "How many of you came?"
"My classmates Ge Yun and Tan Shanhai, along with four companions, and I," Xu Qingfeng said, having calmed down. He clasped his hands in a respectful bow to Ning Xiaoxi. "Thank you for saving me, young lady. May I ask your name? I will certainly repay you."
Ning Xiaoxi reminded him, "Young Master Xu, someone just ran out. He was wearing a blue silk robe."
“That’s Tan Shanhai.” Xu Qingfeng’s face was grim. “I will return to the city immediately and ask my father to send someone to collect the body.” After saying that, he turned and ran away without even saying goodbye.
Ning Xiaoxi watched him run away, and felt a strange sense of having ruined someone's plans. She turned her head and looked at the manor, which was still shrouded in demonic energy.
[Tuanzi, the demonic energy here is dense, yet there are no demons present, and it's even preventing me from investigating what's inside. Isn't that strange?]
[Under normal circumstances, given your current rank, there shouldn't be any demonic energy that could block you. I can't detect anything here either.]
[Wow, even your abilities are being blocked, that's a bit surreal.] Ning Xiaoxi suddenly felt better. It's not that she's incapable, it's that everyone's incapable, haha!
He said his father was the new city lord, and the records stated that the Night Demon lurked within the city lord's body ten years ago. Could that demon really have moved?
[Xu Qingfeng definitely didn't come here out of curiosity. Let's go in and see what happened to those who died inside.]
Ning Xiaoxi turned and stepped through the gate.
The chilling aura that hit her made Ning Xiaoxi shiver. [It wasn't just demonic energy, but also corpse energy.]
[It uses the flesh and blood of humans to nourish demonic energy.]
This estate was likely built for mining purposes. There are five rows of houses on the left, with ten rooms in each row. On the right is a two-story wooden building, and in the middle is a large courtyard. In the courtyard, there are scattered carts, piles of stones, and a simple cutting tool.
At this moment, five corpses lay in the courtyard, or rather, five piles of flesh and blood. Their throats and lower abdomens had been cut open, their internal organs removed and neatly arranged beside their bodies, while dense demonic energy churned within their empty chest cavities.
The pink bead suddenly jumped out, trying to throw itself into the demonic energy.
“If you dare to jump in, I won’t take you in.” Ning Xiaoxi had never spoken so quickly.
The pink bead hovered above the demonic energy in the chest cavity, too afraid to fall. After a moment of hesitation, the small bead began to spin rapidly, spinning upwards, faster and faster, creating a whirlwind that swept up the demonic energy, which then seeped into the cracks in the bead.