A mountain cave somewhere near Yu Hang.
After nightfall, a ragged Taoist lit a fire.
The flames illuminated the cave.
They also lit up the few figures within the cave.
Besides the ragged Taoist, Zhong Li.
Another Taoist, dressed as a peasant, was sitting on the ground, gazing at the fire and sighing.
“Beggar, all the women we captured are gone! What are we going to do about this month's task?”
Zhong Li, who was boiling water, paused his movements and grumbled, “What else can we do? Capture more.”
Taoist Cheng Wu hesitated, “Shouldn't we go back and check again? What if that kid didn't discover the ones we hid?”
Zhong Li's face turned pale, and he slammed the kettle down angrily, “If you want to die, don't drag me into it!”
“That kid's got real skills, he must be from a powerful lineage.”
“If he could pretend to be a messenger this time, it means he's been watching us for a long time, he might have already informed his sect.”
“Yes, we hid the women, but how can you be sure they haven't been discovered, haven't been used by them to fish us out?”
Zhong Li flicked his sleeve, his face clouded with gloom, “I already lost a hand and a foot, I don't want to lose my life now.”
“You're useless, I hope you can calm down too.”
Taoist Cheng Wu scratched his head and gritted his teeth, “Forget it! We'll leave tomorrow, move fast and catch more, it shouldn't be a big problem!”
Zhong Li finally calmed down and resumed boiling water, “Yes, we leave tomorrow.”
…
A grey cloud drifted across the pitch-black sky above the night-covered mountain.
Ao Qing stood within the cloud, quietly waiting for news from below.
Meanwhile, two small heads, one green and one white, peeked out from his shoulders.
Xiao Qing rubbed against Ao Qing's cheek and whispered, “Will they come out?”
Ao Qing reached out and scratched Xiao Qing's chin, his voice gentle, “We can only do what we can.”
On the other side of his shoulder, Bai, in her true form, remained silent.
Only one thought occupied her mind, ‘Holy crap! Why did she agree to come with me in this form!!!’
Unaware of Bai's thoughts, Ao Qing's sharp eyes swept across the forest repeatedly.
Moonlight bathed the woods, illuminating many eerie figures.
One ghost after another roamed the forest.
Zhi Qiu Yi Ye stood on a treetop, listening intently to every sound.
Based on his understanding of these people.
Once they knew the game was up, they would flee quickly.
Fortunately, he had injured one of them before, which might buy them two or three days.
But time was still tight.
Jij~
A rapid ghostly cry suddenly rang out from deep within the forest.
Zhi Qiu Yi Ye opened his eyes wide, stepped on the treetop, and flew towards the source of the sound.
Moments later.
He came out leading five blindfolded women.
Although not those two Taoists.
But it was good to be able to rescue the abducted women.
Zhi Qiu Yi Ye thought for a moment, found a place to put the women, and then used immobilizing spells to stop them from running.
He had his reasons for doing so.
Taking these women away from the cave was to prevent those two Taoists from breaking their usual pattern, secretly returning to take these women away.
And hiding them in a new place was because Zhi Qiu Yi Ye had other important matters to attend to and couldn't keep an eye on them all the time.
Zhi Qiu Yi Ye knew that the Dragon King was hiding in the cloud above.
However, Ao Qing would not act rashly, he would only appear when both Taoists were present.
Zhi Qiu Yi Ye had no objection to Ao Qing's arrangement.
The enemy was unaware of Ao Qing's existence.
And this meant that Ao Qing had a chance for a sneak attack.
A sneak attack from a celestial being…
Zhi Qiu Yi Ye understood too well the terror of that.
After hiding the previously abducted women.
Zhi Qiu Yi Ye urged the ghosts to continue their search.
In the clouds, Ao Qing's expression remained unchanged, silently waiting.
Just when Ao Qing thought they would be in vain.
Jijij~
Two mournful ghostly cries rang out in the mountain.
The next second, two figures leaped into the air, one ragged and the other with an honest face.
Zhong Li, seeing the ghosts slowly encircling him, instantly broke out in a cold sweat.
He didn't expect Ao Qing's half-way entry, he only thought it was Zhi Qiu Yi Ye who called his senior.
“Damn it! What kind of ghost-driving technique is this? Which sect's old monster!”
Honest Taoist Cheng Wu casually cast a spell.
Although his strength was mediocre, it wasn't difficult for him to kill a ghost.
The spell flashed, and the targeted ghost dissipated.
Cheng Wu was overjoyed.
“Don't be afraid, beggar, these ghosts are trash, not as strong as you think.”
Zhong Li was stunned, he also looked delighted, his eyes turned cold, and he said grimly, “Okay, then we'll fight our way out!”
The next second, a figure came bouncing from afar.
Zhong Li squinted, and his face instantly turned cold.
“It's you!”
Zhi Qiu Yi Ye, with his hands on his hips, was panting, and he also sneered, “It's me, I was so angry that I let you two bastards run away last time.”
Zhong Li's tone was icy, “We also…”
Puf!
Puf!
Two soft sounds of blades entering flesh rang out almost simultaneously.
Behind Cheng Wu and Zhong Li, a blue figure slowly emerged.
Ao Qing's expression was calm, he casually swung two swords, like slicing a watermelon, severing the two heads.
“You also what?”