Chapter 97

The people listed on the board were none other than her senior brothers.

Moreover, their characteristics were quite distinctive: Ming Xuan was the one who always acted carelessly, and Mu Chongxi was the one holding a sword.

“Look, we’re all on the reward list.”

“Oh, wow.” Ming Xuan leaned over to take a look. “Who posted it?”

Ye Qiao glanced at it thoughtfully and said, “The highest reward is for Eldest Senior Brother and Ye Qinghan.”

“Why am I not the highest?” Mu Chongxi grumbled. “I’m at least one of the only two innate sword bones in the cultivation world, right? Am I not worthy?”

“…”

Ye Qiao glanced pityingly at the Fourth Senior Brother and pointed out that Mu Chongxi’s reward notice simply read:

“Foolish, easy to kill, come quickly.”

Ming Xuan said, “By the way, why isn’t Ye Qiao on here?”

He didn’t believe Ye Qiao would be listed lower than them.

“Maybe it hasn’t been posted yet.”

“That’s why I said you should keep a low profile,” Xue Yu said, frowning as he looked at the reward notices. He continued softly, “All core disciples have reward notices. The publisher is unknown, but the behind-the-scenes force is significant. The Five Sects have been investigating for a long time without finding out who posted them.”

“If they’re recognized, they might be surrounded by cultivators.”

In short, it was quite dangerous.

“Hey, hey, hey, being first on the reward list, how does it feel?” Ye Qiao asked Zhou Xingyun, her eyes curved into a smile.

Zhou Xingyun looked at the board for a few seconds and calmly said, “I’m really worth something.”

Scanning from top to bottom, they soon discovered that all the core disciples who had appeared in the grand competition were listed, with each reward amount being substantial. Any capture would earn hundreds of thousands of spirit stones.

Ye Qiao stroked her chin and smiled slightly, “When I’m low on money in the future, I’ll report those core disciples.”

“And then, randomly arrest a familiar face to imprison.”

Xue Yu: “…”

“Let’s go and stop embarrassing ourselves.” He couldn’t stand it any longer and dragged them away one by one, not realizing that the scattered cultivators around were looking at them as if they were lunatics.

“Are they delusional?”

“Who do they think they are? Core disciples? And acting like they know everyone.”

“Tsk tsk tsk, these days, the world is getting worse.”

After criticizing these shameless people, the scattered cultivators dispersed, leaving only a few who stared thoughtfully at Ye Qiao.

“Look at that girl in the deep blue clothes. Doesn’t she look like Ye Qiao, who won first place in the last two grand competitions?”

“A bit…”

“And there are five of them.”

Even more so.

*

Following Xue Yu’s advice to act low-key, they did not repeat their previous mistake of alarming the enemy. They waited until late at night and prepared to sneak in and check the situation.

Although the Song Family’s residence wasn’t as grand as a sect, it exuded the ancient charm of a prominent family. The walls were carved with intricate talismanic patterns. Before they could get close, a few less experienced senior brothers stepped on a formation, and instantly, several unfamiliar auras appeared.

In the blink of an eye, they were surrounded.

Ye Qiao asked, “Which one of you triggered it?”

They all pointed at each other.

The guards who rushed out surrounded them and found that the so-called “thieves” were not only unfazed but were chatting nonchalantly, showing no basic respect.

The leader, enraged, said, “Show them some color. How dare you intrude on the Song Family’s residence at night? Who gave you the courage?”

“Hey, hey, hey.” Ming Xuan lazily tilted his head and looked at them. “We’re not bad people.”

“We’re all good people,” Zhou Xingyun added.

“Pah.” The leader spat angrily. “Attack!”

A group of foundation-building cultivators didn’t need to lift a finger; Zhou Xingyun single-handedly took them down. The people didn’t even see how he made his move before they were stacked up like a pile of dominos, creating a human mountain.

“I said it,” Zhou Xingyun lightly stepped on the person at the very top, his expression impassive as he looked down with a plain tone:

“We are all good people.”

“……” The person almost spat out blood. Damn it, with your posture, how does that look like being good people?

“Wait—” Xue Yu tried to stop them but was too late.

Didn’t we say we’d keep a low profile?

It’s one thing to fight; all these unfamiliar auras are now stirred up.

“Who dares to provoke trouble?”

Song Hansheng had a strong sense of collective honor. He was undoubtedly devoted to his own clan, and upon hearing that the formation was disturbed, he rushed over immediately.

He thought it was some reckless thief, but to his surprise, he found that everyone here was familiar.

“Hi.” Ye Qiao, unfamiliar with the surroundings, felt especially close when she saw Song Hansheng, who had been tricked by her. It was like seeing a family member, and she waved at him, “Song Hansheng.”

Song Hansheng’s forehead twitched when he saw the same five people: “……”

Damn it, is there something wrong with them?

Why do they keep running into them everywhere?

Song Hansheng wanted to pretend he didn’t see them, but he couldn’t. He coldly asked, “What are you doing here?”

Was it not enough that they caused trouble during the competition? Now they’re even chasing him to his home?

Mu Chongxi shook the mission board, “We came to take a mission. I heard there’s a ghost problem here? Is it true?”

Song Hansheng just wanted to get rid of these people. His tone was quite impatient as he explained, “How would I know?”

Anyway, some of the unimportant disciples with poor talent had died, so the Song family didn’t really care. Song Hansheng never expected that the mission would be taken up by the Changming Sect. He cast a sidelong glance at Ye Qiao with a forced smile, “Aren’t you practicing?”

They still have time to take missions. Is it that they’re fearless about the next situation or are they blindly confident?

Ming Xuan rolled his eyes, “There’s only a month of rest; can you really make any progress?”

“By the way, Song Hansheng, your home is quite large.”

The Song family residence was surprisingly large, like a maze where one could easily get lost. With its carved beams and painted rafters, it was abundant in spiritual energy, not much worse than the Five Sects.

Seeing these people wandering around, Song Hansheng’s expression was slightly out of control, “This is not a tourist spot for you. Ye Qiao!! Ming Xuan!! Zhou Xingyun, what are you doing?”

Why? Why does he always run into these people when he returns home?

Song Hansheng was almost exasperated.

Their relaxed demeanor made it seem like they thought this was their Changming Sect’s backyard garden.

Mu Chongxi, buddying up with him, put an arm around his shoulder, “Song Hansheng, is there a ghost problem in your house because of some wrongdoings? Getting retribution?”

Song Hansheng’s brow twitched with disgust, “Stay away from me. Don’t force me to call people to beat you up.”

Did he know them that well?!

“Don’t be so fierce.” Ye Qiao joined in, smiling as she dragged him to another side, “Let’s have a meeting.”

“To discuss this mission.”

Song Hansheng, who was forcibly dragged away, “……”

Ye Qiao and her group didn’t want to alarm the others, so they naturally had to find familiar faces to understand the situation, and currently, their only familiar face was Song Hansheng.

Song Hansheng, who was forced to be their familiar face, gritted his teeth, “It’s not a ghost problem.”

“It’s some malevolent spirits causing trouble.”

“Malevolent spirits?” Ye Qiao blinked.

“They’re composed of human resentment. They are used by ghost cultivators.” Song Hansheng rolled his eyes, “We’ve only dealt with demon beasts before, but this will be a necessary lesson in the future.”

“Don’t you listen to the elders during class?” He looked at the five of them with suspicion.

The five kept their eyes on their noses and their noses on their hearts.

During class, they mostly goof off. Zhou Xingyun didn’t even bother attending; who knew there were so many details.

Compared to their lack of diligence, Song Hansheng was practically a model student.

He looked at them disdainfully, “I advise you to go back as soon as possible; otherwise, don’t blame our Song family if something happens.”

“Why does the Song family have ghost problems while others don’t? Did your family do something wrong?”

Song Hansheng felt that continuing the conversation would raise his blood pressure, “When the Song family chose the old residence, it was a place where many powerful cultivators and practitioners had fallen.”

“The resentment is heavy, understand?”

“Got it.” Xue Yu lowered his eyes, thinking for a moment, “So, someone deliberately hides in the Song family, using the resentment here to raise minor ghosts?”

Ghost cultivators use some sinister methods to train minor ghosts, which in turn enhances their own strength. The stronger the minor ghosts, the higher their power.

“Since you know so clearly, why don’t you remove the person hiding in your residence?”

Shouldn’t such harmful elements be eliminated?

“Because the people who died were just collateral branches, so it’s not a big deal.” Zhou Xingyun said calmly, “Bloodlines that are not pure are always suppressed and marginalized in the Eight Great Families.”

Song Hansheng couldn’t stand their slander. His face turned cold, “How do you know we haven’t sent people?”

“That ghost cultivator is elusive; we can’t catch her.”

As for the mission? In fact, after hearing about the ghost problem, many cultivators were deterred.

Ghost cultivators? Such a profession sounds ominous.

No one has seen what a ghost looks like, and not everyone has such courage.

Xue Yu looked at them, each speaking in turn, and couldn’t help but interrupt, pointing to the pitch-black night and the howling cold wind outside, “Do you really need to chat here?”

They were purely engrossed in their conversation.

They didn’t care about the situation at all.

“Wait a minute.” Ming Xuan suddenly jumped up, raising his voice sharply, “Where’s Ye Qiao?!”

Ye Qiao had been standing with them just a moment ago, but now she had vanished right under their noses, and everyone’s expressions changed in unison.

“Didn’t any of you notice something was off?”

They were all talisman cultivators, and there were two in the late Golden Core stage. It shouldn’t have been possible for someone to disappear without a trace, right?

On the other side, Ye Qiao realized something was wrong only after it was too late. The surroundings had changed drastically; the ground beneath her feet was pitch black, as if she had been pulled into a special domain.

Ye Qiao’s breath hitched slightly as a sudden chill gripped her arm. She was being tightly held by something unknown.

Suppressing her shiver, she looked down and calmly glanced back.

The next second, when she saw clearly what it was, she almost screamed.

A slightly childish voice immediately followed, “Mommy.”

Ye Qiao: “……”

*

Ye Qiao, who became a mother without any pain.