Chapter 27 – Mengjiang Village

Mu Yunzhe said in a deep voice, “My grandfather also hired a few Taoist priests. They went there two days in advance.”

“We originally thought the matter would be resolved in two or three days, but there’s been no news. When we called to check, we were told that three of the priests had also gone missing.”

Only then did they realize something was seriously wrong and decided to call Mu Yunzhe.

“It does sound tricky.”

“Give me your parents’ birth date and eight characters (Ba Zi),” Yan Qiao’s low voice sounded.

“Master Yan, are you going to perform a divination for them?”

“Yes.”

“I’m not entirely sure about that. I only know their birthdays. For the exact birth time and Ba Zi, I’ll have to ask my grandfather!”

These days, not many people talk about Ba Zi unless they’re consulting a fortune-teller.

Without delay, Mu Yunzhe immediately called his grandfather.

His grandfather told him the details and also reminded him to be careful.

“Grandpa, don’t worry. I’ve hired a very capable Taoist master. Mom and Dad will definitely be okay.” Mu Yunzhe tried to comfort him.

His grandfather was already seventy years old, but thankfully still in good health.

Yan Hao focused intently on his sister. He was very curious to see how she performed divinations.

He watched as Yan Qiao took out a piece of yellow paper and a pen and wrote down the names of Mu Yunzhe’s parents.

Then she closed her eyes and began chanting some incantation.

No one dared to speak. Even their breathing softened, afraid of disturbing her.

Some tried to read her expression for clues.

But Yan Qiao’s face remained expressionless, giving away nothing.

Fortunately, five minutes later, she opened her eyes.

“Master Yan, how are my parents? Are they alright?” Mu Yunzhe asked anxiously.

Given the situation, it was impossible not to worry.

Thinking about his previous experience still made his scalp tingle.

“There’s no immediate danger to their lives. But we need to find them quickly. I can’t say how much longer they’ll last,” Yan Qiao said calmly.

Mu Yunzhe’s expression turned grim.

Xiao Ye unusually patted his friend on the shoulder. “Don’t worry too much. We’ve got a lot of people with us this time. We’ll find them. Most importantly, Ah Qiao is with us.”

Mu Yunzhe snapped out of it and looked at Li Xiao in shock.

Li Xiao gave him a blank stare. “What’s with that look?”

“Ah Xiao, did I hear that right? You actually comforted me? You, Xiao Ye, comforting someone? This is truly a once-in-a-lifetime event,” he said incredulously.

Li Xiao shot him a cold glare.

Truthfully, he hadn’t meant to comfort him. This guy totally missed the point — the important part was the last sentence.

Not worth arguing about.

“I don’t usually comfort people?” Li Xiao said coldly.

The little girl (Yan Qiao) was right here. Now, thanks to this guy’s comment, she might think he’s not easy to get along with.

“Uh…” Mu Yunzhe finally realized something and glanced at Yan Qiao instinctively.

He quickly tried to smooth things over. “Of course not! If Xiao Ye cares about someone, he’s definitely gentle and considerate!”

Yan Hao eyed the two of them warily.

They better not be up to anything with his Ah Qiao!

Fortunately, although Mu Yunzhe and Li Xiao chatted for a bit, Yan Qiao seemed completely lost in thought and didn’t hear a word. She sat in the front seat, seemingly absorbed in her own mind.

Yan Jue hardly spoke.

Mostly because Shen Zhiyin had fallen asleep just minutes after getting in the car.

Just as Yan Qiao had said earlier, she had been sleeping more and more lately.

Fortunately, Ah Qiao had just given her a soul-calming talisman.

At least for now, her life wasn’t in danger.

After a seven-hour drive, they arrived at Xiangzhai Town at 9:30 p.m.

As they neared their destination, Mu Yunzhe received an update from his people.

They had traced the missing priests to a place called Mengjiang Village. But the trail ended outside the village.

They tried asking some locals about the village, but the moment they mentioned the name, people’s expressions changed drastically. No one would say a word, all evading the topic like it was a taboo.

Asking even one more question would provoke anger.

Clearly, in the eyes of the locals, the name “Mengjiang Village” was forbidden.

Mengjiang Village?

Yan Qiao calculated something with her fingers, her expression turning cold.

“Big Brother, who received you when you came here last time?” Yan Qiao asked calmly.

“It was the town mayor. I’ll call him now and ask him to come out, and maybe get some information,” Yan Jue said immediately.

“Let’s find a restaurant and eat first,” Yan Qiao said flatly.

“Alright.”

Yan Jue gave them the name of a restaurant they’d gone to on their last visit — it had been pretty decent.

So, they headed straight there.

After all, they weren’t here to have fun.

However, while they found the restaurant just fine, they couldn’t reach the town mayor. His phone was off.

Yan Jue tried calling another local official he had contact info for — also unreachable, as if they’d coordinated it.

His expression soured.

Those were the only two contacts he’d kept from that visit. Who would’ve thought he couldn’t reach either of them?

“Ah Qiao, I can’t get through to them.” Yan Jue was frustrated but helpless.

“If you can’t reach them, forget it. Let’s eat first. As long as there are people, we’ll find someone to ask.”

“Alright.”

Twenty minutes later, they arrived at the restaurant.

It was a rundown town, and by 10 p.m., the streets were almost completely deserted. Every house had its doors and windows shut tight.

There were very few streetlights, and most of the road was cloaked in darkness.

Their car headlights were practically the only source of light in the whole town.

There weren’t any real entertainment options here, so the locals tended to sleep early.

Even the restaurant they planned to eat at — when they arrived, the owner was just about to close for the night.

“Boss, we want to eat,” Yan Hao was the first to get out of the car.

Assistant Ling got out too, along with another bodyguard. The two of them had taken turns driving.

“I was just about to close,” the restaurant owner looked them over, hesitant.

These people clearly weren’t ordinary — the luxury car alone said that much.

Then he saw Yan Jue and Shen Zhiyin get out of the car.

His eyes lit up.

Yan Jue walked over and said in a deep voice, “Boss, please cook us a meal. We’ve been driving all day and are starving and exhausted. Don’t worry about the cost — we’ll make it worth your while.”

“Oh, it’s Young Master Yan! Alright, since it’s you, I’ll cook one more meal for you. Both my chefs have gone home though, so I’ll be doing the cooking myself.”

When he recognized Yan Jue, the owner finally smiled.

Not long ago, Yan Jue had come here for an event and donated a large sum of money to help fix the roads and improve the town’s infrastructure.

Most importantly, he had helped the restaurant owner with a big favor.

“Thank you very much.”

They walked into the restaurant.

This was the biggest restaurant in town.

They picked a large table and sat down casually. The bodyguards’ car arrived shortly after and they sat at another table.

The owner called his wife over to help cook.

Yan Qiao looked around the room with little emotion on her face.

Yan Hao leaned over and whispered, “Ah Qiao, don’t you think this town is kind of weird too?”