Chapter 99 - 67 [Not Chinese Cabbage]_2
She stared at the trees for a while, then reached out and gently pinched the damaged trunk.
Primordial Qi spread throughout her body, and she immediately felt the Qi flowing at her fingertips, gently washing away a faint trace of Evil Qi.
It was like fire meeting fuel, the sudden change made Chu Keqing have a guess in her mind.
At this moment, the phone rang. She took the phone out of her pocket, it was from her assistant. Chu Keqing answered and said calmly, "I’m at the wild lake in the mountain hollow, come and find me."
After speaking, she hung up the phone and walked around the forest for a while, then turned out of the forest and continued searching around the lake.
The assistant arrived soon, but this time she drove over, entering the path from the direction of the forest road and finally driving around to the wild lake.
From afar, she saw Chu Keqing standing by the lake, and the assistant quickly got out of the car and walked over. However, she was not alone, a middle-aged man in a black leather jacket got out of the car as well.
Chu Keqing saw this middle-aged man, a polite smile appeared on her face, and she walked over and said lightly, "Director Wu, what brings you here?"
"Ms. Chu, you’re being too polite!" Director Wu shook hands with Chu Keqing and then laughed, "When your assistant called, I happened to be nearby, so when I heard you were here, I decided to come along."
This Director Wu was an official in charge of the nearby scenic area and was acquainted with Chu Keqing.
Because there were several temples and Taoist abbeys within this scenic area, with some Mystical Sect people inside, they often held some rituals on holidays to attract tourists, and it was inevitable to interact with prominent figures like Chu Keqing from the Mystical Art Realm of Jinling Prefecture.
"Director Wu, are you starting work at the scenic area so early?" Chu Keqing asked.
"Ah!" Director Wu shook his head, "I’m not that dedicated. Something happened in the scenic area in the middle of the night, and I rushed over before dawn."
The two were familiar with each other, and since there was nothing complex or confidential, Director Wu chatted casually about the matter.
"Around midnight last night, the police received a report. A girl said she was attacked in our scenic area. She lost her phone and ran out of the mountain alone, reached the road, and encountered a passing vehicle, which she then asked for help to call the police.
When the police arrived, the girl pointed out the location, and they searched the mountain but found nothing."
Chu Keqing smiled, "Really nothing at all?"
Director Wu pouted, "Strange. The girl said she encountered some monster, a hairy creature with a bloody mouth, long arms and legs.
She mentioned that her dog tried to protect her and fought the monster, but it was bitten to death. She ran out and somehow fainted by the lake—right here, this lake."
"And then?"
"Then the police searched the vicinity for a long time but found nothing. They also mobilized our scenic area staff to search the forest together.
No monster at all.
But we did see some damaged trees, our old forest ranger said it was probably something like a wild boar. You know, with the improving ecology in recent years, the number of wild boars in these mountains has increased. Just last year, there was news about a wild boar running down the mountain and into the city."
Wild boar?
Chu Keqing thought of the damaged trees she had seen in the forest and smiled slightly, "And then?"
"We did find the girl’s dog. It was in a terrible state, chewed down to half its body. Based on the girl’s account and our on-site inspection, it should be her dog, a large Husky.
We guess the girl went into the mountain to paint, stayed too late, and encountered a wild boar looking for food on her way home.
Her dog was bitten to death by the boar, and she ran away in fear. As for the monster, it was probably a figment of her imagination after being frightened."
Imagination... Chu Keqing smiled slightly but said nothing, and slowly responded, "Yes, it’s common for people to have wild thoughts after being scared."
"Indeed!" Director Wu nodded and sighed, "That girl was both unlucky and lucky, encountering a wild boar, but she wasn’t seriously injured, just frightened. She’s fortunate.
We’re also relieved. If someone had died in the scenic area, a thorough investigation and accountability would have made it impossible for us to enjoy the New Year. Fortunately, nothing major happened."
Saying this, Director Wu asked Chu Keqing why she had come so early.
Chu Keqing casually found an excuse and shook her head, "I’ve been feeling unsettled lately and wanted to find a quiet place to meditate. I remembered that there are some temples and Taoist abbeys here with good places for seclusion, so I wanted to take a look."
Director Wu immediately smiled, "Ms. Chu, if you want to stay here for a while, you are more than welcome! You are a well-known figure in the Taoist Sect of Jinling Prefecture."
Chu Keqing smiled and said nothing—in order to travel conveniently in the Jianghu, she did have an official identity in the Taoist Sect.
After exchanging a few more pleasantries with Director Wu and declining his invitation to visit the management office, Chu Keqing had her assistant drive Director Wu back, while she continued to stroll by the lake.
Her belief grew stronger:
This was no wild boar.
Gray fur, a bloody mouth, full of fangs, long arms and legs, humanoid shape.
Mountain Demon!
Chu Keqing frowned... Logically, Mountain Demons are rare, and even if they exist, they generally avoid humans...
"So it must be the problem with this lake, contaminated by the Qi of Yin Sha for too long?"
Thinking of this wild lake, over the years, almost every year, a few reckless people drowned here.
This wild lake has been here for an unknown number of years. In recent decades, the authorities have repeatedly called for, publicized, and warned against swimming in the lake, with warning signs by the lake and at the foot of the mountain...
But there are always some thrill-seekers who ignore the warnings in this world.
As the saying goes, good advice can’t persuade a determined ghost.
Over the years, who knows how many people have died here... and the lingering Evil Qi has grown denser?
Thinking this, Chu Keqing walked to the edge of the forest and suddenly exclaimed, "Huh?"
The fallen branches and leaves on the ground had clearly been trampled.
But the traces on the ground ended here.
She didn’t know that this was where the monster chasing Chen Yan had been slashed into pieces by Gu Qingyi and turned into black mist.
Chu Keqing squatted down and felt the ground with her hand for a while, then suddenly trembled!!
Her fingers picked up a small piece of paper, about the size of half a thumb, among the dead leaves!!
Upon closer inspection... it was talisman paper!!
Moreover, it was a piece that had been burned and released Talisman Power but hadn’t completely burned away!
Chu Keqing’s body trembled.
Not only did she recognize it as talisman paper, but she also knew its origin!
Previously, when Luo Qing was avenged by Chen Yan, the talisman Chen Yan used was made of this kind of talisman paper!
The material was ordinary, merely a common item in the Mystical Art Realm—Chu Keqing had even visited the store selling this talisman paper.
"Was it Senior Chen Yan? Did he eliminate the Mountain Demon here?"
Chu Keqing’s eyes lit up!
Of course, logically speaking, although the talisman paper was the same, many people bought such talisman paper, and it might not necessarily be Chen Yan who acted here.
However...
She couldn’t believe that besides Chen Yan, there was another high-level practitioner in Jinling City using this kind of talisman paper.
The odds were too small.
High-level practitioners of Talisman Art are not common cabbages.
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