Chapter 40: Missing
Chu Liang managed to learn the Hundred Swords Seal without a hitch. He bid farewell to Jiang Xiaobai and arranged a time to learn new divine skills from her the next day.
However, the moment he returned to Silver Sword Peak, he discovered he'd received a letter containing some bad news. The letter was from Official Ming in Xingzhou City. He had written to say that his wife had gone missing.
That's right. It was that cat demon whom Chu Liang had recently helped request for a title from the sect.
"Ah..." Chu Liang sighed softly.
It seemed that he would have to postpone learning new divine skills for now.
He immediately sent a message to Jiang Xiaobai. Then he went to report this matter to his teacher.
This was the kind of trouble that could follow after requesting a title for a demon. It was an act of kindness, but if anything were to happen to the demon, the person who requested the title would be responsible for resolving the matter.
According to the sect's rules, Mistress Ming was not permitted to leave the city where she resided for an extended period, and she had to visit Mount Shu every couple of months. However, she had mysteriously disappeared.
Considering that she was a demon who had been bestowed a title by the Mount Shu Sect, it could be seen as a provocation to the sect's authority if she had been subjected to malicious intentions. In that case, the disciples of the Mount Shu Sect would be responsible for ensuring justice was delivered on her behalf.
On the other hand, if she were the one who had developed wicked intentions, then the disciples of the Mount Shu Sect would still need to intervene and minimize the negative consequences of her actions. Ultimately, any trouble she caused would reflect on Chu Liang.
When the members of the sect were young and impetuous, they all felt they had a duty to be virtuous. However, it was precisely because of experiencing troublesome situations like this numerous times that they gradually lost their impetuousness.
Nevertheless, Chu Liang was still fine with it for now. He did feel it was a bit of a pity that he was missing the opportunity to learn new divine skills, but regarding the trouble that Mistress Ming might cause him... he had already mentally prepared himself for them when he offered to request a title for her.
When Chu Liang arrived at the pavilion, Di Nufeng was, as he'd expected, reading a picture book.
Ever since Chu Liang became her disciple, there hadn't been a single moment when he saw her cultivating. He had no idea how she had trained her body to end up with such powerful fighting prowess.
The seventh realm, the Dao Attainment Realm, focused on gaining enlightenment on the Dao. Once a cultivator reached this realm, they could no longer use rigorous training as their main way of cultivating to a higher stage.
But what could you comprehend about the Dao if you're reading picture books all day? The Dao of a book?
Chu Liang couldn't figure it out.
"Esteemed Teacher..." he called out as he approached Di Nufeng. "There's an issue with the demon from the Ming Family in Xingzhou City—the one I requested a title for recently."
"Hmm?" Di Nufeng murmured and sat up.
Chu Liang then told her about the letter from Official Ming.
"I've met that little cat demon. She didn't seem like a bad person. It's unlikely that she would stir up any trouble. If she has disappeared, then it's most likely that something has happened to her," Di Nufeng said, stroking her chin.
"I think so too," Chu Liang agreed with a nod.
"Here, take this."
Di Nufeng raised her hand and threw something to him.
Chu Liang caught it and realized that it was a jade talisman inscribed with a tracking spell.
"That cat demon left a trace of her divine sense with us. You'll be able to locate her with this jade talisman," Di Nufeng explained.
This was the reason why the sect placed tracking spells on demons after bestowing them with titles. It was to save the sect from needing to exhaust extensive manpower to search for the demons if any unusual circumstances were to occur.
"Keep the jade talisman with you. If you encounter any unexpected situations, just shatter it. I'll sense that and go rescue you at any time." Di Nufeng smiled. "You mentioned before that you're lacking divine skills, and I agree. But I think this will be enough to make up for that. It'll be your life-saving divine skill."
Awesome! A life-saving divine skill... This is a mighty summoning spell.
As Chu Liang held the jade talisman in his hand, he suddenly felt as if it bore a much heavier weight. Being able to summon a formidable seventh-realm cultivator at any moment with this jade talisman made it much more powerful than many enchanted tools.
In the world of immortality cultivators, it was rare for teachers to give their disciples items like this. One reason was that most teachers had their own matters to deal with, and there was no guarantee that they could respond in time.
For instance, what if a disciple was in a life-threatening situation and their teacher happened to be engaged in combat with someone else? The summoning spell would be useless. Or what if their teacher was in the midst of daily activities like having a meal or doing their business on the toilet?
The teacher would have to be prepared to leave at any time, departing in a hurry at the first moment that they sensed the jade talisman had been shattered. It seemed like it would be a very insufferable experience.
Another reason was that if the disciples' elders were always stepping in to resolve their problems, then the disciples might become dependent on them instead of developing the skills that could only be gained by learning through experience. A teacher could protect their disciple once, but they couldn't do it forever.
However, Di Nufeng, the great educationalist, didn't care about such reasons.
"Esteemed Teacher, will you really rush to my rescue at any time?" Chu Liang asked, still feeling rather doubtful.
"I'll certainly rush over immediately..." Di Nufeng replied. Then she paused and added, "Hm, well, if I'm not drunk at the time."
"..." Chu Liang fell silent.
It's as I thought. I can't hope for a drunkard to always stay reliable.
...
After obtaining the jade talisman with the tracking spell from his teacher, Chu Liang rushed to Xingzhou City with utmost urgency.
When he arrived, it was already evening. Official Ming and his whole family came out to welcome Chu Liang.
"Greetings, Young Hero Chu."
"Greetings, Official Ming."
"It's been hard on you, Young Hero Chu!"
"It's late, so let's spare the formalities. Hurry, give me the details of the situation," Chu Liang said.
"All right, all right," Official Ming replied, letting out two forced laughs out of courtesy.
He'd already brought Chu Liang to the main hall, so he wasted no time and proceeded to fill Chu Liang in on the situation.
"Thanks to you requesting a title for my wife, we thought we would be able to live in peace from then on, and these past few days have indeed been filled with great joy. However, two days ago, my wife suddenly burst into tears in the middle of the night.
"I asked her why she was crying... and she said she'd dreamt of her parents. She thought of how she hadn't dared to return to the mountain where her parents and siblings lived... She hadn't gone to visit them for ten years, out of fear that her identity as a demon would be exposed. But now that she's able to live in peace, she wants to reunite with her family.
"Sigh... Humans love their families, so why wouldn't demons? That's why I agreed to let her return to her family home. I even asked her to allow me to accompany her, but she was afraid that I would be frightened by her family, so she said no.
"Who knew that she'd leave and never return..."
Official Ming pleaded earnestly, "Young Hero Chu, my wife would never abandon me. Something must have happened to her. Please, you must save her."
"Official Ming, please rest assured that I'll do my best," Chu Liang replied with a nod. Then he asked, "Where's Mistress Ming's family home?"
"It's the East Mountain outside Xingzhou City. Her family of mountain cats used to live and cultivate there. I even tried searching the mountain yesterday, but I couldn't find any trace of her on that massive mountain. Sigh, ordinary people like me are truly powerless," Official Ming answered, sighing repeatedly.
Seeing Official Ming in such a sorrowful state, Chu Liang felt quite sorry for him.
Official Ming and his wife were truly the perfect couple; their love for each other was deep and unwavering. Unfortunately, their life together seemed to be plagued with trials and tribulations. It could only be said that the road to happiness was strewn with setbacks.
Chu Liang stood up and said, "Official Ming, don't worry. I will go to the East Mountain now to search for Mistress Ming. I have the jade talisman that has a connection to the tracking spell that my sect placed on her. I should be able to find her very quickly."
"Young Hero Chu... why don't you rest for the night before setting out?" Official Ming asked.
In such a situation, there's no need to be so courteous. I doubt you'd be able to sleep if I were to rest here for the night, Chu Liang remarked inwardly.
Chu Liang smiled and replied, "The situation is urgent, so there's no time to waste on such things. We're pretty much friends now, so you don't need to be so courteous with me, Official Ming. I'll just leave right away!"
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