Wild cultivation begins with wielding the Taiyin talisman.

Ning Che frowned slightly as he looked at the scene before him and reached out to twirl a blade of grass.

The grass blades were already dry and brittle; they crumbled at the slightest touch.

Shi Yong also realized something was wrong. He frowned and asked, "Could this person fly? How come they didn't leave a single trace?"

Ning Che shook his head and said, "Maybe it really can fly, or maybe it's some kind of strange magic. But now is not the time to consider that. We need to guess his purpose, guess where he will put Erzhu, and guess why he sent him back to Daya."

"Those who cultivate evil arts often use flesh, blood, and souls as materials," Shi Yong muttered. "Could it be that he kidnapped Erzhu to practice his magic? And this kind of evil magic is so strange that he can leave no trace!"

Ning Che added, "So he released Daya because this spell can't be practiced with Daya; he wanted to use Daya to...fish? But if that's the case, why didn't he arrest the villagers who discovered Daya?"

He was still not quite used to the vocabulary of this world. While deep in thought, he almost said "besiege the point and attack the reinforcements," but fortunately Shi Yong did not notice this detail.

"A woman!" Shi Yong slapped his thigh and said, "The villager who discovered Daya was a woman, and Daya is also a woman. Perhaps this magic can only be practiced by a man."

"A spell that can only be practiced by men..." Ning Che fell into deep thought.

Shi Yong, however, seemed to have found a line of thought with the murderer and began to speak fluently: "That's right. It's because this spell can only be practiced by men, and he didn't dare to force his way into our village, so he waited outside for the men of our village to come out."

Erzhu, seeing that no wild animals had come for several days, mustered his courage and went out to chop firewood, where he was caught by this man. But because Daya was also there, he could only knock her unconscious as well, then take Erzhu away, while Daya was left behind as bait to lure the village men to come and investigate, so they could be harmed.

"I have a question," Ning Che interrupted. "If this spell can only be practiced by men, why was Da Ya bled so much?"

No, he was indeed fishing, but not for men. If he could use both men's and women's blood, then releasing Daya and the villager who found her meant he was fishing for someone else entirely—perhaps us.

Pop, pop, pop!

The sound of clapping came from afar, startling Ning Che and Shi Yong, who looked up in the direction of the sound.

About several dozen paces away, a young man dressed in a blue robe, holding a folding fan, with a fair complexion, no beard, and hair tied up with a jade crown, slowly walked towards them. It was he who had clapped his hands in the distance just now; the sound was very clear, as if he were right in front of them.

Ning Che remained on high alert; clearly, he had guessed correctly. Shi Yong even drew his sword, pointing it at the approaching figure.

The man walked up unhurriedly and laughed loudly, "Young friend, you guessed correctly. My name is Mu Qingming, and I am the deputy commander of the mountain guards of Feihu City. Please come with me."

As he spoke, he took out a purple metal waist tag, which indeed had the words "Guardian of the Mountain" written on it, with the words "Deputy Commander" in the lower right corner.

Deputy Commander of the Mountain Guards!

Among the mountain guardians, above the ordinary servants, there are naturally higher positions: squad leader, platoon leader, and commander. Generally speaking, a squad leader is a cultivator of the eighth rank or above, a platoon leader has at least the seventh rank, and the deputy commanders are considered experts among the sixth rank. The commander in particular is one of the few fifth-rank cultivators in Feihu City.

Shi Yong gripped the hilt of the knife tightly, his knuckles turning white, but he finally loosened his grip. With a clang, the machete slammed to the ground. He was terrified that if he dared to draw the knife, not only would he die, but the entire village of Shizhu, numbering over a thousand, would perish with him.

The mountain guardian and a sixth-rank cultivator—this is an insurmountable gap.

But Ning Che retorted bluntly, "Why do the mountain guardians not think about suppressing demons and protecting the people, but instead engage in these despicable and cruel evil arts that harm living beings!"

"To frame you." Mu Qingming smiled calmly and spoke bluntly: "You are a true successor of the Taiyin lineage, yet the Great Xia Dynasty cannot tolerate a cultivator like you. But the Great Xia Dynasty also does not want things to become too ugly; it makes no sense to kill someone over a mere cultivation path. Therefore, I want to frame you. You are a smart person; you should be able to understand, right?"

Snapped.

He flicked open the folding fan, revealing four brightly lit characters: "Upright and honorable".

thump.

Shi Yong knelt down before him.

"Xing is just a child. All this talk of the Taiyin lineage is an accident. Commander Mu, Commander Mu, please, please let him go!" With that, Shi Yong was about to kowtow.

"Uncle Shi Yong, get up, don't kneel on him!" Ning Che tried to pull him up, but Mu Qingming shook his folding fan, and suddenly a huge force pressed down on him. He was completely unable to resist, let out a muffled groan, and fell to the ground.

He clenched his teeth, trying to break free, but all his muscles seemed to be locked. He could only writhe like a restless mole cricket, watching Shi Yong kowtow, again and again, until his skin was torn and blood mingled with the mud.

Mu Qingming laughed: "Hahahaha—what a touching display of family affection! It's a pity I won't pardon him."

The folding fan swung again, and an invisible force sent Shi Yong flying, crashing heavily into a tree behind him with a cracking sound.

"I'll go with you!" Ning Che roared.

Mu Qingming tucked the folding fan into his chest, and the immense power vanished: "Wouldn't it have been better if you had done this earlier? Don't worry, you're more useful alive than dead. As long as you're willing to serve us mountain guardians and the Great Xia, your day will come sooner or later."

Ning Che struggled to get up, his face lowered, and he didn't say a word.

Mu Qingming looked down at him with a nonchalant smile in his voice: "Your name is Xing, right? A good name. As the successor of the Taiyin lineage, your future achievements will definitely not stop at the ninth rank. Sooner or later, you will become a true cultivator who transcends the mortal world, just like me."

You'll understand then that the gap between us and ordinary people is greater than the difference between a person and a dog. Would you go against someone of the same level for a stray dog? Join us, and we'll be kindred spirits.

Ning Che remained silent.

"I know what you're trying to say, they're different, that's right, that's right. They really are different. Even the dogs we cultivators keep can't be beaten by other cultivators. Let alone other stray dogs, how can they be compared to our beloved pets?"

Mu Qingming seemed quite interested and led Ning Che away: "Come, follow me, I have something to tell you. Come on, do you see that tree?"

He led the silent Ning Che closer to Shizhu Village, walked to the path leading into the village, and pointed to a seemingly ordinary bare tree by the roadside.

Ning Che seemed to recall something: "That day, the shadowy figure we discovered was you?"

"They actually found out." He frowned almost imperceptibly, then resumed his gentle demeanor: "That's the man you've met before, Hu Yu, the one who led the team to guard your village."

I know you killed him. Good riddance. I've disliked him for a long time. Of course, if you refuse to cooperate, this will also be one of the pieces of evidence against you both.

It must be that man with the pointed beak.

Ning Che had some recollection of it. He swallowed the blood that had flowed from his mouth from the struggle and finally managed to calm down.