Demons and monsters wreak havoc: gain one new confidante every day.

The snake demon that was about to transform was actually only at the third rank.

With such strength, even Shen You could kill five snake demons by himself, so Liu Gongbai was naturally no match for them.

Before long, Liu Gongbai had cleaved the transformed snake demon in two with a single sword strike. Cold snake blood spurted out, and the surrounding snake demons, as if frightened, all scattered and fled.

The cave returned to calm, and the group gathered together, but Han Shu was nowhere to be seen.

Shen You asked impatiently, "Has anyone seen Junior Brother Han?"

Hong Xiugu looked around and then realized that Han Shu was nowhere to be seen. She exclaimed in surprise, "Strange, he was following behind me when he came!"

Shen You gritted her teeth, her unease growing stronger.

Logically speaking, since they were a group of people tracking down Bi Lin Lang Jun, nothing should have happened that would be detrimental to them. However, this unease lingered in their hearts and wouldn't go away.

Where did Han Shu go?

Before he could figure out the question, Liu Gongbai had already reached the small pool in the middle of the cave. He reached out and took out a lotus bud from the pool, and his face turned extremely ugly again.

"The secret medicine was taken away by Lord Bilin ahead of schedule, and it's almost finished being prepared!"

The group exchanged bewildered glances. Once the Jade Scale Gentleman successfully refined the secret elixir, he would undoubtedly hide away to further refine it, making it even more difficult to find him later.

Shen You also knew that the secret medicine was actually "Creation Dew," which could transform demons into humans. If Bi Lin Lang Jun were to transform into a human, it would be equivalent to a complete change of appearance, and no one would be able to find him based on the evil deeds he had committed. Those innocent girls would have died in vain.

"Damn it!" Thinking of this, Shen You couldn't help but feel heavy-hearted, and couldn't even care less about Han Shu.

Liu Gongbai said, "I used the willow branch to scout ahead, originally intending to take advantage of Bilin Langjun's unpreparedness and use his identity as a member of the Liu family to find him. But since I've come up empty-handed, it means he was prepared. I'll have to think of another way from now on."

He paused, then said with some self-reproach, "It's also my fault. I didn't consider that he was so audacious as to commit evil again in Rongcheng, where my great-uncle is in charge. Naturally, I had already made preparations to deal with the investigation. Now that I have alerted him twice, it will be even more difficult to find him again."

"What's worse is that his secret medicine is almost completely finished. Now it only needs one more ingredient to be fully made."

Liu Gongbai's face was grim as he said, "I won't give him that chance, so you can all leave now. I'm going back to the Liu family to ask my great-uncle for help to completely track down this demon and wipe him out before he can make his medicine!"

After hearing Liu Gongbai's words, no one objected. The matter had reached such an urgent point that it was beyond the control of these apprentices in blue robes; they could only leave it all to Senior Brother Liu and the Liu family behind him to handle.

The group followed Liu Gongbai out of the Lin family's house and came to the intersection, where Liu Gongbai stopped.

"Let's part ways here," Liu Gongbai said. "I'm going back to the Liu family, and you should all return to Renxin Hall."

Seeing Liu Gongbai about to leave, Shen You couldn't help but speak up, "Senior Brother Liu, I'm not willing to go back like this. Could you tell me what clues you know? I want to search for them in the city myself. That Jade Scale Gentleman kills women indiscriminately; I don't want to let him get away with it!"

Liu Gongbai looked at Shen You in silence for a while, then nodded and said, "Alright, I'll tell you the only clue I know. Now that Bilin Langjun has disappeared, he must be looking for a medicinal ingredient. So he won't kill people all over the city like before, but will focus on finding a girl with high spirituality to use as a medicinal ingredient to make the secret medicine."

"A girl with high spirituality?" Shen You asked in confusion.

"Simply put, it refers to girls who are exceptionally intelligent and have rich imaginations," Liu Gongbai explained. "People with high spirituality are more likely to visualize birds, beasts, and demons, and are more likely to cultivate the strength and power in martial arts, and even reach higher levels of martial arts. Such people are born with the aptitude to communicate with the divine through martial arts. If there is such a beautiful young woman, she would be the best ingredient for refining secret medicines."

"I see." Shen You nodded. "A smart girl..."

He had a vague idea that was about to emerge, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it.

Liu Gongbai turned to leave, but suddenly stopped and said to Shen You, "By the way, about the Liu family from a hundred years ago that you asked me to investigate..."

"Yes!" Shen You perked up and hurriedly asked, "What happened to that Liu family member who fell in love with the lotus fairy?"

"He's dead," Liu Gongbai said calmly. "According to the records of the Liu family, that member of the Liu family was chased by experts in the family and eventually fell into the river and drowned."

"It was drowning..." Shen You said in a daze. It turned out that Liu Lang from a hundred years ago had the same experience as her.

"I heard that the young man from the Liu family was exceptionally handsome, and was quite a talented man back then, but unfortunately he went astray..." Liu Gongbai shook his head, "That's all I know."

After saying that, he turned and left.

Shen You stood there, stunned for a long time, and could only manage a bitter smile.

Love between a human and a ghost is something that would be unacceptable to the world, no matter what world it is. The tragedy of Liu Lang and San Niang back then seems to have been destined all along.

In the end, all he could do was pretend to be Liu Lang and treat San Niang a little better, but he couldn't do anything more.

After all, humans and ghosts are different, and Third Sister's identity had already determined everything.

Shen You shook her head, stopped thinking about it, and started walking in one direction.

"Shen You, where are you going?" Hong Xiugu asked from behind.

Shen You raised her hand without turning her head, waved it, and casually called out, "I'm just wandering around and seeing if I can find the Jade Scale Gentleman. Don't worry about me!"

After saying that, Shen You left.

Behind her, Hong Xiugu stared intently at Shen You's back, pouting in dissatisfaction.

As Shen You walked along the road, her mind was still preoccupied with the matter of Bi Lin Lang Jun.

The Jade Scale Gentleman used all the young women in the city to concoct medicine, and in the end, only one highly spiritual medicinal ingredient remained...

His initial lair was in a stinking ditch outside the city, which he found by being led there by a bamboo viper. But his second lair was set up right under the Lin family's goldfish pond! How could he be so audacious, especially since it was right under the Lin family's nose?

This unusual behavior is the first suspicious point.

Then, with the help of the willow branch, Liu Gongbai found the lair of the Jade Scale Gentleman without any warning. How could the Jade Scale Gentleman possibly have escaped this calamity by not being in the lair?

Was he really not there, or... did someone tip him off?

Shen You thought of Han Shu, who had disappeared.

Last time, at the snake den over the stinky ditch, Han Shu was the one who ultimately failed to stop Bi Lin Lang Jun.

The relationship between Han Shu and Bi Lin Lang Jun is the second point of doubt.

"Besides that, there's another point of doubt..."

Shen You muttered to herself.

There was another question that was nagging at him, constantly weighing on his mind. He instinctively felt that it was the most important question.

"Why did the Jade Scale Gentleman choose the Lin family as his new hideout? This was discovered after Han Shu failed to intercept him..."

Shen You analyzed in his heart: "If Han Shu and Bi Lin Lang Jun had actually already formed a cooperative relationship, and Han Shu faced Bi Lin Lang Jun alone at the time, not only letting him go in the end, but also providing him with information, which ultimately led Bi Lin Lang Jun to the Lin family, then everything makes sense!"

"So what exactly is that intelligence...?"

"What is the third point of doubt...?"

Shen You's mind was racing; he felt like his head was about to burst into flames.

"I've seen something like this before, and it seems really illogical. What was it...?"

Suddenly, he shuddered, and a pretty and lovely face flashed through his mind.

"Oh right, it's Xiaohui!"

"The third point that has always puzzled me is that Lord Bilin always allowed his demon snakes to hunt young women freely throughout the city, and each time a woman was killed, there was only the trace of one demon snake around her. Why was it that when Xiaohui was attacked, several demon snakes attacked together? If it weren't for Aunt Dou's rescue, Xiaohui would have had no chance of escaping!"

"The Jade Scale Gentleman specifically targeted Xiao Hui; his obsession with her is extraordinary!"

"Han Shu must have told Bi Lin Lang Jun that Xiao Hui came from the Lin family, which is why Bi Lin Lang Jun went to build his nest under the Lin family's roof again!"

"And then there's Xiao Hui's innate talent of 'intelligent and virtuous nature,' she is precisely the high-spiritual medicinal ingredient that the Jade Scale Gentleman needs!"

Shen You was terrified when he thought of this.

"Oh no! Xiaohui is in danger!"

"She's probably...buying drugs at Blackwater Hall right now!"

Without hesitation, Shen You turned around and rushed towards the Blackwater Hall.