Fairy, please have some self-respect. I am not the reincarnation of your deceased husband.

Today, Pei Wanyun was dressed in a light blue and white gauze dress, with a jade hairpin in her hair and a thin white veil covering her face, giving her a charming and alluring look.

She intended to keep a low profile and did not hang the Peak Master's token on her waist, fearing it would cause a commotion.

But her gentle temperament and the beautiful features that were faintly visible behind the veil only drew attention from others.

"..."

Pei Wanyun came to the outer sect only to investigate the reason for her disciple's recent unusual behavior.

In the past half month, the sect's manpower has not been as scarce as before.

Although inner disciples will still take turns on duty in the outer sect, it's not necessary to have the peak master's first disciple come here to help with the duty.

At first, she thought her disciple was concerned about the sect and wanted to share the burden.

But Mu's behavior was just too strange...

No matter how busy she was in the past, Mu Qianxue never neglected her cultivation.

However, in recent days, especially in the last half month.

Not only did she leave early and return late, but after returning to Jade Spirit Peak, she even abandoned her unwavering evening sword practice.

Even when practicing and comprehending the sword manual, he was often absent-minded.

Although the other party remained aloof, as her master, Pei Wanyun could tell that there was definitely turmoil beneath that cold exterior.

This inevitably worried her:

Has this child encountered some troublesome situation?

Not only did he not consult with her, his master, but he even developed a grudge because of it?

If this continues, one's mind will become unstable.

It's not impossible that one could go astray in their practice and develop inner demons...

"..."

With this in mind, Pei Wanyun entered the West Foreign Affairs Hall, where her disciple had been frequently helping out lately.

Upon arriving at the office, she handed over a jade pendant that represented her identity.

"Pei...!"

The steward was about to use the honorific title when she subtly interrupted him.

"There's no need to announce my arrival."

"…yes."

The steward immediately understood and quickly got up to lead the way:

"My lord, please come with me."

Upon arriving at a quiet room, the steward immediately bowed and greeted the guests.

"Greetings, Peak Master Pei."

"I didn't know you came here today..."

"No need for such formalities."

Pei Wanyun had a warm voice and a gentle tone, and she did not have any airs of superiority.

"I have come looking for my apprentice."

"You mean Mu Qianxue... Butler Mu?"

"Um."

Pei Wanyun nodded slightly, without denying it.

The steward looked troubled.

"To be honest, Peak Master Pei, although Deacon Mu has been on duty every day recently, he just happened to be absent today..."

"I know."

Pei Wanyun responded with a faint "yes".

Her next words stunned the steward, who was completely baffled.

"It was I who sent her away."

"?"

"what?"

Guan Shi was truly surprised by this response.

Unable to fathom the peak master's true intentions, she could only probe:

"So you mean...?"

"Record that girl's whereabouts over the past month for me."

Although Pei Wanyun spoke in a calm tone and with a gentle voice, her words left no room for refusal:

"Wherever she goes, whatever she does, or if there is anything unusual, she must report it truthfully."

Because it concerned her disciple's reputation, she did not explain the reason to the steward, but only investigated in secret.

"Yes."

The steward didn't ask any further questions, knowing that this matter was of utmost importance, and immediately retrieved all the files and records related to Mu Qianxue from the outer sect.

The Jade Jade Sect has strict rules, and all matters, large and small, must be registered and recorded.

Therefore, the matters handled by Mu Qianxue were quickly compiled into a book.

However, the sect's affairs have been complicated in recent months, and she has many things to manage, so it will take some time to organize them before they can be sent over.

"Is that all?"

"Reporting to the Peak Master, all are here, without any omissions."

The manager responded confidently.

"Alright, you may leave now. I will call you back after I have finished looking at it."

Thank you for your trouble.

"Peak Master Pei, you flatter me. This is simply my duty."

After saying this, the steward bowed and withdrew outside.

Only Pei Wanyun remained in the room.

She sat quietly at the table, unfolded the file, and began to examine it page by page.

At first, everything was normal, just miscellaneous tasks for the outer sect or some tasks that could only be handled by inner sect disciples.

"This girl has had a tough time..."

Pei Wanyun never expected that her disciple would take on so many tasks in just two or three days.

Although it wasn't anything earth-shattering, it was enough to keep people running around like crazy.

I continued to look through the pages, but still found nothing unusual.

Until we turn back the clock a month...

"?"

"Qinghe Town..."

Looking at the mission record of "Exorcising Demons in Qinghe Town" on the dossier.

Pei Wanyun remembered that it was the mission her disciple had volunteered to undertake some time ago.

Unfold this file and examine it carefully.

"Just a Foundation Establishment stage miasma demon?"

She couldn't help but let out a soft question.

I originally thought it must be some kind of troublesome demon with high cultivation, and coupled with the lack of manpower, that's why I had to go there in person.

But who would have thought it was just a Foundation Establishment stage demon beast?

However, upon further reflection, since the sect was busy at the time, he did not delve into it further.

His gaze fell upon the list of participating disciples.

"?"

Pei Wanyun frowned slightly.

Besides Mu Qianxue, there was one other person.

However, the ink on the person's name was blurred, and only the character "Chen" could be barely made out.

"How could this girl be so careless?"

"This doesn't look like her..."

She sighed softly and shook her head.

They're probably just too busy.

Since this task was handled by Mu Qianxue, it must have been that girl who accidentally smudged the ink.

However, apart from the name being unclear and a dot resembling handwriting appearing in the "belonging" section, the rest of the information is clear.

Early stage of Foundation Establishment, outer disciple, male.

Calm and composed, with decent cultivation, he is capable of undergoing trials and tribulations; therefore, he is authorized to undertake the mission.

I glanced at it briefly and there was nothing unusual about it.

Even the comments were just a few words.

Pei Wanyun didn't take it seriously and continued flipping through the pages.

About half a month ago, she finally noticed something was wrong.

"Why does this girl keep getting assigned tasks from the Xiyuan area?"

The West Garden is where outer disciples rent private courtyards.

The further she looked, the more Pei Wanyun frowned.

Because she noticed that her apprentice handled the affairs in the neighborhood almost every day.

There must be a demon in the abnormal situation.

My disciple's recent changes must be related to someone or something here.

Pei Wanyun began to compare and sort through them one by one.

She quickly identified four locations.

Chen Lianshu's residence was among them.

Furthermore, the other three locations that need to be investigated are all near his residence.

"Fine, let's go see for ourselves."

Pei Wanyun is not a procrastinator.

Having identified her target, she closed the file, reorganized it as it was, and then summoned the steward to reseal it.

"Remember, I was never here."

Before leaving, Pei Wanyun didn't forget to give her some final instructions.

"And do not mention it to my disciple."

"clear."

The person in charge was quick-witted; even if the other party didn't say anything, she wouldn't say anything more.

"Um."

After giving a satisfied reply, Pei Wanyun left the West Foreign Affairs Hall.

As she walked along the road, she couldn't help but fall into deep thought.

Come to think of it... this seems to be her first time coming to the West Outer Gate to investigate.

I wonder if my husband is here?

To avoid attracting attention, her investigation into "him" proceeded extremely slowly.

After such a long time, we have only checked the east and south outer gates, and found nothing.

"well--"

Pei Wanyun sighed helplessly.

If I had known this would happen, I should have asked back then:

Where did my husband reside when he was outside the gate...?